Each week, the Flourish team would like to recommend resources that will help you on your journey of Church Renewal. While we don’t endorse every single idea from every single resource we are attempting to cultivate a useful resource list for you.
Resource: Embers to a Flame, by Harry Reeder
Background: Harry Reeder, a PCA Pastor in Birmingham, was calling churches to pay attention to renewal like a prophet in the wilderness. He has a clear message for the church. His book and conferences are a good grammar, an ABC’s, of church renewal. It’s one of the best places to start your renewal journey.
Take-aways: One of the biggest take-aways from Embers are Reeder’s three R’s: Remember, Repent, Recover the First Things. Reeder reminds pastor to remember the good things God has done even in the most languishing congregation and celebrate God’s faithfulness. He also reminds church leaders to repent of the ways the church has been unfaithful. Finally, he exposits the “first things” that the church needs to recover. Primary among these is the gospel. Just as Paul re-preaches the gospel when he visits the established churches which he planted, Reeder first and foremost calls us to recover the gospel in all its fullness for the local church.
Source: You can learn more about the whole ministry of Embers to a Flame on their website, and purchase the book here.
