The importance of rest in church planting
I wanted to reach people. I wanted to grow the church. I wanted to make an impact. But I didn't recognize what I was doing.
Resources for Leadership
A Professor’s Legacy of Mentoring Church Planters
Steve Lee stood at the front of his Contemporary Evangelism class at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary...
Writing a Church Planting Prospectus
Few things keep a church planter up at night more than finances. The dizzying array of...
Maintaining an ongoing relationship with supporters
It is sometimes said, perhaps only somewhat jokingly, that church planters are after one thing: money....
Anything that’s made to sound simple, probably isn’t. Most of us have tried to put together...
E-book: Covocational Church Planting
Over the past several years there has been an increasing interest in church planting. As a...
Kevin Ezell: If I could do it over
If you are pastoring with your whole heart and really going after it each day, it...
In April 2016, Dan Rockwell posted a piece on his leadership blog called “The Five Biggest...
Redefining Mission as an Every Day Mission
Too often we settle for the status quo. We assume this is just the way life...
The past few years have been challenging for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Many of our...
A bright future rooted in a distant path
The glum cacophony of voices bemoaning the state of the church in North America presents a...
Where have all the church planters gone?
What’s the greatest hindrance to effective church planting? You might expect to get varied answers to...
So, What Comes After Church Growth?
The regrettable shortage of multiplying churches can be explained, at least in part, by the lingering...
How Evangelistically Effective is Church Planting?
In 2002, pastor and author Tim Keller published a brief article entitled “Why Plant Churches” that has since...
I was never consciously called into pastoral ministry. I was never consciously called into church planting....
Should we apologize for Complementarianism?
When I chose to preach through Ephesians this year, I knew there would come a time...
Multiplying your time as a planter: Prioritizing tasks
You cannot do everything you want to do. I forget this fact more than I would...
Three years in … what am I learning
We just celebrated our third birthday as a church! At the beginning of this call on...
Great coaching brings vision one step closer to reality. You may not have a coach right...
Knowing your role: Self awareness
Reggie McNeil says, “The single most important piece of information a leader possesses is self-awareness.”[1] Self-Awareness could...
Shaping your senior pastor’s heart toward planting, Pt. 3
I remember it like it was yesterday. After one of “those” church business meetings, someone close...
Shaping your senior pastor’s heart toward planting, Pt. 2
I was asked to write a post titled “Shaping your senior pastor’s heart toward planting.” I...
Shaping your senior pastor’s heart toward planting: Pt. 1
So, you’re currently reading through the book of Acts, or have recently read a book or...
The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and we...
Every organization, including the church, is built upon underlying paradigms or assumptions. This is not the...
Measurement is fabulous. Unless you’re busy measuring what’s easy to measure, as opposed to what’s important....
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. ~ Max De Pree In the...
Paradigm shifts: The need to rethink
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but...
Creating a core team: Shepherding your team members
It snowed in Phoenix, Arizona, on Jan. 1, 2011. It was the only snow we have...
Creating a core team: Leading your team members
Before we started our church planting process, I had a seasoned pastor remind me that if...
Creating a core team: Vetting your team members
It is incredible that Jesus’ intention in His three-year ministry was to start a global movement...
Pastoring a church when it is no longer a plant: Finances
“Wait a minute, what?” I thought to myself incredulously, “We are no longer a plant?” This...
Pastoring a church when it is no longer a plant: Momentum
My father was one of the greatest high school basketball coaches in Kentucky history. After watching...
Everybody thinks they hate evangelism, but what if that was because they didn’t understand how evangelism...
What are practical ways to develop leaders in a church plant?
https://vimeo.com/241774659,https://vimeo.com/241774659 https://vimeo.com/241774659 Rayden Hollis, church planter in St. Louis, gives practical steps one can take to...
9 characteristics of a church planter: Social skills
Before I knew Jesus, I was a user. Not drugs. Worse. I used people. I am...
9 characteristics of a church planter: Disciple making
Recently I had the “privilege” of shopping at Home Depot. I say “privilege” because, depending on...
9 characteristics of a church planter: Family dynamics
We plant gospel-centered churches because it is the prescribed Great Commission strategy found in the Scripture....
9 characteristics of a church planter: Emotional and spiritual health
Church planting is a not a young man’s sport, nor an old man’s sport. It’s a healthy man’s...
9 characteristics of a church planter: Calling/Intro
I still remember the angst I felt the first time I read the question, “When were...
