Archive for November, 2006
New York November 30, 2006
WOW…long day yesterday!!! BUT it was SO worth it.
Quick summary…
I am in New York City right now with a film crew preparing for our Christmas Eve services at NewSpring. We were out until 11:00 last night asking people questions about Christmas, Jesus and heaven…and the answers we received were…well…you’ll just have to be at NewSpring on Christmas Eve to find out.
(We are having four identical services this year–two on Saturday, December 23 at 4:00pm and 6:00pm…and then two more on Sunday morning at 9:15 and 11:15.)
Since we have been in New York…
- I was nearly ran over at the airport–NO JOKE!
- We ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
- I have heard more horns in the past 12 hours than I have heard all my entire life.
- We found what has to be the worlds largest Victoria’s Secret store…I am now broke. :-)
- I got to rap on the sidewalk with a dude who was selling his CD.
- I have rediscovered that if you want people to do absolutely CRAZY things…pull out a video camera and tell them you are doing a high level production…
- This city never sleeps
- Shane Duffey, our Pastor of Creative Arts, snores WORSE than Jason Moorhead. (The two of them could saw through the Redwood Forest in one night!!!)
- People DESPERATELY NEED JESUS!
- My heart has been broken…my spirit stirred…never before have I been face to face with the reality of people needing Christ.
That’s about it for now…pray for Shane and I as we will be flying home this evening. I can’t wait for Sunday!!!!!! :-)
Creating An Experience November 29, 2006
From time to time we will have a pastor/church leader call NewSpring & want to know what in the world we are doing to reach so many people.
I have had this conversation with many people…and I have seen many walk away from that conversation either discouraged or disappointed because I could not give them a magic formula or a program.
The bottom line is that if a church wants to impact a community–IT TAKES WORK.
For far too long the church has been lazy…that’s right…LAZY. We have sat back on our butt and done nothing, asking God to “do it all” and claiming to be “led by the Spirit.” And then people walk into our boring, lifeless and predictable services and we give “God all the glory” (or the blame!)
One of the things I have realized in reading Scripture though is that Jesus was far from boring–He created experiences for His followers–experiences that they NEVER forgot…do you remember…
- Jesus walking on water…don’t think for a minute that Peter didn’t think about that moment every time he walked by a lake.
- The mount of transfiguration. Peter & John were both so blown away by this that they both wrote about it in Scripture.
- The feeding of the 5,000.
- The day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
- Bringing back Lazarus from the dead.
- Turning water into wine (the Baptist hate that one!)
I could go on–the bottom line is that Jesus was constantly creating experiences that communicated to His followers who He was in a way that they would never forget…
AND THE CHURCH SHOULD BE DOING THE SAME!!!
Today I sat in a room for two hours as our creative team talked about the next several Sunday’s. We spent around 10-15 minutes on how to conclude the sermon for the 17th of this month…we are serious about Sunday’s and the experience that is created for people coming in these doors.
I have heard pastors say that our process leaves no room for the Holy Spirit…and that we are not open…and quite frankly if one ever says that to my face I will have to be restrained from punching him in the throat!
I am sick and tired of pastors and church leaders blaming their laziness and lack of preparation on the Holy Spirit!!! One of the things that we have discovered here at NewSpring is that the Holy Spirit is always at work…and NOT just on Sunday’s–but during sessions where ideas are brainstormed and well thought out.
If you attend NewSpring–let me make you a promise. We take church seriously. Everything you see is done with a purpose. We are serious about Jesus…and serious about as many people as possible meeting Him. And because of that fact we are willing to do all that we can to reach those people!
It is our desire NOT to just have a church service–but to create an experience through song, video, messages…and any other tools that the Holy Spirit might choose to place in front of us.
Sure–we’ve been accused of entertaining people…I always say I would much rather entertain you than bore you!!! Jesus didn’t mind creating experiences…and His church shouldn’t either.
We know GOD is in charge–that HE is ultimately responsible for all that is happening…but we also understand that God works THROUGH people…and that He is honored when people plan, pray, work…and then sit back and watch Him make up the difference.
We are serious about making His name famous…and that just can’t happen when church is boring. (I believe a boring church is a sin!!!) SO…we are going to always do all we can to make sure that when you attend church on Sunday–that is one of the BEST hours of your week!!!
