In 1960 when Adlai Stevenson introduced John F. Kennedy, who was then a candidate for president, he said: “In classical times when Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke’ — but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, the people said, ‘Let us march’!” If you had to pick between praise or marchers, which would you choose?
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The Exponential Conference is coming up in a few days (April 26-29) in Orlando, Florida. It's one of the largest gatherings of church planters and church planting networks in the country. I had the privilege of attending when I planted our church in San Diego, working with Stadia: New Church Strategies. Exponential is a great conference for connecting, learning, and dreaming. I remember being surrounded by men and women who had either taken the plunge like me or who wanted to. It's hard to describe the feeling of being in such a great cloud of witnesses. Networking alone was worth the price of admission. Being able to sit in seminars with guys who were doing what you wanted to be doing made the experience priceless. I will be praying next week for those who gather in Orlando. Each current and future church plant holds the potential to change entire communities. …
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"The most important first step for leaders in growing others is to place them in the soil of belief." -- Kevin Eikenberry, author and consultant, writing at KevinEikenberry.com
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"Starbucks is not a coffee company that serves people. It is a people company that serves coffee, and human behavior is much more challenging to change than any muffin recipe or marketing strategy." -- Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, as quoted in BNET
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For any church to remain healthy, grow, and expand, the leadership must be about duplication -- the art of equipping others to do the work of ministry as God has gifted them. The temptation most ministers face is to be doers, not duplicators. It might stem from insecurity ("What if they do it better?") or pride ("I'm the only one who can do it right"). Either way, being a doer stunts the church by capping the growth at the ceiling of our individual abilities. Are you a duplicator or doer?
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