being myself
This week in church planting… (a semi-regular update staring this week)
Spiritually
I’m learning to be myself. It’s easy to copy other people – then if people don’t like what you’re doing, you don’t have to take it personally. But I’m blessed with friends who will corner me and say, “Be Steven… it’s okay… it will even be great.”
And I need that.
So I continue on my journey of moving out of insecurity and into the security that comes from following Jesus and living in community.
Personally
We are still trying to sell our home in Keller. Tough market to say the least. We have been so blessed to have a fantastic group of realtors working with us, and we cannot be thankful enough for what they do for us.
Church planting is about relationships, and relationships take time. So we’re investing all we have and loving it. We have had an absolute blast at the jobs we’re working, and I have learned more about leadership development and healthy team structure in the past few months than any other time in my life. Secondly, we are so blessed to have a group of churches, pastors and other leaders pouring into us, preparing our hearts and minds for the future.
So there is not a moment wasted. And we continue to grow in our relationship with the God who meets the needs of his people.
Logistically
- Yesterday began the week meeting with a couple of guys who are planting churches. Ray is a year into it (you can read more about that here) and Todd is a few steps ahead of me. They have both been a huge part of forming our ideas and shaping our hearts for the future. Church – birthed – out – of – community.
- Today I’m headed over to Watermark Community Church in Dallas to join their team and learn from their pastors for a couple of hours. Emily and I have been hanging around Watermark for the past 5 weeks and God is doing some exciting things in the life of their church. They are beginning to plant churches and we hope to learn as much as we can from their journey and some of the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
- On Thursday Emily and I be joining our good friend, Amy for her commissioning service to go to Iraq. We’ll be over at Compass Church in Coleyville at 7:30pm (swing by if you want to join us!).
- Friday I’ll be meeting with a guy who is considering church plating… which is awesome because there is so much energy and fresh perspective with someone who is starting their journey.
- At at at 10am CST Friday morning, I’ll be listening in on Alex McManus as he interviews the guys from Tangible Kingdom on his podcast. You can join the conversation by calling 347-308-8021 or by clicking here.
Praying for you…yes…it’s all about community and relationships…keep trudging forward!
Thanks for the encouragement, Dawn!