The past week has been a crazy one! On Wednesday, Emily and I drove from WV to Raleigh to a regional church planting network gathering we were invited to attend. While there, we met some cool people, and learned quite a bit from a special guest about the importance of the leadership of a church reflecting the three roles of Christ: prophet, priest, and king. It was enlightening and enjoyable.
On Thursday, Emily and I were assessed by three guys who are part of that same church planting network. It was a great time--but also stressful! The guys made sure we understood that we might feel a little defensive and "put on the spot" during the process of assessment. While it is true that we felt scrutinized, we also knew for a fact that the three guys cared deeply about church planting and church planters, and only wanted to help us through the church planting process.
The assessors had a ton of paperwork we had submitted to the network's representatives, including personal histories, information on our lifelong employment, the beginnings of our relationship with God and the current status of that relationship, and all kinds of other stuff. We were honest in the paperwork and the initial two-hour phone interview with a network representative about what we thought were our strengths, weaknesses, and potential struggles.
I believe wholeheartedly that our honesty and straightforward answers on the application helped alot! The assessors were able to focus on our weak areas to make sure that we have a healthy relationship, are planning for a healthy family life, and have a viable plan for being missionaries in Knoxville and starting a healthy, missional church that will make God's love visible in our area.
My advice to any church planter is to be assessed! It is great to know what people who've been down the path you are walking think about you and your ideas. They can't tell you exactly what God's will for you is, but they can give you insight and wise counsel. Pursue an assessment, and pursue membership in some type of network! The camaraderie and friendship is 100% worth it. It's three hours (or sometimes three days--depending on your network) that are well worth the investment of your time.
We will hear soon about whether we are going to be moving forward through the assessment process with this network. That will help us a great deal with knowing how to move forward with our church. Hopefully, a ton of advice will accompany our assessment report!
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