Church Planting

Church Planting is tough. It requires more of you than you would ever imagine and it is not for the faint at heart. On this journey you will run across many people that will call you friend, only to use that term to "give you their opinion of what they think the church should do or should not do". You have them in your congregation. They come to worship every week. These are the ones who feel led to continue to run from church to church trying to convince leadership that they know how the ministries in the church should be handled and how they could be done more effectively, because that is the way it was done the last place they were at! I love the passion these people have. I love the fact that they will do whatever it takes to convince you that "it really is the way it should be". The question I have is this, since when did the church exist for your personal satisfaction? Is it not His intent for the church to be the body which helps "unfold the mysteries of Christ" to a unconvinced world? I am convinced more and more every day, as I interact with people~ "even those in the church"~ that we all have our own idea of how best the church should be run or done

You see, as a Pastor, it is something that we too have to struggle with. The vision that you have been given to lead the body must be from Him and not something manifested out of your personal ideas of how the church should be. This too can cause dire effects on the church. So the question comes up, how do we truly know that the things we are seeing are from Him and not our own personal desires? This is why I believe the Lord calls for us to "pray without ceasing". This is the very idea that we are called and compelled by Him to put the very things we are sensing through the filter of scripture.

Let's be honest, if you are feeling something that doesn't line up with the Scriptures, can it actually be from the Lord? How often have we "done church" and fell short of "being the church"? If we align all that we say and do with the Scriptures we will be in line with what He has called for us to do as, the church and as individual believers. I am sick of just "doing church"~ My prayer is that we will not let "doing church" ever get in the way of "BEING the church"

The Lord continues to give my family strength in the midst of the storm. I am not telling you something that you do not already know but, leadership is lonely and the demands it places on you can only be "walked" through in the power that He gives us. You can not do it on your own! We need real "friends"~ someone that is more than just a fan when things are good. We need people who are willing to be with us through it all. When times are great they are celebrating with you and even when times are tough, they are still right beside you being an encouragement. When I think about this relationship, I am reminded of the movie Top Gun. We all need a "Goose" You see "Goose" was "Maverick's" wing man! In the world of church planting you better get a "Goose"~ someone who will be there at all times. You need a good WING MAN. I am thankful the Lord has given me one


Lord, give us strength to take the risks that we need to take in order to reach the world for your name and renown. We realize that You give us all that we need for life and godliness. May our hearts not be trained in greed and our eyes full of adultery but may our very desire be YOU~ the author and perfecter of our faith