tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59991209398850830592011-04-21T15:11:23.948-07:00Thoughts on Church Planting, Networking, and Living on Mission.Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-23673256087221149772009-05-21T08:23:00.000-07:002009-05-21T09:45:37.406-07:00

Not long ago I was in line at a downtown Wendy's when a homeless guy cut in front of me. He literally acted as if he didn't see me. He stepped up to the counter and ordered a .99 cent hamburger and a water. He handed the teenage girl behind the counter two wadded up dollar bills to cover the grand total of $1.07. As he stuck out his hand for the change, I noticed him reading the label of a

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-66939859302178273892009-05-20T08:57:00.001-07:002009-05-20T09:16:01.702-07:00

I sat in a living room last night in East Austin dreaming, praying, discussing, and planning with a group of men I never would have known just a handful of years ago. Through networking initiatives like the Austin PlantR Network (www.plantr.org), a handful of lunches, meetings, emails, and phone calls, we each found ourselves looking at each other and asking the question, "What if"?So there we

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-47090914738891820472009-04-15T21:26:00.000-07:002009-04-15T21:27:48.996-07:00

I had a great conversation the other day with Dave Ferguson, Pastor of Community Christian Church in Chicago. It’s a large church with multiple campuses. Dave’s an awesome guy and has a heart for church planting. Since Austin New Church has officially entered the journey of helping plant churches (not just be a church plant ourselves), we were talking about the sustainability of some of the

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-11930593770696274872009-04-13T07:25:00.000-07:002009-04-14T16:42:58.454-07:00

Ed Stetzer and team recently released one of the largest surveys on Americans’ receptivity to different methods of church invitations. Conducted last December, the study included a survey of over 15,000 adults:

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-80507802353688815082009-04-05T18:34:00.000-07:002009-04-06T06:34:27.056-07:00

I’ve come to truly love the “sending” of the Church. I love the opportunity to band together in unity of Spirit when we go out into our workplaces, social circles, schools, and neighborhoods as ambassadors for something greater than ourselves. I’ve grown to love experiencing faith in new and exciting ways. I’m learning more and more each day the joy that comes from intentionally living out the

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-14292884752028487622009-03-23T06:29:00.000-07:002009-03-23T06:36:38.853-07:00

I've heard a ton of pastors expressing that a recession might be a really good thing for the American Church. Here's an interesting article on a recent Gallup Pole taken on the topic:"Despite suggestions that the economic recession might cause religiosity among Americans to increase, there has been no evident change over the past 15 months in either Americans' self-reported church attendance or

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-74226388183789282282009-03-20T21:54:00.000-07:002009-03-20T22:31:37.224-07:00

Several Global Church leaders have challenged American church leaders to keep their eye on and learn from what has happened and is happening in the European Church. Their fear, if we don’t change, that we won’t be far behind.With that in mind, I’ve tried to educate myself. Along the way, I found the following 2008 article from the Christian Culture Journal. I contemplated whether or not to post

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-68487547083934623282009-03-13T07:27:00.001-07:002009-03-13T07:33:25.758-07:00

Great post from Tony Morgan on Positional Leadership in the Church Today. Completely worth the read. To read the whole thing click HERE. In the meantime, here's just a glimpse:The days are behind us for those situations when someone gets out of line and the head-honcho just takes their subordinate out to the woodshed for a reminder of who’s the boss. Leadership is no longer a title on a

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-60986210059377916402009-03-09T00:12:00.000-07:002009-03-09T00:33:53.539-07:00

"When it's all said and done, what do you want to be known for?"That's a great question. One that I'm hearing more and more regularly from men whom I respect. It's one that, if we'll allow it, can really shape how we do things as leaders. I've heard that Ed Stetzer and Mark Driscoll had this conversation. It's rumored that someone had the same conversation with Rob Bell. While I cannot

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-79785251958151368652009-02-27T17:51:00.000-08:002009-02-27T20:18:48.183-08:00

