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Mistake #6: Not Understanding the Priority of People Over Programs

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” 2 Corinthians 11:30 (ESV)

This is the sixth in a series of blog posts called, “My Top Ten Mistakes in Ministry (That I Can Share Publicly.)” After many years of ministry experience as a church planter, pastor and seminary professor, I think I’ve finally learned that one of the best kept secrets to surviving well in the ministry is to stop making the same old mistakes that others (like me) have been making for decades. Instead, let’s all start making some brand new, bold, innovative and creative mistakes!

We began this series with an introduction called, “Ladies First” in which veteran church planter wife, Shari Thomas, addressed the tough topic, What I Wish I Had Known About Church Planting from the perspective of the church planter’s/pastor’s spouse. We then took a look at:

Mistake #6: Not Understanding the Priority of People Over Programs

It’s been thought by all of us in Christian ministry (both clergy and laity) at one time or another: “I love God, and I love the ministry, but it’s just people that I really don’t like!” In his best-selling book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman writes, “When Jesus’ plan is reflected upon, the basic philosophy is so different from that of the modern church that its implications are nothing less than revolutionary….His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes but with people whom the multitudes would follow….People were to be His method of winning the world to God. The initial objective of Jesus’ plan was to enlist men who could bear witness to His life and carry on His work after He returned to the Father.”

I had the privilege of having Dr. Coleman as one of my professors when I was in seminary in Chicago (Trinity). I’ll always remember his incessant repetition of this same basic concept over and over again: while in the ministry if we don’t actively, constantly fight against it, we will inevitably become nothing more than mere “ministry program administrators—thereby failing to be like Jesus who always made people (not programs) his highest priority.

In Jesus’ words to Peter, after the resurrection, we learn again that one of the greatest ways we can show our love to Christ is not merely by doing great ministry exploits for him, but by showing sacrificial love to his sheep–to love deeply and well those He loves and those for whom he laid down His life. With these lenses on, take a new look now at these ancient words of the resurrected Christ to Peter:

“So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.

Here we are meant to learn a valuable lesson about life and ministry that is very easily missed if we’re not very careful. The lesson? One of the greatest ways to show our love to Jesus is by showing our love to His sheep—especially when they don’t love us well. It’s relatively easy learning to lead well. But it’s really hard learning to love well.

Hear his voice today asking “Do you love me?” Then hear his answer, “Tend my sheep.” In other words, love those whom He loves–lay down your life to shepherd well especially those sheep who are back-biting, betraying, whining, unappreciative and arrogant. Where in the world can you find the power to do that? It begins by realizing how deeply the Good Shepherd keeps loving you in the face of all your back-biting, betraying, whining, lack of appreciation and arrogance.

Oh, and by the way, since we haven’t addressed it since the introductory message in this series by Shari Thomas, I thought it might be good for all of us to be reminded that one of those people in your church in need of your very special love—is your spouse. I wish someone had told me what it means to understand and love my wife well—especially during our early church planting years.

If you haven’t read Shari Thomas blog entry that  addressed the tough topic, What I Wish I Had Known About Church Planting from the perspective of the church planter’s/pastor’s spouse then please do. If you have, then please read it again.

Again, I long for you not to make the same mistakes so many of us have made in the past three decades of ministry. Instead, as Bob Logan says, “Go make new, creative, innovative mistakes!” As our beloved Steve Brown would say, “You think about that.”

Steve Childers is the President & CEO of Global Church Advancement, an inter-denominational ministry that provides church planting training, consultations, and resources for church planters, pastors and missionaries throughout the world. Steve has trained Christian leaders from more than 50 countries (curriculum in five major global languages), representing over 200 denominations and mission agencies in 5 continents (& 5 languages). Steve is also an author, Professor of Practical Theology (since 1995) and the Director of the Doctoral program at Reformed Theological Seminary, in Orlando, Florida, where he teaches church planting, missions, evangelism and spiritual formation. To learn more about GCA:

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Calvin Rejects Privatized Faith and Promotes Vulnerability in Church Planting Networks :)

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

“In the church, as Calvin conceived it, every man helped every other man. If in Christ Jesus all believers are united, then a private believer is a contradiction in terms. Not only are the blessings and the virtues given for the common good, but the faults and the weaknesses concern the other members of the body. There was to be no hypocrisy of pretending to be other than a sinner, no dissembling or cloaking of sins; but, just as God is completely honest with men, and men must be honest with God, so also believer with believer must be courageously honest and open. The quarterly meeting was a little day of judgement when, flattery and convention laid aside, each man saw himself through the eyes of his fellows and, if he were wise, harboured no resentment but knew the uniquely joyful release of voluntary humiliation.”[1]

[1] Herman J. Selderhuis, John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2009], 30.

