In the last two weeks I have met with a pastor that was struggling because of poor decisions over land. I have met with a pastor that is struggling with a traditional church that needs a chaplain not a leader. I have just heard that a friend has resigned without a place to go. I met with a leadership team from a church that grew from 280 to 40 and is struggling to survive.

Leadership is key in all of these situations. In the last one when I asked some very fundamental questions about how the church was run and who did what the answer was always the same, “Pastor ______ did that.” The biggest frustration is that this man went to training. Met with other great pastors but just could not let go of the reins of leadership and learn to lead leaders.

If you are going to grow a church you better become a leader of leaders. Otherwise you are holding back what God might want to do in your area. A rancher hires cowboys to ride the range. The rancher is constantly seeking new ground for his sheep to graze and for new sheep to build the flock. The rancher that wants to build the ranch doesn’t sit and watch sheep.

Guys, LEAD. If not, as my friend at lunch the other day indicated, find a church that needs a chaplain and go sit with the sheep and take care of the sheep you inherited. Nothing wrong with that there are churches that need pastors that will do just that, but it is not the job of a church planter.

 By the way, a shout out to Michael Lukaszewski at Oak Leaf Church. He’s written a book on launching a church based on his experience at Oak Leak and he is offering a pdf version for a donation to Oak Leaf so they can launch a second site. Look it up here: http://web.mac.com/mljr/Launching_a_Campus/Book.html

Good investment and he mentions me in the introduction.

LEAD!