Omaha Vineyard

Today we visited the Omaha Vineyard. It was great! Just like home, but with new faces! Spent some time talking to Scott Ross, the pastor. He definitely has a pastor's heart--very caring. He delivered a great message on not taking advantage of our freedom in Christ. Good stuff!

Even though they are not part of the Midwest region (which is weird!), Scott knows some of the Midwest guys (like Dan Paxton), and knew some about the previous Sioux Falls plant attempt. He said the circumstances weren't right for it. That's the feeling we've gotten from many people we've talked to about it. Scott himself actually planted the church there in Omaha. He came from California and didn't have a team, and yet there they are with a thriving church 14 years later. Very encouraging! He said the first year was HARD though. I believe it!

The big thing to me right now is I want to really develop connections with my future Vineyard neighbors in the north--both pastors and church planters. I believe those connections are going to be vital to the success of our plant. I know we will need those relationships when times get tough and we want to throw in the towel. (Not that those times will ever come. ;))

No one's been over to view our house in several weeks. Still trusting in God's timing, but it's getting harder, not easier!

Workshops

I've been listening to The Ultimate Sales Machine for work. So far, it's a great, practical book and I recommend it for any business. But what about the business of the church? There is so much wisdom that I feel like I've gained from the world of business that can also apply to church life. As one example, in this book he makes a big deal about workshops, and describes how to run an effective workshop. The advantages of doing workshops, as I see it: collaboration, ideas, buy in, relational approach to problem soving, others will see blind spots you don't, anyone can participate (or, as Wimber probably would have put it, "Everyone plays"). The idea is that a question is asked, everyone is given time to think on it, then people share their thoughts. The thoughts are written down and voted on. Then action is taken on the things that rise to the top. A lot of churches do things by committee, and I'm not big on the committee approach, but I like the idea of several people coming up with solutions to a problems in a one-time workshop (with follow up action taken by select individuals).

Workshops could be done on...

• Ways to Fulfill the Church's Vision
• Creative Ideas for Impacting the Community
• How to Resolve Parking Issues
• Finding a Location for the Church

And just about any problem the church can come up with that needs to be resolved!

Of course, I am definitely getting ahead of myself. Probably won't have enough people for workshops anytime too soon! But just trying to has out as much as I can ahead of time. ;)

What do you think of the workshop idea? What wisdom do you think the church could learn from the business world?

Momentum

Looks like I need a little of the topic du jour: MOMENTUM! The toughest thing right now is that we are here and want to be there. I thought we would be there by now, but we're stuck here until the house sells. Have you ever been there? I mean, have you ever had a grandiose vision, but felt stuck in the mud and totally dependent upon God to pry you loose and send you on your way (and only in His time!)?

Just a quick quote from Dave Ramsey...

Momentum Theorem
Focused intensity over time multiplied by God creates unstoppable momentum.

Lord, gimme some of that!!

Innovation

The Nines was awesome! It was an online "confer-ence". Each speaker had 9 minutes on 9-9-09 to share anything they wanted to with Christian leaders across the nation. I only got to listen in spurts because it was on a work day, but here were some great thoughts by Gary Surratt from Seacoast Church about Innovation (with my thoughts in orange):

1. You hit the wall. Something is not working. [Pretty much any vision begins with frustration about something not being the way it should be.]

2. You get discouraged. You see it as a failure. “It’s ok to sit on the pity potty as long as you don’t get ring around the hiney.” [Yes! That's awesome!]

3. Trust God. Never been a day when God said: “I didn’t see that one coming.” [True dat!]

4. You start by asking the barrier breaking questions. "If nothing were impossible, what could we accomplish here?" [He also mentioned a question that I've been thinking about often..."If God's will was being done on earth as it is in heaven, what would that look like?"]

5. You collect innovative ideas. Get people in the room. Pray. Brainstorm. If you start filtering first you never get creative. Our matrix is easy/hard and big win/small win. [I love this idea! We'll definitely use this one!] We pick two or three and then we filter.

6. You do it until it quits working. Every new idea has an expiration date. [I agree. Everything has its season--and then eventually needs to be reworked, or cancelled altogether!]

So...I ask the deep question: If God's will was being done on earth as it is in heaven, what would that look like? What would that look like in your life and in your community?

Calling: The Houston Intensive

This past weekend I went to Houston for the Vineyard Southwest Region Church Planting Intensive. It was a great weekend. It definitely confirmed much of what we've sensed God is speaking to us. There was a lot of information about your calling and character as a church planter. Here are a few quick summary points from Bert Waggoner, the President of the Vineyard, about your calling:

• God takes the initiative. We operate under His mandate, not just a good idea.
• It [church planting] is a horrible career, not just something you choose.
• There are no volunteers. You listen, wait and respond.
• Not based on what we have to offer, but on God’s ability.
• It’s not about us!

I think we constantly need to be reminded that--like Bert said--we need to hear God in any career path we "choose", and that it really isn't a choice at all. We listen and obey. And that's a good thing!

