Though we do not know when God is going to lead us to move forward with the new church, we are already accepting contributions that will be there to support the church whenever it is launched.  This month we are connecting the church and the book to create a special offer for anyone who would like to read my book but for whatever reason has not bought one.

By following this link you can make a credit card or paypal donation to our church plant.  Anyone who makes a donation of any amount anytime during the month of December will be emailed a Word copy version of my book.

Thank you for your support!

• Katy and I have really enjoyed leading our new small group.  This is allowing us to form deeper relationships with some great young couples.
• I’m contemplating going back to school to finish my Master’s degree.  This most likely would mean I take a class or two at a time online.
• Our time-line for planting Freedom Church is still on hold but the church’s website is up and you can now give online.  There have already been a couple donations from the site.
• Katy and I have been having some great conversations lately as we are learning how to effectively deal with conflict and are discussing our dreams about life and family.
• I’m pretty excited that we will be taking a week off at Thanksgiving and going to visit my family in Ohio.
• We really feel a burden to be more involved in ministry and are currently praying and seeking just what that may look like for us in the near future.

As always, your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Anything new going on in your life?

For some reason, I almost always feel the temptation to belabor my point.  When others look at me and do not respond immediately, I sense the need to keep on talking – repeating myself or going deeper and deeper into my reasoning until I am coming off as unsure of myself.

This has become more noticeable since our timing has changed for church planting.  As people have approached me and asked for an update, I have found myself giving much more explanation than they were looking for.  It’s as if I feel the need to justify our plans or reasoning.  I don’t know if this is because I think I need others’ validation but I have developed the habit of talking way too much, as though my many words substantiate my message.

Can you relate?  Are there any areas where you feel you do the same thing?

As I try to break this practice of insecurity, I have realized three things that are helping me:

One is to be around people who I don’t have to prove my legitimacy to.  To me, this is family members who believe in me and other church leaders who understand the church planting process and are mature believers.

Second, I am working to accept that our reasoning for this stage of our lives is good enough without other’s approval.

And finally, I am becoming content to have simple plans and simple (or few) steps in that plan, even when others give me the look of, “is that all?”

How does this change effect where you will live?

Katy and I are still looking to move to Chattanooga.  We love Chattanooga and actually think it will be a benefit to live and work there before starting the church.  This will allow us to make natural friendships and engage in and with the community.  That way we are not outsiders when we begin to start a church in Chattanooga.  Please pray for us as we seek to make this transition!

What will you do for employment?

Before, our plan was to move to Chattanooga as full time church planting by receiving donations and support through the church.  Now our plan is to look for a job in Chattanooga and live and work there just like everyone else in the city.

Job hunting is hard and though the economy is not as bad in Chattanooga jobs are still scarce.  For those of you who live in Chattanooga, if you know of an available position or have some connections I would appreciate if you would let me know.

Can we still support the church?

Absolutely.  Though I will not be receiving a salary from the church at this time and will not be doing a formal fund-raising campaign as planned, the church is still able to receive funds (We are already giving our tithe to Freedom Church).  Our website is now up and by visiting www.FreedomChattanooga.org you can get information on making online donations or giving through mail.  Thank you to those of you who are already supporting the church.

How are you explaining this change to others?

We are saying that we are slowing our church planting plans down to focus on our marriage.  We want to be emotionally, spiritually, and physically healthy when we go into church planting and we do not want to rush and miss God’s timing.

What is the new timeline?

There isn’t really one.  We knew that now is not the time and I believe that we will know when it is the time.  A lot of our reason for slowing things down is to focus on our marriage.  We just celebrated our one year anniversary so we are still newly weds and we want our relationship to be happy and healthy.  If we are deeply rooted as a couple and walking with God, we will know when the time is right.

I’m not putting specifics on it but I would say more than a couple months but less than a couple years.

Is there any other reason for this change of plans?

