Archive for June, 2009
DANG! June 30, 2009
“Jesus leadership example = saw a great need which produced a broken heart which ignited passion which worked itself out through sacrifice.” Shane Duffey
Saw this on Twitter this morning…was too long to retweet and didn’t want to dilute the message by trying to abbreviate it…
Might be one of the best definitions of leadership I’ve ever seen!!!
16 Leadership Questions That Will Help Us Make It In Ministry – Part 14 June 30, 2009
14. Will I Preach Jesus?
In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus is very clear to His disciples the purpose of preaching and leading is to proclaim His name…and that if anyone denies His name that He will deny them- pretty serious stuff.
I remember a time several years ago where I nearly lost my focus. I would find a cool video idea or a cool song idea or a sermon prop idea and try my best to revolve the sermon around a concept rather than scripture.
I actually thought I could give really great lessons in morality and not preach Jesus because His name seemed to constantly offend people—then God rocked my world, slapped my face, got my attention and helped me to understand that Jesus, and ONLY Jesus, is the game changer.
“Cool and cute” will impress people….but Christ will CHANGE them!
I could teach people get out of debt, have great sex with their spouse, get over anger issues, and become greater people; however, if I do all of that without pointing them to the Gospel and sharing Jesus with them I have rescued them from Hell on Earth and damned them to Hell in eternity.
(And do not misunderstand the paragraph above as me taking shots at teaching the practical…I am not against that at all…but when our goal is simply to be practical and avoid the controversial that the Gospel will cause…we have a problem!)
I try to be a student of growing churches…and the thing I see across the board in nearly every church that is experiencing growth is that they are preaching Jesus…that there is a dependence upon the Spirit and not just systems…
And the Spirit will ALWAYS lead us to proclaim the name of Jesus!
When our agenda in the church becomes anything except for Jesus (insert whatever you wish here—political preferences, home schooling, recycling, the list goes on and on) then we are proclaiming another Savior…which is dangerous and heretical!
I Corinthians 15:1-8 is where Paul says THIS is the most important thing we can preach…we NEVER go wrong by lifting up Christ.
Seven Questions Leadership Teams Should Wrestle With June 29, 2009
#1 – Has everyone in the room kept short accounts…or is there any unresolved personal tension that needs to be dealt with?
#2 – Is there anything that we are doing as a church that we would not be excited about if we were not on staff?
#3 – Would we even attend this church if we were not on staff?
#4 – Is our goal to really focus on what needs to be done…or to get the meeting over with as soon as possible so we can get on with our individual agenda?
#5 – Are we resisting anything that God is leading us towards because it puts us in a very uncomfortable place?
#6 – Are we moving towards complexity or simplicity?
#7 – Is there anything that is obvious to everyone else but we are choosing to deny it because dealing with it would force us to change things up?
Sunday Night Reflections June 28, 2009
Here are a few thoughts as I try to digest the chicken in my belly!!!
- It was really…weird…watching me on screen today…but…I guess I needed it…found lots of areas to improve in.
- One of the things that we seem to forget the most as followers of Jesus is that He is right here with us! (And when we forget that is when we usually do something really stupid!)
- Had some conversations that absolutely pumped me up about the future of NewSpring Church…
- Praying hard for our Florence campus…some BIG things about to happen down there that will set us up to reach so many more people for Christ!
- Praying hard for our Columbia campus…we are about 95% sure we have secured a location and quite possibly will begin services in August…we will let you know as soon as we know!
- Praying hard for our Greenville campus…the staff and volunteers over there are knocking the ball out of the park!
- Praying hard for our Anderson campus…and getting ready to do a few new things that is going to allow us to reach hundreds of more people every service!
- Yes, we are doing a singles series this fall!
- Yes, we are doing a series on “the end times” this fall!
- Yes, we are doing a series entitled, “Five Lies satan wants you to believe” this fall!
- Yes, we are doing a series entitled, “In Rhythm” that begins in a few weeks that will both FIRE people up…and quite possibly create some empty seats!
- Yes, we have a MAJOR announcement coming in regards to our 10th year anniversary service…it’s going to be HUGE!!!
- Was SO awesome to get to meet Bruce Frank from Biltmore Baptist this evening…love this guy and the work the Lord has called him to in Asheville, NC!
- Was SO awesome to get to connect with Daniel Lucas from Crosspoint Church in Morehead, Kentucky as well! Daniel was in my first coaching network…and what the Lord is doing with his church in AWESOME! I can’t wait to see what happens next for these guys!
- We are coming up on being a church for 10 years…so thankful for all He has done…and so absolutely PUMPED out of my mind when I think about what He wants to do next. Jesus said to whom much is given…much is required…WOW…NewSpring, hold on to your fork…the best is yet to come!
