OK, I finished this cool book "Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts" and I recommend it to all the church planter guys out there. It's short and useful, lots of useful ideas per page. That's a cool way to rate a book. I must work on that...
Anyway, my last post related the first five mistakes, followed by a sentence of explanation. Here are the last 5 mistakes, followed in the same way by a sentence describing the mistake or how to avoid it in your ministry.
6. No plan for the other six days of the week. "Prior to the launch a plan must be in place to connect people to each other and to God. Failing to do this results in a church dependent upon the planter."
7. Fear of talking about money until it is too late. "Stewardship of money must be taught from the moment you begin to gather people."
8. Failure of the church to act its age and its size. "Teach your people to say, 'We're not there yet.'"
9. Formalizing leadership too soon. "Leaders must prove themselves in your plant." (emphasis is the author's)
10. Using the "superstar" model as the paradigm for all church plants. "You CANNOT plant a church on a 'borrowed' vision." (emphasis is again the author's)
Again, this book is pretty good stuff for the church planter in the position that I am in... Emily and I know we are called by God to plant a church and where we are going, but we haven't planted yet.
So, there's no theology of why to plant a church in this book, but there is a great deal of useful, practical stuff to keep you from messing up your life, the lives of others, and bringing "anti-glory" to God and his church. I recommend that all planters check this one out.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
10 Mistakes Made by New Church Starts
OK, so I've read back over my blog posts, and they seem a little long and not-too-frequent. So, my new goal is to shrink down the size of the posts and make them more frequent.
The past couple days, I've been reading a book loaned to me by Neal McGlohon called "Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts," by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum. It doesn't look all that great on the outside (kinda like alot of those 'for dummies' books), but it's been awesome so far! Griffith and Easum have both planted multiple churches and are now church planting coaches, so you can trust their experience and knowledge.
Most church planting and leadership books are kinda long and have tons of good info, but they are tough to digest and apply quickly. This book isn't like that at all. It's got the 10 mistakes, tips to avoid them, and even some advice for church planting coaches to offer their planters. Cool touch.
Anyway, I thought I'd review this book by listing the first 5 mistakes (see, shorter posts!) and one descriptive sentence for each mistake. If you have questions, just holla or buy the book!
1. Neglecting the Great Commandment in Pursuit of the Great Commission. "Are you a church planter trying to love God, or a lover of God trying to plant a church?"
2. Failing to take opposition seriously. "If you want to plant a church, you will face, and must be prepared for, spiritual warfare." (emphasis added by the authors)
3. A love affair with one's fantasy statement blinds the planter to the mission field. "God doesn't baptize the details or the strategy, only the goal; God honors only those planters who love the people more than their fantasy church!"
4. Premature launch. Launching a church's weekly public services is like having a baby--it shouldn't be rushed out of the womb until it can survive on its own.
5. Evangelism ceases after the launch. "How often do you provide events to which your people can invite their friends to 'come and see'?"
The last 5 most common mistakes are coming up in the next post.
The past couple days, I've been reading a book loaned to me by Neal McGlohon called "Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts," by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum. It doesn't look all that great on the outside (kinda like alot of those 'for dummies' books), but it's been awesome so far! Griffith and Easum have both planted multiple churches and are now church planting coaches, so you can trust their experience and knowledge.
Most church planting and leadership books are kinda long and have tons of good info, but they are tough to digest and apply quickly. This book isn't like that at all. It's got the 10 mistakes, tips to avoid them, and even some advice for church planting coaches to offer their planters. Cool touch.
Anyway, I thought I'd review this book by listing the first 5 mistakes (see, shorter posts!) and one descriptive sentence for each mistake. If you have questions, just holla or buy the book!
1. Neglecting the Great Commandment in Pursuit of the Great Commission. "Are you a church planter trying to love God, or a lover of God trying to plant a church?"
2. Failing to take opposition seriously. "If you want to plant a church, you will face, and must be prepared for, spiritual warfare." (emphasis added by the authors)
3. A love affair with one's fantasy statement blinds the planter to the mission field. "God doesn't baptize the details or the strategy, only the goal; God honors only those planters who love the people more than their fantasy church!"
4. Premature launch. Launching a church's weekly public services is like having a baby--it shouldn't be rushed out of the womb until it can survive on its own.
5. Evangelism ceases after the launch. "How often do you provide events to which your people can invite their friends to 'come and see'?"
