GlocalNet

It’s true, pride is sinful. But, there is this kind of pride that isn’t. It’s the kind of pride you get when you’ve washed and waxed your car and it looks really good, or your daughter or son wins an award or does something really neat. Man, how I’ve felt that all weekend!

I flew to Atlanta to visit with a couple of glocal guys that I believe in and have partnered and worked with and they’re just doing incredible. I’ve been involved in trying to help both of them wherever I can to get up and going, and beyond me. When we started NorthWood 20 years ago, we were one of the first innovative churches in Texas. We were the fastest growing for years--not anymore. New, emerging, innovative churches are exploding on the landscape and growing faster than ever (You might debate the health part)! I learned from reading history when you’re a pioneer your joy is getting to explore and discover--not being the fastest--you have to cut the trails (unless you’re Rick Warren, and I’m not).

Friday I spent time with Brian Bloye at West Ridge Church. He has started his church planting school and using what we teach at NorthWood. He now has 14 or 15 guys in the program and projecting potentially 8 new churches next year! Way to go Brian!!!! He just entered his new worship center and now has around 4000 in attendance. But, he’s not obsessed with his new building and size--like many are--but with how he keeps his people praying, holy, reaching the lost, helping the poor in his area, planting churches, and engaging the world. As I walked with him on the campus and in the community, he was so quick to stop and visit with people along the way--and it was genuine--not fake. It’s obvious why God is blessing him.

I’ve longed for years for an emerging guy like him who has a rockin’ church to be just as obsessed with “the” rockin’ church and he is and it shows--not just his own bread box. These are 8 churches HIS CHURCH is planting--not his organization or network, but his church! This is as it should be. Networks are great but church planting movements come from church planting churches--not networks, organizations, or denomination (Though, I do belong to some)! And, he’s not doing just local work in the US or Global, but both--Glocal. If people only understood one feeds the other and you can’t fully do one without the other. There is no such thing as “when we get big enough or healthy enough.” The only question is when we want to be the church bad enough. I look forward to the day when a church’s total attendance equals it’s attendance plus the attendance of all the churches it’s started and the number of churches in that count. That’s how church planting will change society because it’s viral and dispersed and decentralized.

Saturday I spent the day with Mitch Jolly in Rome, Georgia, where he planted Three Rivers Church. It’s maybe 3 years old. They had their Glocalnet cluster meeting of three churches and put together their first conference on community development, nation building, and church multiplication. I heard they had 110 people coming and thought that can’t be right. I know church planters and thought “he’s got lots of faith!” Friday night we ate supper together with the pastors and his interns--the ones that are going to start churches out of his church. It just blew me away. He told me, “We’re really only 85 people, but when college is going there are 350 of us—but it’s still really just 85.” Is this guy a pastor? Most guys would say, “We’re approaching 500 fast!” His humility is refreshing, but so his is passion. He is as excited as if he were running 10,000. He’s really discovered the kingdom--the world, the community, the mentoring of young men in the ministry—and, he, himself, is very young.

I wasn’t prepared for the next morning. I get there and there are 110 crammed in the place we met—seemed like more. BUT IT WAS THE CHURCH MEMBERS OF THE 3 CHURCHES, along with the interns!!! It had all the trappings of sandals and candles and video and black and all of that. It was mostly college students and this was the first glocalnet meeting I’m aware of that was primarily focused on laymen, and it went huge! They really want to engage the world and start churches and engage the community. As we worshipped, I sang with them and wept at the same time. I saw the future generation in passionate worship. Oh, yeah, this was cool--one of the guys sitting beside me was going to college there and he had come out of West Ridge Church where Brian was! These guys find one another. Brian’s church is nothing like this in size or style of worship, BUT it is in terms of DNA, action, and a passion to see the fame of God spread. Mitch’s church starts churches, works overseas, and is involved in various community projects. The one he was talking about the most was foster care for children in his county.

Mitch got up and, as he introduced me, he talked about being an intern at NorthWood and what it did for him and to him. He was too gracious. It made me fight the tears back, even more. His church works in Afghanistan and has since two other guys and I first went there in February 2002 to initiate things. Only a wild church planter would be willing to take that kind of risk! I’m just so proud of what he’s doing. I laughed watching all these shaved bald young guys in their 20’s and just wondered when they get in their 40’s, like me, will they try to grow hair over their “real” bald spots?

Father, for my two little brothers, may they continue to run with all their might, with all their passion, with all Your strength. May they celebrate what You are doing in them and through them. May their movement be from love of You and not driven of them. In the midst of all of that, may they first be godly men, then exceptional husbands, and heroic Fathers whom their sons and daughters will long to emulate, as they grow old. So be it — Amen.