Seriously–I believe people should look more forward to church that they do 24, Lost, or American Idol. WOW…there’s something…those shows actually put hard work and effort into their programming…and it shows! Hmmm, maybe if the church was as serious as Hollywood in reaching people…we would be reaching people.
Hollywood has discovered something that the church runs from though…it takes work to create an experience that people will remember.
Saying all of that to say this--DON’T MISS ONE SINGLE SUNDAY IN DECEMBER!!! Our team has put together some stuff that we know God is going to use to impact thousands of lives. We care about Jesus–we care about His church…and we will always do our best to make sure your hour on Sunday is not wasted but meaningful!!!
Now I am off to catch my flight…our video crew is on our way to a place where we will be working to create an experience for our Christmas services…I will post about our location tomorrow! :-)
Get The Word Out… November 28, 2006
Sunday, December 10th will be one of the most amazing Sunday’s we’ve ever had at NewSpring Church! Let me explain…
Go back in time with me to the fall of 1999. Many of you remember a golfer named Payne Stewart. I do not watch golf–but I do remember this guy because he wore knickers…and I can say that because of that ONE fact he was much more of a man that I will ever be. Somehow I just don’t think I could pull of knickers!!!
I remember hearing the story (you probably remember it also) about how his plane took off from Orlando headed for Dallas…and sometime early in the flight it experienced some MAJOR complications and as a result everyone on board, including Payne, perished. The plane eventually ran out of gas and crashed in South Dakota. I still remember feeling sick when I heard this story.
Fast forward to last year…someone mentioned to me that Payne Stewart had a daughter…and that she attended Clemson and comes to NewSpring. I told this person that they were smoking crack. BUT…several months later when I spoke at Clemson’s FCA I met Chelsea…and sure enough–she is Payne Stewarts daughter AND she attends NewSpring.
I spoke with her about the possibility of having her share her testimony sometime here at church…and she agreed. We followed up with her about a month ago and she was still looking forward to sharing all that God has done through the tragedy that she experienced. We began the creative process of designing a service where her story could be told in a way that totally honors Jesus Christ…and we thought we had it all figured out…until…
Chelsea came to our creative meeting last Tuesday. DANG!!! We simply asked her questions and she told her story…and at one point everyone in the room was in tears…one lady had to actually get up and leave. HER story CAPTIVATED us…and as a result of meeting with her we changed several things about the Sunday where she is going to share.
Let me say this about Chelsea…I have been more impressed with this young lady that just about anyone I have ever met. She does not have an egotistical personality like some would think the daughter of someone famous might have. She is not self centered. She is simply a young lady who is in love with Jesus Christ…has experienced something in her life that is devastating…and is willing to talk about it in order to make Jesus famous and advance God’s kingdom.
According to human standards…Chelsea has every right to be mad at God. However, the way she told her story that day in creativity impacted me in such a profound way that I can’t even explain it. She’s not someone who is bitter at God…but rather she understands that God is so much bigger than we are…and so are His ways.
I said all of that to say this–you do not want to miss Sunday, December 10th. I honestly believe it is going to be one of the most powerful services we have ever had here at NewSpring church. If you know someone who does not know Christ…or who is angry at God–get them here. I honestly believe God is going to speak through Chelsea in an incredible way…lives are going to be changed…and God’s kingdom is going to be enlarged.
Tell everyone you know…and pray like crazy for God to do something amazing!!!
Sunday Night Reflections November 26, 2006
Today was one of the BEST sermons ever preached on stage at NewSpring…and I can say that because I didn’t speak. Joe Sangl, one of our staff members spoke and did an EXCELLENT job talking about the #1 problem in marriages…MONEY!!! AND can you believe he did an entire message on money & didn’t ask for any? WOW! (You can download the message here–WHICH I would HIGHLY recommend!!!)
Let me say this–Joe is smokin’ what he’s sellin’. The dude lives what he spoke about today…and is an example to everyone who has a dream but cannot pursue it because they are under this MASSIVE pile of debt. When Joe said that he was able to negotiate a “massive pay cut” to come on staff at NewSpring–he meant it…and he’s living his dream! Thanks Joe!
(By the way–here is a link to his blog–please visit there and drop him a comment to let him know you enjoyed the message. AND…if you didn’t sign up for the class that is being offered on finances on December 4th then DO IT!!! Call our office and ask to speak to Joe & he will take care of you my friend!)
