Monthly Archives: March 2008

Don’t Be a Brat

Posted by clintclifton on

I heard a story about a church planter a couple of days ago that disturbed me. Basically this guy got a great sponsoring church that was supporting him with the whole package. The sponsoring pastor gave him free reign to recruit from within, a big check every month, resources, prayer… the whole 9 yards. The church planter recruited hard and took as many as he could without consideration for who shared his vision or values, who he could get along with etc. He set out with his team of more than 100 from the sponsoring church and never looked back. His church plant took off and grew rapidly. Most of the people he took with him didn’t last more than a few months. The sponsor church struggled to recover from the loss of finances, resources and members. A few years later another man in the sponsoring church felt God’s call to plant a church. This time the church put the breaks on the whole deal. They wanted nothing to do with sending out another planter and risking another bad experience.

This would be like me pillaging from my parents house with no consideration for their needs or desires to the point that they decide never to have another kid because it was such a bad experience.

I think most planters never think about the impact that they could have on the sponsoring church. Are we thinking about how our relationship with other churches is making them more or less likely to plant churches in the future? I was the first church plant my sponsoring church ever planted in but they have planted several times since then. I hope that means that they had a good experience the first time.

Gas Prices at an All Time Low!

Posted by clintclifton on

Virtually my entire ministry career I have lived far away from the church where I serve. Jennifer and I have spent countless hours to and from church plants. Just to give you an idea of the dept of our insanity, here is a rundown of where I have lived compared to where I have worked over the past 11 years.

  1. 1st church job – The church at the Island in Orange Park FL – I lived in Palatka FL – 40 miles one way.
  2. 2nd church job – Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Pansey AL. – I lived in Graceville FL (a different state) – 25 miles one way.
  3. 3rd church job- Point of Grace Church, Jacksonville FL – I lived in Graceville FL – 4 HOURS one way. (I did this for one entire year only going on the weekends)
  4. 4th church job – Stafford Baptis Church, Stafford VA – This was the best only about a mile.
  5. A short stent in Iceland where we virtyally walked everywhere.
  6. 5th church job – Pillar Church, Dumfries VA – I lived in Locust Grove VA – 1 hr each way.

As you can see our ministry has been pretty expensive at the gas pump until now. We scored a sweet deal on a forclosed town home. It needs a little sprusing up but has great potential. I am very thankful for God’s provision and can’t wait to get settled in to our new pad and redeem 12 hours of my week.

Whiteboard & Planting Seminar

Posted by clintclifton on

For those of you who live under a rock there is a pretty hip conference on the horizon for the DC area. First there is this and then the next day there is this. Whiteboard is being put together by Ben Arment. It is going to be really nice to go to a great conference and then go home at night. I am taking a few people from my church to the first event. I hope to see you there.

Highlights

Posted by clintclifton on

 

The last few days some pretty cool things have transpired.

  • I went to Lakeside CC Sunday night to support one of our Elders, Jonathan Davis. Jonathan is planting a church in the community where he lives. To the bottom left there is a picture of his core group meetings. He has only been going at it for a few weeks and already he is showing real promise as a as a preacher and a planter.
  • Today I had lunch with a new Christian who is blazing for Jesus!
  • This morning a college buddy called me and told me that he felt like God was calling him to plant a church.
  • My wife and I have had a lot of “bonding” time packing boxes for our move this coming weekend.
  • I shaved my youngest son’s head!
photo1-22-27-39.jpg dsc_7978.jpg

Remembering Maewyn

Posted by clintclifton on

slide1.jpgDid something a little risky this Palm Sunday by doing a brief biography of church planter extraordinar Maewyn Succat (AKA St. Patrick). Big Green was a pretty exceptional guy. Here are a few highlights from His life.

  • Kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave.
  • Enslaved for 6 years Maewyn learns, Irish, and develops a an outstanding prayer life.
  • At 22 he has a dream where God tells him to escape and walk to the coast where he will find a boat that will take him back home… He goes and sure enough.. a few days later he is home.
  • Goes to school in France, becomes a priest, then a bishop and has a second dream.
  • In dream #2 an Irishman asks Maewyn to come back to Ireland (the place where he escaped captivity just a few years earlier). And of course… he does. Within 15 years Pagan Ireland officially becomes a Christian nation.

