Archive for July, 2008
If I Were The Devil… July 31, 2008
Here are some things I would do…
- I would tell church leaders that “it’s not about the numbers!” That they should be more concerned with quality than quantity. I would make them take pride in the fact that they were reaching no one, and actually get them to criticize the people that are.
- I would convince church leaders that the quality of their worship services do not matter.
- I would tell Christians to not allow themselves to be polluted by the world, but rather to attack it consistently so that those who are in it would be driven further from the church.
- I would convince church leaders to DREAM SMALL! The last thing I would want would be people realizing that God is honored by people who really do believe that He can do the impossible! (Craig had an AWESOME post on this!)
- I would get the church to focus on politics, getting them to believe that they are doomed unless a particular political party holds office.
- I would make sure that those who believe in reformed theology and those who don’t hate each other; after all, if they fight with each other they have no time to fight me.
- I would tell bloggers that they are “just” and “right” by setting up websites that do nothing but attack other ministries and tear them down.
- I would tell pastors that it is perfectly acceptable to substitute ministry work for their personal walk with God; after all, He should understand.
- I would convince pastors and church leaders to focus on what other churches are doing “wrong,” thus taking the focus off of their church.
- I would tell churches that boycotting “secular” organizations is the most practical and effective way to reach the world.
- I would tell young church planters that they cannot teach Scripture, call for repentance or take an offering, for that would be offensive. (What I would not tell them is that the only people that ever offends are “Christians!”)
- I would get denominations to focus way more on inwards preferences and religious politics, allowing those who give the most money to call all the shots.
- I would tempt the church to focus on issues and not Jesus.
- I would tempt pastors to buy into the lie that things “will be better at the next church,” thus causing them to never dig roots in a community and build a great work for God.
- I would tell pastors to disguise their jealousy over other pastors with statements like, “I am really concerned with such and such church down the road,” OR, “what you don’t know about THAT church is…”
- I would make churches feel prideful in their particular Bible translation.
Those are just a few things…
Personal Prayer Request July 30, 2008
I seriously need your prayers in regards to a family situation.
Lucretia, my wife, will be having surgery on Wednesday, August 27 to remove both sides of her thyroid.
It was first discovered she had a “lump” on her thyroid back in 2005. I remember when it was discovered she called me and told me they were going to do a biopsy. I rushed to the hospital and held her hand during the procedure. It turned out to not be cancerous…but they said it would need to be watched closely.
After she had Charisse she noticed the lump seemed to have increased in size. (She had previously had it drained.) When she went back to get it checked on again the doctor told her that because of the increase there was about a 10% possibility that, if left alone, it could turn into cancer.
So, she’s elected to have it removed. It is up in the air as to whether or not this will include a stay at the hospital or not; however, what we do know is that it will alter our life for at least a week or so…and for her, a lot longer. She will most likely have to go on thyroid medicine to regulate her metabolism…which isn’t the most simple process to deal with. AND…she will be unable to take care of Charisse for about a week or so.
So…please pray…
#1 - For a quick recovery! (She is a fast healer!)
#2 - For a quick adjustment to the medicine she has to be on.
#3 - For Charisse to survive my cooking!
#4 - For no long term complications.
#5 - For our faith to be strengthened through this.
Thanks so much! I will keep everyone updated through Twitter and this website as to all that is going on!
The Who, What, Where, When, Why & How of Church Leadership (and life!!!) July 29, 2008
Here are six questions that we should all wrestle through as leaders…
#1 - The Who
As in “WHO are you going to please?” One of the things that is so disheartening about politics is that neither candidate seems to be speaking from conviction..but rather from talking points that “experts” have walked them through in order to please the largest amount of people.
The same thing goes in the church. We have the choice…to be a politician or a pastor. If God has called us…then we should do whatever it takes to please Him! Remember Hebrews 13:7…we aren’t standing before a deacon board in heaven…we should not quake before them here on earth!
#2 - The What
What are you supposed to be doing? Not…what are the coolest churches in America doing? We all all called to do ministry in a unique way. Yes, we should be students of other churches…but the “what” will only be answered as we allow God to shape our souls! Be who God called you to be! It takes different types of churches to reach different types of people!
#3 - The Where
It is VERY important to like the area in which God has called you to minister and the people He has called you to minister to! I’ve met so many pastors who claim they hate their church and the area in which they are living. I don’t understand that…true and effective ministry comes out of a sincere love for the people to whom God has called us to minister to.
#4 - The When
I heard John Maxwell say once, “If you stay a step ahead of the people then you are a leader. If you stay ten steps ahead then you are a martyr!” Just because you have a neat idea doesn’t mean it is a now idea! For example…I knew God wanted me to start a church in 1996…but we didn’t launch until 2000. God had to slowly cook that vision inside of me. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says He makes all things beautiful IN HIS TIME!
