Archive for July, 2009
Sunday Night Reflections July 19, 2009
A few thoughts about the day…
- Saw several people trust Christ today…that NEVER gets old!
- Had a conversation in the lobby with a guy who drove up from Charleston with 16 other people to be at our service this evening…wow!
- Had another conversation with a dude from West Virgina who arranged his vacation so that he and his family could be at our services today.
- Was also informed that a 15 year old from Georgia was at our church today…because…his parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he told them to come to a live service at NewSpring…that BLOWS MY MIND!!!
- I can’t believe all that God is doing in our church…His faithfulness is amazing…His vision is clear…His power is obvious and His command is direct, “REACH THE LOST!!!” Saying that…
- GO ahead and make plans NOW to BRING someone to church with you next week!
- Today’s message was on, “Why People Get Mad At Church!” And…I think some people got mad at church! :-)
- Too many of us are obsessed with how we appear…God is obsessed with who we are!
- Footloose is AWESOME! (Had to be here!) Can’t believe that movie came out 25 years ago!
- Matthew 23 is where Jesus went bonkers on the religious crowd…it is easy to read through that text and see the hypocrisy in others…what is difficult is to read it and ask God to reveal the hypocrisy in our own lives!
- Praying that LOTS of people took the challenge today to read their Bible…remember you can use the notes on the back of the bulletin OR read a chapter a day in the Gospel of John and then the book of Acts OR you can scroll down a little to a category entitled “Biblical Journey” and see if any of the thoughts I journaled may help.
- Had a crew from our central campus take a look at the Florence Civic Center…where our Florence campus will be moving next month…and they came back FIRED UP! God’s getting ready to do some AWESOME things there!
- The big announcement about our Columbia campus is…that…we will make the big announcement next week! We thought we would have the information ready by now…but we were wrong! Oh well…I promise it is coming!
- Tomorrow (Monday) morning I have the privilege of traveling to Daytona Beach with over 1,000 teenagers and volunteers from NewSpring Church as we participate in Big Stuff…
- Speakers for the week are myself, Steven Furtick and Andy Stanley…yep…I am going to take LOTS of notes and when it is my turn to speak I am going to get up and say, “what they said!” (Referring to Furtick and Stanley!)
- I have had the privilege of spending time with the teenagers from our church every year for the past five years…and I LOVE IT! God ALWAYS does something both amazing and unique in ALL OF US (not just the teens) on these trips…and I am begging Him to blow our minds again!
- I wish Verizon would carry the iphone!!!
That’s about it for the night…can’t wait for tomorrow…God is SOOOOOOOO good!
A Friday Rant…No Excuse For Yelling At A Woman!!! July 17, 2009
The other night I sat down to watch “The Break Up” with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston and had to turn the channel…I could not watch it!
NOW…PLEASE…this is NOT a blog where I rip movies apart. I am not anti-entertainment…but something happened in the first five minutes of the show that literally broke my heart and pissed me off at the same time…
The man (Vince) yelled at the woman (Jennifer)–A LOT!!!
I can’t handle that!!! (I know, I know…in the movie they were not married–which is another issue altogether…just stay with me here!)
Dudes that yell at women (and/or hit a woman) are pathetic wusses! It is absolutely inexcusable!!! There is NO WAY a man can say he is loving his wife as Christ loved the church and also yell at his bride (see Ephesians 5:25-27…she’s supposed to be washed with our words–not tarnished with them! When she walks away from us she should do so without wrinkle or stain or blemish–period!!!)
And men, sometimes we yell when we don’t think we are yelling…
Very early in our marriage Lucretia and I had a disagreement…and we were “discussing” it. The next day after this had taken place we were talking about the incident and she made the remark that she didn’t like it when I yelled at her. I thought back to the argument and didn’t recall yelling at all, so I told her, “Honey, I didn’t yell at you.”
She then went on to explain to me that, though I didn’t yell, that I did raise my voice quite a few times…and to her that was the same.
Since that time I’ve had to be VERY careful when we “discuss” issues to not raise my voice and/or yell.
NOW…do I want to yell sometimes? YES!!! (I just yelled that by typing in all caps!) (One more thing…usually I want to yell when I am getting my butt kicked, thinking that will turn the attention elsewhere!)
BUT…I am constantly reminded that one of the fruits of the Spirit is SELF CONTROL (Galatians 5:22-23) I can’t be “out of control” and be in step with the One who lives in me.
Men, we can’t yell at our wives…they are to be treated as gifts so that our prayers will be effective (I Peter 3:7). God really does care about how His daughters are spoken to!!!
