Category Archives: Marriage & Family
The Church Planter’s Kid
Born 8 days after the very first service of our first church plant in South Lousiana, which started in an un-air conditioned fire station.
- Because his dad’s a church planter, until he was four we would drive past a fire station and he would yell “church” and when we drove by a steepled church building he would yell “space ship.”
- Because his dad’s a church planter, the first time we attended a church besides ours on Sunday, he asked where their fire truck was and why their chairs were so long (pews).
- Because his dad’s a church planter, he likes to hang out in coffee shops and has great bedside manner in hospitals.
- Because his dad’s a church planter, he doesn’t have as much as many kids in our area, but never complains.
- Because his dad’s a church planter, he doesn’t know that you shouldn’t wear shorts to church or that you shouldn’t be close friends with people of another race or class.
- Because his dad’s a church planter, he knows who Rick Warren & John Piper are, & asked every Friday morning, “Do we have a Block Party this weekend?”
HE TURNED TEN YESTERDAY and I’m looking forward to seeing what God does in the future with this church planter’s kid. Happy Birthday Jack!!!!!
13 Years!
“Find a good spouse, you find a good life-and even more: the favor of God!” Prov 18:22 (MSG) 
Reflecting this morning on 13 years of marriage to my gift from God, Heather Johnson Corley. Last year I wrote 12 things I’m thankful for after 12 years of marriage. I’ve updated my list & added one.
- “Find a good spouse, you find a good life-and even more: the favor of God!” Proverbs 18:22 (MSG). Thank God for showing His favor by giving me you!
- I started noticing in year one – People like me better when you’re around. Thanks for completing me.
- Finally realized around year three – I am better when you’re around. Thanks for making me better than I am.
- Two are better than one, because they never quit at the same time. Thanks for helping me persevere through tough times.
- It’s OK to not iron the tucked in portion of the shirt. Thanks for helping me to not sweat small stuff.
- A mother’s voice is a powerful weapon (Proverbs 31:26). Thanks for being a great voice of encouragement & empowerment to my boys.
- Unselfishness is a pre-requisite for success in almost everything, especially marriage. Thanks for demonstrating how to put others first so clearly.
- I’ve noticed, families that serve together make a greater impact & have more joy over the long haul. Thanks for serving along side me and opening my eyes to new opportunities everyday.
- Marriage is humiliating, because you can’t hide who you really are. Thanks for being patient and forgiving.
- Beauty is only skin deep, and I’m thankful for a wife who’s smokin hot, inside and out.
- Peach cobbler and red meat are still my favorites. Thanks for always going out of your way to know my favorites.
- “Lane, you know we only hired you, b/c we met your wife.” Thanks for inspiring confidence in me and others. I’m a better man because of you.
- And now we’ve got a little girl to grow up to be just like you!
Highlight of My Week
Baby Kate is 12-weeks old. She likes bottles. Her favorite word is “Ooooo….” And she’s the smartest baby to ever slobber this side of eternity. And, of course I’m wrapped around her finger. :)).
How to Plant a Church Without Losing Your Marriage
Great list for anyone in ministry or not, by Brian & Amy Bloye in their new book It’s Personal: Surviving and Thriving on the Journey of Church Planting.
- Do what is important, not what is urgent. “If you try to make everyone happy, the ones who lose out will be the ones your know will forgive you: your spouse and your children.”
- Bring fun and adventure into your relationship. “when wives of pastors get involved in extra-marital affairs, it tends to be because the other man was someone who was fun to be with.”
- Take time off every week. “Sometimes it appears that you can’t afford a day off; the truth is, it’s the other way around. You can’t afford not to take a day off.”
- Keep intimacy a priority.
- Focus on being a team.
- Find your significance & security in Christ. “We were created, as human beings, to find our meaning not in what we do but in what God has done for us.”
- Make time for meaningful communication. “Get the conversation rolling…keep your ears unclogged – listen attentively.”
- Help your spouse go as far as he or she can go. Don’t put extra weights on him or her. Help him feel light and fast in the race of life.
- Share your spiritual lives with each other. The pastor shares his spiritual journey from the stage. Do it at home as well.
- Make your spouse your project. Get to know her strengths and weaknesses, love languages, keep a prayer list of her needs. etc.
- Set meaningful boundaries. “people come and go, and even staff come and go, the only constants are God and the two of us; to lose us is to lose everything…”
This book is really helpful. Looking forward to sharing it with church planting friends.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Three of our Favorite Mother’s Day Videos:
Jedi Mom
The Mother’s Day Rap
The Mom Song
“Hey Dad, when’s the next Faith in Action Sunday?”
Four times per year, our church scatters instead of just gathering for worship to do restoration projects across our community. It’s a weekend emphasis for what we want our daily lives to be as missionary servant living out life In Christ, On Mission, 4 Others. This weekend will be the 8th FIA Sunday. It’s an opportunity to add to the story of our lives intentionality, radical generosity, and faith in action.
My 9-year old Jack has been doing FIA Sunday’s & other community service projects for the last 3 years and it’s exciting to see 
how it’s shaping his heart and attitudes about life & church. The Sunday after our FIA weekends, he starts asking, “Hey Dad, when’s the next Faith in Action Sunday? And what’s the projects?”
Last year on FIA Sunday, we were working on the home of a disabled single mom who lives near a church that had just gone through a new building campaign. As we drove by he asked in the innocence of an 8-year old mind, “Dad, why is that church so nice and Ms. _____ doesn’t even have running water?” Now I know that particular church does great things in our community & that every church can’t do everything but we’re working together, but I was proud that my son had begun to note in his heart, “Isn’t it about the needs of the world instead of about me? And my church?” I’m glad that my conversations with Jack about church have delved a little deeper than, “Did you have fun today at church?” and even, “What did you learn in church today?” But we’re learning that with intentional efforts to get our children into “points of contact” with people in need, they can get it & be shaped & changed & even make a difference in the lives of others as we serve together.
Many Christian parents would probably say that they don’t want their kids to grow up as Christian consumers or as self-centered narcissists. But what are we doing intentionally to help them develop an others focus? Telling Bible stories & going to church IS a powerful thing. Do that! But are we living out those stories in our own way with our families? Are we teaching our kids to apply the stories they hear talked about?
Faith in Action weekend is an opportunity for our families to serve together, apply the Word of God, get our hands dirty, & teach our kids what the Christian life is all about with more than words, but actions. This weekend, I’ll have Jack with me as we build a porch and clean up the yard of an elderly widow and share the gospel with her neighborhood through a Block Party. He’ll also be beside me as we go to our local jail and throw a block party for inmate kids and share the gospel there. I’m looking forward to his next questions.
You can join us this weekend to put your Faith in Action. We’ll meet at 9am at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum on Sunday for breakfast a time of devotion & prayer, then scatter to serve. Check out our projects at bridgenorthshore.com/faith-in-action. Everybody can serve!
Here are a few other ideas for families on mission together:
- Volunteer at local food banks.
- Find needs in your local neighborhood.
- Make bake goods or crafts for local nursing homes.
- Invite people into your home & talk about life & God.
- Take a Family Mission Trip & find a mission project to do one day wherever you go on vacation.
Lane Corley 