david norman blog dot com

In ministry, it’s become the trend for young pastors and church planters to attempt to describe themselves as Creatives. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. I mean, we need to ensure that we’re faithful to the God who called us to ministry, and to the proclamation of His Word rather than our own creative ideas. But I do believe that there’s a level of creativity that is important to our calling.

Let’s face it, we proclaim a two thousand year old message. If we’re proclaiming that message in such a way as to incite bored yawns, we’re failures.

But…

What makes me completely insane is when I read or hear a pastor describe himself as a creative or innovative, and yet when I look at their “innovative” ministry, I can tell exactly which books he’s reading, and pastors he’s listening to. In some instances, I’ve seen them use the exact same graphics. In others, they’ve just grunged things up a little, added overused buzz-words like, “missional,” “authentic,” and “community.”

(image via flickr: The Infatuated)

For the sake of clarification, let’s be sure we’re defining terms the same way.

Innovation: the action or process of makimg changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products

Innovation means that you are coming up with fresh ideas.

Innovation does not mean that you’re rehashing someone else’s idea that gained them national attention.

That’s called plagiarism.

So why write this? Why would it bother me so much?

Because it used to be me.

I used to try to fit that mold because I thought that was the only way to do it. So I did what everyone else did. I cast the same vision for a church as everyone else. In fact, I did a ton of research to study what mega-churches were doing, and cast a vision for that as though it were my own idea.

Some called it pragmatism.
Some called it studied.
Some called it wisdom.
I called it innovative.

But then the best possible thing occurred. God refused to allow it to happen. My attempt to plant a church was a tremendous failure.

And God used that failure to force my reliance upon Him, to reveal Himself more through His Word, and to force me to my knees in obedience.

And when that happened, it became incredibly more important that I fulfill what God has called me to.

I’m not innovative. And, in the ministry culture that we live in, that’s original enough.

Who else is ready to speak up and admit it?

I’m not innovative!

Recently, a good friend of mine let a beloved staff person go due to a moral failure. And while he and I had discussed the exact scenario before (when both of us were relatively disconnected from the issue), when it actually happened in his ministry, it was much harder.

And, common in most cases, both sides take issue with his response. He removed this person from ministry, getting them Biblical counseling to deal with his addiction, and seeking his restoration to the church body.

The question for pastors is this, “Where do we differentiate between those to whom we show grace, and those that we draw a hard line and remove from ministry?”

Take the jump to read my thoughts.

Last week, Brandon Levering posted five ways established churches should think like plants. I thought it was brilliant. Statistics show that the vast majority (some studies cite upwards of 80%) of those coming to Christ, do so in churches under 3 years old. Perhaps there’s something inherent about their status as a young church that others can learn from.

1. Church plants clearly define their mission and keep it before them in everything they do.
2. Church plants feel an acute sense of urgency to engage in evangelism.
3. Church plants tend to better understand the culture they’re engaging.
4. Church plants use a wider portion of the congregation in service.
5. Church plants are more likely to think strategically about planting more churches.

(Read the entire post here.)

Let’s flip the title for a second though, and ask this (because it’s a healthy question to ask):

What are some things that church plants can learn from established churches?

Ever since our family moved from Wichita to Fort Worth, I’ve been praying for God to open the door for me to pastor a church here while attending seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I’ve posted my resume where I can, kept an eye on the job boards, and prayerfully submitted my resume to several churches.

Obviously this season has tested our family, and forced us to a deeper reliance on Christ. We’ve learned (and are continually learning) to pray for our daily bread and to trust that He will provide it.

One of the most important lessons that I’m learning in this time is the difference between could and called.

Some positions could be a fit. My particular experiences could serve the congregation well, and my family could fit and love the people. Ultimately, it could work out long-term, but not if something more important is missing.

If I’m not called to that church, it won’t be a fit. If my family isn’t called to minister to the congregation, we may love them and treasure their friendship, but it just won’t work. Regardless of what could be, without being called, it won’t.

My prayer is that every church would discover the man that God has called to lead them, not just the man who could.

Few blogposts catch my eye like those that entertain this question. In ministry, some of us are granted the blessing of a job description, but far too many of us aren’t. In fact, just the other day I saw a pastor’s job description that simply read, “All pastoral duties.”

Read my entire post over at RookiePastor.com

It was one of the most surreal feelings I’ve ever had. I had sat through countless meetings before, but this one was dramatically different. I remember sitting at the table and feeling every eye looking toward me.

Read my entire post over at RookiePastor.com