roubled, Pastor Jim Hastings again sat alone in his office on Monday morning. On his computer screen were three letters he had already composed. He knew that at least one of them would never be mailed.

He opened his desk drawer and reached for a letter he had read many times since its arrival last Thursday. Half-reading, half-scanning, he rehearsed the words he had almost memorized by now. “Being satisfied with your spiritual maturity, confident of your Christian character, and believing that your pastoral gifts and skills are suited to our needs, we the people of Coastlands Church, call you, Reverend James P. Hastings, to be our pastor. If you are led by the Lord Jesus Christ to accept this call on your life, we, in turn, promise to….”

He knew the rest of the letter—a description of the church, a list of his duties, the compensation, etc. He again reviewed what he knew of Coastlands Church. It was almost universally thought of as one of the three flagship churches in the denomination. He and his wife had attended the church when they were in college. As young but eager believers, they had appreciated the variety of ministries, the warmth of the fellowship, and the teaching of the church. As a recent convert, Jim’s wife had grown in her love for the Lord and the Bible through the patient mentoring she received from one of the ladies in that church. Their previous pastor had even done the premarital counseling for Connie and him.

Now, as a relatively young pastor, he was called to be the senior pastor of the prestigious church.

Glancing up at the desk clock, Jim realized that he had hardly moved for over 10 minutes. So torn by the struggle in his heart and the decision he would have to make soon, part of him wished he would never have to move again.

Hearing voices in the hallway, Jim quickly put the letter back in his drawer, switched off his computer monitor, turned away from the office door, and wiped at his eyes, hoping to remove any traces of the tears welling up. After hearing their cheerful greetings, Jim turned to see David Sands and Colin Peterson walking into his office. David, an elder in the church and one of Jim’s prayer partners, was one of the few people in the church who knew about the call from the other church. After working on Jim’s principles of personal revitalization, praying for one another, and holding each other accountable for nearly a year, Jim and his prayer partners decided to find a couple of other men with whom they could share the same principles. Colin eagerly joined a group when David invited him.

Judging by their reactions, Jim knew that David and Colin could sense that he was troubled about something.

“Hey, pastor, what are you doing this morning? I thought pastors only worked one or two hours a week.” Although Jim knew Colin was joking, the well-used line still hurt on this particular morning.

“We just stopped by the church to pick up some youth group material that Colin and I were going to review as we drove to work together.” David hesitated. “But, you seem to be in deep thought, or… (the pause was poignant to Jim) troubled about something,” David said gently. “May we help?”

Taking a deep breath, Jim responded, “Well, as you know, David, I have received a call to be the senior pastor of Coastlands Church, and—”

“Coastlands Church!” Colin interrupted. “Isn’t that the largest church in the denomination?” After Jim nodded, Colin quietly asked, “You’re not seriously considering leaving us, are you, Jim?”

“I am not really sure. I want to do what the Lord wants. Sometimes I wonder if my work is done here. It seems the church has grown stagnant under my leadership. Maybe a new pastor would be the best option for the church.”

Colin looked surprised or hurt. Jim was not sure how to read him. “Stagnant? This church is not stagnant! Those accountability groups you started recently are great. I know that you and David and George Masters met for a year. David tells me how meaningful those times were for him. And now that they have branched out, well, they continue to be great. Brad Jameson and I love meeting with David here. He is almost like a father to us. This is too important for you to leave now!”

Sensing the tension, David quietly asked, “Why do you think the church may be stagnant? What changes would you like to see? I think that you are doing well personally, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I think I am. I just wonder if God has other things for us as a church, and maybe I’m not the person to get us there.”

“What sort of things?” Colin blurted out.

“Well, you both know that I have thought a lot about personal revitalization. A few of us are making progress. But it has led me to think about church revitalization as well. I am not sure that the church is where it needs to be.”

David responded, “You had some good ideas for our personal lives. We have profited from them. What is your thinking about the church in terms of revitalization?”

Glancing back and forth between David and Colin for a few seconds, Jim walked over to his file cabinet, opened the second drawer, and pulled out a file labeled “IDEAS/PLANNING.”

Returning to his desk and opening the file, Jim took out a piece of paper and said, “David, I have not shown this to you or the elders yet. It is just some ideas I have. It is a list of what needs to happen for a church to be revitalized.”

Leaning forward, Colin said, “Hey, let’s hear it. We can be flexible about when we report to work, especially on Monday morning.”

David and Jim glanced at each other and smiled slightly. Jim said, “Well, here is the first principle—The Promotion of Passionate Spirituality.”

