4 Keys to Spiritually Renewing the Church

    Over and over again, the evidence about renewing the church points to a clear conclusion: you can’t renew the church without spiritually grounding and renewing the people who comprise it. Try to renew a congregation apart from this and you are probably wasting your time. Lasting change in the church requires spiritual roots – period.
    There are four levels of work that seem essential in this work. Each of these offers an important aspect of spiritual life.

1. Biblical foundations – teach people to read the Bible, appreciate the gospel message that it bears, and listen for God’s calling to them in it.
2. Contemplation – equip people to spend time in contemplation. The use of silence and the ability to listen and discern God’s voice to them is an essential and often missing part of many Christian's practcies. Often people are uncomfortable and not even sure how to spend time in silence - help them learn!
3. Conversation – spiritual disciplines include communal practices. Making space for people to respectfully discuss what they are hearing from God in scripture and in silence provides space for creativity and support.
4. Motivating and encouraging action – ultimately, the fruits of these disciplines will produce action. Work that engages service and justice is just as spiritually essential as the quiet of contemplation that seems so different from it.

    These elements are ALL needed for a congregation to be spiritually renewed in ways that lead to active change and transformation. The dance between contemplation and action, guided by leaders who equip and encourage and lived out in community with other followers of Jesus can renew people’s faith and faithfulness. People like that will be better able to renew the congregations in which they participate.

    Do this work first. It is foundational. There’s more left to do if a congregation wants to renew and find a new chapter in its ministry. But leave this spiritual work out and you will be forced to settle for short-term fixes and work for transformation that will rarely last.