For the second time in my life I quit a job without having a clear plan for what’s next lined up.

This time I know I will be starting and leading a new church, the timeline and location just changed. So don’t get me wrong I know thousands upon thousands have it worse than I do, but I’d be lying if I said the waiting wasn’t a challenge.

So all that to say I am not receiving a paycheck and I’m learning a lot about what to do in this time and what not to do. I’ve shared some thoughts on thinking about leaving and how to leave well. This is my attempt to cover how to practically survive an unexpected “sabbatical“.

1. What I Miss
2. Church Detox
3. Starbucks Pastor
4. Get Over Yourself
5. Serve
6. Good Habits
7. Always Say Yes
8. Keep a Routine
9. Borrow an Xbox
10. Be Ready

As each post is published I’ll update them here with the appropriate link.

Last week I was at Boot Camp.

No this isn’t a career change. It’s the tongue in cheek nickname for a week of training for church planters put on by Stadia.

Had an incredible week learning some best practices and being encouraged that I’m not the first one to go down this path, nor do I have to go it alone. The best part of the conference was the balance struck between the fire hose of content that is overwhelming and equipping us for whatever stage of the pre-launch stage we find ourselves.

Along with the content I got to meet a lot of incredible men and women just as excited and bold as I am trying to be.

Want to share a quick story about one guy in particular. Matt McGue has already done this, and he is doing it again. With one church plant that he graciously handed off to someone he raised up in his back pocket, he’s starting fresh. Months away from being an empty nester Matt and his wife are headed to Jackson, Mississippi to start a new church.

He’s going through some of the processes of assessment and training that he went through about a decade ago because he wants to follow God’s call to advance the Kingdom. He is leaning on his past experiences, even though he could.

I got to spend some time with Matt and one thing kept coming through, his humility.

He’s already talking about developing leaders to replace him some day at this church that has yet to form. As he builds his team he is intentionally looking for diversity on his team. It truly isn’t about him.

As I drove Matt and a few others to the airport on the last day, he and another planter were talking about hosting Christian artists and the conversation turned to past musicians each had worked with. Matt nonchalantly  mentioned some big names, which led to the question of how many his facility held. “About 5,000″.

Matt is leaving a church of several hundred he started that meets in a basketball arena that was used by an NBA team as a facility that serves the community through the week and hosts weekend services for this church.

I’m quickly learning the importance of humility and that church planters have to be unconventional.

Now for the rundown:

Zero Books: A week of the conference meant I didn’t finish any this week. Although I’m looking forward to Rob Bell’s newest and my wife has been raving about A Year of Biblical Womanhood.

Many Meetings: One of the best parts of the conference was the margin that allowed us to connect with other pastors and the Stadia project managers. Also loved talking about the Gospel with a former student for an hour or so as I drove home.

Twelve Miles: A rough week in terms of number of runs, but I got my 7 miler in Sunday keeping me on track for the half marathon on May 4th.

The internet is the greatest innovation for learning and advancement since the Printing Press. And we use this tool to troll Facebook, look at pictures of cats, and keep up with gossip.

As a pastor this tool can be used to our incredible advantage or distraction.

We don’t need access to information, we need a way to access the right information.

The best content. The content that challenges our assumptions and gets us out of our own echo chamber.

We need help engaging correctly.

My friends Todd Rhoades and Matt Steen are trying to do just that with Ministry Briefing.  

Both of these guys are pastors to pastors. They know what it is like to be on staff at a local church and are involved in a number of projects that assist and encourage those of us in the local church. They also know how to separate the noise from the wisdom.

I’ve tweeted links to their regular Ministry Briefing videos where they talk about “ministry stuff”. They are also releasing an ebook also called Ministry Briefing with all sorts of helpful and interesting articles. I just downloaded this months edition and love that I could find several articles of interest from a range of topics.

A church selling out of a CD that is 30 minutes of silence.

Pastors tending bar.

And Mark Driscoll being Mark Driscoll.

So anyway lots of good stuff that you would miss otherwise. Simplify the noise and let some pros help you out.

Pick up a copy for yourself here and don’t forget the coupon code “rookie” to get your discount.

My buddy Cameron sent this to me yesterday knowing how appropriate it is for me at the moment.

I haven’t talked at length about this here, but I am currently in my last week as a Student/Groups Pastor at an incredible church. After that I am a church planter.

For the last six months I have been working towards a specific goal. We had a strong sense of calling, place, and time. Those around us were affirming us to act, healthy organizations are standing with us. Everything seemed to be lining up perfectly.

Until it didn’t.

Obstacle after obstacle has presented itself, and in the end we aren’t going to be able pursue the specific area on our planned timeline.

That’s the diplomatic way to put it, because when it first became clear it felt like a punch in the face.

We do have options moving forward and we are covered financially for a season, and right now we are excited about the adventure ahead of us but initially it felt like we had failed. Even now as I type this I can sense that that feeling of failure returning.

You can read the full story here. 

I (we) shouldn’t be surprised when things aren’t easy. Ministry is incredibly hard and full of unknowns. We aren’t fighting flesh and blood alone.

Sometimes our online selves present some concept of perfection and I always want to be as realistic as possible with you.

So here is the bad:

• A consistent and strong dream from the past year seems to be falling apart.
• I am leaving an incredible church with people I love to lead and be lead by.
• This church I am leaving is also incredibly generous and provides full benefits.
• We are leaving a house we love.
• In the next few days we will be moving back in with my parents.

And here is the reality:

• We are continuing to pursue God’s best for us with freedom and confidence.
• An incredible community that we love is completely behind us.
• Said community is helping us financially during this transition.
• We sold our house in two weeks in the middle of December.
• My parents are allowing us to live with them and in turn making it financially possible to pursue God’s best for us.

