What do you think?
Rate this book
Church Revitalization from the Inside Out
Is your church suffering, and you're not sure why? Church planter and professional interim pastor R. D. Stuart encourages church leaders to examine the different ways that they themselves may be exacerbating the problem.
Unfortunately, flawed leadership is a big cause of ailing churches today. The good news is that God gives us the humility and ability to change. With forthright prose and practical examples from his own experiences, Stuart diagnoses different leadership failures and prescribes treatment for them. Along the way, he tackles making tough decisions; striving for unity; taming gossip; cultivating humility; and loving even the hard-to-love sheep. Ultimately, Church Revitalization from the Inside Out will help ministry leaders to strengthen their churches as they grow in faithfulness.
Unfortunately, flawed leadership is a big cause of ailing churches today. The good news is that God gives us the humility and ability to change. With forthright prose and practical examples from his own experiences, Stuart diagnoses different leadership failures and prescribes treatment for them. Along the way, he tackles making tough decisions; striving for unity; taming gossip; cultivating humility; and loving even the hard-to-love sheep. Ultimately, Church Revitalization from the Inside Out will help ministry leaders to strengthen their churches as they grow in faithfulness.
256 pages, Paperback
Published February 29, 2016
7 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 27, 2018
Great book. It is written from the perspective of the deacons, elders, or church boards that have much influence in the church, even over the pastor. The book is practical, serious, and accessible, all at the same time. It is filled with actions you can put into practice today and theories and concepts that will require much thought and study.
June 9, 2017
A simple but solid work on leadership in pastoral ministry. I was not expecting this book. I had the expectation that this would be on how to revitalize stagnant, dead, or dying churches. And in a very real sense that is true, but Stuart's focus is on revitalizing the church by revitalizing the leadership.
"The church is at war..." writes Stuart. And leaders must be prepared for battle. Therefore, this book "is about encouraging leaders to stay faithful and avoid the pitfalls of poor leadership. Weak leaders produce weak churches, and weak churches are ineffective in reaching a dying culture with the gospel of Christ." (13). So Stuart seeks to strengthen leaders because, "The spiritual health of the local church is directly related to the spiritual health of her leaders. When the health of leaders improves, so too does the health of the church." (15).
He begins by looking at three types of leaders: cattleman, drovers, and shepherds. Cattleman are all about themselves. "They set their own agendas, become the core elite on the elder board, and foolishly think that their decisions are best for the church..." (22). Drovers are the "yes-men" who are easily swayed and often blindly support others. Shepherds are servant-leaders. They seek to put others before themselves for the sake of Christ's church.
Stuart continues by looking at nine different dysfunctions of leadership.
First, leaders must be decision makers. Poor leaders make bad decisions while good leaders make healthy ones. And good leaders are not afraid of making tough decisions.
Second, wise leaders seek the unity and promote the harmony of the church. Poor leadership discourages free exchange and open dialogue. Good leaders listen and promote trust with one another. Unity in decisions should be pursued, recognizing that unity is not uniformity. The elders must always be unified before the church. Five "V"s of relationship building: view of self (sinners), vacuous (empty of pride), vulnerable (open), vocal (communicative with one another), and visible ("relational people are noticeable).
Third, good leaders know themselves and their idols. Poor leaders fail to see the idols that have captivated their hearts. Six idols: self-importance, doctrinal fixation, personal preferences, the pastor (blind support), tribal leader (will not be contradicted), unrepentant sin. Treatment for idols is twofold: recognition and repentance.
Fourth, Poor leaders turn a deaf ear to gossip and allow it to run unchallenged. Good leaders safeguard their own hearts and tongues while also offering soothing words of encouragement. THINK - truth, honorable, intent, need, kindness. Good leaders are quick to hear and slow to speak.
Fifth, poor leaders are prideful. "Arrogance makes us concentrate on 'me,' and when we do, we forget that the church is not ours but Christ's." (98). "The name of Jesus is synonymous with humility and servanthood. To be his follower is to represent his character to a desperate and dying world. Humility of character in a leader...is a sweet allurement that sheep will follow." (103).
Sixth, the church is at war and during war change is necessary. Poor leadership fears change. "Change is what the Lord uses to cause us to grow spiritually, to help us understand him more fully, and to prepare us for the final perfect change, when, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable." (109). In other words, good leaders seek change because change brings about sanctification. Five Ps of change: preparation work out the plan; partnering bring others along, create ownership; publication - over communication of the plan; plotting progress measure change and seek constructive feedback; pliability stop or change if necessary.
Seventh, poor leadership fails to pursue reconciliation. "When leaders carry around an unforgiving spirit and entrench themselves in the hardness of their own hearts, they not only commit the sin of bitterness but also fail to model the character of Christ." (122). Church discipline is restorative. It is an act of love. "Good family men discipline their children; good church leaders discipline their members." (125). "Redeeming church conflict is not just about resolving specific problems, but more about seeing struggles as a vehicle by which God matures his saints, causes them to grow in holiness, and continuously conforms them into the image of Christ." (130).
