I’ve Been Tagged February 17, 2006

I don’t usually do this…but since three buddies “tagged” me I guess I will give it a shot–here is some little known information about me…

Four Jobs I’ve Had:
Pizza Maker (Little Caesars)
Newspaper Delivery Boy (in college)
Children’s Minister (I am still not sure if they’ve recovered!)
Gas Station Attendant (I pumped gas at a “full serve” gas station–OLD SCHOOL!)

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:
Christmas Vacation (“that there Clark is an RV…”)
Monty Python & The Search For The Holy Grail (“I’m not dead yet…”)
Remember the Titans
Hoosiers

Four Places I’ve Lived:
Easley, SC
Whittier, CA
Perris, CA
Anderson, SC (my favorite, by far!!!)

Four Shows I Like To Watch:
LOST (I have drank the kool-aid–I’m addicted!)
Sportscenter
PTI
Fresh Prince (I am a re-run junkie!)

Four Foods That I Like (only Four?):
My wife’s red velvet cake!!!
Chicken Marsela
Mac & cheese
The baked apple dumplin’ at Cracker Barrel

Four Sites I Visit Everyday:
weather.com (I am a weather junkie!)
mondaymorninginsight.com
headrush.com
ESPN
(of course–Gary, Ken, and Tony…or else I would not have been know I was tagged!)

Four Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
Take Lucretia to St. Lucia
Have a dog named dum-dum
Have lunch with Andy Stanley
Have lunch with Erwin McManus
Have lunch with Bill Hybils
(OK–that was five…but I seriously want to meet with those three guys! And it doesn’t have to be lunch–supper would be fine! Heck, I would even buy!!!) :-) If Bill reads that, well, he’s Dutch, so he will be calling me soon…AND if anyone can set any of this up–you would be my hero for life.

Four People I Am Tagging:
Uh, yeah…you see, everyone I would have tagged has pretty much tagged me…but I will say:
Mark Batterson (dude…you’ve got to do it–everyone else is doing it…you’re just not cool unless…)
Scott Hodge
Todd – come on man, you can do it!
Ian (come on dude–I know you are checking this out–have some fun man! Remember that in the end…we are on the same team!!!)

Convictions That Guide My Life February 16, 2006

There have been people who have asked me, “Hey dude–why do you do what you do?” In my opinion this is one of the best questions EVER because if you do not know the answer to it then one day you will begin looking for ways out of doing what you do.

I love what I do! Being the pastor of NewSpring is a gift from God…and this is all I want to do for the rest of my life. There are some things, though. that have caused this…and I’d like to share them today if I could.

It bothers me when people say, “I just need God in my life.” (STAY WITH ME HERE!) The reason being the name “god” means so many things. To a Muslim it means Allah, to a Mormon it means who they are striving to be…to a new age person it means them! And to a Christian it means God with a capital “G”.

But when you say Jesus–well, His name removes all doubt! And so that is why I preach Jesus with passion and urgency.

When we started NewSpring we discovered that 48% of the people in this community do not go to church…that BOTHERS me…how are they going to hear the message of Jesus? And so we started a church that is unique–but kept the message of Christ…and it’s making a difference.

From time to time I hear people say, “All NewSpring is doing is taking people from other churches.” It’s true that people have came from other churches–but what we are discovering is that many are coming to NewSpring and…get this…accepting Christ. I ask–is that a bad thing?

I said it this past Sunday–church should NOT be a place where you come and make out your grocery list OR color pretty pictures with your five year old on the back row. Church should be a place where the people who work there actually CARE about the people walking through the doors enough to go all out to make sure the message is ready and will captivate their attention.

I heard about a comment on a local radio station about NewSpring “spending all that money on big screens.” A couple of thoughts here–no one ever complains when a church spends a lot of money on a steeple or choir robes…and BE HONEST…when was the last time someone came to Christ “because of that incredible steeple with those wonderful bells?” :-)

The second thought is this–(thanks to a lady who works in our financial area)–why is it that some people would complain about big screens in the church–and yet when you go to their house you see a BIG SCREEN in their living room? Hmmm…could that be considered hypocritical? :-0

As long as this church exists–we will push the edge on creativity and never compromise the message. God is creative. (Did anyone see the sunrise this morning…it was AWESOME!)

