It is dangerous to hold up a person or ministry or church as a model…As soon as we do, the clay feet will become plain. Disillusionment often follow naive admiration. There is none without sin, and all our triumphs are mixed with imperfections. We do well to temper our esteem with the acknowledgement that there are hidden faults in any saint, and today’s victory is no assurance of tomorrow’s holiness. Nor can we even read the heart of today’s triumph. Neither the heart of others nor our own (1 Cor 4:4)…

God alone never changes, but the outpourings of his blessings ebb and flow in some ways far too mysterious for our minds to judge. The moment we think righteousness holds sway, some sinful plague is spreading in the midst. And just when we think the darkness is so thick that all is lost, someone grabs a rope that rings a bell and brings an army with torches. We will only maintain our stability and unshakeable confidence if we keep our focus on the unchanging God and take every rising and receding tide as a work of infinite wisdom for the accomplishment of His holy purposes.

J.D. Greear (The Summit Church) and Tyler Jones (Vintage21 Church) will be teaching on the Marks of a Gospel Movement in a local church.

How do you know when a church is centered on the gospel? What does a gospel movement look like in the life of a church? And what are the potential dangers of the gospel-centered movement?

We’ll seek to answer these questions and more.

This event is FREE. You can register and get more details HERE.

That weight and responsibility tends to draw guys that are comfortable operating with a degree of isolation. Sometimes this is the sign of an experienced leader who is comfortable in his own skin and has enough wisdom to know when he is hearing from God and when he just ate bad pizza the night before. Other times it is foolishness ambition that is more rooted in proving one’s own worthiness than a genuine calling. Often it’s a mix of the two.

Proverbs 18:1 offers some great advice for those exploring a call to plant, and really for any leader:

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.”

That’s not just a verse about isolating yourself so you can pursue BAD things without others knowing about it. It’s also about isolating yourself to pursue GOOD things without godly input. Don’t pursue your calling outside of community. Make sure you have people in your life that have access to your deepest desires. And give them permission to speak into those desires, even if it’s not what you want to hear. If you find yourself making major decisions in isolation, that should serve as an indicator that things are out of balance. Remember, the greatest assessment tool we have for church planting is the local church.

Here’s an exercept from Tim Keller’s forward to the book:

One of the reasons I think this book is so important is that conservative evangelicals (particularly white ones) seem to have become more indifferent to the sin of racism during my lifetime. Why? One reason, of course, is the stubbornness of the sinful heart. We never want to hear about what is wrong with us. Another factor may be cultural. Many have made racism and prejudice virtually the only thing they will still call a “sin,” and they often lay the guilt for the sin of racism at the doorstep of those who are social conservatives. Because of that, many who identify themselves as conservatives simply don’t want to hear about racism anymore. They give lip service to it being a sin, but they associate any sustained denunciation of racism with the liberal or secular systems of thought. John’s book is a strong antidote to this misconception. His motivation is simply as a preacher of the Word to bring to light what God says in it regarding race and racism.

HERE is a link to where you can download a free PDF version of the book. Thanks to Desiring God for making this available.

I thought this sections was particularly insightful for church planters:

Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is like to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life should be and try to realize it. But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams…Every human wish dream that is injected into Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself…

God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered common life with them…[So] we thank God for what He has done for us. We thank God for giving us brethren who live by His call, by His forgiveness, and His promise. We do not complain of what God does not give us; we rather than God for what He does give us daily…

When the morning mist of dreams vanish, then dawns the bright day of Christian fellowship.

Planters are visionaries. They have to be. Planters have to look at a lost community and envision a church that could reach them. The problem is when your vision for your community trumps the community that the Gospel actually creates.

Don’t let your dreams ruin your community. Don’t let the church you’ve planted in your head spoil what God actually gives you.

Thanks to @spenceshelton for turning me on to this book.

