Discipleship Leadership Development in Church Planting: Stevie Flockhart’s Leadership Journey

Thanks for tuning in to the unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Stevie Flockhart, Lead Pastor of 901 Church in Tennessee.

Have you ever struggled with the desire for personal recognition and validation in ministry? In this unSeminary podcast episode Stevie shares his personal journey and struggles with comparison and the desire for success. Listen in as he examines critical lessons we can learn from failures, the importance of cultivating a culture of vulnerability on your team, and insights on discipleship.

* The comparison trap. // On some level everyone struggles with the temptation to compare themselves to others and receive recognition from man instead of God. Stevie admits that as a leader who wanted to make a difference in the world, the desire for validation and achieving was a struggle. However, through two failed church plants, God gently pruned Stevie so that he learned to lift up the name of Jesus and be faithful with small things. All of this eventually prepared him for planting 901 Church in 2019.

* Free to fail. // Stevie’s experiences have given him the opportunity to create a culture at 901 Church where people are free to fail. The staff is encouraged to be wise and be good stewards, but also to be vulnerable, take a risk and not be afraid of failing. Failure teaches us and builds character, making us the people we are today.

* Enjoy the journey. // We can be so focused on the destination that we don’t pay attention to the journey we are on. But Stevie says the destination is often a mirage. There is a lot of dysfunction in the idea that if we just get to our destination we will be fulfilled and satisfied. Only Jesus can satisfy us so we need to learn to enjoy the journey, both the successes and the failures.

* Learning from others. // In an effort to avoid comparison, we can’t to hide from others. Stevie says while we don’t want to compare results, it’s valuable to compare disciplines, principles or values and to ask what we can learn from others who are farther along than us on the journey. If we want to learn from others, we have to be willing to do the things others did to get where they are.

* Apprenticeship. // Both discipleship and evangelism must be prioritized for effective ministry. In addition to offering groups and serve teams, 901 Church has an apprentice program where staff and other leaders meet with two to four people twice a month in order to grow their relationship with Jesus. In addition to reading books and doing things like scripture memorization, they have a lot of conversation around two questions: What is God teaching you right now? What are you doing about it? This intentional discipleship process becomes a pipeline that raises up leaders within the church.

* Don’t go alone. // Stevie credits the success and growth of 901 Church to the financial and practical support they received from other churches and networks along the way. As a church leader or church planter, seek wise counsel from others who are farther along in the journey. Part of the way Stevie shares his own learnings is through participation with the Extraordinary Church Collective and also as co-host, along with his wife, of the Essentials podcast.

You can learn more about 901 Church at 901church.com, plus listen to the Essentials podcast there. If you’re a church planter, connect with Extraordinary Church Collective here.