School of Hard Knocks

February 7, 2012

Church planting reminds me of the Indiana Jones movies. Every plant is a new adventure full of excitement and potential doom. Indiana was always chasing the elusive prize and never knew what pitfalls he would face around the next corner. None the less, he pushed ahead and faced each problem in a new and creative way. 
Remember the scene in the third movie where Indiana was standing on the side of a cliff looking across to the other side of a deep chasm? In order to get to the other side, find the Holy Grail and save his father, he had to take a leap of faith. He didn’t know that a hidden bridge would catch his fall and provide safe passage to the other side. Church planting is a lot like that dramatic moment. To do it, you have to take a wildly dangerous leap of faith. Church planting is the most exciting, the most frustrating, and the most brutal ministry anyone can do. It’s exciting because it involves attempting something big for God. It’s the most frustrating and brutal because it will test every area of your life. Church planters have to be dreamers, visionaries, planners, and like Indiana, they have to have nerves of steel and thick skin.

Church planting will make you feel alive, and it can push you to the brink of insanity. It will give you a new sense of God’s presence and convince you that Satan is alive and well. You will celebrate the birth of a new church with unearthly joy, and experience betrayal from friends and family in ways you never thought possible. As a church planter, you will experience high highs and low lows. It’s dangerous and dramatic. As they say on television—kids, don’t try this at home.

After 16 years of pastoring established churches, God called me into the arena of church planting. God called me, Stephen Gray, a skewed and flawed individual. What kind of a guy am I? I’m one of those driven individuals. I don’t like to win; I like to dominate. My little ducks, though they stand in rows, need to be smiling and looking directly into the camera. I’ve been diagnosed as a type "A" personality along with a very useful case of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. And God called me.

My preparation for this new ministry adventure was both difficult and frustrating. As I prepared for this new adventure, I quickly discovered that church planting was not a very refined process. A multitude of varying models, philosophies, and conflicting opinions existed under the umbrella of church planting. With confidence and authority, each expert offered their opinion about the process and procedure and every seminar or book led in a different direction. In a short time, the whole church planting idea became overwhelming. I felt like writing these expert names on a dartboard, putting on a blindfold, and chucking a few darts. In truth, all of the books, the seminars, and the opinions were helpful, but none of it actually prepared me for my actual church planting experience.

Bottom line is this: planting a church is tough and most, if not all will go through the school of hard knocks as they set out to plant their church. The only thing that will help you through those trying times is an overwhelming sense of God's calling for this ministry. Likewise, we should always keep in mind "that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." Dan 4:25 If you understand that simple truth, you will be able to weather any storm that comes your way.

God has called you. God has placed you in your position because he chose to do so. Your position of authority is not based on your wisdom, your knowledge, or your good looks. Nor is it based on another's desire for you to be in a position of authority.

Posted 2/7/2012 in Church Planting | 0 Comments - Add Comment