Tony Morgan is blogging live from the Creative Church Conference in Dallas and he just posted this quote from TD Jakes: “There’s always a Judas at your table, and he’s close enough to kiss you.” I don’t agree 100% with that statement and I would hate to live life with that mindset, BUT I do think there is more truth to that statement than we would like admit.

It sounds like Ed is hitting the issue of betrayal hard and I am betting it is powerful. I think this is something EVERY leader will face at one time or another in their life. Like it or not, it will happen.

Being at Churchplanters.com this week just reminded me of how much I love church planters.  I think church planting is the extreme sport of ministry. To step out on faith where there is nothing, where you know no one, and don’t have any money is CRAZY. That is why it takes a crazy person to do it. Just hanging with church planters pumps me up.

Since the day we started Revolution we have been around church planters.  Honestly, there are church planters in our services, our offices, e-mailing us, and calling us so much that it just seems normal.  You never know who is going to be in the office when you show up or on the phone when you pick it up.  I love it!  It truly is in our church DNA.

I am actually praying that God will get a hold of someone and they will GIVE us a house where we can house church planters for a year at a time and allow them to do nothing but hang out at Revolution for a year and learn and prepare to plane the church God has called them to plant.

This past year, I had to get a grip on my schedule and that meant saying NO to a lot more things.  One of those things was passing on some of the church planters who come our way.  I have LOVED watching our staff embrace the same passion and do whatever it takes to help out those planting churches.

Church Planters are like a fraternity.  You just meet guys that are starting churches and there is an instant connection.  That is why I make it a point to attend ChurchPlanters.com every year and will continue to even after Shawn decides he is sick of letting me teach breakouts.

I heard the expression LEARN AND RETURN one day and it just stuck with me.   I have the honor of meeting with some very sharp people in ministry and I want to be able to spend my life reaching North Georgia and impacting church planters.

If you are a church planter and you are not connecting with other planters and you are not learning from other planters, you will not last.  Start saving your money now for the churchplanters.com conference next year.  Look for opportunities to connect with guys.  I actually heard a rumor this week of a one day church planting thing coming up this fall.  If it happens, sell your car to make it to this one.  I promise it will be worth it.

I live for people discovering their purpose in life.  I know how my life was changed when I knew what God had called me to do and I love to see it in others.

Today I got a package from Ben Arment (this is the guy I told all you church planters about in my session today that has all the worship environment pictures) about his one day conference called The Whiteboard Sessions.  It was the BEST promotional package I ever saw.  It actually got me pumped about the conference and made me look at my calendar to see if I could make it.  When I discovered, I couldn’t, it actually bummed me out to know I can’t make it.

What does that have to do with knowing your calling?  When I got the package, I started smiling knowing that Ben has found his calling.  As most of you know, Ben resigned his church plant a few weeks ago.  I can’t imagine how hard that had to be.  I bet it was the toughest thing he ever had to do, but on the other hand it felt like a thousand pound weight off his chest.  I think it takes a big man to admit they aren’t where they should be and it is time to move on.  I think it takes an even bigger man to have the guts to do follow your passion.

If you have followed any of the journey of The Whiteboard Sessions, it is nothing short of amazing.  I have been blown away with the way in which Ben has put this thing together and I think it is awesome that he is operating in his sweet spot.

I said all that to say this:  If you are looking for a conference to go to this year, check this one out.  8 of the most awesome speakers in the church today, given 30 minutes to discuss one topic all in one day.  That is awesome.

BTW, thanks Ben for the package.  It was awesome!

I just left ChurchPlanters.com and Bil Corneilus KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK. Hands, down it was the best talk I have ever heard at a conference. I am literally ready to charge hell with a water gun. It was amazing. I can’t begin to tell you all that he said, you just have to hear it for yourself.

It spoke to me on so many levels that it is crazy. What he said about executive pastors was worth the ENTIRE conference. I needed to hear that BIG TIME. Simply awesome.

Here is the best part: Since there were so many people who had to leave to catch flights, they are going to podcast it for free tomorrow on churchplanters.com. GO LISTEN TO THIS TALK!

EDIT:  Here is the talk.

I met Mark Bjorlo a few years ago online and we have talked a couple of times on the phone and many times through e-mail. The dude is sharp and has a growing church in the middle of nowhere Minnesota. He’s got a great blog with some great church planting and leadership stuff. Right now he is posting some notes from a pastor’s roundtable he is at and it is GOOD stuff.

Check it out here.

EDIT:  He actually has better and more notes on his facebook site located here.

Every church planter I meet says they are starting their church to reach those that are disconnected from God. Many of them grew up in church, became Christians at a early age, and don’t even have a relationship with someone far from God, but they are going to reach those far from God. I listen to a lot of podcasts, watch a lot of videos from other churches, and it breaks my heart to know they are doing a lot of things and a lot of things well, but reaching those far from God is NOT one of them.