As a side note: The Vineyard in the Houston area has a 90% church planting success rate. Not too shabby (AT ALL!) since the rate at one time was in the 40% range for the Vineyard overall. (I think it's much higher overall than that now.) Sounds like the keys are better qualifying calling, character, and readiness of the church planter, and, I believe, improved relationships between church planters and other Vineyard leaders.

Question to think about: Are you currently doing what you're doing because God called you to do it?

The Principle of the Path

I've been soaking up Andy Stanley leader-ship podcasts on my way home from work. (Like I said, he's my new favorite!) On the last one I listened to, he talked about the Principle of the Path. Never before have I heard a principle that was so simple, yet so profound, and made me have one of those "AHA!" moments.

The principle is this:

Direction--not intention--determines your destination.

It seems like there are so many people who look back on their lives and think, "How in the world did I end up here??!" Failed relationships, loads of debt, poor health, moral crisis. The fact is that, despite their best intentions, they traveled down the wrong road, and kept going!

OK, to make it personal, I've wanted to be healthier for a while (lose some weight, gain muscle, and develop good eating habits). But the truth is, I find myself going over to McD's lately for mochas. That's the road I am choosing to travel, but it's not getting me to my destination. On the other hand, I've seen lately how the renewed vision and ever-increasing reality of our move has helped me to be more purposeful about taking steps to prepare for the church plant. I am listening to podcasts, reading books, learning from other leaders, blogging :) and getting our house out on the market. Instead of just great intentions, Shanygne and I are moving down the path that will get is to our destination.

There are so many applications to this principle that I feel a sermon series coming on!! :)

What roads are you taking to get to a destination? What roads are you taking that are not getting you to your destination?

Picture from www.sxc.hu, submitted by K_Alex.

Visioneering: Success

Andy Stanley is my new favorite. He is an excellent commun-icator! I've been listening to his podcasts and reading his book Visioneering. The book is right on target with where we're at in the church planting process (the "pre-start"). It's a great book for anyone who has a burden or vision for something that just will not go away. (Hopefully that's most believers!)

Here are some quotes that have been meaningful to me from what I've read so far. These are all related to success:

• "Success often leads to self-sufficiency. Rare is the successful individual who has not lost sight of what he would be without God."
• "God's work, done in God's way, in God's time, is always successful. And it come off in such a way as to point back toward the source: God."
• "Success is remaining faithful to the process God has laid out for you."

Good stuff, huh?

How would you define "success"--especially as it relates to ministry? What do you consider some of the successes in your life?

Getting Our Ducks in a Row

No deep thoughts right now. Just an update. The biggest news? The house is up for sale! We had our first showing yesterday (they only stayed for 5 minutes, so probably not going to be a bite), and we have our second one tonight. Please pray that all goes well and in God's timing!

Last night we touched base with Marty. Marty is the Church Planting Coordinator for our region. Every day we are trying to take another step forward, so Marty is helping us to do that and making sure we have all our ducks in a row.

That's about it, so I'll leave you with some prayer requests. There are two areas where we really need to see God move:

1. Selling our house

2. Building a team

We appreciate the prayers!

What is a next action you need to take right now to move you closer to a goal?

The Importance of Core Values

Of all the organi-

zations and denom-

inations I've been a part of, the Vineyard hits closest to the mark for me. It's definitely not that I think it's the only one, or the best necessarily, but I appreciate the strong emphasis on the kingdom of God. As you can see from the last post, it's a very big deal in the Vineyard.

One of the things I've been thinking a lot about is the Vineyard core values. If we are going to be part of this movement, I think it's important to understand what defines the movement and makes it unique. A new lady visited our church a couple Sundays ago. She said that one of the reasons she came is that she looked at the Vineyard USA site and was impressed by the core values. I'm embarrassed to say that I couldn't remember them and rattled off something about the great music and relevance. If you read the article in the link above, written by the President of Vineyard USA, you'll see why I needed to review them!

The Importance of Vineyard's Core Values | Vineyard USA

What are the core values of your church or denomination? Are they clearly defined? Does everyone know them?

There...up in the clouds! It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's...

...the Vineyard! I dumped in words from articles on the Vineyard USA website and this is what popped out on in a word cloud (from http://www.wordle.net/). I feel good about being part of the Vineyard movement because of the Vineyard's priorities and values. I think this is a good representation!

#1: The Kingdom of God (It doesn't get much better than that! ;))

Do you think there are any words missing from the word cloud? Is there anything the Vineyard (or the church in general) should be focusing on that could be added to the word list?

PS Click on the pic to get a closer look.

Why Plant New Churches? (Part 2)

Here is a great article on why the Vineyard is a Church Planting Movement. It's taken from Steve Nicholson, the Vineyard USA National Director of Church Planting.