No.  Because I personally know some pastors who have had to leave ministry for various moral reasons I feel I need to address this.  There are no hidden or unspoken reasons to our change in plans.  This is strictly about God’s timing and the health of our marriage.  Do not take this to mean that something has happened to our marriage.  We are simply a young couple who has realized the importance of having our first years together to focus on building the foundation of our relationship.  There is nothing I am leaving out.  This is purely a decision my wife and I are voluntarily making as a result of our personal conversations and prayer.

What are others saying about this change?

This idea was first presented to us by a group of church planters and counselors who love us and have our best interest in mind.  I have also had a conversation with our pastor about this.  He has always been incredibly supportive of our church plant and is just as supportive of us now as he realizes the importance of healthy ministry families.  A couple of other area pastors also know about our change of plans and have encouraged and supported us.

Last week Katy and I were able to share this news with my brother-in-law and his family, who are moving to Chattanooga with us.  They were very supportive and we all agreed that we must seek God’s timing together as they also are going through the transition of moving to Chattanooga, starting a new job, and expanding their family.

Will you continue to give updates?

Yes.  However, they may be more infrequent.  Though we desire your prayers as we look to relocate to Chattanooga and secure a job there, over the next period of time there may not be much news on the church planting front so my updates may be more sporadic.  If you desire to know more details during this time I would encourage you to email me as often as you like or follow the blog as I try to always share my thoughts and stories about what is happening in our lives on this site.

If you have any other questions or comments I would love to chat.  Please email or call me so we can connect.  Thank you for your continued support!

Allow me to first thank you for your support.  So many of you are consistently praying for us, encouraging us and asking for updates in our church planting journey.  The purpose of this letter is actually to inform you of a pretty significant update on our lives.

While Katy and I were dating I informed her that I felt lead to plant a church.  I tried my best to explain what that meant and how it may look for us and our family should we stay together.  Doing a great work of faith such as starting a church resonated with Katy and she told me she was fully supportive.

As long as we’ve been together church planting has had a major role in our relationship.  We have spent several of our weekends and some of our vacation days participating in church planting events.  During the weeks leading up to our wedding and immediately after we were participating in a school of church planting.  At times, church planting dominated our plans and schedules, distracted from our relationship, and even became a point of conflict, occasionally.

We recently had some experienced church planters and counselors advise us to take some time to develop the foundation of our marriage before jumping into the demanding task of full force church planting.  That Godly counsel hit home for us and God confirmed this advice in us.

So our update is that we are stepping back.  Not stepping down or away, but temporarily stepping back to enjoy God and each other before rushing to start the church.  I want my marriage and my family to have a solid foundation.  I want my wife to know she is the most important thing on this earth to me.  Because of this, we are making some changes to our timeline of launching Freedom Church.  Basically, we are slowing things way down and leaving it open to God’s direction as to when we pick them up again.

Again, we thank you for all your love and support through this endeavor so far and we hope you will continue to stand with us.  Though the timeframe is being adjusted, we still know that one day Freedom Church will exist in downtown Chattanooga.  We just believe that if we take an extended period of time to be a family first and then be church planters, that both our relationship and the church will ultimately be stronger for it.

If there are any questions you may have about what I have said or what we are doing I would encourage you to contact me if you would like to discuss these things further.

Thank you and God bless!

Aaron Marcelli

Like with anything, there are some basic principles and guides you should follow.  I mean the legal, set up process will look about the same for every church (that is, if you want to be legal).  But other than that, there are as many different philosophies on church planting as there are church planters.

I think part of the reason I spent so long doing nothing was because I was waiting on the proper method or trying to find the correct way.  Such a thing does not exist and as long I was looking for it I was not going to be able to do anything else.  I was looking for permission to get started from a book or a seminar.

In observing that one church can start in Los Angeles, California doing one thing and another church can start in Dalton, Georgia doing something different (and they both work), I realized there is not a combination.

What’s important is that I be faithful to who God called me to be and what He called me to do.  If I’m living in the middle of those two truths there is actually a lot of freedom in the specifics of what and how.

So now I learn from others for encouragement and for ideas I can tweak to perhaps utilize in our setting.  I’m no longer looking for someone else who has had success to dictate how we are going to do church.  What works for them may not (and probably will not) work for us.  There’s no one way to do it.  So I’m just gonna be me.

