Archive for August, 2010
Sunday Night Reflections… August 15, 2010
A few thoughts on a great day at NewSpring Church…
- Today we talked about the fact that there is a difference in following Jesus and attending church…the tension was obvious; however, as my friend Andy Stanley says – “the tension is good.”
- Unfortunately in America the church is known for how we scream at people rather than how we serve them!
- Core Value #2 that we covered today is...SAVED PEOPLE SERVE PEOPLE! (See Matthew 20:28)
- According to the Scriptures it is impossible to say that we are following Jesus if we are not actively serving others.
- BTW…Chic Fil A was the hands down winner in the “favorite fast food” restaurant vote.
- Their food is really good…but it is their service that takes that restaurant over the top…service makes the difference!
- (I did a leadership post about Chic Fil A back in 2005…you can check it out here if you are interested.)
- One of the things that happens to a follower of Jesus is that we begin to see as Jesus sees…He changes us.
- BTW…if you are not changing then you are not following Christ. We can’t follow Jesus and stay the same.
- Today we covered the story of the Good Samaritan…who was the one in the story that not only SAW the opportunity…but did something about it. (See Luke 10:25-37)
- The guy in the story who “fell among robbers” is like so many of our friends and family members who do not know Christ…they walked down the wrong road…had the mess beat out of them…and they don’t really need a song or a sermon but rather someone to come along, pick them up and take them to a place where they can heal! (THE CHURCH!)
- We can’t say we’re following Jesus if we are not willing to get our hands dirty…because…HE GOT HIS HANDS DIRTY when it came to reaching us!
- Jesus didn’t die on a cross so that we could attend church…He did it so we would one day BELONG to one.
- We’re not trying to raise an audience at NewSpring…we want an army who believes that God can still do the “impossible,”…and we live out Isaiah 62:6-7 by begging Him for it!
- If we are going to be a follower of Jesus Christ then we must respond as Jesus leads…and He does not lead us to sit but rather serve!!!
- He’s not looking for “experts” but rather ordinary people who allow Him to do the extraordinary through them! (See Acts 4:13)
- A person who will not commit to a local church is a “spiritual hoe!” (Someone who attends everywhere but belongs nowhere!) God has called every believer to be involved in a local church spiritually, physically and financially.
- It’s not about the church needing us…but rather about God giving us the church through which He develops the gifts He has given us for His glory.
- I am so thankful for the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers at each campus who do all that they do every week to make sure church happens…you guys are AWESOME!
- I can’t WAIT until three weeks from today when we inform each campus of the AMAZING opportunities we each have to serve through local community projects…it is HARD to resist the message a church preaches when it is actively serving others.
- We had hundreds sign up for membership ownership class today…can’t WAIT to teach it tomorrow night in Anderson and Florence, Tuesday night in Cola and Thursday night in Greenville. (Monday will be the only time I teach it live…the other two will be via recording.)
- I literally could go on and on about what we learned today…if you didn’t make it then you can watch it online on Tuesday…or download the podcast from itunes.
One more quick thing…
I would really appreciate your prayers this week. I taught four seminars (two hours each time) last week…and I woke up Friday pretty sick to my stomach…that carried on through today…and I also had a massive headache to make sure the stomach ache was not alone. Basically I felt like I had been hit by a truck…it backed up…and then ran over me again. God was so gracious to me by allowing me to preach…and I know that through your prayers HE will continue to set me on fire so that I can teach the ownership class tomorrow night.
NewSpring Church…I LOVE MY CHURCH…you guys are awesome…and the best is yet to come!
A Final Thought On Evangelism From This Week August 13, 2010
WOW…what an amazing week…over 5,000 people trained in how to share their faith.
One final thought…in the seminar I spoke about II Corinthians 5:16, how we are to not look at people from a worldly point of view…in regards to that Scripture I wanted to share this quote from “The Weight of Glory” by C.S. Lewis…
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”
Let’s reach the world NewSpring Church!!! (He didn’t say that, I did!) :-)
SEE YOU ON SUNDAY!!!