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2010 West Africa Update – Part 2

Monday, May 31st, 2010

This just in: Another update from Steve Childers!  It sounds like things are going really well so far.  Please pray for the remainder of Steve’s time in Africa – which he will spend with his team in Togo – that the team will be safe and that God’s glory will shine through their work with church leaders there.

Here’s what Steve had to tell us:

I learned today that most of these pastors have been taught (and have been doing it) to be “praying down Gods wrath on all pagans/poor/etc. NOW they have openly repented of this practice and have PLEDGED to pray the Lords prayer (i.e. the exact opposite), praying fervently instead that Gods will on earth (their part of it) will now be done as it is in heaven … through their radical acts of mercy & justice!

I’m so in awe and humbled by all this. Your prayers are being answered! Thanks again.

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West Africa 2010 Update

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

We’ve finally heard from Steve, who is in Africa this week for the 2010 GCA West Africa Church Planting Institute.  He’s been keeping busy with his team.  It sounds like things are going well, though.  Here’s a summary of what he had to say (it’s a little stream-of-consciousness):

All three team leaders are doing well so far.  We’ve been eating a lot of rice and chicken.

The first day of training went GREAT!  The church we’re mtg in is not enclosed – just a metal roof totally open sides with wood poles.  So we’re exposed to the weather, which is extremely hot and very humid.  Also, we’re in the rainy season, and that and that means we get to do a lot of walking in mud.  We have electricity, but mainly through use of a gas generator because electricity often off in village. We made a makeshift PowerPoint screen using bedsheets and sticks the locals carved with their machetes for us.  It works great even when wind blows it!

The sessions haven’t been without distractions.  A goat bleated so loudly while I was teaching we had to stop and get rid of it.  Goats are everywhere!

A few prayer requests: Nathaniel tried to drive to Togo 2 times today-to prepare for the next conference.  Both cars broke down so he’s still here.  The roads here would break down a tank!  Please pray as well for several painful blows I’ve taken to my head since getting here due to short doorways.  I’m not used to ducking and it feels like someone periodically keeps hitting my head with a bat.  It would be funny if didn’t hurt so badly.  Finally, please pray that our team would be able to serve well despite our lack of sleep.

Thanks for your prayers, everyone!

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Prayers For GCA 2010 West Africa CPI: Part 1

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Editor’s Note: We’ve already shared that GCA President Steve Childers is currently in West Africa, leading a group of indigenous church leaders in the GCA 2010 West Africa Church Planting Institute.  Some supporters have known about this for awhile and have been kind enough to commit their prayers to writing and share them with us.  In the spirit of coming together as an online community in prayer, we are passing along some of these prayers with you.  Please take this opportunity to join with us in prayer!

Gracious and Powerful Lord,

We commit Steve, his travels, his teaching, his partners on the journey, and his family as they remain to you.

We ask for wisdom as he teaches, sensitivity to the workings of the Holy Spirit, insight into the gifts and challenges of his translators and images that teach in powerful pictures the lessons you would have the pastors who hear learn.

Allow the lessons to be woven into the hearts of all who participate. Open Steve’s heart to the messages with which you would have him bring home. Join hearts together in the Hope of your Kingdom Come and in the work that is here now.

Protect all the families who remain and lend your travel mercies to those who join together. Fill up the participants with a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit that they might be refreshed, encouraged and empowered.

Provide good soil for the seeds which are sown.  Send water and sun to nourish them.   Raise up harvesters to reap the Word in deed and in their thoughts.   Hold back the thorns that would choke your harvest.   Protect the footpaths of those who would work and not damage the fields.   Allow patience for your timing and what you will bring forth.  Let there be rejoicing in all that you provide.   We give you the Glory!

“O Taste and See that the Lord is Good!”

We lift all these things up in the name of Jesus,

Amen.