While discussing creating Networks of Networks, specifically the merging of the MISSIO and FORGE efforts in America, Alan Hirsch (Author of The Forgotten Ways and ReJesus) shared the following DNA pieces of the existing Network. These are great thoughts for those invested in apprenticeship networking. They might be in a book somewhere, but I've never seen them compiled in this fashion so I

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-60847487752612735372009-02-25T21:31:00.000-08:002009-02-25T09:47:55.723-08:00

I'm hanging out this morning with some of the ELI guys at their Cultivate gathering at Gateway Community Church in Austin Texas. Vince Antonucci just shared some great reminders on "Principles of Programming for People far from God". Vince, who left his mega church post in Virginia to plant a church in Las Vegas, is author of "I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt."Before I

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-52212124119250116312009-02-25T20:11:00.000-08:002009-02-25T08:00:40.491-08:00

I spent the week in Colorado with some amazing people. It started on Tuesday with a small gathering of some great leaders talking and dreaming about merging efforts towards an intentional missional church planting effort in America. Involved in the conversation was Todd Wilson (Exponential Network), Hugh Halter and Matt Smay from Missio (Tangible Kingdom), Alan Hirsch (Forge), Lance Ford (

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-77482364824540152262009-02-23T06:52:00.000-08:002009-02-23T22:42:15.766-08:00

I grew up in a traditional Southern Baptist Church. This may sound weird, but I pretty much loved it (Probably 'cause I loved our Pastor. He was a good one). While I didn’t really live it, I still loved it. We had a pianist that played by herself with brother so-and-so leading us through a handful of hymns (verses 1,2, and 4 only of course). As I think back on it now, it feels kind of nostalgic.I

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-29472572668884504402009-02-21T22:35:00.001-08:002009-02-21T22:40:31.032-08:00

Jonathan Dodson, Pastor of Austin City Life, a great thinker, and a great friend of mine recently published a blog concerning some thoughts from Neil Cole’s book Organic Leadership. In it, he says that “Neil prophetically points out how the parachurch has assumed the role and mission of the church leaving her weak and anemic”. Click HERE to see the entire post.He then closed his post with a

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-23774594752818766572009-02-16T08:15:00.000-08:002009-02-16T08:39:42.397-08:00

Great new post on a discussion between Ed Stetzer and Rick Meigs. Here's just a glimpse:"When we look at the history of missions, it is frequent (dare I say common?) that those churches which focus on societal change lose their focus on evangelism and church planting. The most healthy churches engage in evangelism (individual transformation), church planting (collective transformation), and

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-85925426224265963462009-02-15T20:41:00.000-08:002009-02-15T20:48:00.979-08:00

There is a big difference between fear of failure and fear of the Lord. Honestly, I fear both. But the problem is, I don't always or instinctively know how to distinguish between the two in life and mission. Especially when I'm pursuing success. Especially as a Church Planter. Yet, it simply changes everything.“Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-23976536459451465282009-02-13T09:58:00.001-08:002009-02-13T10:10:57.426-08:00

I've always heard as well as thought about it as a statement or command: Do not despise the day of small things! But today I see it differently. In my understanding, Zechariah was asking a question, kind of rhetorical, but non-the-less it was a question: "For WHO has despised the day of small things?" (Zech 4:10)I see two sides to this question that we may need reminded of:1. The first, is the

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-78757473367906621252009-02-10T08:52:00.001-08:002009-02-10T08:53:59.550-08:00

Here's something that just lifted my spirit a bit today. Thought I'd share:

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-89668819207210427462009-02-08T13:34:00.001-08:002009-02-08T13:37:24.382-08:00

This is kind of a rePost of a Post of sorts. My friend Michael Stewart from the Austin Stone Community Church posted this from what Alan Hirsch wrote, in his book The Forgotten Ways. It's a good reminder. And in it, he tells this story about missional community: "In a remark ascribed to Gordon Cosby, the pioneering leader of that remarkable community Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C.,

