Ed Stetzer

I have added Ed Stetzer's blog (edstetzer.com) to my blog roll on the right. This site is full of great research, CP info, and other good stuff. Ed is the author of "Breaking the Missional Code", which is an excellent resource for a church planter in any context. Enjoy.

Ministry Org Charts, Job Desciptions, and Such

Ben Arment (benarment.com) has posted his ministry flow chart, org chart, and job descriptions for the church he is planting, Reston Community Church in Reston, VA. Last week at Huddle we worked on our flow charts and strategic planning, and I feel like Ben's stuff is an excellent resource for fellow planters. Thanks for sharing, Ben!

Calorie Counting

One of the great things I took away from Huddle this year was Richard Vogt's talk on Health and Stress. Richard is planting a church(es) in Las Vegas, and spoke about the simple math of losing weight. If we can cut 3500 calories per week, that equals a 1 lb per week weight loss.

I have started on a 2000 calorie per day diet as of last Saturday. I am using on online calorie counter to calculate everything I eat. The site will track weight loss, carb, sat. fats, proteins, etc. and graph my progress. I have been doing great so far, even munching on raw carrots when I get hungry. Even last night at our Fall Fellowship at church, I behaved myself and only went 200 calories over for the day.

I am trying to drop 22 pounds to get down to 180 and I'm already feeling better.

Blogging DysFunction

Since I made the transition to a Macbook, I haven't been able to utilize all of the features in Blogger, such as the links button, the bullets button, etc. Basically, much of my toolbar is missing. Can anyone help a brother out?

Back From Huddle

I got home from CP Huddle Saturday afternoon at 2 PM. Scott Bates and I had a 6 AM flight out of Memphis. This year's Huddle recharged my batteries and allowed me to reconnect with many friends. The biggest strategy nugget I left with was the need to "Clarify the Win" (Andy Stanley). The traditional line of thinking in regards to the "win" is attendance, buildings, offerings, salvations, and baptisms. While these are important, the "win" needs to look beyond that macro factors. For example, the "win" in a Kindergarten class might be, "The Kids will sit still and listen to a 15 minute Bible lesson" or "Parents will implement a family devo time 3 nights per week". I am challenged to sit down, examine each ministry in our church, and clarify the win for those ministries.

Highlights of Huddle:
- dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse in Memphis and cruising Beale St with a bunch of preachers
- Jordan Thomas's reminder to "Keep Jesus Supreme" in our churches...how? with tangible evidences
- Richard "Simmons" Vogt's encouragement to count our calories and pursue a healthy lifestyle.
- ABA's version of Mark Driscoll makes an appearance at our dinner table at the Spaghetti Warehouse

Thanks again to the Reach America team and Trinity Church in West Memphis for doing a great job with Huddle.

CP Huddle - Session 2

Dubs Byers
Compass Ministry

"Strategic Planning"

Go as far as you can go, and when you get there, you can always see a little further." - Zig Ziglar

God has to bless our planning in order for us to be successful.

It all boils down to leadership. There is a severe lack of leadership in churches today.

"Comeback churches were always led by strong leaders. Christian or biblical leadership can be defined as:
- a person involved in a process
- influencing and developing a group of people in order to accomplish a purpose BY MEANS OF SUPERNATURAL POWER"
(Ed Stetzer)

If we are going to be an effective leader, we have to have CREDIBILITY. How do we gain it?
TO be credible, you've got to have success over an extended period of time. There are times when leaders destroy their credibility. Are there times when they can't come back? YES

HOW DO WE GAIN IT? IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO CREDIBILITY.
1) we can improve our character
2) we can improve our preparation

There is NO EXCUSE for not being a continuous learner in today's culture and technological environment.

