A Thriving Mainline Liberal Church with Kent Millard
A Permission-Giving, Mainline, liberal Church
Kent Millard, Pastor, St. Lukes Indianapolis, IN
To be used in conjunction with free 20 minute video
The key to this session is to see how a spiritual leader leads in a permission giving church.
Kent followed a pastor of 26 years and not only survived but continued to grow the church even more. They were two very different people who learned how to complement each other and work together in the transition. Kent bent over backwards to include the previous pastor at various key points in the churches life. The Key to transition: Although very different both pastors had the same mission
Lesson: a church has to be clear about its mission and then find a pastor with that same mission.
How do you feel about Kent’s view of the “Shadow of the Cross?”
The kind of leader a church needs is one who is open to what God wants. “My vision isn’t important. The key is what is God’s vision.” One way they determine God’s will is to survey the congregation and small groups often. Out of such surveys have come many ministries such as the Garden ( a second site, see vol 2) and a larger sanctuary.
How did you feel about Kent’s use of the term “open” as one of the key pieces of their mission statement?
Notice that Kent does a monthly spiritual retreat. The results of his retreats were:
1. Don’t be afraid
2. Listen to one another
3. God will give you a sign
As attendance out grew the space, the congregation was divided on what to do – stay or more. They went through a process of discernment and decided to stay and buy up the land around them.
Notice how Kent lead in the following:
1. Team ministry with the previous pastor
2. Adding space
3. His advice to young pastors
“The Key to St. Luke’s is to always affirm passion.”The primary focus of St. Luke’s is “What is your passion and how can we help you live it out? Most of their ministries have come out of people’s passion.
Listen carefully to his conversation about passion. What would your church have to change to allow ministry to bubble up from the individual members?
The passion of St. Luke’s is to transform Indianapolis. The measure of their success is not how many come to worship but how many go out into the city to do ministry?