In this day of a church planting movement, planters often seem to get all the accolades for fast growth, large numbers, and tons of baptisms.  No doubt, God has moved in some places.  I would like to caution us to remember that it’s easier to launch a church and have fundraising as your major challenge versus taking an established church and having to overcome tradition as your major challenge.  Do you realize the skill, expertise, hudzpah, determination, tenacity, leadership ability, and guts it takes to stand strong and navigate through challenging deacon bodies, trustees, and set-in-their-way, white-sock/brown shoe mentality?  It’s tough!  It’ll take years off your life.  Try it sometime!  On top of that, you so often look like a hijacker of the church, a sniper knocking people off, and the bad guy, for simply obeying Jesus.

The Charles Stanley’s, Johnny Hunt’s, Ike Reighard’s, James Merritt’s, Ed Young Sr.’s, Larry Wynn’s, Ronnie Floyd’s, and Matt Chandler’s deserve to be thought of often, in this day of “everybody” test driving the shiny new car of church planting.  These guys are Warrrrhorses!  You know why so many plant? Because it’s too tough for them to go through the bloodshed to turn a church around, or even attempt to, for that matter.  Take a look at the outcome of these churches that were once down, but now up!  Major stuff here!

You’ll find out soon enough that neither is to be signed up for lightly…both must be signed up for by calling ONLY!  If not, the road will come to an end, because you will quit!