Our good friends over at Plant NC are hosting a regional event in Greenville, NC, on January 26. The conference is being hosted at Integrity, one of our church plants. The topic is going the distance in ministry. I’d encourage you to check it out:

The average tenure of a pastor in Protestant churches has declined to just 4 years. The road to ministry is littered with men who have burned out, committed moral failure, or simply walked away from the ministry.  This is happening at an alarming rate. Endure is an event that will help equip you with practical insight and wisdom from three leading church practitioners committed to going the distance in ministry.

The speakers are David Horner (Providence Baptist Church), Winfield Bevins (Church of the Outer Banks), and Tyler Jones (Vintage21 Church). To find out more information or RSVP go HERE.

Summit Church | Denver, CO

From Bryan Barley:

On January 16, 2011, we had our first Summit gathering in my living room. 10 of us met together, and I shared how I believed The Summit Denver was a movement of God, and how we desired to continue His work in the city of Denver. In that moment, I carried in my heart both fear and hope – fear that we were inadequate for such a task, yet hope that God’s grace is sufficient and He delights to make His power known through our weakness. God has been faithful, and we’ve seen some amazing things happen:

• 80+ people now attend our weekly gatherings
• We’ve moved 3 times to accommodate growth; on January 1, we moved in our new building (above)
• 47 people have joined as covenant members to become missionaries to the city
• 5 city groups have been launched throughout the city
• We’ve gained a reputation as a church that exists for the good of the city and the neighborhood
• This January alone, we will baptize 5 people, add 15 new members, and start a new city group

City Church | Murfreesboro, TN

From Trevor Atwood:

In all of my training and preparation to plant a church, a few phrases stuck with me more than others. One of those is “Planting a church is not a sprint; it’s a marathon.” The idea is that church planters shouldn’t expend all their energy in a few short months looking for immediate results, but get into a steady pace moving toward a mission, and expect results to come after time. In many ways, I have learned that to be true. But I have also learned to expect great things from the God of the impossible:

• In July, 25 people moved from our home church (The Summit Church in Durham, NC) as well as TX, VA, and TN to plant City Church
• God provided 13 jobs for those who moved; nobody went more than 2.5 months without a job
• 28 others have since joined as covenant members, bringing the total to 53
• 6 people have been baptized
• 4 people have moved from death to life (all coworkers and neighbors of team members)
• 70+ now attend our weekly gatherings
• Our people recently gave $8600 toward our Christmas Missions Offering to bless our city and plant new churches

Imago Dei Church | Raleigh, NC

Check out this update from Tony Merida. Since this video, Imago Dei has grown to:

• 82 covenant members
• 175 in weekly attendance
• 100+ people meeting weekly in 8 growth groups

They are now looking for a permanent facility to expand their ministry to the city of Raleigh.

While this is focused on an urban context, much of it also applies to planting in general.

1. You’re a Limited Leader (Exodus 18:18)
People will want you to be the omni-gifted leader and you’ll be tempted to believe it. It’s important to know who you are and who you are not. The only thing worst than the people wanting you to be omni-gifted is the pastor who believes he is, this will quickly drain you of the joy of shepherding people. Embrace your limits and work your strengths.

2. Process your Hurt (1 Peter 5:7)
Pastors aren’t exempt from hurt and many have ‘daddy issues’ that haven’t been addressed and oftentimes the pulpit is the ‘see I made it’ platform to address the hurt caused by an absentee father or an overly aggressive mother. Whatever the case it’s vital that you realize that you need God’s grace and much counsel. In short get help and embrace your frailty and dependence upon the King. If you don’t you will look for the church to heal these wounds only to find out that the help is not there and these wounds will only be highlighted in your church plant. Seeking counsel isn’t a sign of weakness, but in fact it’s a display of humble strength.

3. You’re not Planting the Church; your Family is Planting the church (Ephesians 6)
It’s vital that you don’t make the plant your baby. Your plant could fail and God may very well use that to bring you closer to Him. I’m sure you believe you’re the exception and that’s fine, I want your church plant to thrive, but the reality is that’s not always the case. Church planting is ugly, brutal and tiring,but it has the greatest rewards. If the church is everything, you’ll neglect your family and they don’t deserve that plan for your family prior to planning everything for the church. Don’t fail your family and include your wife in crucial decisions throughout the growth and pains of your plant. Your family is planting with you.

