churchplanters.com

Here is what has been happening today at churchplanters.com for those you who are missing it.

(YES some things are not worded absolutely correct, but I tried my best to capture it for you – so enjoy)

Main Session #1 - Shawn Lovejoy

(finances during economic times)

 Proverbs 22:3 & Proverbs 27:12

“A prudent person foresees the dangers ahead and takes precautions, the simpleton goes blindly and suffers the consequences”

• Same word for Satan in Genesis 3 is the same word “prudent” in Proverbs = skill, crafty
•  We are going to have be more skillful, diligent, crafty and wiser than ever when it come to handling God’s money
•  God is looking for leaders who are prudent (wise, crafty) to how they handle God’s money.

 

We don’t talk about being prudent.

Most church planters only talk about faith. 

“we are just stepping out in faith and going for broke”

• Faith is mentioned not one time in proverbs. God does value faith, but has a high value on wisdom.
• Can’t find anywhere in the bible where faith and money are mentioned together in the bible.
• However whenever money is mentioned, wisdom and council are attached.

 “Prudent leaders balance faith with wisdom”

“Our problem is that we do what we want to do and then ask God to bless us.”

 

Jesus taught us to count the cost. (Luke 14:28-30)

• - We can get drunk by leaning just on faith. Faith can many times be masked by foolishness.
• - the Bible does say “without faith it is impossible to please God”

“faith is not presuming on the blessing of God, it is trusting in the sovereignty of God”

 

Prudent Leaders:

• - recognizes potential danger
• - slows down
• - pays attention to surroundings
• - takes precautions

In our economic times people are not responsible for what they don’t have, just for what they do have.

 Prudent Leadership:

• - having people whom we seek council from
• - people from the community whom they live life with

 The Bible tells us “the heart is deceitfully wicket”, so I want to make sure that council is speaking into the details of all our finances.

•  - Don’t give your leadership away, but seek Godly council.
• - Proverbs 12:15 “… the wise listen to others”

 

Funding trends:

• - December is great / January is horrible
  
• - minimum 6-8 weeks of money in the bank

We tell our people not to send more than they can make, why does the church?

Being prudent is not just about protecting ourselves, its about positioning ourselves so that when God is ready to do something, we can leap right in and do more for the Kingdom.

 You want people to know that our God is not about more and consumption, that he is different than what they have found themselves caught up in.

- It has huge evangelistic implications!

 

Main Session #2 Ed Stetzer

(Rethinking and redefining discipleship)

 In the past the reality is that the church goes up when the economy goes down.

 You will have less than before, but God is going to do more.

It will only happen with spiritual formation.

4 essentials for spiritual formations in churches:

1. Elementary is a danger and not a goal

• - “we want to be a church for the unchurched”
  
• - Yes you do, but the bible says it’s a danger to be elementary
  

Hebrews 6:1 “…go on toward maturity”

• - keeping it simple and moving past elementary is a hard balance
• - the goal is discipling not church planting
• - church planting will distract you from discipling
• - discipling stars with the leader
• - you can not lead people in what you do not know yourself

*How to change it…

• (a) recognize your business
• (b) don’t make it a value to say you wont go deep
• (c) find out how those far from God can join deeper in the journey

1 Corinthians 3:1-2 “…milk not solid food because you can not receive it”

• - we should not brag that we can’t go deeper

Hebrews 5:11-12 “by this time you ought to be teachers…”

• - we have not provided a pathway to spiritual maturity
• - you have a momentum strategy not a church planting strategy

 

2. God wants you and your church on a path to change

Colossians 1:9-10 “…asking you may be filled with the knowledge…”

• - spiritual maturity is the only thing that keep longevity
• - develops with exposure to the truth / Romans 12:2 “renew the mind”
• - You should get people in the word of God and tied to Jesus

“They don’t need to think you are clever, but that God and his word are sufficient… They need to see the word of God more than just on a screen each week”

 

If you don’t have a plan for spiritual growth you are getting too busy

 

3. God involves us in our and our church’s spiritual growth

• - God is the source of power behind it and he grows it.
  

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 “… but God causes the growth”

• - Most of us do not really believe that!
• - you have placed your work in the place of God’s faithfulness

 

Philippians 2:12 “…work out faith in fear and trembling”

• How much energy are you putting into your working out your salvation?
  
• It’s not something you get over, but something you live out.
  

Most church planters are strategy rich and spiritually bankrupt!

4. God calls you and your church to be spiritual learners

1 Timothy 4:16 “..be conscientious about yourself and your teaching … and by doing this you will save yourself and your hearers”

• -your people will need to be saved from you if you are not spiritually right
• - if you are always the hero in peoples lives, then Jesus isn’t

 

Acts 17 “…people examined the scriptures daily..”

“You have created a Jesus shaped culture if they welcome the message with eagerness and examine the scriptures to see if it’s true.”

 When we preach against sin in our church its not often the sin of our church. (ie. Drinking, etc.) The real sin is that 80% of the people can’t feed themselves

 

• Does your church planting  plan include life changing disciples?
• Maybe what God is doing today to the church that lacks disciples is taking away things that distract us?
• God is looking for a beautiful bride and she looks ugly right now, because we are not doing our part.

 

 

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Tags: church planting, churchplanters.com, ed stetzer, orlando churches, shawn lovejoy, tim grandstaff