3 Lessons from Year 3 of Church Planting

3 Lessons from Year 3 of Church Planting

Whew, it feels good—like Bruno-Mars-dancing-at-the-Superbowl good—to have two feet safely into year four of church planting today. But before the year three swamp water dries on my pant legs and I forget about how mucky it was, I want to share a few things we learned...
The Thing About Year Three

The Thing About Year Three

On this very day in 2011, Advance Church was born in a living room to five adults, three kids, and a golden retriever. Year two took away one of the five adults (it’s cool, she had to go see about a boy), and year three killed the dog because year three…well,...
He Has Helped Us

He Has Helped Us

With their poignant words and incredible photos, the bloggers, authors, photographers, and pastors I follow have succeeded this week in quantifying a year that I’m at a loss for how to measure. When I try to wrap the right words around 2013 to give it dimension, all I...
When Waters Rise

When Waters Rise

Growing up a mile from the beach meant that my childhood was spent escaping death on a regular basis. Waves used to have their way with me all the time. One minute I would be frolicking on my boggie board without a care in the world, and the next minute I could be...
On Persevering

On Persevering

I want to tap out at precisely 1:00 PM every Sunday. I really do. I fantasize the entire ride home from Advance about what it would be like to quit church planting and motherhood and Facebook and laundry and my to-do list and flossing (oh, wait), and just hole up in...