Tommy Haines

Sunday I spoke about being broken by God. During the writing of the message and also during the delivery of the message I could sense the Holy Spirit really speaking to me and through me. So afterwards I was doing some thinking especially about How God will allow Satan to take from you yet not touch you. (Read Job 1 if you do not know what I am talking about)

Anyways, as I thought on the way God allows Satan to work I ran across an interesting read by Beth Moore. She asks the question: “How do wholehearted and sincere servants of Christ become vulnerable to demonic seduction?” She says, “None of us is sinless, but sin is not where the enemy most often gets his foothold among the godly. Rather, where Christian victims are concerned, the enemy more often latches on to personal weaknesses.” I love that, “Christian victims.” Constantly I try to warn fellow believers, “Our battle is not against flesh and blood… (Eph. 6:12)” Satan wants to steal from you and destroy you, he wants to make you into a victim.

Then Beth goes on to list four specific weaknesses that regularly open believers up to demonic seduction. Here they are:

1. Ignorance

Beth says “what we do not know can hurt us!” So many believers are really ignorant to the schemes of Satan in their life. The go day by day blaming or looking at others, yet never really seeing their real enemy. Satan loves this, he is an excellent fisherman. He knows how to lay great lures right in front of well meaning followers who are ignorant of the truth.

2. Spiritual passion that exceeds biblical knowledge

Beth says “This one area of ignorance drains our spiritual strength faster than any other.” Most believers spend more time in their personal passions than they do the word of God. They are passionate about what they want and how they think things should be in their life, yet spend very little time searching God’s word. Jesus said it best, “The truth will set you free.” Beth says “Without His truth in our heads and hearts, we are lame ducks awaiting the inevitable.”

3. A lack of discernment

Beth says “knowing the difference between what is and is not of God is critical to living in victory. If, after all, we cannot discern the Devil’s lies from God’s promises, we have little hope of tuning Satan out or tuning the Lord in.” Discernment comes from an intimate walk with God.

4. A lack of self-discernment

This is the ability to be honest with yourself. Where are you sinning intentionally and where are you sinning by error? Beth says “Anytime we are loaded down with sins, whether intentional or not, we are game for seduction. We are vastly helped when we recognize, acknowledge, and ask forgiveness for our errors, both the intentional and the unplanned.

If you are a follower of Jesus, Satan wants to “steal, kill, and destroy.” Where have you seen him destroy a part of your life?

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT PASTOR.

“I have this thing called sin, which is like a disease – or at least it gives me a lot of dis-ease – woven into the fabric of my being. I didn’t ask for it; I don’t want it. More often than not, the sin manifests itself in the form of self-destructive behavior. So if I look a little inconsistent on the outside, you can only imagine what’s going on inside!” -Margaret Feinberg, author and speaker

“People who most need the church are sitting outside, waiting to feel worthy enough to come.” -Leroy Barber, president, Mission Year

“Hypocrites, then, are mask-wearers. They appear to be one thing, but it’s all a front – behind the mask they are someone else…The only way to regain our footing is to remind ourselves – and others- that an authentic Christian is simply someone who has made the decision to believe in Jesus as his forgiver and then attempt to follow him as his leader. But nowhere in this series of events is perfection or sinlessness. Rather, there is simply the intentional effort and sincere desire to recognize God as, well, God.” - Jim White, author

“Pastors are by far the most hypocritical. It is because we are called to teach a truth that we cannot sustain on a day to day basis. The truth must continue and as a pastor we must continue to wear the weight of our personal imperfection. Yet this is good. As a matter of fact we should celebrate our imperfection because it leads us to see the beauty of Christ.

Romans 9:21 “I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I know I am a hypocrite. For this I am grateful because it causes me to lean stronger into Christ and gives me a greater love for those who are outside of Christ. It is time for the pastor and the church to stop trying to display perfection and start displaying our desperate need for Christ. Even as I write these words, I do not know if it is possible in an image driven culture to be real and honest. This is the battle, for with transparency this is always a cost.” - Tommy, hypocritical pastor

11.  Enjoy the progress.  So often in this church plant I have not enjoyed the place that God has us.  I want more to happen in a quicker time frame.  Yet slowly, especially since having Elli, I am learning to enjoy the progress whatever it is.  As I watch Elli grow I have realized often times healthy growth is slow and then goes in spurts.  Our church for the first two years was almost all college age.  The last two it has progressed into young married with kids.  I feel like we planted two churches.  The changes have been tough, but good.   As I enjoy them I tend to see God’s goodness.

12.  Hire slow, fire fast.  I stole this from my friend Herbert Cooper, but boy is it true.  I have kept some people too long which caused hurt to our church and me.  Other times I have hired to fast to see a short return and only get burned.  I still do not have this hiring thing down, but I am learning.  Church planting is not for the weak or for those that just want to draw a paycheck.  You have to find people that really want to start a church and they want to follow you.  If they just want a church job and they do not like you, they will be short lived.  No lead pastor is perfect, find people who understand that and love you anyway.

13.  Use teams for direction, yet make the final call.  Some of our most creative and best decisions have come because we developed a team to investigate, brainstorm, strategize, and give advice.  Yet at the end of the day, the teams that work best have looked at me and said, “Pastor, God has placed you here, do you think this is His will?”  It is a hard question, but a great question.  Hard, because you have to make the call, great because once you have the facts, it should be your call.  At the end of the day, as a church planter you have more risk involved than anyone.  Others can opt out whenever, you can’t.  Often times even though we are incorporated, it feels like my name is on everything, guaranteeing everything.  Good or bad, I want to be involved in major decisions and I want the power to say NO if I feel like it will hurt the church or my family in the long haul.

14.  Manage the money.  I believe the most common reason church plants fail is because they do not know how to manage the money.  Most pastors are afraid of getting involved and then usually give the authority to someone that doesn’t have a clue.  Eternity and following Christ is way more important than the US dollar.  Yet without the dollar your church will not go far.  Get smart people to count and secure the money.  Get someone that can not only budget but help forecast where you will be in the future.   Get an outside audit done, so that everything is legit.   And finally, save.  Have at least a couple of months of expenses in the bank.  This will allow you to make faith decisions and adjust for what God is leading you to do. 

15.  Stay close to God.  Because there is so much to do in a church start up, it is easy to let time with God go.  When this happens, you will mess up. Your time with God is crucial to your health, your direction, and ultimately your survival.  As you stay close, God gives you discernment and wisdom as a leader.  Time and time again I have been protected because as I was praying, as I was seeking, God spoke to me about something or someone.  Satan will do everything he can to steal, kill and destroy you, yet as you stay close to God you will make it.  You will overcome.  The church is not yours, it is God’s.  You need Him to show you how to go, not just a good business plan.

Ignition – A College service we used to do.

Volunteers transforming Fun Skate into Real Church.

This is what Starting Churches is all about.