Blame it on Carl George

Carl George will have to shoulder some of the blame for my accidental pastorhood. The church I was involved with in 1990 was experiencing such hyper-growth that it was attracting the attention of church growth practitioners.

At that time Carl George was the director of the Fuller Institute of Church Growth. He was the successor to John Wimber, who along with Peter Wagner started the institute’s activity in the mid-70s.

Carl George is the proponent of something called the meta-church. He has served as a consultant to mega-churches across the country, assisting them with church growth issues. At a board meeting of the church, Dr. George spoke about "church growth." I had never heard this term before.

This triggered my exploration of the works of McGavern, Wagner, Wimber and George. I became convinced that this quote from Wagner is true: "Church planting is the single most effective form of evangelism under heaven." I listened to hours of audio tapes from Wimber and Wagner.

I was convinced that evangelism was essential. Therefore, church planting was an imperative. These were the reasons that I pursued training in church planting. I knew enough about myself to realize that I would never be much of a pastor. The duties of a "chaplain" are not an easy fit for my personality, talents or skill-set.

I used to not-so-humorously say that my "There, there," was broken. Although I had considered a therapeutic career in high school and for a while in college, I realize now that this choice would have been a disaster. I am more about fixing problems than I am about empathizing with them.

If it wasn’t for Carl George I never would have started on the path that found me in a New Church Incubator program. I would never have been considered for my first pastoral assignment. So, Dr. George, you are the one to blame!