Another way that launching a new church is different from working in an established church is that Wednesday nights don’t suck anymore. Wednesday nights are the thing about my old life that I miss the least. A dirty little secret among many church staffers is that Wednesday night is their least favorite night of the […]

Please read The Hardest Thing You Will Ever Do for the context of this post. One thing I’ve had to learn to let go of while launching Fulcrum is the “flinch reflex” I picked up while working with established churches for 12 years. I’m easily bored with the status quo. I’m wired to try to […]

One of the questions I’m occasionally asked is, “How is starting a new church different from trying to turn around an established one?” The short answer is that it’s different in every way imaginable. In the next several posts, I’ll explain why. Every time I start writing something like this I worry that some of […]

Because of the twice a month schedule of Cafe Fulcrum, I have a couple of Sunday mornings open each month for being a guest speaker. With summer coming up and knowing that many preachers will be making summer vacation/sabbatical plans, I thought I’d post the dates I’m available. If you think I might be a […]

There is a difference between launching a church comprised of Christ-followers and launching a church service. It’s far easier to do the latter. The Fulcrum Community launch team has been having some discussions about when would be the right time to launch Cafe Fulcrum as a weekly worship gathering. Here is how Fulcrum currently convenes. […]

I’ve been to a lot of conferences. Enough to have developed some cynicism about their long-term impact on what I do. I can honestly say that the Verge Conference was one of the very best I’ve ever been to. Most likely it was a combination of the content presented and the questions I brought with […]

One of the interesting things about meeting in a coffee house is that we occasionally have people walk in during our gathering looking to buy a cup of coffee. Star Co. is usually closed on Sundays and the sign out front says so, but when people are walking down the street and see a room […]

Yesterday we had a meeting of the team that is working to launch the Fulcrum Community. This a group of dedicated individuals and families who have committed to doing the necessary work to gather a new community of faith in the North Austin/Round Rock area. I love these people and I thank God for them […]

In my last post, I listed two principles that are at work behind the scenes as we launch Fulcrum. I’m not claiming these are high-minded or theologically sound. I’m just saying they’re a part of the conversation. Unless a person has a strong gift for cross-cultural missionary work, they will probably always be a part […]

In a recent conversation with someone about starting a new church, I articulated two principles that are shaping what we’re doing at Fulcrum. If you’re looking for theological depth or piercing missionary insight, you’ll probably be disappointed. 1. I want to start a church that I’m excited to be a part of. (Larry Osborne gave […]