“Wait a minute, Jim. I do not even know what you mean by that!”

If it were not such a serious topic, Jim would have probably laughed at the confused look on Colin’s face. Instead, he calmly responded, “Well, what I mean is that we need to be more zealous for such things as our love for God and His Word, more committed to holiness, more devoted to prayer as individuals and as a church.”

David took a deep breath. “Colin, you probably do not know any of what I am going to share. I would appreciate it if you keep it confidential for now.” Looking at Jim, David continued, “Pastor, I am sure there are parts of this that you do not know either.” (As good friends, Jim knew David only addressed him with his title when they were joking around, or when he had something very serious to say.) “As you know, our previous pastor led Joan and me to faith in Christ. In those first few months, we attended everything we could at the church. We could not get enough of the Bible or Christian fellowship. I was praying all the time—as I drove to work, over lunch, driving home, before bedtime, and it seemed that God was always answering our prayers. But I do not know what happened. Maybe it was not just one thing. Things just grew old and routine, I guess, maybe a little stale. It seems I do not pray much anymore.”

After a pause to dab at his eyes, David continued, “When George, you, and I started our small accountability group, I thought it might be a new beginning for me. In some ways, I think it has been. I would sure like to regain that spark.” Chuckling, he added, “I know Joan would like to see it in me again.”

Looking at Jim with questioning yet enthusiastic eyes, Colin asked, “Jim, can’t this happen here? Can’t this ‘new beginning’ that David mentioned—can’t that spread to the rest of us, to the whole church? I am ready to help make it a reality. What do we need to do? What else is on your list?”

Jim read a few more items, “The Means of Grace As Life Transformation, Practical Outreach and Discipleship, Radical Fellowship, Kingdom-Focused Prayer, Effective Leadership.”

Colin interrupted, “Look, I do not know what all those terms mean, but I can get excited about this. I am sure there are others that could as well.” Looking back and forth between Jim and David, he asked, ”You think that our church can make a difference like that in peoples’ lives, in our community?”

Jim and David nodded.

“Well, what can we do to get started?” Colin asked.

David responded first. “I think Jim would need to share these principles with the other elders first. There should be no problem with our agreement. We would have to present them to the church and spend some time in prayer.”

Jim added, “Then, we would need to start making plans. If these ideas make sense, we would have to figure out how to make them a reality in the life of the church.”

David asked, “Jim, what was that passage that was used for your sermon several months ago? You challenged us—I think your phrase was—to “get ready, the growth is coming.” Do you remember that? Does this apply here?”

Jim reached over for his Bible and opened to Isaiah 54, reading verses 2-3. “Enlarge the place of your tent; stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations and will resettle the desolate cities.” (NASB)

“Those are the verses. Don’t these apply to church revitalization?” David asked.

“Yes, I suppose they do. Planning and preparation would be the keys to revitalization,” said Jim.

Looking at his watch, Colin rose quickly. “David, we need to go or we will be late for work.” Looking at Jim, he said, “Jim, I know you have a tough decision here. But, if the Lord leads you to stay, and I hope He does, I am with you on this stuff. If you ever want some people to pray with you over these matters, Bev and I will be there.”

“So will Joan and I,” said David as he reached out to shake Jim’s hand.

As they were leaving, Jim chuckled to himself and thought, “Well, I now have an action plan for church revitalization. And seeing I am a pastor, maybe the best thing is that they all start with the same letter—pray, plan, and prepare.”

He reached over to turn on his computer monitor. Of the three letters that he had written, only one would need to be printed. He had been asking God to guide him. Perhaps this conversation was the final answer. He could confirm his decision with his wife, the elders, and a few other close friends.

He found the letter that he needed to print. It began, “I am humbled by the trust you have placed in me and will always consider it one of the highest honors of my life that you, the dear people of Coastlands Church, are willing to entrust your pastoral care to me. However, as I have prayed and sought counsel, I believe Lord has much more work for me to do here.”

Pastor Hastings’ Disciplines of a Vital Church

• Promotion of Passionate Spirituality
• Personal and Corporate Repentance and Renewal
• Practical Outreach
• Discipleship
• The Means of Grace As Life
• Transformation
• Healthy Body Life
• Kingdom-Focused Prayer
• Effective Leadership
• Radical Fellowship

—Harry Metzger

Harry Metzger is pastor of North Hills (Pittsburgh, Pa.) RPC. He is chairman of the RPCNA Synod’s Revitalization Committee.