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Steve Childers In West Africa This Week!

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

A team of missionaries led by GCA President Steve Childers are making their way to West Africa for the 2010 GCA West Africa Church Planting Inistitute.  We’ve already shared details about GCA’s goals and aspirations in holding this summit.  Now we want to give you specific details (i.e. dates and places) so you can pray with us.  Steve has also asked us to pass along some personal prayer requests.

West Africa 2010 Dates:

  • Depart USA: Sunday afternoon/evening, May 23, 2010
  • Ghana, West Africa Summit: Monday, May 24, 2010 to Saturday, May 29, 2010.
  • Togo, West Africa Summit: Saturday, May 29, 2010 to Wednesday, June 2, 2010.
  • Return USA: Wednesday evening, June 2, 2010

Mission Team 2010 Leaders:

  • Steve Childers
  • Dick Brown
  • Allen Hunter

Steve Childers’ Personal Prayer Requests:

  • The health and safety of the African church leaders I’ll be training, as well as their families and churches while they’re away. Many of them will be traveling long distances in remote areas of Africa in order to receive the training.
  • Wisdom for me to know what to teach: even though the training topics are already planned I often find that I need to change some topics, put down the prepared notes and address real needs that have surfaced during the training.
  • The ability of my French translators in Togo to understand accurately the concepts I’m teaching and communicate them with great effectiveness—resulting in not only renewed minds but renewed hearts. I’ve learned the hard way that my translators can make or break the learning experience.
  • My relationships with the African leaders would be deepened resulting in new levels of mutual trust, love and ministry partnership.
  • God would be glorified and His invisible kingdom would be made visible through starting, growing and multiplying gospel-centered churches in West Africa (starting in Ghana, Togo, Benin & Senegal) that result in the spiritual, social and cultural renewal of all West Africa (15 countries) AND that West Africa would become a major sending sub-continent to ALL nations.

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2010 GCA West Africa Church Planting Institute

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

You’ll be hearing a lot from us over the next week about the West Africa Church Planting Institute.  In particular, Steve will be sharing his prayer requests with us.  We will also be sure to pass along any updates we get from the field from day to day.

So, since we’ll be talking about it, we should probably get you acquainted with what the Church Planting Institute is – namely, what are GCA’s goals and aspirations.  This is a pretty exciting time for us; and we want you to be excited too!  Because there is so much to share, this post will be longer than usual.  So, without further ado …

GCA West Africa 2010 Church Planting Institute (CPI) Goals

During the early GCA Leadership Training Summits in a nation, we intentionally do not focus primarily on church planting methods and programs for the indigenous leaders such as “practical steps to planting a church in Africa” or “how to develop and manage a church plant core group”.  Instead, the initial, primary focus is on laying a strong, biblical foundation among the indigenous national leaders and churches—from which these more practical church planting methods will emerge. The four foundational goals (pillars) of the initial training are:

I.  Uniting around a National Kingdom Vision for Church Planting

  • A Vision for the Glory, Kingdom & Will of God to come with great power through the Church of God in all it’s various forms (denominations/agencies).
  • A Vision not merely for individual church plants but for regional church planting networks that form kingdom alliances with other like-minded denominations that birth true gospel renewal movements and spiritual awakenings.
  • A Vision for developing a common church planting training curriculum (“practical steps to planting a church in Africa, etc.”) through a Kingdom Partnership with GCA and other denominations that share this vision.

II. Renewing the Church Leaders through the Power of the Gospel

  • Almost every great awakening in the history of the church has been started by a great awakening in the hearts of the church leaders. If we long for an awakening in our churches and nations, it must first begin in the hearts of the church leaders.
  • So there is a strong focus on the need for the release of the transforming power of the gospel in the hearts of the leaders through their ongoing repentance (from heart idols) and faith in Christ—setting their heart affections on Christ in worship.

III. Renewing the Churches through the Power of the Gospel

  • Like a spreading flame, the personal renewal of the leaders must spread to the churches. The leaders must return to their churches as agents of personal renewal that will lead to church renewal and reproduction of new churches.
  • For a church to parent other churches (new church plants) it must first be strong and healthy itself. If not, it will birth sick babies—unhealthy church plants that have little or no true Kingdom impact. So we must have a strong, healthy base of leadership churches in these emerging movements or we will be reproducing unhealthy churches.
  • During this training church leaders will study the “Vital Signs” of church health/growth and participate in practical exercises where they evaluate their present church plant or established church in order to help these churches become healthy (especially in evangelism, discipleship and mercy/justice ministries) so they will grow and reproduce new transformational churches.

