Church Planting for the Rest of Us

As a number of you know, I have a rare blood sugar condition that requires daily exercise as part of its treatment regimen. In my case, this necessitates a daily 45 minute run in the treadmill. Like most runners, I will periodically clasp my hands on the grips to check my heart rate to make [...]

Busted. Sad to say, it has happened before, but last week she got me good. My wife and I were sitting on the couch talking. Well, she was talking and I was “listening” and surfing the web on my phone. For the most part, I was actually with her. Really. But when we got to some [...]

Must church planters I know are shot callers, trigger pullers, and “get it done yesterday” kinds of guys. In most situations, this kind of drive and execution is exactly what we need. But in some situations, this is exactly the opposite of what we need. In fact, if we act too quickly in these situations, [...]

There are some things that just don’t go together no matter how hard you try. Oil and vinegar. Argyle and plaid. Dwight and Jim. And there are some things that should go together and still often don’t. Engines once disassembled. The government and careful spending.  Church planters and humility. Now before you stop reading and [...]

On the football field, one of the things that makes a good quarterback is his ability to quickly assess a changing situation and make changes to gain as much yardage as possible even if the play comes apart. The same is true for church leaders–especially church planters. As I mentioned in my last post, part [...]

There is a reason why you hear pastors say that want to resign every Monday morning – because it is often true. In some ways, this is even more true for church planters. In addition to the inherent stresses and struggles of ministry, most planters also have the additional burdens of tight finances, a lean [...]

For most of us, the church planting process brings two churches into our lives: 1. The church we think we are going to plant. 2. The church that actually gets planted. It is the men who are able to successfully navigate the distance between these two churches that are still standing after the first few [...]

A few weeks back, I began a series unpacking some of what I think is required to be an effective church planter. You can catch those posts HERE , HERE and HERE if you missed them. Today, I want to add the next installment by asking what is perhaps the most important question of all [...]