What Does a Church Planter Do Before He Has a Church?

Most church goers probably think they have a basic idea of what a preacher does: sermon preparation, hospital visits, studying, staff meetings, elders meetings, counseling, planning, and so on. But, I know many of you must be wondering, "What exactly does a church planter do before he has a church?" There's no sermon prep when there are no sermons. No hospital visits or counseling until you have members. No staff or elders meetings.

So what does a church planter do (besides writing blogs about what he does)?

Planting churches has become something of a science. There are books and seminars and organizations and even academic programs devoted to the subject. They have the process worked out so thoroughly that there is actually web-based project management software that spells out everything that needs to be done from the decision to plant a church through the launch of the first public worship service. The various tasks and projects—all 286 of them!—are organized into various categories with important milestones marked along the way, all with due dates assigned and recommended reading. I even have a coach who just works with me on the tasks laid out in the software.

These tasks include training, such as going to "boot camp" (we went to two of them in January) and to the national church planting conference last month, visiting other church plants, and lots of reading (I wish I was a speed reader!). They include weekly phone conversations with my church planting coach, bi-weekly calls with the project management coach, and monthly meetings with a management team (representatives of the churches and ministries supporting us). The tasks include big projects like developing the church planting model we will use, networking with community leaders, designing promotional materials for fundraising and recruiting, and forming a prayer team. They also include all sorts of smaller but necessary tasks, such as filing incorporation papers with the state, getting a post office box, and buying an all-in-one printer/fax/copier.

So far, according to the project dashboard, I've completed 170 of the tasks (59.4%) and I'm only overdue on 10 (3.5%) of them (not too bad since I just lost 2 weeks to a conference and a cruise—and besides, 2 of them aren't really my fault!). That means I only have 116 tasks to go…

A Letter to the Donelson Church of Christ

Rob and Judy on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Dear Friends at Donelson,

I am sitting on the balcony of our cabin on the Emerald Princess, looking out over the beautiful, calm Caribbean Sea, and thinking about how grateful I am to all of you for the gift of this cruise. (Judy is grateful, too. She's sleeping in and enjoying the gentle motion of the ship.) This is our last day at sea, and unless we stowaway, we'll return home tomorrow.

The cruise has been wonderful in so many ways. The getaway has been refreshing and just what we needed as we prepare for the months ahead in the new work. The time together has been like a second honeymoon, an early celebration of our 30^th anniversary later this summer. The scenery has been inspiring as we have witnessed the incredible beauty of God's creation. We have been pampered, entertained, and overfed beyond what any human being deserves!

We've also encountered many reminders of why we are setting out on our new course of ministry—the stories we've heard from passengers and crew, the incredible economic disparity between the tourists who invade the islands on shopping excursions and the inhabitants who call the beauty and poverty of the islands "home," and the daily encounters with the lifestyles and conduct of those not following the way of the kingdom of God. I've tried to avoid anything that felt like work this week—but it is hard to be around so many people and not think about our call to become friends of those with whom Jesus became friends.

The cruise has been a marvelous experience, and we just want to say "thank you" again for this very generous gift.

But more than that, we want to say "thank you" for the past 7 years at Donelson. You have encouraged us and loved us and supported us, and we will always love you. We still consider you our church family even though we aren't with you very often right now. Serving this church has been a blessing. You have invited us into very special and sacred moments in your lives. At times I've been among the first to hold your newborn children and at other times I've been at the bedside of your parents as they took their last breath, and so much in between. And in turn, many of you celebrated our daughter's wedding with us and stood beside us when Judy's father passed away. Because you are our family, we want you to know that we look forward to continuing to share such moments of life with you. Our new home will only be 15 minutes away and you can call on us any time we can help in any way. And we know we can do the same. I may not be your preacher, but we will always be family.

I also want to say a special thank you to those who served daily with me as ministers and staff. It was a joy to serve alongside people who were not just coworkers, but friends. I already miss our lunches at Casa or Lenny's—sharing the laughter and frustrations and burdens and joys of ministry together. I hope our church family realizes how special you all are. And if some day I have a new team in our new work, I pray they will be as competent, as committed, and as easy to work with as you have been.

Judy has awakened to enjoy the sunshine with me. She read this and cried (I know that's no surprise! But the tears are mine as well, an expression of our deep love for you). Coming to Donelson was a return home for Judy, but it has become home for her in new and deeper ways. She loves you and misses you, as do I.

We are praying for you all that God will continue to lead Donelson to follow Jesus in the ways of the kingdom.

We'll see you soon.

Love,
Rob and Judy

What Do You Need to Start a Church?