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-22500464703649054372009-02-05T06:09:00.000-08:002009-02-05T06:17:32.857-08:00

Seth Godin's brain is larger than his head. That leads to a pressure that apparently must be released through him writing blogs. Good for us! Here are some of his thoughts (and some of my thoughts following them) on his post: "Leadership is now the strongest marketing strategy"Yelling with gusto used to be the best way to advertise your wares. There was plenty of media and if you had plenty

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-8012368061614258242009-02-04T17:57:00.000-08:002009-02-04T18:01:53.606-08:00

Not long ago I had an opportunity to hang out a bit with Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, authors of “The Tangible Kingdom”. I love being challenged from guys who live their faith out of the box. I love it when I’m forced to ask questions I might not normally ask. It’s good to increase our exposure, even if we don’t agree with everything. Many times it can open our eyes and take us places we

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-74053242984137130642009-02-04T17:53:00.001-08:002009-02-04T17:53:53.400-08:00

As a church planter, I think I have a new and fresh understanding of what it means to live in the “fear of the Lord”. I really don't mean that in an arrogant "knowledge" kind of way... it's really a type of confession. It’s a constant and crazy mix of confidence and intentionality wrapped up in a little bit of insecurity and wonder. And God’s hand or presence being removed is my greatest fear.

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-31693180986547550172009-02-04T17:39:00.000-08:002009-02-04T17:44:27.547-08:00

That’s right, I just jumped to 501. I don’t think I ever wrote on 201, 301, or 401… they’ve always scared me. But since I’m going to keep it to quoting one of the most highly thought of leaders of our day, and we’ll also see it played out in scripture (1 Samuel 9), I’ll claim this insight for a moment. What we’ll find is that just as history repeats itself, and just as “keep it simple stupid”

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-1043176828818062532009-02-04T17:26:00.000-08:002009-02-04T17:29:42.342-08:00

"Do you believe it possible to have a co-existing presence between missional and attractional elements in a single church organization? Can both be a part of a singular vision or should they be exclusive one from another? How have you seen or heard of this working or failing?"Here's a brief consideration: I believe both the sending (incarnational) and gathering (attractional) elements are not

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-46882246078486717002009-02-04T15:20:00.000-08:002009-02-04T17:51:30.839-08:00

So many methods, models, and strategies exist in the church planting world today. I think that's a good thing. Intentionality and strategy is certainly a necessary if not a critical element. We have a biblical mandate for order and structure in the church. I embrace the idea of diversity, I believe methodology does not determine theology (i.e. conservative theology does not necessarily

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-58221905876538586312009-02-03T17:46:00.000-08:002009-02-04T17:49:24.680-08:00

Last fall the Austin New Church team and I spent a few days in Atlanta at Catalyst, a Cultural Leaders conference focusing on the next generation of church leaders. I can't help but post some thoughts from Jim Collins (Author of "Good to Great" and "Built to Last") on Building a Great Church. Here are just a few thoughts from his talk for those of you who couldn't make it.· Within every

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-85065210500149128902009-02-02T17:22:00.000-08:002009-02-04T17:49:02.992-08:00

Today at Innovation3 in Dallas, Ed Stetzer spoke about the "Dangerous Churches" of the future. He meant "Dangerous" as a good thing. Kind of in the same way Seth Godin used "heretic" in a good way in his recent book, Tribes. Rumor is that he'll be posting his entire outline later on his website. But in the meantime, here are a couple thoughts I caught off the live feed and tweets.1) "Dangerous

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999120939885083059.post-46581777302714166582009-02-01T08:38:00.000-08:002009-02-04T17:48:45.181-08:00

I took a break from blogging on Faith Parley for a while. It was a personal thing really as I wanted to take time to reevaluate the direction it was heading and the role it should play in my various network circles. While I saved all the entries, the mistake I made was in not archiving the responses. My bad. I should have just stopped writing instead of deleting the blog. Lesson learned. To

Brandon Hatmakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08186026392126052416noreply@blogger.com0