IV. Raising Up Church Planting Movement Leaders

  • For there to be true movements born in these nations, God must raise up movement leaders. So during this training we are asking the Lord of the Harvest to begin raising up church planting movement leaders from all the denominations represented.
  • We need what we call “Movement Champions” in several critical areas: We need Vision Champions, Prayer Champions, Worship Champions, Preaching Champions, Discipleship Champions, Small Group Champions, Evangelism Champions, Mercy Champions and Leadership Development Champions. As we spend time studying these areas, we’re asking the Lord to begin raising up key movement leaders who will become champions for strengthening these areas in their own emerging regional and national movements.
  • These movement champions will then begin to work in partnership with GCA to develop a common curriculum that will include contextualized church planting methods and programs that can be used effectively by all denominations and agencies in the movement.

GCA West Africa 2010 Church Planting Institute (CPI) Aims & Aspirations

This 2010 GCA West Africa Church Planting Leadership Summits (Ghana & Togo) are designed to equip key West African national leaders to strategically partner together to glorify God by advancing a movement in the West Africa that is multiplying churches and disciples through the transforming power of the gospel. Our purpose is to use this forum as a catalyst to help start strategic church planting movements in West Africa that will advance God’s kingdom in word and deed over every sphere of life by starting, growing and multiplying churches in West Africa that share a passion for the glory of God to be manifested in and through His Church for all nations.

Through these Summits, we aim to foster:

  • Kingdom Vision: Helping to develop kingdom-minded church leaders throughout West African with a strong focus on transforming cities, towns and villages through deeds of mercy and justice as well as words of truth.
  • Servant Leadership: Equipping leaders to better understand the capacity of the indigenous church to minister to and serve well their own people—leaders who will think and act strategically in spreading the gospel in West Africa.
  • Church Planting Networks: Fostering a vision for leaders to develop cooperative Church Planting Networks that recruit, train, and mentor emerging their own indigenous church planters that will help multiply churches among their regions’ diverse groups of people. These networks will work in strategic partnerships with other ministries and NGOs to form alliances, create resources and facilitate more and better church planting movements in West Africa.
  • Kingdom Collaboration: Creating platforms for dialogue with various regional leaders to explore new strategies and best practices for working together in their regions.
  • Community Development: Fostering a vision of developing creative, entrepreneurial and passionate leaders who are constantly working to create a process of problem solving and improvement in the community that is sustainable through the leadership of different alliances and networks both at the regional level and abroad.

Through these Summits, we also aspire to:

  • Explore and learn new strategies and best practices for working together in various West African regions
  • Bring church leaders together to build alliances with various like-minded groups who are strategically involved in the same regions and are seeking partners to join them in their efforts.
  • Share ideas and models with national leaders regarding how to foster church planting movements through establishing regional church planting networks and alliances.
  • Examine holistic ministries and deliberate, proven models that foster social transformation by providing employment, encouraging social change (justice/mercy), influencing government and key national leaders, and helping church leaders provide a credible platform for demonstrating the love of Christ.
  • Share proven business strategies that work well hand in hand with church planting, growth and multiplication movements.

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Steve Childers At Exponential Conference This Week

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Steve will be speaking this week at the national Exponential Conference (“Largest gathering of Church Planters on the Planet”) in Orlando, FL. On Monday, April 18 (TODAY!) he will be speaking at the afternoon Pre-Conference Workshop called “Best Practices in Church Planting Forum” hosted by author and missiologist, Dr. Ed Stetzer. Here’s the link.

On Thursday morning, April 22, Steve will be leading a workshop during the main conference called “How to Start & Strengthen a Regional Church Planting Network.”

Please pray for Steve and the Exponential Conference this week!

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Mistake #5: Not Understanding that the Way Up is the Way Down

Friday, April 16th, 2010

“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” 2 Corinthians 11:30 (ESV)

This is the fifth in a series of blog posts called, “My Top Ten Mistakes in Ministry (That I Can Share Publicly.)” After many years of ministry experience as a church planter, pastor and seminary professor, I think I’ve finally learned that one of the best kept secrets to surviving well in the ministry is to stop making the same old mistakes that others (like me) have been making for decades. Instead, let’s all start making some brand new, bold, innovative and creative mistakes!