Preparation to Planning:
1) be real about people: people will follow a visionary leader they trust/not all people will follow

Innovators - 3%
Early Adopters - 14%
Early Majority - 34%
Late Majority - 34%
Laggards - 16%

2) be real about resources (Luke 14:28-32)

3) be real about yourself - it's OK to be different/it's OK to say "that's not me"

CP Huddle - Session 1

Jordan Thomas - "Walking in Memphis"
Church Planter in downtown Memphis, TN

Reasons for CP in Memphis:
- 65% have no church connection

What is the biggest problem in CP today? Methodology. Because our theology informs our methodology.

"We don't have a lot, but we have Christ. The bottom line is not how much charmisma do you have, how energetic you are, how extroverted you are, BUT are you and I fascinated with the God man JESUS?"

There needs to be TANGIBLE evidences that JESUS CHRIST is the central figure in your church and ministries. How is your ministry revolving around the person of Jesus Christ?

7 TANGIBLE, VISIBLE EVIDENCES IN MEMPHIS:

1) Prayer. It demonstrates that Christ is supreme.

PRACTICES: prayer meeting before every corporate gathering

2) Preaching. Preaching shows the supremacy of Christ. It's the climax of worship.

3) Teaching. Teaching informs and preaching moves. Teaching demonstrates the supremacy of JESUS through biblical maturity.

4) Fellowship. Not about fried chicken and coffee. Fellowship is the supremacy of JESUS in biblical community. If Jesus is the most fascinating figure in your life, then it is going to bleed out in your conversations.

5) Evangelism. Why are we not sharing the gospel? We're not so convinced ourselves that we are first hand witnesses of the resurrection itself. If we don't love Jesus like we should, we won't have to tell anybody...they'll know already. EVANGELISM demonstrates the supremacy of JESUS in commending HIM locally.

6) Missions. Missions carry an avoidable burden that there are 2 billion people on the planet who haven't heard about Jesus. The supremacy of JESUS in commending HIM globally. Are we personally viewing ourselves as missionaries to the community?

7) Church Planting. There are many reasons that it should be a hotter topic. God has ONE strategy for reaching the world: CHURCH PLANTING. There is no plan B for reaching the lost and edifying believers.

"I can't read the NT, books involving churches being planted, I can't help but want to be involved in Church Planting"

3 FACTORS:
- biblical compulsion
- circumstances
- personal confirmation

ONE that will protect you from more CP errors:

Plurality of Elders (Every church in the NT had a plurality of elders)
Not being able to call all the shots is the best favor you can give yourself.

"One sentence God gave us: WE WANT TO BE A CHURCH PLANTING CHURCH in downtown MEMPHIS"

West Virginia's Finest

With a close win over Jonathan Johnson last night, my fantasy football team moved to 6-1 and two games ahead of the rest of the league in the standings. Most of the guys in our league are preachers and church planters and they are struggling with the sin of jealousy right now.

I had probably my best, wisest draft ever this year, with consistent production all throughout my lineup. I resisted the urge to draft a QB early, waiting until the 6th round to draft Matt Hasselbeck.

Our league is really balanced and competitive this year, with a bunch of guys gridlocked in 2nd place at 4-3.

Reach America Church Planters' Huddle

Tomorrow morning I'll be flying to Memphis for the Church Planters' Huddle in West Memphis AR. Trinity Baptist hosts this event, and is also a great supporter of our work in Morgantown. Looking forward to hanging out with my friends, and meeting some new people. This year they are expecting around 60 which doubles the turnout from last year.

If Wireless Internet is availble, I'll be posting some live updates and notes from the Huddle. Hopefully, I'll get to enjoy some world famous Memphis ribs and Catfish. I think a trip to Beale Street is actually on the agenda.

Great Weekend

I enjoyed a great weekend with my family and friends. Friday evening our family went downtown to watch WVU's homecoming parade on High Street. This parade is probably the best one you'll find in Morgantown thruout the year. We enjoyed trying out DP Dough, a shop that specializes in calzones, then got some chocolate at Slight Indulgence across the street.

