Archive for March, 2008
Video Campuses OR Church Planting? March 25, 2008
SO…what is the answer? There are two “camps” that exist in church world that seem to be fighting an unnecessary war with one another.
One says that church planting is the key to advancing the Gospel. Their desire is to find men who have a vision for planting a church, encourage them to form a core group, find a portable location and launch. This, they say, is the ONLY way to truly build the church.
The other group says that the key is video campuses. They argue that if a church works, has strong leadership and speaking then that model of church should be taken to other places, the video teaching showed to the congregation and leadership provided by a central leadership team.
So–who is right and who is wrong?
Answer–NO ONE, and people who are caught up in this fight should repent for their arrogance and stupidity and move on with whatever God has called them to do!
I am all about both. If God has called someone to plant a church, if they have a fire in their eyes, they are willing to do WHATEVER it takes and they are totally willing to follow the vision that God has given them–then I say GO FOR IT! I’ve seen people like Steven plant…and I’ve followed the stories of Gary, Chris, Jeff and quite a few other guys! I love to watch what God is doing in their churches and would NEVER argue that they are not doing what God has called them to do.
BUT…I’ve also been to video campuses and seen God doing an amazing work there as well. I have seen Life Church being used by God is an amazing way. I’ve seen God do some incredible things at Buckhead Church…and I know He’s getting ready to use the multi-site/video campus at NewSpring to reach the world in an amazing way!
I heard Rick Warren say one time that every time there is a technological breakthrough that God seems to use it in an incredible way to reach the world. (We have a copy of the Scriptures because of the invention of the printing press…and when people were able to read Scriptures for the first time–it REFORMED everything!!!)
Here at NewSpring we’ve chosen to go the video campus route. NOT because we believe it is superior to all other models of starting churches…but because, through prayer and seeking God, we feel that He wants us to go that direction. We are embracing this model with every ounce of energy we’ve got and honestly believe that we will see THOUSANDS come to know Christ.
BUT…we still believe in other models. People in “church world” need to understand that there is PLENTY of room in God’s kingdom for various models in reaching the world…as long as they lift up Jesus and honor God’s Word–WHO CARES if it is a church planter or a video campus? Is Christ preaching crucified, risen and coming again? THAT is what matters!!!
I have finally realized in the past 15 months that God is SO MUCH LARGER than any model, method or strategy! And just because it may not be MY model–it MAY be His…and I need to be kingdom minded and support all that seek to make the name of Jesus famous and push the gates of hell back a little farther!
I am SO GLAD that God has WAY more than one model/method to reach the world! Each church is responsible to do EXACTLY what God has called them to do–nothing more, nothing less! My prayer is that our church, along with every church, will just be completely obedient to the call God has placed on us to advance His kingdom…and when another model comes along…we celebrate that as well.
My Bible Journey… March 24, 2008
Continues…
- James 1:2-3, Just being honest–these are NOT my favorite verses, but I KNOW they are true!
- James 1:5, This verse has gotten me through SO MANY tough decisions!
- James 1:13-15, Sin NEVER produces long term benefits–EVER!
- James 1:19, I am DESPERATELY trying to apply this verse to my life–it’s tough!
- James 1:22, One of THE LARGEST problems that plagues the church is people refuse to follow this verse…just my opinion!
- James 2:14-17, The Bible said it–don’t blame me!!!
- James 2:19, Believing in God just isn’t enough!
- James 2:26, Do you think God was using James to try and make a point?
- James 3:1, This verse has kept me up at night…I cannot take what I do lightly!
- James 3:13-16, It is my prayer that I can always celebrate the success of others and not allow jealousy to take over my thinking.
- James 4:2-3, My prayer is that I would ALWAYS ASK BIG…AND that I would always ask with the right motives.
- James 4:6, My prayer is that I am never opposed by God…He always wins!
- James 4:7, There is a promise here that should cause every Christian to rejoice.
- James 4:11, This verse has kept me from posting on message boards numerous times!
- James 4:13-14, THIS should cause every person on the planet to make sure things are right between them and God…and to live a life of no regrets!!!
- James 4:17, I need to preach on this verse sometime…it is one of the most convicting verses in the entire Bible.
- James 5:7, God’s timing is perfect. (This matches up beautifully with Ecclesiastes 3:11!)
- James 5:16, I am so glad I have people in my life in which I can practically apply this verse.
- James 5:17-18, I want THIS KIND of prayer life!
