Setting Your Church Free , livre ebook

© 1994, 2005 by Neil T. Anderson and Charles Mylander
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www . bakerpublishinggroup . com
Bethany House edition published 2014 ISBN 978-1-4412-6576-0
Ebook edition created 2014
Originally published as Setting Your Church Free in 1994. Revised and updated and published as Extreme Church Makeover in 2005 by Regal Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified CEV are from the Contemporary English Version . Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations identified NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE,® Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations indentified NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Praise for Setting Your Church Free
This is a book for which many of us have been waiting. It addresses many of the most strategic needs being faced by the Church today. The message of the second chapter alone could be used of God to transform many churches.
Paul Cedar Chairman, Mission America Coalition, Author, A Life of Prayer
The Setting Your Church Free process described in this book has been a significant and strategic experience for our congregation. It was significant in that it helped us resolve some conflicts that we had because of the untimely death of our senior pastor. The strategic principles of this book have allowed us to turn the corner into the twenty-first century—an important event for a 95–year-old church. I would highly recommend this makeover process for any church that has more than a few years of history.
David Jenkins Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, South Bend, Indiana
The process outlined in Setting Your Church Free is one of the most effective weapons in my arsenal of resources to assist churches that are experiencing spiritual bondage issues. I have used the process outlined by Neil Anderson and Chuck Mylander to assist severely conflicted congregations regain their spiritual and moral direction. I eagerly anticipate using this new edition to see still more victories over the evil one as I work with churches in transition that are seeking spiritual recovery and wholeness.
Johnny E. Ross Certified Intentional Interim Minister by the Center for Congregational Health, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Setting Your Church Free deals with one of the basic elements in church growth: the spiritual releasing of a church for the power of God. While many are writing about the principles and programs to make a church grow, and others are featuring the user-friendly aspects of marketing the message to the general public, Anderson and Mylander have dealt with the spiritual factors that prohibit the church from revival and the power of God.
Dr. Elmer Towns Dean, School of Religion, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia
Just as individuals bring emotional and spiritual baggage with them into the Christian life, whole congregations can carry such baggage from events in the history of the congregation. Freedom for the individual to grow in maturity depends on dealing with the personal sin and emotional baggage, and freedom for a church to grow often depends on dealing with the corporate sin in its history. Setting Your Church Free provides the guidance a church needs to do that.
Timothy M. Warner Former Director of Professional Doctoral Programs, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois
You hold in your hands one of the best resources available for churches and pastors who are desperate to experience God’s healing and transforming power. The Steps to Setting Your Church Free, based on the seven churches in Revelation, provide a refreshingly biblical and exceptionally practical framework for cultivating a spirit of genuine repentance and renewal in the local church. Having tested these truths in the real world of pastoral ministry, I can vouch for their validity, and I am thankful for the opportunity to share these timeless principles with a new generation of pastoral leaders.
David O. Williams Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministries/Chaplain, Barclay College, Haviland, Kansas
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Foreword by Dean Johnson 9
Introduction 11
1. Protected from the Evil One 21
The Lord is praying for our spiritual protection, but we must be sanctified in truth and assume our responsibility to stand firm.
2. Christ-Centered Ministries 37
Christians and their ministries must be rooted in Christ if they are going to bear fruit.
3. Balance of Power 57
Purpose, unity and good communication are necessary for properly organized ministries to be effective.
4. Situational Leadership 77
Choosing the right style of leadership is determined by who the followers are and the situation.
5. Servant Leadership 95
A leader is a servant who desires every member to reach his or her highest potential.
6. The Church in Communion 115
The communion of the Church is its living union and communication with Christ.
7. Looking at Your Church’s Strengths and Weaknesses 129
Most church leaders will not feel right about facing their weaknesses and corporate sins until they have talked about their strengths.
8. Dealing with the Power of Memories 149
Every church has memories that hold hidden power to affect the present and the future of the church.
9. Dealing with Corporate Sins 167
Patterns of sinfulness within the group life of a church call for corporate action on the part of its leaders.
10. Defeating Satan’s Attacks 185
Churches may be under spiritual attack because of what they are doing right.
11. The Prayer Action Plan 213
All the authority of heaven stands behind church leaders who fully agree and unite in prayer about a matter they discern in the presence of Christ.
12. A Leadership Strategy 233
Just as people who find freedom in Christ must deal with deeply ingrained flesh patterns, churches must have a plan for forming and establishing new patterns of faith and practice.
Appendix A: Steps to Setting Your Church Free 243
Appendix B: Greatest Strengths and Prayer Action Plan 263
Back Cover 268
Foreword
I n the early 1990s, I was pastoring a church in Ames, Iowa. My associate pastor was a former student of Neil’s at Talbot School of Theology. He had contacted Dr. Anderson about the possibility of conducting a Living Free in Christ conference in our church. When I was informed that the conference included topics on spiritual warfare, I was at first opposed to the idea. I had grown very skeptical about anyone teaching on this topic. I called Neil with my concerns, but what I heard sounded quite different from what I had encountered in the past. So we invited Freedom in Christ Ministries to come to our rural university community.
During that week, I saw lasting change take place in the lives of many people. I personally gained a more biblical and balanced understanding of spiritual warfare, but more importantly, I gained a deeper understanding of who I am in Christ and how to abide in Him. I had a greater appreciation of what Jesus meant when He said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
Not long after the conference, I was called to be a district superintendent with the Evangelical Free Church of America. I encouraged the pastors in my district to give careful consideration to the truths Neil was bringing to our attention. I was working with many pastors and church leaders trying to help them become healthier by respecting Jesus as the head of our churches. Then Neil released a new book coauthored by Dr. Charles Mylander, who was also a district superintendent, entitled Setting Your Church Free . This book was like a gift from God.
In the ensuing years I led several churches through the Steps to Setting Your Church Free. Most of those churches experienced significant change. When the leadership prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to guide them, the Lord revealed their strengths, weaknesses and corporate sins. Painful memories surfaced during the process and the leaders forgave those who were part of the problems in the past.
The Lord has given us a tool to actually resolve personal and spiritual conflicts. In the churches that were significantly helped, the leaders took seriously the truth regarding sin, forgiveness and repentance. There was a sense of relief for those churches that took this repentance process seriously, and the leadership experienced a greater degree of freedom in their personal lives and ministries. Those churches began to experience more of what it means to “grow with a growth that is from God” (Col. 2:19).
Yet, these truths must be taken seriously. I have seen pastors and leaders