A Review of "The Honest Guide to Church Planting"
As someone who planted a church in a new country without a core team to help, I was intrigued to see what a book called The Honest Guide to Church Planting had to say. According to its author, Tom Bennardo, the book seeks to “spark some honest conversations and provide a source of perspective and honesty” about church planting. How much, I wondered, would this have helped me eleven years ago when we moved from South Africa to Singapore? As it turns out, The Honest Guide does contain much wisdom that could help a naïve planter, though I do wish it gave a more solid framework upon which to anchor my practices.
Bennardo’s book is accessible and easy to follow. His chapters are short, focused, and clear with twelve of them packed into 190 pages. Each one tackles a truth Bennardo wants church planters to think about, such as the truth about much you can realistically rely on core groups and the truth about your limitations. Overall, I feel he accurately describes some of the pressures and temptations that church planters face. I’ll mention four that really stand out to me:
First, Bennardo notes that you can organize a church to death but you can’t organize one to life. The entrepreneurial nature of church planting can draw ambitious personalities with lots of drive and organizational ability, and whilst those skills can no doubt be helpful in growing a church, one should not confuse natural leadership abilities with an ability to produce spiritual fruit. Bennardo reminds us that there’s life that only God’s Spirit can bring, and what ultimately makes a church plant successful is God and His gospel.
Second, I appreciate the reminder to church planters that what we do to get people into church is what we’ll need to do to keep them. In his chapter “The Truth about Getting ‘Butts in Seats,’” Bennardo tells us many planters are tempted to try novel and exciting ideas to get people to visit their church. (When we planted our church, we saw others trying to attract attendees with giveaways of Harley-Davidsons and iPads.) He warns that this does not work in the long-term. Typically, churches have to continue that kind of novelty for those people to remain. The pressure to maintain people’s excitement is enough to drive any planter to pieces.
Third, the “Truth about Pace” is helpful. Bennardo argues that whilst many church planters long for quick growth, they should be careful what they wish for. A whole host of challenges come with quick growth that one is not prepared for. For example, our church plant grew very quickly in the first year. We didn’t have a large core team, which meant that we felt like we didn’t have leaders or systems in place to handle everyone who arrived. As a result of that experience, I found myself nodding along during this chapter.
Finally, the section on excellence in church planting contains sound wisdom. Bennardo argues that it’s not possible to do everything well in a church plant, so it’s better to focus on a few core things that are central to your mission and then serve your people well in those areas. The temptation is to offer many programs that cover a wide variety of topics. Church planters should stick with ministry basics and allow God to work through efforts to which they can really devote themselves.
In addition to the points I’ve mentioned, I also appreciate Bennardo’s encouragement to keep a group of friends to journey with over the long haul. His personal example in this area encouraged me to develop long-term relationships with other pastors in our city who are not in our church.
There is one thing I wish Bennardo added to his work: a clearly-articulated ministry philosophy that served as a foundation for his advice. As a man who has been in ministry for years, there is no doubt that Bennardo has a clear ministry philosophy, but not articulating it means that much of the book simply comes across as good advice rather than solid convictions on how Scripture should inform our practices and expectations. I found myself wishing for this again and again throughout the book. A rich theological vision that serves as a clear foundation for his advice would give true biblical hope and courage to sustain church planters through the challenges described. A charitable reading of the book will import that biblical foundation into the advice he gives, but without it explicitly stated, there is a lack of authority, power, and confidence for church planters.
In my personal experience and observation, many of the reasons church planters act in ways Bennardo warns us about are due to struggles deep within our hearts, such as a need for success and validation. These idols need to be driven out by an assurance of God’s eternal love for us in Christ, then supported by the conviction that God Himself has promised to build His church. I wish I was led to root my confidence in God as I faced the real challenges that are accurately described in the book.
The lack of this foundation exacerbated some of the weaker parts of the book. For example, The Honest Guide’s chapter on not worrying about the “back door of the church,” or those who leave it, makes it sound like church planting is primarily about getting as many people to join as possible, and that the task to faithfully shepherd people wasn’t a primary factor in the chapter. This is an area where a more robust biblical foundation would have helped. For example, if visitors are checking you out, don’t chase after everyone who comes. But for those who are members that you are responsible to Christ for, you really do need to care about the back door.
The book also seems to assume that the reader is an American church planter with a large core team and a big launch. Whilst that may fit the description of many pastors in the U.S., it means that the work’s scope is somewhat limited to that demographic. These assumptions don’t really carry over to other countries, cities, or church planting scenarios.
In sum, Bennardo’s book does contain real wisdom for church planters, and illuminates some of the pitfalls planters can face. If you are a U.S.-based planter going in with a strong team and high expectations, then this book could be helpful in alerting you to those dangers. From there, I would urge you to take confidence in God’s love for you in Christ—and His eternal purpose to build His church.
About the Author
Simon Murphy is the lead Pastor of Redemption Hill Church, a church of three congregations that meets in Chinatown, Singapore. Simon and his wife Tarryn moved to Singapore from South Africa in 2008 to plant RHC. They have three children, Tyra, Rory and Kate. Simon has served as network leader for CTC Singapore and is actively engaged with CTC Asia Pacific.