Each podcast happens in "real time." That means that anything can happen while the guys are leading their churches in revitalization. Real issues, problems, successes, tears, sweat and anguish.
What a long Sabbatical that was. Here's what has happened and a little bit of what you can expect.
Here's Don and Natalie after seeing Sound of Freedom as they discuss why every church needs to watch this film.
Hear what's in store for the upcoming season. We will focus on the Pastor Shortage. We will have a panel discussing this issue already here. We will hear from pastors in the deep south, mid-west, from NAMB, and even state leaders.
It's been almost 2 months. Where are Don and Natalie? Do gives us a preview of some topics that will be discussed in the upcoming season.
A recent survey shows that nearly 130,000 people left Massachusetts in 2022. This will impact churches and is starting to in smaller churches. While this will help some nearby states, we consider why and why pastors, denominations, and networks should be concerned.
Last week's promised episode is lost, so Don and his church got a preview of Jesus Revolution, and he gives his thoughts on the film.
We break into our regularly scheduled episode to discuss the topic of the moment.
Don and Natalie talk about why vetting is essential when having people called to ministry in our churches.
How is the current financial crisis hurting churches? We look at this in a "lost" Practical Revitalization Podcast episode.
Natalie is back and catching us up on things in ministry from the pastor's wife's point of view
New name and some other new things. We discuss why the name change and how that fits into church revitalization.Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay
Small church pastors in revitalization often look at what they perceive as healthier larger churches as being much better. However, the old saying goes that the grass isn't always greener. Today we look at the Grass is Greener Syndrome.
Why studying in the individual regions of America for Churches is a must. Part 1 Of Thom RainerPart 2 of Thom Rainer
In a Mashup episode, Don gives a warning about something that recently reared its ugly head in his life, as well as a preview for a future episode.
It's been several months, but we are back. Don gives a very raw look at things and issues a plea for people to come to the Northeast and New England to help plant, replant, and revitalize churches here. Over the last several months, we have seen and heard of churches closing their doors, and we see pockets of areas with large populations and no churches being sent to start.
Don gives a heart-to-heart about his mindset and what's in store for the podcast.
In the last few months, popular pastors have submitted to their elders in church discipline. Don discusses how these two instances show how this works, how we should react, and what we can and should do.
Don gets back from a New Hampshire vacation to give some things going on for the future of the podcast
Don gives an update as to why no new podcasts recently and also asks you to pray for him and his wife with future decisions.
In any church we often hear people quote a theologian or scholar on a particular subject of the Bible. This is an acceptable help often in getting the point across. However, when we see people quote these men more often than the Bible or on equal footing, we have to question if the person really knows their Bible. Do they idolize the theologian/scholar too much? Do they even know how to study their Bible? Today we look into the realm of hero worship and how this can harm churches, especially these days. 1. Do they know their Bible? a. Hermeneutics b. Bible Studies/Small Groups c. What Tools do they Have?2. Cult of Personality a. Is the person reputable? b. Does this Person Have Proper Education? c. Is this person divisive?3. Fallen Heroes a. What is their Reputation within Christendom? b. Have they ever been removed from ministry or disqualified? c. Have they been fully restored into ministry?
A brief talk about what many are seeing in the lives of the church as many churches close
looking at the recent SBC report and why both sides need to find balance and understand that there is good and bad from both sides of the argument in the debate.
Natalie takes the lead talking about her recent time away and what she was studying and how we must be practicing this in our revitalizations.
As observed by Aldag and Fuller (1993), the groupthink phenomenon seems to rest on a set of unstated and generally restrictive assumptions: The purpose of group problem solving is mainly to improve decision quality Group problem solving is considered a rational process. Benefits of group problem solving: variety of perspectives more information about possible alternatives better decision reliability dampening of biases social presence effects Groupthink prevents these benefits due to structural faults and provocative situational context. Groupthink prevention methods will produce better decisions An illusion of well-being is presumed to be inherently dysfunctional. Group pressures towards consensus lead to concurrence-seeking tendencies. According to Janis, decision-making groups are not necessarily destined to groupthink. He devised ways of preventing groupthink: Leaders should assign each member the role of "critical evaluator." This allows each member to freely air objections and doubts. Leaders should not express an opinion when assigning a task to a group. Leaders should absent themselves from many group meetings to avoid excessively influencing the outcome. The organization should set up several independent groups working on the same problem. All effective alternatives should be examined. Each member should discuss the group's ideas with trusted people outside of the group. The group should invite outside experts into meetings. Group members should be allowed to discuss with and question the outside experts. At least one group member should be assigned the role of devil's advocate. This should be a different person for each meeting.
