Seven Reasons Your Church Plant Might Fail December 15, 2009
Church planters are a RARE breed…no one in their right mind would EVER choose to do it…it MUST be a calling. AND…no one WANTS their church plant to fail…yet here are seven reasons I’ve seen that some have…
#1 – The Church Is Planted Out Of Bitterness Rather Than A Divine Calling From God!
What some people call a church plant…God actually calls a church split. When a group of bitter, angry, self serving people with a lot of money find a hirling who will do all that they want him to do…that isn’t necessarily a church plant. AND…usually within two or three years it goes REALLY bad. Let me be VERY CLEAR here…when bitterness and anger are the root of the plant…then the church is in deep trouble right at the beginning.
#2 – The Leadership Has A Desire For Imitation Rather Than Seeking Revelation!
We’ve seen it before…a group of guys go to a conference and see a church…and then come back to their community and try to be just like the church they saw at the conference. There is NOTHING wrong with receiving inspiration and ideas at a conference…but when one church tries to be just like another one in every area…then I believe the leaders are spending way too much time studying methods rather than the Scriptures. God calls every church to be unique in some sort of way…and that will never be found if the leadership isn’t desperately seeking God for His direction.
#3 – The Pastor Has A Desire To Be Known Way More Than He Desires To Fulfill The Great Commission!
When a leader is more obsessed with how many hits he is getting on his blog…or how many people follow him on twitter…and because of those things loses sight of reaching people for Christ–it’s over.
#4 – When The Leadership Allows The Vision To Get Hijacked In Order To Keep Everyone Happy!
EVERY church planter WILL experience SOMEONE trying to hijack the vision of the church…MOST of the time before the church ever officially launches. Pastor..BEG God for HIS vision, let Him BURN it in your heart…and then go for it and don’t let anyone talk you out of what God has clearly spoken into you.
#5 – The Pastor Isn’t Willing To Call People To Commit.
The last thing we need in the body of Christ is a room full of people who are more commited to watching their favorite TV shows every week than they are to following Christ. Pastors…you can’t be afraid to ask people to commit to Christ, to volunteer, to give and to read their Bibles. If you back down from this then you will do nothing more than raise a co-dependent group of people who learn to depend on you rather than Jesus.
#6 – The Pastor Lacks Courage!
This sort of goes along with #5. I believe that every church planter will be tested early in the process…usually within the first six months…and also usually it will relate to finances. A big giver will begin to list out his or her demands…and then the leader must decide whether or not he is a prositiute (paid for a service) or a prophet (someone who belongs to God.) Pastor…leadership requires courage. People WILL take shots at you. People WILL take what you say out of context. People WILL lie about you. You are NOT going to be loved by everyone…and to face that reality takes courage. If you lack it then you won’t make it.
#7 – The Pastor Tries To Do It All By Himself!
Dear pastor…you are NOT that good! You can’t do it all (even though some will expect you to.) You’ve GOT to delegate ministry to others. You’ve GOT to listen to the people God intentionally places around you. You’ve GOT to admit when the load is too heavy so those who care about you can take things off your plate. You’ve GOT to understand that Jesus cares WAY more about the church than you do…and He will send the right people along side of you to make sure HIS vision becomes reality. We are NOT called to do it alone!!!
“This Sh_t Is Awesome!” December 14, 2009
If you want to build a great church then go after the people that no one else wants! That’s what Jesus did…and because of that we are included in HIS Kingdom. Quite often something will happen in our church that will remind me that, though we are far from perfect, we are going after the people that I believe Jesus would have gone after…
So…the other day in our children’s area this happened…
A first time visitor (probably around 9 or 10 years old) walked into our 4th-5th grade room in KidSpring at our Anderson campus and was BLOWN away!
He looked at the children’s worker who met him at the door, and, after looking around the room he said, “you guys have a wii?”
“Yep,” she said.
“And you guys have a PSIII?” he said!
“Yes sir, we sure do,” she replied.
“And we can play these for free?” He asked.
“Yep,” she answered.
Then he turned to his friend and said out loud, “This Sh_t is awesome!”
Now I am quite sure that makes some of you very uncomfortable; after all, you don’t want the cussing kids coming into church and messing up your perfect child.
However…after hearing this story from one of our children’s staff I was INCREDIBLY pumped up because I thought, “THAT is why we do church!” I know many churches would not want a kid like that…but we do because HE MATTERS TO JESUS…even though his behavior is not perfect!
