Welcome to the 2009 reTurn Newsletter.

In this Issue

	Welcome
	What Kind of Ministry is reTurn?
	How We Work
	The reTurn Team

In Other News

reTurn online training will go live (sometime soon)

reTurn Diagnostic Resource Kit (available shortly)

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Welcome

Welcome to the first issue of the reTurn eNews. In this issue we’ll introduce the ministry of reTurn and the reTurn team. We’ll update you on the current ministries we are involved in and what’s going on as well as give you a hint of what’s to come.

What Kind of Ministry is reTurn?

reTurn is a ministry for churches in transition or in some kind of crisis. The transition can be positive or negative, good or bad, easy or complex. These transitions can take place over a relatively short period of time—a few months or weeks—or they may be a long difficult journey—in some cases a few years!

But in each case, the reTurn team works to help a congregation move forward in their relationship with God. In most cases, reTurn helps congregations and leaders return to a place where God and his purposes are central to the life and ministry of the church. Therefore, while pointing a church forward, we always point backwards! We call people to return to a place of intimacy with God and community with each other.

Furthermore, reTurn believes that all mission flows first and foremost out of a deep desire to know God and love God. As John Piper says, “You can’t commend what you do not cherish.” (Let the Nations be Glad, pg. 11) Congregations and church leaders routinely exchange God for growth, the excitement of Gods’ mystery for the dullness of organizational certainty, and the cheap promises of sin for the rewarding delight of righteousness.

We unashamedly call leaders and congregations to the healing lifestyle of repentance that exalts the Lordship of Christ and liberates people from the heavy yokes and uneasy burdens of the other gods that can so easily creep into local churches.

How We Work

We are pastors more than we are consultants.
We are leaders more than we are shepherds.
We are facilitators more than we are teachers.
We are more organic than mechanistic.

We believe God transforms more from the inside out through his Spirit than from the outside in through programs and church polity. This distinction makes some people uncomfortable.

We don’t do “plug and play” ministry. Every congregation and situation is different. We normally take our time when dealing with a church rather than rushing a congregation through a one-size-fits-all program. Even our consultations are adaptations of what we’ve learned, and applied specifically to that new ministry environment. Our ministries include diagnostic assessments of local churches, intentional interim pastorates, direct consultations—specifically for churches in transition or crisis, and leadership training events on a variety of topics including training for those who want do intentional interim ministry.

In future eNews issues, we’ll highlight more specifically some of our ministries and resources.

The reTurn Team

Dave Miles lives in New York City and directs the reTurn team. Dave loves to be a pastor and is the author of reTurn Resource Kit published by ChurchSmart. Dave has been married to Janet for 28 years and has three daughters, two sons-in-law, one granddaughter and a wiener dog. He loves to surf, run marathons, and read books. He always thinks he can get more work done than he can really do. Dave is currently working on the Diagnostic Resource Kit and the Website (It’s way more work than he ever imagined) along with doing other consulting assignments. Dave hopes the Redwings win the Stanley Cup again!

Dave Brooks lives in Manchester, New Hampshire. He and Kathy have been married 28 years and have five children. Dave is a diehard New England sports fan and has a wonderful gift for turning churches around. Dave is committed to mission in the New England region and has made a significant dent in what most people consider hard spiritual soil. During the past twelve years, Dave has engaged in eight intentional interim assignments, participated in twenty church diagnostic assessments and led or co-led numerous training events designed to equip other intentional interim pastors. Dave is currently the intentional interim pastor at Westgate Church in Weston, MA. Dave enjoys running, biking, hunting and fly-fishing. (Go Celts, Sox and Pats!)

Gregg Caruso lives in Santa Barbara, California. He’s married to Linda and they have four children and two sons-in-law. Gregg is probably the most philosophical and technologically savvy member of the reTurn team. He also has the least amount of hair! He is currently attempting to finish a manuscript with the working title of, The Mystery of Intimacy, which flows out of his deep desire to know The Father and be a great father himself. He is currently the intentional interim pastor at Mid-Peninsula Vineyard in San Carlos, CA. He likes to listen to podcasts while he’s working out, play with tech gadgets, and have hip replacements.

Craig Hendrickson lives in Long Beach, California. He’s married to Mary and they have one young daughter, Amaya. Craig loves the urban world and is committed to urban church revitalization. Along with his duties on our team, he runs a ministry of his own called Urban Mosaic. Craig will soon become the intentional interim pastor at The River, a Free-Methodist Church in Long Beach, CA. Craig is a former Canadian pro football player and hopes the Minnesota Golden Gophers will some day win a National Championship. (Not in your life time Craig!)