Though we are just a few steps in and more than a year away from having a worship service, I have learned church planting is about more than just what I will do.  It’s about who I become.  It’s about what happens to me.  It becomes more increasingly obvious that the process of me planting a church is not just for God to change the lives of people in Chattanooga who we are going there to reach.  It’s also about Him changing my life.

The first thing I’ve learned (or should I say been reminded of) through church planting so far is that God is sovereign.  Basically meaning, He is in charge!  He is calling the shots!  This is His gig!

The early pre-launch stage has been one of up’s and down’s for me.  Go to a great conference – up.  Stress about fundraising – down.  Get to meet with another church planter – up.  Have argument with wife – down.  Find a great house in Chattanooga – up.  Get outbid on the great house – down.

Mountain tops and valleys have never been as high, as low, or as frequent as they have been of late.  Yet, when things seem to get very stressful, difficult, or discouraging God seems to show up.  He usually does something very, very small that seems almost insignificant yet could only be something He orchestrated.

My wife and I have begun to call these little things “confirmations that we are doing the right thing.”  Sometimes the finances don’t make sense, the risk seems too great, or what’s required goes against my personality.  I usually react with doubt, concerned that doors are closing or I am discouraged because moving and starting a church is actually not what God wants.  But then there will be a letter, a phone call, a conversation, a sermon, a…………whatever.  And you know.  You just know its God saying, “See.  I got this.  It’s not about you and how well you can do it.  I’m planting this church because I WANT IT.”

I have to admit that way too many times I’ve cried in repentance, telling God I’m sorry.  Sorry for doubting.  Sorry for trying to have it all figured out.  God is sovereign.  He is in control.  My only responsibility is to be obedient.  He’s the one who is going to do all the rest.  He has to.  He’s the only one who can.

Pastors, if you need a pump me up Sunday tweet from perry noble to preach you did not study enough this week.

Pastors, please stop telling me every time you are going to get an email for something you said.

If you can fall from it it’s not grace.

Someone asked me today if our church plant is going to be baptist or pentecostal. Are those the only two options?

anyone notice that as sermons went from 30 to 40 minutes church attendance dropped all across America?

I have been reading through the gospels and am amazed at how many times it says, “he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

popular christian quote that is nowhere in Scripture: ‘There’s a God shaped hole in your soul that only He can fill’

Common used “Christian” saying that is not found in the Bible: ‘Love the sinner, hate the sin’

Sayings not found in the Bible: God helps those who help themselves

Interesting how people always think god speaks according to what THEIR personality is.

Every church needs a ‘get crap done’ pastor on staff.

“The church is the most segregated institution in America” -Efrem Smith We need more hip-hop churches!

A prayer of confession god will always answer -philip yancey

“It’s not about delayed-gratification, but God-satisfaction.” -@wmattevans

Unless someone is teaching another way of salvation, they are not a heretic. that word gets used way too loosely

Say what you want about joel osteen…he’s not going around criticizing other pastors, telling them they should do ministry like he does.

Some in traditional church say if u don’t agree with them you’re not saved. Some in contemporary church say if u don’t agree with them you’re stupid.

Well, it seems as though I am at that place again.  God has recently convicted me very deeply of a habit I have developed.  I continually pray for God to show me things He wants to change or remove in my life and just this week He answered that prayer.

I have fallen into the bad habit (and sometimes sin) of speaking out.  I have a blog.  I have a twitter account.  I’m on facebook.  I’m in a small group.  I have friends.  I’m in church planter networks.  And sadly, the people associated with me through any of those means know my opinions on almost everything.

In the last few weeks there have been major, controversial things happening in the realms of politics and Christianity.  I have quickly spoken up and spoken out so others would know where I stand (whatever that means).  In doing so I have offended some, caused conflict with others, criticized, got upset, and perhaps pushed away some who disagree with me.  This is not how God wants me to live.

God pointed out to me how unhealthy it is to be boldly putting my opinions out for others who do not even know me to see.  This causes them to judge me by my opinions and not who I am.

