Can Church Planters Walk & Chew Gum at the Same Time?
The short answer is heck yeah. The long answer requires a little context.
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Depends who you ask.
One perspective is that church planters are guys with a one-track mind, guys who can only sing one song, guys who don’t want to do anything else in the world but plant a church. Biblically, there’s some warrant for this, since the apostle Paul comes off as so single-minded that we suspect his right and left lobes were fused.
Another perspective is that church planters can have multiple gifts and passions on the table, but in a given time and place, they feel strongly directed by God to plant a church. Biblically, there’s some warrant for this since the apostle Paul comes off as a genius in multiple dimensions–he’s a manufacturer of handcrafted outdoor gear, a focused theological writer, and, for at least several years, a desert “mystic.” (Can’t think of a better word for it.)
The New Testament reveals that Paul’s primary gifting and career was that of an itinerant apostle-church planter. But even so, I have a hard time making the apostolic calling as black and white as some people seem to think it is today. Paul appears to have had other gifts as well. And he used ‘em. Paul didn’t cease to be a rigorous, nitty-gritty theologian when he started planting churches. He didn’t quit his tent-creation business cold.
Is it possible to be an apostle and a mystic? Possible to be a jock and an artist? Possible to be a church planter and a creative? I’m going to go out on a very thick limb and say yes.
Identifying people with the gifts and calling necessary to plant is an extremely helpful result of today’s assessment processes—and I appreciate assessment for that reason. I suspect, though, that an unhealthy tendency to sort and label people too quickly can creep in. I don’t want to see the mystery of created personality devalued or the ultimate causation of God’s sovereignty discounted where church planting is concerned.
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Early this year, a dude I continue to respect told me one of the most ridiculous things, in a personal sense, that I’ve ever heard. The gist of it was this: You’re a guy with creative leanings, so you’re not a church planter. At the time, that stopped me in my tracks and caused some soul-searching—which in the long run was good. I realized with greater urgency that if I didn’t plant a church, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. Additional prayer and counsel confirmed the fact that God’s given me the right gift mix to get after it. And more time and thought invested in Kansas City’s downtown cultures has made me very thankful that I have a strong creative streak, since a big chunk of the people living here do as well.
It’s possible that this issue is just something I’ve wrestled with, as a creative strategist who likes to think things over. So maybe I’m speaking to myself only, but if I was speaking to a potential church planter with a creative streak, and ideally a stubborn streak too, I’d say this: Don’t let anyone shoot you down unless you sense the Holy Spirit’s clear involvement.
God uses people with apostolic gifts to get new churches off the ground, but He doesn’t use a cookie cutter.
October 5th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Just keep me informed with the church-planting. Blog about it when you’ve planted it. Who knows, I might talk my redneck husband into visiting. Maybe. Wish me luck on that. I’d rather meet a fellow-blogger at church than at any other place.
October 6th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Hey Donna, will do. It would be fantastic to plant a downtown church that also spoke to your “redneck husband.”
October 6th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Here’s the thing… Paul didn’t have Kansas Basketball to distract him, which is why he was so single minded. But I guess you can imagine what he’d have told the Colossians had Kansas been struggling in its zone defense against K-State. I mean, isn’t that the point of having a very creative mind - to find abstract arguments that somehow speak to the everyday problems of the world? You know the most creative person I’ve ever read about - a little dude named Jesus who managed to distill the entire concept of the Kingdom of Heaven into a 100 word parable or two.
Keep up the creative juices. You’ll need them.
God be with you!
October 6th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
@ Lanz, Thanks for the good word, bro. Paul didn’t have the Jayhawks, but did you take into account the fact that he followed the Olympics pretty closely? Running and boxing..? This was a guy who didn’t fear the Sports page.
I agree, Jesus had a mean creative streak, even aside from creating the universe.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Hey Arie,
Enjoyed this read. As one who also thinks about and with a passion looks to plant a church, I echo your thoughts. Woe to us who put God in a box and in this case use our “cookie cutters.”
God bless,
Your favorite brother in law