I Can’t Believe You Are Two!!! June 27, 2009
You were born two years ago today!!! AND…I loved you the minute I saw you and knew that there is NOTHING you could ever do to make me stop loving you!
I was amazed at how tiny you were!!!
And if being cute were a crime…you would have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law! 
Your smile has brought your mother and I incredible amounts of joy…Scripture says that children are a blessing and you are a living example of that!
We dressed you up as a lamb for your first Halloween…sorry about that! 
And we prayed that your hair would grow longer so people would not keep asking, “how old is he…” DESPITE the fact we dressed you in pink! 
Uh…you didn’t really like the beach the first time we took you…but it grew on you!
And despite your mothers love for FSU…I really do think you are going to be a Tiger fan!!! 
You’ve always been quite serious about fashion!
Making a snowman with you was so much fun!
And your smile seems to bring a smile to everyone who sees you! 
Thanks for helping your mother make my birthday cake!
And seeing you put my shoes on made me realize how big my freakin feet are!!! 
I loved your first pedicure!!! 
And…as I promised you before you were even born…I will always love your mother. She is the most beautiful woman I know…and you being born has been one of the greatest things that has ever happened to us.
I pray that we will always be the parents that Jesus wants us to be! My desire is to love Jesus, love your mother and love you…and THEN work in the church. You will never be impressed with how large the ministry gets…but you will always remember whether or not I was there to tuck you in at night!
I love you Charisse…I always will. You are an amazing little girl who I pray will grow up to radically love Jesus and love others!!!
Happy Birthday!
Seven Questions I Am Asking Myself June 26, 2009
Seven questions I am asking myself…
#1 – Am I fully connected to Christ…or am I letting the connection become loose? (John 15:5)
#2 – Am I allowing anything to distract me, thus causing me to become less effective for Christ? (Nehemiah 6:1-4)
#3 – Does Jesus have my whole heart…or am I knowingly holding out on Him? (Matthew 22:36-40, Isaiah 29:13)
#4 – Am I more concerned with what Jesus wants or what others want? (Galatians 1:10)
#5 – What is possible when the church actually becomes obsessed with Jesus and HIS mission and begins to impact the world? (Matthew 16:18, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:41)
#6 – Am I dreaming big dreams…or am I obsessed with maintaining the status quo? (Ephesians 3:20)
#7 – What’s next? (Psalm 119:105)
Thoughts On My Birthday–Part Two June 25, 2009
#4 – I Want To Lead HIS Church As He Leads Me To Lead His Church.
I am more passionate about the church than I’ve ever been.
I have more hope…I see more potential…and I believe HIS church is on the verge of a movement that will rival any of the previous Great Awakenings. The best is YET to come!
Jesus started this church (Matthew 16:18) and will finish what He began (Philippians 1:6). HE has a plan for us…and the more I seek Him the more I believe that we haven’t even scratched the surface of all that He wants to do (Ephesians 3:20)!!!
He has surrounded me with an incredible team of people…I really do feel like David felt in I Chronicles 12:22.
AND…the church is HIS (Ephesians 1:22-23)…and I am more determined than ever before to seek HIS voice and then do exactly as He says to do.
#5 – I Want To Become Who HE Is Calling Me To Be…PERIOD.
As I said in yesterday’s post…I’ve most likely lived over half of my life already…so…
As I keep pressing on to become who He is calling me to be I will continue to surround myself with men and women who love Jesus, the church and me to speak truth into my life as they are led by the Holy Spirit.
BUT…
The critics and the naysayers who feel the obligation to “speak into my life” out of a sense of self righteousness and self preservation are going to be ignored now more than ever before!
I am sure your opinion matters to SOMEONE…just not me.
I don’t have the time, nor the energy, to do battle with you guys.
I honestly believe that a true follower of Jesus Christ will make religious people both uncomfortable and angry…and as long as those are the men and women shooting the arrows at me then I know I am walking in the right path. (John 15:18-21)
It’s not that I don’t care about you guys…it’s that I care enough to ignore you! You see, if what we are doing is wrong and sinful then the Lord will handle us…butif what we are doing here at NewSpring Church is of God…you can’t stop it (Acts 5:35-39) and are actually not opposing us…but Him. (BTW…you lose!)
I can’t be pressed into a mold from those who don’t know me, yet believe they know what is best for me. I’ve wasted too much time in the past 38 years allowing that to shape me…and it has gotten me know where.
Everyone is never going to like me…no matter what I say or do someone will always be pissed at me. That is why I am through wearing myself out in the hopes that everyone will understand and affirm me. I have ONE master…His name is Jesus…His opinion matters…and I am through tuning out His voice for fear that others may misunderstand and take shots at me.
Life is too short to seek the affirmation of everyone.
So…how about you…we are all living on borrowed time. If you knew you didn’t have much time left how would you adjust your life?
BTW…you don’t have much time left in comparison to eternity. List the changes and then make them today!