While I was in college I overheard a group of professors sitting at a table in the cafeteria.  They were discussing theological things and were doing so wrongly in my opinion.  I wanted so badly to walk over and set them straight.  Immediately though the reality set in that most of them didn’t know me, didn’t see me as an authority on the issues, and would quickly disregard any point I had no matter how valid.  I realized people were not going to respect what I had to say until they had come to respect who I was as someone they would want to hear from.  The same is true today but somewhere along the line I forgot that.

I became truly broken when I realized I get more upset and defensive about someone who disagrees with my politics than I do with someone who disagrees with me on how to get to heaven.  Not that I should ever get defensive about any subject but as someone who is a church planter, a missionary if you will, should not my entire focus with people be to point them to Jesus, not my political bend?

I’m sorry!  I apologize!  I repent!  To any whom I argued with, got bad at, was hurt by, etc.  I’m sorry!  God has spoken and I was wrong!

I’ve heard it said that when it comes to controversial issues you can either win the argument or win the relationship.  Well from now on I’m dedicating myself to only trying to win the relationship.  This will mean I have to bite my tongue from time to time.  It will mean others may assume I believe something that I do not.  That’s not what’s important.

Trying to always speak up as though your opinion is actually going to change anyone’s mind is a trap!  And I fell into it deeply.  Thankfully God brought this to my attention now and I was close enough to hear Him.  My life is now being devoted not to what I have to say but who I am to be.  If I focus on being someone of integrity who shows love to others perhaps the time will come when my opinion is sought out.  At that time it will carry much more weight than the times I’ve thought everyone needed to know it and vomited it out into cyberspace.

In my book I quote the song I Repent by Derek Webb.  He discusses many things that I allowed to become part of my life.  Please read this and know it is how I feel.  I repent.

i repent of my pursuit of America’s dream
i repent of living like i deserve anything
my house, my fence, my kids, and my wife
in our suburb where we’re safe and white
i am wrong and of these things i repent

i repent of parading my liberty
i repent of paying for what i get for free
the way i believe that i am living right
by trading sins for others that are easier to hide
i am wrong and of these things i repent

i repent judging by a law that even i can’t keep
wearin righteousness like a disguise to see through
the planks in my own eyes

i repent of trading truth for false unity
i repent of confusing peace and idolatry
of caring more of what they think than what i know of what they need
and domesticating You until You look just like me
i am wrong and of these things i repent

I fear that I am the voice of God in my head.  At times I can really doubt myself and in those times the fear that keeps coming up is that what I think I’m hearing from God is really just my thoughts.  After all, I grew up in a Christian home.  I went to Bible College and did well.  I could give myself from pretty good advice.  And in my moments of weakness I am tempted to think that it’s all that good advice from myself and my own desires and ambitions that are really talking to me and not God.

If my thoughts and leadings and passions are really just my internal ego whispering to myself and making me think it is the voice of God then everything I feel “called” to do is a fraud and I’m destined to fail.  I cannot paint a picture dark enough to describe the loneliness and absence of hope that I feel when these thoughts get a powerful hold on me.

Thankfully I have learned to not dwell in these times of confusion and fear but run to God seeking clarity and assurance.  And when I go to God during these times I’m not just looking for assurance that He did call me to plant a church and that He does want to use me in that way.  I go to Him open handedly, making my future a clean book and asking Him to give me the vision HE has for me – whatever that is.  I don’t want there to be any excuses that I am being God to myself.

To this point all the opposition and difficulties in planting a church have been internal.  No one doubts me more than I doubt myself.  And that is exactly why I do not want to be responsible for what I do.  I don’t want to be the one calling the shots about my life and ministry.  I want that to be up to God.  And the only way He will take full responsibility for that is if He is the one giving directions.  It is only my job to obey.

When doubts come, they are real to me.  They hurt.  I sometimes feel like I have completely left God and gone off on my own continuing to talk to myself, playing the roll of the Holy Spirit.  That would be a dangerous place and I certainly don’t want to be there.  I have to continually be submitting to God, allowing Him to lead the way.  It’s only when I put myself in a place to really hear from Him that fears disappear and I receive clarity.