Archive for December, 2008
He Carries Me! December 23, 2008
The other morning I was spending some time with Charisse and we were walking around the Christmas tree looking at ornaments.
When all of a sudden I reached out and picked her up…not for any reason in particular…just because I wanted to. I walked with her around the house and even said something to her like, “Hey girl…there are just times that your daddy wants to carry you!”
Later on that night I felt the Lord tell me, “It’s the same with me & you…there are just times that I want to carry you. You didn’t ask me to. You weren’t aware that I wanted to. But I did…and your life was better for it.”
I am blown away by how good God has been to me all throughout my life. As I look back over my brief time on this planet…He’s carried me so many times. AND…at times I could not tell He was there…but now I can see He was (and is) more faithful than I could have ever imagined.
He carried me! AND my life is so much better for it!
Eight Signs Of A Lukewarm Blogger December 22, 2008
This post was inspired by Craig Groeschels post about lukewarm pastors several weeks ago…followed by Los’s post about signs of a lukewarm worship leader.
#1 – A lukewarm blogger has ZERO original thoughts. They simply spend their time searching the internet for blogs they disagree with and then attack them.
#2 – A lukewarm blogger hijacks the blogs of other people and uses them as a battleground to attack people and ministries that they do not like.
(It’s crazy…but the nut jobs out there that do this literally have no life. If you will follow a comment thread it is always two or three people who have a majority of the negative stuff out there…and they reply almost immediately to anyone who comments to them…it’s as if their life revolves around this stuff! Sad! I’m afraid most of them may simply need a prescription for Viagra so that something exciting could happen in their life!!!)
#3 – In relation to the last one…a lukewarm blogger will spend hours every week listening to messages online of pastors they do not like or agree with & disect the sermons like crazy. They will then take one or two minute sections of a sermon and make judgement calls on the pastor and the church based on the sections of the sermons they do not like.
#4 – A lukewarm blogger is always in attack mode. They claim that they are doing what they are doing out of love for God…but there is no genuine love for others in their tone. They are always attacking and tearing down people…their criticism is never rooted out of genuine love and concern…but rather hatred and bitterness.
#5 – A lukewarm blogger often disguises himself via random names on comment sections of blogs, ambigious internet sites and anonamyous emails. They are cowards and would never say to anyone’s face what they type on a keyboard.
#6 – A lukewarm blogger seldom, if every, prays for the people they feel “led” to attack.
#7 – A lukewarm blogger will spend time trying to get others to attack the Christians they disagree with rather than reaching out to those who don’t know Christ.
#8 – A lukewarm blogger is insecure and is always searching the internet for his or her name and to see what others are saying about what they write.
Sunday Night Reflections December 21, 2008
WOW! I am sitting here with one of the worse “preaching headaches” ever (get them every Sunday)…and yet I am COMPLETELY overjoyed at all God allowed me to be a part of this weekend…I STILL can’t believe He saved me and allows me to do what I do! Saying all of that…here are some thoughts on the weekend…
- We saw 220 people stand to their feet and pray out loud to receive Christ…that NEVER gets old! WOW!
- I wish you could have seen the people who were with the men & women who stood to receive Christ…the joy and excitement on their faces was uncontainable!
- We had over 14,000 people attend our services this weekend…definitely shattered a record.
- We had 272 people show up in Florence…they watched the 4:00 message from Saturday in Anderson via DVD…and four people received Christ. Uh…yeah…video teaching works!!!
- Greenville definitely shattered their attendance record today with nearly 2,800 people total. They had their first 6:00 service tonight with over 800 in attendance…gotta feeling that may soon be an every week thing!
- Our campuses went nuts when we announced that we are launching a campus in Columbia next year…and we had LOTS of people from Columbia today in our services! Pray hard…it looks like it is going to happen sooner rather than later!!!
- For those who were not there…it wasn’t a “typical Christmas message!” I pretty much preached on the fact that God has a breaking point where His kindness and mercy are no longer extended & He will allow us to step into eternity without Him.
- Why preach that on Christmas? Uh…that’s when people need to hear the Gospel the most. I don’t want to EVER be so into Christmas programming that we miss the opportunity to share the Gospel!!!
- “It Is Well” ALWAYS moves me…but this weekend is moved me all five times I heard it. Amazing!
- For the record…I thought our production team did an incredible job of using the gifts God gave them to make sure the name of Jesus was heard and seen loud and clear.
- As I said today…it is a dangerous thing for people who are immersed in religion…because it is possible to go to church, know the Bible and still MISS JESUS!
A few other things before I head to bed…
- Next weeks service (the 28th) is literally going to be so much fun…AND I think unforgettable. We are going to celebrate all that God has done for our church this past year…and thank Jesus for allowing us to be a part of it!
- Yes, we will be showing video of when we went into the schools and gave shoes away to 1,665 children!!!
- Thank you NewSpring for your incredible generosity…because you give we are able to do things like that.
- No, I was not joking about the chocolate chip cookie dough covered in white chocolate…those things were amazing and I NEED MORE OF THEM!
- I also wasn’t joking about the chicken flying out of my nose…it happened…and it was quite painful!
- To all of our volunteers who served today in Greenville, Anderson and Florence…THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! EVERYTHING you did this weekend MADE A DIFFERENCE!!! Our church is being used to advance HIS KINGDOM because of YOU allowing God to use YOU!!!
