Archive for January, 2009
NewSpring Web Campus!!! January 31, 2009
OK…two huge announcements…
First of all…we will have a service tomorrow at 11:15 at our web campus. That means no matter where you are in the world…at 11:15 EST you can go to this site and participate in worship with us. We are SERIOUSLY pumped about this…we launched a beta version of it last week and had over 300 people log in to worship with us.
Once again, here is the site where Nick, our web campus pastor, talks about it! We are SERIOUSLY excited about launching this campus! (And we didn’t even have to build a building for it!)
Second of all…for Anderson campus…remember that we are not having our 6pm service tomorrow night ONLY (back on regular schedule the next week!) Three service times…9:15, 11:15 and 4:15 (the 4:15 will have extended worship!) We really want you to be able to watch the incredible commercials at the Super Bowl!
Greenville campus…the 6pm service has been moved to 4:15 (with extended worship) so that you can get home to watch the Super Bowl commercials!
ALL CAMPUSES…BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU TO CHURCH TOMORROW…don’t show up alone…seriously…I have a feeling that the Lord is going to do something incredible as we really dive into a subject that everyone NEEDS to deal with!
Prioritizing The Family–Four Things… January 30, 2009
So…I just got back from Disney with ‘Cretia (ought to make my Baptist friends happy…BUT…I did not drink!) :-)
Someone recently asked me on twitter how I prioritize my family…so I listed out a few ways and hope this helps.
#1 – Reading “Choosing To Cheat” by Andy Stanley changed my life…literally, there is NOT a better book on the subject of placing the family as a priority that I know of.
NO…SERIOUSLY…if you haven’t read it then ORDER IT RIGHT NOW! It’s THAT GOOD!!!
#2 – I Made It A Point To Prioritize My Family.
No one is going to do this for you…YOU have got to make it happen…and then guard your time with them with pit bull intensity!
Lucretia and I have a date night once a week…and NOTHING is getting in the way of that…NOTHING!
Charisse and I have a date every Saturday morning…and I don’t let ANYTHING get in our way.
I eat dinner with my girls usually six nights a week (Sunday usually being the exception.)
Lucretia and I have at least two or three vacations a year where it is JUST US, no one else…and that is a good thing! :-)
AND I MADE THAT HAPPEN! If your family is important enough to you…then you will put them on the schedule and dare anyone to try to move them!
Do we have to move things around occasionally? Sure…emergencies happen, one of us gets sick, schedule do change…but that is the exception…and an “emergency” MAY happen around three or four times a year!
#3 – I Keep In Mind That “Loving One Another” MUST Begin With Lucretia and Charisse.
If I am going to be a fully devoted follower of Christ then I am commanded to love others. And…in order to love someone you MUST spend time with them.
One of the problem I see with pastors is that they spend so much time “loving others” that they neglect to love those under their roof. That simply can’t be!
#4 – I Have FINALLY Realized That My Work Will Never Be Finished.
I’m a freak…most leaders are. I’m self motivated…driven…passionate…and always think that if I just devote a little bit more time to something then it could be better.
I would literally work from 7am to 9pm if I didn’t finally come to the conclusion a few years ago that I will ALWAYS have more to do than I can possibly get done…and being ok with that means that I am learning to trust in HIS abilities rather than mine.
My advice to pastors…set a time on your schedule that you are going to leave the office and go home…and then NO MATTER what happens…DO IT! Trust me…the work will be there when you get back the next day.
Four Stages I’ve Gone Through As A Leader… January 29, 2009
Someone asked me on Twitter what are some transitions I’ve gone through as a leader…and so I sat down and jotted the following out.
#1 – I Want To See God Do Something Great.
When we first began NewSpring Church…I really did believe in my heart that God wanted to do something amazing in Anderson. (Greenville, Florence and Columbia weren’t on my mind at all…His plans are MUCH larger – I Corinthians 2:9!)
SO…I began to pray, to beg God to do some great things. I really did believe that if anything significant was going to happen then He was going to do it and that all I had to do was pray really hard.
#2 – I Want To Do Something Great.
