Random and Reflective Thoughts From A Church Planter

Four years ago, when we planted At The Cross Church of Christ--man I was on a mission! I had already been on a severe high the previous two plus years of leading what used to be the Nehemiah Ministry at Allenhurst Apartments and later Peachtree Apartments were added as well. I had been a part of dozens and dozens of people who had been exposed to Jesus and they were excited and we had a lot of Bible studies, baptized a lot of people, and while we saw our shares of heartache--TIMES WERE GOOD!!!! We were gonna teach the Gospel to and baptize every lost family in Mesquite!

Then we planted a new congregation that would be a transition we thought at the time, of the ministry rolling into a new congregation that was designed to be a place where many folks around Mesquite--after being exposed to the Gospel--who might not normally fit in the typical church--could find a home and feel accepted. Those early days of being a new church planter after having already been running hard leading a tough apartment ministry were quite challenging. I think I learned some very poor leadership and work habits during those days that are now catching up with me both physically, mentally, and even spiritually. Back then it was just a few of us from established church backgrounds, with a lot of new Christians including many kids and there was much to do! I remember many worship services of me leading singing and doing the preaching as well. I remember many Sundays of going and picking up a bunch of kids and a few adults from the apartments for Sunday worship and then handling most of the worship service and then getting all those kids back home and still try to interact and communicate with the rest of my flock including new visitors. Then I'd roll my thoughts back around to start preparing for the next Sunday, making visits at Allenhurst, preparing for Tuesday afternoon tutoring at our church apartments, Wednesday night Bible class, trying to find the time for one on one Bible studies-- and the list goes on and on!

Then there were early situations where I had new Christians who would get involved with sin and I'd ignore it as long as possible--wanting to be understanding that new and older Christians alike are gonna stumble. But a situation would come up where we could no longer ignore the blatant sin that person or persons were involved in--and as soon as I would try to lovingly pull that brother or sister or couple aside to express that they needed to get out of that sin and that we wanted to help--I'd get just blasted and those folks would get angry and then leave the church--and my heart breaking! Lord knows that happened too many times. And of course, there are simply some things Bible college can't prepare a shepherd leader for in terms of dealing with the flock. I was so new at such a role and even though I often sought the wisdom of older and wiser spiritually mature men--it was still such a challenge. In fact, even today, it is sooooo unpleasant to hold adult Christians accountable for their behavior. Early on, we had a leadership team--but I'm simply learning that even veteran church leaders are not always apt to jump into dealing with situations that are "bloody and messy" if you will. So lets just say such things about leadership are just tough! However, if I could go back and do it again--I'd still offer just as much love, mercy and grace--but I'd apologize a lot less and be a lot more up front and honest about what God's word says about almost every situation in which His people might be faced! We live in a society today that so often says "No one should ever bother or question me in what I do." So, I'd often grieve over the loss of a family that we had labored so hard to help and then they'd leave after the lesson was over. So many new Christians are slowly trying to come out of a world that says: "I'm accountable to no one." Even though we know even Jesus was accountable to His Father. The Kingdom of God and the Lord's Church are simply not places to practice democracy and self-focus. Every Christian is subject to spiritual leadership. It takes a lot of time for people to really start changing and transforming.

Lord knows the many situations of members' lives I'd lay awake thinking about and praying for God to intervene in ways I simply could not. Lord knows how often I'd start questioning and wondering what mistakes I'd made that caused us to lose this family or that person. I've learned by the grace of God--that sometimes--really often times--it has nothing to do with the preacher or church leadership or even other members. So often God's people get so caught up in spiritual warfare and they struggle so much to just keep the motivation to even be around other Christian people.

So many benevolence matters that I often felt I needed to handle myself--especially if that person or persons seemed to be growing spiritually or if their children were heavily involved with our ministry. We will touch some on benevolence later in this series.

And in the middle of all those matters, I was constantly trying to find more volunteers and workers from other congregations to help us--as well as trying to constantly raise money for the work. I could tell early on, our tithes would always be a real challenge. And praise and honor to our mighty God Almighty for always providing and providing for the workers in His harvest field! I could tell so many faith stories about how God is such a wonderful and faithful provider!

So many wonderful things to reflect on, and yet so many mistakes I know we and I made throughout this process. And yet, I rejoice on some of those mistakes because God has been using to them to train and equip me for future kingdom service! I'll share more about some of my mistakes and learning curves over the past few years in my next blog edition.

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

Tonight my family and I watched an incredible and most powerful movie that every Christian ought to watch! Its a story about a man who befriends neighborhood boys one by one--and eventually winds up having a weekly Bible study with 20 or so boys--all of whom seem to become Disciples of Christ. Four boys in particular, wind up later on all being involved in ministry in some way--and one being a full time pastor. The movie is a powerful reminder that it doesn't take a college degree in ministry or to work for a church full time--to make a major impact for the Kingdom of God--and for many precious souls God longs to be with Him for eternity! It gives me chills to think, what if--just on every street there was one Christian who opened up their home regularly for chats about the Lord, counseling/prayer opportunities for the hurting, and Bible studies. Imagine how differently our communities and neighborhoods would look and feel? Imagine if each of us began to tell others about how Jesus has changed our lives. Imagine! " Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20, NIV).