            It seems strange that a holiday that celebrate a guy who loved Jesus so much has become so irreligious. Anyway, I will never view March 17th quite the same again.

            Odd Man In

            Posted by clintclifton on

            About 12 years ago a mentor and friend of mine told me that I should involve myself in church planting because may Christians never would. He said that church planting was too hard and scary for most guys. I believed every word he of his lecture and set forth to be involved in church planting fully convinced that I would always be in the minority as a church planter. But now… things are different. It seems like everywhere I turn people are quitting jobs, leaving the norm and starting churches. Its a great time to be a church planter!

            NAMB Publishes Noah

            Posted by clintclifton on
            dsc_5819.jpgOne of the best things about being an SBC missionary is the fact that every year around your birthday people from all over the world contact you to remind you that they are praying for you. Last week I turned 29 and the morning of my birthday my inbox was full of notes from SBCers all over the place telling me that they are praying for us today. Some ask for specific requests others just promise to pray for us that day. Periodically someone will actually send their prayer in an email. It doesn’t stop with email, you receive phone calls, and cards in the mail too. Jennifer and I both have grown to look forward to this as part of our birthday. This week I got an email from the NAMB asking if they could feature Noah in an upcoming prayer calendar. The calendar features a missionary kid on the month of their birthday and ask children to pray for that MK and his or her family during that month . They publish a photo of the MK and a short interview with the youngster. So look for Noah to appear in your November issue of Children in Action (Children in Action Leader) and Girls in Action (GA World).

            Craigs List for Jesus

            Posted by clintclifton on

            photo2.jpgThe Clifton house has been plagued with illness. In the midst of packing for our move next Friday we have been trying to nurse Noah Back to health from a bad case of strep throat. Thursday night Jennifer stayed home with the kids while I went to our small group meeting. Our small group leader, Ammin, has been sharing the teaching responsibility with the other folks in the group. This week Ken taught the group. About two months ago Ken became a Christian after meeting one of our small group members through a Craigslist transaction. She invited him to the small group and he has been attending for nearly two months now. Ken did a great job and it was a kick to see him come so far in such a short amount of time. We will credit that one to Jesus.

            We the the People

            Posted by clintclifton on
            pillar-constitutin.jpgOn the three year anniversary of Pillar church (3/30/08) we will be signing our church constitution. Before we adopt the constitution we are releasing it for everyone to read over. Please feel free to give comments, good or bad, in the comments section. Pillar Church has adopted a “Biblical Eldership” form of government. Click on the constitution image to the right to download.

            Over the Edge

            Posted by clintclifton on

            photo.jpgToday I am working with my denomination to train new church planters in Virginia. I remember going through these sessions a few years ago. When I went through them that time I had all of my own ideas all lined out in my head before I arrived. The leadership would recommend adopting seven core values so I choose three. They would recommend dressing nicer than the people you are preaching to so I preached in jeans. There is something about three years of ministry and mistakes that make you much more willing to accept and process advice from others. This time I am finding myself much more accepting of the advice, rules and thoughts that are presented.

            I am impressed with the group of planters:

            • One guy is a chiropractor who strayed from the Lord during his college years. God has led him back to his University to plant a church. He wept telling how he was praying that God would use him to plant a church that would reach people like himself.
            • Another guy is a drivers education teacher at a local high school. God has called him to start a church to put a dent in the depravity he has seen in his school.
            • A def husband and his hearing wife are starting a def church with their 10 children!

            It’s amazing… you don’t have to recruit these guys or even offer them any money. They are operating completely on the dream. It is tempting to believe that there are two types of people… dreamers, who see things as they wish they could be and realists who can never see things as they cold be. Being in a setting like this blows that idea out of the water. Many of these guys have lived systematic, well planned lives before God pushed them over the edge.