Taken from the WikiIrving Janis identified three antecedent conditions to groupthink:: High group cohesiveness: Cohesiveness is the main factor that leads to groupthink. Groups that lack cohesiveness can of course make bad decisions, but they do not experience groupthink. In a cohesive group, members avoid speaking out against decisions, avoid arguing with others and work towards maintaining friendly relationships in the group. If cohesiveness gets to such a level that there are no longer disagreements between members, then the group is ripe for groupthink. Deindividuation: Group cohesiveness becomes more important than individual freedom of expression. Illusions of unanimity: Members perceive falsely that everyone agrees with the group's decision; silence is seen as consent. Janis noted that the unity of group members was a mere illusion. Members may disagree with the organization's decision, but go along with the group for many reasons, such as maintaining their group status and avoiding conflict with managers or workmates. Such members think that suggesting opinions contrary to others may lead to isolation from the group. Structural faults: The group is organized in ways that disrupt the communication of information, or the group carelessly makes decisions. Insulation of the group: This can promote the development of unique, inaccurate perspectives on issues the group is dealing with, which can then lead to faulty solutions to the problem. Lack of impartial leadership: Leaders control the group discussion, by planning what will be discussed, allowing only certain questions to be asked, and asking for the opinions of only certain people in the group. Closed-style leadership is when leaders announce their opinions on the issue before the group discusses the issue together. Open-style leadership is when leaders withhold their opinion until a later time in the discussion. Groups with a closed-style leader are more biased in their judgments, especially when members had a high degree of certainty. Lack of norms requiring methodological procedures. Homogeneity of members' social backgrounds and ideology. Situational context: Highly stressful external threats: High-stake decisions can create tension and anxiety; group members may cope with this stress in irrational ways. Group members may rationalize their decision by exaggerating the positive consequences and minimizing the possible negative consequences. In an attempt to minimize the stressful situation, the group decides quickly and allows little to no discussion or disagreement. Groups under high stress are more likely to make errors, lose focus of the ultimate goal, and use procedures that members know have not been effective in the past. Recent failures: These can lead to low self-esteem, resulting in agreement with the group for fear of being seen as wrong. Excessive difficulties in decision-making tasks. Time pressures: Group members are more concerned with efficiency and quick results than with quality and accuracy. Time pressures can also lead group members to overlook important information. Moral dilemmas. Although it is possible for a situation to contain all three of these factors, all three are not always present even when groupthink is occurring. Janis considered a high degree of cohesiveness to be the most important antecedent to producing groupthink, and always present when groupthink was occurring; however, he believed high cohesiveness would not always produce groupthink. A very cohesive group abides with all group norms, but whether or not groupthink arises is dependent on what the group norms are. If the group encourages individual dissent and alternative strategies to problem-solving, it is likely that groupthink will be avoided even in a highly cohesive group. This means that high cohesion will lead to groupthink only if one or both of the other antecedents is present, the situational context being slightly more likely than structural faults to produce groupthink.
Type I: Overestimations of the group — its power and morality Illusions of invulnerability create excessive optimism and encourage risk-taking. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causes members to ignore the consequences of their actions. Type II: Closed-mindedness Rationalizing warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, biased, spiteful, impotent, or stupid. Type III: Pressures toward uniformity Self-censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus. In illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement. Direct pressure to conform is placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty" Mindguards— self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.
Do we do discipleship right? maybe and maybe not, but the main thing is are you looking at the makeup of your church and investing time properly with new Christians as well as integrating them into established groups? DO takes a look at this in this week's short take.
Bring Glory to God If We Allow All Churches to Die It Says Our God Is WeakBecause It Was Once a Plant and an Established Church HistoryWe Love to Restore Other Things Cars Furniture Tools
In this episode, Don talks about lost opportunities churches miss and also rants about how this affects the area he is in as both an Educator and Pastor in the state of Massachusetts.
We said no new episode this week, but Don decided this had to be said pointing out the pastor controversies the last few weeks, the crisis we are in in the Strauss-Howe Theory that he is working out for churches. This is an episode that you will want to hear to help you think through what is going on in the capital "C" Church
Matt Henslee talked at the 2021 Replant Summit about thriving in a rural replant. As more than half the revitalization in New England are in rural areas, we pray you are blessed by his words of wisdom.
Sometimes we just need to dress up or undress a church to make the right adjustments to make it modern in feel. Today Don shows us three things to consider 1. Undressing a church to exorcise the past2. Dress up a church to hide things3. Make sure that it works, and when to know it's time to change what you got.
Don challenges pastors to take a bold step to have the revival they want in the revitalization they pastor. Don's Blog Article
5 Things Revitalizers Wish Visitors and Guests Understood. 5. We have more people than your seeing today4. We really have children's and youth programs3. Our goal is to have missions giving, but we are just making it week to week2. I'm not responsible for the mess1. I'm stretched and have no more bandwidth to give.
Most pastors burn out because they do not connect or keep connections going with other pastors or people in their church. Hear why this is important to do and keep up in a pastor's ministry.
Erik Maloy is back to discuss what has been going on with him and First Church for the last several months and some of what he has done, why, and what he is going to do in the future.