I got two 45 yard line, row 9 tickets from a friend for the WVU/Miss St game Saturday afternoon. Aaron Johnson came over and our section introduced him to West Virginia football. He took some ribbing for being from SEC country, but I think he had a great time. WVU 38 MSU 13.

Our small groups are firing on all cylinders and it is spilling over to Sunday mornings. Several people are being introduced to StoneBridge thru small groups and we had several come for the first time to a Sunday service yesterday. We had 60 in attendance and there was a good spirit in the house. If we could eliminate our monthly "mulligan" Sunday for attendance, our averages would look much better, spiking up to the mid 60's instead of the 50's. Talked to Tommy Duke at ICC about this phonomenon today, as he is experiencing the same thing. If anyone has ideas on how to avoid attendance craters, let me know.

We celebrated my daughter Janna's 6th birthday yesterday. There were kids everywhere at our house, and we had a blast. I had made a deal with Janna a few weeks ago, where she agreed to stay 5 forever, but it looks like she is going to break our pact. Bummer.

Search and Rescue for Jacob Allen

Yesterday morning, I headed out to Dolly Sods to join the search team for Jacob Allen. They staged the volunteers at the Canaan Ski Area and divided us into task teams of 10-15 people. Once there I ran into a couple of friends from Morgantown, John Griffiths and his friend Dave. We were a part of a task team that crossed Red Creek and hiked straight up a gas line to an elevation of 2800 feet, then fanned out in intervals of 20 feet and searched across the side of the mountain for Jacob. It was the most grueling hike I've ever been a part of, in fact I thought I was going to lose my lunch at one point. We were basically bushwacking across the mountain, going over and under fences and downed timber.

Around 2:15 pm, we got the wonderful news that Jacob was found alive about 1/2 mile from the Boar's Nest Trail! I have been praying all week that he would be found safely, but 5 days in many of us were beginning lose hope that he would be rescued, or even found at all. We serve a BIG GOD! I've been reading IN A PIT where Mark Batterson talks about how many of us don't have a big enough view of GOD, and I have been guilty of that many times thru out my spiritual journey.

I consider Jacob's safe rescue a MIRACLE FROM GOD! What are the odds of a severely autistic young man surviving 5 days and 4 nights in the most rugged wilderness area of WV and possibly the eastern US? Thousands of people have been praying fervently for his rescue and God answered those prayers. May God receive all the glory from this and hopefully this will impact the lives of people who need Jesus.

I will post some pics from the day as soon as Belinda returns my camera cable.

I-79 Day

Yesterday our staff went to Washington PA to meet with the Johnson boys at Lifepoint, Scott Bates, and Tommy Duke, planting Iron City Church in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh. I enjoyed talking ministry with these fellows and hearing the ideas shared from the various books the guys are reading.

It was great getting to know Tommy yesterday. God is already using ICC to spread the gospel around Pittsburgh and to see lives changed. The Lord steadily confirms in our hearts that He is going to continue to work thru church planting to reach the lost in Western PA and WV. And that is an exciting thought...

Pray for Jacob Allen

Please pray for Jacob Allen, an 18 year old autistic man who got separated from his parents Sunday afternoon in the Roaring Plains backcountry adjacent to the Dolly Sods wilderness. Jacob and his family are members of Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown. Pray that he will be found today and will be safe, and that God would give wisdom and direction to the search team.

For more information go to wvmetronews.com.

Update

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity. I just got back into town this morning from the Eastern Panhandle over the weekend. On Saturday I officiated a wedding in Gerrardstown (close to Martinsburg). The happy couple both attend StoneBridge and the bride and I grew up in the same church (FBC Inwood). Belinda and the kids got to go with me on this trip, which made the trip wonderful for me. Friday night, Belinda and I had a working date, getting to go to the rehearsal dinner at the Bavarian Inn together in Shepherdstown minus the kids. Anytime you can have dinner with your wife, eat Filet Mignon, crabcake, and other delicacies, and it's free....IT's A GOOD THING. The wedding took place at the bride's family's home, which is beside beautiful orchards and autumn cornfields. We had a great time and got to reconnect with some old acquaintances from the area.

