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Church planting is hard. It's fulfilling. It's exciting. It's full of change! I am about to announce a few very exciting changes to you that I am so amped about I can hardly contain myself! I know they are exciting because my wife is excited and she is about as cautious and reserved as it gets (that's why God put us together)!

Because we are up to our eyeballs in hard work, I don't have time to break all of these changes down in to great detail just yet, but I hope to do so in the days ahead. Let me preface these announcements by what I think is a moment of super transparency that may help another leader or church planter (or anybody for that matter) that may be facing some critical decisions.

Courageous Church is doing many things well, but I feel very strongly that we have gotten into a somewhat predictable rut found in so many churches (and business and families) all across our country. Six plus weeks into launching this church - let me tell you one big lesson that I have learned�planning for a church (or a business or a family) is not the same thing as leading it and growing after it has launched. I knew this would be the case, but it is REALLY the case.

I think we planned for the launch of our church about as well as any new church could, but after we launched, I found myself and some of our leaders following into some traditions and habits and ways of doing/being the church that I am completely confident God is not calling us to. Period.

Three songs. A sermon. An offering. See you later. Have a good week and please come back to do this same thing in pretty much the same way again.

I'm not feeling that. We tried it and our attendance and offering dropped week after week. The excitement and energy and momentum that we experienced during our first few weeks began to wane and it wasn't just because the new car smell was gone either. Our church began to lose its mojo and its unique calling because we were not fully prepared to maintain all of the many moving parts that come with a growing community of faith. We're working on those things, but are about to push forward at the same time into who God desires us to be. Here are a few of those things!

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