We began this series with an introduction called, “Ladies First” in which veteran church planter wife, Shari Thomas, addressed the tough topic, What I Wish I Had Known About Church Planting from the perspective of the church planter’s/pastor’s spouse. We then took a look at:

This time we’ll take a brief look at another common mistake church leaders make that I wish someone had told me about before I went into the ministry.

Mistake #5: Not Understanding that the Way Up is the Way Down

One of the supreme glories of the Gospel is that it is primarily through weakness that God chooses to show His strength. And it’s through foolishness that God loves to manifest His wisdom. The Apostle Paul makes this abundantly clear when he writes,

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God. (1Cor 1:26-29).

In their excellent book entitled Liberating Ministry From the Success Syndrome by Kent and Barbara Hughes (required reading for all church leaders!) they write, “To you who deem yourself unusually ordinary be encouraged: God must have liked ordinary people because he made so many of us!” I wish someone had told me years ago not to hold my weaknesses in disdain—but to know that God’s plan is to work through my foolishness and weakness so that He might manifest His wisdom and strength.

I also wish someone had explained to me more clearly that God’s kingdom is an upside down kingdom where “God is opposed to the proud but He gives grace to the humble.” and “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted “and “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.”

And I wish someone had helped me understand more deeply these profound words written by Oswald Chambers:

“God can achieve his purpose either through the absence of human power and resources, or the abandonment of reliance on them. All through history God has chosen and used nobodies, because their unusual dependence on him made possible the unique display of his power and grace. He chose and used somebodies only when they renounced dependence on their natural abilities and resources.”

To those of you who consider yourself unusually gifted (you know who you are!) this means you must be very careful not to trust in your strengths illegitimately. In fact, unless you humble yourself and renounce your dependence upon them, all your labor and even your fruit is apt to be in vain. It will all be burned away (see Hughes’ book for more details).

What are some of the ways we can know we’re at risk in this area?  In C. Peter Wagner’s book, Humility, he lists 5 Signposts Along the Road to Pride:

1) Yearning for Praise and Accolades
2) Keeping Score
3) Rejoicing in others failures
4) Resenting others successes
5) Compulsively defending yourself

The paradox of grace is that the way up is the way down. One of the reasons there is often such little display of God’s presence and power in many of our lives and ministries today is because of the unknown root sin of pride and self-reliance. The Bible teaches that God’s presence and power normally dwells in a humble and contrite heart. “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word” (Is 66:2).

With this truth in mind, I wish someone had made clear to me early in my ministry that coming to the cross of Jesus Christ is not meant by God to be just a one time thing for us (at conversion) but an ongoing process. The Apostle Paul wrote “…just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6). Coming to God in humility means learning to keep coming to Him in repentance and faith through the cross of Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote,  “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). As God progressively shows us our sin of pride we must learn the secret of coming in humility again and again and again to the cross of Jesus Christ for not only pardon but also for power to change.

It is only at the cross that the streams of God’s transforming grace will begin to flow into our lives. Like water, God’s grace and power always flows down to the lowest place. As you respond to this reminder, prayerfully meditate on the words of the nineteenth century hymn writer, Horatius Bonar,

“I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give the living water. Thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live”.

——————————

Childers

Steve Childers is the President & CEO of Global Church Advancement, an inter-denominational ministry that provides church planting training, consultations, and resources for church planters, pastors and missionaries throughout the world. Steve has trained Christian leaders from more than 50 countries (curriculum in five major global languages), representing over 200 denominations and mission agencies in 5 continents (& 5 languages). Steve is also an author, Professor of Practical Theology (since 1995) and the Director of the Doctoral program at Reformed Theological Seminary, in Orlando, Florida, where he teaches church planting, missions, evangelism and spiritual formation. To learn more about GCA:

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A Gospel-Planted Life Blog Reviews GCA Conference

Friday, February 5th, 2010

The folks over at A Gospel-Planted Life were kind enough to share their experience at last week’s North American Church Planting Conference. You should check it out!

