THAT WAS GOOD!
Over the weekend I was pondering what insanity had led me to register for a church planters conference just six days after coming back from India. I was so tired after our service yesterday that I went home instead of to the airport and told Gill I wasn't going to take the trip.
This evening I'm glad I did. After two full weeks of giving out over there, God knew I needed to sit back and get refuelled and that is precisely what is happening.
I could have left for home about mid-afternoon today and this brief journey south would have been worth it, but there's still a whole day to go.
The conference kicked off with host pastor Shawn Lovejoy talking about Resisiting. His church has grown from nothing to more than 2,000 in attendance in little more than six years, so I guess he knows a thing or two. Resisting what?
Well, Shawn talked about the fact that a few years into their journey most churches are not what they originally set out to be. He talked about how they get pulled off course and how the only solution is to constantly be mean with the vision.
I know what he was talking about. We started our church with one goal in mind - To seek and save those that are lost. Over the past eight years there have been plenty of people who have suggested we should take a detour and do something else. But the "What about me?" crowd have quickly discovered that we won't be moved from our stated purpose either. I'm mean with the vision too because the stakes are too high, people's eternity is in the balance.
There are hundreds of thousands of churches out there doing church for the Christians, but last time I checked, our consuming passion is meant to be reaching those who are lost.
Shawn talked about those whose self-centredness is hidden behind the complaint that as mature believers they need to be fed and made a very sound point when he said mature believers should know how to feed themselves and should be on board with the mission of bringing others to Jesus and helping them to mature.
I like that guy!
Another guy I like is my friend Gary Lamb. He was doing a breakout session on Going All Out For The Disconnected and I got a front row seat for this one. Gary's church has gone from four couples to over 700 every Sunday in less than two and a half years and 70% of those people did not know Jesus at all when they first came to Ridgestone Church.
Gary's young, passionate, direct, unapologetic and hilarious too. I love listening to him and spending time with him. We're in touch all year round, but it was good to hear him at the conference and see him sharing his heart with others who are serious about church planting too.
All in all, an excellent day, topped off with a couple of hours in Outback, chewing on a (small) steak and picking the brain of another friend, Tony McCollum who leads Mill Creek Community Church in nearby Buford, GA. Man, does that guy talk a lot of sense!
This evening I'm glad I did. After two full weeks of giving out over there, God knew I needed to sit back and get refuelled and that is precisely what is happening.
I could have left for home about mid-afternoon today and this brief journey south would have been worth it, but there's still a whole day to go.
The conference kicked off with host pastor Shawn Lovejoy talking about Resisiting. His church has grown from nothing to more than 2,000 in attendance in little more than six years, so I guess he knows a thing or two. Resisting what?
Well, Shawn talked about the fact that a few years into their journey most churches are not what they originally set out to be. He talked about how they get pulled off course and how the only solution is to constantly be mean with the vision.
I know what he was talking about. We started our church with one goal in mind - To seek and save those that are lost. Over the past eight years there have been plenty of people who have suggested we should take a detour and do something else. But the "What about me?" crowd have quickly discovered that we won't be moved from our stated purpose either. I'm mean with the vision too because the stakes are too high, people's eternity is in the balance.
There are hundreds of thousands of churches out there doing church for the Christians, but last time I checked, our consuming passion is meant to be reaching those who are lost.
Shawn talked about those whose self-centredness is hidden behind the complaint that as mature believers they need to be fed and made a very sound point when he said mature believers should know how to feed themselves and should be on board with the mission of bringing others to Jesus and helping them to mature.
I like that guy!
Another guy I like is my friend Gary Lamb. He was doing a breakout session on Going All Out For The Disconnected and I got a front row seat for this one. Gary's church has gone from four couples to over 700 every Sunday in less than two and a half years and 70% of those people did not know Jesus at all when they first came to Ridgestone Church.
Gary's young, passionate, direct, unapologetic and hilarious too. I love listening to him and spending time with him. We're in touch all year round, but it was good to hear him at the conference and see him sharing his heart with others who are serious about church planting too.
All in all, an excellent day, topped off with a couple of hours in Outback, chewing on a (small) steak and picking the brain of another friend, Tony McCollum who leads Mill Creek Community Church in nearby Buford, GA. Man, does that guy talk a lot of sense!
posted by Roger Blackmore | 9:04 PM
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