Archive for August, 2010
Changes A Growing Ministry Has Brought About In Me – Part One August 31, 2010
Change is inevitable…it is going to take place…and we can either embrace it or fight it.
One of the questions I often get in leadership circles are in regards to what kind of changes have taken place in me personally since the ministry of NewSpring Church has grown. I reflected on this for quite a while and came up with eight…
#1 – I Have Become More Aware Of The Cross & The Grace That Was Poured Out On Me.
Every single time I preach the Gospel I am filled with passion because I can’t quit thinking about what Jesus has done for me! Every time I see someone respond to the Gospel I get so fired up because of the internal change that happens inside of them the moment they meet Christ…and I am reminded that the change they are going through is THE SAME thing that happened to me.
I’ve NEVER gotten over the cross and how Christ changed me when I called out to Him. Even when I see people who have walked down the path of horrendous sin I remind myself that if it were not for HIS grace poured out on me…I would be the very person that I am tempted to despise! (This is why many churches are legalistic and feel like they are morally superior to those outside the walls…they don’t understand the cross!)
#2 – I Have Become More Aware Of His Power And Ability
I made a 790 on my S.A.T. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I dropped out of seminary. I do not have any sort of religious pedigree. I still wrestle with sin on a daily basis. AND…as I look back on what has happened at NewSpring Church over the past 10 years I know that I cannot personally take any credit for this. We are seeing Zechariah 4:6 come to life right in front of our eyes. AND…the more we grow and the more our influence increases the more desperate I am for HIM to work through me. Left on my own I am screwed…He’s not just a good idea…HE’S ESSENTIAL and I need Him more today than I have ever needed Him before.
#3 – I Have Become More Desperate For His Revelation & Direction Through The Scriptures.
Of all the books on “How to do church” there is none better than the Bible. (I would say the same for “How to do life” as well.)
However, I must say that one of the dangers in reading the Bible is doing so just to see what God wants rather than really diving into WHO He is! We will never discover what He wants until we see who He is…because doing so fills us with a faith that will attempt the “impossible.” The reason so many people back down from God’s obvious calling on their lives is because they fail to see what the Scriptures so clearly portray about Him.
AND…in regards to how to do church…I am realizing more and more that correct theology MUST drive my methodology…and consistant time in the Word is the BEST thing I can do as a leader so that I can be shaped and transformed…then and only then can I lead others through that.
Ten Things I Want NewSpring Church To Know August 30, 2010
As I sit and think about what happened at our church yesterday I am in awe of the God that we serve…that He would allow our church to have such a small part in what He’s been doing for over 2,000 years…reconciling the world to Himself through Christ! (See II Corinthians 5:17-21)
I wanted to say several things to each one of you…
#1 – Thank you to everyone who invited someone to church yesterday! I am SO proud of you guys…every time we issue a challenge to invite people to a church service you guys step up and BLOW IT OUT OF THE WATER! We saw over 500 salvations yesterday because so many of you were willing to step out of your comfort zones and bring someone to church.
#2 – Thank you to everyone who prayed for yesterday! We must NEVER underestimate the importance of the power of prayer. We’ve been praying for this date in particular since May (when I first shared the vision for this series with the staff) and yesterday we saw the result of what happens when God’s people BEG HIM to do something only HE can do.
#3 – Thank you to everyone who served in a volunteer role yesterday! It wasn’t my preaching that “brought them in,” but rather it was all of us serving together, using the gifts and talents that He’s given us in the context of HIS local church, and, as a result, seeing peoples lives be eternally transformed.
#4 – This coming Sunday we will conclude the series with a message that REALLY focuses on how we can continue to walk with and grow in Christ once we surrender our lives to Him! SO…if you brought someone with you yesterday then bring them back next week!!!
#5 – For those who invited someone to church and they did not receive Christ…DON’T GIVE UP ON THEM! (The guy who invited me to church was SO persistant…and I am SO glad that he was!) Keep asking God for opportunities and making yourself available to them.
#6 – If you are unsure as to how to share Christ with someone you can go here and watch the evangelism seminar we did several weeks back, OR you can go to the NewSpring Church podcast on itunes and download it for free!
#7 – For those wondering what we “did with those people” who received Christ yesterday…well…we simply believe that the same Holy Spirit who drew them to Himself in the first place is able to continue to do that same supernatural work in and around them. So…what do we “do” for them? WE DO CHURCH…and pray that as they continue to attend and hear HIS Word that they will continue to take their next steps of obedience as He leads them!