On to a few other things…
I can’t wait to speak next Sunday!!! We added it up…I have spoken now for 10 Sunday’s in a row…which REALLY took a toll on me…so I needed the break. But–we begin a new series next week and I am stoked!!! DON’T MISS THIS SUNDAY!!! I think it could be one of the most exciting services we have had all year. If you know ANYONE who wants to know what the ministry of NewSpring is all about–get them here!!! YEAH!!! WOO–HOO!!!
Thanksgiving was great…I ate a ton…but after my 6.7 mile run on Thanksgiving morning I HAD to replace all those calories I used!!! :-)
NO…I have NOT done any Christmas shopping yet…I am NOT one of those freaks who gets up at the crack of dawn to stand in a line and fight with people to save $2. If you are one of those people…that’s awesome…I hope you bought me something nice…it’s just that I enjoy sleep WAY too much to ever do anything like that!
And I’ve got to say this…at the risk of getting death threats…I AM ALREADY HATING CHRISTMAS MUSIC! I heard one station say today that they are ONLY playing Christmas music from now until Christmas…which basically means I won’t be listening to that station. I LOVE Christmas music–but about two weeks before is all I can take.
By the way…if you didn’t stop by the blog last week–this post got a lot of attention…I simply gave seven reasons why Jesus could not pastor many churches today… :-)
OK…the game…I know many of you do not believe that we actually planned for me to not be on stage this weekend…but it’s true. Congrats to the Gamecocks…you won…and have caused Clemson fans to feel emotions that we have not felt in years. It was a great game…it’s just that the wrong team lost.
Tonight I was able to hang out with Will Proctor after church…awesome guy! I asked him tons of questions about football, leadership…and a few other things. I will post more about our conversation later on–but let me just say this…to all of the Clemson fans who have really be hammering the team hard…LAY OFF…these dudes are REAL GUYS who play their guts out and give it everything they’ve got–and NO ONE wants to win more than they do! SO…why not just appreciate their effort and admire their athletic ability…something that most of us do not have! :-)
Sorry about the soapbox…
One more thing…keep me in your prayers this week as I will be traveling a little–actually, I will be traveling a good bit over the next two weeks–so PRAY that I get an exit row and that the airlines does NOT LOSE MY FLIPPIN’ LUGGAGE!!! :-)
Random Thanksgiving Thoughts November 22, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Lucretia has the house ready to go for tomorrow…the food is in the fridge and even more food will be brought by friends. I will continue my undefeated streak against my buddy Joe in PSII college football…I typically beat him like a drum!!!
HOLY COW–our creativity meeting yesterday in preparation for December 10th was one of the single most awesome things I have ever experienced in my life. I am going to be doing an entire separate post about it next week…all I can say is that you have GOT to be here on December 10th…Chelsea Stewart, daughter of the late Payne Stewart, will be on stage & talking about what the Lord has taught her through the experience of losing her father in a plane crash in 1999. This will be one of THE most moving worship experiences you have ever been in…I promise!
The Clemson/Carolina game is this Saturday! I can’t wait!!! YES…I will be there!!! I will have on orange so I should be easy to find. Pray for me if you think about it…I am speaking to the team at their chapel service on Friday evening. (When I say “the team” I am referring to Clemson!!!)
Prediction on the game…Clemson wins, of course. :-) I have had people asking me, “What if you guys lose this year?” My reply has been, “I don’t know how that feels…it’s been so long since we lost to you guys…so if we lose I guess I will just have to deal with some new emotions!” GO TIGERS!!!
Todd had this post on his blog today…HOLY COW!!! Pastors…this read reminded me of how high the stakes really are…and how we need to put boundaries in place to guard ourselves…how we need accountability and people in our lives we can be open with. It challenged me…I prayed this morning in my time with the Lord about the fact that one of THE single greatest desires in my life is to finish well!!!
This coming Sunday we will wrap up the “Lord of the Rings” series with a message that will teach married couples how to eliminate 75% of their arguments!!! In doing this I understand that some couples may struggle to find new things to do in all of the spare time that will follow the application of this message…but trust me…it will be well worth it. I think the message for this Sunday has the potential to be the best message preached in this entire series!!!
That’s about it for now–I probably will not be doing much blogging until next week! Have an awesome Thanksgiving.
