i have received a few since Tony Morgan’s blog seeking a “chief launch officer.” some of you have asked “have you been fired?” some have asked “what’s going on?” so i want to answer a few questions for you.

one, i am not being fired. my position is changing some. i am not at liberty currently to talk about all the changes but i will still be involved in church planting. as far as i know (and it may depend on the chief launch officer) i will still do a training class and get to coach a few guys that ask. so i am not going anywhere.

two, Brian and i had a conversation about 18 months ago (before Tony’s arrival) about where i wanted to go and what my future held. first, i still feel called to WRC. i still think it is the best church in Atlanta. i still believe in the church’s mission and vision. secondly, we both realize i am getting older. i don’t “think” as old as my body “feels.” i still think i can strategize with the best of them. i (my ego speaking here) still feel that i can help young guys be successful at church planting with the best of them. i still feel i can help guys and ask the right questions, and help you find answers. but…

Brian and Tony think now is the time to start a Network of like minded churches that will take church planting to a new level both locally (hopefully some of my involvement) and nationally. frankly WRC has carried our church planting efforts without help from other churches. some of our church plants have given here and there but nothing like what it would take to really take off and make this thing happen on a grand scale. this is where my gifts, talents, and calling come in.

one, i have begun to really hate business travel. i hate airports. i hate homeland security. i strongly believe we ought to target and profile bad guys and leave middle aged Caucasian, African-American and Hispanic men alone. i know i’m gonna take a hit on this one. but it’s the truth. the new chief launch officer will spend a great deal of time in airports. i’m content with the three or four times i will travel in my new job description.  

two, i don’t feel called to a national ministry. part of that is travel. i feel called to the local church. i still hope that the chief launch officer will allow me to have input into church planting through training and coaching and i suppose my ego would say as part of his dream team, but that will be his choice. i love the local church. if you enter my office i have pictures of church buildings all over the walls. i’m so happy that God has different expressions of Himself all over our community and the world.

three, my gift mix is just not the person they are seeking. one, i have never comfortably asked for money. perhaps our church plants would have already developed a network if i had been better at the “ask.” secondly, i am not very good at recruiting. the truth is that i have never recruited for the school of church planting beyond a blurb on the WRC website. i can work a room if i have too, but honestly i hate it going in and i hate it after it’s over. bottom line is i’m not a salesman. not good at selling myself or an organization or a ministry. i like speaking, teaching and coaching but am content to get on the platform, have my say and leave. not very good at casual conversation. my strength finders says i’m a relator, means i develop a “few” meaningful relationships.

so, i am still at WRC. not going anywhere. job description is transitioning and changing. announcement later. i am excited that i have a place on the bus that fits in with my gift mix and personality. if we (you and I) have a relationship (church planting) i’m still here to help you. that relationship thing means a lot to me. and until the chief launch officer gets here i’m still the go to guy for church planting until they find “the guy.”

when the announcement is made of my transition i’ll explain why my gift mix, experience, and talents fit the new job description. for right now. send Tony the names of guys you know that could be a chief launch officer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 9:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.