Finding new life in an established church can be a challenge. There are a lot of stereotypes about older (older both in age of the congregation AND age of the church itself) churches that are, unfortunately, true. And a lot of pastors struggle with “revitalization”, myself included.
Facilitating new life in an established church can feel a lot like trying to get grass to grow through blacktop. But I love the work of revitalization. Here’s why:
Today, you are you. That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
Dr Seuss
Earlier this year I had to interview with an office of my churches denomination in order to become an official Army chaplain. We came to an interesting point in the conversation that I doubt I will ever forget, because of just how perfectly (and bluntly) an observation about me was said. I was asked about my personality type (Meyers-Briggs; I’m an ENFP), to which I said there was really only one area I was uncertain of (the ‘P’). What follows is as close to a direct quote as I can recall:
“You’re definitely a ‘P’. You have a trailed of broken and missed deadlines behind you”.
He wasn’t being mean. He was just being honest. I had just never heard it put that way. And oh man, was he right.
The Dead Drop 