I got these notes below from a Church Planter I met (he would never remember me) this year in Atlanta Matthew Hosier - cool guy from England. These notes are from the A29 Church Planters conference in Seattle that just finished this week - good Stuff - Read below
MARS HILL CHURCH PLANTING CONFERENCE
Mark Driscoll: The Call to Endure
In the final session of the Boot Camp Pastor Mark Driscoll makes an impassioned plea for church leaders to endure...
1. Endure spiritually
The pressure is to be busy all the time and to be plugged in all the time (phone, laptop, ipod). You need to get away with Jesus! Silence and solitude are essential to hear Jesus. Other people will try to control your agenda – you need to pursue Jesus. You cannot endure without this kind of relationship with Jesus.
Natural introverts need silence and solitude or you will get grumpy and die.
Natural extroverts need to discipline themselves to experience silence and solitude.
Ministry must not be your life or your idol. Ministry is the one idol that will be blessed by your church – the leader has to make the decision to be refreshed and grow spiritually and not to make an idol of the ministry. You need to be spiritually grounded with Jesus.
Love Jesus, don’t use him. Worship Jesus, don’t abuse him. Shepherd your own soul as well as others.
2. Endure physically
Church planters tend to put on lots of weight (except the skinny worriers who forget to eat).
We can confuse being driven by stress with being led by the Holy Spirit.
You have to take your Sabbath or endure involuntary Sabbath. Sabbath is fun; involuntary Sabbath is not…
Take your day off. Take your vacation. Watch what you eat. Exercise.
Most pastors are fat! Gluttony is the one acceptable ministry sin.
The role of a pastors wife is to pastor him – your wife knows whether you are reading your Bible, getting your sleep, enjoying fellowship with God… Your wife needs to be the one you trust, who helps you, who watches out for you. Don’t nag your husband, love him.
3. Endure maritally
Your first priority is to be a Christian. Your second priority is to love your wife. Your third priority is to pastor your kids. Your fourth priority is to be a pastor.
People are meant to imitate us – this means there needs to be something worth imitating.
You can’t destroy your life in order to fix other destroyed lives. You cannot be permanently available to anyone other than your wife.
Define your wifes role and guard it carefully. There is no definition of “Pastors wife” in the Bible, so you get to define it. She should do only what you and she determine as appropriate. There should be no demands upon her to fulfil certain roles.
Sync up your schedules. You need to know what one another are doing.
Your wife is to be your helper, not the church’s helper. Everything else in the church can be delegated except being the pastors wife.
4. Endure parentally
Sometimes pastors kids sin because the only time they get their dads time is when they screw up.
Your goal for your kids needs to be that they be mature Christians. That’s it. There should be no other role or expectation for them.
When you get home turn your phone off; don’t check your email; don’t ignore your children.
Date your daughters. Keep them safe. Keep them close. Don’t cause them to be lacking male affection.
Protect your home – be careful who you let through the door. When you read verses on hospitality also read verses on discernment.
5. Endure theologically
Don’t cave in to the liberals or the fundamentalists – they are both wrong. Both sinners and religious people will cause you problems, but the religious people will cause more trouble because they won’t leave! You need to call both to repent.
You need to contend for the faith and contextualise the faith.
6. Endure financially
Men are meant to provide for their families. Pastors wives with young children should not have to work. Acts 29 will not allow someone to plant with them if his kids are in daycare because his wife is working.
7. Endure emotionally
The hardest thing is always dealing with your critics. If you do not have critics you are not preaching faithfully!
Learn from what your critics say, but never engage them on their own terms. Sometimes you need to respond to your critics, sometimes you need a mediator, sometimes you need to ignore them.
Know the size of your plate and fill it. Don’t add more to your plate than you are capable of handling. Be content with the size of your plate.
8. Endure relationally
You will have lots of fans, lots of foes, and few friends.
As soon as you hire someone the relationship with them changes. It is hard to do performance reviews with your friends…
Most leaders don’t get a mentor. Most people don’t get a Paul. What you need to do is build a team of peers who you can call on when you need them.
Conclusion
To endure is to be an ongoing, sanctified version of yourself. Don’t try to be someone else – its miserable! Grow in your understanding of who God has called you and made you to be.
Don’t just preach the gospel, live the gospel. Preach repentance and practice repentance.
March 13, 2009
March 12, 2009
Hulu - Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy
I thought there was a lot of truth to what this guy was saying!
Please watch this and remember to be Thankful!
Hulu - Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy
March 3, 2009
Great Video I watched today!!!
"http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid14193473001/bctid14583472001">Great videa by Rick Warren - Please watch it if you can
February 20, 2009
February 19, 2009
BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: PROVERBS 1
BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: PROVERBS 1
This is where I spent some time this morning - where did you?
February 13, 2009
Economic Stimulus Package - ObamaStimulusPlan Be wary of these sites!
This whole plan scares me - the legality issues of the Government owning mortgages and banks. The unregulated grants like the site below.
This is a joke - there will be good materials in the package but I believe that the unregulated or managed programs will lead to more websites like this one.
I am for Obama's ability to unify but I am fearful of his cabinet (especially the Mr. Treasury "Timmy G").
Be fearful of sites Like these (below)!
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