Steadfast Leadership: Pursuing Renewal
Alan Cleveland
Executive Director of Church Strengthening, Converge Great Lakes
The numbers look promising. Across the country, more people—especially younger generations—are attending worship gatherings. News commentators note a rising hunger for the transcendent. Some even speak of a “Third Great Awakening.” But as history shows, cultural interest doesn’t always equal spiritual vitality.
But long before sociologists coined the term revival, Scripture spoke of renewal—a movement not measured by attendance charts or trending hashtags, but by transformed hearts. True renewal always begins with God. He revives His people by His Spirit, through His Word, for His glory.
As ministry leaders, we long for that kind of movement. Yet if we’re honest, our own hearts often need reviving first.
The Subtle Drift
It’s easy to lose our edge—not from rebellion, but from exhaustion. Between sermon prep, meetings, volunteer coordination, and last-minute Sunday adjustments, spiritual depletion creeps in quietly. Distractions become normal; devotion fades to duty. Our prayers grow mechanical. The embers cool.
Let me be candid: I’ve been there. And when I am, the Spirit gently calls me back to what matters most.
Awe at Grace
Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21 captures the essence of spiritual renewal: that believers might “have strength to comprehend” the vast dimensions of God’s love. Renewal begins when the staggering reality of grace grips us again. As A.W. Tozer once wrote, “Revival happens when we no longer see God as useful, but as beautiful.”
When leaders recover awe—when grace moves from doctrine to delight—renewal is not far behind.
Longing for Holiness
Every genuine revival bears this mark, a renewed desire to be like Christ. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “Revival is when God reveals Himself to man in awful (awe-inspiring) holiness and irresistible power.” Holiness is the fire that draws others not through perfection, but through purity of devotion.
Renewal is not a technique or program; it is God igniting His people to reflect His character.
Desire for Mission
Whenever God renews His people, He sends them. Revival without mission is just emotional uplift. But when the Spirit awakens hearts, He also mobilizes feet. Jonathan Edwards described revival as “a surprising work of God” that makes believers “more lively in love, more zealous in good works, and more earnest in prayer.”
Renewed hearts cannot stay idle. They beat in rhythm with the Great Commission.
A Word for Our Moment
Whether this current stir of interest marks another Great Awakening remains to be seen. What we can be sure of is this: renewal and revival will not come through clever strategies or charismatic personalities. They come when the people of God humble themselves, confess their sin, and seek His face afresh.
Let’s be leaders who model that posture—anchored in grace, hungry for holiness, and eager for mission.
God still renews His Church. May He begin with us.
Personal Reflection:
- Where has ministry busyness dulled your sense of awe at God’s grace?
- What would renewal look like in your own heart or leadership team?
- How might your church cultivate a fresh desire for holiness and mission?