It has been my goal ever since we had 15 people meeting in a living room to teach the church to not be dependant upon me. I saw that we were hitting the mark this past July when I nearly died and was out of commission for three weeks–the church never missed a beat. Decisions were made–services were held–and ministry took place–and I didn’t do any of it, not because I didn’t want to–but because I could not!

Let me be honest here…and this will ruffle feathers…but I mean exactly what I say! There are some pastors in this world with incredibly weak and fragile egos that need to be needed. They want people to call them–they want people to have problems–they want to be the one that holds people together. And so they take their cell phone with them everywhere they go and are able to leap tall buildings in a single bound in order to assist someone who has stubbed their toe! (And in turn they neglect their wife and kids…and then the church wonders why the pastors kids are little hellions…)

And then, after about 22 months (the average stay for a pastor in a church in America) they leave…and the church falls apart because they learned how to depend on the “dude who did it all” and forgot how to love one another–serve one another–encourage one another, you know, things the Bible says we ought to do!

At NewSpring, since day ONE, I have taught that I am not going to do everything. I heard a former pastor once, who was commenting about our church, say, “When I was a pastor I always visited everyone in my church that was in the hospital.” He went on to say, “If a bunch of people got sick at that church (NewSpring) I am just sure that no one from the church would come and visit them.”

WRONG ANSWER!!! If someone is in the hospital here…and we know about it…they ALWAYS get a visit from someone. They always receive ministry with level 10 excellence. And no, it’s not me doing the visiting. Why? Because there are people in my church that do it better than me–they WANT to do it–they are more EFFECTIVE at doing it…and for me to try to do everything is to rob people of their opportunity to exercise their spiritual gift. (See Ephesians 4:11-16 for a further explanation.)

I believe this–I am not saying it to get some “Amen’s” from the cheap seats either.

Take a look at what is happening in our country. I hear people say that they are concerned with NewSpring and churches like ours…they think we are not going to make it and that eventually fizzle out.

However…it’s NOT the churches like NewSpring that are dying. (And churches in America ARE dying…an average of six per day are shutting their doors!!!) In fact, churches “like NewSpring” have doubled in the past seven years. It looks like God is up to something!

We are seeing it! People that were far from God are now coming to church–receiving Christ…wow…I had a conversation with a dude the other day who, just a few years ago was so far from God…and the other day he asked how he could get more involved in the ministry that is going on here. We are seeing people who were through with church coming back to church. We are seeing children and teenagers getting fired up about Jesus. We are seeing it–it’s starting to happen! And God’s doing it through the church.

That is why I do what I do. I believe in the ministry that NewSpring is doing…I am smoking what I am selling. You have my promise as a pastor that this church is going to do everything we can to reach as many people as we can for as long as we can! Whew–I am PUMPED! I can’t wait for Sunday!!!!!!!!!

Wow–this was long–but good I guess. Have an awesome day–and Tony, Ken, and Gary–I will be doing that thing that you “tagged” me with tomorrow. :-)

Stop Complaining About What You Do Not Have February 15, 2006

I remember the first time I went to a C3 conference at Fellowship Church. It was in January of 2002 and we had a total of six people on staff. (One was working for free and another was part time.)

I sat in amazement as I saw what I call “next level ministry” take place–a church service that was designed for those who were far from God…or who said they were not interested in church because it was boring.

But something bothered me about that experience…it has bothered me every year I have gone. And not just at C3…the thing that bothers me happens at the Catalyst conference–it happens at things at Willow Creek…and to be honest–it makes me SICK.

Wondering what it is yet? Well ready or not–here we go…

It BOTHERS me when I go to one of these conferences and hear a dynamic speaker lay it all on the line and talk about reaching people and seeing lives changed…and then pastors and church leaders will congregate after a session outside of the building and begin to say things like, “Oh sure, if I had all of this technology and a big building and money and a large staff…I could reach more people too.”

I must give props to Ed Young and Bill Hybils…nearly every time I hear them speak they say, “Don’t try to be like us–be unique.” And a little research will show that these guys started with the bare minimum…and God has used them & brought them to where they are today.

