From the new vantage point there were no real surprises. One of the elders in offering the work to me had stated that to bring in a new preacher would set the church back at least 2 years. He meant it would take a new person with no background knowledge of the church at least that amount of time to know the realities of the congregation. He was surely correct. The other advantage that my staying would have was the "credibility factor." Many changes would have to be made over the 1] ext few years and many withdrawals from the credibility bank would have to be made. [ do believe that my long association with the church has made a difference as we have sailed off together into those "uncharted waters."

Tenth & Broad was a classic case of an older, downtown church in fairly rapid decline. The best days certainly seemed to be in the past. As in other cases of this nature, there were congregations on the edges of the city in newer buildings that seemed to get all the additions. Many families decided that their young people needed an active youth program so they transferred to more dynamic congregations. Tenth & Broad because of a declining financial base could not afford a youth minister. A church that once had a multiple staff was now down to one full-time minister. Discouragement permeated the church as more and more families who had been such strengths in the church left. Tenth & Broad was not the place to be!

In spite of the negatives, however, the people who remained deeply loved the church. More than anything they wanted Tenth & Broad to prosper. The large population of older members feared that the church they had known as a vibrant church four decades earlier or even two decades previous would not survive. It may appear odd, but I felt my role as the new preacher was not to soothe or discourage this fear. In fact, I assumed very early the role of Ezekiel, the bearer of bad news while holding forth hope for the future. In every way I could without going to the extreme, I cultivated a crisis atmosphere." Before anything could change, I felt a point of desperation had to be reached. It's a fine line between desperation and total despair, but I am convinced that many churches have not grown because they are not convinced anything really needs to change. Possibly because they have a few families identify with them from time to time, it is assumed they are growing. Comparisons are never drawn between the Identifications" and the "Delete from Directory" or "Sympathy" columns in the church bulletin. We analyze figures 50 seldom in most churches of Christ that many elders and preachers really don't know if they are growing or losing ground. So they continue going down the same old road. But when the cold wind of reality finally hits one's face, change can begin, but only then.

Sounding the alarm is necessary, but there comes a time for something more. But the question I faced as well as the leadership of the church was "'hat to do. We all saw the problem, but what was tbe answer? Several attempts were begun, but nothing seemed to stop the bleeding. We would continue to lose more families than we gained. By this time we had been able to add to our staff a very capable, full-time youth minister, David Daniels. David would prove to be an invaluable team member who was on the same page with the rest of the leadership. It is so vital that the staff and leadership share the same goals. John ~ox, who followed me as Bible Chair director, was also of great value although his primary focus was the campus. We all wrestled the problems together, but nothing seemed to produce any lasting good.

I had heard of the work of John Ellas and the Center for Church Growth in Houston. John was to teach a class on church growth through Oklahoma Christian in the spring of 1991.1 decided to audit the course. Every other week for several weeks, I would drive to another city for the day-long course. I have been in hill-time church work for almost 25 years. I would say often to anyone who would listen to me recount various things learned in the class that I wished that I had been exposed to the information 25 years before. If only! Of course, the research that made such a course possible had not been done 25 years before. Much of it resulted from the studies of missionaries on the field. As church leaders we failed to see the significance between findings of missionaries and the local congregation. In the back of our minds we felt that, in the states, we would grow if we preached the truth. A simple formula. If we only tried harder, preached louder, scolded more, we could surely get our people going. But it was simply not happening. Once great churches were in decline. The church growth class was causing me to understand why that was the case. Principles of human dynamics suddenly jumped off the pages of Scripture. what I was discovering was nothing new. Jesus practiced those same principles. The early church under the direction of the apostles lived them. A vision was caught that great things could be in store for even an older, downtown congregation. The best years of the congregation did not have to be on the yellowing, musty-smelling pages of the bulletins of the 50s. Excitement replaced discouragement.

John Ellas was invited to Tenth & Broad to conduct an in-depth church growth diagnostic evaluation. Pertinent data was accumulated over a period of many weeks beginning in the spring of 1992. There was not a stone left unturned in the evaluation of our congregation. Growth potential was carefully analyzed. A written report was given to the leadership and made available to anyone of the congregation. An oral report was made on a Sunday evening to the church outlining strengths, concerns and possible steps to achieving real growth for the first time in many years. Though we did not enjoy hearing all of what we heard, it was felt that we had tools in hand for growth. what had been so mysterious and frustrating was now some-thing that could be done and measured. The congregation was ready.

Changes were made. Frankly, it has caused only minor discomfort. Not a single member to my knowledge left because of the changes made. Conscious effort was made to meet needs of the different age groups within the congregation. We stressed over and over to the church that we were all going together. No one would be left behind. Old and young would be loved and used to march on to capture the possibilities. I believe it can now safely be said that almost everyone in the congregation is in the growth mode. "Outreach or die" is etched on everyone's consciousness. No one wants to go back. Much of the credit for our new direction goes to our older members who allowed the change even though it was, I am sure, uncomfortable in some ways. The new ways are not the ways to which they were accustomed. If Tenth & Broad is successful in her new initiatives, it will largely be because of the attitudes of the Christians that made the church great in the latter 1940s.

A major step to advance was taken when John Knox was moved from the campus ministry to the congregation as Outreach and Involvement Minister. Adding him to the staff has made it possible to focus on long-range goals and plans of outreach. Like me, John had been with the church for several years and had the full confidence of the people.

The unity of the staff and the trust shared between staff and the elders is a major factor in the redirection. The entire staff and elders are on the same page. A related blessing is that there are no "traditionalists in the leadership that demand that the Lord's work be done the way it was done a generation ago. There is an openness to new methods while preaching the same gospel. There is not a deemphasis on the Scripture. To the contrary, there is determination to study the Word and make it the absolute authority. As I write these words, my concentration of study for Sunday morning sermons is the book of Acts. Nothing novel about that in a church of Christ pulpit. What is new is the sense of power and presence of God and the awareness that God can and will work through us as He did the church of the first century. We are excited! The church is growing. No, the statistics are not staggering. But they are finally heading in the right direction. A once declining church is now feeling vibrant and spiritually healthy again. We firmly believe that the best years of the Tenth & Broad church are ahead!