One of the most dangerous things God can give someone is success…I found that out the hard way.
When we first began NewSpring…I did it all–leading worship, membership class, follow up, powerpoint–EVERYTHING. (Except for writing the checks!)
And…as the church began to experience some growth I began to depend less on God and more on myself. I actually began thinking that God needed me…and that without me the church simply would not be successful.
SO…in 2005 God allowed me to nearly die to prove to me that I just wasn’t that good!!! Thus leading to the third transition…
#3 – I Want Us To Do Something Great.
I am all about the team…and I LOVE the team of people I work with. Over time I have learned (and am still learning) to delegate tasks that I used to be really involved in and watch people who are way more skilled than me take ministry to levels that they never could have achieved under my leadership.
BUT…once again this was not the picture of what God wanted our church to become. YES…teamwork does make the dream work. YES…a healthy team IS essential to a healthy church. YES…God has surrounded me with incredible people…
BUT…at the end of the day II Corinthians 4:1 is true of every one of us…and we can do some great things…but if we focus on making plans minus the power of God…then all we do is make a bunch of noise that doesn’t really amount to anything for the next generation.
#4 – I Want God To Do Something Great Through Us.
This ministry isn’t about me…it’s about Jesus!
This ministry isn’t about our staff…it’s about Jesus!
John 3:30 is our obsession.
We know that if God isn’t involved in this church…we’re screwed! We can’t accomplish ANYTHING of eternal significance without Him!
We are more desperate for HIS PRESENCE than we are CULTURAL RELEVANCE!
And we would much rather see REPENTANCE from our people rather than RECOGNITION from other churches.
AND we know that those things ONLY happen through the power of God.
BUT…we also know that God’s power isn’t an excuse for laziness. God gave Nehemiah a vision to build the wall…but Nehemiah actually had to get his hands dirty to accomplish the work. YES…God did it…THROUGH the willingness of Nehemiah.
God told Joshua that he was going to posses the land…but then Joshua had to go and fight for it. God “didn’t do it all,” but rather worked through a man who believed God was big enough to fulfill His promises through the faithfulness of effort and hard work.
We want to see God work…we beg Him for it…but then we are passionate enough about it to NOT be passive and let things happen…but rather to move in obedience as He leads, knowing that as long as we listen to Him we can NEVER go wrong!
If You Are A NewSpringer…PLEASE READ THIS! January 28, 2009
Okay NewSpring…ALL CAMPUSES…here’s the deal…
We have an amazing service planned for this Sunday…finishing up the series, “No Perfect People Allowed” (except for Florence, you’ve got one more week!) BUT…
This Super Bowl is this Sunday…and VERY FEW of us actually care about the game; however, we do NOT want to miss the commercials. SO…wanted to send a reminder out your way…
ANDERSON CAMPUS…
REMEMBER…this week we will not have the 6pm service. (We will do the extended worship time at 4:15!) SO…if you are a regular attender at 6:00…come at 4:15…or to one of the morning services! AND…we will crank up our regular schedule with THIS SERIES the next week!
ONE MORE THING Anderson campus…if you are a parent of a middle school or high school student tonight then you are invited to FUSE…and I would cancel a kidney operation to be there…yes, it is going to be that freakin good! Brad has all of the details on his site…you can read them here. Trust me…rearrange your schedule…BE THERE!!!
GREENVILLE CAMPUS…
Remember…we are moving the 6:00 service to 4:15…YES, there will be the extended worship session. AND…the next week will be going back to the 6:00 time with THIS SERIES.
FLORENCE CAMPUS…
You don’t have an evening service…YET…but it probably won’t be long if you keep on bringing people to church with you. I am so proud of all that I keep hearing about down there! SO…BRING tons of people with you to church on Sunday…and THIS SERIES will begin for you on February 15th!
15 Things I Wished I Would Have Known January 28, 2009
Someone recently asked me on Twitter about what I wish I would have known BEFORE starting NewSpring…so, here are a few things…
#1 – Don’t say “we will never do BLANK.” BECAUSE…you probably will!
