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?