Communication with Husband

August 25, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Husband, Quotes

“Communication is crucial for the success of the plant and your relationship with your husband. You cannot let things fester or go unspoken. Scheduling time to ‘unpack’ things is a way to help stay on track. My husband and I spend part of Mondays just talking about the service. We discuss the things that worked well, things that did not, potential problems and ideas. We also spend time addressing how we are feeling. As a woman, I have had a roller coaster of emotions and feelings. The first couple of years of planting a church are hard work, and the wave of emotions that come with planting a church can range from excitement to fear, frustration, anger, disappointment, self-doubt, guilt, and possibly even resentment. Talking about them with your spouse takes their power away and helps you to work through legitimate issues that need to be addressed and to identify the untruths Satan has whispered in your ears.”

Nokona Koenig from
My Husband wants to be a Church Planter… So What Will That Make Me?

Leave a Comment

A Sunday in the Life of One Church Planter’s Wife

August 21, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under The Journey

The following post was written by Tina Cole. Tina’s husband is a cowboy church planter.

5:30am  Wake up … coffee … quiet time … pray for my worship team and the two services today, youth band practice, youth Bible study

6:30am  Wake David … get dressed in my good jeans, boots, and a nice blouse … what a change from the “Sunday dresses” from four years ago … yes, easier.

7:00am  Wake the kids … everyone has a job on Sundays: Ira, children’s church; Seth, base player for the worship team; Rebekah, Joda and Abigail, “whatever Dad asks them to do.”

7:45am  Arrive at the church, (greeting team is already making coffee, yeah! That used to be my job!) sound check, pray, practice the music set.

8:45am  First service

9:45am  Greet those who came to the first service and those coming in for the second

10:30am  Second service

11:30am  Visit with people… pack up the portable sound system and send home with Hank for tonight’s youth get-together at his house… lock up the church… go home and collapse for a few hours

2:00pm  Make “sweet team” and lemonade… head to Hank and Renny’s house for youth band practice

3:00pm  Youth band practice

4:00pm  Youth swimming party and Bible Study

9:00pm  Pack up the sound system, say thanks and good-bye for the 11th time to Hank and Renny… count the kids… did we get all fo them out of the pool?… head to the church to put up the sound system

9:30pm  Debrief the day with David and the kids over some popcorn …talk about the week ahead

10:30pm  Day is over. Thank you, Jesus.

It didn’t used to be so smooth. This is after 3 and a half years of a LOT of hard work and sacrifice. We have come a long way, but have so much further to go. We started with 27 people in our living room in December, 2004. Now, in July of 2008, about 160 people attend each Sunday. We are a Cowboy Church and have ropings and playdaystwice a month in the arena at our church. This particular Sunday, we did not have either, so we planned a youth party. We reach a lot of Cowboys and their families.

Don’t be discouraged when you are the one who seems to do everything… the Lord will send you the workers. We still do a great deal of the work ourselves. It isn’t always easy to delegate. You want help, but you also have to be willing to give up the control to someone else in order to get rid of the obligation.

Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”

In the words of MercyMe, “Hold fast… help is on the way.”

Leave a Comment

Before He Speaks

August 18, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Humor

A fun one for you…

Leave a Comment

Whispers

August 14, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under The Journey

The following post was written by Jennifer Antonucci about her struggles as she and her husband prepare to plant a church in Las Vegas.

I have no doubt that God wants us to move to Las Vegas. I’m more sure of it than just about anything. Just because I know it, doesn’t mean that I’m happy about it all the time. I was recently with my parents. The conversation came up that we probably won’t be able to come home for Christmas anymore. My mom and I started crying and proceeded to spend the next hour sitting in a chair together bawling.

God is so sweet to me. Ever since the moment that I knew He called us to Vegas, He’s been whispering to me. Even as I was crying in my bed, when I first realized that we were moving, He spoke to me. Nothing loud or earth shattering—just whispers. He used songs, Bible verses, Bible studies, friends’ words, etc. to give me peace. He knows this is a huge step for me. He knows I need Him to constantly reassure me.

This morning I was doing my Bible study and read these verses: “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place” (Deuteronomy 1:29-31).

The truth is that I’m terrified of this church plant. Everyone who lives in Las Vegas that my husband has talked to has pretty much implied that he’s crazy and that we shouldn’t expect more than 50 people…EVER!…Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.

I’m also afraid of what lies ahead of us. I mean, who really wants to raise their kids in Las Vegas? The school system sucks compared to Virginia’s. This is Satan’s playground, for crying out loud!  We’re entering his turf…The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you.

I have so many questions. My heart is broken. I’m really struggling with depression right now…the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went.

As I read these verses this morning, I was changed. I was filled with hope and encouragement. I’m like a hunting dog, looking for God. I’m on the prowl for encouragement and for His sweet words to comfort me.

How about you? When you are facing a daunting situation, where do you look? How do you deal with the dark days of depression and fear? Do you keep your eyes and ears open for God?

I’ve got to admit that sometimes my eyes are shut and my ears are closed. And on those days, it’s darker. My prayer for me and for you, as church planting wives, is that we stay alert to God and allow Him to carry us as a father carries his son…all the way we go.

Comments (1)

Your Husband’s Office

August 11, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Husband

More than half of the church planter wives we surveyed said that their husband’s office is in their home. Of those, half said they are glad it is and the other half said they sometimes wish it wasn’t. What do you think?

