Archive for March, 2008
HUGE Announcement! March 31, 2008
OK…first of all let me just say that I am so PUMPED about what I am about to share…seriously!
Several months ago Craig Groeshel (one of the finest leaders on the planet) called and proposed this idea - WHAT IF we got several churches to go in together, to actually unify the body, and we all were willing to put personal preference aside and did a series of messages together entitled, “One Prayer.”
(”One Prayer” was/is the driving force behind this idea–if you could pray one prayer for the church–what would it be?)
The way this will happen here at NewSpring Church is that we will begin the “One Prayer” series in June…and the first week I will teach live here at NewSpring on the subject, “Make Us Dangerous.” (That would be my one prayer.)
THEN…the next week via video Craig from LifeChurch will teach on “Make Us One (Unified.)”
THEN…the next week Ed Young from Fellowship Church will teach on “Make Us Creative.”
THEN…the last week Jentezen Franklin from Free Chapel will teach on “Make Us Passionate.”
To my knowledge nothing like this has ever been attempted in church world…various churches from different denominations and different styles of worship coming together and rallying around the cause of bringing the body together & showing the world what can happen when THE CHURCH WILL SIMPLY BE THE CHURCH.
Also in the plans is a website where people from any church can log on and begin to share what God is doing in their lives through this series…where we can see how God is NOT limited to one church or particular style of ministry…where we can begin to connect and pray for believers all over the world by name. Seriously–this is HUGE!
AND…every church involved will be asked to participate in an offering at some point in the series so that we can radically impact world missions. More on this aspect as the details get worked out.
Here’s ANOTHER awesome aspect. This series of messages via video teaching is open to ANY CHURCH that wants to participate–FOR FREE! Seriously–if you want to participate in this series then just go to this link where Craig shares his heart about the series through a video…and all of the contact information is there if you want to participate.
Once again–it’s free–no one is making a dime off of this. The guys at LifeChurch have provided the graphics, promo materials–EVERYTHING.
SO…if you are a pastor and want to jump on this…the series will begin on Sunday, June 8th. You could teach live in your church that week if you would like…and then just use three of the four messages that will be provided. OR…you can take it five weeks and use all four. OR…you can just use one–doesn’t matter. We simply want this to be an option for everyone who wants to participate.
In addition to the four pastors I just mentioned–Craig has invited quite a few other pastors to submit messages as well that are going to be available if you want other options.
Like I said–this has the potential to be HUGE and to unify the church all across our country in a way that will be unforgettable.
And a personal note to NewSpring…one of the reasons I am personally excited is that we are going to get to hear some of the best leaders and communicators speak in our church for several weeks via video…and in doing so we will be participating in something that is SO MUCH LARGER than what God is doing here.
I am sure I will post more on this later–I just wanted to get it out for now. WOOOO-HOOOOOO!
Sunday Night Reflections March 30, 2008
What a day! Seriously, there are days as a pastor when you sit back and say, “THAT is why I do this!” This was one of those days. (On the other hand…there are days as a pastor when you ask, “Why exactly do I do this?” This WAS NOT one of those days. Here are some highlights…)
- Incorporating baptism in all four services was STRONG. We baptized 71 people today…hearing that many people say out loud, “Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord” absolutely messed me up!
- Tonight at the 6:45 service we saw a man in a wheelchair follow through in baptism. Two men lifted him up and carried him down into the water…and his wife stood there and wept as he said out loud, “Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord.” (She wrote his name on the wall nearly two years ago!!!)
- Seeing Fred (the man in the wheelchair) follow through with baptism made me want to vomit on people who always have an excuse as to why they refuse to go public through baptism. Just being honest!!!
- There was UNBELIEVABLE tension in the room today–especially in relation to the men and their “protectile dysfunction” issues.
- Our video team did an incredible job creating a protectile dysfunction video…you can view it here or visit www.peditra.com It’s quite possibly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
- Seeing all of the men come forward at the end of every service absolutely rocked my world. AND hearing many of them pray out loud, asking for God’s help in becoming the men He would have us to be was simply amazing.
