Pete Wilson: http://withoutwax.tv
Senior Pastor: Cross Point in Nashville, TN
Personal Notes: Pete actually found me! He commented on a post of mine, and we have been following each other ever since. I have never meet Pete in person, but I have tremendous respect for him, and appreciate all he has done to encourage me on this journey.
What advice would you give to a guy that has been called into church planting, but sometimes feels that he has no idea what he is doing?
Pete's Answer:
PALM LICKING TIME
The one thing I underestimated about being a church planter was the number of times I would be faced with grueling, life-changing decisions that would require more wisdom, strength, and courage than I have.
As a church planter you will make decisions on locations, staff, message series, strategy, vision, and finances just to name a few. It seems like every day you are making a decision that feels as if it could sink the whole deal.
And to make matters worse, this pressure NEVER stops. We are five years in to Cross Point and we are constantly faced with these overwhelming decisions. At the end of 2007 we were faced with some major budget issues. We were 22% behind budget for the year and yet were moving forward on a 2008 budget that was 27% higher than the year before (I know this makes no logical sense). To complicate matters even further, we were about to release 150 core group people to plant our first satellite campus in Dickson, TN, knowing we would take a financial hit at our Nashville campus. What did we do? We moved forward with what we sensed God was calling us to do (to date we are actually ahead of budget for the year...a total God thing).
These are the kind of decisions that make your palms sweaty. These are the kind of decisions that make your mouth dry. So what do you do? Lick your palms.
There are going to be a lot of palm-licking moments for you in church planting. I believe the key to making these decisions boils down to your time with God.
Joshua is my leadership model for this. Joshua is the one who had the faith to trust God when others didn’t (Deut. 1 & Joshua 3). Joshua is a leader who stared fear in the eyes.
How did he become this kind of leader? How can you become this kind of leader? Here’s the secret.
Exodus 33: 7,11 “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.”
CONTACT WITH THE CREATOR IS CRITICAL FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP.
Please know that going to conferences is important. Listening to advice from Steven Furtick and Mark Batterson is helpful. Reading blogs and articles on leadership is a good idea. But NOTHING will replace the time you are personally spending with your Creator. If you want to become a transformational leader, you have got to spend quality time in the presence of God. Then and only then can you lick your palms and move forward with what God is calling you to do.