I have learned that most church planters REALLY don’t want to reach those far from God, they really want to do church in a cool way. There is a difference. Just because you have great video, loud music, dress casual, and use movie clips doesn’t mean you are reaching those far from God.

I honestly believe most planters would freak out if they started having to deal with the issues that come from reaching truly unchurched people. It is messy, ugly, scary, and actually can keep you from growing because it scares the hell out of those who grew up in church.

We had a person on our staff a couple of years ago who came here because he wanted to be part of a church that reached unchurched people.  The first time his wife sat next to a couple of lesbians, he was rethinking that.  This guy was a nice guy, but he couldn’t handle the ugliness that comes with reaching those that are far from God.  He literally walked around the church on Sundays with a look of terror in his eyes.  He didn’t want to reach lost people, he wanted a church where he could come and wear whatever he wanted and impress other Christians because he was at an church with a little edge.  It wasn’t long before he was running for the hills.  He couldn’t handle the messiness of reaching those with problems.  The sad thing is he isn’t alone.  Most guys can’t handle it.

When I say it is messy, I don’t think most guys understand what I mean, so allow me to walk you through my week that just got done. This is a pretty typical week at Revolution and the side 99% never see.

• I have a bottle of pain pills worth about $400 on the streets sitting in my desk that one of our people’s spouse brought me after finding them. The name on the prescription isn’t the name of the person who brought them because they were bought on the street.
• I had another one of our people lose their job for stealing thousands of dollars from the company they work for.
• I have a addict in our church who has relapsed and in the process is about to lose EVERYTHING and he doesn’t even know it.
• I set up an intervention for an addict that will take place this week. This is his last chance and he doesn’t even know it.
• Last night I was at the ER until 3 in the morning because one of our people took a razor blade and slit both his wrists, his neck, and took around 80 sleeping pills. He’s alive, but I have to say it was the most horrific thing I have ever seen in my life.

All of that was just from this week. That is the life of reaching those disconnected from God. None of those people care how “cool” our church will be tomorrow. All they care about is we have created a place where they can come with all their crap and feel loved and connected.

I’ll be honest and tell you that there are times when pastoring Revolution freaks me out. There are times when I think it would be easier to do what most guys do and plant a church that really is a place for other Christians to come hang out and talk about how we are reaching unchurched people instead of doing it. I think that would be easier, but we would not be charging the gates of hell with that mindset. There are enough guys around doing that and doing it well.

Canton didn’t need another church. Canton didn’t need another church with loud music, casual dress, and “relevant” teaching. Neither do most of the towns where guys are planting. However, Canton did need a place that was loving the unlovable. It needed a place that was willing to get it’s hands dirty and deal with the messy crap that takes place in the lives of those far from God.

When a guy wants to tell me they are starting a church to reach the disconnected, I always ask them if they are sure they want to do that. I don’t think they understand the cost that comes with it. It literally can almost kill you at times.

BUT, if they do understand the cost, they will realize it is nothing compared to the reward of seeing lives changed with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is worth whatever cost there is. I would put everything on the line to continue to do what we do because the payoff is so huge.

Most guys won’t.

end rant.

Over the last few days God has very much convicted me about my growth as a leader.  The biggest thing I see is my lack of focus.  I am always in the middle of about a million things and because that I focus on very little.

As we are popping 1,000 people a week in attendance I have to focus on fewer things where I can focus on a certain things.  Right now I am laser focused on leadership growth.  I need to grow as a leader, I need to equip our staff to grow as leaders, and I need to be around other leaders.

Because of that I am saying NO to a lot more things.  I have cut my blogs back to 25 MUST read ministry blogs and I am going to add 10 business/leadership blogs to the mix.  I am going to spend at least an hour a day reading books that will enable me to grow as a leader.  I am reorganizing the way we do meetings at Revolution where I can be a better steward of our staff’s time. I am going to spend once a month meeting one on one with pastors who are pastoring a church of at least 2500 people.   I am cutting out on some online forums I participate in.  I am learning towards shutting down my facebook account because it is a distraction.  I am going to have Taylor filter my meetings and phone calls even more than we already do.

These things will enable me to get the most out of the time I have.  On top of all that, I am putting people in my life to keep me accountable to make sure I am doing these things.

I refuse to be the bottleneck in our church growing.

When I started living a life as a Christ-follower, things happened quick. I started teaching pretty quickly after I got involved in church, I took over a singles ministry at the church we were attending, I did the Bible college thing for a VERY short time, and I moved at 23 years old and started a church in Iowa. To say I got on the job training would be an understatement.