#2 – The more your church grows the bigger the target gets on your back. People who don’t even know you will form opinions of you based on something that they heard you said…and bloggers and such will make it their daily habit to read what you say/listen to you preach just so they can tear you down.
#3 – There is not a formula for growing a church.
#4 – God love HIS church WAY more than I do.
#5 – I should spend way less time focusing on being “right” and way more time on being faithful.
#6 – Comparing NewSpring to other churches will either lead to pride or feeling like a failure…I need to desperately seek Jesus consistently to see who HE has called us to be.
#7 – I should learn from everyone…despite theological differences.
#8 – Don’t yell at the entire church just because 10 or less people are mad at you.
#9 – Those who you think will always be with you won’t always be with you.
#10 – I don’t always have the best ideas.
#11 – Excellence can never be compromised just because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.
#12 – Only a pastor can really understand a pastor. (I blogged about that in an article entitled, “The Pastor’s Pain!)
#13 – People will always misunderstand you…don’t waste a lot of time trying to explain yourself.
#14 – Leadership is as easy as listening to God.
#15 – One day the “traditional ideas” that I do not like will be the ones I actually developed…and that is when my motivations as a leader will be tested.
BONUS = The fights, the sleepless nights, the critics, the spiritual warfare, the long meetings, the frustration…IT’S ALL WORTH IT! When lives get changed…it’s worth it. When hell becomes less crowded…it’s worth it. When repentance takes place…it’s worth it! When marriages are restored…it’s worth it. IT IS SO WORTH everything we go through!!! SO…don’t EVER give up–EVER!!!
Those are some of the things I wished I would have known.
More Great Links… January 27, 2009
Here’s some cool stuff I’ve read lately…
- What Gary said in this post is straight up truth…sometimes as a pastor you can’t win for losing!
- This post by Craig is CLASSIC in regards to who God uses. Just a reminder that Jesus didn’t seek out religious professionals but rather men and women who were willing to take up their cross.
- This post by Lisa Shea on how to pray for your pastor (and the need to) is EXCELLENT!
- Tony’s post about it being 2:54 in the afternoon was amazing…God’s plans are always larger than ours!
- And this post by Ben on “You can’t have enough bad ideas” was AWESOME! Being too afraid to fail has probably costs the church more than we want to admit! SWING FOR THE FENCES!
- Shane Duffey posts this about access…something EVERY leader should read!!!
- And last…BUT NOT LEAST…Mark Batterson NAILED IT with this post about innovation, creativity and such…WOW!
How Do You Feel About…”The Shack?” January 27, 2009
About a year ago a friend of mine handed me a copy of “The Shack” by William Paul Young and asked me to read it. And so…like a good pastor I said I would…took it…put it on my bookshelf and soon forgot about it.
BUT…I kept hearing more and more about it. Finally Lucretia read it and had lots to say about it…THEN debate began to spread about it…so I figured I might as well read it and THEN form an opinion about it. (As opposed to what numerous critics were doing.)
I loved this book…I thought it was very well written and the concepts and ideas that it introduced to me stretched me, challenged me and, at times made me feel very uncomfortable.
(One of the problems I think that many Christians have is that we don’t like to read anything that might go against what we’ve always thought to be true.)
One of the problems I know that I’ve wrestled with in the past is when I think I’ve got God all figured out…you know, reduced Him to a formula…and then BAM, He blows my formula up in my face…this book did that for me.
HOWEVER, I want you to hear me out on this…I loved this book AS a work of fiction and not necessarily a theological dissertation of the things I hold to be true in regards to Scripture.
I cannot say that I endorse every theological ideology that the book affirms…but then again I can’t say that I endorse every theological ideology that some of my favorite pastors/leaders endorse either. Heck, if having to agree 100% with everything that everyone says is my qualification for endorsement…I am not even sure I could endorse myself!
My recommendation…read it…but as a work of fiction. Do not place it on the same level as Scripture…but allow it to stretch you and teach you…who knows, you may learn a thing or two.
One more thing…there were several times in the book that Young’s description of the meals that were being prepared made me incredibly hungry. If you’ve read it you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Just my opinion…