Cafe Church.... getting out of the box

Culture is relevant! Dont ignore or fight against culture. Use it the way the Apostle Paul did! He used the culture as a way of reaching that particular people group.

Cafe Church philosophy and planting churches

The cafe church can be viewed as an organically based philosophy for planting churches, centered around the idea of making the message of Christ's love relevant to the needs of the local community that the church seeks to serve.

The goal of cafe church endeavors is to impact their local community with a message of God's love and the transforming power of Christ's love.

Some churches have already incorporated a "coffee shop" atmosphere at the beginning or end of their worship services. Why was this done? Answer: Because of our culture.

What if we took this to another level? Instead of just having this atmosphere once or twice per week... we had it 6-7 days per week? What if we used this atmosphere to glorify God and show the love of Christ to those who might enter the front door?

Think about it... pray about it.... and when God gives you the green light...DO IT! Dont be afraid to get out of the box of status quo church.

Be blessed,
Jeff Hoglen
Pastor - Church at the Creek

Entrepreneurial Aptitude? Yes!

Many people with a pastor's heart have tried planting churches and.... unfortunately failed. I have always felt that planting a church requires a different skill set. Some people are managers. They can take something that exists and make it better or at the very least manage it at the same level. I call this type of person a settler. I use this term in comparison to a pioneer. A pioneer has a very different skill set then a settler. A pioneer doesn't mind venturing into new areas and trying new things. So.... if you your hearts cry is to pastor an existing church, then you may fall into the manager/ settler mold.

If you, on the other hand have a desire to start from nothing and build from the ground up... and this excites you, maybe you fall into the other classification - visionary leader / pioneer. I have always felt that the church planter and the entrepreneurial gift parallel each other.

Check out this list I found on the Acts 29 blog:

Entrepreneurial Aptitude Micro-Skills:

1. Has demonstrated past successes in starting new ventures.

2. Is an innovative and strategic visionary.

3. Is highly energetic and enthused about starting a new work.

4. Shows ability to enlist others in new ventures.

5. Evidences being a self-starter.

6. Has a willingness to work intensely for an extended period of time.

Take a moment and ask yourself - what am I called to do - pioneer or settle / manage or lead? Note: One is not better than the other...they are just different. The sooner we realize which one we are, the better off we will be in the long run. It will save time, money and heartache.

Born Leaders...or taught to lead?

Leadership is defined as "INFLUENCE" or “the ability to influence others” Leaders can lead people for the good.... or for evil.... in a positive direction or a negative one.

The question often comes up, “Are you born a leader or do you learn to be a leader?” The answer to the question is “yes” and “yes.” Some people are born with natural leadership abilities, but leadership can be learned as well.

Some of the best teaching on leadership that I have read, is by the author John Maxwell. I highly recommend the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

(The following excerpts are from the book “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”)

If a person doesn’t have influence, he’ll never be able to lead others, because no one will follow him.

“He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.”

How do people become “real leaders”? It is a process.