5. To do life and ministry with like-minded people that I love and enjoy.
This is why it was so important to me to hire the staff and build my leadership team. This was part of our strategy for starting slow. We wanted to make sure that we got the right people on the team. It is much better over the long haul to "grow into business" instead of "going into business".
4. To create a church environment where my kids would grow up loving God, loving church, and loving their parents.
I know this sounds selfish, but I want more than anything for my kids (Joelan, Julia, and Jessie) to love God with all of their hearts, minds, and souls. There is no reason that church cannot be fun and enjoyable while we glorify God in all we do. Hopefully, through the children and student ministries at Graystone, my kids will have a blast, develop strong Christian friendships, and learn to walk with God for a lifetime.
3. To develop a sustainable pace of life, so I could labor for Christ for a lifetime.
I have seen too many pastors burn out because they did not take care of themselves or their family. This also goes with number 4, but I have seen many pastors who were more committed to their church (job) than they were to their wife and kids. This can lead a pastor's family to resent God and the church, rebellion, and even broken families. From day 1, my family and my health have always been more important to me than the church. By starting a church, I could create a church schedule and pace of ministry that is sustainable for a lifetime for me, my family, the staff and the lay volunteers. And I am trusting God that He will give me the strength and grace I need to make it in ministry over the long haul.
2. To DOMINATE a community with the love of Jesus Christ!
This was not the terminology I used five years ago. But my clear vision was to move into a community and reach that community for Christ through developing relationships at the ball parks, in the neighborhoods, schools, country club, etc. A big part of my vision and strategy to reach our community is through small group Bible studies and life on life discipleship. True life change will come through small group discipleship. And this is where men, women and youth will be equipped to reach their sphere of influence for Christ. My philosophy is that the longer you stay in one place, the greater your level of influence. It will take many years for the gospel to penetrate and saturate our community before we are able to DOMINATE it with the love of Christ.
1. To fulfill God's calling and gifting on my life.
Planting Graystone Church is what God called and gifted me to do. I am fulfilling his unique purpose for my life. It takes a certain gift-mix (borderline crazy) for someone to plant a church. 80% of church plants fail. And the number one reason they fail is because the Church Planter does not have the right combination of gifts (spiritual gifts, natural abilities/skills, personality/temperament, etc.). It takes more than hard work, a vision and passion to plant a church. God has to uniquely wire someone to do it. Anyone can be a part of a church planting team, but not everyone can be the Founding Pastor. It does not mean that I am better than anyone else. It just means that planting a church is what God has gifted me to do. (And BTW, I doubt I could ever go in and pastor an established, traditional church. It's just not a good fit for me.) When I was in seminary, Jennifer (the spouse has to be gifted and called as well) and I went through several intensive church planting assessments to make sure that our gifting and calling matched up with our passion and vision.
Well, I got a little more detailed and technical in this blog than I planned, but hopefully, it was helpful to someone. I would love to hear any of your comments, feedback, or opinions. Maybe this information will help you figure out God's calling on your life. Maybe God is leading you to plant a church. Or maybe He is confirming your commitment to the Graystone team. Or maybe you think I'm crazy and you're never going to read this blog again. Whatever.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The success level of number 2 on your list is evident, as I have spent the beter part of the morning contemplating number 1, and how it applies to me. I have no doubt, no doubt whatsoever, that it's the work that you and the entire staff at Graystone have done that has me thinking about what gifts God has given me in my life and how he intends me to use them. I'll go so far as to admit that I've even made a commitment to pursue this gift (I hope I'm right about it being a gift and not just a silly pipe dream!)with the fervor that it truly deserves. So...if you have me thinking about God's will and his plan for me on Friday morning and not just Sunday, I'd say you're making solid progress my friend. Thank you and the whole staff for all you do. The difference you all have made in so many lives thus far is almost, if not entirely immeasurable.
Steve,
I cannot wait to see all that God will do in and through your life.
Post a Comment