Jeremy R. Geerdes Posts

Leading revitalization is neither easy nor safe. Like Joshua, we will face formidable challenges and very real risks. There will be obstacles and deficiencies to overcome, change and resistance – both earthly and spiritual – to face. These things are unavoidable, and quite frankly, there is only so much we can to mitigate them. At some point, the only option is to confront them directly.

This is why Job 19:25 shines so brightly as the world around us burns and we find ourselves engulfed in pain, uncertainty, and doubt. Job would never know the answers to his questions, but he knew that he knew that he knew that his Redeemer is alive; that he – that is, God – has never needed a backup plan; and that even if the whole world were reduced to dust and ash, he could and would still bring good out of it.

It is imperative that revitalizing churches and leaders conduct regular reviews of their biblical mission and specific vision, stepping back to consider the state of the church from a relatively objective viewpoint despite the emotional cost or the responsibility we may discover that we bear. If we fail to do this, it will destroy the church.

I once watched a documentary about a Civil War battle. Though I do not remember which battle or most of the pertinent details, I do remember the commentators talking about one rather unorthodox maneuver. With enemy troops flanking them and their own numbers dwindling, one general ordered his men to advance to the rear. In […]

Once we are confident that we have satisfied all of our established external and internal criteria, our leadership team has developed a three-phase plan to resume in-person worship services and other activities at the church. Once again, we have not yet set a date for when we will begin to implement this plan, but in this post, I want to share some of the details of the strategy’s first phase.

As we have discussed our strategy for re-opening, we have sought to incorporate the best of others’ thinking. In doing so, three things have become apparent.

Today, I would humbly offer a list of some of the internal things that must be in place before we can resume in-person worship services. To be clear, these are things that we can control. Some of them are questions that need to be answered. Some of them are plans, procedures, and policies that need to be formulated. Some of them are things that just need to be done. That, though, is the point: these things are not would-be-nice things. They are needs that absolutely must be in place before in-person services can resume at our church.

I have been wondering what external factors – that is, things which the church cannot directly control – must be present before we resume in-person gatherings. As of this morning, our congregation’s leadership team has wisely identified at least three such factors.

Truly, recognizing and addressing the operational challenges presented by COVID-19 is a daunting proposition. In the midst of all the other stuff that we have to juggle, though, we must not forget to adjust our expectations for seating capacities.

The priests spent more time in the middle – halfway between the past and the future – than anyone else. Such is the lot of anyone who would lead through change, whether that change is planned or unplanned, the result of a strategy or crisis. And since change is the essence of church revitalization, it should not surprise us to be standing in the middle. Neither should we be surprised at what life is like while we do so. Fortunately, Joshua 3:17 suggests five things that we can expect – and even prepare for – while we stand in the middle.