Sunday Night Reflections August 2, 2009

Here are some thoughts as we wrap up an AMAZING day…

• Saw around 50 people receive Christ today–THAT NEVER GETS OLD!
• Today’s message MIGHT have been one of THE most tense messages I think I’ve ever taught in the history of our church!
• My heart breaks for people who are in the church…but not in the Kingdom.
• BTW…that is why some church folk are NOT Kingdom minded…it’s hard to think about a place where you’ve never been!
• Jesus offended the religious…the church should do more of the same instead of coddling them!
• Jesus didn’t die on the cross so we could be “normal” and “average” and “barely make it” through the week…He’s called us to GREATER THINGS!  (John 14:12)
• Jesus didn’t build His church so we could strive for the goal of “mediocre!”
• Yes, I did say “ding dong” and “no, ho” in the service…had to be there…or you can catch it on the internet.
• At NewSpring we are willing to do ANYTHING to reach people for Christ…EVEN if it means offending people who are obsessed with their personal preferences…so much so that they actually begin to tell Jesus what He can and can not do!
• Seeing hundreds of people stand up today that have received Christ and/or been baptized absolutely BLEW my mind…LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED…Jesus is being made famous ONE LIFE AT A TIME!
• So many people NEVER see Jesus because they are too busy lecturing Him on what HE is or is not doing!
• Yes, the letter at the end of the service messed me up all three times I read it…one more example of how God changes life through Jesus!
• Bring some Kleenex next week…wow…seriously, it will be an AMAZING service…and…
• If you have someone in your life that needs to hear the Gospel…DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to get them to church on Sunday!  SERIOUSLY…call them, beg them, bribe them…WHATEVER!  I personally think this is going to be one of the BEST services we’ve had all year long!!!
• We signed the lease on our Columbia campus…we will be moving into the building that Gateway Church used to occupy off of Exit 101-A.  It will allow us to seat around 600-650 people per service…and we’re planning on launching in Septermber/October!
• We’re so thankful for Gateway Church and their willingness to lease us their facility…God is doing an AMAZING work through their ministry…and it’s AWESOME to know that there are KINGDOM MINDED churches out there!
• Alden Ellis is the campus pastor for our Columbia campus…you can check out his blog here.
• Lucretia and I are beginning a new discipleship group that we are incredibly excited about…I will fill you in more in the coming weeks…but no one in the group is over the age of 18.  We really want to begin to invest our lives in the next generation!
• I will be playing a guitar and singing a song this coming Sunday at the Anderson campus.
• The line above is a joke…I apologize for the harm and terror that it may have caused in anyone’s life!
• College football starts soon…THANK YOU JESUS…I am a sports nut and this time period is KILLING ME!  (I am so desperate I am watching classic college football games!)
• Going to TRY to get my book done by the end of this year!!!  (Could REALLY use your prayers!)

That’s about it…SO THANKFUL for WHAT I’ve been called to do…and WHO I have the privilege of serving with!  Every staff member–every volunteer…THANKS…God is being honored, Jesus is being exalted, the Holy Spirit is being obeyed…and we’re just getting started!!!