1. Raising Spiritual Passion
from the book:
“Ezekiel’s Bones: Rekindling Your
Congregation’s Spiritual Passion”
by Bill Kemp
1

2. Spiritual Passion is the fuel that
keeps a congregation active and
excited about the faith it has to share
with the world. Just as the body is
fueled by a nutritious diet,
congregational life is fueled by a
healthy, passionate, spirituality.
2

3. WITHOUT SPIRITUAL PASSION,
A CHURCH DOESN’T FLY
3

4. SPIRITUAL PASSION IS ABOUT
RELEVANCE NOT DOCTRINE
Prayer must be related to results
Scripture needs to be related to daily
life
Witness must be focused on building
real relationships with the unchurched
Worship must be focused on our
relationship with God
4

5. Spiritual
Passion
Time
THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE AVERAGE
CONGREGATION CAN BE CHARTED AS THE RISE
AND FALL OF SPIRITUAL PASSION.
5

6. THREE PLACES WHERE A CHURCH CAN STOP BEING NORMAL
2
1
Spiritual
3
passion
1. Young congregations can continue to be passionate
witnesses for Christ
2. Stable congregations can choose the present over the past
3. Declining congregations can choose to be born again
6

7. THE 7 MARKS OF LOW SPIRITUAL PASSION ARE:
1. The lack of expectation regarding Prayer
& its ability to change things
2. A loss of interest in studying the Bible,
coupled with a sense that it doesn’t apply
to daily life
3. A reluctance to Witness or share faith (or
church) with others
4. A lifeless feel to Worship, even though the
worship performance may be of excellent
quality
7

8. THE 7 MARKS OF LOW SPIRITUAL PASSION ARE:
5. An inability to show any Joy
when talking about faith
6. A disconnect between the
work of the church’s
committees and the
Faith that the church
professes
7. A loss of hope for the
Future coupled with a R U stuck?
reluctance to try new
things
8

9. …these bones are the whole
house of Israel. They say,
‘Our bones are dried up
and our hope is gone…
(Ezekiel 37:1-13a)
9

10. Natural Church Development says,
“Work on your minimum factor first”
10

11. CHURCHES
ARE SELF-
REGULATING
SYSTEMS
11

12. THREE RULES
OF ALL SYSTEMS
1. The system is designed for the
results you are receiving
2. The longer you participate in the
system the more normal it feels
3. To implement lasting change you
must use a distributed strategy
12

13. THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED FOR THE
RESULTS YOU ARE RECEIVING:
+ +
=
+
13

14. THE LONGER YOU TRAVEL IN THE
CURRENT DIRECTION, THE MORE
NORMAL IT FEELS
Choose your
rut carefully; you
may be in it a long
time
14

15. Pastor
Youth UMW
Trustees
Sunday School
Secretary
Choir
TO IMPLEMENT LASTING CHANGE YOU MUST USE
A DISTRIBUTED STRATEGY
15

16. SPIRITUAL PASSION IS ABOUT
RELEVANCE NOT DOCTRINE
Scripture needs to be related to daily
life
Prayer must be related to results
Witness must be focused on building
real relationships with the unchurched
Worship must be focused on our
relationship with God
16

17. SPIRITUAL PASSION’S FOUR
LIFT POINTS
Prayer with
Expectation
Scripture with
Relevance
Witness with Joy
Worship with
Passion
17

18. PRAYER WITH EXPECTATION
18

19. SCRIPTURE
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the [people] of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work. - II Timothy 3:16-17
WITH
RELEVANCE
19

20. WITNESS WITH JOY
Nothing goes
without saying
20

21. THE FIELD IS OPEN
1/3 of Americans will change their religious
affiliation at least once in their lifetime
21

22. WITNESS &
COMMUNICATION
How does your church communicate
with?
1) OUTSIDERS
2) VISITORS
3) LIMITED COMMITMENT
22

23. PASSIONATE
WORSHIP
When the emotional
tone of each
act of worship
helps convey the
meaning of what
is being said.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those
who mourn.” (Romans 12:15)
23

24. WORSHIP WITH
PASSION
The minister gave out his
text and droned along
monotonously through
an argument that was so
prosy that many a head
by and by began to nod
—and yet it was an
argument that dealt in
limitless fire and
brimstone and thinned
the predestined elect
down to a company so
small as to be hardly —Mark Twain,
worth the saving. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
24

25. PLOT: EVERY SCENE OF A NOVEL HAS BOTH
CONTENT AND INTENSITY
25

26. EVERY ACT OF WORSHIP HAS BOTH
CONTENT AND INTENSITY
For Spiritual Passion, getting these to line up
is more important than performance quality
or worship order
26

27. DIVIDE INTO STUDY GROUPS:
Youth Choir
Trustees Pastor
Sunday School
UMW
Secretary
1) HOW CAN WE INCREASE PRAYER EXPECTATION?
2) HOW CAN WE RELATE THE BIBLE TO LIFE & CHURCH WORK?
3) HOW CAN WE INCREASE JOYFUL WITNESS AND
COMMUNICATION?
4) HOW CAN WE DRIVE WORSHIP WITH PASSION?
27

28. GETTING OFF THE BEATEN PATH
WILL REQUIRE SPIRITUAL PASSION
rh eart
w you
o follo
sw ay t
Thi
28

29. Books by
Bill Kemp
29

30. Books by
Bill Kemp
30

31. PLAYING HAND IN HEARTS
Identity = church that cares for others
Action = making a difference in Oakmont & the world
Evaluation = how well have we served others?
31