Article
Planter, Get Low Before the Lord
God often uses the pressure of planting to reveal what He wants to heal, mature, strengthen, and redeem.
There are several things in life that have a way of exposing what is really in you. Church planting might be at the top of that list.
Even if you’re really good at masking the truth, striking out on the path to plant a church eventually exposes the reality underneath. It exposes your faith. It exposes your motives. It exposes your insecurities. It exposes your prayer life. It exposes how much criticism bothers you. It exposes how deeply you want people to approve of you. It exposes whether you are building from trust in Jesus or from the fear that everything might fall apart if you slow down.
That exposure can feel painful, but it is not wasted. God often uses the pressure of planting to reveal what He wants to heal, mature, strengthen, and redeem.
James 4:7-10 gives a clear pathway for the planter when pride, discouragement, comparison, conflict, temptation, or spiritual drift begin to show up. (And be assured, friend, at least some of this WILL show up.)
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
This isn’t abstract theology. This is practical help for the planter’s soul.
In these verses, James gives four commands:
- Submit to God.
- Resist the devil.
- Draw near to God.
- Repent.
And He gives one promise: Humility is the path to joy.
God’s commands and promises are always meant for our good. Yet, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that heeding these, in particular, just might save your planting journey one day.
1. Submit to God before you make the next decision.
James begins, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.”
To submit to God means to yield to His perspective and His position. It means saying with your heart, your calendar, your budget, your leadership, your preaching, your relationships, and your decisions, “God, You are right.”
Your Word is true.
Your ways are good.
Your commands are not suggestions.
Your authority is not up for negotiation.
That sounds obvious until the pressure is real. Church planting brings constant decisions. Where should we meet? When should we launch? Who should be on the team? How should we spend the money? How fast should we move? Who should be given leadership? How should we handle conflict? What should we preach next?
Under that pressure, planters can drift into one of two ditches. One ditch is pragmatism: “What will work?” The other ditch is self-protection: “What will keep people happy, keep momentum going, and keep me from looking like I’m failing?”
James gives you a better question: What does submission to God require here?
That question can keep you from calling fear “wisdom.” It can keep you from calling ego “vision.” It can keep you from calling compromise “strategy.” It can keep you from calling busyness “faithfulness.” It can keep you from using people in the name of reaching people.
Planter, before the next big decision, don’t only ask, “Will this work?” Ask, “Is this faithful?”
Try this before your next major decision:
- What has God clearly said in His Word that applies here?
- Am I trying to obey God, or am I mainly trying to avoid discomfort?
- Am I making this decision from faith, fear, pride, pressure, or comparison?
- Is there any command of Scripture I am trying to explain away?
- Would I make this same decision if no one praised me for it?
Don’t wait until the church is established to submit the church to God.
Submit now.
Submit the launch plan. Submit the budget. Submit the preaching calendar. Submit the leadership pipeline. Submit your ambition. Submit your timeline. Submit your need to be seen as successful.
God gives grace to the humble.
2. Resist the devil by naming the lies you are believing.
James continues, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Resisting the devil is not mainly about strange spiritual theatrics. It is about refusing to participate in the enemy’s work. The devil lies. He accuses. He divides. He twists truth just enough to make rebellion feel reasonable. He loves half-truths because they are often easier to believe than full lies.
And he knows how to attack planters. He may not attack you through something obvious. He may attack you through believable lies.
“If attendance is low, I must be failing.”
“If people leave, I must not be a good leader.”
“If another church is growing faster, God must be blessing them more.”
“If I admit weakness, people will lose confidence in me.”
“If I slow down, everything will fall apart.”
“If I confront that person, they will leave, and we can’t afford to lose them.”
“If I preach this faithfully, it may hurt momentum.”
“If I don’t carry this myself, no one else will.”
“If the church succeeds, then I finally matter.”
Those lies aren’t harmless. They shape your decisions. They create anxiety. They erode your exercise of faith. They damage relationships. They make you defensive. They tempt you to use or fear people instead of shepherd them.
James says resist the devil.
That means you have to identify the lies, expose them with truth, and refuse to build your life or your church around them.
Here is a simple way to do that this week. Take ten minutes and write three columns:
Lie I am believing:
Example – “If our church isn’t growing quickly, I am failing.”
Truth from God’s Word:
Example – “God has called me to faithfulness. He gives the growth.”
Obedience this truth requires:
Example – “I will keep evangelizing, discipling, preaching, praying, and shepherding without manipulating people or manufacturing momentum.”
That is what resistance looks like. Not sensationalism. Not fear. Not obsession with the enemy. Faithful opposition.
Ask yourself:
- Where is comparison stealing my joy?
- Where is fear shaping my leadership?
- Where am I tempted to compromise because I want momentum?
- Where am I hiding because I don’t want to be exposed?
- Where is the enemy trying to divide my team, my family, or my church?
Planter, the devil is real, but he is not sovereign. He is dangerous, but he is not ultimate.
Resist him.
3. Draw near to God before you try to fix everything.
James says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
Church planters are often fixers. A problem appears, and you want to solve it. A person is upset, and you want to address it. A system breaks, and you want to rebuild it. Attendance dips, and you want to diagnose it. Giving slows, and you want a plan to accelerate it. Conflict surfaces, and you want it handled quickly.
Some of that is good leadership. But it becomes dangerous when you try to fix the church without first drawing near to God.
James doesn’t say, “Fix everything, and then come near.” He says, “Draw near to God.”
