Happy 4th of July!
Several good Revolutionary War Books out this year:
- Just finished Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution. Some good lessons on honor, self-control, & how not to raise a traitor.
- Reading now: Washington’s Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution. Great stories about the Marylander’s who gave it all for the cause of American freedom.
Heather & I usually always watch all or part of the John Adams miniseries each summer. If you haven’t seen it, you should. Good depiction of the events & characters leading up to America’s independence.
Reminded by these books that the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4th, 1776, didn’t automatically produce freedom. There would still be 7 more years of fighting until peace was signed with England on September 3, 1783.
Being a Christian means you’re free from sin’s ultimate penalty & we can experience freedom from sin’s power as we pursue righteousness through a relationship with Jesus Christ. But we’ll still battle sin & fight for this freedom as long as we’re on this earth – Pursue God & when we sin, seek his forgiveness. And remember one day, we’ll be FINALLY FREE from sin’s presence when we’re at home with God forever.
Three New Churches on the Map in Louisiana for July
Three new church plants added this month in Louisiana. That brings us to 18 for the year & 142 since 2010.
Pray for these Church Plants & Planters:
>> Connect Church Northshore, in Covington. Planter Matthew C. Smith. Sponsor: New Zion Baptist in Covington. Association: Northshore Baptist Associations. In just a few months, Matt has gathered 20+ & already had one new commitment to Christ!
>> Lakeshore Church, New Orleans. Planter George Ross. Sponsor: Canal Street Mosaic. Association: New Orleans Baptist Association. This will be the 19th replanting project in our current slate of church plants. Replanting of Pontchartrain Baptist, which is in a historic spot just north of where the 17th Street Canal breached & flooded New Orleans in 2005. Brings us to 8 plants in New Orleans this year, topping last years high of 7.
>> Seeds of Faith Baptist Church, Lake Charles. Planter Felix Harris. Sponsor: Emmanuel Baptist, Lake Charles. Association: Carey Association. Felix & his wife lead the Lake Charles Charter Schools. He is a former Florida State Seminole Running Back. Scored his first TD against our LSU Tigers. All is forgiven. Look fwd to how God will use Felix in Lake Charles. This is our 7th African-American plant of 2016. 32nd since 2014.
We’ve got at least SEVEN starting next month! Yea! Need 12 more to reach our goal of 30 for the year.
Thankful for the generosity of Louisiana Baptist churches in giving to the Cooperative Program, Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, & Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions which allows us to provide some resources for great church planting projects like these. Let me know if you know an area in need or are considering a multiplication project. You can email me at lanecorley@gmail.com or check in on one of our upcoming networking opportunities:
- Summer Church Planting Network Luncheons.
- Multiply Louisiana Conference at New Orleans Seminary, August 29-30.
- Greenhouse: Basic Training for Church Multiplication, Acadia Baptist Center, September 15-16.
Multiply Central Louisiana
Chicot State Park off I-49 in Central Louisiana.
Central Louisiana (CenLA) is a wide area across the middle of Louisiana. For the purpose of this report I’m including six Louisiana Baptist Associations – Central LA, North Rapides, Big Creek (Grant), Acadia, Louisiana (Marksville), & Mt. Olive. This area covers all or part of seven Louisiana parishes – Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, Rapides, & St. Landry.
Most people think of this area as heavily evangelical & a Baptist stronghold, & it is. But the numbers show some changing realities that demonstrate the need for multiplication & church planting as part of the strategy to reach the next generation. Here’s a short report:
- Population: 475,349
- Churches: 184. Church to Population Ratio = 1/2,583.
- Worship Attendance at SBC Churches: 18,283 or 4% of the population
- Small Group Attendance at SBC Churches: 9,963 or 2% of the population
- Evangelical Adherents (via thearda.com): 107,047 or 22% of the population
- Nones or Unclaimed Religious afilliation: 138,616 or 29% of the population
This region is illustrative of evangelical decline across the south. As Chuck Kelly reported earlier this year, “Southern Baptists are closer to losing the South than we are to reaching North America.”
