Book Review: “Church Planting Is For Wimps”
By Mike McKinley
Yesterday, I discussed a book that rocked my world (pun intended). Consider this the continuation of my review on Church Planting Is For Wimps by Mike McKinley. If you haven’t already, I’d urge you to read the previous post for a full context of today’s entry.
At the time of reading Pastor McKinley’s book, I resonated with a young man trying to lead a ministry that is packed with opinions, from a wide range of demographics. And having to build loads of generational bridges.
His book opened my eyes to an important reality within our churches. A reality that is still relatively new to the Church. What’s new? At no point in church history have we ever had this many generations (decade by decade) packed into one room on a Sunday morning for worship.
Think about the past hundred years of church history.
With every new decade, we have been living longer and therefore increasing the range of age-related preferences within our churches. For those of us who are thirty or forty-something leaders (not to mention the twenty-somethings), this can be extremely difficult to navigate.
Just consider the churches of the Epistles. What was the life expectancy of the churches that Paul planted? What was the median age of the Elders that he was appointing? How many decades were represented together in one room?
Now fast-forward to the younger years of our current seniors. What was the life expectancy of their churches? Did they have the same age-range populous in their churches? Did they have 70 and 80-year-olds pushing against their change?
What I’m not saying…
Obviously, I’m not saying that our seniors need to die off or leave the church. That is an unhealthy attitude and simply, ludicrous to expect. I’m simply shedding some light on the situation that today’s leaders are in comparison with the 2000 years of church history.
Though McKinley doesn’t complain directly about this struggle, he unpacks it. Like many shrinking churches, it was obviously a reality that he faced when he started his ministry. This, and many other generationally related problems became hurdles that Mike would have to overcome.
At his own admission, he struggled in a lot of areas and made his share of mistakes. Yet, he chose to focus on the one thing that could not fail him…the Bible!
Mike focused on preaching the Word.
I was moved by his passion and focus on preaching through Biblical texts. He’s on point! Whether it’s the ESV projected on a screen or an authorized 1611 KJV in hand, God’s Word effectively taught to God’s people will have an impact.
It’s easy for any pastor to get caught up in how the church is facilitated. Yet we must be cognizant of how much the Holy Spirit moves and interacts with the preaching and teaching of Scripture. Never neglect or replace spending time in Scriptural study, praying that God will move, instead of solely relying on our own efforts.
A few final thoughts.
All in all, Church Planting Is For Wimps has vastly changed how I see church planting. I don’t personally think any ministry is for wimps, but I do recognize that those who are called to church revitalization need our fervent prayer.
Instead of ignoring or avoiding the age-old issues that our churches now face; these workers embrace them head-on. Much is said about church planting, but church revitalization is just as significant to the future of local and global church growth.
Join the Conversation, Leave Your Thoughts
- What challenges have you faced in navigating multi-generational preferences within the local church?
- Does a focus on preaching the Word resonate with your perspective on church leadership?
- What valuable insights do you have on the importance of church revitalization alongside church planting?
Hey Jer,
Thanks for introducing me to this book. I just downloaded the kindle version and am looking forward to reading it. As a church planter, something you said here has been on my mind a lot since planting a church – the difficulty of revitalizing vs. planting.
As a church planter vs. a guy coming into an existing (but dying) church I have a ton of advantages. Sure starting with no money, no building, no people and no staff are challenging … but I also have almost no opposition from within. Anyone who steps into a church plant and doesn’t like how things are going doesn’t stand up and say, “But we’ve never done it this way before!” because there is no “before” 🙂 This is such an advantage in how fast you can move and minister and grow your ministry compared to how much time and energy that needs to be spent in challenging and changing old patterns that are no longer working. A church plant also attracts those who are looking to be a part of something on the move (a little more missional minded, maybe) as opposed to trying to just keep “their thing” thing alive. In a church plant, the “ownership” people feel is more about the mission as opposed to the programs, buildings, etc.
The flip side of course is that many church plants have a low number of white haired members … and this isn’t great. I remember the first elderly couple who came to our church in the first few months of launching who said, “You probably don’t want an old couple like us here” … I nearly grabbed a hold of her shoulders as I said, “I have been praying that you would come!” The tough part as a church planter is that seniors are just as bad as teens — they don’t want to go somewhere unless there are people there their own age. I thank God that we now have a pretty good number of people worshipping with us who weren’t born in the 70’s or 80’s 🙂
A lot to think about, Jer … I looking forward to digging into the book and being encouraged and challenged!
Kaj
Hey Kaj,
I am so excited that you commented. Whenever I hear about church planting, I often think about your plant. I pray that you are finding ministry success and positive live change!
I have recently moved to a church that just receive an ‘assessment’ for revitalization. However, the church is attached to a senior’s residence with complicates moving forward in some areas. We likely have the most balanced budget (including investment income) of any church in Calgary. I’m not saying we’re rich by any means, but our church shows what statistics show, that the older the congregation, the more money the church has. Then again I don’t understand why we don’t spend more of it on ministry instead of putting it in a mutual fund?
As I have researched both ends of the spectrum, it does come down to leadership and funding for most churches. Most leaders will spend a few years in stagnant churches, then off to planting. However, as you may know, it’s tough to bank-roll a church plant. Not that we make decisions in ministry solely for finances; but money is a reality that we must not ignore.
So, either way, this book outlines some INCREDIBLE observations of how difficult it is to stick it out in a church; rather then starting a new church. Blew my mind with this guy’s steadfastness! Regardless of the ministry positions ANYONE is in; this book will be straight-up encouragement and challenge!
Please drop me a line on your thoughts when you’re finished…perhaps leave them hear in a comment!?!?
Thanks,
Jeremy
Church planting is overrated. I mean, seriously, why do Christians want to build all of these churches, when living out the mission of Jesus is much simpler, and less complex. I think that among the Christian religion, denominationalism still reigns, not following Jesus. Theology and sermons seem to be the agenda as men and women wear their Sunday best. Meanwhile, outside the church building walls, are individuals who are homeless, young mothers, drug-addicts, porn-addicts, etc. Church is about the concept of community, not the brick and mortar. American Christianity has failed. I left a long time ago. My decision is simple, to love others. All of the evangelicalism is the work of man, not Jesus.
Thanks for your comment. Though, I have thought similar things in the past; every church in existence has been brick and mortar (or sometimes more grandiose materials). We can’t say God was never interested in fancy buildings, or the old covenant Temple would never have been built. Once Peter (the Rock) took over, it became the people who were the temple. However, they still met in buildings…homes (still made of bricks and mortar).
In my opinion, church has failed because they have forgotten the early church principle of hospitality. When actually ‘churches’ were created it worked for a while – more of the sick, poor, widowed, etc were able to be welcomed in and ministered to. Greater space for greater amounts of afflicted people.
Somewhere along the lines, church became a place that was no longer welcoming. The hospitality element was gone and replaced with judgement and disillusionment. I’m not saying we need to get rid of church buildings; but how they look and function does need to change.
I believe church planters typically get that, and are achieving what established churches are struggling to even recognize. I HIGHLY suggest you find a church plant and attend a few Sundays. I am convinced that you would find like-minded people within your cause and calling. Worst case, you hate it and leave again…worth a try though!?!?
Thanks,
Jeremy