Church Revitalization

A Tale of Two Barns –A Tale of Two Churches

Dr. Gordon E. Penfold Co-founder of Turnaround Pastors, Inc.   The Two Barns   “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times . . ..” So begins Charles Dickens’,  A Tale of Two Cities.  I would like to parallel that truth with two barns and two churches. The analogy will

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Pentecost

Four Powerful Reasons Your Church Should Celebrate Pentecost

Quick question! When is Pentecost Sunday this year? Sunday, May 20.  Did you know?  Maybe not. Why? Because there is no “Pentecost Bunny,” stores have not decorated a month ahead of time for Pentecost, and there are no “Pentecost sales.” In other words, Pentecost has not been co-opted by commercialism or consumerism. I recently noted

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Where to push for church revitalization

Was Sisyphus the first pastor to attempt church revitalization? The Greek gods punished Sisyphus, king of Corinth, for his arrogant, deceitful ways. His eternal punishment was to push an immense boulder up a hill. Just as he was about to crest the hill, the boulder rolled back to the bottom. Thus, arduous and futile tasks

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Three Things Tom Brady Can Teach Pastors

Sam Darnold, QB of USC is being projected as the first pick in this year’s NFL Draft.  Why? “After his pro day performance in the rain, Darnold to the Browns at No. 1 overall became the overwhelming consensus.” (Chris Trapasso, CBS Sports, 3/26/2018) Do JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf and Jeff George bring back any memories?  Each one

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The Prayer God Always Answers

I started Bible college plagued with feelings of failure. For several years I had been ministering and witnessing to American citizens imprisoned in Mexico for various drug crimes. The pastor of a small Baptist church on the border got me started in this evangelism ministry shortly after I was born again. I loved the work

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Why Pastors and Churches Prefer the Status Quo

They just couldn’t bring themselves to kill the midweek children’s program. It had been singularly unproductive for years. The leader had refashioned a once prosperous program – produced by a well-known parachurch organization – to suit her ow needs and interests. The results were predictable: it was a failure. The church Board couldn’t do the

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Why pastors and churches won’t change

Think you’re up for the challenge? Chances are 9:1 against your being able to pull it off. Here’s the scenario: You’re sitting on the exam table, wearing that silly bit of material, when the door swings open. The physician, a specialist who is a widely respected authority and noted specialist in your particular ailment sits

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1 Helpful Tool for Church Revitalization

You got to know who’s out there! Since this is my blog post, I get to define a couple of key terms. That’s one of the benefits of writing; you get to be sovereign in your own little world, even if no one else is in it! In the world my colleagues and I inhabit,

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