And single ladies…if you are dating a dude who yells at you now…drop him like a bad habit!!! Seriously…you deserve so much better than that. If he loses his temper with you now…well…in MOST cases it only gets worse!
“Get My Underwear Off Of Your Head!” (6 Thoughts About God!) July 16, 2009
On Sunday I came home, changed clothes, put a load of clothes in the wash and then went into the kitchen to get some food ready…
About a minute later Charisse came into the room with a pair of my underwear over her head.
NOW…let’s stop here for just a second and all admit–underwear, no matter how they are designed, are GROSS!!! There is just no way around it…your butt stinks and underwear and your butt hang out all day long!!! (That is all I am going to say about the grossness of underwear…I think you get the point!)
So…I told her, “Charisse, can you please take daddy’s underwear off of your head and go put them in the dirty clothes?”
She left the kitchen…but about a minute later walked back in with my undies STILL ON HER HEAD! (And I think she was singing!)
This caused me to act with a little more urgency…I know she thought what she was doing was cute…but it had already caused me to throw up in my mouth just a little…and I wanted her to STOP IT…
SO…I once again expressed my desire for her to “repent” of “underwear head” and do what I had told her…to which she, once again, walked out of the room as if she intended on doing what I had commanded.
BUT…instead of obeying me she walked into the living room and began to dance…WITH MY UNDERWEAR STILL ON HER HEAD!
I began walking towards her…and my voice became just a touch more elevated (I really do mean a touch…we don’t yell in the Noble house!) She finally got the point and took my drawers off of her noggin. I told her to put them away…and though she wasn’t fond of the idea…she obeyed!
I’ve thought about this episode a lot this week and have concluded the following..
#1 – Many times what we see as “fun” and “harmless” our heavenly Father sees as something far worse!
#2 – Just like I didn’t want Charisse to stay in a really nasty situation…our heavenly Father wants for us to repent of sin because He knows the destruction it will eventually bring.
#3 – Just like Charisse, many times we delay obedience because of our perceived enjoyment and our misguided thoughts that God is actually out to ruin our lives.
#4 – The sooner we obey God the sooner we are able to escape what has us blinded!
#5 – The voice of the Father and not our own voice, is the one we should be obsessed with!
#6 – His kindness and love, not His anger and hatred, is the reason He wants the junk out of our lives!
Just some thoughts that God is using my daughter to teach me!
Four Ways To Deal With A Critic July 15, 2009
Before I share the four ways let me be VERY clear on who a critic is…
- A critic is NOT someone who approaches you and has a sincere love for you and a genuine concern for the ministry. These people should always be listened to and appreciated.
- A critic is NOT someone who has a question about something and is merely seeking information and/or clarification for the purpose of fully understanding and embracing the vision of the ministry.
- A critic is NOT someone who comes to you one on one with a spirit of humility and grace.
A critic is…
- Someone who does not know you but feels the need to judge everything you say and do…they will criticize where you eat, the clothes you wear, the number of times you fart and anything else they can think of.
- Someone who asks questions…but doesn’t actually want to know the answer…but rather are merely seeking information for the purpose of division.
- Someone who is always pointing out what others are doing wrong…but never acknowledges their own shortcomings. (Jesus said it will not go well for these people…Matthew 7:1-2)
Remember…insanity is actually thinking you can explain yourself to those who don’t know you and don’t like you! So…saying that, here are four ways you can deal with a critic…
#1 – Ignore Them
#2 – Ignore Them
#3 – Ignore Them
#4 – Ignore Them
I once heard a pastor say, “We spend way too much time wrestling with church people and not with God!” DANG!
There are some battles that you are NEVER going to win…and to fight with a person who wants to do nothing but accuse you is fruitless! (Just a thought here – the name “satan” means accuser. Now…if someone is obsessed with the “wrongs” that you are doing and always feel the need to throw those wrongs in your face…would that make them more like Jesus or more like satan? Hmmmm)
I learned this lesson a long time ago…I don’t visit their websites (very few people actually do), I don’t respond to them on twitter and I don’t read their anonymous letters…Craig Groeschel once said that the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me is to obsess with what others think about me.
NOW…there are instances where Jesus dealt with these people…but it was never an explanation but rather a barrage of questions and/or a VERY sharp rebuke (Matthew 23) This type of response should always be prayed through and thought out! There will be times that these steps need to be considered, discussed and acted upon…
BUT…99% of the time…just repeat steps 1-4! :-)
Jesus Is A Micromanager!!! July 14, 2009
Guess what–Jesus is a micromanager…and I AM SO THANKFUL!!!
