To My Church Planting Friend

A friend of mine…who is about to launch his church plant…emailed me about being discouraged.  This is for him…and others that are in the same boat.

Hey man, don’t get discouraged.  Keep in mind that it’s not about the
launch, it’s about the long haul.  You are planting a church…not a
launch event!  The launch day is just the FIRST day…there will be
many more beyond it.  Some of those days will be great and some will not be so great.  The cool thing is that there is always tomorrow to make
a change, focus on something new or…clean up the mess that was made
yesterday.   God will always be there to lead, guide and refresh your vision!

As for the launch team…don’t sweat it.  Some folks will be with you forever and some will be with
you for a short time.  Half of your launch team will bail on you in the
first year and a bunch of new folks…with greater vision…will fill their
place.  Some of them you won’t mind losing, others will cause you to cry yourself to sleep
over seeing them go.  However, they all contribute to the journey…and the experience.  God knows which ones have the faith and vision to travel where you must go.  Trust Him…and not your own instincts…to provide the right traveling companions.

As
for money, staff and resources…there is never going to be enough.   You don’t need money…or staff…or resources…to plant a church.  Saddleback started with three folks (Rick Warren, his wife and a guy that was showing them homes) and NO money.  The truth is that some folks promise you the moon and don’t deliver.  Others promise you nothing and then come through in a big way.  Don’t rely on any of them.
God’s going to provide you with what you need in order to accomplish His vision.

Just keep in mind, where your journey begins is not where it will end.  It will go on after you are gone and will reach people beyond your own abilities.  At the end of your travels there will have been many trials and tribulations…triumphs and defeats.  There will be war wounds and medals…conquering heroes and those that fell in battle.  The will be stories upon stories to tell…some good…some bad.  But at the end of the day you get to say that God took you on a journey that only a few choice individuals get to travel.  You get the honor and privilege of saying that you were a church planter.

Stay strong…do not be discouraged…the greatest experience of your life is about to begin!

Blog Disclaimers

I recently visited a blog by the lead pastor of a church (which shall remain nameless) and saw that he had a disclaimer on it.  You guys know the disclaimer I’m talking about.  The one that goes, "My opinions on this here blog may not exactly represent the things the church believes, most Christians believe or the things the lead pastor unchains me to say."  I expect to see one of those disclaimers on blogs by church staff members or leadership.  However, I have problems with it when I see a disclaimer on the blog of the lead pastor.

I am a firm believer that a church begins to take on the personality of the lead pastor…like it or not.  I’m also a firm believer in a lead pastor being who he really is both on and off the pulpit.  I understand that God is the ultimate leader of the church, but a Lead Pastor must infuse himself into lifeblood of his church.

So here is my deal…if the writings of a Lead Pastor on his blog is not the thoughts or beliefs of his church, then what the heck is he even doing in the pulpit?  Everything a lead pastor says, writes or speaks should be the thoughts and beliefs of his flock…or at least where he’s trying to lead his flock!  However, the bigger concern is this…which one is the authentic lead pastor when you see a disclaimer on his blog?  The one in the pulpit or the one on the blog?

Central Florida Finally Got Below 40 Degrees

Tonight’s Music Selection

I’ve got a cold coming on, my throat hurts and my voice is shot.  However, after a day like today I’m rocking the house with some "Shout It Out Loud" and "Detroit Rock City"!!!

I did get in a nap because I felt physically bad…but spiritually and emotionally I’m still so stoked!  I’m proud of the family and leadership of Compass Point.  Except for two people that attended because they heard the podcast, the rest of today’s guests came because someone invited them. It is such a magical thing when it all clicks and God moves.

Well, enough blogging for today.  I’m going back to my bottle of NyQuil and some "God Of Thunder".

Today ROCKED!!!

It is a day like today that makes you thank God that you’re a church planter.  Man, it was "on like a neck bone" today at Compass Point.

The band rocked, the people rocked, the attendance rocked and I was PUMPED UP!!!  We ran out of chairs and had to dig up a few more from some of the YMCA offices.  We had a bunch of guests and several folks indicated first-time salvation decisions on their Comm Cards this morning (much follow-up to be done this week).

I mean, the whole day was just a God thing!!!  Not just because the attendance was great, but because there was this air of excitement and expectancy flowing throughout the whole service.  I am so stoked I don’t believe I’ll be able to get my normal "Sunday-afternoon-because-I’m-a-Baptist" nap. 

While the Compass Point leadership and I worked hard this week to follow God, I believe today’s success was because of the intercessory prayer of others.  A GREAT BIG thank you to all those that emailed or called with words of encouragement this week. I could feel the love and your prayers.  We rocked because you rocked!!!

You Gotta Have Friends

Some days God just puts people in your path to be an encouragement and inspiration.  About an hour ago I received an email from my friend, Gary just telling me he was praying for me and tomorrow’s service at Compass Point.  After last week, I really need it…and appreciate it.  What an amazing pick-me-up at the right time!  Thanks man!

I Wonder

Does our obsession with relevance mean that the Word of God is no longer relevant?  Does our slick modern marketing mean that the timeless truth of God’s Word isn’t appealing? Does our desire for cultural acceptance put us at odds with the very Message we are trying to bring? Does the world turn away because they see our lack of faith that God can speak…without our help?  I wonder???