Don talks about the hopes and dreams for PCRP this coming year.
Chris McDonald shares why working with other churches in a revitalization effort is a key thing that replanters and revitalizers have to consider when things happen to block the church from healthy growth.
Don and Natalie interview Dr. David Jackson of the NAMB Replant team where he oversees the East region. Dr. Jackson has four decades of experience in Church planting and revitalization and shares his wisdom with the hosts. Dr. Jackson also served as Don's filed supervisor for his practicums in seminary this past year.
At the 2021 Pastors Encouragement Dinner, Pastor Lierte Soares Jr. brought an encouraging message to the 30+ pastors gathered. Lierte's ministry is unique in that he pastors two churches, Framingham Baptist Church in Framingham, MA (pop. 72,308) and Precision Valley Baptist Church in the small town of North Springfield, VT (pop. 644).Lierte Soares is a NAMB church planter missionary originally from Brazil and has been in New England since 2014. Pastor Lierte (or you can call him Pastor Junior) has been pastoring a church in Vermont and planting a multicultural church in MetroWest Boston for the past few years. Each week he makes the 240 miles round trip drive between the two churches several times as he evangelizes and disciples the people in those communities and those churches.
Erik and Don interview with Randy Adams, executive director of the Northwest Baptist Convention (NWBC), and nominee for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, top discuss his vision for the SBC as well as ask some questions on their hearts and minds.See Randy's site for his announcement: https://randyadams.org/2020/01/14/my-commitment-to-southern-baptists/
Don and Natalie discuss the need for pastors and their wives to be transparent in their mental health as the discuss their own struggles after the recent suicide of Paige Hilken.Link on article of Paige HilkenNatalie's BlogNew England Pastors Encouragement Dinner
Today we interview another of the SBC President nominees, Ed Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Mobile, AL.
The final live episode of 2021 and Dona nd Natalie talk about three things they've learned while pursuing people for their church.1. Pastors need to go after the people who "like the church, but................."2. Pastors need to cast the vision for them3. Pastors need to pray for God's will
In the second to last new episode of the year, Don goes over his big three after Praying and the Bible for a replanter.1. Know your community that you are in.2. Meet regularly with the people in that community3. Create a battle plan to evangelize and minister to that community.
PCRP S4 E6 Special Needs Ministry in the Church Don interviews Natalie McKinnon on the need for special needs ministry within the Church and the missed opportunity to families that need it. 13% of Kids in public have special needs1 in 83 are on the autism spectrum7% of children 3-17 years of age have ADHD8% of children 3-17 years of age have a learning disability17% will experience communication disorder90% of these families will not attend a church regularly out of embarrassment Reach Natalie at natalie@legacysutton.com http://mintools.com/special-needs-ministry-resources.htm http://www.willowcreek.org/disabilities. Ideas for ministry at your church from Willow Creek Church,Chicago, Illinois http://www.hopeingod.org/disability http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-adastandards/ada-standards/chapter-2-scoping-requirements#221%20Assembly%20Areas http://storage.cloversites.com/christianchurchesdisabilityministry/documents/A%20Place%20For%20Me%20In%20Gods%20Family_2012.pdf. Nine lessons that will help a teacher lead a person withdevelopmental disabilities into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. http://www.unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf. General information http://www.understandingdisability.org/DisabilityEtiquette. On-line quiz http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/docs/going_to_church_0.pdf. Booklet for children withautism about going to church http://www.autismspeaks.org http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com. A church4everychild site http://childrensministry.com/leadership/special-needs-ministry/ https://www.amazon.com/Start-Hello-Introducing-Ministry-Irresistible-ebook/dp/B019JGEG2I (freedownloadable booklet) http://www.keyministry.org http://theinclusivechurch.wordpress.com/ http://www.joniandfriends.org/ http://www.clcnetwork.org/
Barna's article discussed the number of pastors ready to quit, with 46% of pastors under 45 prepared to quit. 1,000's of these pastors are working in dying churches out there. Many do not see the looming crisis and need for pastors to encourage in the post-COVID world. 1. Pastors are doing their all in dying churches, and the results are burning them out. No one is set to replace them, and so churches are going to close.2. Pastors are not seeking out other pastors for encouragement. Either within their denominations or outside. Pastors are lonely and fighting the battle alone.3. Pastors feel like they are following the Lord's will, and the results prove they should quit. Barna's Article
Don and Natalie interview Dr. David Jackson of the NAMB Replant team where he oversees the East region. Dr. Jackson has four decades of experience in Church planting and revitalization and shares his wisdom with the hosts. Dr. Jackson also served as Don's filed supervisor for his practicums in seminary this past year.
In this episode Don talks about the importance of prayer in a revitalization and why we must do so fervently, but also as an example for those who may not be praying in their own relationship with Jesus.
From Replant Summit 2021, Andy Addis talks about revitalization through Multi-Site churches.
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