#5 - The Why
Why do we do what we are doing? Are our motives pure? Are we in this to build God’s kingdom or our own? Our motives must always be pure if we are going to see effective ministry!
#6 - The How
Vision is not just a good buzz word…it is essential for any organization (yes, even the church) to thrive! Do a study on successful churches and you will find that their styles are very different…their theological convictions are not exactly the same…however, you will see in everyone of them a leader who has passionate, white hot vision and has always been willing to submit on areas of personal preference…but never on issues of vision!
An Incredibly Generous Teenager! July 28, 2008
I shared this in our services yesterday…but wanted to share it here.
Last Sunday after a meeting I walked into my assistants office to read through the things she thought I needed to see. On top of all of the mail was a cash envelope from a bank with a note written on it. Trish (my assistant) said, “You REALLY need to read that!”
Like I said…it was a bank cash envelope with a note written on it…BUT…what was written on the note absolutely blew me away and caused me to be completely overwhelmed. Inside the envelope was a cash gift to our church for $1,000 (which had already been removed!) Here is what was written…
“I am a rising senior in high school. I have saved up all of my job, birthday and Christmas money from the past 3 or 4 years, in this envelope. God has laid it on my heart to surrender these earnings into His hands. Thought it may seem a meager amount to the world, it is all that I have. I give this gift freely and with a light heart; after all, this money isn’t really ‘mine’ to begin with. God can and will provide for me far better than I ever could. And it is an honor to know this money may help even just one person take even just a single step closer to God. That is a gift worth any price.” (It was unsigned…so I have no idea who this was!)
I have a few thoughts on this…
#1 - I literally prayed for this person to become a multi-millionaire. Seriously, several times this week I paused and asked God to radically bless this person in the future financially. Why? Because they have proven that they can be faithful with the little things! (See Luke 16:10-13) If God can trust them with thousands now…He can trust them with millions in the future. This person knows that God has blessed them so they can give!
#2 - Though they thought this gift was “meager,” it actually falls into the “generous” category. I read a few years ago (although the numbers are probably around the same today) that only around 6% of people who call themselves evangelical Christians tithe. AND…the average gift given to a church by an adult is around $600 for a year. (Compared to the fact that each adult also spends and average of $900 per year on coffee drinks…and $1,000 a year taking care of their pets!)
Whoever you are…this gift was generous!!! Thank you!
#3 - God will use people like this to change the world! This gift reminded me of Jesus feeding the 5,000 in John 6:1-14. The part I always focus on in this miracle is John 6:8-9, I believe the miracle actually took place here…where a young boy gave his entire lunch and gave it to Jesus. You see, in his hands it was nothing more than a meal…but in the hands of Jesus it was a miracle. AND…because he was completely unselfish…around 15-20k people received food!
I’ve said it before…and I will say it again…God’s Kingdom’s biggest problem isn’t the evil one…it’s greedy Christians! BUT…when people overcome greed and begin to get generous…amazing things happen. Here at NewSpring Church I am so grateful for the generous giving of our people…because of it we have been able to see thousands of lives changed for Christ…and our best days are yet to come.
#4 - This is radical and extreme obedience in action. Jesus said it in Matthew 6:21, that where our treasure is…that is where our hearts will be…and this young person took a tangible step to demonstrate to the Lord that they fully belong to Him. I once heard Ron Lewis, a friend of mine, say, “Until we surrender our wallet to God–our walk with Him will always contain a limp!”
God asked this young person to cash out…and they did! That’s amazing! Question…has God ever asked you to do something amazingly generous? Do you have the courage to ask Him if He wants you to?
#5 - God changes the world with people like this! Let me say it one more time–generous givers are a key in advancing God’s Kingdom. This gift went WAY beyond a tithe! In Acts 4:36-37 we see the church growing like crazy…and Barnabas comes forward and gives an incredibly generous gift to allow the church to continue to do ministry! AMAZING!
Whoever you are–thank you! Seriously, you are fulfilling II Corinthians 8:7! And II Corinthians 9:6-15 is true…and it will be true for you!
For the person who may say, “Well yeah, this person is a teenager. They obviously have parents who will provide for their needs…so they CAN give like this. But you see…I have blah blah blah…”
Um, here’s the deal…this person probably does have earthly parents who will take care of them. BUT…the Scripture says that we have a heavenly Father who will take care of us!!! Malachi 3:10-12 is a promise from Him, will you trust Him?
I can’t say “thank you” enough to whoever you are (and to all of the generous givers around here!) God is changing lives…and all of you are part of it!
Sunday Night Reflections July 27, 2008
Here are a few thoughts from the day…
- Preached on knowing God’s will…which ISN’T as difficult as people have made it!
- I thought Sam, our Florence worship leader, did an incredible job last week & this week leading us!