Here is what I know about that kid…
- He was greeted by children’s workers that made it a point to learn his name.
- He was treated like he was special, not like an outcast.
- He was NOT taken to the bathroom where his mouth was washed out with soap; in fact, he wasn’t even rebuked. (Why in the world does the church expect those who do not know Christ to act as if they do? It is the most ridiculous/stupid idea!!!)
- He was placed into an environment where he was taught the Scriptures.
- He was placed into an environment where he was taught about Jesus.
- He was placed into an environment where people went the extra mile to make sure the presentation was on his level.
- He matters to God; therefore, he matters to us…and we are going to continually do all that we can to reach him.
Church is not a place for “perfect people.” (And BEWARE of the church where you go and EVERYONE seems perfect!!!) It’s a place where the broken, the lonely, the addicted, and the struggling can go.
I love the fact that this kid came to our church…didn’t pretend to be someone he was not…and was STILL accepted and heard about Jesus.
The church has GOT to STOP placing expectations on people as soon as they walk in the door…
We are NOT a country club…we are a church!!!
And for those who look down on those who are “not as good as you,” remember that you were once like them (see I Corinthians 6:9-11 and Ephesians 2:1-5)…and were it not for God’s AMAZING grace…you would STILL be lost.
- People who cuss should be welcome at church…
- So should those who smell like smoke…
- So should those who smell like alcohol…
- So should those who do whatever sin you do not do…
When we get into the business of placing stipulations as to who can and cannot come to a service based on a morality code (OR a dress code) we have COMPLETELY lost sight of why Jesus came and died on a cross.
Like I said, hearing the story of that kid made my day!!! It’s why we do what we do…and it is my prayer that he eventually receives Christ, fixes his eyes on Jesus…and grows up to do AMAZING things in HIS name…all because there was a church that allowed him to come in as he was…and then begged God to not let him stay that way but rather to bring about the change HE desired in HIS time.
Sunday Night Reflections December 13, 2009
A few thoughts on an AMAZING day at NewSpring Church…
- We saw around 75 people surrender their lives to Christ today…that NEVER gets old! (That is over 125 in the past two weeks…GOD is doing AMAZING things!)
- Today was an old fashioned, walk forward pray out loud invitation…some church growth “experts” say that things like that don’t happen anymore…someone forgot to tell Jesus that because He drew people to Him today in an undeniable way!
- It was not a “nice” church service…Jesus didn’t die on a cross so we could have nice church services…He died to reconcile mankind to God…and we SAW THAT HAPPEN RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES TODAY!
- The passage we began the message with today was Leviticus 15:19-27…and I can honestly say that it MIGHT have been the most uncomfortable reading of Scripture I’ve ever done!!!
- All to often we focus on what God has done “out there,” so much so that we forget all that He has done inside of us!!!
- It is possible to be around Jesus but never experience Him…there were CROWDS around Him, but only one person truly was changed by Him in Mark 5:21-34!
- Desperate people show up at church every week…many pretend everything is ok, but pretending only lasts for so long because, sooner or later, the wheels come off!
- Staying lost will eventually cost us everything! (For those who are in Christ…how BAD could our lives have been had He not found us?)
- Someone has GOT to be willing to tell others about Jesus…someone told the woman (see the beginning of Mark 5:27)…and because of that her life was COMPLETELY changed!
- (BTW…WHO are you bringing with you to our Christmas services? Have you RSVP’d yet? Here is where you need to go to let us know what service you are coming to!)
- For those who heard the message today and my story about the cookies…Mika actually baked some cookies for me today and brought them to the church tonight…and they are AMAZING!!! Thank you Mika…you rock!!!
- Jesus never really bought into the whole, “I can pray and prayer and then slip back into the crowd” type of thing…He called people to publicly follow Him! (See Mark 5:30-34!)
- Two of the myths that spiritually blind people believe is, “I am in control,” and, “I’m a good person.”
- Ephesians 2:1-5 is MY STORY…I was DEAD, now I am ALIVE, not because I’m good…but because HE IS GOOD!!!
- Once again…seeing people walk forward and receive Christ NEVER GETS OLD!!!
- This Wednesday is going to be amazing at NewSpring Church…each campus will be going to a public school in their area and putting shoes on the feet of over 1,500 kids that need shoes for Christmas!!!
- Thanks to everyone at every campus that gives so generously…because of your generosity needs in our own community are going to be met in the name of Jesus.