- Blogging may be a bit more sporadic this week (and next) as I will be trying to catch my breath and spend some time with my family! (But…I have written posts for tomorrow and Tuesday already.)
- Marathon training begins this week…going to be a little tough as I “tweaked” my hamstring on Friday doing some speed work.
- Going to get a new pair of running shoes tomorrow!
I hope you have an awesome week…Merry Christmas!!!
Saturday Night Reflections…Sort Of December 20, 2008
This won’t be my usual Sunday night wrap up…that will come tomorrow evening…but…
I just wanted to say that tonight were two of the most anointed services I believe we’ve ever had in our church.
Our creative team did an incredible job!
Our band was off the hook!
BUT…most of all…the presence of God was POWERFUL…and He drew 30 people to Himself who stood up and prayed out loud to receive Christ!!!
AMAZING!
Seriously, hearing people pray to receive Christ NEVER gets old!
For those coming tomorrow…at any campus…get here EARLY, the place will be packed!!!
Hoping/praying I actually sleep tonight!!!
A Quick Bit Of Advice… December 20, 2008
Hey NewSpringers…just wanted to say that whatever service you are planning on attending this weekend…at whatever campus…
PLEASE GET HERE EARLY!!!
Several reasons for this…
- We are expecting record crowds!!!
- The first five minutes of the service are going to be amazing, high energy and unforgettable!!!
- I will be doing interpretive movement wearing my red & green Christmas tights!
- The above sentence is not true…and I apologize for any harm it may have caused!
I am hoping that all of us…
- Bring people with us
- Get here early
- Beg God to do something amazing.
- Get here early
- Ask Jesus to make Himself more real to us that He’s ever been!
- Ask God to save people
- Get here early!
I seriously didn’t sleep last night–WAY EXCITED!!!
WOO HOO!!!
See you here…EARLY!!!
Is Church Really That Important? December 19, 2008
Just in case you haven’t been able to tell this about me before…I am OBSESSED with church. WHICH…is REALLY funny considering at one time in my life I hated it and swore I would never go back.
But now…I can’t quit thinking about it. If someone wants to talk church…I’m in! AND SO…it bothers me when I hear someone say that they don’t think that church is really that important.
REALLY? Church isn’t important? DANG…if that’s the case I have a few questions…
#1 – If church isn’t that important – then why does Matthew 16:18 say that Jesus built it? Would the Son of God actually spend time building something that was worthless?
#2 – If church isn’t that important – then why does Scripture say in Acts 20:28 say that Jesus shed His blood for it? Would the Son of God have been willing to endure the suffering He went through for a meaningless organization?
#3 – If church isn’t that important – then why does Ephesians 1:22 & Colossians 1:18 say that Jesus is the Head of it? Would Jesus REALLY be the Head of something insignificant and trivial?
#4 – If church isn’t that important, if church isn’t “needed” to learn about God…then why does Ephesians 3:10 say that it was through the church that the wisdom of God should be made known?
Just a few questions to ponder for a Friday. :-)
Pastors, church leaders…please understand that the work that the church does is the most important work in the world. The church has been around for 2,000 years…and it will be around for the next 2,000 if Jesus chooses not to come back during that time!
What you do is important…whether you have 50 coming this weekend or 50,000. What you are going to do matters!!! God called you and equipped you to do this work…and for those who are feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated…God knows exactly where you are…and He didn’t bring you to this point to watch you fail.
Go for it!!!
Two Thoughts I Had As I Was About To Throw Up… December 18, 2008
As many of you know…I recently hired a personal trainer to help me take it to the next level in my workouts.
This past Monday was, by far, one of the toughest workouts I’ve ever been put through; in fact, I nearly projectile vomitted all over the place (BUT…I didn’t tell him, didn’t want him to let up!)
In between the box squats and the rowing machine from the pit of hell I had the following two thoughts in regards to personal training and leadership…and what they have in common.
#1 – It Costs Something To Go To The Next Level.
I’ve had people make the comment to me when hearing that I made the investment in personal training that they would “never” waste money on something like that…and it showed!
Sure, you can “train” on your own…and you can see some improvements in doing that; however, if you want to see what you’ve really got…it often takes someone pushing you past the limits you thought had always existed.
That is true in training…and it’s true in leadership. There are things we can do as leaders to grow and stretch ourselves…but if we REALLY want to excel in leading we need to be willing to pay the price…
IN THE TIME category…it takes time to develop our leadership abilities…PLANNED out time. I have discovered that if I do not set aside time for sharpening my leadership…then it will not happen.
IN THE MONEY category…it costs money to grow. We have to be willing to invest in books. We need to be willing to travel to conferences. We need to be willing to pay whatever the price to sharpen ourselves as leaders.
#2 – You Can’t Cheat If You Want To Go To The Next Level.
As I was doing my next to last set of lunges my trainer asked me if I was okay. (I think I might have been turning green by this point!)
NOW…I could have lied and told him that I simply could not do anymore. AND…that would have been the easy way out. When it came right down to it…I am the only one who really knew the truth.
BUT…the thought hit my mind, “Why in the heck would I want to lie. I am only going to get out of this what I put into it,” and then I BLASTED through several more reps (and then crawled to my car!)
As a leader…I am the one who has to be willing to admit when something is or is not right with me personally. I can read books and go to conferences…but if I do not take the time afterwards to process through the information…all I become is a consumer and not actually a learner.
Those are just two thoughts I had…don’t know if they make a lot of sense…but they took my mind off the pain for a while! :-)