Sometimes it seems the differences between newly planted church and the existing ones in that city are that of marketing. How often do you see products at the grocery store that say, “New look, same great taste!” That doesn’t inspire me to buy a product I have never tried and I doubt that it works for the church. We don’t need brand reinvention. We need to take a hard look at the product we are selling. I am in no way saying we need to revise our doctrine or make our message more palatable. I don’t believe those are the things we are marketing.

Think about the change you see in the pasta aisle. Ten years ago you wouldn’t have seen whole-wheat spaghetti on the shelf. Now companies have seen that the market is demanding healthier choices for their diet. When you walk down the pasta aisle now you will not find a major pasta company that does not make a line of whole wheat pasta. It would be a horrible misunderstanding of the market for a pasta company to look at this and decide only to revise their packaging to make it look healthier. “New look, same great taste!” However, this is exactly what churches do. I am in no way arguing that we shouldn’t revise our image, but if that is all we do we have missed the point! We need to make some fundamental changes to the product we are selling. Studies show that Americans are among the loneliest people in the world. People are not only looking for a “cooler” looking package. They are looking for something fundamentally different. They are looking for community.

I am not arguing that there isn’t a need for different models and ways of doing church. I believe there is a need for different models because each city is different and each leader is different. However, if community isn’t at the heart of the model then what you end up with is not a representation of the church. If we learn anything about the church from a study of the book of Acts we see that while there were many different manifestations of the church, at the heart of each of them was the idea of dynamic Christ-centered community. Rebranding alone will not create community. Community must go to the very heart of who we are as a church.

In light of this I would like to announce the name of the church we will be planting in Louisville, Colorado: Boulder County Community Church. This church will not only be a community church, but it will also BE a community.

Watch our video:

Boulder County Community Church

When I was a kid

The obstacles you face digging holes are the same obstacles to success we all face. There are two categories of obstacles in life. First, there will always be things you cannot change. Each of us have natural abilities and gifts. Some of us have long arms and some short. All things you have no control over. For example, I am naturally mechanically inclined. I have worked on cars since I started changing my mom’s oil when I was fourteen. I love working with my hands. Moreover, we all have weaknesses. For example, I will never be good at basketball. I can’t even dribble the ball and run down the court. I don’t know what a double-dribble is and I cannot figure out how to make myself care about what a bracket is. I have never been good at sports. I have always been they guy that gets nailed in the face while playing dodgeball, even in college. I am sure this will never change. Each of us are made up of strengths and weaknesses we. A lot of these are things we cannot change.

The second type of obstacles you face are things you can change. You can choose to have a good attitude in a bad situation. You can choose to stay late and finish the job after facing set backs. You can choose to work hard. You can choose to be loyal, diligent and faithful. You control your choices. Here is an example: I was in the school band when I was in junior high. I played the trumpet. Well, actually I held the trumpet to my lips while everyone else played. I went through two years, lost and unable to read music. I would watch out of the corner of my eye to make sure I looked like I was playing the right notes. I finally had to confess to the band teacher that I didn’t actually play the trumpet. Oh sure, I could make that thing make noise. Some times It sounded like it might grow up and be music one day. It never did. So, when I decided I wanted to play the guitar, my mom was quite skeptical. I don’t blame her. She never heard me practice the trumpet in the two years I was in band. I have always loved music, I was just not gifted with great musical abilities. But, I really wanted to learn to play the guitar. I began to take lessons. I worked hard. I worked really hard. It never came naturally. I took a year of music theory and learned to read music. I eventually became proficient at the guitar. The difference was my attitude. I will never have great musical aptitude; that I cannot change. However, I can control my attitude.

It’s so easy to look at the people with natural abilities and assume they are the ones destined for success. And, there is little that is more powerful than natural gifts combined with a great attitude and hard work. Yet, the greatest things determining your success are not the things you cannot control, but the things you can. In the end, the guy, that is willing to stay longer, dig harder, keep a positive attitude, be resourceful and never give up always has a chance to dig the deepest hole.

Louisville CO Day Trip – Sunset.com.

I not only love drinking coffee, I love the whole process. I have spent countless hours researching what goes into making a good cup of coffee. I have read about every stage of the process – everything from cultivation to harvest to processing the coffee cherries into green coffee beans to roasting. Making a great cup of coffee is an intricate, beautiful and interdependent process from start (in the field) to finish (brewing method). There is as much science as there is art and passion. I love all the different ways you can make coffee. espresso, drip, moka pot, vacuum pot, French press, cold brewed, chemex. They all bring out different characteristics of the bean. My current favorite way to enjoy coffee is straight espresso! I love experimenting with all the variables that go into pulling the perfect shot of espresso. I have been working to perfect this art. I am still a long way off. The great thing about practicing is when I get to share. I love watching people’s expression when they take a sip from the latte I made as they lick the sweet microfoam of their face. When you start the pursuit of great coffee you realize how rare it really is.

While I was in college I started a coffee business. The idea behind the business was to sell fresh roasted gourmet coffee online. Due to time and money constraints I was never able to develop this business to its fullest potential. In fact I think the only one who ever ordered coffee from we was my mom! The business I really wanted to start was a coffee shop, but I was in bible college to become a pastor. I couldn’t see how the two were compatible. That is until the pieces began to fall into place.

