Church Planters Roundtable - Nashville

Got an invitation to hang out for the day with a bunch of renegade and courageous church planters from all over the Southeast. We met up this past Thursday at CrossPoint Community Church here in west Nashville.  It was an AWESOME day and I'm so glad that I made the time to go.  Man, I love church planters!  We're a crazy bunch to be sure and when we get together, it's even crazier.  I had the privilege to hear the hearts, the struggles, the "wins" and the ministry challenges of 11 pastors God has called to change their communities.  It was inspiring and humbling all at the same time.  Thanks to Joe Case for putting this together!    

My good buddy Pete Wilson, Lead Pastor at CrossPoint, had some great insights and comments about the day.  Check 'em out here.

Here's a couple of my takeaways from the day:

• Gary Lamb ... what a mess. ;>)  CRAZY dude.  Gary will either become one of the leading voices and leaders in the church planting world within the next two years or... he will end up in jail! ;>)  I'm prayin' for the first but bettin' on the second.  Love ya bro!  Great seeing you again.  Miss hangin' with you in Canton.
• Randy Cook from CrossRoads Community Church in Lebanon, TN has one of the coolest and most bizarre church planting stories I've ever heard.  He raised money and built out a building BEFORE he launched his church.  Wow.  Watch out for this guy!!  14 months and growing strong.  Great story....and GREAT building Randy.  Randy's comments were the highlight of the day for me. 
• Pete Wilson...what can I say.  The guy is a born leader and the pastor I aspire to be.  Thanks Pete for continuing to model "kingdom-mindedness" for us all.  You're the man.
• Dave Anderson for me is the new poster boy for church planting.  He lost an appendix and 5 inches of his large intestine as proof that he's the real deal.  Wow!  Great meeting you finally Dave.  Your story inspired us yesterday bro!  Thanks for sharing.
• I miss Joe Case on Fox News doing the weather every night but man, you gotta admire this guy's tenacity as a church planter.  He's the only guy I know who's moved his church around more than mine. ;>)  It was awesome to hear Joe's story yesterday and how he left a GREAT career behind to follow God's leading to start a church in Bellevue.   Heard a lot about Joe living here in Nashville...great to finally meet him.  Great story and even a better guy.

All in all...what a great day.  It was awesome to see so many different guys, from so many different church backgrounds coming together for encouragement and to share ideas on how we can further the Kingdom with the churches we lead.  Looking forward to doing this again soon.  Thanks guys!

Comments

[Eddie Johnson]

Hey Joe,

Bro, I would love to help. Feel free to email me directly at eddie@cumberlandonline.org. Let's talk!

Thanks for reaching out.

EJ

[J. R. Miller]

Hi, my name is Joe Miller. I have been reading your story and thought you might be able to provide some insight from your experience in church planting.

I am currently a church planter, and am doing some work on my Doctor of Ministry project through Talbot School of Theology. My project is focused on developing missional teams for church planting. I thought you might be willing to help by taking a short survey to share your expertise.

If you can help, please visit my website with details and the link to this 5 minute survey http://www.elnews.net/survey/Welcome.html

I will keep an eye out for the results.

Thanks and God bless,
Joe

Oh, and if some of your church planting friends would like to be a part, please send them a link as well.

[Dave Anderson (moviepastor)]

I had a great time! It was great to meet you too. I loved the banter between you and gary - it was too funny!