Single church planters are like four-leaf clovers: we’re hard to come by. If you think about it, neither living the single life nor church planting is easy. It takes a certain special combination of maturity, character, grit, and giftedness to plant healthy churches, and it takes a particular blend of patience, faith, wisdom, and self-control to live the single life …
I need a pastor. Being a pastor myself, I wasn’t one to admit that I did. My reluctance probably stemmed from my pride of self-sufficiency and invincibility. Being a mature Christ-follower—and a pastor at that—meant that I should be able to handle anything that comes my way all on my own, no matter how bad it gets, right? Isn’t that …
Human beings disappoint us. Every single one of them will eventually; that is, if they haven’t already and probably many times over. Just give it enough time and it is bound to happen one way or another. Disappointment seems to be part and parcel of being in a relationship with anyone. To love and trust deeply means to allow myself …
Imagine that you have tried your best to make disciples out of a handful of people, but their interest in Jesus never goes beyond curiosity. Not a single one of them have made a commitment to obedience to Jesus for as long as you have been investing into those relationships. Or, let’s say no matter how hard and how long …