Archive for July, 2007
Four Reasons I Believe NewSpring Is Working July 31, 2007
Recently I had lunch with a pastor who asked me this question, “OK dude, you are in Anderson, SC and have over 7,000 people per weekend–what would you say are the reasons NewSpring has been successful?”
Well–the quick answer is, “God!” But–as I have said before–the God factor is only a part of the equation. If God were the ONLY reason for the success of a church–then every church in the world would be experiencing growth…so not only is their the God factor–but there are four other things that I can think of.
#1 – I Am Desperate To Hear God’s Voice!
Like it or not–leadership matters. And as a leader I know that, like Andy Stanley said at Catalyst last year…leadership is stewardship, it’s temporary and I am accountable.
That is why I would have to say that I am more desperate to hear the voice of God than ever before. I am not smart enough to make the right decisions when it comes to leading this church, nor do I have the experience to do so. I have not received the education that many have had the privilege of receiving…BUT…the one thing I do have is desperation to hear God’s voice, leading me along His path.
One of the most dangerous things a leader can do is slip into cruise control and neglect the role of the Holy Spirit in his life…I pray that never happens to me or anyone on our staff. I can honestly say that I have NEVER made a mistake when I follow God’s leadership…our screw ups have always been when I thought that I didn’t need His guidance to make a particular decision.
#2 – I Do Not Think I Am Better Than The Team I Serve With.
A leader who sits in a room with a group of people and perceives that he or she is better than the people in the room will NEVER see what they are capable of because of his insecurities.
When I sit around the table with the leadership team God has put around me…it isn’t like they are in awe of me OR like Moses coming down off the mountain and they are sitting there and saying, “Yes Oni-Wan, what is thy bidding?”
As a leader I recognize that God’s voice to these guys is just as real as it is to me…and when they talk I listen and seriously consider what they are saying. Now there have been times when a decision has to be made and I have had to be the one to make the final call–but before doing so I make sure everyone has been heard and understood…that HAS to be in any leadership environment for it to be successful long term.
#3 – We Really Do Love The People We Work With.
I have heard leaders at conferences say, “In ministry you just cannot be a senior pastor and be friends with the people on your staff.” People who say that are more full of crap than a constipated elephant!
I LOVE the people I work with–we hang out all the time…do NOT underestimate the value of chemistry in a church. Not only should we rejoice in our calling–but we should also rejoice in who we are called to serve with.
In many churches the pastor is neutered because he isn’t allowed to hire and fire…some personal committee hires someone and then the church wonders why in the world there are staff conflicts. DUH!
#4 – Our Volunteers!!!
If you took me out of the equation we would STILL have an awesome service this coming Sunday. BUT if you took our volunteers out we would fall on our face! We could NOT do ministry without the volunteers in this church…they are amazing…all 2,000+ of them.
I say it all the time–a church is NOT effective when the pastor ministers to the people…but rather when the body ministers to the body…and that is what happens every Sunday here at NewSpring.
I always tell pastors that they need to hire staff that can recruit, train and encourage volunteers…because a healthy volunteer structure is KEY in growing a great church.
Feeling Like A Mule In The Kentucky Derby July 30, 2007
Several weeks back the guys at Catalyst called and asked if Tony and I would be willing to come down and do a podcast with them. We agreed and took off on a Monday to Atlanta. I was so impressed with the people I met down there and the excitement that was evident all through the offices–AND…just in case you are wondering…they put on this little conference every year that I think everyone should check out!
Anyway, I could not believe they asked me to do a podcast…seriously, I have listened to their podcast for quite sometime and the guys they had on there were top notch leaders…I guess they needed a redneck section…BUT then again, Tony was there…and he is definitely not a redneck. (In fact, his oldest daughter informed me on Friday that Tony is more obsessed with how his hair looks than Emily, his wife, is!)
SO…we did the podcast…you can go to their site to hear it…or you can download their podcast from itunes. They have some amazing talks on life and leadership…and they are providing these resources for free…so, if you are a leader and want to learn then you should go for it!
I DO need to throw out a disclaimer…it was a Monday AFTER I had spoken four times the previous Sunday…my brain was fried and I was tired and so…uh…I said a few things that I can’t believe I said. Oh well…it’s out there now!
I seriously felt honored that they would include me in the peeps that they have interviewed…BUT…in all seriousness, I did feel like a mule that got invited to the Kentucky Derby!!! :-)
Sunday Night Reflections July 29, 2007
Here are some thoughts running through my mind this evening…
- It was AWESOME to be back on stage today speaking at NewSpring…I LOVE THIS PLACE.
