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Things I Am Learning (pt 2): Adaptability

February 10, 2013 in Articles, Church Planting, Jesus, Leadership, pastor, The Church with 4 Comments

It is 11:30am on Sunday morning. On a normal week at this time I’d be right in the middle of delivering the message to our 11am gathering. This week, however, I am sitting at home wishing I was with my church family and wondering how many people will show up at our gathering space this morning only to read a sign on the door saying we had to cancel services again at the last minute because of a conflict we only learned about Friday.

Such is church planting.

::CHURCH PLANTING & ADAPTABILITY::

Future church planter, you must develop the ability to be adaptable. It is a non-negotiable for church planting. You have to learn to flex at all times and in every direction. You have to be okay with switching directions at a moment’s notice. You have to be able to change the plan when it is least convenient. Continue Reading…

25 Things I Love About My Church

October 22, 2012 in comic relief, Jesus, Mosaic, pastor, Reflection, Religion, The Church with 6 Comments

Yesterday we started a new series at Mosaic that I am really excited about entitled, “I Love My Church.” As I have been getting ready for it, it has been so refreshing and energizing to dig into the book of Acts and remember how the church began and what it is meant to be: not an institution, but a movement of God’s grace in and through his people.

It can be easy to get negative on church, can’t it? I pastor a community that is full of people who bear the scars of organized religion and religious leaders who at times did awful things in the name of Jesus. I, too, bear those scars. Perhaps if you’re like me, you can find yourself at times fixating on the things you feel are wrong or frustrating or things you wish were different about your church. I fear this is one of the subtle ways that our heart is drawn away from The One who loved and died for his church.

This negativity can be all too natural for a generation that struggles with cynicism and is increasingly skeptical of institutions, whether they be corporate, political, religious or otherwise. And so I think the challenge for us is this: Jesus loves his church, warts and all. He willingly died for her, in spite of all her imperfections and perpetual unfaithfulness. And he calls us to love her as well.

So one of the things I did this week as a discipline of reflection and thankfulness was sit down and list some of the things I LOVE about my church. Even I was surprised at how easy this was. In just 5 short minutes, I had filled an entire page with things I love about the community of Mosaic. (By the way, I can’t tell you what this did for my heart.) It was so fun to reflect on the beautiful mess that is Jesus’ church and all that I have to be thankful for. I would really encourage you to carve out some time to sit down and do the same!

25 Things I Love About My Church

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Celebrating One Year @MosaicLincoln

March 14, 2012 in Church Planting, Jesus, Mosaic, pastor, Photo Blogs, Reflection, Videos with 0 Comments

You ever step into a moment that was so much greater, so much bigger than you ,and thought to yourself, What on earth am I doing here? Over the past year, I’ve found myself thinking that often. Continue Reading…

Some Things You Should Know About Your Pastor

December 13, 2011 in Articles, Church Planting, encouragement, Leadership, pastor, The Church with 5 Comments

Let’s admit it: at one point or another, we have all been critical of pastors. Sometimes it’s just too easy, isn’t it? Like the guy who insists on using antiquated language and five syllable words that haven’t been in common usage since Shakespeare, or his younger antithesis down the road who is always saying things like dude and bro in between Rolling Stone quotes. One is too hip. The other is not hip enough. Both, however, get criticized for where they land. Welcome to the life of a pastor.

It is a tall order to live up to the expectations that come with the title “Pastor,” especially with so many different opinions on what a pastor should be. I’d imagine if we took all the expectations of everyone in your church and inserted them into a job description for your pastor, it’d might read something like:

CHURCH SEEKING NEW SENIOR PASTOR. Must be highly visionary, administratively strong, theologically astute, culturally connected, strong in both interpersonal and public communication, seasoned counselor, proven track record of longevity and initiating new projects, general knowledge in marketing and good business practice, able to cast vision, raise funds, manage budgets, hire and fire, submit to authority, speak with authority, teach and preach, gifted in planning but highly adaptable, be passionate but not overbearing, strong and meek, funny but not too funny, faithful and careful, bold and calculated, not too conservative and not too liberal. Applications can be submitted to jennifer@theresnowayyoucansucceedatthis.com.
You get my point. Everyone (including you) has different expectations of how your pastor ought to be gifted and what he ought to be doing with it. And the truth is, he likely has days when he feels like he is falling short of all of them. If you don’t believe that to be true, consider these jarring statistics:
  • 80% of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role
  • 70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they first started in ministry
  • 70% of pastors constantly fight depression
  • 90% feel they’re inadequately trained to cope w/ work demands
  • 50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry tomorrow if they felt they had a viable alternative

Continue Reading…