This summer I blazed through a wickedly fun book called “Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting.” Since I listen to ESPN radio more religiously than I brush my teeth I heard them talk about it one day and I knew I had to get it. The book follows Ole Miss’s former head coach who is something of a recruiting wiz. As a matter of fact he almost single-handedly was the one responsible for turning around USC with recruiting gobs of All-Americans and some other “no names” like Reggie Bush and Matt Lienart. The reason why the book fascinates me is (1) I’m a 100% college-football junkie and I have no need to go into rehab for it either and (2) I feel like my best contribution to the body of work of church planting is in the recruiting.
As I read through the book I was talking with a friend about how we could maybe devise a recruitnig website like scout.com or something along those lines and give potential church planters a star-rating like incoming college athletes. Heck, we could post top-rated recruiting classes city by city or association by association, have highlight tapes, and hype the heck out of church planting. In college football they have “war rooms” where they constantly break down tape of blue-chippers and discern who’s the best out there that they can get constantly moving names up and down on their recruiting board.
Is it unspiritual to do this for church planters? I mean, I’m amped up thinking of Nike endorsements, new facilities for recruiting, private jets, and the whole 9 yards …. hahahaha. Seriously though, I like what coaches do … they maintain a good pulse on rising stars NATION-WIDE and do the best they can do to woo them to their city and team. What if I were to take a total proactive role and GO AFTER blue-chippers and call each seminary asking for their brightest, best, and most talented up and coming leaders? What if I then visited, gave them an awe-inspiring “sell” about Tucson and church planting here, movements, a wining team, a healthy environment for growth, and all the tools to help them take it to the next level? Is there something wrong with that? Is it sinful, worldly, or simply being wise? Do we not as Christians employ the best of what we have available to impact this world? Is this any different than using technology in our worship, websites, blogs, media in evangelism, tracking systems, creating discipleship systems, and so on? Are we to use everything non-tech? Is what I’m proposing any different? Am I simply being like a wise farmer utilizing the best technology and disease resistant crops to yield a greater harvest?
You tell me? Here’s the bottom line … the more and harder I recruit the more church planters plant churches in Tucson, PERIOD.
August 20, 2008 at 12:45 pm |
“You tell me? Here’s the bottom line … the more and harder I recruit the more church planters plant churches in Tucson, PERIOD.”
True! What would this look like if the “established” churches in the CBA were sold in their biblical mandate to plant churches? How can you/we integrate into the lives of the churches in Tucson with rich heritage to allow them to partner with these top recruits?
Not only do all new church plants need a sponsor church, they should DESIRE it as well. But, how can we change the culture in Tucson where the established churches are excited about launching new works here in our area boasting over 1 million people?
-Jake
August 20, 2008 at 2:52 pm |
You like to give me more work to do.
At some point VERY soon we’ll have more church planters than sponsor churches available so we’re going to have to rely on out-of-state sponsor churches to multiply churches quicker.
August 26, 2008 at 4:58 pm |
Interesting thoughts Sean! I’m forcing myself to only spend a couple of minutes thinking on this, since I am a total football nerd and would love to talk about the similarities between church planting and the game. Here are some quick thoughts on similarities to recruiting:
Area/State – College football recruits from places like Texas, California and Florida are rated higher because the competition is tougher. Perhaps a guy who saw success as the only church plant in a suburban area would be “rated” lower than a guy who did decent in a highly urban area with 12 other churches around him.
System – Do they come from a “West Coast” (will play perfectly into church planting in AZ!) system or maybe an “Old School Triple Option” system? Maybe a mentality that understands the west vs. someone who only understands the Bible Belt (not that there’s anything wrong with the area or someone from the south won’t have success)
Outside of the Game – Are they a good student? Do they have healthy activities that will keep them out of out of control partying, bar fights, etc? Does the church planter have some interests, hobbies, talents, or education to help them be successful beyond church planting? A lot of our church planters have to take on a secular job – can they balance?
Grasping the Scheme – Can a high school quarterback eventually step into a game and execute a college gameplan, and can they find the 2nd, 3rd and even 4th options? Can they follow the system but still improvise? Does the potential church planter have a grasp on the foundations of planting a church in the West? Can they improvise if not all goes exactly as planned?
Powerhouse Programs – There are just some places that crank out stud after stud after stud – maybe there are some schools that have a great church planting program that spits out solid guys. College coaches build relationships with schools, coaches, and even teachers to help them have an edge when it comes college selection time.
I’ve already spent far too long, I have some Hebrew I need to start studying!!!