Archive for February, 2007
This Is Blowing My Mind!!! (UPDATED!!!) February 28, 2007
I know, two posts in one day–it is rare–but DANG!!!
I just finished talking with our conference team–and it looks like our registration numbers for Unleash are now over 450 peeps! (UPDATE–it is 9:15 on Thursday morning and I have JUST BEEN INFORMED that we have 632 people coming…and registration is still open!!!) I totally did not expect this; in fact, when we planned this event we had said that if we had 100 people then we would consider it a success. WOW…if you want to make God laugh then tell Him your plans! Once again–we thought too small!!!
(For those who may be wondering why we thought 100…well, we spent $0 in advertising…literally, all we did was send out a few e-mails & I asked some blogging friends to give this thing a shout out. Looks like word of mouth blog carries some weight!)
I am SO PUMPED about this conference…and I am so thankful that people are coming! Two things…
If you are a NewSpring member…of course you can attend…as a volunteer!!! :-) Shoot me an e-mail and I will make sure that someone gets in touch with you.
If you are still trying to decide whether or not to come–DO IT! :-)
Desperation February 28, 2007
I remember being an incredibly frustrated youth pastor back in the early 1990’s and complaining to another youth pastor who was MUCH older and wiser than me. I told him, “Nothing, I mean NOTHING is happening in the youth ministry I am leading.” He very calmly looked at me and asked, “What are you praying that you might see happen?”
BAM…busted, seriously, it felt like someone had given me a swift kick to the mid-section. It hurt…DEEP…because I had been so busy leading and preparing that I had forgotten a pretty important issue–God’s hand!
God taught me a lesson that day…and since then I have been desperate for God…desperate for HIS leadership in my life. The Bible says in James 1:5 that if we lack wisdom that we can ask God and He will give it. Well…if there’s anyone on the planet that lacks wisdom–it’s me!!! I tell people all of the time that NewSpring is NOT the result of my brilliance…TRUST ME…NewSpring is what happens when people get desperate for God, seek Him daily and who have one goal…TO MAKE HIM FAMOUS!
Sure, I offer prayers of thanksgiving…confession…repentance…but to be honest, most of my prayers are out of desperation!
I am desperate for God to continue to give me guidance in my marriage. With marriages falling apart all over the U.S. I have came to realize that I need His guidance. I desperately want to be a godly husband, but I need His wisdom to show me how. Are you praying for your marriage? (Or your future marriage?)
I am desperate for God to show me how to be a father to a little girl. Like I have said…I am so messed up already. A staff member who recently gave birth to a little girl recently came by the office and I got to see her…I had to walk away because God hit me with this thought, “That’s coming your way!” I AM DESPERATE…I want to be a godly dad…but I need HIS wisdom!
I am desperate for God to provide me with wisdom in regards to leading NewSpring. One of the things I have discovered about leadership is that it isn’t that hard at its core–all a leader has to do is listen to God and then do what He says…it’s just that listening seems so hard at times when I seem to have it all figured out!!!
I am desperate to see people come to Christ. I am obsessed with it!!! As many of you know, we wrote names on the walls of our church of people who do not know Jesus…and every time I get up to preach I am reminded that one of those people are probably attending that day…and I am desperate to see God draw them towards Him!
What are you praying for? What are you desperate to see God do? Prayer is NOT a formula…it’s not a coin in a vending machine…it is a chance to connect with the Creator of the Universe…and I DO NOT do this out of obligation, I do it out of desperation. I spent 18 years of my life seeing what Perry can do…and I was not impressed. I want to spend the rest of my life seeing what God can do–I’m desperate!
Impotence February 27, 2007
I never thought I would see the day when there would be television commercials that were promoting drugs for men who have…uh…well, you know…problems!
Why are they doing this? Well–I guess they identified a need…and they now have millions of dollars to prove that they not only identified the need–but then they provided a solution to the problem.