9 characteristics of a church planter: Communication
One of the key ingredients of effectiveness is the ability to communicate clearly. Jesus was the...
9 characteristics of a church planter: Leadership
No one has ever called me charismatic. I’m not a raging extrovert. And I’m certainly not...
9 characteristics of a church planter: Vision
Vision is overrated. “I’m just not very good at this whole ‘vision’ thing,” a discouraged pastor...
In January, I celebrated 14 years of marriage. I am truly amazed that God gave me...
Accountability with your growth
I remember the first time I heard Tim Keller say “Being in ministry will either make...
When it comes to church planting, the old saying is true, “Time is of the essence.”...
Accountability with your finances
‘Accountability’ is a popular word in our culture. Good stewardship is both biblical and practical. But...
The Emotionally Healthy Planter: Fears
Perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18). The promise presupposes certain realities. First, fear is...
Send Network changed our college ministry and awakened us to church planting
Reach some students. Disciple them. Help them graduate and find a job. This was our mission...
Barriers of Brotherhood: Differences & Disagreements
At times it feels like the only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and disagreements between...
Barriers of Brotherhood: Busyness & Priorities
Both planters and re-planters who are burdened to serve Jesus can find themselves extremely busy —...
Barriers of Brotherhood: Envy & Insecurity
Two jumps in a week Bet you think that’s pretty clever Don’t you, boy? Flying along...
Securing a meeting location: 3 Ways to sustain a partnership
Finding a worship gathering space can be one of the most frustrating parts of launching a...
Securing a meeting location: Forming a contract
The late scholar Mark Seale said, “everyone has a way of ‘leaning into life,’ and the...
Securing a meeting location: Casting a wide net
One of the things I felt least ready for when planting City Church is how to...
Don’t ask your goldfish how the water is. Goldie won’t have any idea what you’re talking...
10 Lessons from a decade of church planting: Part 2
2. Rootedness and hiring from within matters. “From the outside looking in, what has been the...
10 Lessons from a decade of church planting: Part 1
Recently we celebrated the 10th anniversary of City Church in Tallahassee. What started with 24 friends...
5 Lessons I learned from Adrian Rogers
No one has influenced and impacted my life like the “prince of preachers,” the man known...
Voices that shape us: The Importance of mentors
One of the most influential theologians in my life is a musician. Songwriter Michael Card’s exegetically evocative and...
The planter as generalist: Delegation
What is the vision God has given you for your church? What are the dreams you...
The planter as generalist: Administration
On a scale from 1-10, my administration skills fall somewhere between 1 and a separate scale...
The planter as generalist: Fund raising
I was recently in a conversation with a friend that was all too familiar. It had...
The planter as generalist: Counseling
Anyone that has ever attempted to start a business quickly learned this truth: There is a...
The planter as generalist: Leadership development
Church planting, when done properly, is proof that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things....
The planter as generalist: Intro
The label “intern” used to be code word for the person who does anything and everything...
Last week I introduced you to, or reminded you of, a concept called identity amnesia: Christians...
Money matters: Staff and salaries
In 2010, my family moved to Boston (one of the most expensive places to live in...
More than a song: Fostering a culture of worship in your church
The past few months, I have been reading through the Old Testament minor prophets. As a...
e-book: Partnering Well: Planters and Sending Churches
Without a doubt, planting a church without prayer is like building a house on bare ground...
Genesis 2:18 – Keeping a marriage strong as a church planter
I will never forget the day that my husband sat me down and said the words,...
No church planter wants to fail and no church planter starts off expecting to fail. However,...
Mistakes in church planting: Joseph Velarde
I am a huge Atlanta sports fan, as I was born and raised in Smyrna, Georgia....
Mistakes in church planting: Andy Metzger
Anyone who has ever planted a church can tell you that one of the most accurate...
How to use technology to reach your church and community
Everywhere you turn these days, you can’t help but hear the term “big data.” Retailers, app...
How to be a more productive minister
My guess is that on most days you find it hard to reconcile your calendar with...
Why strategic communications matter in the local church
One of the most famous movie lines of all time comes from the 1967 film Cool Hand...
Transformational relationships with God
The most important things to measure in your church plant are often the hardest things to...
Church planter coaches: The value of a great coach
Coaching is like noise-canceling headphones; it takes all those voices, internal and external, in Matthew’s life...
I’m here…Now what? Pastors and local association
Back in my day (incidentally, I’ve always wanted to use that phrase), there was a common...