God set my heart on fire in January of 2002…because at that conference in Grapevine, Texas, I was able to see in person what I had been seeing in my mind since 1996.

Let me be very clear…we didn’t have a large staff, we didn’t have money, we didn’t have a building–but we had a fire and a passion to reach people for Christ…and that has been the difference maker.

Let me be honest–here are some things you do NOT need to grow a church…

#1 – A Building – God allowed us to grow to over 4,700 people in RENTED facilities. I will be honest–meeting in rented facilities is an extremely challenging thing…but it CAN be done if people are willing to “put their hand to the plow.” God was good to us at Anderson University, and now that He has blessed us with a building…I believe that we will see even more–”to whom much has been given–much is required.”

#2 – A Seminary Degree – Wow–this is sacred ground for some…I know you worked HARD for that piece of paper; however, its not necessary to grow a church. There are some people who are passionate about it–heck, a guy even called my assistant this week and told here that I was a moron because I didn’t have one (yes–that’s true), but I just do not see where it is commanded in Scripture.

#3 – Money – When we first started we were so poor that we had to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken & lick other people’s fingers! Listen–if you are waiting on someone to come in and drop a large amount of cash on you before you attempt something great then chances are that you will always sit on your “blessed assurance” and do nothing! Don’t get me wrong–money pays the bills…but it amazes me the number of church planters that want 100k in the bank before starting someone–PEOPLE–if it is in the bank then it is NOT being used for ministry!

#4 – Experience – I knew when I was 26 that I was going to start a church one day; however, I felt it would be when I was around 40 or 50…after all, who in their right mind would listen to anything I had to say? Besides…I had been on staff with two seperate churches…but never in the capacity of a senior pastor. But…God set my heart on fire and it came to a point where I could not deny it any longer. I still feel WAY underqualified to do what I do–maybe that’s why I stay so desperate for God to work…after all, I am trying my best to listen to Him…and He has a TON of experience.

There are more–but it feels like this is getting long. The bottom line is that the church has God’s Word, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Fellowship of the Saints…that’s enough to change the world–it was in Acts 2 and it is still the same today. The other things we get are simply a bonus from the Lord–so use what you’ve got wisely…and stop making excuses and telling God all the reasons He can’t do what He wants to do!

Should Architecture Define The Church…OR Should The People? February 14, 2006

One of the most common questions I get about our building is, “Hey P, why aren’t there any crosses or a steeple?”

So…I thought today would be a great day to answer this–let’s start with the cross.

First of all, no one, and I mean NO ONE is more appreciative than me in regards to what Jesus did on the cross. The cross is where He paid for sin–once for all! And only HE could have paid the debt…He knew the pain that was to face Him–yet He still faced the cross. And because of His death I can have life.

(From time to time I hear a well meaning Christian say, “It should have been me up there on that ‘ole cross.” I always yell, “What are you trying to do–send us all to hell? If it had been YOU then I would still be guilty of sin–but Jesus paid my debt–that GOD it wasn’t you.”)

Sorry for the rant…let’s continue…

The cross is a reminder of what Jesus has done for us…and Scripture mentions the power of the cross…

However, nowhere in Scripture is there a biblical mandate that a church building must have a cross; in fact, I honestly believe that the early church would be horrified if they were to come to our world today and see crosses all over the place.

Stay with me here…the cross in the Roman world was used to KILL PEOPLE! They killed people on a cross before and after killing Christ on one. It was a means of capital punishment. Basically we can equate it to a lethal injection or the electric chair in today’s world.

How horrified would you be if you saw someone walking down the road with a golden needle hanging around their neck…or saw a picture of an electric chair over their fireplace in someone’s home?

A study of Christian history will show that the church appreciated and talked about the cross–but it did not begin to show up as a sign of identity until hundreds of years after the church was established.

And today…let’s all be honest about this one…the cross in America is nothing more than a religious good luck charm…and don’t say it isn’t. I see athletes and celebrities being interviewed on television…and they are dropping “F-bombs” and saying, “GD this and that…” and then you see a cross hanging around their neck.