I know some of you are wondering what in the heck this has to do with the church…and I am about to connect the dots. :-)
I once heard TD Jakes says, “Impotence is when you posses the equipment but you lack the passion to perform.” Like it or not–one of THE main problems in the church today is spiritual impotence. The church has ALL that it needs…an empty tomb, the Bible, the Holy Spirit…and combine those with the technology that none of the Apostles had and–DANG–we should be making noise!
BUT the stats on the church in America are sobering. Over 80% have hit their max and are now declining. Around 3,500 churches every year are shutting down…and over 80% of church plants fail within the first three years. NOW putting this into business terms…if a business operated like this then it would go BANKRUPT! Is that where the church is heading?
Once again I ask why! The church has SO MUCH and yet is doing so little. WHY? It’s simple really–impotence–we have the equipment but lack the passion to perform.
And let me challenge my fellow pastors–this one is on you bro! If you have no passion then your church will follow suit. If your biggest desire is to “keep the sheep happy” and draw a paycheck…then your church will reflect that. If you are carrying around resume’s in your briefcase & looking for the next best thing–you are an impotent leader…and your church is suffering because of you!
I look around the world today…and THE ONE THING I can identify in great leaders is PASSION! Folks, it is not a leadership style–it’s passion…passion for Jesus…passion for the Bible…passion to see the disconnected get connected to Christ. PASSION!
God has given us all we need! It bothers me when I hear a church pray, “God, we want more of You!” I can’t prove this–but I’ll bet God often times replies, “More? Why don’t you use what I’ve given you!!!”
Pastors–let me warn you, if you develop passion…you begin to lead with conviction…you allow God to develop a vision in your heart and then you begin to take risks to accomplish that vision–satan will try his best to attack your passion…and he will do it MOST of the time through people who claim to know Christ.
Pastors with vision are usually called “cocky” and “arrogant.” AND they are called this by religious people who, at the core of their criticism, think that you should be doing things their way. Which bothers me because…well, isn’t what they are actually criticizing?
Also keep in mind that the people who usually say these things are from churched background and most likely have never encountered a man with vision and passion…and so it is new to them. They are used to pushing the pastor around…threatening him with money and/or his job.
Don’t let these people steal your passion. If you are God’s man–BE GOD’S MAN and lead with passion.
The other area in which satan will try to steal your passion is through the internet world–through people who do not know you or have never met you–yet they will lob critical remarks your way.
You just need to decide if you are going to lead with passion…or are you going to cater to the very people who, if they had been alive 2,000 years ago, would have taken place in the murder of Jesus!
Keep something in mind about the internet…it is a place for cowards to hide. People will say things on the internet that they would NEVER say to your face. If you begin to listen to people who are not even at your church and let them govern the direction of your church–PASTOR–WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? Those people will render you impotent in a heart beat!
My advice…get alone with God–develop a vision…a GOD SIZED vision. Share that vision with people–challenge them to get on board. The ones that can’t–let them leave–it’s ok, people walked away from Jesus, they will walk away from you as well. AND then continually cast that vision over and over and over again.
One of the things that sets NewSpring Church apart is that we have vision! We want to impact Anderson for Jesus Christ. We have a plan…a strategy…and we are following it…and it drives SOME people crazy! I say often that I don’t give a rats rear-end what people say–this church is GOING to follow God’s vision–we are going to do things God’s way…and there isn’t a man on the planet that can change my mind. That isn’t cockiness…that isn’t arrogance…that is simply a pastor who is not impotent and who has a backbone!!!
I always tell people, “Like it or not–NewSpring is here to stay!!!” We have thousands of names written on the walls of our sanctuary right now of people who need Christ–and we are going to REACH EVERY ONE OF THEM! We will NOT get bogged down in church politics! We will not form a holy huddle and lick the lint out of the navels of “fellow believers!” We are going to STORM the gates of hell…and we are GOING to see lives changed.
Pastors–are you impotent…or are you filled with passion? Your church is a reflection! GO FOR IT!!!