- AND…there is MORE to do in every community in which our campuses exist…I can’t WAIT to share more about the opportunities that God is placing right in front of us!!!
- And…just in case you didn’t know…I am getting more and more excited about our 10 year anniversary service in the BI-LO center…I REALLY hope you are planning on being there…and being EARLY because we are expecting it to be PACKED!
- Hey NewSpring…great things are happening…but…the BEST IS YET TO COME!!
URGENCY!!! (Part Two) December 11, 2009
One of the things I’ve been begging God for is a renewed sense of urgency when it comes to reaching this world for Christ!!! I don’t ever want to get to the point where I get so wrapped up in “church work” that evangelism is neglected.
Which takes me back to my story yesterday about Jennifer. There was a CLEAR opportunity in front of me…she CLEARLY was in danger…she was CLEARLY unaware of what was taking place…she CLEARLY thought I was joking around the first time I spoke with her…and all of this makes me think…
#1 – WHAT IF I had simply decided to just commit to praying for her?
#2 – WHAT IF I had decided that I didn’t really want to place myself in an uncomfortable situation?
#3 – WHAT IF I had turned my back on what was happening right in front of me?
#4 – WHAT IF I had said, “this isn’t REALLY that important…and now’s just not the best time to draw attention to this?”
#5 – WHAT IF I had said, “Well, I can’t help everyone being robbed…what about the person in the jungle who gets robbed, who is going to help that person?”
#6 – WHAT IF I had given up on trying to get her away from danger after she didn’t respond the first time?
#7 – WHAT IF I had decided to enroll in Bible studies on how to warn people who were being robbed?
#8 – WHAT IF I had not realized that someone’s life was at stake?
IT COULD HAVE GONE BAD…REALLY BAD!!!
Guess what…when it comes to sharing Christ and inviting people to church…there is WAY more at stake than there was with Jennifer in Ryans that day. We’re talking eternity.
There really is a heaven…and there really is a hell…and people really do go to one or the other!
And we can’t make excuses any longer…we’ve got to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach these people and tell them about Jesus…
If you are a member or regular attender of NewSpring I am asking you to do three things…
#1 – Read Luke 14:15-23 and Luke 15:1-10 and see how JESUS feels about people who are lost and far from Him!
#2 – Ask God WHO you need to BRING to church with you THIS MONTH!!! Seriously…ask Him to place someone (or multiple people) on your heart after reading the Scripture above. (We are going ALL OUT THIS SUNDAY to share the GOSPEL…you SERIOUSLY NEED to get people here!!!)
#3 – SEIZE the opportunities that God puts in front of you! Read Isaiah 40:6-8, we have a limited time on this big ball of dirt we call earth…and we have a direct command from our Savior to REACH the world for Him (Matthew 28:18-20)…the WORLD begins with those who God has placed right in front of us…so let’s go for it!!!
URGENCY!!! (Part One) December 10, 2009
Have you ever been robbed?
I remember working at a steakhouse here in the upstate MANY years ago (before I knew Christ) and experiencing what I NEVER thought would happen…
It was a Saturday afternoon and, for some reason, we were slammed. The line was literally out the door and I happened to be working the cash register. (People would go through the line, get their drink, order their food and then pay before they sat down.)
So this guy handed me his ticket…I looked at him and noticed he had the hood on his jacket over his head…AND he had on a pair of gloves. I literally thought to myself, “It’s not cold outside…maybe this guy is going to try to rob me.”
I told him how much he owed…he threw a $20 bill at me…and I opened up the cash register to get his change…
That’s when he reached inside of his jacket (and as I saw his hand I began to tell myself, “THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!!!”)
He then began pulling out the largest knife I’ve EVER seen in my life and said something like, “You need to hand me the money.” To which I simply hit one button on the cash register…it opened up…and I told the guy, “it’s yours” while backing away with my hands in the air.
He instructed me to come back to the register and hand him the money…and I told him in a very direct way that his command would NOT be happening! (Did I mention the knife was HUGE?)
So, he came around the counter and approached the register to take out the money…
Then I saw Jennifer.
She was a waitress who worked there…and wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on. The cash register was right next to the window where the servers would come get the food…and she was standing there goofing off with the guys in the kitchen.
He stopped looking at the money for a second and looked at her…so I said, “Hey Jennifer, could you come here for a second.” (By this time I had backed WAY up and was standing about 10 feet from where the robber was.)
