Mistakes in Church Planting

For all church planting pastors: I highly recommend for you to listen to Darrin Patrick's message from the Plant! conference. He basically just walks through some of the main mistakes he made early in his church planting (including neglecting his family, not taking days off, and not delegating responsibilities).

Reflections on a Seriously Great Week

I didn't realize this as it was happening, but after reflecting on the past week, I realized what God had done. I had the unique opportunity of preaching at my church last Sunday (Christ Baptist), the church that helped plant our church on Wednesday (Open Door Baptist), and the church that we helped plant today (Crossway).

Let me run that by you again: I preached at both our mother church and our daughter church in the same week.

I had the privilage of of standing before a church who had sacrificed to make Christ Baptist a reality and a church for whom Christ Baptist had sacrificed to make a reality.

God reminded me of both past faithfulness and present faithfulness. I was confronted this week with gratefulness for the past and sweet anticipation for the future.

It was a seriously great week.

A Step by Step Guide to Planting a Church

Obviously, the title of this post is meant to be a joke. There are no step-by-step guides to planting a church. Beware of anyone who claims they know how to plant a church. Here is the best advice for church planting: Be faithful.

That's why I love Mike McKinley's Church Planting is for Wimps.

This book is mainly the story of the revitalization of Guilford Baptist (a good and funny story). But, weaved throughout the story are some very helpful encouragement to those planting new churches or revitalizing old ones. Here are some of the big picture practices that McKinley challenges us to:

1. Preach the Word relentlessly

2. Develop clear membership boundaries (have a clearly defined statement of faith and church covenant)

3. Have a plurality of elders

4. Don't target particular kinds of people

5. Don't neglect your marriage or family

6. Don't try to do everything yourself (develop/train leaders)

7. Stay for the long haul

Without a Vision Statement, the People Flourish

I'm enjoying reading Church Planting is for Wimps. Having been exposed to all the latest and greatest church planting ideas, this book is refreshing.

After explaining how they got rid of both the mission statement and the vision statement at the church they were revitalizing, Mike McKinley says,

"Look, if you don't know what you're supposed to be doing as a church planter, if you need to write out a statement in order to remember that your church is supposed to evangelize the lost and help Christians grow in Christ, friend, you shouldn't be a church planter. How about casting vision the way Protestants have cast vision for the past five hundred years! Teach God's Word! Explain it to God's people, and tell them God's mission and vision and values and purpose and strategy for their life. Don't refer them back to some mantra that you make sure everyone in the congregation has memorized. Teach them what the Bible says about what it means to be a faithful Christian and a faithful church" (p. 62).

Churches Planting Churches

A few weeks ago, I had the privilage of participating in an interview about church planting. In it, Dwayne Millioni (Pastor of Open Door Baptist Church), Jonathan Brooks (Associate Pastor of Christ Baptist), and I talk about the importance of churches planting churches.

You can access the audio here.

"I Will Build My Church"

Wow. Massively encouraging to a weak church planting pastor like myself:

Watch or Listen to John Piper expound on Jesus' words, "I will build My church." Be sure to listen all the way through. He ends with a warning not to listen to anyone who says they know how to build the church. Beware of "know alls!"

The Joy of Church Planting

"To ask for a pattern for church planting is like asking for a pattern for wrestling an alligator. The critter is so slippery and dangerous that the best advice is, 'Don't get killed!'"

-Elmer Towns