The last 5 most common mistakes are coming up in the next post.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Importance of a Church Planting Strategist
A week ago, Emily and I met with Neal McGlohon, a Church Planting Strategist with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Neal is a great guy, and has been a friend to us for several years. His children were part of our student ministry in Charlotte.
Neal graciously gave us his day off so that we could ask him our church planting strategy questions. Neal has helped a ton of church planters over the years, and he knows his stuff. He helped us to see ourselves as missionaries to the NE Knoxville area, instead of just a couple who is starting a new church in the area.
This realization was awesome for us! We are already missionaries (to West Virginia) and seeing ourselves that way is easy. We are just moving to a new town, with the knowledge that a church will eventually meet because of that. In the meantime, we will serve our new community and the people inside it and share God's love with them.
Of course, Neal shared all kinds of other stuff with us, too! His help was invaluable.
The takeaway: a church planting strategy coach is a must! Find someone who has more experience or knows more than you about church planting, and get their ideas. You'll be glad you did!
Neal graciously gave us his day off so that we could ask him our church planting strategy questions. Neal has helped a ton of church planters over the years, and he knows his stuff. He helped us to see ourselves as missionaries to the NE Knoxville area, instead of just a couple who is starting a new church in the area.
This realization was awesome for us! We are already missionaries (to West Virginia) and seeing ourselves that way is easy. We are just moving to a new town, with the knowledge that a church will eventually meet because of that. In the meantime, we will serve our new community and the people inside it and share God's love with them.
Of course, Neal shared all kinds of other stuff with us, too! His help was invaluable.
The takeaway: a church planting strategy coach is a must! Find someone who has more experience or knows more than you about church planting, and get their ideas. You'll be glad you did!
Hello!
Hey, everyone! This is the first web presence of Ridge Church, a new community that's all about God and His love for people, specifically people in Northeast Knoxville and Knox County, Tennessee!
We'll update this blog as new stuff happens in the summer of 2008.
Feel free to email us for information about how you can become involved in what God is doing!
We'll update this blog as new stuff happens in the summer of 2008.
Feel free to email us for information about how you can become involved in what God is doing!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Reading, reading, reading!
I had an important phone interview on Thursday evening with a strategist with a major church planting network. His job is to interview potential candidates and determine if their theology, spiritual giftedness, aptitude, and experiences are appropriate for them to continue in the church planting assessment process.
Things went just fine, and I was allowed to move to the next step, which is a personal assessment interview with three church planters from the network. At some point in the next month, Emily and I will spend another two hours (after the two-hour phone interview) face-to-face with three successful church planters. I am excited, but also a little nervous about what they will think and say... I want to make a good impression!
One thing that struck me during the phone interview was how important the church planting network believes it is to be well-read. Not just regarding the blogs of some important church planter guys, but in difficult theological works.
The reality is that most church planter types are really good at "doing stuff" and they tend to always be active and "into something." That's my personality as well to some extent, although my "doing stuff" isn't bungee jumping or skydiving! :) Most church planters also like to read and learn new things, but they don't spend a ton of time reading theology.
I am moved by my newfound discovery that leaders must be learners, but not just about leadership-related topics. Leaders must read the Bible, of course, but there is also great merit in reading about God and what other people (admittedly much smarter than you) think about God.
This church planting network (my policy is not to reveal names until they make a decision on us) thinks reading theology is crucial to the spiritual and intellectual growth of a pastor and church planter. And, since the members of this network are guys I'd love to be like when we plant our church, I'm going to read more theology!
I just ordered two books that my interviewer recommended. When they get here, I'll dive right in. I know that these books and others like them from stalwarts of the faith will challenge me to be a better Christ-follower, student of God, husband, father (that sounds cool!), church planter, and pastor. My suggestion: follow the lead of those who have gone before, and read more about the awesome God we serve.
Things went just fine, and I was allowed to move to the next step, which is a personal assessment interview with three church planters from the network. At some point in the next month, Emily and I will spend another two hours (after the two-hour phone interview) face-to-face with three successful church planters. I am excited, but also a little nervous about what they will think and say... I want to make a good impression!
One thing that struck me during the phone interview was how important the church planting network believes it is to be well-read. Not just regarding the blogs of some important church planter guys, but in difficult theological works.
The reality is that most church planter types are really good at "doing stuff" and they tend to always be active and "into something." That's my personality as well to some extent, although my "doing stuff" isn't bungee jumping or skydiving! :) Most church planters also like to read and learn new things, but they don't spend a ton of time reading theology.
