Popular culture has promoted the myth of the superhero, such as Batman, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Superman, Wonder Woman. There is also a tendancy to seek after a “strong leader” in the political arena, someone who will solve the world’s problems (but in fact creating new ones).
 
But Jesus teaches another way : “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over hem. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20.25-26).
 
We need each other. We need each other’s gifts. And there are two ways to do this : team-work and mentoring.

 
In the revitalization process which we in ELF encourage churches to follow (you can find it here), one of the very first items on the list is this :
 
Assemble the team to lead the process (where appropriate, seek coaching from outside the church)
 
The team
 
Before the whole church is “on board”, it will be necessary to assemble a team to lead the revitalisation process. In an ideal team (but this isn’t always possible), there should be a “vision caster”, but probably also someone who is a completer or finisher who will make sure that the project reaches its goal – not every visionary can deal with multiple practical issues! The revitalisation team should also include influencers, a technically-minded person who can easily analyse facts and figures, a communicator who can present these findings to a group, and so on.
 
In most cases, an individual will not revitalise a church alone. The “lone wolf” is not the Gospel way. The Biblical model is an attitude of serving and team-work.
 
Mentoring
 
For some churches, the denomination or mission they belong to may have someone who can act as a mentor.
 
But there are other options available from the European Leadership Forum.

1. Attending the upcoming Forum in Poland, May 21^st-26^th, and being part of the Church Revitalisation Network.

         Here is the programme of this year’s network

         And here is a link to register.

2. Join the Year Round Mentoring programme. You will be part of a group of pastors from across Europe as we think together about the issues and learn about the process of revitalization. The mentoring takes place via a series of webinars and a short retreat in Barcelona. For more information, click on this link :

3. Sign up for individual mentoring. For more information, you can contact me at