#8 – Let’s keep praying, keep inviting, keep sharing Christ and keep believing for GREATER THINGS!
#9 – God isn’t just doing this in our church…I’m hearing of things like this happening in SO many places…I honestly believe that our country is on the verge of another Great Awakening!
#10 – Cannot WAIT to begin our next series entitled, “The Blessed Life” on September 12 as we begin to explore how we can all live a life that is beyond our imagination!
BONUS – I LOVE MY CHURCH! I love you guys…can’t believe we get to do this…praying Acts 2:42-47 over us and believing God for it!
Sunday Night Reflections… August 29, 2010
Best. Day. Ever! I literally don’t know where to begin…so here goes (today literally cannot be explained…it really was the best day in the history of NewSpring Church!)
- Today we saw 516 people surrender their lives to Christ at NewSpring. THAT NEVER GETS OLD!!!!!!!
- We shattered a non-holiday attendance record with over 14,100 people in church today! (EVERY campus set an attendance record!)
- Anderson campus literally ran out of parking spaces at 11:15.
- (The 6:00 service in Anderson was the most electric/anointed environment I’ve EVER been in–EVER!)
- Columbia campus ran out of chairs at 11:15 and had people standing along the walls.
- Florence campus went over 1,000!
- Greenville campus had over 2,800 people show up!
- I believe we presented the most simple Gospel presentation we’ve ever presented.
- We invited the people who received Christ to walk forward and nail their names to the cross after the service…I will NEVER forget that sound!
- The scripture we used today was Romans 3:23-24, Colossians 2:13-15, Isaiah 64:6 and Matthew 7:21-23
- I’ve NEVER seen our church as excited about a service as we were about today…since we preached on “Found People Find People” back on August 8th and did the evangelism seminar that week we’ve had an incredible desperation for Jesus to do something awesome…and HE DID!
- BTW…I had one of our parking volunteers stop me on my way out of the 11:15 service today and thank me for the evangelism seminar…he said that he was able to lead a friend to Christ at work because of it! YES!!!
- What we saw today was the power of an AWESOME God partnered with people who were crazy enough to take Him at His Word and believe that if we brought people to a place where they could hear the message that HE would do amazing things among us!
- AND…not only that…but we are equipped to GO OUT and share HIS GOSPEL as well!
- I literally prayed Acts 8:8 over Anderson, Florence, Greenville, Columbia and Charleston today…I want to see great joy through an AWAKENING that HE is doing.
- NewSpring…let’s LIVE OUT Isaiah 62:6-7 and not leave God alone until He transforms our entire community!
- Can’t WAIT to conclude this series NEXT WEEK with a message entitled, “Don’t Stop Believing!” God STILL has awesome things in store!
- CELEBRATING with my great friend Steven Furtick at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC as they set an attendance record today as well and saw 581 salvations!!!!! THAT NEVER GETS OLD!!!
- HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE…and NewSpring Church…THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!! (Zephaniah 3:17)
- I am STILL trying to get my mind wrapped around what happened today. I know I usually recap the message in these reflections entries, but, like I said, I’ve never seen anything quite like this and am trying to process everything and am asking God what He wants to do next.
- NewSpring Church…I LOVE YOU…what we’re seeing God do right now IS NOT NORMAL..He IS building HIS church…and…the BEST IS YET TO COME!
Whew! I’ve got to TRY to go to sleep now! :-)
What Is Holding You Back? August 26, 2010
I don’t think people fall short of what God has for them because He isn’t revealing Himself…I think many do so because He does reveal Himself, but in Him doing so we are forced to face several things that MUST be overcame if we are going to achieve what He has for us…such as…
#1 – Fear
If you don’t say “oh crap” when God reveals what He wants for your life…then you probably didn’t hear from God!
We will never become who God has called us to be and do what He has called us to do if we do not face our fears.
- David faced his fear and stepped out to face Goliath.
- Moses faced his fear of not being able to speak and went before Pharoah.
- Noah faced his fear of not knowing how to build a boat
People that accomplish great things for God MUST fight through their fears because reality is than God has never asked anyone to do anything that was easy (other than receiving Christ!)