Weekend Reflections February 25, 2007
I know this is normally a time when I do “Sunday Night Reflections;” however, this weekend has been so eventful that I had to include some of the things that have happened.
I cannot even begin to describe the Friday session at C3 with TD Jakes. He is one of the FEW people that have moved me to tears during his speaking…and when he was done I could not keep myself in my chair. He BROUGHT it.
We flew home on Friday night…and I was in a weird mood–so I began singing the theme song from “The Love Boat” really loud in the DFW airport. It was fun and seemed to make the people around me happy–either that or they thought I was drunk!
Saturday was AWESOME because I was able to spend a lot of time with my incredibly beautiful wife! We did our normal Saturday routine of hitting the gym and then going to Sonic. I know it doesn’t make sense to work out like crazy and then eat onion rings–but that is our thing and we love it!!!
Saturday afternoon–HOLY COW…we celebrated one of THE most awesome things that we do at NewSpring–BAPTISM. (Tony has a picture here.) We stood and saw 212 people confess Jesus Christ as Lord…and it was MOVING! Baptism is one of those things that I never get tired of–it is what makes all of the work and all of the crap I put up with from negative people worth it!!!! To see changed lives–THAT is why we do what we do–and NewSpring–there are THOUSANDS more who need Christ…and we ARE going to reach them!
Today was awesome because I didn’t speak. I counted and I had spoken for 13 weeks in a row…and to be honest…I was TIRED. I know that some people don’t understand that; in fact, I have had people ask me, “Why do you say you are tired…all you do is speak on Sunday!” If you are a pastor and someone says this to you…I really don’t think God would be mad if you hit them…just being honest.
BUT…for those who do understand–I was tired…and so I handed the stage to Joe today and he brought it!!! I thought it was an excellent message…I know God spoke to me through it.
Tonight I stepped over to see Ignite, our Middle School ministry. I was HIGHLY impressed with the creativity and excellence that our middle school staff demonstrated. Alden Ellis is one of the finest youth pastors I have EVER seen in my life…and his love for students is SO obvious. I love students as well–and tonight I began to get REALLY excited about our upcoming summer trip!!! (I serve as the speaker for our summer camps…and it is a BLAST!!!)
Oh yeah–speaking of youth ministry–we have a REALLY exciting announcement this coming Sunday!
AND…speaking of this coming Sunday…we begin our new series called “Girls Gone Wild!” YEAH–it’s going to ROCK!
NewSpring…I am going to go ahead and say it–mark you calendars for April 1st…and DO NOT MISS THAT SUNDAY!!! It will be the last message in the “Girls Gone Wild” series and I will be sharing some REALLY exciting news about the direction of our church–especially in the area of missions. TRUST ME…if we are able to do what we are investigating then I believe our community will be COMPLETELY turned upside down for Jesus Christ. I have NEVER heard of a church doing what we are looking at doing! (Yes, things done in our community IS CONSIDERED MISSIONS!!! God help the church that will send money overseas but ignores the very needs that exist within a nine iron shot of the parking lot!)
I will be speaking here on Tuesday…and I am REALLY excited AND nervous. YES–I get nervous when I speak–especially when I am not at NewSpring–for those who pray for me–PLEASE pray hard on Tuesday. And for those who DO NOT pray for me–please start on Tuesday!!! :-)
And then the conference we are doing here at NewSpring–wow–I never expected to see what we are seeing–274 people are signed up from 75 different churches in 14 states. (Don’t forget that the early bird rate deadline is Wednesday!!!) We have put some things together over the past week or so that is going to put this thing over the top…and I can’t wait for NewSpring to be able to serve other leaders! And NewSpringers–let us know if you want to volunteer–we already have about 150…but we can always use more.
Pastors–once again–do not come to this thing alone. Trust me–GET PEOPLE HERE WITH YOU!!! I promise it will be WELL WORTH $45!!!
