I see a growing interest in encouragement to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Gospel. I love that kind of passion. We see so many examples of it in Scripture and many are listed in the chronicles of faith in Hebrews Chapter 11. There have been a few times in my life where I’ve sensed a specific call to do something so drastic, so seemingly bizarre, so faith-stretching, that even thinking about those decisions today seems scary.

I wonder, however, if that expectation is unrealistic when applied to all of us at all times. Is it okay, should God allow it, to live a “normal” faith at times…to not feel like everything is on the line…but rather feel like you’re in a safe place…depending on a regular paycheck, in a steady job, with a healthy church…for example?  Would that be considered okay and still be considered radical in your faith?

Just asking…

Recently I was reading John 7:1, which says, “Jesus didn’t go where He knew there was immediate danger. There would be a time for this, but this was not the time.”

Of course, you should read it in the context….not just that context, but the entire context of Jesus’ story. There’s no mistaking, however, that at this particular moment…Jesus played it safe. He didn’t jeopardize His life for the mission…in fact He did the opposite. There would be a time when He would sacrifice everything…willingly…for the sake of the call, but this was a time to be wise rather than risky.

Here’s a bottom line where I’ve landed. I see lots of well-meaning people encouraging a radical, sold-out faith…and I’m totally for that. I think all of us should live that way, but my point is that will look different for all of us.

Living by faith may not require you to:

• Sacrifice your family for the ministry…
• Forgo earning an income to follow a call…
• Risk your life to share the Gospel…
• Surrender to full-time vocational ministry…
• Sell everything and move to Africa…
• Quit your current church…
• Plant a church…
• Ignore your safety to complete a mission…

There may be times God calls you to take tremendous risks of faith. He may ask you to sacrifice everything some day…or certainly be willing to…He may send you into dangerous moments…even be a martyr for your faith…

If that’s God call on your life…my best advice is to obey quickly!

But walking in faith doesn’t always require such extremes. The key is that you are willing to follow wherever He leads.

What do you think? Reflect on what I’ve written and give me your feedback. Help me think through this thought process.

If I had to name one senior person in ministry who has most impacted me from a distance as a believer, it would probably be Chuck Swindoll. I grew in my faith listening to his radio program and reading his books. He was contemporary and applicable in his preaching and not afraid to be innovative in reaching people.

I recently read an article in Leadership Journal interviewing Swindoll on his newest book, The Church Awakening. I haven’t read the book, but the article says some things that caught my attention and I intend to read it.

He says things like:

• “When a church is spending more of its budget on media than shepherding, something is out of whack.”
• “We must make sure that new things actually help people grow in the truth, that they edify the saints and build them up.”
• “We try to keep it simple so that the pizzazz doesn’t become the reason to bring a neighbor.”
• “I let people see the cracks in my life. We can’t be phony. We’ve got to keep it real.”

Read the article HERE, then come back to this post and reflect on what Swindoll is saying to younger pastors and church leaders.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know at first glance that I agree with everything he said, and I’ll read the book for more clarity, but I did read the article and Swindoll makes some bold statements. I believe in listening to the wisdom of elders too. Could there be a word here for the church?

What are your thoughts about where the church is now or is going in worship planning?

Are we putting too much emphasis or spending too much money on technology?

How do we balance the tension of reaching people uninterested in the church, yet making sure we always honor Christ in worship?

Is this a word from the wise or a dear wise pastor who is also struggling with the changing times?

Let me hear your thoughts.

Recently, I shared with Grace Community Church the purpose of the church. I’m not sure we always get it right.

What do you think the purpose of the church is?

This week I had two people email through my blog asking for suggestions when interviewing with a church for a staff position. I am thinking it could be an issue worth addressing.

Having sit on both sides of the table, here are 7 suggestions:

Know your audience – Do as much research as you can about the church. Ask who will be in the interview and what role they have in the church.

Be honest – This is critical because you don’t want to win a job at a place where you can’t live with or support the vision.

Be upbeat - The main thing in adding staff in most churches is that the person be a good fit for the church and team. Show you’re easy to get along with and likable.

Be humble – If you’ve had past success, don’t take all the credit. Share the victories with others, knowing that most likely you couldn’t have succeeded without them, plus it’s a much more appealing approach.

Don’t appear controlling but appear competent - There is a balance between being able to lead with confidence and being a cocky leader. Be gracious with your answers but remain firm in your convictions.

Be forward thinking but celebratory of the history – Let them know you want to work with them and strengthen the church, building on the best of its history, but you want to take them wherever God leads in the future. Many church’s, even after a difficult period, continue to remain proud of their heritage.

Pray before and after and ask others to pray too – In the end this will either be a God-thing or not. You don’t want to take the position if it’s not. I believe God often gives tremendous latitude and freedom in choosing our place of service, and we should represent Him with our best appearance, but in the end, we want to be in the center of His will.

What tips would you offer to those interviewing at another church or ministry?

Winners of Scott Williams “Church Diversity”:

Congratulations! Look for your signed copy soon!

My friend Scott Williams has a new book called Church Diversity. He’s addressing a little talked about, but important issue in the church…DIVERSITY. Church Diversity is a movement encouraging book, a quick, fun read, and Scott is passionate about this issue. You can find out more at ChurchDiversity.com

Watch an interview I did with Scott recently and then see below how to enter to win this book. Tomorrow I’ll award five copies personally signed by Scott Williams.

To win a signed copy of Church Diversity:

• Comment on this blog post with your name and/or Twitter name.
• Retweet this post or share it on Facebook.

I’ll give 5 copies away randomly tomorrow morning.