Personally–and this will ruffle a few feathers…I think many churches have turned the cross into an idol. Sort of like the snake on a pole in Numbers…remember the story…the snake was lifted up and everyone who looked upon it was healed…but later on in Israel’s history the snake on a pole was destroyed because the Israelites began to worship the symbol of their deliverance rather than the fact they were delivered.

So–when we designed the building here at NewSpring there was a decision made to stay away from symbols that the church had turned into something that Scripture never intended for them to be. Seriously–when was the last time you looked at a cross and really thought about the death of Jesus…and how His death brings you life. Come on now–see what I mean.

I just believe that if religious symbols have to identify the church rather than the presence of God and the people’s lives that are changed–there is something wrong.

We preach the cross at NewSpring–we preach that Jesus is the only way to heaven…but we will not get caught up in religious traditions that have become modern day idols to a country that seeks religion…but does not seek Jesus.

As far at steeples–a few thoughts here–

#1 – Once again, there is NOT a Biblical mandate.

#2 – You have no idea how expensive they are…I laugh when I hear people say, “You guys spent money on lights and so on” when there are churches right here in the upstate that have spent nearly a half a million dollars on their steeple!!!

#3 – My buddy Mark Batterson had this post on steeples that is a MUST READ!!! Steeples were once an outlet of creativity…but people who love them have confused methodology and theology…and that’s a sad thing.

Happy Valentines Day! :-)

The Best Is Yet To Come February 13, 2006

I am sitting here in my office trying to find the words to describe yesterday. I am amazed at all God has done over the past six years…and yesterday He allowed us to see an aspect of the vision He has given us come true–we worshipped together in our brand new building.

Many are wondering what our total attendance was–it was 6,931 people–AT CHURCH! Can you believe that? And we were not even giving away free water bottles!!!

What pumped me up the MOST though was last night when I found out that at least 17 people had accepted Christ in our two morning services–and I am not sure yet about last night.

I am sure yesterday was not what some people expected. Many have been to “building dedication services” before. You know, the builder says a few words–the architect speaks–heck, I’ve even heard of the pastor acknowledging the largest givers from the stage. (And that makes we want to throw up!)

But we felt God leading us in a completely different direction–we knew there would be hundreds of visitors with us…so we seized the opportunity that God gave us and recast the vision and shared the Gospel. We didn’t want to sit around and blow smoke up our rear end for an hour and then go home–we wanted to share Jesus–and that’s exactly what we did.

NewSpring is not about a building–we never have been. Some have asked why we built such a large facility…well…so we can tell more and more people about Christ. We’ve got room now–and so we literally are praying that God will fill these seats every week…and that we will have to go to four services very soon.

Is it about numbers? ABSOLUTELY! We are not content with the fact that large numbers of people in the upstate region do not have a relationship with Jesus…and large NUMBERS of them will go to hell unless they receive Christ–and so we want to see a switch in the NUMBERS, we want to see SUBTRACTION in regards to the kingdom of darkness…and ADDITION to God’s kingdom!

I thank Jesus that we are here–but keep in mind we have NOT arrived. As a friend said to me in the gym this morning, “Yesterday was awesome–but the best is yet to come.” I believe that! I believe that with all my heart! This is STILL the beginning of the amazing things God has in store.

One more thing–I can’t brag on our staff enough–we had people here past midnight every night last week…they wanted to make sure that everything was just right. And to those of you who did–you saw yesterday the fruit of your labor–lives were changed…

Holy Cow–This Is Awesome!!! February 10, 2006

OK, first of all let me explain something…I never just open up my Bible and start reading just wherever. I am NOT saying that’s wrong…I know many people that do that & the Lord speaks to them that way…it’s just that I usually have some sort of plan. (Right now I am in Judges on my way to Revelation…in other words–I am reading the Bible from Genesis to Rev.)

(There is a reason I don’t do the whole “just open your Bible thing.” It’s because I heard about the guy who opened his Bible to see what God would say to him and he read, “Judas hanged himself.” He thought, “Now that’s depressing–let me try this again–and so he opened it and read, “Go and do likewise.” He began to get really worried and finally said, “OK, I am going to try this one more time & so he did and read, “What you are about to do–do it quickly.”)