Contrary to the belief of some people…Jesus didn’t come to “unleash” us to live the life we’ve always wanted (SERIOUSLY…that would get bad VERY quick!) But rather He came and gave His life that we might LIVE for Him daily…and…
He knew we would completely screw this up…so…He sent us His Holy Spirit to fill us, to remind us, to guide us and to teach us HIS truth!
He didn’t leave us alone…and He didn’t tell us, “get a vision and go fulfill it”…He said, “I am ALMIGHTY GOD, I don’t need to hear your vision, you need to hear mine…it is good, pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2) and I am going to equip and empower you to fulfill what I have called you to do!”
Jesus didn’t give us His Holy Spirit so that we can manage Him…but rather so He can manage us!!!
I am so glad I am not alone!!! John 16:12-14
Fear July 14, 2009
Got this question via Twitter the other day…
“How can you tell if you are living in fear? Why is it so important to have courage and fearlessly lead as a pastor?”
Great question…three things to keep in mind here…
#1 – A Person Who Is Fearful Will Listen To No One!
Fear and insecurity often go hand in hand…and many times a leader will not listen to others because they know they are wrong, know the other person is going to tell them they are wrong…and think that if they continue to ignore the obvious that it will eventually go away!
I am SO GLAD that the Lord has put godly people in my life that love Jesus, love the church and love me. When I find myself NOT wanting to speak to them because I know what they are going to say…I usually remind myself that God is using them to protect me from my stupidity!
As I heard Andy Stanley say once…Solomon was the wisest man on the planet…he needed no one else’s advice…yet he wrote more on getting advice from others than just about anyone!
#2 – A Person Who Is Fearful Will Listen To Everyone!
The person who brags, “I always listen to everyone…I have an open door and desire for everyone to speak their minds” is miserable. This appears to be “humble” on the surface…but all too often this person is consumed by fear that he or she is going to let someone down…and so they feed off the appleause of men, thus negating the applause of heaven!
Proverbs 29:25 says that fear of man is a snare…and the person who NEEDS the affirmation of everyone will please no one…INDLUDING the ONE who called him!!! We we give equal access to everyone it isn’t because we are “humble” but rather because we want to please men…something that we MUST let go of! (Galatians 1:10)
WHO you listen to will determine WHAT you are able to accomplish…listen to JESUS and the people who love Him…and let the others blog and twitter whatever they wish!
#3 – A Person Who Is Truly Fearful is Faithful!
I believe EVERY ministry leader should memorize Proverbs 1:7 and Job 28:28 – we are called to FEAR the Lord; unfortunately, too many leaders fear those who think they know Jesus…and blog on His behalf!
If you are a leader…AND you are doing something new and seeing results…you are GOING TO TAKE SHOTS–PERIOD! If you can’t handle being hated…then you are NOT called into ministry!
That is why I believe it is essential for a leader to have a dynamic, consistent and intimate walk with the Lord…so we can HEAR HIS VOICE and do exactly as He says!
I once heard John Piper say the way to overcome fear is to fall in love with the Sovereingty of God!!! All too often we SAY we believe HE is Sovereign…until someone takes a shot at us…and then we act as if the world is falling apart!
We are called to fear the Lord…to feel the weight of Hebrews 13:17 and James 3:1!!!
We can’t fear listening to people–we can’t fear people–we are called to FEAR the Lord–which means we will do WHATEVER He commands–WHENEVER He commands it…knowing that some will not like it…but our call is to be FAITHFUL–PERIOD!
Innovation or Investigation? July 13, 2009
I don’t want to be an “innovative ministry leader” because in doing so the focus of my life may switch from being an obedient servant of the Most High God to being an obsessive slave of the latest and greatest technique!
I love innovation…I love doing what is new (God is always up to something new – Isaiah 43:18-19). However, I think some in the ministry world have lost their freakin minds as they have become obsessed with all they can do…thus losing sight of all that God wants to do! We want to be on a list rather than actually listening to the voice of God!!!
We are called to embrace innovation–WHEN God leads in that direction. BUT…I believe that every step in life and leadership should be led by God–and so when we launch a “good idea” that isn’t a “God idea,” the results will prove to be fruitless. (John 15:5)
This is why, as leaders, we should stay up with the times…but should also be DESPERATE for the voice of God! Leadership is as easy as listening to God and doing what He says. Our PASSION should be HIS VOICE, to INVESTIGATE HIS WORD and FOLLOW HIS VOICE…because by doing so we will see Him change the world we live in rather than us trying to do it all on our own!