I am moved by my newfound discovery that leaders must be learners, but not just about leadership-related topics. Leaders must read the Bible, of course, but there is also great merit in reading about God and what other people (admittedly much smarter than you) think about God.
This church planting network (my policy is not to reveal names until they make a decision on us) thinks reading theology is crucial to the spiritual and intellectual growth of a pastor and church planter. And, since the members of this network are guys I'd love to be like when we plant our church, I'm going to read more theology!
I just ordered two books that my interviewer recommended. When they get here, I'll dive right in. I know that these books and others like them from stalwarts of the faith will challenge me to be a better Christ-follower, student of God, husband, father (that sounds cool!), church planter, and pastor. My suggestion: follow the lead of those who have gone before, and read more about the awesome God we serve.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Waiting on God and Important Conversations (part 2)
My second conversation this week was with a guy who is planting a cool new church in Nashville. He is part of the denomination I mentioned in the previous post, and he was a great help to me. He answered questions about his church, shared his experiences with the denomination and the church planting coach that I had spoken to earlier, and offered to help us out anytime we needed it. He's a great guy who gave us alot of peace about joining a denomination instead of being non-denominational and I'm looking forward to getting to know him.
Later, I had a long conversation with a guy who had earlier expressed an interest in being part of our launch staff. Although this dude and I haven't talked extensively in forever, I would be honored to have him join us. He and I were roommates in college and he was in my wedding. I really had hoped that he would want to join our staff, and then be our first supported church planter when we hit the 3-year mark of our church.
To make a long story short, this friend of mine shared that he had been praying about the possibility of joining us, but that he felt led by God to do a "replant" of an existing church. I have heard about this concept, but I didn't know anything about it. My buddy told me that it basically involves stepping into an existing "dead/dying church" situation and removing the people who are left for an extended period of time (there are usually about 20 or so peeps remaining). Then, you "replant" a church in the existing building, and as your church gets on its feet (in 6 months to a year) you allow the "old" members to reintegrate, if they so choose, under a new membership covenant.
This may be a great new idea for helping a dying church to become vibrant again. Not much stays the same, except the location and the building, but at least the "old members" get a chance to be part of the solution of creating a new place for people to meet Christ. I'm sure there are members of dying churches all over our country who'd love to get involved in a new plant, but they have difficulty leaving their family and friends to do so. This may give them that opportunity!
Church restarts sound like a lot of work for the "replanter" and it remains to be seen how well they will work out in the future. It's not for Emily and me, but I wish my friend the best!
Finally, I have an important phone interview with a church planting network guy on Tuesday. I am in the appliation process with this network; being part of it would give Emily and me a solid group of dynamic church planters who would serve as advisors, peers, and co-workers in the planting process. We are excited about the possibilities of being part of this group. They have a rigorous application and assessment process, but if God wants us to join them, he'll work it out!
Well, patience has been the name of the game in our church planting journey this week... Neal McGlohon's words of wisdom are not forgotten: "Spend this time waiting on God and journaling."
God has been working out all kinds of stuff for our future church plant behind the scenes while I've been touring New England with Emily and her parents. Wow. God's awesome!
Later, I had a long conversation with a guy who had earlier expressed an interest in being part of our launch staff. Although this dude and I haven't talked extensively in forever, I would be honored to have him join us. He and I were roommates in college and he was in my wedding. I really had hoped that he would want to join our staff, and then be our first supported church planter when we hit the 3-year mark of our church.
To make a long story short, this friend of mine shared that he had been praying about the possibility of joining us, but that he felt led by God to do a "replant" of an existing church. I have heard about this concept, but I didn't know anything about it. My buddy told me that it basically involves stepping into an existing "dead/dying church" situation and removing the people who are left for an extended period of time (there are usually about 20 or so peeps remaining). Then, you "replant" a church in the existing building, and as your church gets on its feet (in 6 months to a year) you allow the "old" members to reintegrate, if they so choose, under a new membership covenant.
This may be a great new idea for helping a dying church to become vibrant again. Not much stays the same, except the location and the building, but at least the "old members" get a chance to be part of the solution of creating a new place for people to meet Christ. I'm sure there are members of dying churches all over our country who'd love to get involved in a new plant, but they have difficulty leaving their family and friends to do so. This may give them that opportunity!
Church restarts sound like a lot of work for the "replanter" and it remains to be seen how well they will work out in the future. It's not for Emily and me, but I wish my friend the best!
