Financial Issues of Replanting Churches

In May of this year we voted to replant our church and start over. In some ways we have become a new church (new name, new governing documents, new service times, etc.), but we still have some carry over from who we were, such as our church budget and expenses. Thankfully we do not have any debt as a church, but we do have operating expenses. We have experienced some initial decline in our attendance, and in our giving. This isn't unusual for a church going through a replant. Struggling finances are typically and issue for any church, but are magnified for churches going through change.

Recently Thom Rainer, president of Lifeway Christian Resources and Mark Clifton, Director of the Replant Division of the North American Mission Board began to offer a podcast called "Revitalize and Replant." Through these podcasts they discuss issues facing churches that are in the process of revitalizing or replanting. One of the podcasts this week dealt with the issues of finances in a replanting church. You can listen to the podcast here. After listening, feel free to leave questions or comments in the comment section below.

Never Give Up... Never Surrender

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

The sermon this past Sunday was on the spiritual gift of leadership/administration, one of the practical gifts God gives to His people and His church. I never score high on leadership on the spiritual gifts assessment, which sometimes befuddles me because God has put me in a 'leadership" position in the church. As I shared Sunday, I often wonder why God called me to pastor, but didn't gift me with the gift of leadership. Oh well, His ways and thoughts are higher than mine, so I trust He knows what He is doing ☺

He has created in me a desire to learn leadership. I'll never be a spiritually gifted leader, but I can develop the leadership abilities He has given me. One of the best ways to do that is to learn from great leaders. The sermon Sunday was on Nehemiah who led the people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem that had laid in ruins for more than 140 years. Here is the sermon in brief:
Nehemiah was ...

1. Passionate (1:1-4)
2. Prayerful (1:5-110
3. Prepared (2:1-8)
4. Planning (2:11-18, and ch.3)
5. Persistent (2:19-20; chapter 4-6)
6. Pleasing (6:15-16; ch.8)

 You can listen to the full sermon here.

 I've been mulling over the sermon since Sunday and the point that God keeps 'highlighting" for me is #5 - Persistent. In re-reading the Scriptures, Nehemiah had dozens of reasons to walk away from the project: he faced serious opposition, he was threatened, he was ridiculed, the people he was working with got discouraged and wanted to quit, the work was hard and they were working long hours under the threat of attack. Most men would have given up and walked away, but Nehemiah wasn't most men - he was a committed follower of the Lord who had been given a task to complete, and though he grew weary and tired, he never gave up. And the result was ... well, you can read about in the Bible.

A few years ago I was reading the story of Jerry Rice, perhaps the greatest receiver in the history of the NFL. Rice played most of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He won three Super Bowls, was a Super Bowl MVP, a 13 time All-Pro and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He still holds four NFL records. Not bad for a kid from the little town of Crawford Mississippi, a town of a about 500 people.


Rice's success came from his work ethic. His workout regiment was legendary, considered the most demanding of anyone playing football. His commitment to success seemed to come natural, but in truth it was the result of a decision Jerry made when he was in high school. Jerry joined his high school’s football team in his sophomore year. During one particular practice, he was in the middle of running a series of twenty sprints up and down a hill in pads and helmet. A tired and out of breath Jerry decided to stop at number eleven, convinced that he could get away with skipping the last nine sprints without punishment. He was halfway to the locker room when he decided it was not the time to quit, that there was no reason to quit, and that quitting at that point would put him in a mode of making quitting seem acceptable in the future. He decided that quitting was unacceptable to himself, regardless of what others would think or do, and he finished off the last nine sprints.


That experience became an important part in Jerry’s development, as it contributed much to his tough resoluteness and commitment to excellence. He simply didn't want to make a habit of quitting. He knew if he quit in this area of his life, it would become easier to quit in other areas too.


Unfortunately, not many have the attitude of Jerry Rice, or Nehemiah. When things get hard and times get tough or stressful, their inclination is to quit. And once they begin to quit in one area of life, they find it easier to quit in other areas. It becomes a pattern and a habit for their lives - work, projects, relationships, marriages,  even in the spiritual realm of their lives.


Many times in Scripture God's people are admonished to not give up. Paul writes to the churches of Galatia, "Don't grow weary in doing good, for at the right time we will reap a reward if we don't give up." (Gal 6:9) I don't know what area of life you are growing weary in, or what you are ready to give up on, but let me encourage you - don't do it. Don't give up, don't give in, and don't give out. Don't let quitting become the pattern of your life! Stay faithful, stay focused and stay fervent, and at the right time you will be rewarded for your persistence and commitment. Never give up... never surrender!

Leadership: Learning from the Past

I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw.

Proverbs 24:32

The further back you can see into the past, the further ahead you can see into the future. And the closer you pay attention to what’s going on around you, the more accurately you’ll be able to see where the road is leading.

Unfortunately, we often try to plan for the future without learning from the past. As a result, we make the same mistakes over and over instead of making strides ahead. It’s been said many times that history is doomed to repeat itself. Why has this shown itself to be true? Because so many leaders have done the exact same things as past leaders, but expected different results.

If you want to bring into sharp focus the vision that God has for you, your family, your church, etc., you must take three steps:

1.  Abandon the ways of the world. They have always failed and always will fail. Try God’s ways—only His ways work.
2. Pay attention to what God has already done and is doing. Even just a quick glance at the Scriptures shows us that God continues to build on things He started long ago.
3. Pray for discernment and understanding to see the vision. Be still before the Lord as you watch and listen for God’s guidance.

Challenge: Take some time today to look back and evaluate your life. Do you keep making the same mistakes? Are you doing things God’s way? Are you consistently praying for God’s vision? Try these three steps and see how God responds.