Save to Lose

Churches who make their mission “to keep our doors open” rarely do.  It violates a core principle of the Gospel. Five times in the first three books of the New Testament, Jesus testifies to this truth:

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

Matthew 16:25 & 10:39, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24 & 17:33 (NIV)

As long as a church is focused on saving its life, it will surely lose it. But any church can choose to find new life.

Revived

That’s what Thom Rainer recently discovered. He kept running across churches in steep decline that somehow revived. It intrigued him, so he asked hundreds of these churches a bunch of questions to determine, “Why did your church turnaround when so many others died?”

His book, Anatomy of a Revived Church, reveals 7 findings that enabled these churches to avoid death. Each finding builds upon the other, but before any of them can be considered, Rainer insists every church must first make a choice: Change or die.

Fatal Attraction

It seems so simple. What church wouldn’t choose life?  But that’s not the question. The question is, “What church is willing to choose true transformation?” As creatures of habit, we long for things to stay the same. Turns out, the only person who likes change is a wet baby.

Oddly enough, when faced with the need to make deep change, dying becomes more attractive.  

In fact, in his 2007 book, “Change or Die,” Alan Deutschman provided striking research that led to a stunning conclusion:  If given a choice between life and death, most of us, including our leaders, choose death when required to make substantial changes.

The Choice

Deep down, we know this. When a doctor tells a heart attack victim, “Change your habits or die,” only 1 in 7 patients actually make a change. If a marriage counselor says, “Reinvent your relationship or it won’t survive,” most couples let it drift to demise. When a church is consistently growing smaller and older, most pastors and church members choose to keep doing what is familiar, even when they know it will lead to closing the doors.

In each case, it all comes down to one decision: change or die. The choice is ours.

Here’s the good news. If we choose change, there is a path that leads to new life! Hundreds of churches on the brink of death have experienced a resurrection.

Road Trip!

If you and others you know long for your church to find new life, join me by Zoom for “Revived! A Revitalization Road Trip.” It runs every Thursday night from 5:30 to 6:30 (Central), May 2 through June 13.

Over 7 Thursdays, you and your team will be introduced to the 7 key findings from Rainer’s research that will give you a roadmap to revival in your church.

The cost is $20 per person. Groups of 3 or more are $10 per person. You can register here.

Death is overrated. Let’s choose change and get on the road to new life!

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