On Writing
I felt really, really good about my book manuscript until I had to hand it over to my publisher this past weekend. =) Writers don't finish manuscripts. They abandon them.
Entrepreneurs
Church planters have been hard-wired to be entrepreneurs. Forget fund-raising. Start businesses. If we could only get over feeling that "all we can do is ministry" or that money is bad. They're the same skills.
Sermon Prep
Sermon preparation is such a catch 22. You either work your brains out all week, only to feel incomplete. Or you get inspired early and then wonder all week what's missing. I don't miss that part of pastoring! =)
Big Changes
Coming to this blog. My life. Next week. God has been stirring a lot of things in me lately. And they're all coming to a head. More to come next Wednesday.
I have a very unfounded belief that all ministries could become self-sustainable, requiring no traditional "fund-raising". I wonder what it would look like if they all made that a goal?
Also, curious what your book is about...
Posted by: Craig Johnson | May 06, 2009 at 09:35 AM
i agree...
it's about the social forces God uses to propel the Gospel and start new churches
Posted by: Ben Arment | May 06, 2009 at 10:39 AM
The reason I have my LLC is that we could be self-sustaining and ministering at the same time. If we plant again we will just unplug the laptops and move them somewhere else, right? We recently bought a rental/vacation house that we are using as a retreat center. In the summer we rent it out to fishing groups, or tourists. We started an LLC for that as well. Then we use our NPO for conferences, etc. We have 2 churches, 1 NPO, 2 LLC's and ME!
Posted by: Jim | May 06, 2009 at 02:21 PM
That's one thing I've been inspired with from Erwin McManus and Origins. How they encourage planters to be entrepreneurs. I like that. Not only engages culture where it is but creates a sense of financial stability to grow a ministry in a different way. The business can be the ministry in some cases (I think of Chick-Fil-A).
Big Changes? Are you cashing it in and moving to Virginia Beach? :)
Posted by: Daniel Decker | May 06, 2009 at 05:18 PM
I feel prophetic. :)
Posted by: Daniel Decker | May 07, 2009 at 02:19 PM