God and I have a little game we play with each other. Truth be told, I think it’s more of a game that God plays with me, and it’s called “You’re not as necessary as you think you are.” Here’s how it works: Often, when I preach and I think it goes well and I had good things to say, the …
One of the most frequent questions I get from church planters is: What do you recommend as the best books for church planters to read? As an avid reader who has planted churches on the East Coast and the West Coast, and a person who is devoted full time to helping equip church planters, this is a difficult question to …
A Tragedy “We don’t regularly take communion,” the pastor confessed with a confident tone of contemporary conviction. “Many weeks we just can’t fit it in.” These were the words I heard just before guest preaching at a large, influential church in a major American city. My soul cried. He was right. In addition to staples like the sermon and songs, …
In the previous post in this series, I wrote about a state of mind that is helpful for the ongoing work of sermon preparation. I talked about the need to Attend, to pay attention to what was happening in soul, text and culture. This time around, things get more practical, moving from an abstract posture to a tangible activity. I’m …
I’m glad to announce that Asbury Theological Seminary, one of V3’s partners, is introducing a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies with a specialization in Church Planting degree in the fall of 2014. The beauty of this degree is that it allows you, the practitioner, to remain in your city where you are planting, while you pursue your Master’s Degree. …
Several years ago when I started asking people What makes you feel close to God? The responses astounded me. Most people did not mention prayer or bible study. Their intimate encounters with God occurred not through reading the scripture or going to church, but through the ordinary every day activities that fill their days. Of course this is not an …
This post is part two in the series Preparing to Preach in the Missional Church. You can read part one here. For a missional church planter, sermon preparation as a way of living within the larger set of responsibilities. It’s not just a list of steps to work through as much as it is a cycle of actions and postures — a …
Sermon Preparation is different in the Missional Church My favorite day of the week is Sunday. Our young church, Austin Mustard Seed, has been doing Sunday liturgy for six months. We are blessed to have a meeting space that is mostly setup so we can focus on relationships over tasks. We are new enough that we have little to no baggage, and …
This article is based on my book, Creating a Missional Culture. Download a free chapter here. One of the most overlooked elements to making missional disciples is recognizing how the culture of our group shapes us. It either pulls us down toward our base instincts or lifts us up to our redemptive potential. We create culture and culture in turn …
Ask anyone who has ever started something from scratch and built it from the ground up and they will likely tell you it was one of the most challenging things they have ever done. Church planting is no exception. It is rewarding, but quite challenging. By definition, you are breaking new ground, and this means venturing into the unknown. Most …