Recently, as I was reading the blog of a church planter, I noticed he dedicated a post to the 10 biggest mistakes he has made thus far since opening up their Church doors in January.  It takes a lot of humility to publish a list of that nature and for that I commend him.  Church planting is not easy, and I am thankful for those men who have the courage to set the course, lay the ground work and leave road maps and trails for those who are coming behind.

As I read the list, I could not help but be struck with the nature of his mistakes and how most of them centered around critical mass issues.  Critical mass is the idea that as a church planter, one of the most important things you can do is get people into the door.  It is about gathering a critical mass of people that are willing to follow and bring others along with them. 

While gathering people is important, one of the mistakes church planter’s make is focusing solely on gathering people at the expense of training leaders, putting systems in place for membership and discipleship, as well as developing a core group to assist with the work of the ministry.  I am no expert in church planting but as I began to try and diagnose the reasons for such mistakes, I couldn’t help but think it stemed from the desire for quick growth.  How did I come to that conclusion?  Because it is true of my own heart.  In the early stages of this church plant I wanted quick growth, get as many people as possible and figure out the rest later. 

I have since come to see and understand that church planting is not about quick growth but slow and steady growth.  By the grace of God, we have been able to avoid many of those mistakes that come from critical mass.  Have we made mistakes and will we make more, you better believe it.  But I am thankful that although quick growth sounds appealing, slow growth is far better.

Our weekly Men of God in the Morning (MGM) have started reading Triumph Over Temptation.  It is the edited version of John Owen’s classics on sin, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, Of Temptation, and The Nature of Indwelling Sin.  Most of the guys have never read Owen before.  In fact, after we did a brief introduction he confessed to me that he was not sure if he wanted to read this book.  Nevertheless, was greatly encouraged with the challenge and knew that the subject matter was sorely needed in his life, as it is in all ours.

Everyone should read Owen.  If you have never read him, this edited version is a good place to start.  Yet, do be advised.  It may be an edited version, but it is still Owen and therefore it will challenge your mind and soul.  Whenever I read Owen I am always amazed at the depth of insight he has into my soul.  I am the richer f0r it.  I believe you will be too.  Here are two quotes from Owen to wet your spiritual appetite:

“While the best a non-Christian can do is to sin.  The worst a Christian does is to sin.”

“Our enemy is not only upon us, as it was with Samson, but it is also in us.”

Church planting is tough stuff.  It is very time consuming.  If you are trying to do it right, you find yourself thinking about it all the time, and it is easy to find little time for anything else.  Yet, last night was different.

Last night there was a Leadership Meeting at our home church, Southwest Christian Fellowship. Though in the morning I had planned to be in attendance, I did not go.  You see, lately I have been really pressed for my time and energy.  It seems I spend most of my time studying.  And when I am not studying, I am in meetings.  And if I am not studying or in a meeting, I am traveling.  And if I am not studying, in a meeting, or traveling, then I am sleeping trying to catch up on the rest that I am not getting from studying, meeting, and traveling.  What this has meant is that I have not been able to spend quality time with the kids and Adriane.  Sure, we make it point to have dinner together everyday, and we have family worship most evenings, but I have done little with the kids that has just been fun and spontaneous.

Yesterday I decided enough is enough.  I didn’t go to the meeting.  Instead I took the family on a picnic and took the kids fishing.  It was a wonderful time!  Yes, my mind kept turning to the studying I needed to get done, but with every fish that was caught I was reminded that the study can wait.  The weather was good and the fish were biting.  Everyone caught fish and had a wonderful time.

When I got home, I was tired and after some brief time of study, I hit the bed.  I knew that I had done the right when before they went to bed, one by one the children came into the room to kiss me goodnight and said, “Thanks Dad, for such a wonderful day at the park.”  Whatever was talked about at that meeting last night does not compare to hearing and seeing the joy of my children for time spent with me.  Today I am thanking God for leading me to do the right thing.

Now, back to studying.

Over the last couple of weeks we have had the wonderful joy of singing the song “Jesus Saves” written by Travis Cottrell.  If you are not familar with the song, I could not recommend it to you enough.  Below are the lyrics:

Hear the heart of heaven beating, “Jesus Saves. Jesus saves.”
And the hush of mercy breathing, “Jesus Saves. Jesus saves.”
Hear the host of angels sing, “Glory to the Newborn King.”
And the sounding joy repeating, “Jesus saves.”

See the humblest hearts adore Him. “Jesus saves. Jesus saves.”
And the wisest bow before Him. “Jesus saves. Jesus saves.”
See the sky alive with praise, melting darkness in its place
There is life forevermore, “Jesus saves. Jesus saves.”

He will live our sorrow sharing, “Jesus saves. Jesus saves.”
He will die our burden bearing, “Jesus saves. Jesus saves.”
“It is done!” will shout the cross, Christ has paid redemption’s cost!
While the empty tomb’s declaring, “Jesus saves.”

