Show Notes:
In this episode, Dr. Steve Smith discusses some game-changers in church revitalization.
Discoveries in this podcast:
About:
Steve’s deepest passion is to help pastors and churches by guiding them toward transformation through a deepening intimate relationship with God. He speaks and writes candidly about his own transformational journey. For those Christians familiar with the transformation process in their own lives, he gives a language by which to explain that experience for the benefit of others.
Although he teaches spiritual intimacy with God, Steve does not style himself as a mystic. He’s a biblical “nuts and bolts” kind of guy. His conversational, down-to-earth style of speaking and writing makes his concepts accessible to anyone no matter their level of education or experience.
Steve is also dedicated to strategic church planting and has been involved in church planting movements for many years as well as serving as a regional church overseer with Converge for 15 years. For 20 years he pastored churches in Wisconsin and Florida. He is a strategic thinker, a relational networker, a mentor and coach to pastors and young leaders.
He is currently creating materials and training coaches and church leaders for church revitalization through practical evaluation, ministry systems building, and transformational discipleship. His focus is helping denominational and church network leaders to build an internal team of revitalization coaches.
Born in Virginia, Steve is an extensive reader and has wide interests, including history, travel, trivia, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Sudoku. Married for over 40 years to his wife, Shirley, they have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. Their home base is in central Florida.
The Book
Church GameChanger: Five Essentials for Revitalization.
Five Questions we asked Steve:
- Why call the book game-changers?
- Which is the most important game-changer to you?
- Explain why you challenge leaders to find an implementer.
- Why should pastors focus on developing lay shepherds to help them revitalize a church?
- Your last gamechanger is Disciple an Army. Can you briefly explain how a pastor can do this?
Connect with Steve at his website at https://churchequippers.com
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Revitalization Today
With Tom Cheyney & Gary Moritz
Where New and Renew Collide
Finally, there is a bi-monthly video podcast with two practicing Church Revitalization Specialists coming together to talk about Church Revitalization and Renewal. In just a few days Revitalization Today the new video podcast launches with Tom Cheyney and Gary Moritz! This podcast is all about where new and renew collide. Two Church Revitalizers talking nothing but Revitalization. Tom & Gary are extremely passionate revitalizing declining churches. They have worked with churches all over North America.
Tom Cheyney
Dr. Tom Cheyney is a nationally recognized conference leader in Church Revitalization, Church Planting, and Church Health.
Gary Moritz
Dr. Gary Moritz is the lead pastor of City United Church, located in Lunenburg, MA. Pastor Gary is a 1st generation Christian who is a “down-to-earth communicator, and visionary.
Dr. Gary Moritz is the lead pastor of City United Church, located in Lunenburg, MA. With a church Replanter mindset, the Lord called him and his family to New England in 2013 to take over a struggling church through a succession situation. Pastor Gary is a 1st generation Christian who is a down-to-earth communicator and visionary. He believes in speaking the Bible without apology in a life-giving and practical way so that people can use it on Monday. His vision is for people to leave church feeling encouraged, engaged, and equipped for the week. Since he did not grow up in church, he can use his past mistakes to reach others in their current situations and speak their cultural language. Gary is married to Jana who is working alongside him in church revitalization and strategy, and they have two amazing teen daughters. You can find more about him at www.Garymoritz.com.
He is a subject matter expert on church revitalization and serves as an Assistant professor in the Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University. He is Director of Church Revitalization for the Baptist Convention of New England. His creative talents are in media, art, writing, music, production, church revitalization, church, pastoral succession, church systems, church turnaround, and church planting.
One Interesting Fact: Gary played as a professional, freelanced, and endorsed percussionist in NYC and toured in the USMC band. He loves Jazz and still plays drums today for churches.
One Useless Fact: He used to eat pop tarts on his walk to high school in the ’90s (mullet, Walkman with built-in reverse and all) wearing acid-washed pants with chains and skulls on them. He also wanted to be a professional ninja!
Dr. Tom Cheyney is a nationally recognized conference leader in Church Revitalization, Church Planting, and Church Health. Tom has taught on five continents and is an Oxford University Distinguished Scholars Student from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Cheryl and they have two adult children Ashleigh and Drew. He is the Founder & Directional Leader of the RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Conferences and leader of the RENOVATE Church Revitalization Coaching Network where he mentors pastors, churches, and Directors of Missions in Church Revitalization and Renewal. He serves as the Executive Editor of The Church Revitalizer Magazine, which is the only national publication on Church Revitalization in North America. Dr. Cheyney has written over 5000 print or audio resources, guidebooks, or books for pastors, church planters, and lay leaders. His most recent books include:
The Seven Pillars of Church Revitalization and Renewal (2016), Slaying the Dragons of Church Revitalization: Dealing with the Critical Issues that are Hurting Your Church (2017), The Church Revitalizer as Change Agent (2016), The Nuts and Bolts of Church Revitalization (2015), Preaching Towards Church Revitalization and Renewal (2018), Thirty-Eight Church Revitalization Models for the Twenty First Century (2014), Church Revitalization in Rural America: Revitalizing the Heartlands (2018), Spin-Off Churches: How One Church Plants Another (2008), Life After Death: A Strategy to Bring New Life to a Dead Church (2019).
Tom is a nationally recognized conference speaker and a frequent writer on church revitalization, church planting, new church health, and leadership development. Cheyney serves as an adjunct professor of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City and Anderson University in South Carolina where he teaches at the doctoral level for Church Revitalization seminars.
One Interesting Fact: Tom loves to go kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean fishing a few miles off shore in hopes of catching a shark or other sea creatures he can prepare for dinner. Recently, he had a run in with a shark that would not leave him alone until he dumped his whole bucket of bait shrimp over board.
One Useless Fact: Tom is an early riser daily at a few minutes after four. Yet he is known to be found praying on the sofa recliner each which his wife believes he is napping. The debate continues.