Comments for ChurchPlanting.com

Comment on 3 Things That Almost Killed My Church Plant by David Warren

David Warren — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:59:40 +0000

Your words ring true to old gray haired pastors who have been tending the LORD’S flock for many years. You are not alone Christ Himself promised He would not leave us as orphans.

Comment on 3 Things That Almost Killed My Church Plant by Bob

Bob — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:48:00 +0000

Very good information!

Thank You!

Comment on 3 Imperatives to Staff Transition so Corporate America Doesn’t Look Better Than The Church by Monday Morning Quick Hits | Rookie Pastor

Monday Morning Quick Hits | Rookie Pastor — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:57:39 +0000

[...] the church transition pastors out better than most other [...]

Comment on Lessons Learned: 5 Principles For Church Planting by Powell's

Powell's — Sat, 12 May 2012 23:08:47 +0000

I really appreciated this article. I’ve been told too many times,
“keep it simple stupid…”, this fits that criteria. So thanks…
I do have a question for you. The last point you made, keep multiplying. I could use some advice on how to KNOW when that’s happening verses THINKING that it’s happening. We are in our 6th year in a small, rural community. We are successful as far as people attending, having great outreach ministries that make it possible for others to get involved, and many places for people to get involved. We have a few strong people that we can really rely on, but our second teir people seem to be struggling. Case in point: Last Wednesday evening our lead guitar player was gone. My wife is the worship pastor, and she is a lead vocalist and plays nearly each instrument we use in our worship. She does all she can to help ppl get involved in our team, at every level. We have had the same people helping us for a few years now. When my wife is gone, our lead guitar player is there to carry, and when he’s gone she carries. But, this last week something strange happened. As we got together to practice before service, it was like everyone was paralyzed. Our singers who usually do a great job suddenly looked as tho they had no idea what the songs were. And the two other guitar players just stood there waiting for my wife to bail them all out.
It was a mess, and my wife really broke down and wondered what she’s doing wrong, that without her or the lead guitar player, there is no leadership. Even w/ her there on lead vocals and on keys, they still just stood there as tho they all wanted to be let off the hook. So we’re wondering two things: Should my wife ask them to start working w/ out the two of them once in awhile so that they learn how to step up, (which could cause some to get scared & quit); or should she just go w/ it and hope they eventually begin to step up?
My wife and I come out of a ministry that has people lining up to get involved, they have mulitiple worship leaders that seem to know exactly what to do when the times comes for their turn… Somehow we feel we are failing to multiply people in this area… Any advice?

Comment on The Pastor’s Wife Is Simply a Wife by Phil Spry

Phil Spry — Sat, 12 May 2012 22:05:40 +0000

Good word, Chris. Some pastors have elevated patriarchy to an art form. They dominate their wives to such a degree that she loses any independent thought or ministry. God has gifted our wives independently of their relationship to us. To the degree that we suppress that call in their lives we will grieve the Holy Spirit and abbreviate the ministry of our churches. I suspect that those who most loudly affirm the duty of the wife to be a responsive and submissive partner in the home only rarely give her the same level of priority they demand from her. Has it been suggested earlier in this thread that only a male in professional ministry can adequately serve? If so, we are forfeiting half of our work force.

Surely, some (perhaps many) churches have abused pastor’s wives. Expectations, defined and implied, have often made ministry real drudgery for some wives. The victims of such unreasonable expectations will probably resonate most vigorously with the observations that started this thread. When it does happen it is, in my judgment, the responsibility of the pastor to straighten it out. Our wives should not have to defend themselves or their actions. In the hierarchy outlined in Scripture they report to their husbands, not the church board.

I think we have to keep in mind that God calls a couple – not a man into full time service. I have seen what happens to church plants when only one partner is on board. Having said that, most church planters start small, have no staff, and only a handful of volunteers. There is not a lot said about ministry partnerships in the NT. Pricilla and Aquila may be the best example. Their cooperation may be a good model for every planting couple. A husband who maintains that his wife has no other significant calling but to serve him gives the enemies of Christ a lot of ammunition. My wife has been at my ministry side for 38 years now. I wouldn’t have accomplished a thing without her active participation.
Phil Spry

Comment on Living In The Big Picture by Jason Taylor

Jason Taylor — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:36:10 +0000

Thanks Tommy!

Comment on Living In The Big Picture by Tommy Swindol

Tommy Swindol — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:49:55 +0000

So true! Thanks for always coming back to big picture thinking bro!

Comment on Best Practices from Great Organizations by Brian Warth

Brian Warth — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:44:07 +0000

Great insight. Great experience. Great fun.

Comment on Why Plant in Small Town USA? by Nico Kay

Nico Kay — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:02:17 +0000

We must find a way to “truely value” those who choose to plant in small towns and villages in this country and around the world. We pay great lip service to the importance of “every pastor, every church, every town counts”, but when it comes right down to it we only platform the leaders from the biggest ministries in the biggest cities.

We must find a way to come along side and support those who choose a bi-vocational lifestyle, not just financially, but emotionally as well.

Thank you for the encouragement to push forward with this effort.

Nico Kay

Comment on The Pastor’s Wife Is Simply a Wife by Chris Conner

Chris Conner — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:45:36 +0000

I am so thankful for the many Godly Pastor’s wives that I have had the priviledge of knowing. However, my wife and I found that we had a different perspective from many others in the body of Christ concerning Pastor’s wives. My wife and I were married at the age of 20, and were serving in lay leadership roles at a church plant from the age of 19. She taught 10-12 yr.old girls and then we moved on after marriage to working with youth in a volunteer capacity. She worked outside the home as I did and served the Lord as he calls all of us, to use the gifts that He gives us to be a light for a lost world. At the age of 37, I felt the Lord calling me into full-time ministry and began the journey of bible college, full time job and serving as the Lord called me as a volunteer in the local church and my community. As we had the opportunity to go on the main campus of a seminary, since I was involved in axtension center, for a weekend marriage retreat; my wife came out of the wives sessions in shock. In her own words “there must be a conspiracy to keep wives of pastors from finding the joy of the Lord and his purpose for their lives. The word was out among the many younger wives- “God didn’t call me for the church, but to be a wife and a mom.” God called all of us to fulfill the duties with our family and our spouse. However, that doesn’t excuse any of us from using His gifts in our lives for His Glory. When we use the gifts that He gifted us with, we experience fulfillment in our lives and, as Eric Liddel told his sister, in the movie “Chariots of Fire” “God created me to run and when I run, I feel His Pleasure”, We feel His pleasure when we do what God created us to do. My wife then asked me, “If its not the job of the pastors wife to take brownies to a fellowship, why is it the job of a deacons wife, or a teachers wife, a choir members wife, or a man who brings brownies?” “There are some things we do not out of duty but out of love for others and the opportunity for fellowship.” Today we call it building community. My wife has sung in the choir, taught S.S., spoken at Ladies retreats around the Southeaast, driven a van, worked in V.B.S, served on the hostess committee and other things and for the last 18 years been a pastors wife, who continued serving. Never did she do those things because she felt pressured by people or the church. She did them for the glory of God and she found God’s pleasure. Also, she raised two children, today our daughter is an Assistant V.P. with a nation wide bank, who, along with her husband, have an awesome ministry to college students, and our son is a Youth and children’s pastor. My Point: don’t let people or your own insecurites, or your husband’s job or your laziness, rob you of the joy of serving the Lord and feeling His pleasure as you use YOUR gifts. Thank God, that there are many wives and mothers teaching, serving as missionaries, using their gifts for the glory of God. If all women quit serving the Lord in our communities and churches,because they are wives and mothers, our world and our churches would be in a mess.