(Click here to download our complete research study.)

Leave a Comment

Perseverance

August 7, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Perseverance

In the following post, Tiffany Southerland shares about some of the trials her family experienced leading up to the launch of their church plant.

We will press on, we will fight the good fight.

Since about the time we revealed the church plant to the sponsoring church, we have been under constant attack. Prior to that, our major “events” would be sporadic—about once a month. Now that we are getting closer to our launch date, they are becoming more and more frequent. Since the reveal day, we have had two close, personal attacks, two financial attacks (i.e., big bad IRS, trees falling, power outages), my health went again last week with a nice respiratory infection that I can’t seem to shake, and today we had to put poor Sassy the bunny to sleep. Sassy, who had cancer, took a really bad turn for the worse last night and become very ill. Sweet Sassy was the perfect pet, she loved everyone and was fun to be around with her little sassy attitudes.

So, needless to say, we know exactly what we are doing, we are chasing after God and His Holy church. We know Satan doesn’t want this to happen and will stop at nothing to deter this. We pray for protection for ourselves and for protection for our core group and their families, for we are fighting a bigger battle than we ever thought could be possible. But God is holy and righteous and we will fight to bring Him Glory and Honor in the new church. We will persevere!

Through all this we have seen God’s glory through some amazing blessings from people around us, we thank God for those people and how they are touching our lives and making a huge impact on the Kingdom!

We are blessed and praise God in the midst of hard times, for by Grace we have been saved and He is the Creator who makes all things new. No matter what happens to us we say with a truly happy heart, to God be the Glory!

“I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.”
Psalm 4:8

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27

Leave a Comment

When Do You Play?

August 4, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Quotes

With the school year getting ready to start, here’s something to think about….

“If your kid is in three activities and you are in zero, that’s not unselfish of you. It’s unbalanced. If you don’t like sports, take a class in something you’re interested in-maybe scrapbooking or sewing or photography. Take piano lessons. Join a book club or a Bible study. Read a book for fun.

You should have a chance to do something fun, a chance to play, without your kids… Be sure your schedule includes some playtime for you.”

Keri Wyatt Kent from the book
Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life

Leave a Comment

Rottweilers in Your Plant?

July 31, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Conflict

The following post comes from Joye Jackson of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware.

I recently read a quote that said, “Don’t try to stop a train with your bare hands.” I thought this was hysterical. Okay, so I do have an odd sense of humor, but I love the image and the message…to know what you are up against before you throw yourself up against it.

I love my garden. It isn’t the biggest or prettiest or best producing garden, but it is my place just to be me. God and I sort out my troubles and the world’s woes while planting or pulling weeds. Unfortunately, my Rottweiler neighbor also likes my little garden. It makes a soft landing place as he launches himself over the chain link fence to get reacquainted with our little Westie or deposit gifts in the backyard. I’ve tried several approaches to my dilemma—talking to the neighbor, setting up extra barriers; nothing has worked and my tomato bushes have paid a heavy price.

One morning I saw the large hairy beast parading across my yard once again. Something within me welled up and I found myself chasing after him. I wanted him out—NOW! When I caught up to him, I found him bounding around in the garden, but now the barriers that were supposed to keep him out were keeping him in. I (unwisely) decided to grab for his collar in order to drag him home. It wasn’t until I felt my hands close in around the muscular roll of his neck that I realized he wasn’t wearing a collar. Yikes! Now I had a Rottweiler by the neck and I was a little afraid to let go. He looked every bit as stunned as I was. I yelled one final, “OUT!” Then I let go and stepped back to look as large as possible, pointing authoritatively across the fence. He propelled himself over both barrier and fence and has completely avoided looking at me since.

Every church plant has its own weeds and an occasional big, hairy, slobbery Rottweiler. Do not attempt to stop a train, or a Rottweiler for that matter, with your bare hands. First, someone (a person with proper authority) needs to assess the situation. Next, use the correct tools (a breaking system, a leash and collar, scriptural church discipline) to get a handle on the situation before action is taken. Then, if the proper people take appropriate action, disaster can be averted.

Plants need a little time and attention to recover and bear fruit. The extra effort required makes them more precious to all.

 2 John 1: 8-9 (NIV) “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

Comments (1)

Birthing Pains

July 28, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Quotes

“In childbirth there is usually much pain, but when you look into the eyes of that precious child that God has entrusted to you, all the pain fades. The love you experience at that moment is the most intense you will ever experience. The birth of a church can also bring great pain, but just as the child grows and matures, this church (with God’s hand upon it) will too, and when you look back years from now there will be little memory of pain-only joy and a sense of fulfillment as you celebrate the work of our Heaven Father.”

Quote from John M. Bailey from the book My Husband wants to be a Church Planter… So What Will That Make Me?

Leave a Comment

The Discipline of Rest

July 24, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Quotes, Rest/Vacation

“For many of us, one of the hardest spiritual exercises we face is the discipline of rest. As your family plants the church you will find your days filled with endless activities and ever increasing demands. Slowing down, relaxing, and finding time to refresh our body and spirit can seem self indulgent or lazy. The truth is, without the discipline of rest, our effectiveness in ministry will be hindered.”

Quote from Bob Lepine from the book My Husband wants to be a Church Planter… So What Will That Make Me?

Leave a Comment

« Newer Posts · Older Posts »