- I announced today that I am praying for at least ONE THOUSAND people to receive Christ during the month of August!!! NewSpring…lets pray a Psalm 2:8 prayer! GOD IS HUGE!!!
- Our attendance was up 75% compared to this time last year–HOLY COW–folks, this fall is going to be CRAZY! And just think–tons of people are still on vacation and the majority of our college students have not returned to campus yet!
- Speaking of that–PLEASE–seriously, for those who normally attend the 9:15 or 11:15 service…we are seeking at least 500 of you to commit to come on Sunday evenings at either 4:15 or 6:00…that way we can continue to make room in our AM services for those who are disconnected with God.
- We are doing something next Sunday with which I am VERY uncomfortable with…BUT…I really believe it will get the message across in a way that will never be forgotten.
- Yes, I did use the phrase “crap missile” in the message today!
- I spent some time in Greenville on Friday walking around and praying at our possible satellite location…I really feel that God is about to do something great there!
- After spending time there I went to Starbucks–DANG IT–we need one in Anderson! I heard that Greenwood is getting one…this is getting ridiculous!
- My daughter came to church today for the first time–I brought her out on stage during the first service. She’s awesome!!!
- Speaking of my daughter–before coming back to church this afternoon I took her and put her in her crib, right before I put her down she smiled at me and looked at me with her big beautiful eyes…I am in SO MUCH TROUBLE!
- Tonight after church I swung by Sonic and got some of their onion rings–WOW–those things are AWESOME!
- My friend Clayton is breaking into blog world and hit a home run with this post, you’ve got to read this!
Seriously–that’s all I’ve got this evening…I am SO tired…coming back from preaching after being gone for three weeks was great–but it officially kicked my butt!
A Few Pictures Of Our Daughter July 28, 2007
Here she is in one of my her favorite outfits! :-) Proverbs 22:6 sums up this picture!
Charisse makes friends quickly–here she is hanging out with Jordyn!
And finally–this one was so cute–I just had to share it!!!
Please pray for me–she smiled at me for the first time the other night and my heart melted…I think we are going to go and buy her a car tomorrow!!! :-)
Thoughts On Friday! July 27, 2007
Here goes…
- I am speaking this Sunday…I can’t wait…I’ve been off for three weeks and I feel like I am about to explode.
- Bob is one of the most innovative guys I have ever seen…after seeing this post I am inspired and am going to make my own iphone.
- Jonathan had this post on his site–DANG! I love the church!
- Charisse is ONE MONTH OLD TODAY! (Picture coming later on today or tomorrow!) She’s awesome…and is still taking a pee on Lucretia and I as often as she can!
- I was putting Charisse to bed the other night and right before I put her down she looked at me with her beautiful eyes and I just could NOT put her in bed!!! Dang!!! I am so in trouble!
- We had over 230 high school students at Fuse this past Wednesday night which is amazing because – #1, it is the SUMMER!!! #2 – Last year on that date we had 126 students, that is amazing!
- I HATE credit card companies–I have three credit card offers on my desk right now and they are going in the trash. Proverbs 22:7 is TRUE…credit card companies HAD me at one time–but not now!
- We already have over 200 people registered for Unleash in March of next year–that blows my mind. And in this post Tony let us know that we actually have two people registered from England!
- Scott Hodge had a boy…actually his wife had the boy…congrats guys!!!
- My friend Jon took this picture (courtesy of Tony’s blog) while in Seattle last week…after taking the picture he gave the guy $5 for his creativity.
- We are about 90% sure we have a secure place in Greenville for our satellite campus…more details to come later…PRAY HARD…this is exciting.
- Seriously–NewSpring–we all have a front row seat in what I believe is going to be one of the biggest moves of God in this state–possibly the Southeast! Yes–those are big words–but YES–He is a BIG GOD!!!
- I have noticed a post or two by pastors on the net claiming to be original in all of their ideas and I started to do a post about it…until Steven beat me to it–you can read his thoughts here. I AGREE!
That’s about it for now…I can’t wait for Sunday!
Be Sure You Get That Scripture Right!!! July 26, 2007
Here are a few true instances of people who used the wrong Scripture references…and it turned out BAD for them…
#1 – I had a female friend several years ago who always signed her letter with Proverbs 17:17. (Isn’t that sweet?) She wrote a guy friend of hers (who had a crush on her) a letter and accidentally signed it Proverbs 7:17–he could not speak for days!
