Darryn's Blog

Rock Creek Church

Last Sunday I was up in Chicago to visit my brother-in-law's new church plant, Rock Creek Church. We had a blast hanging out with Jon and Erika and their girls.

I have to brag on him a little. The church just launched in September and meets in a movie theatre complex. Jon has designed the best set up system and mobile production gear I've ever seen in a portable environment. His production team had everything  set up in under an hour and all worked flawlessly.  It was pretty amazing to watch their speed and precision.  The quality of the sound, lighting and video was very impressive.  The team spirit was a thing of beauty.

Nothing looked half-baked, and he's only been going for 11 weeks.  They are off to a great start.

This was me when Heartland started 7 years ago.  Only thing not in the picture was the programmed MIDI keyboard to provide the background tracks.  Could you pass the cheese, please?

Why every church planter needs a coach

I was recently interviewed by Leadership Network on the subject of why every church planter needs a coach. I was able to share a lot of the lessons I've been learning along the way. Listen to this Podcast here. Or, to subscribe to this podcast, simply drag this link to your iTunes' (or other media service's) Podcast (or subscription) window.

Additionally, the Monday Morning Insight, picked up the interview for Today's Buzz. It's a big blog!

My coach, Gary Rohrmayer is the unsung hero behind Heartland.  In the early days, some days it felt like only God and Gary cared that we were in Indianapolis. 

What does a coaching relationship look like? Gary taught me that in a great coach you get... 

• Someone who listens attentively.
• Someone who cares deeply.
• Someone who enhances your leadership skills.
• Someone who asks the hard questions.
• Someone who thinks strategically.
• Someone who builds you up.
• Someone who holds confidences.
• Someone who celebrates wins.
• Someone who challenges specifically.
• Someone who guides you to cutting edge resources.

I'm grateful that God gave me someone who could say, "Look Darryn, this is a molehill. Don’t make a mountain out of it." Or, "Listen Darryn, you were not sent here to create a democracy; you are to develop leadership."

It's a funny thing ... Gary never really "told" me those things. It was so much more subtle.

First of all, he just listened and asked me very good questions to get me to listen to myself.  I often didn't need advice. I needed someone very badly to listen, because the early days of a church plant are very lonely.

The second key benefit he provided was to introduce me to a community of other people like me. I was a part of something that was bigger and others we're experiencing the same joys and frustrations I was.

Thirdly and probably most importantly, having a coach gave me a backbone. I was able to avoid the predictable landmines that plague every new church plant.

Every church planter needs a coach. Period. Find out more at www.yourjourney.org or visit Gary's Blog here.

Simple, Beautiful, Functional Web Design

My fellow church planters [and small business owners], this is a MUST read!

In a new post, "Memo to the Very Small," Seth Godin explains four simple, logical steps for building a powerful Internet presence on a budget. You don't have to become an expert in the art of building and maintaining a website.