A Tale of Two Churches: Resurrection of a Faith Community Post Mortem

A Tale of Two Churches examines the complexities of resurrecting a congregation postmortem.While conflict is a natural occurrence in all communities, it can lead to organizationalimplosion. The warning signs become blaring sirens when mistrust goes viral, rumorsescalate uncontrolled, and the people discontinue their participation. Pastor Ehlkeattempts to generate new life in the corpse of a dying church through means of spiritualtransformation. Using the Scripture as a guidepost for reform, the pastor starts a small groupdesigned for the sole purpose of loving the people. Trusting this will spark a revolution ofcompassion, the leadership embarks on breathing new life into a community declared allbut dead by many in observance. Having worked at St. John Lutheran Church in WinterPark, perhaps this paradigm will breathe life into other faith communities who are staringinto the darkness of death.