Judy and I are attending Exponential in Orlando. It's the largest conference on church planting in America. Thousands of church planters are here from all over the world. Some of the best known authors and speakers and church planters are teaching sessions on every aspect of church planting imaginable. Dozens of companies have displays advertising countless resources for small groups, web sites, financial management, portable equipment for churches meeting in schools and theaters, advertising resources, leadership development, and so much more. The stuff available to church planters is really amazing!

One of the most inspiring speakers I've heard at the conference is Louie Giglio. He has just planted a new church and said he really wants his church to be like the church in Acts 2—"devoted to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer…everyone was filled with awe…they shared with any who had need…they had the favor of all the people…the Lord added to their number daily" We all want our churches to be "Acts 2 churches."

Then he made this striking (but really obvious) observation:

"The Acts 2 church didn't know they were an 'Acts 2 church'!"

What kind of church did they want to be? There weren't any other churches for them to want to emulate. There were no premier churches or model church plants. No church planting conferences or books on how to plant a church.

So what did the "Acts 2 church" have to help them become "THE Acts 2 church"? Giglio pointed out three things they had:

1. They had the teachings of Jesus.
   
2. They were witnesses of the resurrection.
   
3. They had the Holy Spirit.
   

That was it. Those were the resources in their tool kit.—Jesus' teachings, the resurrection, and the Holy Spirit.

And Giglio went on to say that we have those same resources. We have Jesus' teachings (plus the letters of Paul, plus the treatise of the mystery author of Hebrews, and more). We have their eyewitness reports of the resurrection, and we have seen the resurrection power of God bring life to us and to others around us. And we have the Holy Spirit of God at work in us and in the world. It was an encouraging challenge to depend on God, not on our own abilities and resources. The same God who was at work in creating the Acts 2 church is still at work in the world.

Will Reunion Christian Community be an "Acts 2 church"? I don't know. But we have do have Jesus, the good news, and the Spirit…Maybe that's a good start.

Colbert vs. Beck on Social Justice (for laughs and...)

This is a very funny response by Stephen Colbert to Glen Beck's rant on social justice. I agree with Beck on some things, not on others. But on this subject, I thought Beck was bordering on the bizarre. Whatever your views of Beck, you'll probably get a laugh out of this. Click here.

What to Do with Judas? A Good Friday Meditation

[This is an edited version of the message I presented yesterday at Andrew Price United Methodist Church at the Holy Week Services hosted by the Donelson-Hermitage Ministerial Association. I received a request to post it here, since the messages were not recorded.]

This Sunday churches everywhere will be full. We all want to celebrate the resurrection!

But this is Good Friday and tonight churches will not be so full. Good Friday is a difficult day, and we'd rather not have to remember it. But before we can sing "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" on Sunday, we must sing "O Sacred Head" on Friday. Before we can celebrate the truth of the resurrection, we must face the truth of betrayal. So today I want to share a few thoughts on a text I've never preached before (Matthew 27:1-10 TNIV).

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."

"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

This is not a text we like to read. We know the story, but we want to run past it. There are better texts for Good Friday: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." "Today you will be with me in Paradise." "Mother, behold your son." "It is finished." Those are good texts to preach on Good Friday.

But what are we to do with a story like this? What are we to do with religious leaders like this—cowardly, conspiring, hypocritical? And what are we to do with Judas—3 years with Jesus, and then this? And why?

Matthew does not tell us why Judas did what he did, leaving us to endless speculation. Was it for the money? (Just the greed of the one who stole from the poor box—but is anyone that greedy?) Was it for political motives? (Hoping to force Jesus to revolution—then crumbling in despair when the plan fails.) Was it for religious reasons? (Angry rejection of Jesus' vision of the kingdom of God and how he challenged traditional beliefs.)

The only explanation the gospels seem to offer is that it had something to do with Satan entering him. But that doesn't help me feel any better. It makes me wonder what Satan could make me do.

Matthew has a different agenda in writing than to explain Judas' actions. First, this is part of his effort to demonstrate that Jesus was innocent of the charges against him, that Jesus was put to death not for his own crimes but because of the crimes of his accusers. Even Jesus' betrayer declares his innocence, and those who convicted him don't care.

Second, Matthew continues here the fulfillment theme he has emphasized since the beginning of the gospel. He shows again in this text that Jesus is the culmination of Scripture, of Israel's story, and of God's work.