Early Bird Rate For NLC Extended August 12, 2010
Just in case you haven’t heard…we’re having a leadership conference here at NewSpring Church on Thursday, September 16th. :-)
It is a one day conference, the early bird rate is $99…and the speakers include…
- Francis Chan
- Steven Furtick
- Mark Driscoll
- Jud Wilhite
- Judah Smith
- Me
- AND…as of this past Monday, Rick Warren
The original early bird rate ($99) was set to expire to tomorrow; however, since signups have literally doubled in the past few days we’ve decided to extend the $99 rate until next Thursday (August 19th)…after that day the rate will go to $129. (AND…if you are wanting to get signed up I would do it pretty quick…like I said the signups have doubled, seats are going fast!)
So, once again, here is where you get signed up…this day is going to be amazing/intense and life changing…hope to see you here!
(BTW…wanted to answer two questions that have been asked a lot – first one is will this event be broadcast live over the internet. The answer is no…we will be broadcasting Unleash in March but not the leadership event. The second one is are all of the speakers going to be appearing live or will some of the be here via video…the answer is that all of our speakers will be here live.)
10 Characteristics of Growing Churches August 12, 2010
#1 – They have leaders that lead!
“For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee!” Not sure where I heard that…but its true!
#2 – A desperation for God’s power!
Prayer isn’t a good luck charm that is attached at the beginning or at the end of something…people are legitimately desperate for the power of God. They pray Habakkuk 3:2 prayers every day and…
#3 – They believe that greater things are in store.
They don’t just pray big prayers…but they have a sense of anticipation that is contagious! They don’t read Acts 2 and think “those were the good ‘ole days” but rather they think, “that’s where God STARTED this thing…we should be WAY ahead of this!!!”
#4 – They are full of ordinary people.
God always uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Jesus didn’t choose one scribe or Pharisee when He launched the church…and Acts 4:13 talks about how He used ordinary people to absolutely turn the world upside down. The staff LOVE the church…so much so that they would actually attend there even if they were not on staff!
#5 – They leverage technology.
They don’t view technology as of the devil but rather as a tool given by God to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. (Btw…isn’t it funny that some churches are against the use of technology yet all of them rode to their church in a car and their church building has air conditioner?)
#6 – The church is full of passion.
People in the church actually LOVE the church and do not attend because they feel like they have to! (The only reason people get angry with the fact that you love your church is probably because they have no idea what it is like to actually love their church!)
#7 – They take ownership of the great commission.
They REFUSE to be “keepers of the aquarium” and instead embrace the COMMAND of Jesus to reach the world for HIM! (BTW NewSpring Church…it has been SO encouraging to see so many of you come to our evangelism seminar this week! We have one more live one tonight at our Anderson campus – you can sign up here – and, if you cannot join us live for some reason this event will be available online just like our Sunday services…so you can join us tonight at www.newspring.cc from 7-9, can’t wait!)
#8 – There is a willingness to change and adapt, even when it means they have to go against the very “innovative” ideas that they themselves once established!
Anyone can change the traditions of the past…but true innovation occurs when we’re willing to change the ideas that we once thought were innovative and ground breaking!
#9 – Generosity is embraced.
The world has never been impacted in a positive way by people that were greedy.
#10 – The people in the church are OWNERS, not merely “members.”
Members have rights, owners have responsibilities. The people in these churches understand that it is not the pastors job to minister to the people but rather the bodies job to minister to the body! And as a result people serve Jesus by serving others instead of sitting on their “blessed assurance” and expecting to be waited on hand and foot.
A Few Thoughts That I’ve Been Thinking Lately… August 11, 2010
Sometimes there are things that I read, hear or think that keep coming back to me over and over…here are a few that I just can’t seem to shake…
#1 – “In the Bible God calls those who will not work lazy, but He calls those who will not rest disobedient.” (See Isaiah 30:15) John Walker
EVERY leader needs to wrestle with that one!!! When we get tired we give up on God and begin to think the world is completely falling apart…remember Elijah, he faced down hundreds of false prophets and then ran from a woman who was mad at him! (See I Kings 17-19)
#2 – “In order to reach the people no one else is reaching we must be willing to do the things that no one else is doing.” Craig Groeschel
Leaders…IF you do this you WILL be controversial because people usually have a problem when the status quo is upset, especially in the context of church! I am seriously wrestling with the question and asking myself, “what else is it that we need to be doing to reach people who are far from God?” And please understand…I am NOT asking, “what activities do we need to add to our agenda to try and reach more churched people who are desperate for more Christian activities so that we can provide them with opportunities to isolate themselves from the very people Jesus commanded us to reach.” There is a huge difference!