Planters, partners needed.
Dealing with Difficult People
“God, knock the teeth out of their mouths.” Psalm 58:6
My first time, to preach on what is called the Imprecatory Psalms this weekend at Bridge Church. Imprecatory Psalms are those that invoke judgment, calamity, or curses, upon one’s enemies or those perceived as the enemies of God. They offer us an opportunity to see how people after God’s own heart deal with difficult relationships.
How do we deal with Difficult Relationships? How did David handle difficult relationships?
1. Take your frustration to God. Psalm 58:6, Psalm 69:19-24, Psalm 109:1-9, Psalm 55:1-8, 12-14, 22. It’s OK to feel frustration. Take it to God. Don’t allow your feelings to be your refuge. Only God can be our refuge.
2. Trust God to do what is best. Psalm 11:4-7, Psalm 52:1-5, Psalm 144:5-8. Don’t take vengeance. David actually extended grace to his enemies. Why? He knew his need of grace as a fallible leader & father. Be quick to extend grace. You’ll need some one day yourself.
3. Allow difficult relationships to remind you of your need of God. Psalm 57:1-3, Psalm 62:5-8, Psalm 71:12-15. David allowed his enemies to drive him to deeper trust in & dependence upon God.
People & our feelings will let us down. God alone can be our refuge.
Join Bridge Church this Summer as we study through Psalms in a series called Swells. 10:30am at the Maritime Museum in Madisonville.
Multiply Houma/Thibodaux
Bayou Baptist Association covers all or part of Terrebonne, Lafoursche, Assumption, Jefferson, & St. James Parishes. Including the cities of Houma, Thibodaux, Lockport, Grand Isle, Golden Meadow, Cutoff, & more.
- Population: 240,064. One of Louisiana’s 9 Metropolitan areas.
- 1 Southern Baptist church (SBC) for every 7,744 persons. Rest of Louisiana is 1 to 2,895. NAMB’s goal is 1 to 2,000. 51 new churches would be needed to get to 1 to 2,895.
- Only .6% of the population (1,560) attended a Bible Study in a SBC Church in 2015.
- Only 1.3% of the population (3,009) attended worship in a SBC Church in 2015.
- Only 10% of the population is evangelical according to the Association of Religious Data Archives (thearda.com).
- Associational Director of Mission is Joe Arnold. Check out BayouBaptistAssociation.com.
Several great opportunities for planting in this area. North Thibodaux is ripe for a plant with a growing population & Louisiana’s 10th largest university – Nicholls State. Also, a great spot for summer missions experiences or retreats. Check out Lighthouse Resort Ministry in Grand Isle for info. Great need for a Hispanic Church Planter in this area, to reach out to the growing Hispanic population. If you love the outdoors, this is a great place for your family to plant & invest your life. Hit me up for more info – lancorley@gmail.com.
Multiply Baton Rouge
The Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge covers all or part of Ascension, East Baton Rouge (Louisiana’s most populated Parish), West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, St. James Parishes.
- Population: 640,059
- 1 Southern Baptist church (SBC) for every 6,096 persons. Rest of Louisiana is 1 to 2,895. NAMB’s goal is 1 to 2,000. 131 new churches would be needed to get to 1 to 2,895.
- Only 1.1% of the population (7,049) attended a Bible Study in a SBC Church in 2016.
- Only 1.9% of the population (11,861) attended worship in a SBC Church in 2015.
49% of the population is non-anglo (41% African-American, 3.9% Hispanic, 2.5% Asian) with only 16 non-anglo SBC churches. 1 to 18,154. - 23% of the population is evangelical, showing that Baton Rouge has a healthier evangelical population than the rest of South Louisiana.
- Baptisms are down 25% from a high of 757 in 2006. 558 in 2016.
- Association Executive Director is Dr. Tommy Middleton. Staff: Chuck Lowman, Randy Osborn, Dana Truitt, Jan Terral. Check out BAGBR.org.