Dungy’s Going To The Dance

As a Buc’s fan, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Tony Dungy.  Obviously, Gruden and the Bucs rode to their Superbowl win on the shoulders and former leadership of Dungy.  I am thrilled that he finally has a shot at going to "the big dance" and winning the Superbowl.  I’ll be rooting for him and the Colts on February 4th.

When The Big Mo Dies

As I have stated many times on this blog, I believe in complete honesty and brutal truth.  Week after week I try to be humorous in stating what I perceive to be truth.  Today is not one of those days…you’ll still get the truth, just no humor.  The problem is…I’m bummed.  Church sucked this morning at Compass Point!!!  The music was great, the sermon could have been better (as always), but the real problem is the climate of emotions…or lack thereof.

I know most of you in "church planting land" are used to many of us bloggers talking about how great Sunday was and how our people are the best…blah, blah, blah.  Today isn’t one of those days on this blog.

Church planting is hard work with many difficult days.  There is very little middle ground for a church planter.  You don’t just have "a day".  Either the day is really up or really down…there is rarely just a middle-of-the-road day emotionally.  You go from loving people to daydreaming about choking them.  One day you think you can crash the gates of Hell with a squirt gun and the next day you wife is hiding the sharp objects in the house.  Some Sundays rock and some Sundas suck…there are very few "normal" Sundays in the life of a church planter.  It seems like an endless ride on a bipolar roller coaster.

Alot of it depends on the "Big Mo".  For those in the dark, the "Big Mo" is momentum.  The life cycle of a church’s ministry, outreach and numerical growth rises and falls with the "Big Mo".  It’s a combination of the moving of the Holy Spirit, an air of expectation and a level of excitement that draws people in.  All in all, it’s the greatest feeling in the world!!!  When the "Big Mo" is not there it can feel pretty damn lonely for a shepherd!

Compass Point had the "Big Mo" cranking when we hit Christmas.  Christmas sucks!!!  The holiday season almost always knocks the wind out of a church’s sails that is  reaching 20-somethings.  It did it again this year.

Things were happening, people were joining, folks were getting saved, the tithe money was flowing and guests were packing the place.  In essence, you could feel the prescence of God almost every Sunday and the "Big Mo" moving.  Then comes Christmas and New Year.  Attendance is down, the money is tight, leadership is complaining about being "burned out", no one is inviting guests and volunteers are dropping likes flies.  It happens almost every year like some kind of "after Christmas" church-wide depression.  I should be prepared for it.  Yet, somehow it always catches me off guard and I get really bummed out.

We’ll get the "Big Mo" back…we always do.  Tomorrow will be a better day.  God and I will spend some quality time together working through this.  Compass Point will get back to normal and ministry will take place again.

However, for today…the sharp objects have been safely locked away.

Apologies To Some Friends

Over the last several days I’ve been getting quite a bit of private email about my SEX! post.  Most of it has been flaming, some of it has been cool, but there are a few folks out there that thought I was taking shots at Jonathan Herron or Gary Lamb.  I think because Jonathan’s church is doing a message series on sexuality and Gary’s church just had a bunch of press over a "controversial" video, the assumption was that I was posting about them.  This couldn’t be further from the truth!

I’ve communicated with both of these guys in the past and love them dearly.  I would never dream of publicly slighting them , their ministries or their churches.  I apologize to both guys…or anyone in their churches…if they think I was taking shots at them.  I can assure you, I was not!

The purpose of the post was to point out how absurd it is to preach a sermon series just because it’s controversial enough to get press.  It was also to point out that most of the churches that were doing it were just copying Granger in hopes of seeing the same kind of success in their own towns.  If there is one thing that chaps my shorts the most, it’s unimaginative, non-creative, copy cat churches just doing what they see successful in other churches because they have no vision of their own.  Well, that and heretics. 

There is nothing more desperate looking…or pitiful…than a church trying to be relevant.  Either you are or you aren’t.  A lump of crap is still a lump of crap…even if you put it in a pretty box.  Relevance is not about window dressing, it’s about the substance of the DNA of the church body…and leadership.  If you have to try to be relevant…or copy verbatim what others do in order to look relevant…then you really aren’t relevant!!!

The SEX! post was written over several days - neither Gary nor Jonathan were on my mind during the process.  The "rapping Santa" video that Gary and Ridgestone put out was strictly to communicate to their own folks in an intentionally cheesy way about an upcoming event.  The Ridgestone Church body thought it was crazy enough to tell their friends about it and post it on YouTube.  It took on a life of it’s own without specific marketing by Gary or his staff.  Now that’s relevant!!!

Jonathan’s church reaches younger 20-somethings.  They have a pretty warped view of the differences in the roles of men and women.  They are also pretty …um…well…um…sex driven at their age.  The message series he is doing is both relevant and needed for his flock.  He’s not copying anyone or purposely using a controversial subject to gain press…he’s just spiritually meeting the needs of the Catalyst congregation.

Obviously, there were specific churches and/or pastors I was thinking about when I wrote the SEX! post.  Those will remain nameless now and forever.  However, I realize that sometimes my writing can be more of a shotgun approach (hitting many targets) when I need to zero in with a rifle shot on occasion.   I’ll try to do better with that in the future.

PLEASE NOTE - At no time did Gary or Jonathan contact me about the post.  Chances are they never even knew about it since they are pretty busy guys.  I just felt I needed to clear the air for the folks that did email in.