Church Planting for the Rest of Us

Acts 29 Director Scott Thomas on Replanting and Responding to Criticism

cpfortherestofus — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:29 +0000

At the recent AMBITION Boot Camp, I talked with Scott Thomas about two things that he has lots of experience with–replanting churches and dealing with criticism.

As expected, Scott offers some sound counsel for both.

Watch, learn and help us spread the word.

5 Marks of Authentic Leadership (from Michael Hyatt):

cpfortherestofus — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:00:11 +0000

For my benefit (and yours), I use a feedreader and follow a number of blogs.

In the coming weeks, I hope to begin sharing and linking some of what I am learning from my own study.

Here’s a good post I read yesterday from Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing on Leadership.

PS More from my conversation with Scott Thomas tomorrow.

VIDEO: Interview with A29 Director Scott Thomas : Top 5 Qualities for a Successful Church Planter

cpfortherestofus — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:00:35 +0000

At the recent AMBITION Bootcamp sponsored by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, I sat down with Acts 29 Director Scott Thomas for a greatly helpful conversation.

In this interview, Scott shares some great wisdom on the Top 5 Qualities for a successful church planter, some wisdom for those considering planting, and his “one thing” for church planter.

This one is a “can’t miss.” Tweet it up.

VIDEO: Kevin Jamison on the Top 5 Church Planting Mistakes

cpfortherestofus — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:10 +0000

few weeks ago, I moderated a panel discussion as a joint event between the Sojourn Church Planting Center and my ministry “Church Planting for the Rest of Us.”

This is a great excerpt from my friend and A29 Pastor, Kevin Jamison, sharing what he considers the top 5 church planting mistakes guys often make.

The rest of the video is available HERE and HERE.

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Sovereign Grace’s Dave Harvey on Ambition and Humility, Discerning a Call, and More

cpfortherestofus — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:00:31 +0000

At the recent AMBITION Boot Camp sponsored by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY, I sat down with Dave Harvey, Director of Church Planting and Church Care for Sovereign Grace Ministries to discuss discerning the call to church planting and the role of the church in that process, the balance between ambition and humility, and his ONE THING for church planters.

Dave is a great guy who drips with grace and wisdom and is a great gift to the Kingdom.

Leadership Lessons from the Dancing Guy (If you haven’t seen it, drop what you are doing and watch this.)

cpfortherestofus — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:25:50 +0000

Videos like THIS are why YouTube was created.

I was laughing so hard I couldn’t hear the guy’s “thoughtful commentary.” So if there is anything objectionable in it, sorry…

VIDEO: A29 Interviewed Me about My Calling to Plant and Pastoring My Family

cpfortherestofus — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:47 +0000

Last Fall, at the Houston Boot Camp, Acts 29 interviewed me about my call to church planting and pastoring my family. Hopefully this will encourage you to consider your own calling and pastoring your own family.

“Navel Gazing” (My Latest Post at the Resurgence in Case You Missed It)

cpfortherestofus — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:12:16 +0000

BTW, this is NOT me ; ) and though I didn’t create this art, I think it is HILARIOUS.

——-

I just realized I have a new spiritual problem.

Truth be told, I have had it for a while, but the light bulb just finally came on in my soul that illuminated what has been going on. I can get so caught up in trying to figure out why I sinned that I forget to repent of my sin.

Getting to the Root

As a “gospel-centrality” guy who believes that all true change begins at the heart level, I consider it a goal not just to stop doing something evil, but to try to figure out why I was doing that evil in the first place. My hope in doing so is to be led to as specific of an application of the gospel as possible, and to cut off the snake’s head and not just shorten his tail.

Theologically speaking, I believe this effort to deal with the root causes of our sin (Matthew 5:29) is a good practice modeled by Jesus, Paul, Keller, the Tripp brothers, and all of us who follow in their footsteps. However, practically speaking, even a good tool in the hands of sinners like us can do significant damage.

Gazing at Your Navel Instead of Jesus

I have found that in an effort to get to the root of my sin, I can become so navel-gazing that I cease to be cross-focused. I have found that I can get so wrapped up in the complexities and nuances of my sin and ‘how deep the rabbit-hole goes’ that I forget to repent of the fact that it was my fault that I climbed into the rabbit-hole in the first place.
I have also found, perhaps worst of all, that I can become so despairing or despondent because of my sin that I cease to be dependent upon the only One who can save me from that sin—Jesus.

Who Will Deliver Us?

And in those dark moments, thankfully, I am confronted afresh with the good news of the gospel: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25) Most of us reading this can agree that we are wretched. But who or what is to save us from this wretchedness? Our self-evaluative introspection? Our repentance?

No. Neither is strong enough.

In Christ Alone

But Jesus is strong enough. And worthy enough. And holy enough. Only Jesus can save us from our sins and ourselves! In the midst of Paul’s own spiritual angst, this is the good news of the gospel that Paul himself is retelling and praising God for. In the midst of our own angst, we would be wise to follow suit.

So when you sin, repent—first! Then evaluate and seek to get to the root of what is going on. And when you find yourself confronted with yourlatest spiritual problem, whether it is like mine or not, ask yourself, “What good news am I retelling? Mine or Jesus’?”

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Kevin Cawley on Decoding Your City

cpfortherestofus — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:22:47 +0000

I sat down with A29 Pastor Kevin Cawley to talk about “decoding your city” and other church planting principles at the recent AMBITION Boot Camp Sponsored by Sojourn Community Church. He has some OUTSTANDING counsel to increase our missional effectiveness in loving people toward the Gospel.

Listen. Learn. Share.

VIDEO: Recent Sojourn/CP4US Panel Discussion Pt. 2

cpfortherestofus — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:00:15 +0000

Here is the second half of the Sojourn/Church Planting for the Rest of Us forum from last week.

In this half, our panelists (A29 Pastors Rick Long, Me, Nick Nye and Kevin Jamison) offer some prepared content on the “Top Pitfalls” of Church Planting and then take questions from the audience.