Welcome To Random Thought Thursday August 25, 2005

I woke up earlier than normal this morning…and I am in a unique mood! I can’t explain it–I guess my A-D-D is kicking into overdrive or something!

My mind is flooded with random thoughts–and they just keep coming. So today will not be a long post–but a series of shorter ones. (I invite you to visit throughout the day if you can…or just catch up tomorrow.)

I am not sure if random thought Thursday will become a tradition or not–but it will work for today. See you later!

How Unique Are You? August 24, 2005

I spent most of my childhood years trying to be someone else. At first I wanted to be Roger Staubach, the QB for the Dallas Cowboys. I would literally watch football on Sunday’s and act like I was him…which didn’t excite my dad too much because he was actually trying to watch the game. (AND he was a Pittsburgh fan!!!)

In high school I wanted to be a rock star. (Didn’t we all?) I used to play some awesome air guitar listening to Guns & Roses sing, “Sweet Child of Mine.”

Then I accepted Christ…found out that I was created unique…but I still attempted to be someone else. At the time there was a Christian comedian that I admired greatly…so I would sort of try to be just like him…it didn’t work. I would get a lot of laughs–but something just didn’t feel right about it.

I went through several times of identity crisis, trying to be just like someone else…until I finally realized that God created and designed me to be me. I love the way Rob Bell said it the first time I heard him speak, “The world doesn’t need a second of them (meaning the person you are trying to be) it needs a first of you!”

So how unique are you? I used to think that teenagers were the only ones who struggled with this; however, I see it in adults as well–they are trying to be someone else. Young couples try to be their parents and accumulate a house, nice cars, boats, etc…all of the things it took their parents 35 years to get…this young couple wants in five! Then their marriage gets shaky and begins to crumble because of the debt they have mounted up…all because they want to be who they are not.

I see this in men–they want to make money–money is a status symbol. And all too often men admire other men who make money…no matter HOW they made it. And so because of this bad decisions are made, unethical practices take place…and you know the rest of the story…all because the dude is not focused on who God designed him to be.

Women…you deal with this as well. The pressure on women as far as appearance in America is intense. Seriously, how many ugly women do you see on magazine covers? It seems like every where a woman turns she is faced with the thought, “Oh my gosh–she is so beautiful…I could never be that pretty…unless I…” You can probably finish the sentence. This is why women struggle with eating disorders. This is why women will have sex with a man who makes her feel like she is special & beautiful…whether he happens to be her husband or not!

We all struggle with this–all of us! The enemy wants us to believe that in order to be loved and accepted by the people in this world that we have to be something or someone that we are not…and that is a LIE!

God created you and I to be unique. Yes, we can admire other people…and yes, we should be encouraged by the godly character of others–imitating godly character is never a bad thing; however, to try to be someone you are not is a slap in the face of an awesome God. It’s basically giving Him the middle finger and saying, “Your plan for my life is not good enough…I’m going to try this…”

So today my challenge is to be unique–who God created you to be–the world needs you–that is why you are here!!!

What The Church Has To Do To Impact Society August 23, 2005

I am not wise…I figured that out last night watching Jeopardy. (Where do these people come from?) However, my wife was “tearing it up,” and proved to be the dominant jeopardy player in our house.

Seriously though, when I first began New Spring I thought I knew a lot–and nearly every original idea I had has either been challenged or changed. I have been at this for five and a half years and have strong opinions as to what the church must do if it wants to be the unstoppable force that God has called us to be.

#1 – We Must Put The Cookies On The Bottom Shelf. I have discovered that one of the things that people desire the most when coming to church is practical help with their lives. The divorce rate is higher than it has ever been, kids are more out of control that any previous generation, debt and bankruptcy are major issues of concern…and people what to know what God has to say about all of that.

Unfortunately I believe that many churches have chosen to steer clear of those issues & deal with breaking down Greek and Hebrew words. I learned a long time ago that if you want to impress people with how much you know…then the ministry is not the place for you to be. Most people do not care about how many degrees a person has–or how much schooling he or she has had–they want to know how to get out of the hole they are in.

I made a decision a long time ago that I was not going to preach sermons where people left saying, “Wow–that was deep…and I had no idea what it meant.” If we are not giving people something that they can think about and apply–then they probably are not going to come back.

#2 – We Have To Accept The Fact That Growth Is Necessary – It bothers me when a church does not grow. I may be in the minority here–but Jesus, right as He was about to leave the planet, gave the Great Commission and not the Great Suggestion!

Reaching people is not optional! We are not called to be a country club with a steeple on top–but rather a place that is passionate about impacting the community in which we dwell.