Anyway, this morning I finished my quiet time and it ROCKED. Then I picked up another Bible that I have and something was telling me, “Just open it and read.” So–I did–I didn’t even hesitate…and I read…

NOW–before I share what I read let me say this–I am PUMPED about Sunday–I can’t hardly stand it…the excitement that is in me is amazing…I can’t recall a time in my life that I have been this passionate for Jesus, His Church, and what I am doing.

I have been constantly asking God for confirmation…for Him to show us we are on the right path. I am asking Him to do things in our new facility that the upstate of South Carolina has never seen. I want to see people’s lives changed–marriages restored, relationships healed, the poor ministered to, the unchurched welcomed–I want to see God do amazing things.

And so back to what I read–I opened up my Bible and read this…

“‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.’”

That ROCKED MY WORLD!!!

There may be a skeptic or two out there that say that what I experienced is merely coincidence. Sorry–with a Sovereign God reigning in this universe–there is no such thing as luck or coincidence!!

Scripture is clear that God’s Word is living AND active…and it was both with me just an hour or so ago! WOW!!!

Sunday is going to be awesome…and so is every single Sunday that follows! I can’t wait to see what He is going to do!!!

By the way…everyone I have spoken with says that they are coming to the 9:30 service…uh, that’s awesome…I want you to keep in mind that we only have 2,500 seats (isn’t that crazy?) and so if you are coming I would make plans to be there early OR either come at 11:15 or 6:00.

I can’t wait–only two more days!!!!!!!!!!

Random Thought Thursday February 9, 2006

Some random thoughts on a Thursday for everyone…

I read this story yesterday at CNN.com and could not stop laughing; in fact, I thought it was a joke. Would you give a dying chicken CPR? I am a preacher in the south–we don’t try to help chickens–we buy them & fry them!

Speaking of pastors, you can say anything you want about me–how I don’t wear a suit or that I listen to secular music–but I don’t think I will ever do what the dude in this story did. Can you just see this–some dude rolling down the road launching puppies out the window? Please understand, I DO NOT SUPPORT this behavior–but I do wonder what was going through the puppies mind?

I LOVE dogs–love them…and so like I said–that ticked me off; however, if it had been cats then I might not have been so mad. (Sorry all you cat lovers out there–you may love your little kitty, but you MUST understand that if your cat were bigger than you–he would eat you!!!)

Oh yeah, church leaders–the great theologian Mark Batterson said something last week that I forgot to put here–he said, “Most problems in the church today are not sin problems–they are vision problems!” YEAH! I believe that–you can take an church of any style all across America, and the ones that are growing are led by people who have a vision!

Marathon training update–we did three miles this morning…and the person I ran with and I did it in 23:33…now that’s probably not fast for some of you–but for BIG BOY here–that’s moving. I could not even talk the last half mile…and it’s the first time ever that I really felt like I was going to blow chunks (throw up) afterwards!!! I had extra energy today–must have been the double scoop of Brusters birthday cake ice cream I had last night!!!

This Saturday is our 10 mile run–should be a BLAST! There is a report that it might snow, if it snows keep a few things in mind…

#1 – We will still run…
#2 – We will still have church on Sunday!

Speaking of church on Sunday–holy cow–this is really happening…church in our new building this Sunday–I can’t wait!!! Our new service times are 9:30, 11:15, and 6pm. And a word of advice…if you are coming to the 9:30 service I would get here EARLY–the word on the street is that people are going to get here at 9:00 so they can be sure to get a seat.

(Parents–don’t forget the open house thing this Friday night from 6:00 to 7:30–I don’t even have kids and I’m going to be here–I’m pumped!)

And one more thing–we met with some people from Fellowship Church this past Tuesday. Ed Young is a friend of mine and will be speaking here at NewSpring on Sunday, March 19 and then Fellowship Church will host a regional C-3 conference here at NewSpring the next day. I promise it will be exciting.

If you are a local pastor or church leader–keep watching here and our church website–the cost is going to be around $325–BUT that is the cost PER CHURCH–you can bring as many people as you would like. Trust me–in “conference world” that is a bargain.

That’s about it for now–maybe more later on today!