In order to go where God wants us to go…we must be willing to embrace both the unknown and the uncomfortable!
#3 – “Of course criticism hurts, its supposed to! If you ever get to the point where it doesn’t bother you anymore then something is dead inside of you.” John Walker.
One of the dumbest things you can say to someone is “don’t let that criticism hurt you.” That would be equal to kicking a man in the nuts over and over again and then getting perplexed as to why he is on the ground screaming in pain. Telling him to “not take it personally” isn’t going to help!
#4 – “Becoming obsessed with what others think about me is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me.” Craig Groeschel.
Craig’s words remind me of Galatians 1:10!
I can either allow what others say to define me (positive or negative)…or I can allow God’s Word to define me!
#5 – “We must dream, because we are made in the image of Him who sees things that are not and wills them to be.” DL Moody
I think God is bothered and disturbed NOT because we ask too much of Him…but because we ask too little! Church leaders should have bigger dreams and plans that ANYONE ON THE PLANET!!! How dare we allow Apple, Disney and Facebook to have a bigger vision than us…we are HIS CHURCH!!! It’s sort of like what CS Lewis said…
“Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased!”
NLC 2010 & Rick Warren August 10, 2010
The lineup of speakers at our leadership conference next month was already incredible…
- Mark Dricoll
- Judah Smith
- Steven Furtick
- Jud Wilhite
- Francis Chan
- And me (i figured I would let me speak) :-)
BUT…yesterday we confirmed the addition of Rick Warren!!!
Because of this we are adding an evening session to the conference…it will begin at 7:00 with an incredible time of worship with our band…and then Rick will have the entire evening session to conclude the day.
So…once again, here is the link to register (and also once again the early bird rate of $99 ends this Friday…it then increases to $129) Seating is limited…and due to this being the last week you can register for $99 AND the addition of Rick (I tweeted about this yesterday) the seats are selling QUICKLY!
So…get registered and get here, it’s going to be an amazing day!!!
Amazing Idea For Your Next Sermon Series! August 10, 2010
I honestly believe I’ve got the best idea EVER for a sermon series in your church…one that will lead to breakthroughs, one that will be talked about until Jesus comes back and one that God will use in ways that will absolutely blow your mind.
Here it is – get alone with God, open your Bible, read it until he sets your heart on fire…and then go unleash that fire through preaching to the people He has called you to preach to!
In other words…get “a word” from “The Word!”
Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE creative sermon/series planning. I LOVE trying to figure out how we can communicate timeless principles in the context of the society that we are in. I LOVE doing WHATEVER it takes short of sin to get as many people outside the doors of the church to come inside!
However, the trap that I am seeing so many pastors fall into is they fall in love with the process of creativity and allow it to bypass the love they once had for their Creator!
Leadership AND preaching really is as easy as listening to God and then doing what HE says!
And…let me be straight, I really do believe that God gives us really creative ideas…and that refusing to use them is simply bad stewardship.
BUT…I also believe that trying to make sure every series that we do has a certain pop and sizzle is an insane trap that can cause us to lose focus on what HE has called us to do…PREACH HIS WORD! If we are not careful we can get so creative in our church services that there really isn’t any need for the presence of God…and THAT is the most ungodly place we could ever lead our people to!
God’s Word WILL produce a harvest (see Isaiah 55:8-13, this is a PROMISE)…and the BEST way to see a harvest in the people we preach to is to preach out of the personal harvest that God is bringing forth in us.
And so when this means going all out and having the most creative set design, song selection and video that it can have…praise God, I am all for that…using WHATEVER we can to communicate His Word.
But then I believe there will be times that we do catch a “creative cramp,” and when we do it is probably just God trying to get our attention and bring us back to rely on HIS SPIRIT rather than our strategy.
Yes, we are called to be creative (God is NOT boring), but our call to be that way comes after our call to be obedient.
If God is setting your heart on fire…unleash that fire on Sunday! PREACH!