Archive for August, 2011
Great Singleness, Great Marriage & Great Sex August 31, 2011
So this past Sunday we had a blast talking about “Sex In The Church” part one!
Some might ask, “why in the world would you talk about something that sensitive on a Sunday?” Two reasons…
#1 – THE BIBLE talks about it…A LOT! And…
#2 – We live in a society consumed by it!
I could take this blog article to review Sunday’s message…but you can watch or listen to it on your own if you want…what I would love to do is simply offer one piece of advice that, if applied, will make your single life more focused, your marriage greater and your sex life within marriage something that is enjoyable.
Here it is…
STOP MAKING EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!
I know…simple…and probably not what you wanted to hear…but it’s true, when you make it about you then you are the object of your worship…and that always goes bad, always!
If you are single then STOP telling God you are single (HE KNOWS)…embrace this season, ask the Lord to grow you and show you the areas where you need to be a better follower of Him…and for Him to prepare you for your future mate. (Seriously…if God were to give you to your future mate right now would they say, “thank you Jesus” OR “why me Lord?”)
If you are married then STOP trying to point out all of the flaws and fallacies in your spouse and instead ask the Lord to reveal what is wrong in YOU so that YOU can make the changes YOU need to make. Any fool can point out what they think is wrong with someone else…it takes a real man and/or real woman to come face to face with their own shortcomings and wrestle through them.
Asking the Lord to refine and shape you as a single WILL make you a better spouse.
Asking the Lord to refine and shape you (instead of telling Him about all that is wrong with your spouse) will make you a better husband/wife.
And when that happens the intimacy level in a marriage can exceed expectations!
Simple thought…hard to apply…but SO worth it.
For Further Reading Check Out The Following…
- 10 Reasons I Think Your Marriage Is Going To Make It!
- 10 Reasons I Should NOT Be Dating Him/Her!
- 18 Myths Singles Believe
- And Article EVERY SINGLE PERSON Should Read
- What A Wife Should NEVER Do!
- What A Husband Needs To Understand About His Wife
- Four Reasons Marriages Are Falling Apart – Part One & Part Two
Can’t wait for Sunday…we’ll be talking about Part Two of, “Sex In The Church!”
A Letter From Pastor P To NewSpring Church August 30, 2011
Howdy NewSpring Church…seven things I want to share with you today…
#1 – We had around 40 people trust Christ this past week during our services…CELEBRATE THAT because THAT NEVER GETS OLD!
#2 – We continued our series on the book of Revelation by addressing sexual immorality IN the church! It was a little awkward/intense as we addressed the subject of sex and marriage. However, as I said Sunday I love you enough to embrace the awkwardness and hit the subject head on…I don’t want to say I love you guys and then not teach you the full counsel of Scripture. There is way too much pain, confusion, hurt, frustration and regret when it comes to the subject of sex that people really deal with…and the BIBLE says way too much about the subject for it to be ignored or glossed over. Reality is that God does want for people to enjoy a great, guilt free sex life…but sexual satisfaction is the result of seeking and following God’s direction.
#3 – And, as I said Sunday…the point of the message was NOT for us to go out and try to clean up the behavior of people who do not know Christ but rather to get matters right in our own house…and this coming Sunday we will be diving into part two of this message as we look at the church in Thyatira and address the sexual sins that the world…and in many cases the church…are expected to tolerate. (You can read ahead by taking a look at Revelation 2:18-29) I can promise this…it is going to be a message filled with both grace and truth…I’m SO looking forward to it and am fully anticipating people to meet Christ THIS WEEKEND!!
(PS – BRING SOMEBODY!!! FOUND PEOPLE FIND PEOPLE!!!)
#4 – I recommended this book on Sunday in nearly every service...but I will say it again, IT IS THE BEST BOOK I’VE EVER READ on the subject of marriage, I cannot recommend it enough!
#5 – And…if you want more help/teaching on dating, marriage and relationships our communications team set up this page where you can find lots of resources.
PS…Pastor Mark Driscoll is hosting a marriage conference at our Anderson campus this spring…here is the website where you can find out more information and register.
#6 – I could use your prayers as I continue to work on the book. It is coming along quite nicely, I have assembled an amazing team to help me out…but it has been a lot of work. I am learning a great deal about writing and rewriting right now and am praying James 1:5 for myself as I am in way over my head. I would appreciate your prayers as well…I can’t wait to share the finished work with you guys.
#7 – Just to give you a heads up…we’re going to finish this Revelation series stronger than we started it!!! The first four weeks have been amazing as we’ve seen over 500 people receive Christ and have shattered attendance records at every campus…but the last four weeks of the series are going to be INCREDIBLE…I promise! I have never been this excited about the future for our church…and I can’t wait until Sunday!
Two Types Of Church Planters August 25, 2011
This year in preparation for NLC (which is going to be AMAZING) I received a couple of different emails from church planters…
#1 – The first one basically said that they were so excited about coming to NLC…that when they first saw the conference they didn’t think they could afford it; however, after putting their heads together they decided to sell an old van they had and through the sale of that van had the money to come to the conference.