- Lucretia told me that she really likes it when I preach about the church AND when I talk to men about being godly–she says that my passion comes out and that I am fun to listen to. I am not bragging–just sharing what my wife shared with me. (Dang she’s hot!)
- I said something in the 4th service tonight to challenge the singly guys that caused eyebrows to raise…I told the guys that the problem with many single guys in our churches today is they are seeking a womb and not a wife! We need men who will seek to value women, not use and manipulate them!
- Oh yeah…there will be a HUGE announcement on this website tomorrow concerning something incredibly huge in church world. To my knowledge NOTHING like this has ever been attempted–and I am so pumped that NewSpring Church gets to be a part of it.
- I still haven’t made my mind up about the Twittering thing.
- I know I sound like a broken record when I say this–but the worship time in the fourth service tonight was INCREDIBLE. When we sang, “You Never Let Go” I literally thought the roof was going to come off!
- For those who could not quite remember the date I am talking about the subject of sex…it will actually be April 13th and 20th. What are we talking about this coming Sunday? Guess you need to show up to find out! :-)
- I get to do something this week I’ve really been wanting to do for awhile…I will give you the details next week.
- Tomorrow I have a meeting scheduled with Dr. Danny Aiken, the President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I can’t wait–he is one of the wisest and godliest men I’ve ever met and I can’t wait to pick his brain!
- NewSpring…I say this all the time, but I love this church! I love what God has called us to–and I can’t wait to see what He has right around the corner. Seeing the construction on on youth and children’s facilities and seeing the work happen in Greenville reminds me that God is JUST GETTING THINGS STARTED!
GOT TO GO TO BED!!! :-)
Ten Questions I Am Wrestling With… March 28, 2008
#1 - Is there anything in my life that I need to stop doing?
#2 - Is there anything in my life that I should start doing?
(By the way…the answer to #2 is YES…but in order for it to happen I REALLY need to wrestle with question #1!)
#3 - Should I twitter?
#4 - How can I be more efficient in the way I use my time?
#5 - How can I be a better husband?
#6 - How can I be a better father?
#7 - Will I ever attempt another marathon? (I am leaning towards a “no” on that one!)
#8 - Why, out of all the people on this planet, is God allowing me to be a part of what He is doing? Seriously, when I read II Samuel 7:18 this week I LOST IT! DANG…God has been so good to me!
#9 - How can we as a church continue to assist people in taking their next step with Christ?
#10 - Is it OK for me to admit that I believe Brad Cooper is an incredibly good looking guy? (I think I just did!)
Happy Birthday Charisse…Sort Of… March 27, 2008
Charisse is nine months old today! (So technically–it IS her birthday…sort of! BACK OFF–it’s our first child!!!)
WOW! Has she actually been here for nine months?
I love watching her grow and develop…she now claps when she likes something, waves bye-bye and is fascinated with my ear & tries to remove it from my head as often as possible.
Parents have told me time flies…I believe it.
Nine months old! WOW!
She’s got so much ahead of her…and to be honest, I feel like I do as well.
I’ve been following Christ now for nearly two decades. And I would say that I’ve grown in that time; however, there is so much more left for me to learn and experience. AND I can’t wait to see what HE has planned for me.
Philippians 1:6 says that if begins a good work–He will complete it…and I know there is still a lot of “completing” to do in me. I want that, I’m hungry for it…are you?
15 Signs That You (Or Your Church) Lacks Vision March 27, 2008
#15 - No one is ever challenged to radically rearrange their lives to be a part of what God is doing.
#14 - God hasn’t asked you to give something up.
#13 - Everyone in your church is perfect. (If you are truly reaching lost people then you will discover that ministry is messy.)
#12 - Nothing in regards to how you lead has changed in the past year.
#11 - When your youth group wants to do something you make them have a bake sale in front of Wal Mart–but when your senior adults want to do something the church covers the cost; after all, they are tithers! (And that same church will wonder why “the youth don’t come to church anymore.”)
