Not An Easy Thing...

Whoever goes into Church Planting thinking it is an easy venture, or wants to do it because they don't get any preaching opportunities where they currently serve, has (excuse me) plumb lost their minds!!!!! I would tell ANYBODY who is considering starting a church: If you can do something else, do it!! The loneliness... is NUTS! The amount of questioning your own call... is NUTS!! The amount of human opposition... is NUTS!!! The amount of spiritual warfare... is BANANAS, BABY!!!!

I have THREE church-planting friends right now who are re-launching their ministries. Did they miss their call? Absolutely not! Their call might be even more evident than mine... they're awesome guys, and awesome planters/strategists. All three of these men have helped me alot in thinking through different things as I've been preparing to launch... the bottom line is that this is hard work, and it doesn't always go the way we want it. But these guys are going to do well, because they ARE called (a good resource for potential planters is Nelson Searcy's The Call of a Church Planter).

My concern is for the guys out there who might be called to ministry, maybe even to pastoral ministry, but not to church planting. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!! DO SOMETHING ELSE!! Don't put your families through the pain and heartache that you will endure... don't do it.

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love what I'm doing. I'd do it for free, if I could still take care of my family and pay bills. I know my calling, my purpose, is this (and who knows? I might end up re-launching in a few years, too). But if you're not sure, or if your motivation is wrong, then do something else...

But whatever you do, don't start a church.

Be a baker or something...