Sunday Night Reflections March 23, 2008
I am trying my best to wrap my mind around the events of this weekend. Here are some final thoughts before I hit the hay…
- Seeing over 120 people receive Christ this weekend absolutely PUMPED me up! Yeah God!
- Seeing over 12,000 people at church pumped me up as well…who would have thought that something like this could ever happen in Anderson…OTHER THAN GOD! :-)
- The music today BLEW my mind…”I Stand Amazed” rocked my world every time–and the choir singing on “Savior King” is one of the top five moments in NewSpring history!
- Just being honest…I experienced spiritual warfare this weekend like never before, it was intense–but, as always–JESUS WON! Like the great theologian Lee McDerment said, “The grave is too weak for Jesus, and one day, because of Him, the grave will be to weak for me!”
- I was holding Charisse tonight at supper–she was so beautiful in her little Easter dress and we were having such an awesome time…until…she TOTALLY pooted on me!!! BUT…she’s my daughter and I love her–poots and all! :-)
- The announcement was made today that we are beginning our third NewSpring campus in Florence later on this year, Tony has more about it here! We are taking the Gospel to the world THROUGH the local church–and, you guessed it, that PUMPS ME UP!
- It is our goal one day to have a NewSpring Church in every major city in the state of South Carolina…and then who knows…
- I saw more pastels in our church today than I ever care to see again! :-)
- I received a text today from a friend that brought his father to our worship service and then used that to have a conversation with his dad about Jesus–AMAZING!
- From time to time on this site I ask pastors/church leaders to shoot me questions that they may want to ask…and I ALWAYS put out this disclaimer–I am NOT an expert…but if you have a question as to how we do ministry here at NewSpring that you would love for me to answer on this website then please shoot me an e-mail and I will try my best!
- Lucretia and Charisse are listening to “Rockin’ Robin” – Charisse LOVES oldies! :-)
That’s honestly about all that I’ve got–I’m tired!
Pray Like Crazy–UPDATED SATURDAY NIGHT @ 8:15… March 22, 2008
I am sitting here on a Saturday morning getting ready to hit the gym…but before I head out I feel incredibly led to post and ask everyone out there to PRAY LIKE CRAZY for this weekend’s services.
Seriously…stop right now and ask the Lord to do something great and awesome. Ask Him to draw people, to open hearts, to change lives, to push back the gate of hell a little more AND to make His name famous.
Pray before lunch, before dinner–when you pull into the parking lot, after you leave the service…WHENEVER…just PRAY LIKE CRAZY!
I want to see God do something amazing among us this weekend…I have a sense of…
ANTICIPATION – I really do feel that God is going to do something incredible
AND…
DESPERATION - I know that we’ve worked hard, planned hard, gotten volunteers, decorated, and just about everything else you can think of…but if God doesn’t move then NOTHING significant will take place.
So, once again, pray–now, later, in the middle of the night (if you are one of those “get up & go to the bathroom people”).
AND…pray for your three!!! (And BRING THEM!)
I will see you this weekend!!! PRAY LIKE CRAZY!!!
It’s around 8:15–we’ve just completed two services and have three more tomorrow and I can honestly say…
WOW! DANG! God was IN THE HOUSE tonight. Thanks to everyone who prayed–KEEP IT UP, PRAY LIKE CRAZY!!! So far we’ve seen around 35-40 people receive Christ…and I know that this is just the beginning.
The song the band did right before invitation was probably one of the MOST INCREDIBLE worship moments I’ve personally ever experienced. WOW!
AND…the big announcement we made really FIRED some people UP!!! (I will talk more about it tomorrow night and next week!)
For those coming on Sunday–see you then, bring your three and PRAY LIKE CRAZY!!!
DON’T!!! March 21, 2008
Charisse is crawling–and dang, she can move. She is so cute the way she scoots across the floor at blazing speed…however,
She seems to always want to migrate towards the lamp cord. We’ve told her no. We’ve taken it out of her hands. We’ve turned her away from it–yet still she seems to always find her way back there.
I was watching her do this the other day and actually tried pointing out to her that she literally has dozens and dozens of toys all throughout the living room…yet she is determined to get a hold of the one thing she cannot have.
Isn’t that the way temptation works? satan is SUCH a genius when it comes to this…he manages to take our eyes off of all that we do have and focus them on the one thing we don’t (or can’t) have.