Finally, I have an important phone interview with a church planting network guy on Tuesday. I am in the appliation process with this network; being part of it would give Emily and me a solid group of dynamic church planters who would serve as advisors, peers, and co-workers in the planting process. We are excited about the possibilities of being part of this group. They have a rigorous application and assessment process, but if God wants us to join them, he'll work it out!
Well, patience has been the name of the game in our church planting journey this week... Neal McGlohon's words of wisdom are not forgotten: "Spend this time waiting on God and journaling."
God has been working out all kinds of stuff for our future church plant behind the scenes while I've been touring New England with Emily and her parents. Wow. God's awesome!
Waiting on God and Important Conversations (part 1)
This week has been pretty crazy! After returning from the Dwell Conference in NYC on May 1 (which I still plan to blog about when I collect my notes and thoughts!), Emily and I spent one night in our apartment in West Virginia before she went on a ladies' retreat with the women in our missions organization. I visited my parents for that weekend. We got back to WV on Monday the 5th, and then we left to go to New Hampshire for a wedding with Emily's parents on the 6th.
Anyway, not alot of time for thinking about church planting! But, it's funny how God works even when we feel like we aren't. While on this trip (I'm in NYC right now--we are spending a couple nights with Emily's cousin Amy and her husband Joe in Brooklyn) I've had several important phone calls.
My first conversation was with a guy who is a church planting coach and mentor for a denomination that I had never heard of before the Dwell Conference. A speaker at the conference recommended this denomination to me when I privately asked for his help in finding a good denominational "fit" for our new church. My conversation with this planter/coach was very encouraging! He has planted churches himself, and coached nearly 100 planters of successful churches in the last decade. His denomination gives generously to church planters, and they have a free and extensive church planter assessment process that can really help you take wise steps on the path to planting.
This denomination is totally behind church planting among young and unchurched people--more than I thought any were right now. It is also focused on missions and being relevant to the people they minster to. We are very excited about the possibility of joining this group. Emily and I feel at this point that their theology and practices of reaching the unchurched are in line with ours. We are in the application process right now...
We believe God is showing us that having an accountability relationship with a church planting coach and joining with a denomination where there is a healthy "give and take" is the way for us to go. The key for us is keeping the autonomy of the local church. It's nice to find a denomination (or have it find us) that agrees with us on this subject!
Anyway, not alot of time for thinking about church planting! But, it's funny how God works even when we feel like we aren't. While on this trip (I'm in NYC right now--we are spending a couple nights with Emily's cousin Amy and her husband Joe in Brooklyn) I've had several important phone calls.
My first conversation was with a guy who is a church planting coach and mentor for a denomination that I had never heard of before the Dwell Conference. A speaker at the conference recommended this denomination to me when I privately asked for his help in finding a good denominational "fit" for our new church. My conversation with this planter/coach was very encouraging! He has planted churches himself, and coached nearly 100 planters of successful churches in the last decade. His denomination gives generously to church planters, and they have a free and extensive church planter assessment process that can really help you take wise steps on the path to planting.
This denomination is totally behind church planting among young and unchurched people--more than I thought any were right now. It is also focused on missions and being relevant to the people they minster to. We are very excited about the possibility of joining this group. Emily and I feel at this point that their theology and practices of reaching the unchurched are in line with ours. We are in the application process right now...
We believe God is showing us that having an accountability relationship with a church planting coach and joining with a denomination where there is a healthy "give and take" is the way for us to go. The key for us is keeping the autonomy of the local church. It's nice to find a denomination (or have it find us) that agrees with us on this subject!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
A Call to Church Planting
Calling. That's such a huge word in church planting, especially, but also in any full-time ministry pursuit. I have heard that word used for pastors, missionaries, and pretty much any ministry situation, really.
There are all kinds of definitions of the "calling" concept. I'm not the guy to define the calling of God a person's life--there lots of guys out there with lots of letters (mostly P, h, and D) after their name who've done that. One good, exhaustive list of questions to ask yourself if you think God is calling you to plant a church is found on the Acts29 Network website. Surely there are others; most church planting books provide some definition of the concept of a call to ministry, or church planting, or both.
So, anyway, how do you know when you're called by God? My suggestion is that you check out the list! I'm not you, so I can't know your heart or the tug that God may be placing on it. I can speculate, but that's about it.