Seven Reasons Why Jesus Could Not Have Been A Pastor In Many Churches November 21, 2006
This should be fun…
#1 – He Obviously Cared About Numbers!
In reading the Gospels it does not take a rocket scientist to discover that “great crowds” were always gathering around Him…there are even instances where the crowds nearly crushed Him…and not once did He ever get mad about it & tell those people to go to hell so that He could “go deep” with those closest to Him.
At the end of every Gospel He tells His apostles to go and tell people about Him (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48, John 20:21)…and upon a casual reading of the book of Acts one can discover that this happened…and God was involved. (Acts 2:42 – Acts 4:4) By the way…God never seems to be truly involved in churches that don’t reach people…because people are too involved!
Yep–Jesus cared too much about people…and that just would not fly in some places.
#2 – He Was Not An Expository Preacher!
Jesus simply did not preach line by line, verse by verse, through the Old Testament. There are SOME instances where He uses Scripture; however, the overwhelming majority of the time He tells stories…in other words–He was a creative communicator!!! (I am so sure the bloggers of that time period probably accused Him of watering down God’s word!)
#3 – He Offended Religious People!
Yep–the personal committee would have dismissed Jesus quickly–and probably without any severance. You see–He kept asking them insulting questions like, “Haven’t you read…”, which REALLY insulted their intelligence because He was referring to the Torah…which most of them had memorized.
There are instances where He calls religious people sons of their father the devil…and even calls them things like snakes, vipers and white washed tombs. Obviously Jesus didn’t give a rip about what people thought about Him…and most pastors know that if you are going to be “successful” in ministry you HAVE to keep the influencers and big givers happy & try hard not to offend them.
#4 – He Was Not Issue Oriented!
Not once did Jesus ever organize a group to protest the illegal occupation by the Romans. Nor did He became an advocate for private school, gun control, or animal rights! AND…He also refused to be interviewed by Fox News or endorse Al Frankin!
AND…He never seemingly would take a stand on predestination or free will – the rapture – speaking in tongues – or can women wear make-up, you know–things that REALLY matter to people who are lost.
No–He had this passion about one thing–the Kingdom of God…and He was dedicated to it in a relentless way. I know of too many pastors that are focused on many issues…but “the issue” that NEEDS to be focused on is JESUS CHRIST...making HIM famous…and NOT a particular political party or a particular brand of theology. (Oh boy…I can feel the temperature rising!) :-)
#5 – He Liked To Have Fun!
Where was His first miracle performed? Answer…A PARTY!!! I know, I know–technically it was a wedding…but a casual study of that culture in that particular time period will show that wedding were a HUGE deal…many times lasting for three days.
And get this–Jesus made the list!!! Someone evidently thought Jesus was cool enough to invite to the wedding. (And they were so glad they did when they ran out of wine.) Folks–it is in the Bible–John 2, read it for yourself!!!
And in Matthew 14 where the Bible talks about Jesus walking on the water…and the disciples cried out in fear. Now guys…stop and think for a second…don’t you think He had a HUGE smile on His face when He did this?
#6 – He Hung Out With The Wrong Types Of People!
Jesus never seemed to be caught up in hanging out with people who seemed to think just like Him…you see, that would have been way too safe. Nope–He was always hanging around prostitutes, tax collectors and “sinners.” And He hung out with them so much that He was even accused of being a drunkard and a glutton!!! The thing is–He just didn’t seem to let that bother Him.
You see, in order to be “successful” as a pastor today you MUST hang out with people who talk, think, and act JUST LIKE YOU! For God’s sake don’t get near someone who might believe differently than you…OR have a different skin color than you…that might CHANGE the way you think…and that just wouldn’t be good in someone’s goal to please people.
#7 – He Was A Prophet…And Not A Prostitute.
A prostitute is for sale…they get paid for a service in order to make someone feel better about themselves. Many pastors today are simply prostitutes–for sale–and threatened and intimated by the loudest and most controlling person in their church.
BUT…a prophet speaks the truth…and does so not caring what might happen to Him. This was Jesus…if He desired to play it safe He could have probably avoided the whole crucifixion thing. BUT He was WAY more concerned with offending His Father than He was offending people…and that just would not fly in the modern day church.
