Can A Church Live Again

Introduction: The Journey

Chapter 1. Holy Discontent
You Have Come To The Right Place
Where Disciples Are Being Made
The Last One Called
A Major Paradigm Shift
Heavily Programmed
A Generation Lost
Holy Handyman
Slow Burnout
Not At Home In Midian
Smoldering Tumbleweeds
Why Would Anyone Want To Join This Church?
An Unlikely Theophany-But Aren’t They All?

Chapter 2. Holy Discoveries
Heaven, We Have A Problem
Gone But Not Forgotten
The Outside Prophet
Divine Appointments
Mentors
The Power Of The Printed Page
The Power Of The Group
A New Reformation
There Is Pow’r, Pow’r, Wonder-working Power
Streams In The Desert
Murmuring

Chapter 3. Stirring The Waters
In Need Of A Story
Stagnancy And Stirring
Notable Quotables
Read, Read, Read
Disturbing The Status Quo
Friends In Low Places
Bubble-up People
Oh, The Place You’ll Go
Messiness Rules
Casting The Vision

Chapter 4. Counting The Cost
See A Hill, Take A Hill
A Decisive Destination
500 What?
Where Will They Go?
This Train Is Bound For Glory, This Train…
Three Distinctives
Normative For God’s People
Defraying The Cost
The Cost Of Doing Nothing

Chapter 5. Mental And Spiritual Toughness

Chapter 6. The Prophet
Making The Truth Loom Large
The Outside Prophet
Prophets Among Us
The Poet Has A Tough Job Too
Piercing Prose
The Support Group As Prophet
The Biblical Prophets

Chapter 7. Changing Values Before Changing Structure
The Mission
We Shall Not Be Moved
Lo, The Resistance You Have With You Always
Not A Gated Community
Legitimizers
Affirm The Pioneer Spirit
The Church Constitution
Ready For Radical Reform
Dying To Self

Chapter 8. The Laws Of Wingwalking
Rules For Wingwalking
Rules For Wingwalking And Transitioning A Church
How This Works In A Church
Applied To Sunday School
Applied To Worship
Applied To Small Groups
The Early Church
Wingwalking Begins On The Ground
Don’t Tear Down That Fenc
Let Go Anyway!

Chapter 9. Morphing
Insert Change And Stand Back!
Change As A Value
The Church Building
Change Must Begin With The Clergy
“Chaordic”
Centralized Vs. Decentralized
A Continuous Process
We Are Drifters

Epilogue: What I’ve Been Thinking Lately

Additional Info
Turning around an old, established church is not an easy task. Waters have to be stirred, people have to be shaken out of their comfort zones, and often there are enormous costs to bear.

Change does not come easy in established churches. Many churches make the mistake of changing programs or worship styles without first changing the core values of the church. Change does not happen overnight. Anyone who would transition a church had better pack a lunch and make a commitment for the long haul.

Can a Church Live Again? tells the story of one church’s renewal and revisioning over the past decade. A long-tenured pastor and other church leaders had a vision for a spiritual restoration of their church through its disciple-making roots. The result has been that a century-old church in rural North Carolina has become a model for church renewal.

This story is told in Pastor Ronny Russell’s own words, sharing principles of how this all happened for his church…and how a similar renewal can be felt by any church. This is not a quick-fix for church stagnation or decline. Rather, it is the inspiring story of one church’s journey into hope and life.