God was watching out for me and He must have known I needed some major help because He has placed some incredible leaders in my life that have shaped me into the pastor I am today. As I was thinking of those leaders today, started thinking of the ONE thing I learned from them the most and it has shaped me into the person/pastor/leader I am today.

Randy Rhye - With the exception of those who log into my blog from my past to find out “liberal” I’ve become and have something to preach against, no one on here has probably ever heard of this man. He was my first pastor and was all out, sold out for leading others to Christ.  He is as old school as they come, but I am who I am today because of him.  One Thing That Shaped Me: I learned to be consumed with lost people.

Brian Bloye - In many ways, I consider Brian my pastor now.  I served for a year under his leadership at West Ridge Church.  One Thing That Shaped Me: Family before Ministry.  He is as dogmatic about this balance as anyone I have ever seen.  He lives it out every day.

Shawn Lovejoy - One of the people who pours into my life on a regular basis.   One Thing That Shaped Me: Be Mean About The Vision.  That one sentence changed everything in me.  I heard it before we launched Revolution and I have ate, slept, and drank it.

Perry Noble - I consider Perry THE mentor in my life in regards to ministry.  One Thing That Shaped Me: DREAM BIG.  Perry is the biggest visionary I have ever been around.  He literally thinks he is going to reach 100% of Anderson, S.C.

Steven Furtick - I feel blessed to be connected with Steven.  I think he is one of the great leaders/visionaries in the church today.  One Thing That Shaped Me: The Office Of Pastor IS A Big Deal.  I fought this for a long time.  I wanted to be everyone’s friend.  While I still want to be friends with the people of Revolution, I am their pastor first.

Greg Rohlinger -  I have been friends with Greg since I was in Iowa.  I often state he is the most underrated church planter in America.  He has built a great church and is a great leader.  About two years ago, DeAnna and I flew out and stayed in his house for a week.  It changed my ministry.  One Thing That Shaped Me: It Is About People.  Greg is a pastor.  He loves the people he pastors.  He has the heart of a pastor and that was a big deal to me when I saw it.

Craig Groeschel had a great post today about how different he is today than when he started in ministry.  I can connect with that thought big time.  I look back to just when we started Revolution Church 3 years ago and I don’t even recognize the person who was the pastor then.  I actually was thinking about this a month ago and it is amazing to see how much God has changed me since we started the church.

Some of the ways I am a different Pastor today then when we started:

• I think I am much more kingdom minded.  When we started Revolution I was anti every church in town.  Now, I have several relationships with local pastors, I pray for the area churches and pastors on a constant basis, and I get excited when I hear great things coming from what they are doing.  Sadly, I couldn’t have said that when we started.
• I don’t get mad at people when they leave.  At one time I took it very personal when people left our church.  Not anymore.  When people leave, I want them to know I appreciate what they have done to make church happen and I have actually helped some people find their next church.  If they don’t want to be here, I sure ain’t begging them to stay.  I realize God brings people in and God moves people out.
• I know who I am as a teacher.  Early on, I didn’t.  I basically tried to be whoever I listened to last.  Now, I am very confident in who I am as a teacher and the style in which I teach.  I have found my voice.
• I enjoy the ride a lot more.  Early on, I was so consumed with growing and breaking the next growth barrier that I couldn’t enjoy the ride.  We would have a large number of people and I would be made that it wasn’t more.  I would let others bring me down with their attitudes.  Not anymore.  The last part of 2007, I turned this corner.  I am enjoying everything about the ride.  I am stopping to sight see, I am smelling the roses, and I am having a blast.
• I like Christians a lot more. Tadd can tell you that early on, I had big time issues with Christians.  3 years in to this thing, I love and appreciate the Christ-followers that Jesus has sent our way.  Those that get IT are near and dear to my heart.  We are 100% focused on those far from God, but if it weren’t for the Christians God has sent us, we couldn’t reach those far from God.  I thank God for the good people that have come our way.
• I’ve let go of A LOT.  I have been labeled a control freak and rightfully so.  As the leader of the church, I push the vision and I will always know the overview of what is going on in the different areas.  However, I don’t know every detail like I did at one time.  I trust my staff, our volunteers, and those doing the ministry and I let them do it.  The key here is to make sure they understand the vision and let them go at it.  I can still improve in this area, but I have come a long way.
• I don’t know everything.  I know everything about starting a church BEFORE starting one. 3 years in, I know nothing about it.  What I think will work, doesn’t.  What I know won’t work, does.  I am still learning, still growing, and still figuring this thing out.  I listen a whole lot more than I did at one time.  I observe, I read, I ask questions, and whatever else it takes to be the best leader I can and reach as many people as possible.

If you are a pastor, planter, or church leader, you got to check out this podcast where Brian Houston interviews TD Jakes.  It is off the freaking hook!!!  GREAT GREAT GREAT stuff.  You can check it out here.