What This Seminar is About:

• This seminar introduces pastors to the possibility that unresolved historic corporate pain may hinder their church’s ministry in the present.  As David Olson suggests in The American Church in Crisis, “Dysfunctional churches often have buried stories that never surface.”  We might be happier ignoring such painful episodes in the history of our church.  But when we lapse into denial, authentic fellowship deteriorates into pseudo fellowship and ministry effectiveness turns into frustration.

• Church Cardiology is a biblically-based, spiritually-sensitive, systemic approach to recurring church problems and corporate pain. We believe that Christ deals, not only with the individuals within a church, but with the local church body as a whole.  Indeed, we believe that people can come and go in a local church, including its pastors and leaders, but that its problems can remain unchanged, even over decades. 

• Churches in need of corporate healing display a variety of symptoms, all of which seem bewildering to the people who lead them.  Symptoms can include irrational levels of resistance to change, distrust between leaders and followers and deteriorating interpersonal relationships.  Schisms form around lightening-rod issues.  Offenses become magnified.  Uncivil behavior leads to church splits.  The church’s atmosphere turns anxious or negative.  Those who visit the church don’t stay.  Church members acclimatize to the environment and no longer recognize these traits as abnormal.  Unaddressed, symptoms usually increase in intensity and frequency.

• These painful problems inexplicably seem to repeat themselves on a regular basis.  Your church can even begin to get a reputation in the community, causing even more pain, hindering your church's evangelism and church growth strategies.  This ongoing cycle of pain can result in 1) leadership discouragement, burnout or dismissal; 2) conflicts between pastors and staff, pastors and lay leaders, leaders and the congregation; and 3) church-wide unhappiness and or splits.

• Shepherds who minister in these contexts may blame themselves or others for the church’s stalemate.  Their personal health often suffers.  They carry heavy burdens and, despite their best efforts to make progress, they keep slipping back.  The pressures of leadership also bear down on the pastor’s spouse and children.  Serving in an atmosphere of dysfunction for long periods of time leaves pastors and lay leaders alike quietly looking for a way out.

• The principles of Church Cardiology define and outline a biblical process for church leaders to determine what is wrong (diagnosis) in the corporate heart of their church and then prescribes specific steps to heal what is wrong.

What about logistics?

• Pastors will be exposed to the principles of corporate health using biblical teaching, written resources and case studies.  The seminar lasts 5-6 hours. 

• A video projector with remote and laptop for Power Point are required.  (If you do not have one of these, please let us know ahead of time.)

• Participants will receive copies of several resources to take home with them.  For more information contact Mark Barnard at Blessing Point Ministries.  mark@blessingpoint.net