She looked at me and noticed that I had my hands up and said something like, “Oh Perry, you’re so funny!”
I realized she thought this was a joke…that I was playing around…and she didn’t notice that right behind her was a dude who had a knife and was seemingly trying to decide between taking the money or taking her.
So I screamed…REALLY LOUDLY (and I think I might have used profanity) that there was a man behind her with a knife…and that she needed to cease and desist flirting with the kitchen boys and walk away. (That is the edited version.)
When I screamed the entire restaurant looked at me…and became VERY silent. Jennifer SPRINTED out of there…and the robbed grabbed the money and ran out the door.
(They caught him 15 minutes later…he was very high and wanted the money to buy more drugs.)
Looking back on that situation makes me see several things…
- Jennifer was in danger
- Someone had to tell her…she wasn’t going to just figure it out…she wasn’t paying attention
- I tried to tell her nicely…but she thought I was joking.
- Understanding the urgency of the situation I cast aside what others thought about me and was willing to make an idiot of myself to get her out of the danger that was right behind her that she was unaware of.
- Romans 10:14-17!!!
We are called to do the same with our friends and family members who do not know Christ!!! More about this tomorrow…
Coaching Network Openings December 9, 2009
This past April I blogged about a coaching network that I was starting here at NewSpring…and was overwhelmed with the response. We not only filled up the spots for the fall of this year…but the spring of 2010 as well.
However, due to some unforeseen circumstances with some of the guys that were originally accepted in the network, we’ve had about three spots open up…and so I wanted to put this post out there to any senior pastor who may be interested.
There are several commitments involved with this…
- There is a time commitment – the sessions will be from 9:30 am until 4:00 pm on 1-21-10, 2-18-10, 4-22-10, and 5-13-10.
- There is a financial commitment – the cost to be in the network is $1,500…payable to NewSpring Church.
- There is an attitude commitment – I am looking/praying for leaders who are HUNGRY and willing to do whatever it takes to grow.
- There is a “seek Jesus” commitment – I will not promise you that if you join this network you church will see amazing results…but I will promise you that you will be challenged to seek HIM with all you’ve got…and that you will be challenged and stretched as a leader.
If you are interested in being a part of this network…OR if you have questions and want to know more information then you can…
- Email Karla Temples here at our church offices (karla.temples@newspring.cc) and request an application. OR…
- Call our church office (864-226-6585) and ask for Karla…she will be more than happy to assist you.
AND…if you want to read it, HERE IS THE POST I did back in April explaining the network in more detail. (BUT…remember when reading it to email Karla, not Lindsay!)
We will be accepting applications until this Sunday (December 13th)…and our staff is absolutely PUMPED about the possibility/opportunity of serving you during this time period.
I’m Dreaming Of A Church… December 9, 2009
Jesus has done more in the past 10 years of ministry here at NewSpring Church than any of us ever thought possible…and I know there’s more.
Ephesians 3:20 keeps running over and over again in my mind…and I keep dreaming of a church (and churches…)
- That the ministry goes beyond the walls of the building and actually IMPACTS the community in a radical way.
- Where the broken, hurting and lost are received with open arms…and the religious are challenged to repent of their “perfection.”
- Where generosity is embraced.
- Where the staff and volunteers give their best to God in every task that they take on! (I don’t believe the church should look to organization like Disney and Apple for inspiration…I believe they should be looking at the church!!! Yes, they have great thinkers…we have the HOLY SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD! There is no excuse for half hearted, watered down effort in the Kingdom!)
- Where JESUS is exalted…NOT a denomination or a political party.
- Where Scripture, not Robert’s Rules of Order, govern the Body.
- Where people in the church REFUSE to ignore injustice…and EMBRACE that God has called the church to do more about it than simply pray…but rather to DIVE IN and do all we can to help all we can.
- That refuses to accept that the way things are is the way they have to be.
- That champions the next generation instead of teaching them they are insignificant until they can get a job and begin to tithe.
- That excitement and passion surrounds the Sunday services…and also an expectation that God is going to do something huge!
- That throws the desire to compete with other churches out the window…and does all that they can to help the body.
- That embraces the fact that Jesus originally called “unschooled, ordinary men” to change the world…and He’s STILL doing the same thing today. (See Acts 4:13)
The church’s best days are yet to come…and I can’t wait to see what Jesus does next. He loves His church way more than we do!!!