That invitation is personal before it is practical. Come to God. Pray. Be still before Him. Listen to His Word. Let Him search you. Let Him strengthen you. Let Him remind you that the church belongs to Jesus, not to you.
The work of planting can slowly turn your prayer life into a strategy session with religious language. You pray about the church, the budget, the people, the problems, the launch, the leaders, the needs, and the next steps.
But James invites you to something deeper than asking God to bless the work. He invites you to God Himself. Draw near.
- Before you preach, draw near.
- Before you confront conflict, draw near.
- Before you make the next decision, draw near.
- Before you send the hard email, draw near.
- Before you check attendance, draw near.
- Before you try to carry everyone else’s burdens, draw near.
So, build rhythms of nearness before the crisis comes. Start your day with Scripture before your phone. Pray honestly before you start solving problems. Take one regular block each week for unhurried prayer. Keep a list of burdens you are carrying that belong to Jesus. Before a team meeting, pray for the people in the room by name. Before a hard conversation, ask, “Lord, search me first.” Before preaching, ask, “Lord, help me to be faithful to You, not work to impress people.”
A new church doesn’t mainly need your brilliance. It needs the presence of God. So, you don’t need to be impressive. You need to be near.
4. Repent quickly, specifically, and honestly.
James says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
That is strong language; probably stronger than you or I realize. And James isn’t giving us a vague call to feel bad. He is inviting us to real repentance.
Cleanse your hands: deal with sinful actions. Purify your hearts: deal with sinful motives. Stop being double-minded: deal with divided devotion.
This is one of the most important practices in the life of a planter. Your church doesn’t need you to pretend you never sin. Your church needs you to know how to repent. A planter who can’t repent will create a culture where repentance feels unsafe. A leader who always explains, excuses, spins, or blames will train the church to do the same.
But a humble planter can help create a humble church.
So when you sin, repent with clarity. Don’t say, “I’m sorry if you were hurt.” Say, “I sinned against you when I spoke harshly. That was wrong. I am sorry. Will you forgive me?”
Don’t say, “That wasn’t my intention.” Say, “My intention may not have been to hurt you, but my words were careless, and I need to own that.”
Don’t say, “I was just under a lot of pressure.” Say, “Pressure revealed something in me that needs to change.”
Don’t say, “Mistakes were made.” Say, “I made a mistake, and I need to correct it.”
Repentance isn’t weakness in a church planter. Repentance is spiritual leadership. There are at least three places you need to practice it.
- Repent before God. When the sin is between you and God, confess it honestly. Don’t minimize it. Don’t manage it. Bring it into the light and receive the forgiveness Christ purchased for you.
- Repent to your family. Church planting pressure often leaks first at home. If you have been harsh, distracted, absent, impatient, or emotionally unavailable, own it. Your family shouldn’t get the worst version of you while the church gets the polished one.
- Repent to your team or church when needed. Not every sin needs a microphone. But some sins need more than private prayer. If your sin affected the team, repent to the team. If your sin affected the church, acknowledge it appropriately to the church.
Ask yourself:
- Where have I been defensive instead of repentant?
- Where have I blamed others instead of owning my sin?
- Where have I apologized vaguely instead of confessing specifically?
- Where have I been double-minded?
- Who needs to hear me say, “I was wrong”?
5. Let Jesus carry what you cannot cleanse.
James echoes Psalm 24 when he speaks of clean hands and pure hearts. Psalm 24 asks, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?” The answer is, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”
That is the requirement… And that is a problem. Because that is not you.
You don’t have perfectly clean hands. You don’t have a perfectly pure heart. You aren’t perfectly single-minded in devotion to God. But Jesus is.
When He was on earth, Jesus had clean hands. He committed no sin. Jesus had a pure heart. He was full of grace and truth. Jesus trusted the Father perfectly. Jesus had zero deceit in His mouth. He met every requirement you failed to meet. Then He died for sinners. His death washes your dirty hands. His righteousness covers your guilt. His resurrection gives you life. His Spirit makes you new.
Only One can ascend the hill of the Lord, but His back is big enough to carry everyone who repents and believes.
Planter, that is your hope!
Not your gifting. Not your strategy. Not your preaching. Not your ability to gather people. Not your leadership instincts. Not your assessment results. Not your launch Sunday.
Your hope is Jesus!
So repent, and don’t despair. Get low, and don’t stay in shame. Confess fully, and cling to Christ completely.
Humility Is the Path to Joy
James ends with this promise:
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Selfism says, “Exalt yourself, and you will find joy.” Jesus says, “Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” The path to joy is not self-protection. It’s not self-promotion. It’s not self-justification. It’s not winning every argument, controlling every outcome, proving every critic wrong, or making sure everyone knows how much you sacrificed.
The path to joy is humility before God. This matters so deeply because your church will be shaped by more than your sermons. It will be shaped by your example and the culture you live out.
A proud planter will eventually shape a proud church. A defensive planter will eventually shape a defensive church. A prayerless planter will eventually shape a prayerless church. A planter who can’t repent will eventually shape a church where people hide.
But a humbled planter can help shape a humble church. A church that submits to God.
A church that resists the devil. A church that draws near to God. A church that repents deeply. A church that finds joy not in its own name, but in the name of Jesus.
Planter, get super low before the Lord. Get as low as you can. Not because the mission doesn’t matter, but because it matters so much. Not because leadership is unimportant, but because it is. Not because your church does not need you, but because your church needs the kind of leader who knows he needs Jesus.
Submit to God.
Resist the devil.
Draw near to God.
Repent.
Cling to Christ.
And believe the promise:
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
