I am a fan of honestly and candor in blogs. As a pastor it is always a tricky balance that must be struck to show vulnerability without loosing credibility. I’m going to give you a glimpse into the struggle and challenge of the church-planting journey. Caution: this may be hard for some to read.

Church planting is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life!  I am not kidding it is outrageously difficult. I helped plant a church and I have encouraged and advised on a few start-ups, but there is nothing like going through this process as the lead pastor. Sometimes this job is not fun. I warned you that I would be honest. Before you think I have lost my mind or are quitting, I am fully committed to fulfilling God’s call on my life and His joy does sustains, but it’s just hard.

I recently tweeted, “If you know a church planter, encourage, pray for, and support them.” You have no ideal of how hard this journey is. Church planting is very isolating. Some existing pastors see new guys as either a threat or competition, so there are little kind words come from that direction. The average person simply assumes that the planter and the family are okay, so they can be silent. Other church planters know how it feels to be overwhelmed themselves, so we tend to huddle together for support. Get the point; it can be very lonely.

I have found that when it comes to my sleep patterns I am either unable to sleep or near comatose. I also find myself dealing with the high stress of finding a location for our gatherings, trying to get everybody on the same page, solidifying a band, updating websites, meeting with community leaders, raising support for both my family and the church, etc. It’s hard to finish a thought, let alone have a conversation.  I have to remember to breathe.

So my days now look like…

Wake up, breathe…Spend time with God, breathe…Spend time with my family, breathe…Connect with someone on my launch team, breathe...Talk to a potential supporters, breathe…Trust that God will provide, breathe…etc, breathe…