However, I can vouch for the fact that my wife and I are called to plant a church in NE Knoxville, Tennessee. Why? Because I know my heart, I trust her claims about her heart (sort of a perq from being married to her for 10 years this June), and I've answered the questions on the calling list! :)
So, let's say you know that you are called to plant a church. That's great, but there are places that need churches all over the world. Where to plant is a tough question, that can only answered by lots of prayer (and fasting, one day soon I will fast for the first time--it just wasn't part of my growing-up experience) and following the path God lays out for you. Also, I recommend including the counsel of others who are more experienced in ministry and wiser than yourself. Those type of men are alot easier to find than you think! :)
I have been fortunate to speak to Neal McGlohon, who planted a church a few years ago and now is a church planting consultant. The one big thing he made sure I understood during our first conversation about church planting was to make sure that Emily and I were called to the town we were considering moving to, and that we were also called to the people of the area.
We have been to several countries and lived in several cities, but the only place we have a true burden for is Knoxville, Tennessee. Specifically, the NE area where there is much growth, but not many 22-35 year-olds in the established churches. We long to share Christ with the people there, help them grow to be mature believers, and provide opportunities for them to follow Him. God is providing a way for us to get there, including folks to come along on the journey as prayer and financial supporters, members, and staff. That's why we're going to Knoxville.
The story is much longer, but I think this is enough for one post... :)
There are all kinds of definitions of the "calling" concept. I'm not the guy to define the calling of God a person's life--there lots of guys out there with lots of letters (mostly P, h, and D) after their name who've done that. One good, exhaustive list of questions to ask yourself if you think God is calling you to plant a church is found on the Acts29 Network website. Surely there are others; most church planting books provide some definition of the concept of a call to ministry, or church planting, or both.
So, anyway, how do you know when you're called by God? My suggestion is that you check out the list! I'm not you, so I can't know your heart or the tug that God may be placing on it. I can speculate, but that's about it.
However, I can vouch for the fact that my wife and I are called to plant a church in NE Knoxville, Tennessee. Why? Because I know my heart, I trust her claims about her heart (sort of a perq from being married to her for 10 years this June), and I've answered the questions on the calling list! :)
So, let's say you know that you are called to plant a church. That's great, but there are places that need churches all over the world. Where to plant is a tough question, that can only answered by lots of prayer (and fasting, one day soon I will fast for the first time--it just wasn't part of my growing-up experience) and following the path God lays out for you. Also, I recommend including the counsel of others who are more experienced in ministry and wiser than yourself. Those type of men are alot easier to find than you think! :)
I have been fortunate to speak to Neal McGlohon, who planted a church a few years ago and now is a church planting consultant. The one big thing he made sure I understood during our first conversation about church planting was to make sure that Emily and I were called to the town we were considering moving to, and that we were also called to the people of the area.
We have been to several countries and lived in several cities, but the only place we have a true burden for is Knoxville, Tennessee. Specifically, the NE area where there is much growth, but not many 22-35 year-olds in the established churches. We long to share Christ with the people there, help them grow to be mature believers, and provide opportunities for them to follow Him. God is providing a way for us to get there, including folks to come along on the journey as prayer and financial supporters, members, and staff. That's why we're going to Knoxville.
The story is much longer, but I think this is enough for one post... :)
Thursday, May 1, 2008
My First-Ever Blog Post!
Well, this is my first-ever blog post!
God definitely has a way of calling you to do the things you have said you'd never do.
I said that I would never want to plant a church, and God called me (and my wife!) to do it.
I said I would never have a blog, and after several church planter guys I respect said I should do it, both for myself and future planters, here we are, writing on kevinlayne.blogspot.com.
Weird.
God definitely has both a way of showing He's in charge, and also a sense of humor!
More to come soon. If you'd like to keep up with our journey of planting a church in Northeast Knoxville, Tennessee, then check back here often. Or, as I prefer to do, use Google Reader.
Have a great day!
God definitely has a way of calling you to do the things you have said you'd never do.
I said that I would never want to plant a church, and God called me (and my wife!) to do it.
I said I would never have a blog, and after several church planter guys I respect said I should do it, both for myself and future planters, here we are, writing on kevinlayne.blogspot.com.
Weird.
God definitely has both a way of showing He's in charge, and also a sense of humor!
More to come soon. If you'd like to keep up with our journey of planting a church in Northeast Knoxville, Tennessee, then check back here often. Or, as I prefer to do, use Google Reader.
Have a great day!
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