#2 – People
When you want to do something great for God there will always be LOTS of people who try to tell you why you can’t do what HE said you can do! My advice…never listen to anyone who is not doing anything tell you that you cannot do anything. OR…in other words, NEVER take dance instructions from a person who just stands against the wall and does nothing but criticize those who are trying to stay in rhythm.
#3 – The Procrastination Lie
I know so many people who swear that “one day” they are going to do what they “know” God has called them to do…but…”one day” for most people NEVER comes…because in their minds “one day” is when everything is in place and doing what God has called them to do does not require any step of faith at all.
“I will do it one day” is a lie that we tell ourselves in order to justify our disobedience. God doesn’t speak to hear Himself talk…His word is not to be considered but to be obeyed.
#4 – Underestimation of Him Working Through You!
If God has called you then He has also equipped you and will sustain you. Of course the task at hand is large and seems “impossible,” that is why Zechariah 4:6 says it is by HIS Spirit and II Corinthians 12:9 says that HIS power is made perfect in our weakness!!! He didn’t call us because we are “able,” we are nothing more than common jars of clay (see II Corinthians 4:7) that He wants to use for HIS glory…and He has a history of taking ordinary people (Acts 4:13) and doing extraordinary things through them!
Why Some Churches Struggle With Money August 25, 2010
Some churches are struggling in regards to finances…yet many are not, even in the recession that our country has recently went through. So…why do some churches seem to struggle while others do not. Four reasons…
#1 – The Church Has No Vision
People will not consistently give to a visionless organization. However, when a church begin to seek God, BEG for HIS direction and commit to go and do whatever He says…and when steps of faith are taken…and when lives begin to be impacted because of that…and those changed lives are celebrated on a consistant basis then giving becomes a joy for the church instead of an obligation because they can see that their investment is making a difference.
#2 – The Pastor Refuses To Teach On It
It’s amazing the number of church leaders who fear teaching on money…they say, “people will get mad and leave.” I always answer, “of course they will! BUT…the only people who get angry when you teach on adultery are the ones who are actually committing adultery. SO…think about it, the people who get mad when you teach on money are the ones who have money as their god!”
Sixteen out of the thirty eight parables Jesus taught had to do with money, around 15% of His total teaching had to do with the subject of money and He taught that money is the number one spiritual indicator of where a persons heart is.
Yet money is the only subject that we address in the church that many pastors feel like they need to apologize for. Jesus didn’t apologize for it; in fact, He said some pretty BOLD things about it. (See Matthew 6:19-24 AND Matthew 19:24) If Jesus taught on the subject with authority then so should the church.
#3 – Pastors DO Teach On It…But With The Wrong Motives.
I am not going to argue that money is arguably the most abused subject when it comes to false teaching. It is a fine line because when we do teach on money many people are automatically going to think you (pastor) are after their wallets.
I once heard Andy Stanley say this to his church…and I totally ripped it off and say it all of the time, “We don’t want anything FROM you…we want something FOR you!”
BAM!
I’ve literally told our church whenever I teach on the subject of tithing that if they think NewSpring Church is after their money then I want them to go home, open up to the yellow pages, pick a ramdon church and send them the tithe for the next three months and see what happens! Whenever I say that people look at me like I am smoking crack…but I am SERIOUS!
Which leads to number 4…
#4 – Many People In The Church WANT To Give But Feel Like They Can’t Because Of Poor Financial Decisions.
In other words–PEOPLE ARE BROKE!
That is why we can’t just teach “giving” to solve all of a persons needs…there is also the command of biblical stewardship. That is one of the reasons why, at least two times a year, we offer classes at NewSpring Church (by Joe Sangl…the best there is out there on this subject) in regards to how to get out of credit card debt, how to live on a budget, how to set aside cash for a rainy day…and tons more.
AND…the church does not charge for the class…we let people come for free…because, once again, we don’t want anything from them, we want FOR them to discover the financial freedom that God wants them to live in.
13 Things I Would Tell Church Planters August 24, 2010
One of the most frequent questions I receive is, “If you could tell a church planter one thing, what would it be?”
I’ve thought about that question…and honestly, I can’t come up with just one thing because the world of church planting is complex. So, I made a list of several things…so here’s what I would say to someone who is considering planting a church…
#1 – You are going to have to take huge steps of faith to see the dream God has placed inside of you become a reality. Church planters that pray but refuse to take action never actually do what God has called them do to…and they wind up bitter at God because they prayed for things that God was more than willing to do if they had just acted on what they were praying for!