- It was awesome to have a charter bus full of Florence people here at NewSpring Church today! We can’t wait to launch down there guys! Hold on!
- “Word of God Speak” will always be one of my favorite worship songs!
- The Gauntlet video at the end of our services was amazing…there is NOTHING like hearing stories about changed lives!
- Our entire youth staff is OFF tomorrow! They deserve it! If I were them I would sleep all day!
- ME…not really taking the day off, but I am going to sleep in! And then I need to put the finishing touches on the sermon for next week.
- Greenville had over 1,400 people again today! I really do believe they will be in three services before we know it.
- Just in case you are wondering…multi-site works! We have NOT figured it out yet…but wow, the stories of changed lives coming out of Greenville over the past three weeks are amazing!
- Florence is next…and then…well, I won’t let the cat out of the bag yet…but as we kick around several options it is getting more and more exciting!
- Like I said–we want to see 100k people come to Christ in the next 15-20 years…and we AREN’T PLAYING GAMES!!! I don’t want to talk about it…I want to DO IT!!!
- Had some Brusters ice cream pie today…and that made me very happy!
- Really excited about the coaching network that we are starting here in a few weeks…got some sharp guys,
and if GARY would return an email from my assistant I would have all of the information I need for our first session! - Just spoke with Gary…he said he did email back. I believe the guy…we’ve been having an email issue or seven lately!
- Pray for Clayton! He is leaving in the morning at 5:00 for a trip to Malaysia and then on to Indonesia.
- I am getting WAY excited about college football season starting soon! I am dreaming here…but it would be awesome if Clemson and Georgia played in the National Championship!
- The “dreaming” part from above is in reference to UGA making it to the national championship! :-)
That’s about it…time for bed!
A Few Links…and Some Other Randomness July 25, 2008
OK, I have a few “must reads” that you REALLY need to check out…
- If you are a parent then PLEASE READ THIS–PLEASE!!! Tim did an excellent job with this post…and it both made me happy and sad at the same time. There will come a day when I am not the primary influencer in my daughter’s life…and so I had better do as much as I can for a long as I can!
- Ben had an amazing post on how to attract leaders to your church. Seriously–GREAT READ!
- Jake’s post on eternal security was PRICELESS!
Now a few other random things…
- I am looking forward to this Sunday, as I always am!!! I believe the church has made “discovering God’s will” WAY TOO DIFFICULT! After this Sunday the information will be out there…what I am praying for is transformation takes place!
- I am hearing more and more people talking about next Sunday’s message on, “Is it ok for a Christian to drink alcohol?” Some are excited, some are nervous. What about me…I’m personally excited!!! Should be a great day!
- I still can’t believe I had the incredible honor of spending two weeks with our teenagers at the beach. I know God changed me in several ways!
- I CAN’T WAIT to see what happens when we open our new student facility in Anderson.
- I am going to miss Flamingo Joes!
That’s about it…been a long two weeks…looking forward to a little time of catching my breath!!!
Panama City Update, Week Two, Day Four July 24, 2008
I have seen the future of NewSpring Church over the past two weeks…and it is amazing!
Tonight I saw teenagers encourage one another, pray for one another and challenge one another. I told them that in order for them to make the fire go higher that they were going to have to refuse to try to walk with Jesus alone…that they needed the help of one another!
AND they took this seriously! WOW!
I am sick and tired of hearing people my age (and older) talk about how “pitiful and pathetic” the teenagers of today are.
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
Honestly, I have seen more passion and excitement in the past two weeks than I’ve EVER seen in teenagers–ever.
I know someone is out there saying right now, “Well, we had awesome youth camps when I was in the youth group and…”
Let me be very clear…what has happened down here over the past two weeks…honestly, I’ve NEVER seen this type of stuff take place in over 18 years of ministry! These kids are on FIRE! And it’s different than when I used to have kids stand around and tell others what they were going to do when they got home…these students got together tonight to pray for each other and encourage one another…and it was one of the most amazing sights I’ve ever witnessed!
I believe that the next great revival and/or reformation is going to be led by these students…the ones in middle school and high school right now! AND…I think churches who refuse to invest in teens are making a very stupid decision! If over 85% of all decisions for Christ come before the age of 18…tell me, where in the world is there more potential to see a harvest?
After a service tonight I had an adult worker tell me, “Dude, you brought it harder to these kids than you bring it on Sunday’s at NewSpring!” And you know what…they handled it so much better than many adults would have!
I know some of you can’t wait to talk to people who were down here to hear what they are going to say about this trip…but what took place can’t really be explained. My advice…if you are not serving anywhere, GET INVOLVED in youth ministry! I’m telling you–THIS generation is going to be leading the country in the next 20-30 years! AND…they WILL lead the next great move of God…I am sure of it!
OK…I’m going to bed!