Sean Benesh's Blog, page 6

How To Stay in Ministry Long-Term

I’ve been fired a couple of times in ministry. I am not even embarrassed to admit it. If I did something dubious that warranted a firing, it’s one thing. What was my shortcoming? I wasn’t able to manufacture numeric growth. It was as simple as that. I didn’t perform and was canned.

Ministry is interesting. And then, when you get paid to do it, all of the rules change. I like to say that once someone receives money, insurance, and a benefits package, all of the rules change. It’s no longer a minis...

Why So Many Are Leaving Paid Ministry, and It's Not About Calling

The longer you're in an industry, occupation, or field, the more you see. It's been 20 years since I started down the road of planting my first church. Truth be told, I wasn't very good at it. I'm still not. But since that fateful day of moving from California to Arizona to plant my first church, a lot of life has happened. One question I think about from time to time is … where did all of my fellow church planters go?

Now, let me do a better job of repackaging, reframing, and explaining myself. ...

What Every Church Planter Wished Their Sending Organizations and Supporters Knew About Startups

As you can imagine, since I spend countless hours each week coaching church planters and pastors to launch startup businesses, I’ve heard many stories. Now what kind of stories am I talking about? Imagine for a moment, the first time you heard of or even considered starting a business (an actual legit business) while planting a church, you probably either laughed out loud or felt a tinge of guilt for even thinking it. There’s also an element of the idea being a bit scandalous. Shady?

When I first...

Creating a Funding Model That is Not Dependent on Fundraising

Wait, create a funding model that is not dependent on fundraising? Sure, I could start off talking about how Paul (you know, the “apostle Paul”) had this approach to funding his ministry. But since we’re adept at proof-texting, we’ll grab a couple of verses from the New Testament that contrasts the title of this article, and we’re off in a never-ending circular debate. The truth is, we see Paul did both … he worked with his hands and plied his trade to not be a burden to the churches he was help...

What Startup Idea Have You Been Dreaming About That Could Pair with Your Ministry?

Not all startups are equal. Some are highly relational, whereas others find you working alone. Some startups may take a lot of upfront capital, while others simply need a computer and wifi access. So when it comes to landing on a startup idea that pairs with your current (or future) ministry, what factors should you consider? Not only that, but which factors take precedence?

Last week on our Intrepid Network Facebook Group, I put up a poll. The question was, “What do you factor in when considerin...

The Importance of Community in Ministry When You Feel Like an Outcast, Especially When You Want to Start a Common Good Business

I recently had a conversation with a church planting network leader who told me of a recent gathering of church planters. It was a room full of those who were fresh into their church planting journeys. All with the same ambition … I will be the church planter that not only makes it, but our church most certainly “pop.” As you can then imagine, any talk of wanting to start a business … a social enterprise … a brand … a non-profit is like throwing a wet blanket on a flame. In other words, no one w...

Why Theology Matters in Church Planting

Why is theology important?

If you tell me what you believe about God I can tell you how you’ll live. Whether you lean towards legalism and law or at the other extreme a lax attitude towards morality and ethics. Is your God a punitive figure wagging a boney finger of condemnation at you? Or is your God more like a passive, indifferent person who lets you set the rules and could not care less what you do or how you live? That’s theology.

Similarly, your theology of church planting will tell me wheth...

Church Planter, It's Time to Move Towards Bivocational Ministry

If I would’ve read this title when I first ventured into church planter, I’d be like, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m out.” Being a bivocational church planter was the last thing I wanted to do. Besides, I had a highly marketable undergrad degree in Pastoral Ministries and Biblical Studies and was working on a master’s in Church Planting and Church Growth. Bivo wasn’t in the plans for me.

Until I had to.

My first foray into bivocational ministry wasn’t some grand plan or strategy. It was because I was...

Your Lack of Money is the Root of All Sorts of Evil in Ministry

Admittedly, this title is a bit of a stretch, but stick with me for a moment. We place an inordinate amount of emphasis on what happens to someone’s destination after death. Yet ironically, Jesus never seemed too preoccupied with life after death. Instead, he moved slowly and told lots of stories. Oh, and he talked about money—a LOT.

So what gives?

Jesus taught and told parables. Much had to do with life in the here and the now. Again, he talked about money. Why? While I can only speculate, money ...

Battling Anxiety, Depression, and Expectations in Church Planting

Lately, I’ve been walking through a manuscript for a soon-be-released book on a theology of church planting. I wrote it a year ago, so it’s been a slow-moving project. Throughout the book, I talk about how different aspects of theology inform and impact church planting. Just today, I was working through Chapter 2: Why Biblical Anthropology Matters. In it, I not only write about the origin story of humanity but of sin and its impact on our lives and ministries.

Yeah, that probably doesn’t sound to...