Matthew seems to say he is quoting Jeremiah, but the words are not a quotation of any passage of Scripture. The words are closer to a passage in Zechariah, though he may also allude to some verses in Jeremiah (see Zechariah 11:12,13; Jeremiah 19:1–13; 32:6–9). This is typical of Matthew. He is not concerned to say that the prophets actually stated that these exact things would happen. He is more concerned to say that all sorts of things that Moses and the prophets talked about in their day are seen all over again in Jesus in a way that fulfills or completes the story of God and his people.

How Matthew is quoting or alluding to Scripture is the subject for scholarly debate. For us, it leads to more important questions: If this is the way God's people acted in the days of the prophets and in the days of Jesus, would the story be different today? Would religious leaders today act differently? Would church-goers react differently than temple-goers? Would I be like Judas?

What are we to do with Judas? And what are we to make of Judas' fate? Did he repent? Matthew speaks of Judas experiencing such deep regret that he killed himself. Was that true repentance? If he did really repent, then was he saved after all? Could "Father, forgive them" apply to Judas as well?

I think we tend to have one of two reactions to that thought. We either are offended at the very idea that Judas could be saved—he deserves hell! Or we want to believe he could have repented and been forgiven—God forgives everyone!

I wonder if both reactions are a little self-serving. In the first case, our righteous indignation confirms our self-righteous confidence. Condemning Judas makes us feel more righteous. In the other, excusing Judas makes us feel good as we excuse ourselves. If Judas can get off, so can I.

But we are in no position to judge or excuse. It is neither our place to condemn Judas nor to pardon to him.

Judas does not seem to have truly repented. Matthew does not use the usual word for repentance which refers to a change of mind and heart, a turning to God. This word refers more often to feelings of regret—but regret for what? That an innocent man has been condemned? That his plans failed? Judas doesn't react like he has truly repented. There is no mention of prayer. He doesn't turn to God, he goes to the leaders and tries to give back the money. There is no attempt to speak up for Jesus to Pilate and stop what is about to happen. But God will judge that.

And no matter what plausible explanations we come up with, they won't justify what Judas did. Whatever his motives—whether greed or patriotism or religion or some other—it cannot excuse spending 3 years with the Messiah, the Lord of creation, the incarnation of God's love, and then selling Jesus out for his own personal gain or his own agenda—however right the reasons may have seemed to him at the time.

But are we never tempted to use Jesus for our own agendas?

I think of the protesters who were in the news again this week, members of an angry little church who protest at military funerals shouting that the death of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is God's judgment on America for condoning sexual sin. Would Jesus shout at people grieving the death of their sons? But they do this in Jesus' name.

Or on a lighter note, I heard this week that "President Obama is not a brown-skinned, anti-war socialist who wants healthcare for everyone—you're thinking of Jesus." (I don't think that's really a fair characterization of Jesus, but I like it better than the first group.) We can all use Jesus for our agendas, can't we?

Or how about people on both sides of a football field praying in Jesus' name—one side that the field goal would go through and win the game, and the other that it would miss? (I have wondered if that confuses God…whose prayers should he answer?)

Or how about using Jesus to defend our denominational dogma and identity? I love the story about the three ministers debating whose church Jesus would attend. The Episcopalian says, "Jesus would go to our church because we have apostolic succession and can trace our church leaders all the way back to the apostles." The Pentecostal says, "He would obviously go to our church because we have the Holy Spirit." The Church of Christ minister says, "Of course he would go to a Church of Christ—why would he change after all these years!"

Or what about my friend who left his wife and daughters claiming, "Jesus wants me to be happy."

No, we'd never use Jesus for our own agendas, would we? Or turn on him if he failed us.

In this story we are faced with religious leaders who want to pass the buck and say "it's not our responsibility"—but it clearly is—and they become models of hypocrisy. We are faced with a follower of Jesus who turns his back on his Savior and becomes the model of unfaithfulness and betrayal. We are faced with the truth that the Scriptures are a consistent story of human unfaithfulness and God's steadfast love.

And we are faced with the truth that this is also our story.

Good Friday reminds us that we are not good—despite our efforts to justify ourselves. But Good Friday also reminds us that God is good and his steadfast love and mercy continue forever.

Let the tragic story of Judas call us to sing more earnestly the last line of "O Sacred Head":

"Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee."

It’s Official!

Today I filed the papers to incorporate our new church. We now are officially recognized as a church by the government. We just don't have a group of people who look like a church yet! But we trust that will come in time.

We also have a name, a post office box, a federal i.d. number, and within a few days we'll have our own bank account. All very official…but I wonder, "What would the apostle Paul have thought about having to go file papers in a government office in order to start a church in Corinth or Ephesus?" He might have been glad to have a government that would recognize his church rather than persecute it. On the other hand, he might have wondered what we have sacrificed in order to gain social and political respectability.