[A Gospel-Planted Life]

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Foundations: Remembering What’s Really Important

Friday, January 29th, 2010

With all of the practical advice our trainers had to offer at the conference sessions, it would be easy to be overwhelmed.  Each trainer went over enough material to fill a full-week conference on its own, and they did it in about ninety minutes!  Suffice it to say, if you were here with us this week, your task of learning and applying all of the material has only begun.  That’s why it’s important to keep in mind what Steve Childers shared at the closing session.  It’s important to remember “The Main Thing.”

The Success Syndrome

In the book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, R. Kent and Barbara Hughes share how they had to reorient their understanding of success before they were happy in the ministry.  Nobody wants to be a failure.  But the point here is that success ought to be measured according to the proper criteria.  Church planters are as prone as anyone else to measuring their effectiveness against unhealthy, counter-productive, and even dangerous benchmarks.  If your top goal as a church planter is to grow your church beyond 200 people – or even 50 – then you ought to be taking a step back and asking yourself why growth is important to you.  Statistics can be helpful in gauging the health of your church.  But real success ought to be measured according to God’s Word.

For example, look at what Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 25:14-30 (“The Parable of the Talents”).  Even though one servant is trust with much and another with little, in the end they are each equally blessed.  Why?  Because each servant was faithful with what the master had given him.  Likewise with church planters.  The size of our churches are not indicative of our level of success.  Rather, according to Steve, we are successful in ministry by “faithfully pleasing God with the resources and responsibilities he has given [us].”

The Tyranny of the Urgent

Another source of trouble in the ministry can be all of the unexpected things that creep up and demand our time.  If we’re not careful we’ll find more and more of our days spent dealing with things according to their level of urgency and regardless of whether they align with our ministry vision.

The root of the problem here is that we all tend to deal first with the things that are right in front of us (urgent).  Instead of blindly following this approach, we should be mindful of our goals and do the things that serve them.  This won’t mean always saying no to urgent matters that come up.  But it does suggest that not all urgent matters are important.  Distinguishing these two factors allows us to more effectively prioritize our schedules.  Freeing ourselves from the tyranny of the urgent allows us to accept that our time is limited and that we cannot do everything that is asked of us.  Instead, you should focus on the things that are important.

The Main Thing

Once we have liberated ourselves from both the success syndrome and the tyranny of the urgent, we can more clearly consider who we serve and what He is asking of us.  Remember that it is God Himself – not church planters – who is building His church.  Our work, then, should be done in the kind of faith that allows us to trust Him.  This doesn’t mean we give up considering our vision, our Ministry Focus Group, or even our financial situation.  But it means that we trust God with those things and do our work in the faith that He is sovereign and controls the outcome.

Practically speaking, Steve suggests five things to help us “make the main thing the main thing”:

  1. Understand the difference between your goals and desires. You have control over your goals.  You do not have control over your desires.  Learn to work towards your goals and pray for your desires.  For instance, you can make it a goal to share the Gospel will five people this week.  You can control that; so work toward it.  But to see five people come to faith this week … that’s a desire.  Be praying for that.
  2. Pursue the God of grace, not the grace of God. To paraphrase John Piper, grace is a means to God, not vice versa.  Be humble enough to realize that you don’t love God as you ought, and ask for grace that you may love Him better.  Also keep in mind that the very purpose of your ministry is to connect people of the same God of grace.
  3. Remember that the way up is the way down. Very often the solution to waking up a floundering ministry is to get to the heart of the minister’s pride and self-reliance.  This again is a very humbling experience.  Be honest where you have sinned and repent.
  4. Also remember the priority of people over programs. Most gifted church planters are visionary when it comes to organizing a working ministry based on effective programs.  But those some men and women can also struggle not to let people get lost in the margins.  If your programs aren’t producing mature disciples, then you need to take another look at them.  A ministry that is perfect on paper is meaningless when people are not being effectively shepherded.
  5. Process living versus product living. I’ve heard this stated alternately, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”  You’ll be a lot happier in the ministry if you’re not always focused on the next thing that you need to do – the next milestone you need to reach or program you need to implement.  The alternative is a life spent devoted to “the cult of the next thing.”

So what is “The Main Thing.”  It’s not the ministry.  The main thing is loving both God and people.