He did it with Adam and Eve in the garden. (See Genesis 3:1-7) They had access to every single tree in the known world…all except for one…and he took their eyes off of all they had and put them one the one thing that God said they couldn’t have.
AND THEY FELL FOR IT!
Charisse falls for it, Adam and Eve fell for it…and we will as well if we are not careful.
- He will take our eyes off of our spouse and put them on someone else.
- He will take our eyes off of our possessions and cause us to be jealous of the success of others and covet what they have.
- He will take our eyes off of all the kind deeds that someone has done for us and cause us to hyper focus on the fact that “they didn’t return my e-mail/phone call.”
- He will take our eyes off the fact that we are incredibly blessed with more than we could have ever imagined and cause us to fear giving 10% to Jesus for the advancement of His kingdom.
- He will take our eyes off the fact that the church has been an incredible blessing to our family and cause us to not want to come back because someone gave us a dirty look or didn’t speak to us.
- He will take our eyes off of our wives and cause us to look at porn because, after all, we are men, we have needs, right? (Job 31:1!)
- He will take our eyes off the fact that we are called to go to one another and work out our issues and cause us to gossip and backbite one another.
- He will take our eyes off the fact that our bodies are the temple of the living God and cause us to abuse them through gluttony.
Temptation is DANGEROUS…allowing satan to put our thoughts on anything is DEADLY, James 1:13-15 points out the destructive downward spiral of sin.
Is their junk in your life? I John 1:9 tells us how to deal with it! Let’s NOT crawl towards the things that we know are forbidden…let’s do what Hebrews 12:1-2 says. It’s NOT easy…we will struggle, but I Corinthians 10:13 promises us we can handle it!!!
Did You Miss Out On Unleash? March 20, 2008
Guess what–here is our brand new Unleash website with video from this year…AND also the video from last year if you want to check it out…FOR FREE!!! :-) Joshua did a great job putting it together!
I am looking forward to next year already!
And by the way…if I were you I would show up EARLY this weekend for whatever service you are attending–we are expecting a PACKED HOUSE for all five services!!! I’m PUMPED!!!
My Five Rules For Meeting With A Mentor March 20, 2008
I have had the privilege of being mentored by some incredible leaders, some you would know, others you might not–but nonetheless, God has used them to teach me SO MUCH about life and ministry.
Over the years I have developed five rules for meeting with a mentor that I would love to share here today…you may agree or disagree, all I know is that they have worked for me.
#1 – I Always Adjust To Their Schedule–ALWAYS!
When I am attempting to set up an appointment with someone I want to meet with–I always ask them (or their assistant) to throw two or three dates at me that is most convenient for them…and then I adjust my schedule to make the meeting happen.
I NEVER send them the times I want and then ask them to adjust their schedules. I am the one who wants the meeting…and if they are available to me I will bend over backwards to hang out with them.
#2 – I Am Always Early For The Appointment
If I am driving from out of town I always make sure I arrive around 30 minutes early. If I get their TOO early then I will find a coffee shop–OR break out a book (ALWAYS have a book with you.)
Usually I will arrive at the person’s office to meet them about 15 minutes early…and quite a few times the person I am meeting with has been ready, thus giving me “bonus time!”
#3 – I Have A List Of At Least Five Questions That I Want To Ask.
I remember John Maxwell saying to me once, “I will mentor you, but you have to ask the questions. I am not preparing a lesson for you…YOU guide this meeting. If you want to know something–ASK. If you don’t ask anything then we don’t really have anything to talk about.”
SO…anytime I meet with a mentor (especially JOHN) I am LOADED with questions. Sometimes I get them all answered…sometimes I don’t…but I NEVER walk into a meeting without having a list of what I would like to know.
#4 – I Don’t Talk About Myself Unless They Ask.
When I meet with a mentor I don’t spend 30 minutes telling them about myself, my daily routine and how good I think I am. I ask questions and then SHUT UP! If I disagree I do not argue. If they ask me a question then I will answer…if not then I will keep on asking them my questions. They didn’t ask to meet with me…I wanted to meet with them–TO LEARN from them, not debate them.
#5 – I Always Send A Note/Gift Saying Thanks.
I haven’t done this until recently…but anytime someone gives me time I will send them a Starbucks gift card or a restaurant gift card–just to thank them for the time. (And I jot them about a four sentence note–NOT A BOOK, but a note.)
Those are my rules…hope they help!