Our name is Reunion Christian Community. A little untraditional, I know, but that's kind of the point of planting a new church, isn't it? We're on a mission to reach people who aren't being reached by traditional churches, and who are turned off by the idea of "church." People associate "church" with buildings and institutions and denominations and dogmatic traditions (wonder where they got that impression?). The Greek word we translate today as "church" referred to an assembly or gathering of people in a community of faith. So we decided to use the more common word "community" rather than the churchy word "church."

The word "Christian" in our name acknowledges that we are followers of Jesus Christ. It connects us to our heritage in the Restoration movement and the nonsectarian conviction that we are "Christians only, but not the only Christians."

The word "Reunion" reflects what we believe is the central mission of the church—reconciliation. Paul says that "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ" and that he has given us the ministry and message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20). God's plan was to bring all things to unity in Christ, to reconcile everyone (Jews and Gentiles) in one body through the cross, making peace between them (Eph. 1:9-10; 2:14-18). Christ's mission was to reunite people to God who had been alienated by sin and unbelief, and to reunite people to each other who were separated by hostility, prejudice, sectarianism, and legalism. Reuniting people to God and to each other is the mission of any community of Jesus' followers.

Reunion Christian Community—Bringing people together and to God.

So, what do you think?

The Return of the Blog: What's happening in our new journey

I'm finally back to blogging. (Do I hear cheering?...Maybe a few "it's about time" comments?...Is anyone reading this?) I will use this blog as one way to keep friends, supporters, and drive-by readers updated on how things are going with our new ministry.

For now, I will keep the name of the blog the same. I considered changing it to something related to the new church, but until the new church begins, this will continue to be my blog, rather than a church communication center. What better name than "What I Didn't Say Sunday"? Since I'm not preaching, everything I say is something I didn't say Sunday!

That in itself is a subject I get asked about all the time—"What's it like not preaching every week?" Hard question to answer. Since January 3, I have spoken one time. I have no other speaking appointments until Good Friday at the local Holy Week services and then not again until mid-July at an area church. This is the first time in almost 30 years that I have gone more than 3 weeks without preaching or teaching.

The first few weeks it was really strange. On Saturday nights I felt stressed even though I had nothing to be stressed about! No deadline. No sermon notes sitting in a folder beckoning me to come revise them one more time. No concerns about whether I should prepare more. No anxiety about whether the worship service would go as planned, bless most of the congregation, upset some, etc. No reason to have difficulty falling asleep, or to wake up in the night with a new thought, or to get up early to read over the lesson again…but I seemed to do all that anyway.

But I have to say that I've gotten used to it. I'm not used to living without constant deadlines. But the break has been nice. At least for awhile. (I'm about ready to start creating some kind of deadline every week just to feel normal!) And I've enjoyed the freedom to visit other churches and listen to other preachers. Something I have only been able to do a few times a year. We've enjoyed the experience—though Judy says every Sunday that she misses her favorite preacher (isn't she sweet!).

Well enough about me. Here's the news:

OUR HOUSE SOLD!!!! (Do I hear cheering? This time I should definitely hear cheering!)

We close on March 31 and will move our stuff into storage and stay at my parents' some, but mostly at Judy's mother's empty house. We'll be moving into Hope Gardens, the neighborhood we have targeted as our home base. We haven't found a suitable house in the neighborhood for hosting gatherings, so it looks like we'll build one on an empty lot there and be in place by July.

The Hope Gardens area is a great place for our ministry. It is probably the closest neighborhood to downtown—just north of the capitol, across the street from the Farmers Market. The neighborhood is very diverse ethnically and socio-economically. Just north across Jefferson Street is the Buena Vista neighborhood, which is also diverse, but with a larger low income population, including the Cheatham Place projects. Across Rosa Parks Blvd. is historic Germantown, an area that is now full of young professionals. The other side of the downtown business district are the upscale condos in the Gulch. All around us are opportunities to connect with disconnected city dwellers, serve underserved residents, and make an impact on the community.

I have been meeting some of the community leaders to learn the needs of the area and explore opportunities for service. Already we have begun helping out with an after-school Bible club at the local elementary school. And the public library invited me to read Dr. Seuss stories to inner city preschoolers at their monthly story time (that was too much fun to be considered work!). This Sunday morning we will meet residents of the neighborhood when they come out to get their community garden ready for spring.

The word of the day is "progress." We feel like we are moving in the right direction and good things are starting to happen.

But now I have to go pack boxes.