Early Sunday morning, I travelled (minus the family) over to the Baltimore area to speak at Arundel Baptist Church. They are having a Missions Emphasis month and invited me to come over and give them a glimpse of what God is doing in Morgantown, and preach. Pastor Myers and the church presented our church with a generous offering. I had a wonderful time there, and they topped the morning off by taking me out to eat at Damon's Grill (best ribs around).

Sunday evening I gave a church planting update and preached at FBC Inwood, our sending church. After a full exhausting day, I feel like I did a really poor job. The Powerpoint presentation I was ready to show didn't work, I gave a lousy report, and my message seemed really disjointed, and as Tommy Duke would say, I felt like I was preaching underwater. Out of 8 pages of notes, I preached about 2 1/2. (Note to self: If you're preaching using the KJV, make sure your notes aren't in NIV!) Anyway, several folks said the message really made an impact on them, so that just goes to show you how God can use the ordinary to impact the lives of people. The Pastors and the people at FBC Inwood are so wonderful and encouraging..it is always a blessing to spend time with them.

Why We Need More Churches in WV

Here's more proof and reason to push for planting churches across the Mountain State...

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

Yesterday StoneBridge Church was clicking on all cylinders. We had a good crowd (69) and there was a great vibe at church. One college student, Mollie Burdette, has brought what seems like at least 15 friends to church with her over the last three weeks, so she gets two scratch and sniff stickers this week. :) We had five people go through StoneBridge Boot Camp (101) yesterday. Yes, I'm kidding about the name.

Saturday, our family went to the Mountain State Forest Festival in Elkins. The kids had a great time riding the carnival rides and eating corn dogs and funnel cakes. Belinda and I both commented that we wished there was more of a forest emphasis in the festival, other than highlighting the logging industry (boo!). Another disturbing sight was a Dolly Sods Land Sale booth in the city park. Seems like a land company is selling off 161 acres of privately owed land just a mile from Bear Rocks, a beautiful overlook in the Sods. They are subdividing this land into 2 acre plots, which I'm sure will be bought out by DC metropolitan sorts who'll build second homes on the property. No bueno.

I'll be glad when the summer heat wave in October leaves the area. When I'm sweating setting up church in October, something's not right. The temp is supposed to drop to a high of 59 on Wednesday.

In fantasy football news, I only need 43 yards from Marion Barber tonight to hang a BIG LOSS on Scott Bates, which will most likely put me back in first place in the league.

Rewriting the 101 and Weekend Tidbits

This week I'm wrestling with rewriting our 101 Membership Class. We've been doing a tweaked version of RICK's 101 class for three years now, and we're tired of it, because we're not passionate about the material, as we would be if it were more customized to our city and church. We've got a crew of about 10 folks ready to take the class.

This weekend was insane if you're a college football fan. I think WVU still has a shot to work their way back up the rankings and at the very least, get an at large bid to one of the BCS games. I believe they will run the table from here on out.

After a great service Sunday morning, I headed to Damon's Grill with my family, David Story, and Jake Holt for some ribs and football. I've never been able to stomach the thought of paying $250 for Directv's Sunday Ticket so I could watch the greatness of the Cowboys every week, so my plan now is to head to Damon's each time they are not broadcast in Steeler's country. My wife Belinda is the best...why? because she had no problem leaving me there the extra 2 1/2 hours after lunch was over to watch the Cowboys whip the Rams. One other interesting note...Marc Bulger's sister Meg was about two booths over from me watching her brother play Sunday. Must have been tough to watch, since he played with two broken ribs and no O-line. Meg is a star basketball player at WVU, but is fighting to come back from a severe knee injury. I hope she makes the comeback for her Senior season.