One of my sessions at Exponential Conference this week was my friend Artie Davis and I encouraging bi-vocational pastors. The session, called “Flipping Burgers while Planting a Church” was to offer suggestions for those who trying to earn a living outside the church and pastor a church at the same time.

I shared 5 things to do and 5 things not to do. I would say many of these apply to all of us in ministry.

Here are my notes:

Do

Be accountable – let People speak into your life. You’ll feel more independent if you’re not dependent on the church for income.

Be disciplined – Stay healthy in all areas of your life.

Be organized – Have someone help you if needed, but develop systems to do everything you have to do in a week.

Be intentional – It’s hard work, but you have to keep both business and church worlds running well, and still be a good family man. It will require intentionality.

Be diligent – In all areas of your life, you must do your best. It’s your witness.

Don’t

Complain to church – About how hard you have to work. They should know you do, but not hear you complain about it all the time.

Lose sight of vision – The reason you are doing what you are doing is to complete the call God has on your life.

Let yourself burnout – Stay healthy physically, emotionally. Again, let people speak into your life who recognize when you are stretching yourself too far.

Allow one to outshine the other – Be good in all worlds…it will be hard, you’ll need God’s strength, but it’s your witness.

Neglect your family – That makes it even harder, but they are your first commitment.

I closed by explaining the concept in THIS POST. A key to doing more in life is that you have to get better personally.

Have you ever had to balance dual careers?  What advice would you give?

This week I’m at a church planting conference called Exponential. Sunday I will speak to Grace Community Church on the church. I’m a fan, a builder and a leader in the church, so I spend a lot of time thinking about the church’s future.  I love the local church.

Today I’d love your help thinking about the church. Consider these questions and answer all or as many as you want.

• What do you love about the local church?
• What changes do you see coming in the church, as we know it today?
• Where will the church be in 5, 10, 20 years?
• What changes need to occcur, whether or not you think they will?
• What never needs to change about the church?
• What changes have occurred that you don’t think should have?
• Church planting is huge these days…do you think that’s a good thing or not?

This week, let’s talk about the church.

Share your thoughts about the local church.

Just a quick reminder…

If you only follow the rules others set for you…

If you only do what others call “safe”…

If you never risk everything…

If you never step out of the norm…

There’s a chance….

Someone could drown…

Sometimes you have to step away from the established rules and traditions of men in order to do something no one has ever done…

You have to go where no one else has gone…

You have to refuse to play it safe…

You may even have to break someone’s established “rules”…

Be honest…if there were only two options…

Which sounds more appealing to you?

Playing by the rules…

Or…

Doing something others say couldn’t…or shouldn’t…be done…

Have you ever had to break the rules to do something worthwhile?

We have had an incredible journey these last five years as a new church. God continues to amaze us. I am consistently asked the story of starting Grace Community Church. Specifically other planters want to know what we did prior to launch. I’ve been asked enough that I thought it was worth sharing here.

The vision for Grace was placed on my heart 10 years before this process began, so we either had a head start or we were behind the curve; however you look at it. There were three of us sharing the vision, but the other two moved and I wasn’t in full-time ministry at the time, so the dream basically died…at least to me.

That’s when our timeline began in May of 2004:

May – I had an almost prophetic encounter with another pastor who encouraged me to revive the 10 year dream God had placed on my heart.

May-June: I took about 6 weeks to pray…

July: Approached my co-pastor to see his interest (He wasn’t interested at the time.)

July-August: I kept praying during these months for clarity…

September – My co-pastor and I started dreaming together, he wasn’t completely on board yet, but he was willing to see what God wanted to do…

Oct-Dec – I personally met with potential core members to share the vision, while my co-pastor and I kept shaping the vision…

Jan – Feb – Core pastor agrees to be a part…we invited potential core team to an organizational meeting, committed core to vision, solidified core…

March – June – Core learnings – The core team divided responsibilities, then traveled to different churches, learning all they could about what a successful church might include.

July – Core Training – We met to make clear our vision and primary strategy.

August – Practice/Preview services – With these services, although we didn’t promote them, we invited anyone who wanted to attend.

September 11, 2005 – Launch church – The rest is our history post-launch…

That’s our timeline. How does that compare to your church plant?

Any questions? Please ask.

I was talking with a church recently that had explosive growth, but things have slowed.  They wanted to know why they were not growing any longer.

I decided to share my quick answer here.

Obviously, God is ultimately in charge of a churches growth.  There are times where God is giving a season of rest and preparation for a church for something to come. In some situations, God may have even taken His hand from the church.

God is into church growth, however. It’s our mission as believers to produce disciples and our model example of the first century church was a growing church, so outside the God factor, there are usually reasons for stagnation in a church. Because the church is an organization made up of people, these reasons are often similar to those you may find true as to why growth stalls in the life of an organization also.

In my experience, the reasons are for getting stuck and/or halting growth include:

You get comfortable…It’s okay to be comfortable, but when you hang out there too long, it can be dangerous, because you stop trying new things to spur growth and excitement.

You quit dreaming…Dreams inspire, challenge, and grow people and organizations. You’ll never dream bigger than the dreams God has for you or your church.

You stop taking risks…You can’t succeed at anything without a measure of risk. Playing it safe never grows anything. The call of God always involves risk-taking.

You start maintaining…When you fall into the mode of protecting what you have, you’ll be less likely to encourage growth for fear of losing ground.

You fail to walk by faith...Especially for the church…we are a faith-based organization. If you aren’t walking by faith in what you are doing…it’s impossible to please God. (That’s Biblical…look it up!)

Obviously there is so much more to this issue and to each one of these answers.  These are general responses and there are specific issues with every church or organization. Hopefully thinking through each of these as a paradigm for brainstorming may help trigger thoughts towards actions which can spur future growth.

What would you add?