I have heard pastors who say they like to “tell it like it is.” I agree…but telling it like it is does not mean that we yell at people who are far from God that they are “going to go to hell and fry like bacon.” Nor does it mean that we spend the majority of our time trying to tell the already convinced how good they are and that their poop doesn’t stink!
Nope–it is up to us to tell those who are far from God that they need to come near to Him through Jesus…and it is also up to us to tell those who are “in Christ” to live like it…and that means calling those IN the kingdom to repentance from time to time…both on a corporate and a private level.
Nope–Jesus simply could not have served as a pastor in many churches…but He did what He was called and instructed to do…which should be the goal of EVERY pastor and church leader all around the world. If we would all focus on pleasing Jesus and advancing His kingdom rather than pleasing people and catering to the need of immature Christians then our churches would be a lot better off!
Thank you Jesus for setting an awesome example!!!
Sunday Night Reflections November 20, 2006
Here I am, once again, sitting on my couch…needing to go to bed…but trying to wrap my mind around an incredible day. Last week we took the opportunity to challenge the men…and so this week it was time to challenge the women. (You can listen to both messages here.)
I would have to say that, out of all the message series that we have ever done, this one has been one of my favorites. We have definitely seen a ton of people respond to the fact that we are doing a series on relationships–which means that people are desperately seeking some type of help with their fractured lives…and when a church cares enough to deal with those issues…they will respond.
Marriage is something I am passionate about! I discovered several years ago that marriage was not just something people should do because they have dated a long time…or because they feel time is slipping away…or because they had too much to drink the night before. Marriage was GOD’S IDEA…HE DESIGNED IT…and THE main reason that so many marriages are screwed up is because people are seeking the advice of Oprah and Dr. Phil rather than seeking to see if God might actually have something to say on the subject.
In this series we simply decided to go to Scripture and see what God has to say about issues such as sex, submission, masturbation, pornography, affairs, divorce, homosexuality, and a ton of other things that are rarely addressed in church–and I don’t understand why because people have so many questions about these things…and GOD, through His word, addresses each issue.
I personally believe it is because many pastors are cowards. They would much rather discuss the rapture than dealing with divorce. AND PLEASE hear me on this–IT IS NOT EASY TO TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF!!! On more than one occasion during this series I stood on the side of the stage and asked our pastoral care pastor, Jake Beaty, to pray for me because my stomach was in knots. I remember during the message on, “How To Have An Affair” that I literally felt like I was going to throw up all day…and I cried at the end of the second service because I didn’t want to have to talk about it again that evening during the third service…I have NEVER felt that heavy in a message–EVER!!!
But pastors–it’s worth it!!! There have been so many people write in and call in…marriages have been saved–families have been held together because our team at NewSpring was sensitive to the Holy Spirit & followed His direction…and taught people that marriage is something worth fighting for.
Today at the end of the second service we had a wedding…and it was AWESOME!!! I stood there and watched the bride and groom say their vows…exchange rings…I pronounced them husband and wife…and nearly floated out of the room. I love seeing two people who love Jesus and who love each other get married…it’s one of the greatest joys of my life–congrats Chris & Jessica…
And scenes like the one I just described make it all worth it…AND assure me that we will do another series on relationships–we’ve got to…not sure when…but it is coming…so hold on!!!
Speaking of what’s coming…the next several Sunday’s will be…
This coming Sunday we will do the last message in the relationships series…and will literally be teaching couples how to eliminate at least 75% of their arguments.
The following Sunday we will use Ephesians 3:20-21 as a launching pad to begin to talk about the fact that God created us and designed us for a purpose…and He wants to do more with our lives than we could think of or imagine.
And then December 10th we will have Chelsea Stewart, the daughter of the late Payne Stewart, on stage to talk about the tragedy that took place in her life and in the life of her family…and how her faith in Jesus Christ brought her through that experience. Trust me…YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!
AND THEN…let’s not forget our Christmas services that are heading our way…more information coming soon.
I love what I do!!! I sat at supper tonight with some friends from Texas who flew into town today just to see what is happening here at NewSpring. These guys work with large churches all across America and told me that they could not think of a single church that is experiencing what we are experiencing right now. I told me…and it is true…no one is more amazed at what God is doing than me. Folks–let’s never take this for granted–let’s celebrate & beg God to do more…thank You Jesus for all that You are doing!!! May You continue to do more than all we can ask for or imagine!