It was a great time of fellowship and encouragement at Plant and Replant 09. There were many old friends there. Also, new friends and acquaintances were made. I look forward to my next opportunity of fellowship with these gentlemen seeking next steps for ministry.Most of the folks here were pastors or church planters (or aspiring to be). This was an encouragement, especially on the replanting side of things. Replanting churches, especially in the religious South, is the next big thing. There are many churches who want to revive themselves and make better use of their resources and just don't know how or where to get started. This was a great time of learning some of the struggles, pains, and blessings of church planting and replanting.
You can click on the title above to go to the Plant and Replant 09 website to download audio from the sessions but I am going to share some quips and quotes that I heard from many during the sessions (I attended the RePlanting track.)
"It is easier to give birth than to resurrect the dead." (concerning planting vs. replanting)
Church Members = Missionaries
People aren't scaffolding to get to the church that I want.
4 Things to Keep in Mind when RePlanting:
1. The Gospel - the gospel brings life after death; you must be a pastor before you are an executioner.
2. An organism is dying not an organization - memories are involved; personal interactions are involved; SHE is a church and SHE is dying.
3. Discern what God has let die - Is it obvious that it is dead? Is there no hope?
4. What is old needs to be buried - new life with new things; celebrate the past and then move on; an old ship is sunk a new boat is built (not resurrecting the Titanic)
3 Things to Help Resolve Conflict in RePlanting:
1. The Gospel causes conflict - don't give up on people; you must pastor everyone, even those who disagree with you but use the Gospel
2. Conflict cannot be ignored - if you do it will cause critical mass; address every ripple of conflict; be wary because dealing with conflict is exhausting
3. Prayer is the center - if you have a shallow prayer life your time will be tougher in RePlanting; Proverbs 16:3, Let the Lord establish your plans
5 Most Important Things for Planters and RePlanters in order:
1. Take care of you and your family - the church will only go as far as its leader; your wife must thrive as well; your health must be important to you and the church
2. Vision - you are responsible for the vision; you must continually fight for better clarity
3. Communication - you are the lead communicator; you must continually strive to get better; you must use all avenues of communication for the sake of the gospel
4. Leadership - the most important use of your time is teaching, training, and coaching leaders who will teach, train, and coach others.
5. Finances - not giving is a pastoral issue that must be addressed
Align every thing to the vision; All ministries and activities; All communication.
