Three Ways Church Planters Worship Themselves

Posted by on Jan 31, 2012 in Church Planting, Discipleship, Pastoral | 1 comment Spirituality is something I don’t talk about much on this blog, mainly because I want to keep things very nuts and bolts.  But I’m realizing that spirituality is about as nuts and bolts as it gets.  One thing many people struggle with is self-worship.  We put ourselves first in everything.  We do what is best for us.  We are generous to ourselves.  We promote an unrealistic...
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What Church Planters Can Learn from American Slavery

Posted by on Jun 2, 2011 in Discipleship, Missional | 0 comments In Matthew 9, Jesus is in full swing with his ministry.  He’s preaching the gospel, proclaiming the kingdom of God, healing the sick and exorcising demons.  It’s truly amazing stuff.  The text actually says he healed every kind of disease and illness (v.35)  At the end of the chapter, Matthew comments on how Jesus reacts when he sees the crowds. When he saw the crowds, he had...
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Asking for Money in the Early Days of the Church

Posted by on May 9, 2011 in Discipleship, Fundraising | 0 comments Many a church planters have wished that money grew on trees.  It would sure ease a lot of stress in the early days of the church.  A healthy goal for any new church is to be self sustaining financially.  The sooner that happens the better.  It’s typical when fundraising to base your outside support on needing supplemental funding for the first three years.  Assuming that by typical you...
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What Should I Include in a Launch Team Covenant?

Posted by on Apr 27, 2011 in Discipleship, Launch Team | 0 comments In case you’ve missed them, here are the first two parts of a series on launch team covenants. Launch Team Covenants Part 1 Why Should I Have a Launch Team Covenant? Since you’re reading this post, I’m assuming that you’ve made the decision to utilize a launch team covenant.  So, what do you include?  Well, here’s the answer that you never like to see, it’s...
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Why Should I Have a Launch Team Covenant?

Posted by on Apr 20, 2011 in Discipleship, Launch Team | 0 comments Launch Team Covenants P.1 About half of the planters I work with utilize a launch team covenant.  The typical reason not to have a covenant is that people might find it strange and it could be a barrier to people joining the team.  Let me start by debunking that myth.  People sign agreements almost daily and most of them without even thinking about it let along reading what they are signing....
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7 Top Issues Church Planters Face: Evangelism and Discipleship

Posted by on Apr 4, 2011 in Church Planting, Discipleship, Missional | 0 comments Back in January, Ed Stetzer blogged on research produced by Exponential about the 7 Top Issues Church Planters face.  The sixth issue is evangelism and discipleship. You can read Ed’s post here. One quote that stuck out to me in this post was: Evangelism and discipleship does not automatically happen in a new church. That is unfortunate for some aspiring planters. All of us struggle with our...
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