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Foundations: Finances

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

GCA was pleased to have Fred Marsh come in and share with conference attendees some strategies for fund raising.  This module is a necessary part of the “Foundation” curriculum because, in many denominations, church planters are responsible to raise their own support.  Without funding at the denominational level, the planter is responsible to “drive the funding process.”  Coming from the Presbyterian Church in America’s Mission to North America, Fred’s material assumes this “independent” fundraising model.

Here are some goals for church planters to set for themselves as they seek to formalize a financial plan:

  1. Use your church planting plan in fund raising.  Some potential donors will want to know that you have your act together.  You should be able to explain your vision and mission to anyone who asks, including donors.  This is probably common sense to most of us, but it bears mentioning.
  2. Determine your initial financial Financial Support Model.  This model will vary depending upon your denomination, whether you have a “parent” church, and a host of other factors.  Exhaust all of your options before you decide on a course of action.  For instance, you may consider a bi-vocational or “tent making” ministry early on.
  3. Develop a financial budget for the next 2-3 years.  This is where the “rubber” of your Financial Support Model meets the “road” of your actual donor network and financial needs.  Thinking this far ahead will help you understand how realistic your vision is.  It will also show donors that you’re serious about seeing your church planting plan put to action.
  4. Identify prospective donors.  Again, this is common sense.  If you’re going to be doing any amount of fund-raising, then you need to figure out who you are going to approach.  There will be some donors who are able to give a lot.  Others will be able to give less.  Everyone deserves your attention.  Keep in mind, though, that it’s not wrong to give large donors personal attention.  If you don’t do this, they may never understand the difference that their generosity can make.
  5. Design a structured, personalized process for contacting and following up with donors.  Remember, your donors will be with you for many years.  Very generous donors will also want to know that their gift is making a difference.  So it’s imperative for church planters to be communicating with donors and telling them how their gifts are being used.
  6. Develop the necessary policies for financial management and accountability.  Church planters have found themselves in hot water in the past because they were the sole parties responsible for making a myriad of financial decisions.  It’s in everyone’s best interest if some plan for management and accountability is put in place.  I know a church planter who has a whole financial team consisting of regular attenders helping him make important decisions.  That’s just one option.
  7. While you need to have a detailed budget, it is generally unwise to make it public.  It’s too detailed for most donors.  Instead, let them know how much money you need to raise (excluding your core group).

One more thing: There are people out there who are blessed with wealth and a spirit of generosity who are looking to get involved in funding a ministry – one that they can get behind and in which they can believe.  Those people are the one’s to seek out.  You are not trying to persuade people to give against their wills.  The goal in fund-raising is to mobilize generous, godly people and to give them an opportunity to come beside you in ministry.

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Foundations: Styles

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

How does the church do ministry in this culture?  How do we do ministry in a cultural context through the lens of the five Ministry Purposes?  Andre Rogers helped us think through these questions, and shared many examples from his own ministry.

The church planter must help determine how these biblical purposes should come to expression in the unique Ministry Focus Group being served.  This means that one of a church planter’s tasks is to discover the stylistic expectations of his culture and, as appropriate, embrace them, adapt them, critique them, or reject them.  At the same time, we should be using our own stylistic decisions to serve the cause of the gospel.

A church planter from Ukraine shared a story with us about planting a church in the western part of that country.  The culture is more traditional there than in the east (which is near Russia).  Even though both areas can be broadly called “Ukrainian,” they have different needs.  A more traditional style of worship resonated with people in the western part of the country, while more contemporary services worked in the east.  On the other hand, in the west a contemporary service seemed disrespectful, while the east would have found a traditional service out of touch.  The different cultures necessitated different styles of worship.

So we need to adapt our style to the culture of our Ministry Focus Group.  The goal is “contextualization without compromise.”  Where this isn’t being done, we’re probably guilty of one of two errors.  The first is under adapting to the culture.  The root cause here is probably ethnocentrism.  We feel that our own style preferences are best and seek to impose those views upon our Ministry Focus Group.  The second error is over-adapting to the culture.  This is called syncretism, and involves embracing all of the style preferences of your Ministry Focus Group (including preferences that might hard your proclamation of the Gospel).

So how can we know what to embrace and what to reject when it comes to style?  The Lausanne Covenant has some helpful words: “Because man is God’s creature, some of his culture is rich in beauty and goodness.  Because he is fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic.”  In other words, there are no easy answers here.  Church planters must be able to determine what stylistic elements they can pull from the culture in order to serve in the proclamation of the gospel.

