Archive for October, 2010
Sunday Night Reflections October 17, 2010
A few thoughts on an amazing day at NewSpring Church…
- Today we saw around 100 people surrender their lives to Christ…that NEVER gets old!
- Really excited about our Columbia campus adding a 6pm service today!!!
- I honestly thought it was the best opening Sunday of a relationship series in the history of our church.
- Marriage is going to have fights…there’s no way to avoid that reality…the question we must ask is are we going to fight IN our marriage or FOR our marriage!
- Anyone can point out the perceived imperfections of their spouse…but fighting FOR our marriages begins when we focus on the areas where we fall short.
- We fight for our marriage by focusing on our responsibilities…NOT our rights! (The message will be available online on Tuesday…I really take time to develop this throughout the message!)
- The homework I gave married couples this week was to read Philippians 2:1-11 every morning and then pray two things…
- #1 – Jesus, help me to see the areas where I am falling short as a spouse…the areas that I can improve in…and…
- #2 – Jesus, teach me to see my spouse through your eyes (warning…when you begin to pray like this you will see your spouse NOT as your servant but rather as your opportunity to serve!!!)
- The questions that married couples should ask each other based on Philippians 2:1 are…
- Am I the #1 source of encouragement to my spouse? OR…how do I talk TO them and ABOUT them?
- Do I bring comfort or conflict into my marriage?
- Am I looking for opportunities for me and my spouse to spend more time together…or less time?
- Do I talk to my spouse with tenderness and compassion?
- To say that it was tense today when I was addressing the single girls would be an understatement…but…ladies, seriously…you know that you should not be dating a guy that you constantly need to make excuses for.
- NEXT WEEK the message is almost exclusively focused on the men!!! (AND November 14th will be the message where we primarily focus on the women.)
- My prayer is that IF you are a married couple and are having problems…PLEASE ask for help…don’t allow church to become “the Christian prom” where we all dress up and pretend that everything is ok!!!
- Jesus didn’t DEMAND our affection…HE FOUGHT FOR IT! He didn’t focus on His rights…but He came as the surrendered Son of God and focused on the responsibility given to Him by the Father to reconcile the world to Himself!
- If we want to be like Jesus in our marriages (Philippians 2:5) then we can’t DEMAND that our spouse be affectionate towards us…we need to be willing to fight for it. (AND…that fight for us begins with who WE are…not who they are!)
We will continue this series next week…but before I close I want all of you to know that the BEST things we can do if we want our marriages to be where God wants them to be are…
#1 – Make sure you are dating a person that is radically in love with Jesus.
#2 – Like I said earlier, make sure that if you need help to ask for it.
#3 – Be here next week…and bring someone with you!!!
Mind Blowing!!! October 15, 2010
God is already at work…and our marriage series hasn’t even officially started…
We received a call at the church office this week from someone who said their marriage was over…that they had already rented an apartment and were going to move out but had asked God to show them if this wasn’t the right decision…
AND they got the direct mail piece advertising the series THAT DAY!
This person did not follow through on their plans…and they are bringing their spouse to church with them on Sunday!
Another person called and told us that they had been separated from their spouse for a year…that the divorce papers are ready to be signed, but they got the direct mail piece in the mail and decided to not go through with it…they called their spouse and they will be attending church together this Sunday…
I’ve had more conversations in the community this week than I’ve had in quite a while regarding this series (Man Versus Wife.)
All I can say is that I really do believe that Jesus is about to do some amazing things at NewSpring Church…not only are we about to see marriages receive hope…but we are going to see HUNDREDS of people come to Christ as they realize that they don’t actually have a marriage problem…they have a JESUS problem.
It all starts this Sunday at NewSpring Church.
I’m asking all NewSpring Members/Regular Attenders to do two things…
#1 – Pray Like Crazy! Seriously..pray like you’ve never prayed before for our church. Beg God to move in undeniable ways, to draw people to Himself…and to save marriages.
#2 – Bring Someone! I promise you that people will come to this series; in fact, I read a statistic once that said 25% of unchurched people said they would attend church THIS SUNDAY if someone would just invite them! So…let’s go ALL OUT and BRING people with us!
The potential is greater than we could ever imagine…can’t wait!
18 Myths Singles Believe…And A Quick Note About Sunday October 14, 2010
#1 – Being miserable is the result of being single…getting married will solve all my problems.
#2 – I’ve messed up in my past and do not deserve anyone good. (See I Corinthians 6:9-11, especially focus on verse 11!)