#10 - You always find something wrong with ministries that are seeing fruit.
#9 - You can do everything you have in front of you WITHOUT the help of God AND others.
#8 - You spend more time on other churches websites than you do reading your Bible.
#7 - You think the answer to every problem is, “If we just had more money.”
#6 - No one has ever left your church.
#5 - You continually call other churches begging them for money.
#4 - You allow people with money to dictate the way you spend your time and the direction of the church.
#3 - When you go to a conference and come back and announce “we are changing everything” because you have received INSPIRATION not REVELATION.
#2 - You’ve never spent sleepless nights wondering, “How in heck are we going to do this? Seriously, I told our church we were going to do WHAT?”
#1 - You worry more about keeping the people in your church happy then you do about pleasing God and speaking the truth.
YEAH–Tonight Is Date Night… March 26, 2008
Confession…I LOVE DATE NIGHT! :-) I always have loved it–but, since Charisse has came along date night has now taken on new meaning.
We try our best to have supper as a family every night (except for Sunday’s–I am at church.) BUT, if you are a parent then you know that one on one, meaningful conversation is pretty challenging when you have a cute little kid next to you throwing her toys on the floor and yelling, “da-da-da” at the top of her lungs. Seriously, you can try to be romantic in that environment…but, it’s probably NOT going to work!!!
However, date night changes all of that! It is the one night per week that Lucretia and I know that we have each other’s undivided attention and that we can talk about things that have been on our mind. (Sure–we talk a lot during the week after putting Charisse to bed…but there’s something special to me about that date night conversation.)
I challenge every husband to MAKE IT a PRIORITY to have a date night with his wife! AND…I have discovered that it is WAY MORE ROMANTIC to her when I actually pick the restaurant and have a plan for the evening rather than getting in the car and saying, “So…uh…where do you want to eat? Are you hungry? What do you feel like…” (Men…that’s not how to make a woman feel pursued–I am just now learning that!!!) MOST of the time she will appreciate the fact that you took action–unless you purposefully choose a restaurant she hates–that would make you a JERK!!!
SO…that’s about it…just felt like saying I am excited about date night. Husbands…if your wife is TRULY the most important relationship on this planet–THEN PROVE IT!
AND–don’t e-mail me saying anything about how many kids you have or how demanding your schedule is…I could care less!!! Date night is about priorities–NOT EXCUSES. I know too many couples with lots of kids that still have date nights! You can make it happen…if you want to!!!
Top Six Things I’m Looking Forward To Here At NewSpring Church March 26, 2008
#6 - Seeing Our Youth And Children’s Facilities Begin Going Up Here At Anderson Campus! It’s getting exciting around here as construction has began!!! I can’t wait to see the finished product!!!
#5 - The Gauntlet - our summer beach trip for middle schoolers and high schoolers. We’re doing two weeks this year and sign ups have already began. They’ve asked me to speak this year…and Lee and the band will be going along to lead worship. It is HANDS DOWN one of things I look forward to the most every single year. Teenagers–YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!!! (Click here for more information!)
#4 - Mother’s Day - last year we gave away a house to a single mom…this year, this year things get a little bit crazier than that!
#3 - A HUGE UPCOMING ANNOUNCEMENT! Folks…within the next two weeks I will be making an announcement here that is going to be HUGE in church world; in fact, to my knowledge, NOTHING like what we are going to announce has EVER been attempted. It’s going to show the WORLD what the church can do when we decide to work together!
#2 - The Launch of Greenville Campus AND Florence Campus! Next year for Easter we will reach over 25,000 people!!!
#1 - THIS SUNDAY of course as we continue “The Man Series” with a talk entitled, “Protectile Dysfunction!” Yep–you read that right. Trust me…it’s a message every man needs to hear!!! AND we will be doing baptism this Sunday in a way that we’ve never done it before. (AND, of course–we will be back on our normal schedule this week as well!!! If you haven’t checked out the 6:45 service yet–you need to! We do a few extra songs and the atmosphere is always electric!!!)