missio

I’m not afraid of failure. I’m afraid of failing and knowing that I could’ve done better. I’m currently reading Earl Creps‘ book, Off-Road Disciplines (which is excellent by the way, review coming soon), and he talks in the first chapter about his failures as a pastor in Maine. I think about his story, and I think about Mark Batterson’s story (failing in Chicago), and it makes me nervous. What if I’m making a mistake? What if I’m moving up to one of the most expensive places to live to plant a church and it completely tanks? This could easily set my family and I back for a good 10-20 years. But I’m not afraid of failure.

What scares me most and not doing something to the greatest of my ability. I refuse to be lazy and carefree. I refuse to err on the side of effort. Failure, or success, is ultimately up to God. Effort is up to me. If I fail because of God’s choosing or inexperience, just as in the case of Mark, Earl, and countless others, it could be for the better. But if I fail because of effort on my part, it could be for the worse. I’m constantly looking at what I need to be doing. I love Passion4Planting’s Converge system (link). It provides a working framework for someone (me) that isn’t really an administrator or planner. It is a tool that helps me monitor effort and funnel vision.

I love reading stories of people who have failed. It sounds sick, I know. But it’s encouraging to know that failure is not only possible, but in church planting, probable. But I refuse to fail on my effort. DC will be changed. I pray for it daily. But if God closes doors, it’s ok because there will be more that open. But I’m not going to stand at an open door and not walk through.

In a slight rip-off from Tony Morgan’s Churches on My Radar, I’ve decided to regularly post (about every couple of weeks) some churches that I’m watching as they grow. They are all church plants, most of which are in the Acts29 Network, but are really doing some great work in their area. I encourage you to check their websites out, subscribe to blogs/podcasts, etc, but most of all to follow their example not in method, but in philosophy: don’t copy their style, copy their approach. A weblink is given, along with their area of ministry, and teaching elder. Some notes are given as to why I am watching them. Without further ado, the first ever group of Church Plants to Watch.

• Sojourn Church - Huntsville, Alabama - David Thew
  • These guys are meeting in a brewery in downtown Huntsville, the “Seattle of the South”.  They are really reaching the area around them in exciting ways, and it’s great to see a church not afraid of the open-hand issues.
• liberti - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Geoff Bradford
  • These guys are reaching an urban core, full of the creative class, similar to what we at harmony will be trying to do in MidCity DC.  liberti is a church planting church through and through, and are wanting to see all of Philadelphia reached for Christ.
• Harambee Church - Renton, Washington - Mike Gunn
  • Harambee Church is a church that is doing phenomenal things in loving their city of Renton. They have established the Harambee Community Development Association, which is a non-profit devoted to community development in their ministry area. The HCDA provides a meeting place outside of home and work that ministers to the needs of the surrounding people.
• Red Rocks Church - Golden, Colorado - Shawn Johnson
  • I recently read about these guys in our denomination’s weekly magazine. It was church planting day on February 11th in the Assemblies of God, and Red Rocks Church was spotlighted. Led by a team of elders, they are doing great things in the Denver metropolitan area to reach people for Christ. Plus, they meet in a cool rundown amusement park, and have a campus in a theater. Very missional, and they are reaching people because of it.