#3 – Ephesians 3:20 isn’t true for me and my future spouse…I need to settle.
#4 – This relationship that I am in isn’t what I would like my marriage to be like..but when we get married I can change this person.
#5 – Having sex will simplify things and cause the person I am dating and myself to have so much more in common. (See I Corinthians 6:18-20)
#6 – This person is not God’s best for me…but if I rush through the process of dating and getting married then I have God backed into a corner and He has to bless me because He loves me, right? (See Deuteronomy 6:16)
#7 – Marriage isn’t that big of a deal…if my first one does not work out then I can drop them and start over. (See Malachi 2:13-16)
#8 – Getting married isn’t going to alter my lifestyle…I am still going to be able to live like I did when I was single, the only difference is I’m going to get to have more sex.
#9 – I am going to get to have sex anytime I want.
#10 – We are going to cuddle all of the time.
#11 – The things that really get all over my nerves about this person won’t bother me as much when we get married.
#12 – The fact that we do not agree on what we believe when it comes to Jesus and the church will not impact the way we raise our kids. (See II Corinthians 6:14 and Amos 3:3)
#13 – We should live together before we get married to give it a “trial run,” after all, you would not buy a car without test driving it first. (See Hebrews 13:4)
#14 – I need to keep as many secrets about my past from this person as possible; after all, my past issues won’t impact this relationship at all.
#15 – All of my friends are married…I am not…something is obviously wrong with me.
#16 – The way I handle my money now will not impact my future marriage.
#17 – When I get married my spouse will meet all of my needs.
#18 – Dating is tough…marriage is easy!
Hey NewSpring Church, don’t forget…we begin our series THIS SUNDAY entitled, “Man Versus Wife” that will impact both single and married people alike. Let’s go ALL OUT to get people to church…because what MOST people have is a JESUS problem…not a dating/marriage problem. This is going to be one of the most powerful series we’ve EVER done…let’s do all we can to get as many people in the doors as possible.
Why Do Marriages Go Bad? October 13, 2010
So…this Sunday at every NewSpring Church campus we are beginning a brand new series entitled “Man Versus Wife” where we will be diving into what the Bible says about marriage. (AND…this is a GREAT series to go all out to get people to church!) In anticipation of that series I wanted to share four reasons why I believe marriages go bad…
#1 – Selfishness
We are ALL selfish people! AND…when we view marriage as an opportunity to get all of our needs met rather than as an opportunity to serve someone it will always go bad. (BTW…if you want to get ready for this Sunday spend some time reading Philippians 2:1-5).
#2 – Sacrifice (Lack Of)
When we date we usually make extreme sacrifices for one another…but for some reason people think when marriage happens the sacrifice stops, when in actuality it needs to increase.
I’ve NEVER seen a marriage go bad when both of the people in the marriage were focused on sacrificing themselves for the purpose of serving the other peson. What is it that you need to give up for your marriage to go to the next level?
#3 – Stress
Marriage seems hard…because…it is hard!!! AND…many marriages fall apart because things are not easy…and rather through fighting FOR the marriage couples allow the stress to cause them to fight IN their marriage.
If there is stress in your marriage…you are normal, especially when you add the pressures of schedules, expectations, kids, job, finances and day to day life. Too many couples allow stress to separate them when it should actually solidify them and bring them together.
#4 – Sickness
If your marriage needs help…ASK!!!
If I’m sick and simply deny it and refuse to go to the doctor…what was a small issue can wind up turing into an issue that could kill me.
If there is a problem in your marriage THE BEST thing you can do is confess the issue and ask for help! Doing so doesn’t mean you are weak…it means you are godly!!! (See James 5:16)
Many marriages have been destroyed because pride dominated the couple…and a simple issue that is easily correctable with the godly wisdom of others is allowed to go unattended…and it always destroys.
Marriage CAN work…and it DOES work when we are determined to do it God’s way…we’ll dive into this more on Sunday, can’t wait!
Unleash 2011 October 12, 2010
So…we’ve NEVER had this type of response this early for our Unleash Conference! (Our one day conference for church staff and volunteers that will be taking place on Thursday, March 10!)
Over 20% of the tickets are already sold…and it’s only the beginning of October.
Our early bird rate of $39 ends November 30…(BTW…that’s CHEAP!) So you should probably get signed up as soon as possible.
