I look forward to being at Exponential in Orlando, FL. this week. I
will be doing a book signing for my newest book on church planting
entitled The Nuts and Bolts of Church Planting. Should you be
attending, drop by the Baker Books table and connect with me.

Why will I be at Exponential? I’m not attending just to sign a book
but to support and promote church planting. At a time when the church
in North America is struggling, the future for the church is twofold.
One is church renewal. That’s what the Malphurs Group does with lots
of churches. We lead them through the strategic envisioning or
re-envisioning process. The second is church planting. What’s the
difference? One writer says it’s the difference between having babies
and trying to raise the dead. Actually, we must be about both if the
church is to have impact on our world.

Aubrey

Numerous times I’ve observed and lamented the fact that few churches across North America have in place an intentional leadership development process. The latest research affirms the same.

James Gribnitz, in his research for a doctoral project at Dallas Seminary gives us four reasons why:

Churches don’t know how to develop leader

Churches don’t hire leaders based on their ability to develop leaders

Churches don’t hold leaders accountable for developing leaders

For many pastors, leader development is an aspirational not actual value. It is quite possible that training leaders can reverse the American church’s decline.

This morning I had an opportunity to read part of a blog from a pastor encouraging his congregation to tithe. He was biblical about his approach and the fact that we live by grace and the tithe or 10% is just a starting point. However, as with many sermons about giving, I found myself thinking again about this idea of a “tithe”, God’s love for a cheerful giver and cheerful giving.

God is a cheerful giver and that’s our model. He gives us everything we need and often much more. He has even given us a way through his son, to be redeemed from our brokenness. I would love to hear a message on giving with that example rather than the idea of a tithe that really was a rule for those Old Testament believers. Many say it’s a place to start and I think that’s true, but so many times the 10% value stays in front of the idea that really whatever we give to God, whether to the church or individuals and organizations, is part of giving. And, what about giving yourself sacrificially to others and God? It’s a much bigger picture in my mind. Cleary, the widow’s mite was all she could give and God saw fit to tell us about that for a reason. It wasn’t about the amount, it was about the sacrifice of giving, period.