Looking forward to the Acts 29 Boot Camp next week
The Acts 29 Network application process has taken some time and the actual boot camp itself and assessment have always seemed to be far off. Well, they are no longer in the distant future, they’re next week! We got an updated schedule yesterday and the names of our assessors. If I had to assemble a list of godly men that I would like to hear in person at a boot camp, I would have a hard time coming up with a better list than this
- Session #1: “The Gospel & Ambition” – Dave Harvey (responsible for church care, church planting, and international expansion for Sovereign Grace Ministries)
- Session #2: “Church Planting & Ambition” – Ed Stetzer (author, President of LifeWay Research and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence, Re:Train professor)
- Session #3: “The Church & Ambition” – Steve Timmis (author of Total Church
, director of Acts 29 Network in Western Europe)
- Session #4: “Leadership & Ambition” – Darrin Patrick (lead pastor of The Journey in St. Louis)
- Session #5: ”Decoding your City & Ambition” – Kevin Cawley (Preaching Pastor & Directional Leader at Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City and fellow Wheaton alumnus)
- Session #6: “Discipleship & Ambition” – Bob Thune (Lead Pastor/Elder at Coram Deo in Omaha, NE)
- Session #7: Preaching & Ambition. “Speaking Past Demons: Christian Preaching as Expository Exorcism”– Russell Moore (Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church, author of Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches
. Get it and read it now!)
- Session #8: “Ministry for the Long Haul & Ambition” – Matt Chandler (Lead Pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, TX)
After the Boot Camp is over, Julie and I will be assessed by Acts 29 Pastors and their wives for 2 hours before I fly to Seattle for our next Re:Train class, Missional Missiology taught by Ed Stetzer. Our assessors are
- Kevin & Stephanie Jamison from The Oaks Community Church in Middletown, OH
- Nick Nye from Veritas Community Church in Columbus, OH
- Jerry Funston from The Journey Fellowship in Sunbury, OH (Cedarvile grad Yeah! Buckeye fan Boo)
I’m excited to meet them and for Julie and I to be examined by people who know what the life of a church planter is like. While I believe that God is specifically and clearly calling me and us to plant a church in Ann Arbor, MI, I welcome the input, direction, and guidance that comes through the assessment process and will take the outcome very seriously. Should our assessment uncover problematic areas that may make us ill-suited for church planting, we will prayerfully and earnestly seek God about the path to which He is calling us and endeavor to trust Him in all things.