#2 – A pastor was going to read II Corinthians 5:1 out loud at a graveside of a funeral…BUT instead he opened his Bible and read I Corinthians 5:1 out loud…he quickly recovered and immediately said, “But I don’t believe it!!!”
#3 – I was speaking to a youth group one time and was going to do the entire talk on I Timothy 4:12…I told them that they needed to really take this verse to heart–memorize it–put it where they can see it every single day. BUT…instead of the previous verse I mentioned I accidentally told them to turn to I Timothy 2:12 and never caught my mistake–and I could not figure out why the ladies looked at me like they wanted to kill me the entire time!!!
A Disturbing Pattern In Blog World July 25, 2007
I have been quite outspoken on this site about the Christian watchdogs that do nothing except for attack and bash those who are actually trying to reach people for Christ. At one time I was obsessed with these sites…I would literally read them every day and then steam about what they had recently said about me and/or my friends.
HOWEVER, I made a commitment several months ago not to go to these sites any longer. I repented of my stupidity–seriously–I was making myself sick! I even went as far to make a commitment to our entire senior management team that if I visit these sites OR if I google or technorati my name that I would pay each of them $100 a piece for each visit…thus far I haven’t had to pay anyone.
AND MY MIND HAS BEEN SET FREE! I can’t tell you how awesome it feels to not be consumed with anger and bitterness towards those who launch verbal attacks from behind a computer screen…but if they had to confront me face to face they would probably wet themselves!
BUT…something is changing in blog world. I have seen a disturbing pattern over the past month or two. I started not to say anything about it–but I feel like I have to…so here goes…
There are way too many bloggers that are building a philosophy of ministry based on their own calling and giftedness…and if other churches and leaders do not have the exact same philosophy as them then they are wrong. This is nothing more than spiritual pride–which the last time I checked–is exactly what got satan kicked out of heaven.
Want an example?
There are two very different philosophies in today’s world regarding church multiplication. One is churches planting churches and the other is churches starting video venues. In my opinion NEITHER one is better than the other.
HOWEVER, I have seen some very disturbing posts on blogs that I do read from guys that are actually attacking the video venue movement. They say that video venues are just a fad–that they will pass–and one guy even went as far to call out a particular pastor, who happens to be a friend of mine, and call him an ego driven maniac, which is simply not true. My friend was attacked because of insecurity and pride and not because what he is doing is wrong.
Pastors, we cannot complain about other churches always attacking us and then go and do the same thing and justify it because we are merely defending our philosophy. We have all been guilty of this at one time or another…but as long as Jesus is being honored and people are being reached and sin is not being glorified then I honestly believe we need to shut our flippin’ mouth and let God work–EVEN if He chooses to move in ways that are unconventional in our minds.
Here is my take on pastors doing church plants and video venues–the leadership of the church should always be in a state of desperately seeking what Jesus wants…and then when He makes it clear then HIS direction should be followed; after all, it IS His church.
Those in the church planting mode who are attacking video venues need to consider this–MAYBE God led the church (or churches) that you are attacking to begin video venues. MAYBE God is all over this movement. MAYBE people are being reached. MAYBE the kingdom is getting a little larger and God is getting the glory for it all…and if that is happening then who are we to say this movement is wrong.
Just because your church doesn’t adhere to a particular philosophy of ministry does not mean that it is not of God…and to make the claim that your church is right and every other church is wrong is doing nothing more than putting yourself in the same role that you claim drives you crazy!!!
I say this because NewSpring is about to launch a video site in Greenville…our first of MANY sites that we are going to launch all across the state of South Carolina. Why are we doing this? It’s really simple–for the past year our leadership has desperately sought what Jesus wants…and we all feel with all our hearts that this is the direction He has led us to. We are excited about it and KNOW that thousands of eternities will be altered.
Are we into church planting? Absolutely–but the way the Lord has led us to do it is through video venues for now. And fellas–seriously–let’s be ok with this. Some of you read this blog and the men who you call egomaniacs are FAR from it. I happen to know these men personally and they are radically in love with Jesus. If you want me to be honest–and egomaniac is someone who is doing something their way and feels like everyone else should do it exactly the way they should do it.
It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people–so guys–we’re on the same team–let’s go as hard as we can to reach as many as we can for the kingdom…and acknowledge that just because we don’t agree with a certain philosophy…as long as sin isn’t involved…we should keep our mouths shut and rejoice in what the Lord is doing.
We do what the Lord has called us to do here at NewSpring–we understand that all churches are not like us–NOR SHOULD THEY BE–but as long as people are being reached and lives are being changed–I say to God be the glory!!!