1. Church planting is biblical (Acts 14:23).
Trace the expansion of the Church through the Book of Acts from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth and you will see that church planters led the way. Church planting is one of the key kingdom activities. It’s endorsed by God. And we can see its importance by how fiercely the devil tries to stop it. Every new church planter is tested by evil, undisciplined people, attacks on marriages, sickness, or depression. If church planting wasn’t so important, why would the devil put up such a fuss about it?

2. Church planting is the most effective form of evangelism

3. There are many people not being reached by current churches
Each generation must be reached on its own terms, culturally and stylistically. “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the Law I became like one under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law), ,so as to win those under the Law. To those not having the Law I became like one not having the Law (though I am not free from God’s Law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the Law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Co 9:19-22). Even in saturated areas, there may be large percentages of people who are disconnected.
We need to reach the new culture, worship, and language that evolves over time.

4. We need new churches in new areas
The goal is self-reproducing churches in order to have exponential growth. Without churches, there is no conservation of the harvest and without new, vital churches, an area becomes hardened.

5. The very nature of the church directs us to church planting

6. New churches often exhibit more life than older churches
“It’s easier to have babies than to raise the dead.” – Peter Wagner

• New churches grow better than old ones
• Usually more visionary
• Easier to experiment and innovate
• Higher participation, “ownership”
• Easier to “take in” new converts

7. Church planting develops new leadership
In taking the best people from the mother church, it makes room for new leaders to emerge.

8. To reach the unchurched, we need to offer them a variety of options.
There are many not being reached!

• Among specific ethnic and immigrant groups
• Among younger generations
• In the cities
• On the mission field

9. Churches that die need to be replaced
Currently the church in America is in trouble.

• The culture has changed. 71% of Americans do not believe in absolute truth (1992).
• Of the approximately 350,000 churches in America, four out of five either have reached a plateau or are in decline.
• 3,500 to 4,000 churches die every year. One study estimated that in the 1990’s, about 100,000 of churches closed their doors.
• Despite the growth of some churches, there has been no increase overall in people becoming Christians (Barna).
• The majority of people are unchurched. Only 37% of Americans attend services in a given week. That represents only 31% of baby-boomers and 34% of baby-busters.

Do you think these are viable reasons? Can you think of any other benefits of planting new churches?

Why Plant New Churches? (Part 1)

My chiropractor has been in our area for about 3 years. Before he came, he talked to two other chiropractors in the area. They both told him the market was saturated. He came anyway. With over 500 patients, I would guess that he now has the largest practice in town (and probably in our whole region)!

Some people wonder why we plant new churches. I see it much the same way as our chiropractor did. No matter how many people are in church, there are always that many and more who aren't. The market may be saturated with people from religious backgrounds going to church, but there are always more people who need to hear the good news of the kingdom of God!

Are there a lot of unchurched people in your area? What are churches doing to reach them? Do you think your area would benefit from new churches? Why or why not?

Does Your VISION Change Your REALITY?

(If you haven't already, please read the previous post. It's an intro to this blog.)

I started this blog because of some friends that I've been talking to about coming with us to Sioux Falls to plant a church. Most of the time people laugh when we ask them if they want to come with us to Sioux Falls, SD to plant a church. We live in Texas, so the response we usually get is, "Doesn't it get really cold up there?" Of course my answer is either, "Why, yes...yes, it does," or, "Well, with all the global warming, it's bound to be like living here in Texas soon." Sometimes I'll chuckle along with them, as if it was a joke that we would even ask them such a preposterous question about coming with us to such a foreign land.

It's not.

But we have at least one couple that is seriously considering, so I started this blog with them in mind. They at least asked the question..."What's the vision?" That's a great question! It's also a hard question to answer. I have somewhat of a vision written up (which I'll share in future posts), but sometimes I wonder if I'll have to scrap it on day one to make room for reality! At the same time, I know that vision is the driving force for reality. If we don't have an idea of where we're going and what it might look like when we get there, we'll never get anywhere!

So...with that in mind...I will begin working out the vision in blog form. I welcome you to add your thoughts to help make the vision unfold and take shape. I'm not an island, so I trust and depend on my fellow brothers and sisters to hear God's voice, too, and offer what they think He might be saying.

So, what are your thoughts on vision? Is it important? Will a specific, written vision make a difference in church planting, or will it immediately get replaced with the reality of the situation?

INTRODUCTION: The Part Everyone Should Read, but Probably Won't ;)

This blog is about the anticipated realization of a new church in Sioux Falls. It's a record of the journey to see a God-given vision come to reality (and beyond!). It's for those who are willing to join us, or are thinking about joining us, for the journey--whether by prayer, encouragement (friendship, mentorship, etc.), or your physical presence in Sioux Falls!

Even though I say it's about a church, it's really, ultimately, about the kingdom of God. We want to see His kingdom advance into places that have previously been resistant to His rule and reign. There will be struggles and challenges along the way, but they'll all be worth it for the miracles that will result!

Will you join us for the journey?