After having given up on both the the online business and the dream to start a coffee shop, I began to feel a pull toward church planting. I read books and listened to the stories of entrepreneurial pastors. Pastors that would go to a city and start with nothing but a burden from God, a love for the people and a drive to not give up. From listening to and reading theses stories I determined that there were three key elements to being successful at starting a church that reached its community. These elements are from my own observation; I did not read them from the latest Ed Stetzer book or from listening to a church planting guru. First, you have to know the community. You have to know the community values. You have to know the cultural and spiritual climate. You have to known the social, political, economic and ethnic makeup. You have to know what the struggles and weaknesses of the community are. You have to know the historical background. Basically, you have to be an expert on the community you feel God has called you to reach. Second, you have to know yourself. This may seem like a no-brainer, but this is, in my estimation, the area people overlook most often. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What kind of leader are you? What is your communication style? Where do you struggle? If you cannot be honest about your struggles, you have no business planting a church. You have to take an honest look at yourself. You may be able to adapt your personality (truthfully you most likely will have to) but you have to know your default settings. Third, you have to know the heart of God for the community. This may seem trite or unspiritual for me to have placed this item last, but it is vital and flows out of the first two. What God speaks to you about the community will flow directly out of a knowledge of the community and yourself. What all this boils down to: ministry success is local, personal and deeply spiritual. The people around the world who have been successful have been so by knowing their community, knowing themselves, and knowing God. It is never by copying the work of someone else. That’s not to say there isn’t great things to learn from those who have been successful before you. In fact, learning from others aids in understanding these three areas.

What in the world does all this have to do with coffee? We are in the process of starting a church in Louisville, Colorado. As I began down my own path of discovery, I began to realize that the process of starting this church was going to look a lot different than what I had seen up to this point. I studied (and continue to study) the community and found it to have a very open and accepting culture, yet the people were themselves are in a lot of ways closed. They are not eager to open up to new people. Everyone is generally very friendly, but they aren’t going to tell you their life story the first time you meet. There are many other things I could tell you, but this one cultural issue is what I want to focus on. When I began to look at myself, I also realized that I wasn’t your typical church planter-type. I am not a high “D” personality. I am quiet but not shy. I am introspective and serious. I have a sense of humor that is usually misunderstood. I was never the team captain of anything. I am very detail oriented, sometimes to a fault. I have a great memory. I love a meaningful conversation. I love wrestling through tough issues. I have always had a heart for the skeptic – those who feel that they have made up their mind about Jesus and faith. I am patient with people’s struggles and brokenness. Boulder County (the county Louisville is in) is a safe haven for the introspective skeptic. They will accept whatever lifestyle you choose, yet it is hard to quickly gain access into their lives. People who are skeptical want to know they can trust you before they let you in. Before they care about what you have to say they want to know that you care about them. They want to know YOU can be trusted This takes time and consistency.

This is where coffee comes back into the story. As I said earlier, I have dreamed of starting a coffee shop: taking all the things I have learned about coffee and combining it with my love for people.  As the first stage of beginning a church in Louisville, we want to start a coffee shop. Let me be clear, the coffee shop will be a legitimate for-profit business. It will not be a coffee shop church. We will not serve drinks with dumb churchy names (Jonah’s Whale of a Latte, Burning Bush Mocha, Lazarus’ Wake you from the Dead Coffee with a shot… to name a few). We will NEVER serve ΙΧΘΥΣ shaped scones!!! And most importantly we will not have KLOVE playing on the radio!!! The purpose for starting a coffee shop has many layers. A coffees shop provides a non-threatening social gathering for the community. It allows us to become a part of the community and define ourselves as a part of that community. It will serve as a source of income for my family and those who work there. The coffee shop will become a community gathering place due to its venue-based setting. It will become a cultural hub allowing local talent to showcase their work (visual art, music, poetry…). It will also serve as a place for discussion, both private and corporate. The coffee shop will invest profit back into the community and into social justice causes. The coffee shop will be the first phase in plans to start a church in Louisville. We are still in the early planning and dreaming stages of the process. We are looking for people who believe in what we are doing to invest. We are looking for many different types of investors. We need investments of time, wisdom, prayer and money. Right now we are looking at ways to start small. One of the things we are looking at is purchasing a small scale company (think kiosk in an office complex). This would enable us get our feet wet, gain business equity, show institutional investors that we have business experience. I have seen several around the area complete with all equipment for Between $6,000 and $18,000. Right now we are trusting the God who gives big dreams will provide for their realization. If you feel like you would like to get behind this as either an investor or a donor (sorry, since this would be used to start a for profit business we will not be able to give you a tax receipt) please contact me. The second phase will come as we have established solid relationships and developed trust within the community. Throughout the first phase we will be pouring into relationships, holding home bible studies, leading people into compassion ministry. We will be looking for core leaders within the community to become a part of our core team.  Once the people of the community know what kind of people we are and what kind of christian faith we represent we will begin the process of establishing a church. This approach is not all that different from the way a missionary to a closed country reaches people. Becoming a part of the community first will allow us the opportunity to know what the church needs to look like.

