Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, speaking to assembled leaders from across the globe at Royal Albert Hall.

It’s clear to me that I will be considering the gift of this global leadership conference for months…maybe the rest of my life. Shortly after returning home, I offered eight takeaways from learning with other leaders in London, and the main conference itself. This is a two-parter…welcome to the first of two articles, beginning with insights 1-4.

❤️‍🔥 #1: Renewal is DOA without the Holy Spirit.

When I taught grad school pastoral ministries, I routinely asked my first year doctrine class how many of them were influenced by the charismatic renewal. It was about 25% every year. Given our university wasn’t associated with the renewal (like Franciscan, for example), this struck me as significant…an outsized number of people working in the Church were spiritually formed in the charismatic renewal. There seems to be an impulse to serve and lead that comes from that encounter and devotion to the Holy Spirit. Yet…25% is still a minority in the Church, and the renewal is simultaneously honored yet bracketed as a “special case Catholicism.”

When I worked as director of Missionary Discipleship in the diocesan chancery, I was challenged to find and feed the evangelists across all parishes. You know what the overwhelming majority of those people were formed in? The Catholic charismatic renewal. They were–by far–the most open to evangelization, and chomping at the bit.

NOW: I know that devotion to the Holy Spirit is bigger than a historically bound movement. CCR didn’t reach every corner of the country, and there have been extremes that have turned people away (as in every movement). Others’ devotion to the Holy Spirit is quiet, but real, and lived.

HOWEVER: I simply do not know a person involved in the renewal in a fruitful way who does now yield to the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, this is exactly why Jesus said he would send his Spirit, not for all the gifts he bears but to give us the will and words to share the gospel across the whole world.

I’m just going to say, I still encounter a lot of Christians who say “I want to evangelize–but anything but that.”

There needs to be a profound, clear the table and open your heart disposition to discerning the will of the Holy Spirit and replying on his power rathe than ours. We cannot do this ourselves. It will become something twisted, ineffectual, stunted. And we’ll say with a sigh: I knew this wouldn’t work.

Before anything else, pray to be immersed in the healing and joy of the Holy Spirit. Evangelization becomes a natural (and supernatural!) way of evangelization. Read Acts again, and remember how we have been chosen and gifted to share good news.

🔥 #2: The power of the gospel overcomes.

If there is a work of the Evil One that prevents evangelization, it is the fact that sharing what God means to you often feels awkward. So awkward you hedge, you wait for the perfect time, and suddenly the moment feels gone.

Resolve to become a pro at pushing through awkward.

Yes, tact and kindness are important, but that doesn’t mean you should be silent. Someone needs to hear that God loves them. Say it. Tell them about Jesus, and why he fascinates you. Tell them prayer is a lifeline of living hope for you that connects you to the One who is sovereign and changes things. Invite them to come and see, with you.

The power of the Gospel will fight for you and that person’s life if you share it. The words you share from the Lord have power far beyond your nervous voice. But the Lord wants you to release his power by sharing the gospel out loud.

❤️‍🔥 #3: Teamwork makes God’s dream work.

This is not a new insight, but it got a big boost in my mind. After prayer, listening to the Holy Spirit, and trusting the power of the Gospel, what makes parish renewal work is healthy, missional, coordinated teamwork–a team that operates through the lens of mission.

A story: in England, some people from Holy Trinity Brompton, with permission from the Church of England, read the news that said Christianity was dead among Gen Z and everyone else dying out. After research, they realized that this could be turned around in 12 years if they planted 3 parishes a year–an audacious goal. But parishes were also sitting empty, and this was a crisis. So they prayed, planned, coordinated a process that became Re.vitalize Trust–an effort to invite people into ministry (ordained and not ordained) that are often overlooked–the older faithful, and the younger “atypically educated.” They trained–together–a team of people made of ordinational track, worship leader, social mission leader, outreach leader. That team, formed for coordinated mission, is invited by a bishop to plant themselves in the empty or nearly empty church. Because these teams are formed first and foremost for mission–together–they are bearing fruit, quickly. In eight years, they have planted or revitalized 200 churches in Britain. And in the past two years, the numbers of people, especially young people, turning to God and identifying as Christian has shot up 20%.

There are so many smart moves in this, but one is the fact that they took the friction out of leadership teams by forming them together, making them mission focused, and teaching healthy models of shared Christian leadership.

How often do we hire a coordinator of evangelization and say “now fix everything?” How often does a mission-fired pastor walk into a parish with lay leaders who are confused by contemporary evangelization, and he finds no one to help?

I would love to see dioceses forming parish teams, or a missionary order forming leadership. But if we cannot do that, we need to recognize that formation needs to happen in the parish. Teams are the way. No one can do this alone.

❤️‍🔥 #4: It takes no effort for a church to become more insular and more old. It takes intention and work to become outward facing and young.

This line was from the vicar at St. Aldate’s Church in Oxford, Stephen Foster. His point is obvious (at least to some) but points out: the natural inclination of friends is to spend time with each other. It takes intentionality to invite others into the circle. It takes double intentionality to invite younger people into the circle. It takes triple intentionality to entrust them to leadership.

All these things are easy to say. But how do you do them?
–Do you have a tool to invite people to come and see? (ahem, Alpha, but there are others too)
–Do you have a tool that facilitates training and support in leadership? (see above)
–Do you have people at your natural hospitality gatherings (potlucks, after mass donuts and coffee, etc.) who are tasked specifically with making sure people are seen, known, loved, and connected?

Four more driving insights to come! See the rest in the next article.