From time to time I hear someone criticize us by saying, “New Spring is just all about the numbers.” I say God help the church that does not care about numbers. A number represents a person, a person represent a soul–and every soul matters to God…and if it matters to God is SHOULD matter to the church. Whether you like it or not–the church is in the people business.

#3 – We Must Be Willing To Examine The Way We Hire – Here is the way it used to be done, a person would go to college, then seminary. Then they would send out resumes, go to a small church, stay there for a while…never intending to stay there–the only actual purpose for being there was to gain experience so one could move on to “greater things.”

The problem with this is that there are a lot of churches who have “professionals” working there who have no heart for the church–all they want is more for themselves. (Please don’t even try to tell me this does not happen–I have seen it with my own eyes!!!)

At New Spring, for the most part, we hire within…and 9 times out of 10 we hire people from the secular world–the marketplace if you will. One of the problems with some seminary graduates is that they have been immersed in theology classes and their social circles are solely Christians in school–which might be great for them; however, they have NO IDEA how to connect with the business person in the church…or even the pagan on the front row.

#4 – We Must Allow The Body To Minister To The Body – People want their lives to count, they want to be a part of something that is larger than life…and the church can and should provide that opportunity for them.

However, reality is that, for the most part, a church hires a pastor and then most of the people sit on their rear end and work this poor person to death. I read somewhere that the average stay for a pastor in a church today is 22 months. Why–because most churches work the dude to death–he does everything…all of the visiting, all of the counseling…if there is an event at the church he HAS to be there (not to mention that most churches pay the man peanuts!)

Seriously–would you want a job like that? Uh…no! I believe one of the strengths of our church is that I let it be known very early that I was not going to do everything. I do not do counseling, I do not do hospital visits…but what is awesome is that there are people in our church who are so much more qualified than me at those things that can step in and minister so much more effectively than I ever could!!!

The church has to drop the idea that the pastor is there to serve the individual needs of every member in the congregation…if it doesn’t then the church will never be effective and they will burn the pastor out.

That’s it for now–I will do part two of this in a few days…

Any Good Help Out There? August 22, 2005

Oh my gosh–we had a crowd at church yesterday. No, Tim McGraw was not there…but Lee & our band was! In my opinion Lee & our worship team seem to get better and better every week–I seriously believe that Lee is the best worship leader in the country.

Lee is a godsend to our church. I hired him right out of college, it was actually pretty easy. He had no idea what he was doing after graduation; in fact, when people asked him he would reply, “I think I’m just going to go eat lunch with my parents!” So I took him to a place in town called the Bagel Shop, spent about $3 on his breakfast…and the conversation went something like this…

“Lee–I would like you to be the worship leader at New Spring.”

Lee sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face–not eating…I am thinking, “I just paid $3 for that breakfast sandwich–take a bite!”

“Now Lee, the good news is you can do anything you want to do when it comes to leading worship.”

Lee now has a smile on his face…I could already see him trying to figure out how to fit “Back in Black” into a call to worship. (Yes, he has done this & it was awesome…except for the one guy who pulled out his cigarette lighter!)

“But Lee, the bad news is we can’t pay you anything…you will have to work for free.”

Lee is still smiling…and begins to laugh. About a week later Lee accepted the job…and we decided to pay him–even though we were only five months old and could not really afford it.

That was my first real hire as the Senior Pastor at New Spring…and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made–Lee, you rock!

However, as time has progressed we have grown…from about 125 when we first hired Lee to 4,171 yesterday! And the hiring process has become somewhat more complex. Needless to say I do not do all of the hiring anymore because of the way our church is structured. We actually have departments…and the head of each department does the hiring and firing.

And that is the reason for this post…

We are currently seeking two part time and one full time staff members that would be ready to begin work yesterday! (Our church is growing & we need to staff for this level of growth and the next.)

The positions are…

Full time administrative assistant to the Spiritual Development Pastor. (No, we will not try to put all of that on a name tag!) This person would have to be incredibly organized and a PEOPLE person! They would be neck deep in our home groups ministry, membership classes, and a host of other things.

Part time children’s volunteer coordinator. This person would be expected to work around 20-25 hours per week (Sunday would be a work day). They would primarily be responsible for recruiting and caring for volunteers who assist in our preschool area…and some possible nursery assistance as well.

Part time guest services coordinator. Once again we are looking for a person with incredible people skills who could serve as a director for our security, usher, and parking teams on Sunday’s.

If you think you might be interested in any of these jobs then please check out our church website after 12:00 tomorrow (Tuesday) & it will have detailed descriptions as well as how you can send your resume to us.

I will say this before I conclude–we love to hire from within our church–and the people we primarily look at are those who are currently volunteering in some area of our church…and also when someone from within our church is being considered we ask our CFO to check & see if they are a tither. The Bible clearly says that where your treasure is–that your heart will be there as well…and we do not want anyone on staff that can’t be wholeheartedly committed to the Kingdom.

That’s about it–if you are interested we would LOVE to hear from you!

Running Late… August 22, 2005

Greetings,

I will be posting later than usual today…I had a doctors visit & a phone call that threw my schedule off a little. But GOOD NEWS–the doctor said two things that made my day!!!

#1 – I can begin running again! YEAH! I have been limited to an exercise bike until now–watch out, I may run a marathon…well, not really.

#2 – I can begin sleeping on my stomach again! OH MY GOSH! You have no idea what this means to me! I hate sleeping on my back…but have had to do so for the past seven weeks!!! YEAH GOD!

Check back later for my post of the day.

Link To Tim McGraw Illustration August 20, 2005

For those of you who want to see the illustration from last Sunday & how the crowd reacted you can watch the video here. (Thanks Ken!)

Leaders Make It Happen (Super Cool Person of the Week) August 19, 2005

Lucretia and I do not have kids yet…and it will probably be another year or two in case some are wondering. She went to high school, college, medical school, and then residency…so she wants a few years before concentrating on motherhood.

(If we have a son–I want to name him Boaz! Isn’t that the coolest name in the world–especially if he is a linebacker or something…I can just hear it now, “Boaz Noble starting at linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys…” Please pray for ‘Cretia–she’s not excited about the name…I am asking God to help her with this–she apparently has a hard heart!)

I can not imagine being a parent right now–I hear the demands are challenging. You go from driving a cool car to a mini-van with “super kid” stickers all over the back of it. Your sleep schedule is radically adjusted. And you catch yourself doing uncool things like cleaning up poo poo and talking baby talk without realizing it.

But not my “super cool person of the week,” nope, she is one of the finest parents I have ever seen; in fact, she is an incredible wife…and an excellent leader as well. The lady I am speaking of is the wonderful–the talented–the fabulous–Sherry Moorhead.

Sherry came on staff at New Spring in the fall of 2001. A local bank in town merged with a larger bank and they had to cut her position. (IDIOTS!) We hired her part time to be the “church secretary” & that was that.

Soon after her job developed into a full time job. However, with the rapid growth of our church the role of the traditional church secretary was WAY too much for one person to handle…so we hired additional help in various areas & she moved to being my personal full time assistant.

This was NOT an easy job!

It is so amazing the level of rudeness that she had to endure at times–people would call wanting to speak with me & I would be in a meeting or studying and they would BLAST her. However, she never lost her cool & was always able to defuse any potential bombs. I sincerely believe her personality alone would qualify her for nearly any job she desired–she is one of the easiest people on the planet to get along with. I have always said, “If you can’t get along with Sherry then you have issues!”

She moved out of being my personal assistant last year to another area in our church. I didn’t want to lose her…but the area to which she moved needed her & I have always said that leaders have to make decisions based on what is good for the church and not for them personally.

After things in that area seemed to be rolling well–we moved her again! (She has had about 5-6 different offices at New Spring!) And, yes, after she developed that role & begin to max it out–we moved her again…oh yeah, this one was a promotion.

Sherry now serves as our director of volunteers. She is one of the most organized people I know, and her love for Jesus, people, and our church make her an all star in this area. She also has an incredible staff who work along side her to make the volunteer ministry happens at New Spring. I have to say as the Senior Pastor that I do not worry about the way our volunteers are treated because of the excellent level of care & direction they receive from Sherry & her staff.

Oh yeah, Sherry is also married to a dude named Jason. (He’s our executive pastor!) And, uh, one more thing–they have three kids…the oldest one being four! (It seemed that every time we turned around they were pregnant–for a time I begged Lucretia not to drink the water when we visited their home!!!)

Sherry has a lot on her plate–and she handles it wonderfully. She loves her husband–it is so cool to see them around the office & hear the way she builds him up. She loves her kids!!! Spend time with her & she will be talking about one of them in less than five minutes. And she loves her job.

I have met many people who try to use excuses as to why they are not effective in certain areas of their life–but then I watch Sherry function & I just don’t accept excuses. She makes things happen–with her home and her work…and that is why she is my Super Cool Person of the Week.

I honestly think if every church in America could have someone like Sherry that they would be light years ahead of where they are right now–I know we are. Thanks Shay for all that you do–you rock!