#2 – You are going to have lots of doubters when you share your vision with people…especially churchy people! They typically are used to “by faith we believe God can raise enough money to pave the parking lot” vision and not “we are called to reach the entire world” vision!
#3 – One of the biggest doubters you will encounter from time to time is yourself! (Personally, I keep going back to Isaiah 61:1 when I doubt!)
#4 – People who you thought were great friends and would always be by your side will leave you…and many times it won’t be pretty.
#5 – People you don’t even know right now will one day come along side of you and be unbelievable friends and partners in the ministry God has given you.
#6 – You will always feel significant financial pressure when you are pursuing the vision God has given you. The question you must constantly wrestle to the ground is, “Is THIS what God wants” and not, “Can we afford it?” Remember…if it is God’s will then it is God’s bill! What the King wants the King pays for!
#7 – You are going to see God in ways that many do not get to see Him.
#8 – You are going to have to be WAY more passionate about what you are for rather than what you are against!
#9 – You are going to have to choose whether or not you want to please insiders or reach outsiders…you cannot do both.
#10 – You are going to want to quit–don’t! He who called you is with you and will sustain you!!! (See Philippians 1:6)
#11 – You are going to experience a whole new level of spiritual warfare…just remember, the only reason the enemy is attacking you is because he sees you as a threat! Take up the promise in Isaiah 54:17!
#12 – You are going to be tempted to copy the success you see in church world rather than believe the vision God gave you. BUT…God called you because He knew He could trust you with what He has given you…so be who HE has called you to be.
#13 – You are going to change your mind about things you are pretty set on right now…what you think is innovative and cutting edge will one day be considered “traditional.” You can’t allow the pride behind the fact that your idea is no longer the best idea to bring your church to a place where people meet and talk about what God used to do!
Dear NewSpring Family… August 23, 2010
Howdy!
As I said in last nights post I feel like the Lord is doing something amazing in our church right now…I have never witnessed this level of excitement and anticipation at any point in our 10 year history.
A couple of weeks ago (on August 8th) we began our current series (I Love The 80′s) with a message entitled “Found People Find People” where we looked at the story in John 1:43-51 about how Phillip found Nathaniel. In that service we passed out refrigerator magnets and had everyone write the names of people who we were going to pray for AND invite to church on August 29th. (THIS COMING SUNDAY!) BTW…you can watch/listen to that message here if you missed it…OR if you want to see it again.
We also had a live event at each campus where I taught for two hours on why evangelism is so important AND how to practically share Christ with someone (and we are already hearing stories of people receiving Christ as a result!) Over 4,000 people attended and were trained! (You can watch that event here or download it for free on itunes – it is on the NewSpring Church podcast.)
And so…this coming Sunday is THE SUNDAY I asked you to pray for and invite people to in regards to us doing a service where a very clear presentation of the Gospel is given…and there is a very clear call to respond.
Every time we have done a service like this we’ve seen HUNDREDS of people come to Christ…and our church is NEVER the same as a result. Needless to say…I can’t wait for Sunday…and would ask you as our church family to do several things…
#1 – Take some time every single day this week to pray for our services this Sunday.
We have worked hard and prepared for months for this day…but if God does not move then we’re screwed! Let’s take some time this week to BEG HIM to move in and be THE DIFFERENCE in our services…let’s LIVE OUT Isaiah 62:6-7 and literally not leave Him alone all week long!!!
#2 – Make yourself available this week by praying every single day, “God, here I am, take me and use me to invite people to church and/or share my faith today!”
#3 – Do whatever it takes to get people to church on Sunday.
I know that it CAN be discouraging to keep inviting people and then you are told “no,” don’t give up…they may need just one more invite. Let’s live out II Peter 3:9 to those who so desperately NEED HIM!!!
#4 – Get to church a little earlier this Sunday.
We are expecting record attendance at each campus…so whatever time you normally get to church…try for about 10 minutes earlier.
Like I said earlier…I cannot wait to see what Jesus does this weekend! I really do LOVE our church…and I love the way that you respond each time this challenge is issued!!!!
Let’s do ALL we can to reach ALL we can and then place it ALL in HIS HANDS!!!