That’s it–I am going to bed…BUT I am doing a post on Tuesday that God has been building inside of me for weeks now…I can’t wait! (Yes, I do believe it will ruffle some feathers!) :-)
C3 Update… February 23, 2007
I won’t go into the tons of details on this blog–Tony has posted a pretty detailed list of some awesome bullet points at his site…BUT I will hit the highlights from my point of view.
Ed Young – Ed is a great friend and does not hold back on what he is thinking…and some of THE main points I took away from him were…
- I’ve got to carve out more time to think “what if” thoughts
- He said, “When pride walks on the stage, God walks off!” (This was an awesome reminder to remember WHO is doing all of this AWESOME stuff!)
- I’ve got to be willing to deal with the issues that the Holy Spirit brings to my attention.
- Little people with little vision will always attack big people with big vision
Craig Groeschel – I have heard this guy speak twice now…and BOTH times God used him to challenge me and make me incredibly uncomfortable…
- “I’ve insulted God by dreaming too small.”
- You can be a full time pastor and a part time follower of Christ.
- “My kids will know me as daddy, not ‘pastor,’”
- I’ve got to “play hurt.” People will hurt you, the ministry will hurt you…and you still have to play!
- Your ministry will never outgrow your threshold for pain.
- God uses idiots!
- Look at who Jesus surrounded Himself with–not one Scribe, not one Pharisee, not one Sadducee…they were all “idiots!” (See Acts 4:13)
- Most churches who are looking for a pastor want someone with at least five years of ministry experience, who has a seminary degree…and at least five years of ministry experience–which means that JESUS would not be qualified to pastor most churches in the USA!!!
Mark Driscoll – this dude is a certified Jesus freak…I love this guy…he brought it…
- Jesus loves my church more than me–and when I am off–He is still ON IT!
- The Pharisees murdered Jesus because He wasn’t “good enough!”
- The religious critics are like referees, they aren’t playing the game, they aren’t putting any points on the board, but they love the jersey and the whistle and pointing out people’s problems
- Religious people care about things that no one else cares about–including God!
Dr. Ed Young (Ed’s dad) – this guy rocked my world…he is 70, has three boys in the ministry, has a solid marriage–leads a large church…and is full of life. He is PROOF that it CAN BE DONE!!!
- If the church wants to do serious missions–it needs to reach KIDS!!!
- Reaching kids is evangelism!
- Out of the kids who are BROUGHT UP IN CHURCH–only ONE out of EIGHT are still there when they reach the age of 22. (Maybe that’s because they were treated like second class citizens as kids and teens!!!)
- The church has a product (the good news), a mission statement (Matthew 28:18-20), a marketing strategy (Acts 1:8) and profit (changed lives!)
I LOVE these environments…and I have LOVED getting to meet a lot of people.
That’s about it for now. God is ROCKING my world & showing me some AWESOME things…I can’t wait to get back and process all of this!!!
Unleash Update February 22, 2007
Holy cow–I had no idea…
When we originally planned “Unleash” we said that if we had 100 people that we would feel we had accomplished a great task.
When I left for Texas today we had 213 signed up…and we knew of MANY more that are coming but haven’t registered yet…it looks like we might have between 350-400 here at NewSpring Church on March 15th.
Folks–we are going to pull out all of the stops–we are going all out!!! I am SO pumped about this event, and so is our entire staff.
Pastors…if I could say one thing I would say this–DO NOT COME HERE BY YOURSELF!!! Trust me–the main reason we set the price for this conference so low is so that pastors could bring other staff and volunteers with them.
I remember the first time I took the staff to C3 at Fellowship Church…when I came back I tried my best to communicate all that I had seen and heard…but despite my passion there was just no way I could communicate what I had experienced. SO…the next year I took every single staff member and every elder on staff to C3…and THAT EVENT was a turning point for the leadership of our church.
SO…pastors, bring people with you! Get them here…do whatever you need to do. I know of one church that is bringing between 30-40 people with them!!!