Keeping the following points in mind can help us determine what styles to embrace:

  1. Go where the wind is already blowing.  If there are already successful churches in the area you hope to reach, then find out what they’re doing right.  Don’t be afraid to “jump on the bandwagon” so long as those styles can be adapted to serve your Ministry Focus Group.
  2. Choose ministry styles that serve your Ministry Purposes.  We’ve already discussed the importance of having a clearly defined set of purposes for your ministry.

One more tidbit that a veteran pastor shared with us during the conference session: “We should not be defined by what we are against, but what we are for.”  This doesn’t mean that we never critique culture.  It just means that we should be known for the cause we serve and not the things of which we disapprove.  Keeping this in mind will help us reach those who disagree with us with the gospel without compromising our integrity.

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Foundations: Purpose

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Why do church planting?  Most of what you will read here assumes that you agree church planting is something that we should even be doing.  Yet, even if you do support church planting as a worthy cause, it’s worth taking a moment to back up and give this question some thought.  After all, we have churches already.  Why start new ones?

Before we can answer that question, we need to take another step back.  Why does any church – young or old – exist at all?  Put another way, what are the church’s priorities in ministry?  Answering these questions puts us well on our way understanding the purpose of church planting.

As I write this, GCA Director of Training Bob Orner is still teaching the Foundations module.  He began by giving us the biblical reasons for the church’s existence, based on Acts 2:42-47 (via the Redeemer Acts Curriculum).  Practically speaking, Bob gave us five reasons:

  1. Worship & Prayer (v. 42).
  2. Learning & Discipleship (v. 42).
  3. Fellowship & Community (v. 42).
  4. Outreach & Evangelism (v. 47).
  5. Mercy & Social Concern (v. 44).

So a healthy church (biblically speaking) does not have the luxury of picking some of these and rejecting others.  Rather, it will balance these five things as it reaches out to its Ministry Focus Group.  This doesn’t mean that every healthy church will look the same.  Pastor’s and church planters should prioritize and emphasize the above purposes based on the following factors:

  1. The unique gifts and ministry philosophy of the church planter.
  2. The emphasis of the church’s core group or leadership team.
  3. The unique needs of the Ministry Focus Group.

The end result is a ministry that is “serving out of strength.”  That is, the church both effectively balances and prioritizes the five ministry purposes and, at the same time, knows its own strengths and passions in order to do those things best.

With all of this in mind, the purpose of church planting in particular should be clear.  It’s to produce healthy churches.  Actually, it’s to produce more healthy churches.  Actually, it’s both.  And for church planters, keeping our purpose in mind helps us better understand how to move forward in our communities.

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Essentials: Worship

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Note: Casey Johnson is an M.Div. student at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando.  He is at the GCA Conference this week and is going through the “Essentials” course.  He shared his thoughts with us on the Worship module, which was taught by Jason Sears.  In very brief, bullet-point form, here’s what Casey learned.

Last night’s worship session was very enlightening. Here’s some of the highlights I took from it:

1. Don’t let others determine your vision. What he meant by this was not that you shouldn’t figure out what style of worship would hit your target group, rather, once you have a vision in place, don’t let the people who don’t agree with the vision determine your vision. (In my words, “the vision’s not for sale”).

2. When planting a church, don’t look for the rock star to be your worship leader. Too often new churches look for the rock star in skinny jeans, white belt, hair product, etc. to fit the look and sound they desire, but they don’t really hire a worship leader. Look for someone who has vision for this ministry and a heart for the church. Here are five things to look for in a worship pastor.

i. Ability to play and sing.

ii. Relational/Pastoral

iii. Teammate with you. Someone you could go to the movies with. You must have his back.

iv. Musician. Find someone who is passionate about music. Don’t look for someone who learned the beginning of a couple Coldplay songs, look for someone who loves music.

v. A Learner. Someone who is constantly reading magazines, books, listening to new music, going to hear other musicians. Always wants to get better themselves.

3. Without giving the whole talk away, here’s one last thing: The Four Stages of Presbyterian Hand Raising. You’ll have to ask Jason about this yourself. Go hear him next time he teaches.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Casey!

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