Fundamental ideas relating to change in the church. Provides key points from Bill Kemp's Reality Check 101 workshops. Can be read along with the presentations: Three Questions, Exiting the Roundabout, and Using Discernment

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Reality Check 101 Handout
- Bill Kemp !
I. The Three Questions
1) What is the real nature of the Church?
+ Application: How should we design our life together as a congregation so that we
become what Christ has in mind?
- Church definition from Acts 2:42-47 -
Church is a gathering of people for prayer, study, and worship, who relate
to each other and to the world as Christ desires.
!
2) Where is society taking us?
+ Application: How is your church changing to remain relevant to the people of this
neighborhood?
!
3) How can we do God’s will?
+ Application: What specific vocation does God have for your church? ! II. Getting off of the Roundabout
Key Idea: Every church has a calling or vocation from God. !
Exit 1 - Chapel Lane: Focus on fixing the building and caring for members!
Exit 2 - Tomorrow Land Pike: Sharing faith with the next generation!
Exit 3 - Loving Heart Highway: (Toll Road) Spending time and money to help
others!
Exit 4 - Best Road: Focus on Quality. What is it that will cause people to drive by
other churches to come to yours?! !
Church Life Cycle (Mark 4:40-32) !
Rebirth at any stage requires raising Spiritual Passion
!
Reality Check 101 in three words:!
• Accept - We can’t go on this way!
• Trust - That God will provide a way to get from where we are to where we need
to be.!
• Love - The future church includes new people!
Bill@notperfectyet.com check out www.billkemp.info

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The Spiral Rule! !
Luke 6:38
1) You cannot move upward without
turning your attention outward. !
2) Congregations that focus inward
travel downward.
Eventually they become a
selfish singularity.
III. Using Discernment
Three Ways to make a decision:
• Authority - “Trust the boss”
• Majority - “Let’s take a vote”
• Discernment - “Why not trust the Holy Spirit to speak when we gather for
prayer and study?” !
Three Phases of Church Life:
• Transition - “The process is more important than any one decision”
• Deepening - “More study, fellowship, worship, prayer, and mission activities.”
• Management - “Working to make our structures fit our mission” !! IV. Sermon “Thriving Through Transition
Text I John 3:2 “Dear friends, now (right now!) we are children of God, and
what we will be is not yet been made known…”
1) Nations, Churches, and Individuals go through periods of transition
2) During transition we grow deeper spiritually and discover our real identity
3) The Bible is full of transition stories
!
V. Important definitions:!
Authenticity = Being faithful to our mission, transparent and loving in our relationships,
and passionate about God.!
Discernment = An intuitive process where a small group explores various options,
engages in prayer and study, and provides time for the Holy Spirit to guide the group
towards consensus.
Spiritual Passion = The fuel that make transformation and transition possible. New
congregations plateau (stop growing) when they value stability over passion. Established
congregations die when they run out of Spiritual Passion.
Transition = A journey from one way of doing church to another. It involves loss,
wilderness, and healing.
Bill’s powerpoint presentations can be viewed at: www.slideshare.net/BillKemp
Bill@notperfectyet.com check out www.billkemp.info