Current Church Planters:
When It Comes to Character, Make No Exceptions
“David had lived an exemplary life before God all his days… (EXCEPT for that time with Uriah the Hittite)”
1 Kings 15:5 MSG.
An “EXCEPT” in relation to your character could change the course of history for your family. David made an exception in his mission, by not going out to battle with his armies (2 Samuel 11:1). He made an exception in his obedience to God, by sleeping with another man’s wife, then having that man (Uriah the Hittite) killed to protect his own image (2 Samuel 11-12). The result was death, brokenness, & pain for David’s family, along with the curse of division & war in David’s family line forever (2 Samuel 12:10). Make no mistake, the “EXCEPT” in parentheses in David’s life was devastating. And it would be devastating for you & I as well. Make no exceptions in your relation to your character & put no parenthetical “EXCEPT” next to your testimony & family name.
- What exceptions are you making, considering, or imagining for yourself? (“I don’t have to go to church” ; “It will never happen to me” ; “It’s just this once” “No one will ever find out”) In relationships, spiritual disciplines, habits & beliefs?
- If there is already an “EXCEPT” in your life, have you repented & allowed God to bring healing? (see Psalm 32 & 51) And how have you moved past the temptation to make sin common & OK in your life?
- Ask God to help you put a period instead of parenthesis on your testimony forever.
Join Bridge Church this Summer, 10:30am at the Maritime Museum in Madisonville, as we study the Old Testament book of Psalms in a series called Swells. We’ll look at how David & others learned to ride the ups & downs of life, like sin, discouragement, problem people, & more.
The Importance of a Church Planting Peer Network
Planting a new church is one of the loneliest and most vulnerable tasks one can undertake. Momentum can be allusive. Area churches can be at worst territorial, at best uncaring. The needs in the community greatly outweigh the capacity of the team. The loneliness can be stifling.
One solution: The Church Planter Peer Network. Getting together with other planters for prayer, encouragement, and collaboration can broaden the perspective of planters to decrease the role loneliness plays in the church planting process.
Research has shown the validity of church planting networks. In the Church Plant Survivability and Health Study realeased in 2007, by the North American Mission Board, a survey found that church plant survivability increased by 135% when a planter met with a group of church planting peers regularly.
Another survey of 600 church planters revealed that first year attendance was over 50 percent greater in the churches planted by those participating in a peer network.
As I speak with those that supervise and work with church planters, the difficulty of getting network participation often comes up. Why? Let me speak for myself:
- Pride. To be a planter you’ve got to have a bit of an independent streak and that can lead to an arrogance that says “I don’t need others” or “I don’t have time for others” or “I don’t care what others are doing.”
- Insecurity. Church planters are usually forced by circumstances to perform outside of all the boxes and decisions are made with little positive or negative input and uncertain consequences before or after. Insecurity about ideas can make a planter fearful of negative peer criticism, so we stay away.
- Competition. Probably one of the most disgusting things among ministry peers is territorialism and competition. As if one person or one ministry or one approach could possibly reach an entire area with the Gospel.
Acadiana Church Planters got together for fellowship in the Spring at Christ Church, Lafayette.
One of the best things that planting a church has done for me is drive away my independence. I am more certain than ever of my need for God (remember, we’re never alone as we go into the world – Matt hew 28:19-20), my need for others, and my desire to invest and add value to those working to expand God’s kingdom through church planting. I’ve planted a church without a peer network and now, planting my second church, I’m excited to be leaning on peers in church planting for prayer, encouragement, and collaboration.
Summer Network Luncheons
This Summer, we’ll be putting on Church Planting Network Luncheons all over Louisiana. Connect with one of them if you’re planting, considering planting, a fan of planters, a partner of planters. We’ll tell stories, encourage one another, & talk about the places of need in your area. RSVP to one of the below luncheons HERE:
- Baton Rouge – June 21st – Baptist Associaton of Greater Baton Rouge Office – 11am-1pm.
- Bayou – June 23rd – Revival Life Church in Houma – 11am-1pm.
- CenLa – June 28th – Baptist Building in Alexandria – 11am-1pm.
