Establishing a culture of movement

Church planters are a different kind of people. In America broadly, church is on the decline. For church plants, a quick Google search reveals that 50-80% of plants close in the first five years of opening. It would have to be a high amount of conviction to look at our world and still pursue planting a new church.

And yet, people still are doing just that.

I am currently at a church planting conference, and I think the lessons some of these planters are sharing are instructive for any leader who is forging paths into an unknown future.

So here are some lessons I’ve taken so far on how to establish a culture of movement:

1. There is not one sector of society that does not need better leaders. Part of what churches ought to be doing is building up leaders for every sector of society. Churches have the time and space to invest in people and develop the skills necessary to make positive change in churches, the home, the workplace, and the community.

2. Resilience to keep going. The speaker who brought up the idea of resilience was President of Malone University, Greg Miller. He said, “You can get so tired, you will lose heart if you continue to look at the distance you have yet to go. Instead, choose to take the right next step and keep moving forward.”

3. Good leaders take responsibility and give credit. A great line I heard was “When a leader has done his job well, the followers say ‘I have done well’”. Good leaders encourage the team around them to do more, better.

4. We are not equipped to monitor our own spiritual lives. Everyone needs a team of people around them that can monitor them and help them to become better. A spouse, a friend, a coach, a mentor, a spiritual leader, an accountability partner. Finding some of these people and meeting on a regular basis keeps you from going at life alone.

5. Keep it simple. When we start something new, we often overcomplicate what we are doing. But you do not have to have all the answers or be an expert to start something with a profound impact. All you need is a heart to say “yes” and the feet to move forward into the unknown.

If you want to create a culture of movement, it starts with you moving.

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