We priced this conference low so that senior pastors can bring as many staff and volunteers with them as possible. (We literally have churches bring in multiple charter buses every year!) The conference is a one day deal with two main sessions and two breakout sessions where staff members and volunteers are able to learn more about volunteer ministry, children’s ministry, youth ministry, pastoral care, pastors wives breakout, discipleship ministry, financial ministry, staffing issues…and a host of other things as well.)
AND…this year I am going to be hosting a private lunch for the 10 senior pastors who bring the most people. (As well as the guys who will be in my coaching network in the spring…more details on that very soon.)
So…once again here is the link…go register now…and show up on March 10 READY!
Four Questions Leaders Should Ask Themselves October 12, 2010
My counselor told me of a study that was performed in 2007 of people in the ministry…he said that 90% of the people entering the ministry to not finish…they either disqualify themselves or flat out quit! In light of this I wanted to share today four questions I believe leaders should ask themselves…
#1 – Did I Really Think This Would Be Easy?
Read Luke 9:23…seriously, go ahead…Luke 9:23!
Where in the world did we ever get the idea that this was supposed to be easy?
We are followers of Jesus…and He went all the way to to cross, yet for some reason we think He’s called us to recline.
Saying that ministry is hard is like a Navy Seal complaining to his commanding officer that his job is too hard! The CO would simply respond, “Of course it is…you are a Navy Seal!”
The same can be said in ministry…it will never be easy but it will always be worth it.
(BTW…thinking that ministry should be easy is one of the quickest ways to lose heart and quit!)
#2 – Did I Really Think I Had This All Figured Out?
There is no way you could possibly begin to know what God is going to do in your church in the next 3-5 years.
I know I will probably get roasted for this…but I honestly think that 3-5 year strategic plans are stupid! We have NO IDEA what the condition of the world will be in the next 3-5 years…much less what our church is going to look like.
We’ve simply got to learn to listen to the voice of God and follow Him one step at a time. AND…when our well devised plans and strategies seem to fall short…its probably just got trying to get our attention and trying to focus on HIM instead of trying to get HIM to put His stamp of approval on our well developed plan!
(BTW…Acts 2 was not the result of a well thought out strategy but rather a group of men and women who were completely focused on Jesus and filled with this Holy Spirit!)
#3 – Did I Really Think I Could Please Everyone?
Read Luke 4:14-30…seriously, go ahead…keep in mind this is JESUS…and, after his sermon people took Him to a cliff to THROW HIM OFF OF IT! (That’s a rough response to a sermon!) If He could not please everyone…neither can you!
Please see Galatians 1:10…our call is to please HIM, not “them!” When we make it our goal to keep the sheep happy…we will wind up disappointing the Chief Shepherd…and live a ministry life of disappointment and frustration.
#4 – Did I Really Think I Could Do This On My Own?
So…read Zechariah 4:6…seriously! One of the things that success can do to us (if we are not careful) is force us into a mindset that we are somehow responsible for God’s blessing and we’ve got to work really hard to “out-do” ourselves…and, the result of this type of thinking is always burnout and unbelievable stress.
God called us so that He would work THROUGH us…and HIS power working through us is ALWAYS the difference maker. Allowing Him to work in us, preparing us, revealing Himself to us and shaping us is the BEST way we can do what He has called us to do.
Don’t Allow Past Mistakes To Rob You Of An Amazing Future! October 11, 2010
Hey pastor, church leader…
So, your ministry hasn’t exactly been what you thought it would be?
You have pain, regrets, frustrations and disappointments…and…the problem is that IF we are not careful we will allow our past ministry mistakes and shortcomings to define us rather than propel us to a greater understanding of Christ and the call that He placed on our lives.
Our past only defines us when we lose sight of the future Christ has for us.
Reality is this…if He called you into ministry then He has greater plans for you than you could ever imagine…and THE calling on our lives is to NOT GIVE UP (See Galatians 6:9!)
As I look back on a 20 year history of doing ministry in the context I really can see lots and lots of mistakes I made…but rather than allowing them to define and defeat me I use them to DELIVER me into the reality that HE KNEW every stupid, foolish and sinful mistake I would ever make…and yet He still called me, equipped me and chose me for this task!
He told Peter that he knew denial was coming…and yet restored him…and Peter’s biggest failure paved the way to a ministry that is STILL impacting us to this day!
Today is the first day of the rest of your ministry…HE who called you is with you and will complete in you and through you what He began (Philippians 1:6) – so fix your eyes on Him, because life is too short to allow regrets that Christ paid for to dominate our lives!