4. You’ll Experience Inner and Outer Prejudice (Galatians 2:11-21)
Many people of your own race won’t understand the theological stances and those outside your race will assume you’re rare because of the lack of exposure to gospel-centered, biblically orthodox African-American pastors. It comes with the territory, stay faithful to word word and don’t build identity around this, if you do you’ll see yourself as a savior to the context as opposed to be called to the context.

5. Go After Men (1 Timothy 6:11-16)
Men are an apologetic within themselves in the context because this is literally the most fatherless generation ever. It’s vital that you speak to men, encourage men and give men a platform to use their gifts for the King. Nurture the men if your circle and train them to go after other men. Men will bring families to your church and I love my sisters, but it’s vital that we don’t exploit them by having them do everything at the ministry. Get men and get as many as you can.

6. Get a Spiritual Father (1 Timothy 1:2 & Philippians 2:22)
Some see this as charismatic, but the bottom line is its biblical. Get strong men that can speak into your life. Men that you would follow and submit to and allow them access to the you that only your wife and children know. Let them speak into your life about your family, finances, church, sex life and hurt. This will pay HUGE dividends in your life and the life of your church.

7. Date your Wife (Ephesians 5)
It’s easy to replace your wife with the church. Allow her to be honest with you about how she’s feeling and be intentional about dating her, loving her, listening to her and romancing her. Don’t take her for granted she’s worth more than that and deserves your best. Don’t give the church your all and give her your leftovers. As you’re visioneering for your plant, be sure to visioneer on how you continue to intentional show and tell your wife how much you love her.

8. Establish Unity with Your Core Team (Philippians 1:27-28)
Have a clear sense of your philosophy of ministry and communicate it well with your core team. You want to be unified on three major fronts: Theologically, Relationally and Philosophically. Define your theological open and closed handed issues, examine how you relate with the leaders on your team and ask explicitly if they embrace your philosophy of ministry. This will ensure unity and a healthy board and longevity for your plant.

9. People will Leave (John 6:58-66)
In John 6 many walked away from Jesus after hearing hard truth, and many will leave you too. Don’t trip, but listen to what those that are leaving are saying; don’t dismiss them all because you’re hurt that they are leaving. Some of them will have vital points and people leaving is a necessary thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7-10) of a church planter to keep you on your knees. When people leave it will hurt and that’s ok. Don’t pretend that you’re not hurt, but don’t let those that leave define you either. Some will talk to you on their way out, many will just shoot an email or just leave and you find out on Facebook that they’re at a new church. Although you may not want to confront them you should have streams for growth and exits. Conduct exit interviews for people on their way out, you may find some holes in your leadership team that need to be addressed. Lastly it’s rare that people are honest with you about why they leave, but allow this to keep you reminded that Christ will build his church.

10. Fundraise for Longevity (Philippians 4:15-20)
Secure your salary and healthcare and another guy to be on staff on the front end. If you plan on being bivocational for the life of your plant then you can have some leeway with this, but you want secure as much money as possible prior to launching because this is a burden that you don’t need on top of everything else needed for your plant.

In all of this, love Jesus and his gospel – your identity isn’t in the success or failure of your plant; it’s in Him, and as simple as it may sound you’ll be prone to forget this. Remember this -  you weren’t chosen because you’re special, you’re special because He chose you (John 15:16). The truth is you don’t have what it takes for what you’re about to embark on and if your joy is in the plant and not Christ, this will become evident quickly and you’ll burnout and quit, or abuse your people and make the plant about you. Christ loves you and you’re His son. He didn’t die for you to be a great church planter; He died for you to be His son and that’s more than enough.

We planted 3 new churches in the U.S….