February 28th is the last day of the early bird rate–then it goes up! I can’t wait for this thing to happen…I can’t wait to meet everyone who is coming in! I promise that we are going to do our best to encourage, challenge and cast vision…and to share what we’ve done right and wrong.
Hope to see you on the 15th!
Seven “Gimmicks” We Use At NewSpring Church–Part Two February 21, 2007
WOW…yesterday was fun…today should be no exception.
#4 – We Care About Excellence
One of our core values is excellence…we believe that if it is done in God’s name…then it deserves our best effort.
Keep in mind that excellence is the core value–NOT PERFECTION! We literally screw something up every Sunday…but it is NOT because we are not trying hard.
It bothers me when a church offers a half-hearted, poor, pitiful presentation of the Gospel…and then when it totally BOMBS they blame the problem on the Holy Spirit.
Uh…if the Trinity is truly a Biblical concept…and I believe it is, then why is it that we blame “God the Holy Spirit” on things that we screw up?
As I said, we believe in excellence…that means we want to offer our very best. SO…people who can’t sing do not sing. Seriously–why do churches let people do this? I have heard, “Well, their heart is good.” And that might be true–but their voice is awful & makes me think of a cow dying in a hail storm.
We make sure our kids get the very best in (1) facilities–we do not stick them in some basement with leaking pipes and wall paper from the 1970’s and tell them to “like it or else.” But rather we provide them with an atmosphere that they can actually enjoy.
(2) People–we do not stick them with a lady so old that she personally knew seven out of the twelve apostles personally and that hates kids…NO–our volunteers LOVE kids…love working with them–and are willing to go through a federal background check to do so!
If it worth doing then it is worth doing right!
#5 – We Plan Ahead
Yep, another gimmick is that we plan ahead & do not just “wing it.” For example, yesterday we had a meeting regarding this Sunday, March 18th and Easter. We know these things are coming our way and we want to be as ready as possible.
Our kid’s area is planning their Summer Blockbuster deal that will be going on in July, actually, they have been planning it for months. You know why? Because these kids matter!!!
Some people say that you can plan so much that you plan God right out of it…I disagree. I believe the Holy Spirit works just as much in my planning and preparation time as He does when I am delivering a message on a Sunday or Wednesday. God is a planner…He is Sovereign…BUT a casual journey through Scripture can show us–He has a plan–we should as well.
#6 – We Challenge People To Commit
Let me be very clear on this–NewSpring Church has THE BEST volunteers on the planet–BAR NONE! (You will get to meet many of them for yourselves if you are planning on coming to our conference in March…we already have over 200 people registered!)
Here is the deal–I teach this all of the time, a church is NOT effective when a pastor ministers to the people. NO…a church is effective when the body ministers to the body!
Many churches simply kill their pastor…they expect that poor guy to do everything while they sit on their rear end and bark orders. Uh…where exactly is the Biblical basis for that.
I know, I know, some moron is going to e-mail me, telling me that pastors are supposed to “shepherd their flock.” AND…I agree…but leading that flock DOES NOT MEAN doing the things for them that Scripture clearly indicates that they are to be doing for one another!
Ephesians 4:11-16 tells us that we are to teach the people HOW to minister–NOT to do it all. And at NewSpring we have a group of people that EMBRACE that concept…and God is using their skills every weekend to IMPACT thousands of lives for Jesus Christ.
#7 – We Have An Atmosphere Where People WANT To Bring Their Unchurched Friends
When I was growing up the LAST place you took a person who didn’t know Christ was to church! NO…you “got them saved” first and then took them to church…because, if you did the opposite it would mess them up forever.
We have taken a different approach…we have told people we are going to work as hard as we can, pray that God will move…and we want you to partner with us in getting your lost friends and family members here…AND…it works. We’ve seen nearly 300 people give their lives to Christ over the past few weeks…and the best is yet to come!!!