Eighth,
In the concluding chapter he ties everything together by showing how Jesus corrects those dysfunctions and how he perfectly modeled godly leadership.
More to come...
"The church is at war..." writes Stuart. And leaders must be prepared for battle. Therefore, this book "is about encouraging leaders to stay faithful and avoid the pitfalls of poor leadership. Weak leaders produce weak churches, and weak churches are ineffective in reaching a dying culture with the gospel of Christ." (13). So Stuart seeks to strengthen leaders because, "The spiritual health of the local church is directly related to the spiritual health of her leaders. When the health of leaders improves, so too does the health of the church." (15).
He begins by looking at three types of leaders: cattleman, drovers, and shepherds. Cattleman are all about themselves. "They set their own agendas, become the core elite on the elder board, and foolishly think that their decisions are best for the church..." (22). Drovers are the "yes-men" who are easily swayed and often blindly support others. Shepherds are servant-leaders. They seek to put others before themselves for the sake of Christ's church.
Stuart continues by looking at nine different dysfunctions of leadership.
First, leaders must be decision makers. Poor leaders make bad decisions while good leaders make healthy ones. And good leaders are not afraid of making tough decisions.
Second, wise leaders seek the unity and promote the harmony of the church. Poor leadership discourages free exchange and open dialogue. Good leaders listen and promote trust with one another. Unity in decisions should be pursued, recognizing that unity is not uniformity. The elders must always be unified before the church. Five "V"s of relationship building: view of self (sinners), vacuous (empty of pride), vulnerable (open), vocal (communicative with one another), and visible ("relational people are noticeable).
Third, good leaders know themselves and their idols. Poor leaders fail to see the idols that have captivated their hearts. Six idols: self-importance, doctrinal fixation, personal preferences, the pastor (blind support), tribal leader (will not be contradicted), unrepentant sin. Treatment for idols is twofold: recognition and repentance.
Fourth, Poor leaders turn a deaf ear to gossip and allow it to run unchallenged. Good leaders safeguard their own hearts and tongues while also offering soothing words of encouragement. THINK - truth, honorable, intent, need, kindness. Good leaders are quick to hear and slow to speak.
Fifth, poor leaders are prideful. "Arrogance makes us concentrate on 'me,' and when we do, we forget that the church is not ours but Christ's." (98). "The name of Jesus is synonymous with humility and servanthood. To be his follower is to represent his character to a desperate and dying world. Humility of character in a leader...is a sweet allurement that sheep will follow." (103).
Sixth, the church is at war and during war change is necessary. Poor leadership fears change. "Change is what the Lord uses to cause us to grow spiritually, to help us understand him more fully, and to prepare us for the final perfect change, when, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable." (109). In other words, good leaders seek change because change brings about sanctification. Five Ps of change: preparation work out the plan; partnering bring others along, create ownership; publication - over communication of the plan; plotting progress measure change and seek constructive feedback; pliability stop or change if necessary.
Seventh, poor leadership fails to pursue reconciliation. "When leaders carry around an unforgiving spirit and entrench themselves in the hardness of their own hearts, they not only commit the sin of bitterness but also fail to model the character of Christ." (122). Church discipline is restorative. It is an act of love. "Good family men discipline their children; good church leaders discipline their members." (125). "Redeeming church conflict is not just about resolving specific problems, but more about seeing struggles as a vehicle by which God matures his saints, causes them to grow in holiness, and continuously conforms them into the image of Christ." (130).
Eighth,
In the concluding chapter he ties everything together by showing how Jesus corrects those dysfunctions and how he perfectly modeled godly leadership.
More to come...
December 18, 2019
I don't know what I was expecting when I got this book, but I do know it was different than I expected. In one way, I think it was refreshing. It wasn't gimmicky or fadish. There was a total absence of these in the book. Stuart's sole emphasis for church revitalization was on church leadership. In the sense of challenging church leaders, I think this was an excellent book. The only weakness in this regard is that I don't think Stuart gave enough acknowledgement to the various polities and how that in itself is a significant struggle for churches.
As far as church revitalization as a whole, I think there are significant gaps that Robert Stuart leaves. If he had named the book something related to leadership development and church revitalization, then the book wouldn't leave you with gaps. But since the book assumes the topic of church revitalization as a whole, then there is a lot more that needs to be said.
As far as church revitalization as a whole, I think there are significant gaps that Robert Stuart leaves. If he had named the book something related to leadership development and church revitalization, then the book wouldn't leave you with gaps. But since the book assumes the topic of church revitalization as a whole, then there is a lot more that needs to be said.
January 5, 2026
A good approach to church revitalization.
Stuart touches on key threats to healthy leadership and offers Jesus as the answer.
Stuart touches on key threats to healthy leadership and offers Jesus as the answer.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews