An Open Letter To The Volunteers At NewSpring January 20, 2006

Yesterday I wanted to let the staff know how much they are loved and appreciated…

BUT today I want to give a shout out to each one of you who makes NewSpring happen–our volunteers! Thank you for allowing God to work through you to make a difference in the lives of so many people.

We learned this past Monday in a staff meeting that we had over 650 people involved in some type of volunteer ministry last week–AMAZING!

I am so privileged to pastor a church where the people do not expect me to do ALL of the ministry. I have seen it so many times…pastors get burned out, quit the ministry, have an affair, and God knows what else…and all because of lazy church members who have this “separation theology” that the pastor exists to do ministry and they exist to sit on their “blessed assurance!”

The average stay for a pastor in the typical church today is less than two years. And think about it…in MANY cases (not all)–the pastors kids are the biggest hellions in the church. (You know why pastors kids are this way don’t you? Because they hang out with the deacons kids!) :-) Why is that? I KNOW, I KNOW–because many churches have the pastor out every single night of the week doing ministry that they should be involved in…and all the while he neglects his family…and then they get mad when his family falls apart and begin to tell him he should be a better father when THEY are the reason he isn’t being a good dad in the first place!!!

But not here–we understand that a church is NOT effective when the pastor ministers to the people–but rather when the body ministers to the body. You guys don’t need me–WE need one another!

And so week after week people show up, work with children, direct traffic, clean the place where we meet…all so we can work together to impact this community…and IT’s WORKING!

I am so thankful for all of you–you are so serious about all that you do…because YOU KNOW that this weekend a man and his wife are coming to church–maybe she’s a Christian and he’s not…and he’s looking for an excuse not to come back…but those who park his car will do so with a smile…and then he will walk by people who will smile and greet him…and then he will be amazed at how friendly and professional our children’s area is…and then he will notice that the place he is sitting in is actually clean…and the Holy Spirit will begin working on this guy WAY before the band ever plays a note. YOU KNOW this dude is coming…and it’s going to take all of us–not just me–to reach him!

We hear stories every week about how countless numbers of people’s lives are impacted by volunteers. You all are amazing…and I thank God that we are on the same team. Keep doing what you are doing…you are making a difference because lost people are getting found, found people are getting grown up, the poor are being served…and God’s kingdom is forcefully advancing in this community…

…and this is just the beginning!

Have an awesome weekend! I can’t WAIT for Sunday!!!

(By the way…if you are a broke college student…you might want to sit close to the front…and that is all I’m going to say!!!)

An Open Letter To The Staff At NewSpring January 19, 2006

I am amazed!

I am sitting here in my brand new office and reflecting…it was only six years ago that “my office” was my living room, the number for the church was also my personal home telephone number, and staff meeting consisted of me getting out of bed & going to the living room to ask myself questions!

Look what God has done! Yep, I am amazed!

I want to be clear about something guys and girls…I love you–each and every one of you. I consider it a privilege that you are serving on this staff. Many of you walked away from jobs that were higher paying, others turned their backs on careers that you had invested quite a bit of time in…all to follow the God given dream of a church that wants to do more than look pretty and talk about things but never follow through.

I love the fact that you guys were not content with being a part of a religion–but rather you understand that Jesus began a revolution…and we are called to carry that on today!

And look at us–seriously! How many of you, six years ago, would have thought, “In a few years I am going to be on staff at a church?” But here we are–all 46 of us…and we come from all different backgrounds!

Most of us are young–really young. Sure–there is a Caleb or two among us (Paul!) However, the average age of this staff has to be in our late 20′s or early 30′s. Why is that? I believe it is because younger generations tend to believe in the power of God–we believe that if Scripture says that God can do it…well…then God can do it. Do not let the fact that you are young ever distract you from doing what God has called you to do! EVER!

I remember being 28 when we started this church and people telling me that I was too young and that I lacked experience…as I look back I think that me lacking experience was a good thing because it forced me to rely on God rather than textbook procedure and principals.

Speaking of textbook…not many of us have been trained “theologically.” In fact, I believe there is only one seminary graduate on staff. I remember talking to many of you about joining our staff and you making the comment, “But I don’t have a seminary degree,” and then watching your face as I replied, “neither do I!”

Sure, there are people that may criticize that aspect of our ministry; however, when I look at the description given about the Apostles in the book of Acts…they are refered to as “unschooled, ordinary men.” I believe God is looking for a few more of those–people who allow God to lead and teach them by His Holy Spirit. Don’t get me wrong…I am not cracking on seminary…it’s just that it isn’t a biblical mandate…and we have seen fruit without it.

Speaking of critics–we have endured heat together…and we will continue to do so. And NOT from people who don’t know Christ–but from those who claim to be on the same team. When it comes to this I advise you to follow what Rick Warren says, “When you’re small, they’ll dismiss you (Amen Lee?); when you’re growing, they’ll criticize you; and when you’re large, they’ll resent you. So ignore ‘them’ and get on with whatever God has told you to do!”

I see something in all of you–something that we can never lose no matter what happens. What is it? Fire–passion–a hunger for Jesus…and it is contagious! I think one of the greatest assets of our ministry is the fact that we have never gotten over what Jesus has done for us…is doing for us now…and is going to do in our future. We haven’t ceased to be amazed at who God is–and we haven’t reduced Jesus to a picture on a wall, nor have we let Him become a side note in the church which bears His name!

We can’t ever lose that–ever! Jesus is the reason we do what we do…crucified, buried, raised to life…and now living in us–that’s amazing.

You guys are awesome! I have said it before–the teamwork makes the dream work. NewSpring is not my vision–it’s God’s vision–He just allowed me to borrow it…and as long as we are faithful with it…He will continue to enlarge it.

And before I go let me say this…just in case you wrestle with this anytime in the future. YOU ARE NECESSARY! There is no such thing as an unimportant job in this church because everything we do from answering phones to changing light bulbs is designed to create an atmosphere where God can engage people and change their life like He has for all of us. You are IMPORTANT and I thank God for you–all of you…and I am amazed that you would trust me to be your pastor and your leader–it is a privilege.

Hey–I believe this is just the beginning…God is just getting started here–look how far He has brought us in the past six years with limited resources and staff…and look at what He has provided us with–”to whom much is given much is required.” Yep–He’s getting ready to turn the upstate completely upside down…and we get to be a part of it!

“I’ve got you!” Thanks for being a part of this team! Hold on–we’re getting ready to go for a ride.

Be Radical,
Perry

To those who read this and are not on staff…I want you to understand that I believe that NewSpring is the best church in the entire world…and this is the best staff in the entire world as well. You may perceive that to be arrogance…but I would say it is confidence. In fact, if a pastor does not believe he has the best staff and/or the best church I would say he either needs to fire some people or resign!!!

And if you are wondering what the phrase “I’ve got you” means–you can either ask a staff member or wait a few weeks when I talk about it on a Sunday morning.

Should You Feel Good At Church? January 18, 2006

On my way home yesterday I was scanning the stations and came upon a talk show where someone was discussing the topic of church…so of course, I ceased scanning and began to listen.

The person calling in was “going off” on “feel good churches” that do nothing but promote positive thinking…and this dude was pretty passionate about truth being taught–and that the truth is always hard to swallow.

Let me be very clear…so that I am not misquoted or misunderstood–there are times when it does not “feel good” to come to church. For example–recently I did a message on the wrath of God! I would say it was one of the most intense messages we have ever done at NewSpring. And I am sure for some…it didn’t feel good–it stung…it hurt…it was convicting.

When we feel led to do a sermon on money…well…it doesn’t feel good. Wait! I take that back–to people who actually worship the Lord with their money–it DOES feel good, but to those who worship themselves…well…it stings, it hurts, it convicts.

In our recent relationship series entitled “Hitch” we addressed serious issues in regards to dating and marriage–we hit the fact that living together before getting married is wrong, that having sex before marriage is wrong–you know, pretty challenging stuff. And, once again, it stung, it hurt, it was convicting.

I said all of that, though, to say this…there must be a balance. I am NOT in any way in favor of a church ALWAYS teaching that all we need to do is think “happy thoughts” and as a result–God will somehow bless us because of our positive thinking. I am NOT in favor of a church teaching there is not a literal hell. I am NOT in favor of a church NOT teaching the entire counsel of Scripture.

However, I am NOT in favor of hell, fire, and brimstone messages every single weekend. I am NOT in favor of pastors “going off” on their people and then pretending that their poo poo doesn’t stink. I am NOT in favor of beating the “hell” out of those who do not know Christ. (Seriously, how many “sinners” did Jesus “go off” on? Let’s count them–uh, let’s see–nope, there aren’t any. NOW–how many times did He “go off” on the religious? Whew–I am not sure I can count that high!)

I have came to this conclusion…it is NOT MY JOB to make people feel good OR bad about where they are in regards to their spiritual journey. It IS my job to teach the truth…and the Holy Spirit will then do what He needs to do…I am not the Holy Spirit–period.

And the truth does hurt–it does sting–it does convict–HOWEVER, the truth also provides freedom and hope–inspiration and encouragement…and it does feel good. We must get away from the mindset that, because Christians are not going to hell, we need to at least make them feel as if they have been there for an hour or two every Sunday.

At NewSpring it is our passion to teach truth…and there are some things, personally, that when taught from Scripture–I feel good about–things such as…

Jesus took my place–uh, yep–that makes me feel good.

God will always love me…no matter what! WOW–now if you truly grasp that concept, that will make you feel pretty good.

The Bible is God’s perfect guidebook on how to know Him AND how to do life! Yep, once again, I am feeling pretty good about the fact that God didn’t leave me alone to do life–He provided a written plan!

The Holy Spirit lives in me and will guide me in knowing Christ and in making decisions. Once again–that makes me feel good.

Salvation was God’s gift to me–I didn’t earn it–AND He knew all about my past, my sins, my shortcomings…and not only that–He also knew of all the times I would disappoint Him in the future AFTER He saved me…and He saved me anyway–YEP, I feel good about that.

I could go on and on…all I am saying is that, as a church leader, I feel it is my calling to speak the truth from Scripture…and how people feel is the result of God’s Holy Spirit. So if I teach the truth and people leave church feeling good–uh, what’s the problem? AND if I teach the truth and people leave feeling convicted–uh, once again, what’s the problem?

So should you feel good at church? Yep–sometimes. And should you feel convicted at church? Yep–sometimes! Just my two cents…

There Are Too Many WIMPY Men! January 17, 2006

OK…warning…this is a rant…and before you ask…I mean exactly what I say…now let’s go!

Most of you know about my marathon training; in fact, I spoke about it this past Sunday…even making reference to the group of us that are currently training for it.

Last week we had three guys and four girls who trained all week long. We joked with a lot of people about joining us & were given some pretty funny looks…

Then this morning we actually had two more people join us–women that is. I laughed–we can’t get a guy to train with us…but girls are actually excited about training for this. Why is that? Simple–WIMPY men!

Now if it were a contest to see who could eat the most wings OR who could flip channels the fastest then there would be men coming out of hiding. But see, this marathon…it takes things like, oh–COMMITTMENT to a training schedule–a willingness to endure pain…

(Speaking of enduring pain–men are wimps–we cry and whine about a boo-boo while women do things like–oh–HAVE BABIES!!! Men, don’t go there on me–we could not have a baby, heck, I know many men that have passed out in the delivery room…and they aren’t actually doing anything except for bothering their wife!!!)

Now all of this is a little funny…but there is something to this…

I have been making fun of men being wimps in a physical sense…but you know the area that most men blow it in is the spiritual area…let’s face it–there are a lot of wimpy men when it comes to spirituality.

Example–men can tell you who was the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers the last time they won a Super Bowl (Terry Bradshaw)–but do not know more than five verses of Scripture from memory–especially if they are not allowed to use John 3:16 and John 11:35.

And this one gets me–I have seen TOO MANY TIMES the mother bringing the children to church…and when you ask her where “dad” is she will say, “Oh, he’s at home…he didn’t feel like coming.” It simply bothers me when men refuse to lead their family spiritually!

It’s amazing how many men will claim, “I am the leader,” when it comes to making decisions in the home–but when it comes to spiritual matters I know that many of them are passive, wanting to abdicate that responsibility to someone else.

Men–it’s time to LEAD–it’s time to stop being a wimp. Just like a lot of men have ran from the challenge to do a marathon…many run from the challenge of leading the family. Men–LEAD! Pray with your wife–pray with and over your children–TAKE them to church…and dropping them off does not count!

One of my passions is for men to return to biblical manhood–to be THE MAN! That means leading your family spiritually–that means loving your wife as Christ loves the church. That means putting them before the job. That means stop using the excuse, “They know I love them because I bring home the paycheck!”

What it does mean it STEP UP! Be the man.

Please don’t get me wrong…I am not saying that if you are not preparing to run 26.2 miles that you are not a man…what I am saying is that if you are neglecting the very areas that God has called you to…then that is wimpy. BE THE MAN!

Sorry Type “A’s–But This Is Going To Mess Up Your Day January 17, 2006

OK–I have something I want to post about…but I can’t right now–so for those who are used to reading this first thing in the morning…sorry–but I have several meetings I need to go to.

But the subject matter will be basically how most men are WIMPS!

See you later!

Lessons Learned January 16, 2006

Right now the biggest desire in my life is sleep. (And you thought it was food!)

I haven’t slept in about 10 days. I go to bed & wake up at about 2 or three in the morning & then sort of doze off and on until my alarm goes off at 4:55. (You want to know how to pray for me? Pray that I can sleep!)

Anyway, I have had some pretty good prayer times; however, the body can only take so much…and so yesterday (Sunday) I hit a wall–HARD!

Now hitting a wall during the week usually is not a problem…BUT yesterday I hit a wall in between the second and third service. I was literally thinking about ten minutes before I was to go out and speak, “I can’t do this! I don’t have anything left in me.”

Please understand…I am NOT trying to be overly dramatic here–but I gave it all that I had yesterday during our first two services. So–the time came for me to go out and deliver the message…I prayed, HARD, “Ok God–you know how I feel–help me–please help me!” That’s about all I could say.

To make a long story short…I felt like the third service was the best service we had yesterday–HANDS DOWN! (Don’t get me wrong–EVERY service yesterday was great…but as soon as the lights came up and I began to speak I felt this sense of peace and power that was truly from God!)

The main lesson I learned from this entire experience was this–

When you have nothing–God still has everything!

I had nothing…and that is exactly where God wanted and needed me to be. Yesterday served as a powerful reminder that this is not about me…but about Him working through me.

I said all that to challenge those who may be thinking that you are tired…worn out…burned out, and you KNOW what you need to do…you KNOW the choices you need to make–but you feel like you just don’t have the strength and energy to follow through on what you know is right. You feel like you’ve got nothing in your tank…

But when you have nothing–God still has everything.

I am talking to the single parents who feels overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising a child (or multiple children) alone. I am talking to the person who is maxed out in credit card debt and KNOWS what they need to do. I am talking to the person who has felt attacked from every side…when you have nothing left–God still has everything.

This was a beautiful lesson learned. It helped me–I hope it helps you.

In other news…

THANK YOU–THANK YOU–THANK YOU to all the peeps who came to the 8:30 service yesterday…we had close to 750 there…and you KNOW if you can get that many people to come to church at 8:30–it has to be God! :-)

The staff at NewSpring are no longer at the offices on Belton highway…we have moved into the new building. We are all so pumped…and we know that we are going to have to make adjustments to the way we operate; however, that’s exciting! The majority of today will be spent trying to figure out things like–oh, how to use the phone–where exactly is the restroom, you know, those sorts of things.

THANK YOU so much to the amazing volunteers that made the move so smooth! (Hey–that rhymed!!!) You guys rock!

We have some pretty big announcements coming within the next several weeks. I don’t want to give too much away–but there is a thing or two in our future that I am really excited about.

After yesterdays stellar performance…Lee begged me to please return to the band. He was so amazed at the marvelous display of talent that oozed out of me–but I just could not do it. Pray for Lee as he deals with this devastating disappointment.

And last but not least–Lucretia and I watched 12 episodes of the first season of “Lost” last week–we both hope to finish the season this week…but we were wondering if anyone has been recording the second season so that we can watch them and catch up.

Have an awesome Monday.

It’s Friday!!! January 13, 2006

I have been looking forward to this weekend…it’s been a long week–a few thoughts…

#1 – What is up with this weather?

I know, it’s God’s planet and He can do what He wants…but I am one of those freaks who actually enjoy cold weather! I remember that one of the best runs I have ever had was when it was like 10 degrees one morning with the wind chill…and when I got back from the run the collar on my sweatshirt was frozen–that was AWESOME!

I am not asking for much…just a little bit colder temps AND some SNOW!!! I desire snow…I love snow–when there is a rumor that it might snow I become fascinated with the weather channel! (Can I get an amen?) For those who are not in the South you MUST understand…we don’t get very much snow…and when we do the community freaks out–everything shuts down! But I love it!

By the way…I would prefer that it snow in the middle of the week so that it could all be gone by Sunday…but if it does snow on Sunday–we will have church!

#2 – Speaking of Sunday–I’m Excited About THIS Sunday!

As I posted earlier this week…if you can–PLEASE make it to our 8:30 service this weekend…or you can try 6:00; however, that service was nearly full last week as well!

Oh yeah–by the way…for those who have it timed so that you can get to NewSpring right when the message is starting…there will be a slight change this week–the message will begin earlier than normal…and if you miss the start you will miss a lot. More on this later…maybe next week!

Anyway–I think I am ready for this Sunday as far as what I will attempt…a fun time will be had by all…and I pray that lessons will be learned as well.

#3 – The Building Is Coming Along Nicely!

WOW! I stood in the sanctuary on Wednesday and was completely overwhelmed…in a good way! I can’t get over all that God has done…but even more than that–I can’t get over all that He is going to do!!!

We are currently in the process of moving offices…and it looks like our entire staff will be operating from the new facility this Monday! YEAH!

#4 – Marathon Update

Training is going nicely…well, except for the fact that I nearly died yesterday! SERIOUSLY! I went back after I finished to run with someone…and when I got to her & turned around my foot slipped off the curb and I nearly fell right in front of an oncoming bus! REALLY–I felt the breeze from this thing–and it was AWESOME…it gave me a rush!

(Please understand I am in no way advocating that you or anyone that you know attempt to be nearly ran over!)

We do our six mile run in the morning…should be awesome!

#5 – Home Groups Last Night Was AWESOME!

After our Bible study section we sat around and talked for another hour or two about life–I love our group!

#6 – I Am Addicted To “Lost!”

I should have never borrowed those DVD’s–this show is seriously cutting into something I love and desire called sleep! I would have to say that it is one of the best written and most creative things I have watched in a long time…but the way it ends usually ticks me off because I HAVE to watch the next episode!

Have an awesome weekend! See you Sunday (at 8:30!) :-)