I look forward to hearing your feedback. Please feel free to leave comments below.

Years ago, I worked doing remodeling and carpentry in the mountain towns of western Colorado. The people I encountered there always intrigued me. They were usually socially concerned, environmentally minded, and unshaven. I spent three days wrapping fiberglass insulation around heating ducts for a man who made his money as a medical research investor. Mark has since retired and is now busy writing bizarre science fiction novels. While the actual job of wrapping fiberglass insulation around heating ducts was quite possibly one of the worst jobs I have ever had, it did allow me the opportunity to listen with open ears.

During my breaks Mark would bring me a steaming cup of organic instant coffee, and we would sit and talk. Mark had grown up in one of the mainline Christian denominations. From his perspective, Christianity was a stale and irrelevant institution, and its fiercest followers were also it’s least compassionate and most hypocritical. However, this experience did not make Mark an atheist. In fact, Mark was a deeply spiritual individual, just not conventional in his spiritual expression. His beliefs consisted of a mix of Buddhism, Christianity, and something that sounded like it came from the pages of the sci-fi novels he wrote. While I never learned to enjoy organic instant coffee, I did learn a lot from Mark about the mindset of the spiritual seeker.

Like Mark, many people have become very skeptical of Christian faith expression, but they have not turned their skepticism to atheism. Instead, they have resorted to viewing spirituality as if it were some sort of Sunday afternoon buffet. They look for something that makes sense, feels right, and is not like their grandparents’ religion. This is the story of many mountain towns. Towns across the country with scenic views have become safe havens for the spiritual seeker.

With this in mind, I’d like to introduce you to a place I will be talking about a lot in the future. Louisville, Colorado is located in Boulder County, about eight miles southeast of the city of Boulder. Louisville was once home to a thriving coal mining industry. The coal mines, now silent, have been replaced by an environmentally minded, technology driven, postmodern community. The city maintains over 20 miles of biking and walking trials as well as several acres of designated open-space buffer zones. This beautiful city is nestled up against the stunning Flatiron Mountains. In 2009 Money Magazine named Louisville the #1 Best Place to Live in the Country!

Historic Downtown Louisville is home to a wide array of small businesses, including coffee shops, a French Café, an alternative healing center, and several yoga studios. It is also home to the ninety-one-year-old Blue Parrot restaurant and the Old Louisville Inn, which is 104 years old. During the summer the Louisville Downtown Business Association hosts the Downtown Street Faire every Friday night.

The beautiful city of Louisville is also home to spiritual seekers, which is why my team and I will be working to plant a church. While none of the details for what this church will look like are set in stone, it is essential that this work be made accessible to the people of this community. Information about what this church will look like and how you can be involved is forthcoming. Please be in prayer with us as we endeavor to reach the spiritual seekers of Louisville!

Check out the pictures I took when I was in Louisville recently:

[Show as slideshow]

Part One:

Part Two:

I have known Jon for going on eight years, but this will be the first time that we will have had the opportunity to work together. We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be a part of something so fresh and alive. My job will be to oversee the small groups ministry. Melodie will be working with the children’s ministry. Our other role is that of Church Planter in Residence. Throughout this next year we will be going through an intensive training and preparation process to make us ready to plant for ourselves. Please pray for us as we make this transition.

When you are a leader, you are asking those who follow to imitate you. The question is who are you imitating? In my mind one of the most important qualifications of a leader is that he or she would be a good follower. Paul told the church in Corinth “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1) Can you say that? If everyone in your church was an imitator of the pastor would that be a good thing or a bad thing? Would the congregation become more like Jesus if they imitated the life of the pastor? There are far too many pastors and church leaders who have focused so intently on becoming a “great leader” that they have forgotten to follow Christ. Corporate principles without Jesus will not grow the kingdom, even if they do grow the sphere of influence of a “church” or a “pastor.”  A church that is not leading people closer to Christ is not a church. A church like that may be a club, or a social movement, or even a rock concert; but it is not a church. Likewise, a pastor who implements all the latest leadership techniques, but does not imitate and follow Christ, is not a pastor. He may be a manager, a CEO, or a motivational speaker, but not a pastor. I believe that many pastors start down the road of leadership learning and development with good intentions, but somewhere along the way they forget that all along they were supposed to be following Christ.

As leaders in the church I am first supposed to be a Christ-follower before I am to be Church leader. Can I personally say, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ?” Most pastors would rather say, “Hey read your Bible it’ll tell you how to live.” Paul was so confident in where he was going that he said, in-effect, “follow ME.” And consequently Paul was actually a leader. Rather than being a spiritual micro-manager handing out spiritual to-do-lists, Paul said, “Do what I do.”

I guess the whole point of this discussion is that if you want to be a leader you must know where you are going. If you are a Church leader, the place that you are going MUST be knowing and becoming more like Christ. Feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think, or if your have something you would like to add.

Watch. Then you can make fun of me for being a total geek.

(Disclaimer: If you decided to give me a Macbook Pro I would not let it go to waste.)