There are a lot of times that it feels like our needs exceed our capacity for attainment.  I really struggle with this sometimes, but am realizing more and more that this is the reality in which I need to live. 

If I could pinpoint every detail of how I am going to attain the vision that God has put before me - it is not a large enough vision.  My prayer is that I will be comfortably uncomfortable in my pursuit of what God has called me to give my life to. 

This is much easier to write than it is to live.  I am not sure that it will ever get easier - and I am not sure that I want it to.

Paul Peterson came to hang out with us for a few hours this morning.  I love that guy!  

He has thought through church systems more than anyone I know prior to launching the church.  He came to ask us a few questions, but I definitely walked away from the conversation having received more than I had given. 

I am looking forward to “unexplainable” things from him and his team! 

In order to be as effective as possible, I have to work very hard a several things…

1.   … learning ahead of the curve.  I don’t want to become an expert at leading a church of 150 people.  I need to be actively learning how to lead a church of 500.  As a church of 500 I will be actively learning how to lead a church of 1000.  I’ve heard the saying a million times, but the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.  I should always spend time building relationships with and learning from people who are ahead of me in the journey!

2.  … raising up other leaders. 

3.  … giving more responsibility to others.    

4.  … leading the way in generosity.  If this isn’t a glaring characteristic of my life – it will never be a characteristic in the life of Freedom Church. 

5.  … making time to hear from God.  What I have to say is not nearly as important as what He has to say. 

6.  … at being willing to confront.  Being unwilling to confront others is always a sign of pride in my own life.  Be willing to speak into the life of people. 

7.  … at being a person of integrity.  Without this, the other 6 are irrelevant.

One of the first questions every church planter asks is “how am I going to get paid”?  The second is like it “if I am going to start multi-staff, how in the world am I going to provide for them”?

Here is our story…
We have 5 staff members.  Three are full time and two work part time. 

The three full-time staff members (including myself) are responsible for raising their financial support for the first couple of years.  The two part time staff members work full-time jobs in other locations. 

Support can be raised in several ways. Here are the two most common…
1.  Partner churches who believe in the individual and the vision of the new church.
2.  Individual partners (friends, family, visionaries who believe in the vision, etc.)

 This is a difficult process but I wouldn’t change it even if I could.  I love the idea of hiring on vision alone.  Recruiting staff with nothing to offer financially will help you find out quickly who is on board and who is not.  When your team is rallied around a God-given vision rather than a paycheck - something great is being born!  Do we desire to become self-sufficient as a church ASAP…absolutely.  Will we reward those who sacrificed to see this become a reality…you better believe it!

Not sure if this is the best way to do things - this is how we did it - and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I am pumped about the Churchplanters.com conference coming up in less than a week. 

I did NOT get to go last year - so I have been waiting on this thing to roll around for quite some time.  It will be a blast to hang out, learn, and get to know some new people…

 Let me know if you will be there…

I use to tell student pastors this all the time…

You are not competing against other student ministries - but rather with teenagers alternative use of time.  It wasn’t the kids who were engaged in other ministries that I was concerned with.  It was with the teenagers who didn’t even have us (or any other student ministry) on their radar. 

 The same is true with church.  There are thousands of people who are already engaged with some church in your surrounding area.  This shouldn’t concern you as this is not your primary competition.  If it is - that’s another issue. 

Your primary competition is with people and their alternative use of time.  If going to your church is not better than hanging out at the lake, shopping, or staying in bed - than you have a problem. 

Give people an experience that will leave them different from when they walked into your auditorium.  If you don’t - the competition will win every time!

In every working relationship there is a certain percentage that get’s swept under the rug.  

A person may be incredible, but there is that 10% that they could really improve.  Most of the time this never gets talked about because it’s just too awkward to bring into the open.  As a result, those things get ignored and the opportunity to speak into the life of an individual is missed.  This should not be!

As far as Freedom is concerned, we will make it a priority to discuss the 10%.  Is it awkward - sure.  Do I risk offending someone in a key position - maybe.  But, I believe that this little detail is one of the differences between having a good team - and having a great team. 

I want the best for our staff.  As a result, we have decided to keep the 10% out in the open. 

What do you think?  Do you think we should engage in the 10% conversation?

Church planting is a cool thing to do.  I agree with that 100%; however, if you are thinking of planting a church, you better have a better reason than that.  When a comment like “that didn’t work out - so now I will go and plant a church” is made - the person should probably reconsider.

Planting a church because it’s cool? - buy a new car…
…because it is exciting? buy a skydiving session and go jump out of an airplane…
…because you hate the one you’re in?   find a new one and invest your life there…
…because you want to be the “lead” pastor?   check your motives and make sure there is more to it than that…

We need more churches and we need more church planters.  Just make sure that it wasn’t your idea.  Make sure you were called to do it.   Then, answer the call - just make sure that is what you are answering.

One of the things that has really helped us is our willingness to listen to feedback.

We ask for feedback every single week - and we evaluate every thought that we receive.  We don’t have this thing all figured out - so to receive insight from others has been huge for us! 

Everyone on our team has a desire to be most effective! That can’t happen on our own.  We have to be willing to learn.  If we are not - then we need to get out of the way for those who are!  Embrace feedback and embrace those who are willing to give it!

I get the huge privilege of talking to church planters all the time.   I talk to guys who are doing a great job, guys who will do a great job, and guys who could go either way.  With that in mind…

One statement that I hear all the time is that “it’s easier to deliver a baby than it is to raise the dead”.  You definitely can’t argue against that thought; however, it doesn’t mean that delivering a baby is easy.   I don’t know, but I am assuming (based on how much it cost) that delivering a baby is a little complicated. 

The same is true of planting a church.  You have to do your homework, spend massive amounts of time with God, and learn from people who are ahead of you.   If you don’t - regardless of how “innovative”, “contemporary”, or “biblical” you think you are, your church planting journey will probably be a short one.