1. It’s Not Personal Book Highlights

2. Chapter Titles Chapter 1: Why Is Church Planting So Personal? Chapter 2: How Do You Know You Are Called to Plant A Church? Chapter 3: How Do You Launch a Healthy Church Chapter 4: How Do You Protect Your Marriage While Planting a Church? Chapter 5: How Do You Plant a Church without Losing Your Family? Chapter 6: How Do You Deal with Growth and Change? Chapter 7: How Do you Build and Lead a Staff? Chapter 8: Is It Safe to Have Friendships Inside and Outside the Church? Chapter 9: Can You Remain Authentic in Ministry? Chapter 10: Why Is Spiritual Vitality So Important? Chapter 11: How Can You Thrive in the Journey? Chapter 12: When Does It Become Too Personal?

3. Chapter Six “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change”

4. When It’s Time to Cross the River Life is all about change, whether that life is biological or spiritual Times in life when change is welcome Getting Married Starting a family Leaving home to start college Other times when change can bring struggles

5. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River Changes in Attitude, Changes in Gratitude God blesses generosity “When we decide to be unselfish and reach out to grow his kingdom, he will ‘throw open the floodgates of heaven,’ according to Malachi 3:10, ‘and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

6. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River Brian made a God list with fourteen items on it. The items would be impossible outside of God’s intervention. He fasted for forty days and prayed for the fourteen things on his list each day He received a call from a friend “We’ve heard about what God is doing at West Ridge. We have some money we need to give you. We don’t even know why; we just know you should have it.” The contribution was just the amount they needed to hire a preschool director. (one of the items on the list)

7. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River “There comes a critical moment when you sense God is bringing things to a halt and asking you, Are you ready to go with me to this next level? It’s a season of testing.”

8. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River “It takes courage to cross over and face the ‘giants,’ the great obstacles perceived on the other side.” Does our church have the money? Are we really ready? What if something bad happens? Pastor, maybe we’re already as big a church as we need to be?

9. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River “Church is change, change is challenge, and there are always people who don’t particularly want any such disruption in their lives.” These people ask “Why can’t things just stay the way they are?”

10. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River God takes churches to new levels of maturity and faith… God loves us enough to give us only what we can handle, when we can handle it.

11. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River Brian had come to a river-crossing moment. I had to decide how to respond and whether I could go to the next level with God… What baggage must be left behind if we are to reach that farther shore?

12. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River “If I took on every critic who came after me, I would never accomplish the mission that God has given me to fulfill” Dr. Jerry Falwell Are we letting critics take our focus off God?

13. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River One of your tests …will be to keep the work going even when distractions of every kind come. You need to realize the true source of distractions, the true enemy who wants to keep you from building

14. “How Do You Deal with Growth and Change” When It’s Time to Cross the River Churches can become bloated repositories of little programs – kingdoms people have built for themselves, and each one is costly. At West Ridge, we subscribe to the belief that not every church is called to do every ministry. “If we can’t achieve something with excellence, we’ll give it a pass.”