Yeah it stinks and there will be tears shed in the next few days and weeks. And we have no certainty as to where we will be in a few months.

But we aren’t surprised and we have peace moving forward.

We wanted to engage a national conversation. We’ve launched a campaign called: “To Get Her There” to give girls the skills they need to be leaders in 25 years.

Anna Maria Chavez, Girl Scouts of America

Innovation from the girls who sell you Thin Mints.

It doesn’t get much more Americana, and therefore traditional, than the Girl Scouts.

The local church has become an establishment in some cases. There is a thin line between being at the center of the community and being the white noise in a community.

We all know what it looks like when a local church becomes little more than outdated wallpaper. It doesn’t really matter the style, denomination, history or lack thereof; it is an easy trap to fall into.

As a Rookie Pastor chances are you aren’t in a place that embraces innovation. New ideas are challenged for being new or different. Risks are avoided. But results are hard to ignore.

You can innovate where you are. You can’t do it halfway, though.

When you step out to do something different, do it big and do it right.

Otherwise you are just a floral pattern on a dining room wall.

when we weren’t hot any more, the tenor of the press changed. I said: ‘Hey there are still 20 million people playing Draw Something. Instead of focusing on writers and bloggers let’s focus on the people who love our game’”.

- Dan Porter, Draw Something

I talk a lot about dealing with critics on this blog. Probably because I have dealt with my fair share, ministry has a way of attracting them.

However immature leaders also have a way of focusing on them.

How many times have you let one comment, email, post ruin your day? You come in Monday morning or come home after camp with students and the one critic who has your email address or phone number destroys whatever momentum and joy you have.

Don’t let them do this to you.

You aren’t going to win everyone over. You will make mistakes.

Don’t ignore the 100 cheerleaders for the 1 axe grinder. 

We are tired. With multiple services and programs, Christmas has become a finish line. Help us see the value of our work, that people who came and who will come, will have an encounter with you. We need this reminder.

Encourage our own broken hearts in the face of tragedy as we attempt to comfort those around us. Give us the words to point people toward the love of Christ and not the fear so rooted in our nature.

And Lord, don’t let us forget our ministry to our families. As we move from Pastor to parent, aunt/uncle, sibling, cousin or son/daughter help us to engage our family with love, patience, and compassion. In conversations about legislation, policy, and judicial review give us the ability to speak the truth in love.

May we be like Job, who asked honest questions in the face of tragedy and was rewarded with a divine experience. Let us avoid the temptation to be as one of Job’s friends who talks in circles looking for someone or something to blame.

Give us rest that we need.

Give us patience with those we love.

Give us peace in the face of anxiety.

Give us compassion for the broken.

Give us vision for a new year.

Give us grace that we don’t deserve.

And let us be reminded of the innocence and fragility of the child Christ, born into a bleak situation. Because we need innocence in our desperation we feel fragile. Help us find Sabbath in the days ahead.

In the name of the Jesus we pray,

Amen.

I hadn’t subscribed. Hadn’t even heard of the magazine before they started showing up, but I think Tom Haverford was one of the first subscribers. Some of the content is really challenging and I always flip through it, but I have no idea why they keep showing up in my mailbox.

96 Lessons for 2013 splashed across the cover of the latest issue. Inside you had short thoughts from business and thought leaders from various industries with some wisdom. I immediately saw ministry application in some.

Now sure there are some that don’t really connect but on the whole there was plenty that got me thinking. And for some of you this will bring up past (and current) arguments about the influence of business on the church. There are valid concerns but I often see a critique from my generation to the church growth crowd for employing corporate models, while my generation idolizes the entrepreneur and start up. You can’t have one without the other.

There is an online version of the article available, but it varies from the print piece. I will be using the print version, but of course go check out the article and give Fast Company some traffic as they put this together.

So for the next couple of months you will periodically see a new post examining one of these statements and how I see a connection to ministry. This page will serve as a landing page that will be updated as things are posted.

1. Anger Equals Engagement
2. Be Ready for your Critics
3. CEO’s Need Advice Too
4. During Tough Times, Stay Strong
5. Weigh Your Priorities
6. Celebrate Each Step
7. Focus on the 20 Million Positives
8. Even Old Organizations Can Innovate
9. You’ll Never be Finished
10. Be Different
11. Lead With Purpose
12. Even All-Stars Need Structure
13. Rethink Expertise
14. Rewrite the Rules
15. Don’t Overcommit
16. Assemble a Dedicated Team with a Shared Vision
17. Don’t be an Autocrat
18. You Can’t Please Everybody
19. Good Sleep is Good Business
20. Meet Outside the Box

This is part of a blog series that has 30 practical tips for the pastor looking to start or restart well. You can get the entire series as a Kindle book. The landing page will be updated with each new post.

Now What? You learn patience.

You don’t have this figured out and most likely you are woefully under-qualified for what you are doing. This is a good thing.

Ministry is a wild and hard ride that is an incredible challenge, but when done with God, you see glimpses of how things should be. As a leader you have to realize your own for leadership.

Follow Christ first. You will hear this over and over again but if you aren’t following Christ your ministry will drive you to destruction. Which isn’t a big deal until you realize the destruction you will inflict on others.

Follow those you respect. Find other leaders that you connect with and get around them: read their books, buy them lunch, sit in their office and ask them questions.

Follow those you disagree with. Don’t be afraid and don’t stop thinking.

Finally don’t be afraid to go back. I’ve been in ministry for about 10 years and as I look at the list I just put together for your first 30 days I see a lot that I need to do today. I haven’t arrived and I never will. Neither will you, but we aren’t supposed to.