Breaking the Curse
The Revitalization of a Dying Contentious Church
by
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The next thing you will meet is the deep church-state. In conspiracy theories, there is a theory of the deep state. As I understand it, it is the theory that public offices of the government, like the president, senate, etc., are nothing more than a façade and that the real ruling authorities hide behind this façade and rule the government. Unfortunately, this is not just a theory in many churches. I will give you some advice regarding your relationship with the deep church-state that will save your ministry at the church. There is often a deep ruling church-state hidden in the façade of a congregational constituted church. This state is often only prosperous when operating in the dark when no one can validate what is said or done behind closed doors. The back-door meetings are real and hidden from the body of believers because transparency and information to the rest would expose this state.
As you are working with the people and new people are coming on and having a say with the direction of the church, the ruling sect will expose themselves, and you will find out who really runs the church. This group will probably not meet you with intentions of cooperating but to put you in your place. I wish I could say otherwise, but many of these will use some of the tactics discussed in the next chapter to coerce you. This may sound extreme, but the corruption in public politics is mirrored in the religious world in some instances. Some churches have an unwritten rule to run everything through this group before bringing anything before the congregation, regardless of the constitutional process. Again, your conversations with previous pastors will prove vital as you will learn what they went through as they worked with this deep state.
When you meet the deep church-state, you need to turn on the light switch and make everything transparent. This doesn’t mean that you go around proclaiming the deep church-state to the church; that is a sure way to get fired. Instead, find ways to create transparency in the church, especially among the leaders. If you are working with integrity, you should have nothing to hide. Endeavor to develop levels of transparency in the leadership that mirror the honesty of the new culture.
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About the Book
In this volume Jonathan walks you through what you can expect and how to patiently lead a church that has been cursed by contention to the peaceful waters of Jesus. God is calling men who can stand in their integrity and love, while facing adversity and tackling contention to bring new life to a dying church. The church that many have given up on can have a future but only if God does a great work there. Perhaps He is calling you there for such a time as this to be the avenue of His work in a church where He has planned good things. In this book you will learn of: planting a culture of peace, how to navigate unhealthy relationships, working amid the deep church state and building a team of leaders that will carry this ministry through contention.
About the Author
Jonathan has spent several years in the ministry serving in different capacities including youth ministry, music ministry, church planting, church revitalization and Christian education. While growing up in a small struggling country church, Jonathan felt called to serve Christ in His church and has spent his life pursuing just that. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and spends his time loving his wife and four children, teaching the scriptures, serving at his local church, church planting and teaching at a bible school. God has placed struggling churches on Jonathan’s heart and in his life, and he is thankful the Lord has allowed him to learn to serve even in difficult situations. He truly believes that God can turn these struggling churches around and make them useful to His Kingdom.