• In Denver, CO (Summit Denver); Murfreesboro, TN (City Church); and here in Raleigh (Imago Dei).
• One has launched and two are in the pre-launch phases, but already over 300 people are gathering weekly to worship at these churches that didn’t exist in 2010. Check out the blog later this week for an update.
• Plans are underway for our next plants in Greensboro, NC (Mercy Hill Church), and Baltimore, M.

We planted 3 new church planting teams overseas in North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. These teams are serving in some of the most unreached and under-resourced areas in the world.

Altogether, we sent out over 80 people as a part of these church planting teams to plant new churches in strategic cities around the world.

I can’t wait to see what God does in 2012. We are praying that God would use us to plant at least 4 new churches in the U.S. in 2012, establish the same number if not more new church planting teams overseas, and send over 100 people to plant the gospel in new places.

Join us. Here are a few ways you can partner with us to see this vision accomplished:

Pray
Join us in praying that God would raise up more men and women with a calling to plant their lives in another city in order to plant God’s church. Pray specifically that God would use us to raise up qualified and equipped lead pastors and team leaders. Pray for the resources to plant these churches. Pray for our existing plants that they would reach people far from God and raise up mature disciples and new leaders to reach the lost. We believe this is just the beginning, for “he is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20).

Partner
Maybe your church wants to become a church planting church. Partnering with a church plant is a great way to get started. Before most churches begin planting churches of their own, mostof them get started by partnering with a plant that isalready in the works. This kind of partnership is a great way to get your church planting vision off the ground. Contact Us if you’re interested in this kind of partnership.

Invest
…in what God is doing. 100% of what you give will go directly to support one of our church plants. 2011 is over but it’s never to early to start giving in 2012. Find out how here.

Go.
Is God calling you to be a lead a church plant or be part of a team? We’d love to be a part of seeing that happen. Check out our Training for opportunities to get equipped to go. Or contact us here.

Randy Newman has recently come out with a book called Bringing the Gospel Home. Recommending books you haven’t read is generally, well, not recommended, but I got so much out of Randy Newman’s previous book Questioning Evangelism, and I found the video below so helpful, that I’d encourage you to check it out. And right now it’s FREE, so it’s hard to go wrong there. You can download a free PDF or eBook version of the book here.

For a few highlights, check out this video. In it, Newman gives some really practical advice to help you share the gospel with your friends and family:

1. Saturate yourself in the gospel. One of the reasons that family members sometimes dismiss our faith is because they’re the ones who are closest to us – they see our highs and our lows, so they’re the most likely to notice any shallowness or even phoniness on our part. The more we grow in the gospel, not only will our lives change, but the more humble and genuine we will be about our strengths and our weaknesses.
2. Find common ground instead of always focusing on differences. Newman says, “How many times do we try to do evangelism by first convincing people how miserable they are? Isn’t there something missing in your life? Aren’t you empty? Aren’t you longing? And I think there are a lot of our friends and family who are just not as empty as we’d like them to be, so that they would be hungering. But if they could say, look at how good life is, look at all we have, where does that come from?” Share how good life is because God is creator.
3. Brainstorm 12 things you could say. Most of us focus on trying to come up with that one right thing to say, and it paralyzes us. Instead, come up with several, and throw out the bad ones.
4. Deepen your conversation about non-spiritual things. Learn how to talk about non-spiritual things in a way that leadsto the spiritual. Don’t open the conversation with the Romans Road.
5. Don’t wait until it’s comfortable. “Comfortable evangelism is an oxymoron, at least for most people…Most people do not have the gift of evangelism.”
6. Remember it takes time. Instant results are rare. Be willing to take one step at a time, working incrementally.
7. Witnessing to family members takes love. Love people genuinely. Remember they are people, not projects.
8. Don’t be surprised if it’s difficult. We usually think that if we know the right thing to say, it will be easy, but often it’s not. Witnessing to your family takes faith. Continually go back to the gospel to remind yourself of the hope we all have in Christ, and the power of the gospel to save.