Old Revive blog

New Look!

By John Wenrich - 9/12/2008

Great news: we’ve ‘re:vived’ the look of our blog - let us know what you think! If you're still seeing the same old page as before, click over to the new blog site. You'll need to change your bookmark, if that's how you access this blog. Things are situated just a little differently, so please take the time to explore around, using the page tabs at the top of the screen as well as the right and left menus. We appreciate that many of you read this blog regularly. Feel free to add comments if any of these entries strike a chord with you, either positively or negatively, or if you have questions. Whether you are in vocational or lay ministry, God’s blessing on you as you work toward missional health in your church.

The new DVDs are here! The new DVDs are here!!

By John Wenrich - 8/26/2008

Do you remember the old Steve Martin movie The Jerk, where he goes running down the street yelling, "The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!" That's what we feel like right now: "The new Veritas DVDs are here!! The new Veritas DVDs are here!!"

Piano Tuning

By John Wenrich - 8/7/2008

A few weeks ago we paid a guy $125 to tune our piano. The piano is a Baldwin, made in 1956. It was fascinating to watch this guy bring the piano back into perfect pitch. He told me that one of the major reasons pianos go out of tune is because of atmospheric changes - like humidity or temperature. It is just the environmental changes that happen over time. Nothing dramatic, just a slow decline over a few months or years. The piano guy got me thinking about revitalization…how churches are like pianos.

Church Leadership and Baseball

By John Wenrich - 7/30/2008

When I was a pastor, there were always opportunities and pressures to begin new ministries. Over the last few months, I heard two leadership lessons from fellow pastors that really make sense to me when confronted with these possibilities. The first is what I call home plate vision.

Living Legacy Thinking

By John Wenrich - 7/7/2008

Today is Father’s Day. I am sitting in O’Hare waiting to catch a plane to Atlanta. In news stands and television monitors throughout the airport, there are pictures and stories about Tim Russert, the TV journalist who passed away just a few days ago. Throughout his career, Tim talked a lot about his Dad, Big Russ and the living legacy of wisdom and purpose he received from his father.

Revitalization Assessment Center

By chrish - 7/1/2008

A new day is dawning in the Covenant. After months of prayer and preparation, God has blessed the ECC with a fully operational Assessment Center for revitalization pastors. We held our first Revitalization Assessment Center a few weeks ago in Minneapolis. It was an amazing experience for both the assessors and the assesses.

Only God can change a life

By John Wenrich - 6/6/2008

In my travels, I meet many churches. While every church is unique and special, there is one church that I have found myself thinking a lot about lately. This particular church is in a town of 551 people. At least that’s the population figure listed on the roadway sign. There are no stoplights, and if you blink, you’ll miss the whole town. But one mile off the main road, stands a church…one of the most healthy missional churches in the entire Covenant.

Ummm... now what?

By John Wenrich - 5/16/2008

"What’s next?" The response to Veritas is overwhelming. Pastors and lay leaders across the Covenant are coming together to have conversations about congregational vitality that are civil, compassionate and Christ honoring. The stories of revitalization keep coming in. More and more churches are asking the significant questions and taking the significant steps. I am very encouraged at how God is moving and how people are responding.

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WHAT IS THIS BLOG?

This is the informal blog of John Wenrich. It deals with thoughts and observations from John's week.

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PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise God for the release of the VERITAS DVD; also for the Veritas teaching team and the Revitalization Assessment Center.

Pray for the development of a congregational assessment tool.

Pray for the pastors signing up for our new coaching initiative, that they would experience more fruitful ministry.

WHAT IS JOHN READING?

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