Guys on the Ground: Cameron Whitley
“If you knew you wouldn't fail, would you plant a church?” The answer was an enthusiastic, unashamed “Yes!” when I was asked this in May of 2015. I immediately followed that yes with “Who wouldn't answer yes to that question?” Which lead to this response from a church planter that put things in perspective: “People who aren’t called to plant a church.” A little over 13 months later, we planted West Lake Church. But what took place in those 13 months, and the two and a half years since, are too extensive to write out here. But it has been a remarkable journey to be apart of seeing God use flawed people (me!) to fulfill this calling.
By God’s and many other’s grace, especially my wife, West Lake Church has not only survived as a two and a half year old church plant, but it is a growing and healthy toddler. We don't have thousands every weekend, and we aren’t setting any new trends in church planting. We weren’t given dozens of acres in the heart of our community; we set up and tear down each week at a local high school and utilize homes, community centers, restaurants, and coffee shops for our groups, Bible studies, and meetings. It’s not flashy, fancy, or cutting edge, but it is growing and we are working hard to fulfill the vision God laid on our hearts. It is a church family full of men, women, students, and children from all generations and socioeconomic levels who take serious the calling and privilege of being a church, not just attending one. With that in mind, I feel underqualified to give advice on church planting, but I do know that God has shown and continues to show and teach us lessons as we pursue this. Here are a few.
TEACH THE WHY BEFORE THE HOW
Getting someone to respond to a need will change their behavior but usually only for a short time. Whether that’s joining your core team, a volunteer team, or a missions team. Because need generates guilt, but vision generates change. I believe this is what is meant in Proverbs 29 when it says, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.” Without vision our church families will just respond to whatever they feel is the greatest need, which can oftentimes be the literal opposite of the needs in our community, church, or culture. Vision, however, which is the why, not only defines what is needed or not, but also holds us accountable to do it. For instance, Jesus gives every disciple the same vision in Matthew 28. “18 I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” Not only does He define what is needed, He also holds every disciple accountable to it. So, what is your church’s vision? Our missions are all the same, but our visions should be specific to our calling, community, and context. If you don’t know it, how will your church?
CULTURE OVER BRANDING
You might get someone to visit your church’s gathering or event once from marketing or branding, but they’ll stay because of the culture. Again, when I say culture, what are you thinking about? Logos, graphics, stage designs, website, or social media? Aiden Wilson Tozer said, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95% of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.” What culture is being practiced and produced in your church? One that is controlled by you or by Him? Our prayer and our planning is founded in wanting to see as many people as possible know, worship, share, and serve Jesus Christ, but the Holy Spirit is the one who actually does it. Our culture and our bottom line is to be about Jesus, and we feel like that will be what allows us to make disciples.
EXPECT FAILURES
This might sound like a given, especially if you have been in any position of local church ministry, but a healthy exhortation to throw away the rose colored glasses of church planting might be needed. Articles, Instagram, conferences, retweets, and friend’s stories are full of the highlights of the calling, developing, launching and celebrating of a new church plant. But as we all know, we don’t get the full picture. Failure is always going to be a part of leadership, whether that leadership is outside or within a local church or church plant. Failure will be a thorn in the flesh even if the failure is just self-perceived. There is rarely a day that I don’t feel like I’m failing in something. The enemy screaming at me as a failing husband, father, disciple, disciple-maker, pastor, visionary, teacher, friend, or servant. But much like in the Apostle Paul’s ministry, this serves a blessed reminder from God that, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
URGENCY IS NOT THE SAME AS IMMEDIATELY
We should be careful that our approach to the multiplication of disciples and the local church is more concerned with being faithful than fast. Paul was concerned with the urgency of Kingdom work. Like the church being rightly formed and led. Rather than moving on carelessly, Paul left Titus in Crete to “complete their work there.” Even Jesus himself warned the crowds about the temptation and deception of immediacy. In his well-known parable about the farmer scattering seed, he taught that the seed of the gospel would fall on different types of soils, and some of these soils would appear receptive. But problems, suffering, worry, and anxiety, would choke it out (Mark 4:17–18). The allure of a full auditorium, overflowing community groups, dozens of baptisms every week, and growing budgets will choke us out if we are not willing to walk faithfully with our church. And If we are willing to, then prayerfully the Lord will produce in us fruit for every season. Psalm1:3 says, “They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” What I see today are a lot of pastors, teachers, and leaders picking other people’s fruit instead of producing their own. Let’s be men and women who are more concerned with being faithful than we are with being fast.
CAPTURE EVERYTHING
On a little bit of a lighter note, we have realized the value in capturing the moments in the life of our church family, both the important ones and the mundane ones. We have utilized cell phone pics, videos, personal testimonies, and the gift of one of our faithful members to take photos whenever she is able. Just like in parenting when you scroll back through your photo album of your kids, looking back on those memories brings joy and encouragement as well as helps us to see how far we’ve come, spurs us on, and is a literal picture of the incredible faithfulness of God along the way. I encourage anyone to start from the beginning by capturing the life of your new and growing church family.