- New Orleans – July 19th – New Orleans Baptist Association – 11am-1pm.
- Acadiana – July 21st – Evangeline Baptist Associaton Office – 11am-1pm.
- Northshore – July 25th – Maritime Museum in Madisonville – 10:30am-1pm.
- West Monroe – July 28th – First West – 11am-1pm.
And let me know of other networking opportunities in Louisiana.
Do Something TODAY About Declining Baptism Numbers!
Christ’s Community Church in Denham Springs baptized 135 last year utilizing intentional strategy.
Annual pre-convention report on Southern Baptist Church life is out and again show baptisms in decline. I can’t (or won’t) speak to how to change the decline in the Southern Baptist Convention (plenty of other smarter people than I can & will do that), but I can think about how to address this decline in MY church. As a mentor of mine says, “The Southern Baptist Convention never baptized anyone. LOCAL CHURCHES baptize its converts.” And it takes intentionality! So here’s the To-do list of one small town, bi-vocational pastor of an average size (150 attenders) SBC church:
Question: Do we have a list of potential candidates?
1. Look over our church directory & circle the names of people that I know have not been baptized or that I’m not sure have been baptized.
2. Make appointments with at least one of these each day, until everyone circled has been challenged to consider where they are in their journey toward Christ.
3. Plan a sermon on Baptism where everyone will be challenged to follow and obey Christ with the opportunity to respond.
Question: Are we making Evangelistic Contacts?
4. Pray for open doors to share the gospel.
5. Plan a time today & at least three times each week, to intentionally interact with people that are far from God.
6. Put at least three outreach events on the calendar between now and the end of the year that are sure to engage people who are far from God. Get names, pray, follow up.
Question: Are we developing an Evangelistic Culture in our Church?
7. Plan at least one evangelism training for the entire church between now and the end of the year.
8. Put on the calendar at least one monthly special prayer time for lost and unchurched people in our community.
9. Challenge our church leaders by email and in person to right down the names of five people that they know who need Christ. If they don’t know five people, challenge them to get to know five people who need Christ.
Question: When’s the Next Baptism?
10. Put on the calendar at least 3 Sunday’s that the church will have baptism services and begin to announce those in every church communication.
11. Print up a brochure or pamphlet that answers questions about baptism & display it prominently throughout the church and in communications.
In Louisiana, Baptisms are actually slightly up over the last three years, but are down from an all-time high of 14,193 in 1994. 2016 is a VERY different world than 1994. 1994, was pre-netflix, pre-facebook, pre-email world where Billy Graham could still be seen on TV regularly. Intentionality, cultivation, consistent & deliberate action is needed to evangelize our communities.
You CAN do something today!
Finding Leaders vs. Developing Leaders
There is a mindset that hinders growth of people & organizations, especially volunteer organizations like churches. It’s the mindset that says leaders are FOUND. The opposite in a lot of ways is the mindset that leaders are DEVELOPED. Churches that multiply & grow exponentially have found a way to develop leaders instead of just hoping they find some.
Finding Leaders often means:
- Hoping leaders show up.
- Trying to talk leaders from other churches or organizations to come lead in your church or organization.
- Never seeing the potential in the people God actually sends you.
- Limiting the capacity of your church because you don’t see the potential in everyone.
- Always seeing who you don’t have instead of who you do have.
- Staying safe & never taking risks on people that don’t seem “ready.”
- A few leaders filling lots of roles.
- Little trust in people (and ultimately in God).
- Fear of Failure.
- Big back door as people come to understand they’re not needed.
Developing Leaders often means:
- Expecting leaders to show up.
- Seeing potential in every person that walks through your doors.
- Having intentional processes & systems to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be in leadership.
- Embracing tension & releasing people into leadership roles when they may not seem “ready.”
- A lot of trust in God the Holy Spirit to work in & through people.
- Failure as a valuable tool to teach & train.
- Sending people intentionally as their value expands to other organizations & churches.
Are you hoping to find leaders or intentionally developing leaders?