Freedom’s calling, chains are falling, hope is dawning bright and true.
Day is breaking, night is quaking, God is making all things new.
“Jesus saves.”

Oh to grace, how great a debtor! “Jesus saves. Jesus saves.”
All the saints who shout together. “I know that Jesus saves.”
Rising us so vast and strong lifting up salvation’s song,
The redeemed will sing forever, the redeemed will sing forever, the redeemed will sing forever, “Jesus saves.”
“Jesus saves.”

One verse of the song continues to repeat over and over again in my head, bringing joy and wonder to my soul.

Freedom’s calling, chains are falling, hope is dawning bright and true.
Day is breaking, night is quaking, God is making all things new.
“Jesus saves.”

What an amazing truth!!  Our resurrected Lord is making all things new, enslaved sinners are being set free, the darkness is giving way to the light; the Gospel is the hope of the world.

Amos 9:11-15 says:

“In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name,” [1]
declares the Lord who does this.

13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they shall never again be uprooted
out of the land that I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.

Be encouraged, day is breaking….. Jesus Saves!!!

Here is an interesting and thought-provoking post by our friend Jim Moon at Crosspoint Presbyterian Church.  Jim asks, “Why Keep On Preaching If You Aren’t a Mega-Church Pastor?” This is particularly interesting to me because I was having a similar or at least related discussion this past Saturday with a few of the brothers from East Point Church and a young man who is a member of one of the many mega-churches in Atlanta.  Whether you agree with Jim or not, the thing that really challenged me is the reminder of the call of the pastor to not only be preacher, but even shepherd.

I recently returned from The Gospel Coalition.  It is great time in the fellowship of some dear brothers.  When I attend conferences, one of the best aspects is just the renewal of fellowship with brothers that I don’t get the chance to see enough.  The Lord has us laboring in various areas of His vineyard and we just don’t get a chance to see each other as much as we would like.  Yet, it is so encouraging to know that the ministry of the word is being faithfully proclaimed and though they are challenged with ministry as I am, they are holding the line on faithful gospel preaching.  I pray these brothers keep it up.  I need them more than they could know.

I was also encouraged and challenged by several of the messages preached.  If you have not had opportunity to listen to them, you can do so here.  One message in particular really caught my attention and has been challenging me ever since.  The message was by Philip Ryken on The Pattern of Sound Words (2Tim. 1:13-2:13). I wholeheartedly commend this message to you.  Phil began his sermon discussing the need for the active presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, particularly when we as gospel ministers are discouraged, for example:

“When you wish you could preach the same passage again and this time get it right.” (I have been there more times than I care to admit)

“Instead of following your wise spiritual counsel, people insist on falling out of the stupid tree; and hitting every branch on the way down.” (Unfortunately I have seen this too)

Earlier this month we had the privilege of hosting Eric Redmond for the annual Men’s Retreat for Southwest Christian Fellowship.  Eric is the pastor of Reformation Alive Baptist Church.  He is a dear brother and comrade.  I am always excited about the opportunity to fellowship with him and to learn from him.  During the retreat we took some time to host an informal discussion with him on the subject of his book “Where Are All the Brothers?” and generally on whatever topic came up.  The session was meant to go for only an hour, but it lasted well beyond that, and would have continued on into the night had we not called it quits.

Today I want to share with you the audio from the interview and the Q & A we had that evening.  The quality is not the best, but the topic, questions, and answers surely are.  So please take the time to listen.  You will be glad you did.

And thanks Eric.  You are a dear brother to me and I look forward to many more years of co-laboring with you.

download

The fellas at East Point Church continue to impress and encourage me. Here is the latest contribution to our mission of “pointing people to Christ.” Alex put together this “sermon jam” from our message on the Resurrection. He calls it, “He’s Alive, Do Something” (download).

For the last couple of days our brother Thabiti Anyabwile has been on Iron Sharpens Iron discussing his ground breaking book The Decline of African-American Theology.  The interviews are well worth listening to as Thabiti unpacks the history of theology among African-Americans and reminds us that there once were giants in the land, and by God’s grace there will be once again.

Listen to Part One

Listen to Part Two

This month in TableTalk Magazine there is a very good article by Tim Challies.  The title of the article is Escaping Anonymity.  In it Challies calls for an accountability that is visible.  The article begins with a good quote:

Admiral Lord Nelson once remarked that “every sailor is a bachelor when beyond Gibraltar.” This was a statement about anonymity, a rare concept even just a few short generations ago. Nelson knew that once his sailors moved beyond the bounds of the British Empire, beyond society’s systems of morality and accountability, they underwent a transformation. Every man became a bachelor and sought only and always his own pleasure.

Read more.  Or better yet, if you have not already done so, subscribe to TableTalk.  You’ll be glad you did.