Have you gotten to check out the new movie Failure to Launch with bongo boy Matthew McConaughey? I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure I will when it's available through Blockbuster Online. It will be tough to sit through with Sarah Jessica Parker. She almost makes my most disliked actress list with Barbra Streisand, Shirley MacLaine, and Glenn Close. But the movie does have Zooey Deschanel from Elf and Hitchhiker's Guide, both great movies, so there's a redeeming feature about it. It will make a great date night movie at home with Pam, I'm sure.

My main interest in Failure to Launch is of course, the name. It refers to the inability of some young adults to leave the nest and get out on their own. This seems to be happening more often today.

But I also have noticed that this is true with a lot of new churches that are starting today. Launch is the most important time in the life of the church because it sets the stage for future health and effectiveness.

Why do some churches fail to launch? The most basic reason is that the church launcher (planter) doesn't realize the value of launching large.

The bottom line can cause a church launcher to pull back on the launch. Let's face it, starting a church requires dollars. And some see pouring money into the launch as an expense rather than as an investment. And if no one knows about what's happening with the new church, they're not likely to show up.

There are some launchers who are afraid of getting off the launch pad. Once you launch, you're in orbit. And you can easily get paralyzed because everything is not perfectly lined up for launch. You'll never be ready, you've just gotta go for it. It's similar to my quest to start blogging. At some point, you just put it out there.

But a lot of church launchers simply sit on the launch pad too long. And when you do, you are burning up resources and momentum that could go into a successful launch. Failure to Launch is stunting the success of new churches today.