#2 – The second one said that they were a new church plant that didn’t have a lot of resources and wondered if we would give them tickets.
We can argue about this all day…but if I were a betting man I would put my money on church #1 succeeding and church #2 achieving, at best, mediocrity.
Church number one has what I refer to as “The Victory” mentality…they are willing to do what it takes to advance things forward.
Church number two has what I refer to as “The Victim” mentality…they feel “trapped” by their circumstances and are expecting a handout.
Am I being hard on church number two? NOPE! Because…church leaders that cannot get past the entitlement mentality and seem to want to make excuses as to all of the reasons they cannot do what God has said to do NEVER achieve their full potential.
Honestly, it takes me back to when we started NewSpring Church…
We didn’t have money in the bank (you do not have to have a certain amount of money to begin a church!!!)
We didn’t have an org chart
We didn’t have a sound system or lights
We didn’t have a conference budget
What we had was vision…and knew that “if it’s God’s will then it’s God’s bill!”
When it came time to bring in a consultant that we felt the Lord wanted us to bring in…we didn’t lecture him about how poor we were (AND WE WERE)…we paid him!
When it came time for us to go to a conference we didn’t call the church and ask them for a handout…we registered EARLY (so we could get the discout) and PAID THE PRICE to go!
Let me be very clear…a church that has “the victim” mentality simply is in trouble…because if that is how THE LEADERS think then how in the world will their people EVER be able to step up and achieve an Ephesians 3:20 life!
Church planters…you are either a Victor or a Victim…which one are you?
AND…if you are a church planter you may want to check out these other articles…
- 13 Things I Would Tell Church Planters
- Four Questions Church Planters MUST Answer
- Five Tests A Church Planter Will Face – PART ONE & PART TWO
- Seven Reasons Your Church Plant Might Fail
The Type Of Person You Should Never To Listen To August 24, 2011
This month in my leadership podcast (available on itunes) I talked about criticism and how it has evolved over the years. (BTW…”how do you deal with critics is ALWAYS the first or second question that is asked whenever I meet with groups of pastors…it IS something that leaders deal with.)
I wanted to follow up with a few thoughts by telling leaders about the type of person you should NEVER listen to…
The Heartless
You should NEVER allow the heartless critic to speak into your life…and…they are out there.
I have a really good friend (who I will not name) who strongly desired for he and his wife to have a baby…they were told they could not ever have a child but they prayed, believed God and finally he and his wife found out they were pregnant. They were SO excited…
However, about a week or so into the pregnancy they lost the baby through a miscarriage…to say that they were devastated would be an understatement.
Right after this happened my friend began receiving emails of support and encouragement…but also emails from critics (some well known) began sending him emails telling him that his loss was nothing more that God’s judgment on his life in regards to the way he had decided to lead his church. AND…not ONE of his very outspoken critics offered him any sort of support and encouragement during this time…they instead seemed to rejoice in his tragedy!
THAT WAS/IS PATHETIC! The fact that a critic would take a tragedy and use it for their “advantage” like that simply sucks. People like that are heartless…and should always be ignored. Always!
On a more personal note…my father passed away last month. I thought I was prepared…but his death hit me hard and, though it is much better, I still miss him deeply. During this time, however, there were a couple of critics that actually used the death of my father and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his death to attack me and my style of ministry. It was cold, heartless and ungodly…and, let me say it again, people like that should always be ignored.
Anyone who will use any reason at all to attack anyone who does not agree with him or her is heartless…they lack COMPASSION, you know, that thing that Jesus had!
I’ve heard people say that there is something we can learn from every critic and therefore every critic should be listened to. I could not disagree more strongly. Because…there is probably a really good piece of meat in every garbage can outside of a restaurant…but that does not mean that I should go digging through the garbage when instead I could walk inside and get a complete meal.
People who truly embrace grace will be quick to offer that grace to others…and a critic who always wants to attack and tear down through any means possible is nothing more than a terrorist that, if you allow them, will consume your life and get you off mission.
Ignore them! Listen to those who love Jesus, love the church and love you…you can’t go wrong there!
A Letter From Pastor P To NewSpring Church August 23, 2011
Howdy NewSpring Church…FIVE things I wanted to share with you today…
#1 – A huge THANK YOU to everyone who prayed, invited, volunteered and celebrated with us this weekend. Every campus set a brand new attendance record for a non-holiday weekend…and we saw around 500 people respond to the Gospel! (AND…the best is yet to come!)
#2 – A few things in regards to this past weekend…
- THANK YOU to every single volunteer! What you did MATTERED (as it does every weekend!) God used you this past weekend to make a huge difference in the lives and eternities of others (as He does every weekend!)
- THANK YOU to everyone who invited someone to church with them this past weekend! That took guts…way to go! Whether they came or not isn’t on you…what’s important is that you took that step. (AND…they MAY come with you THIS WEEKEND…go ahead, ask, you have NOTHING to lose!!!)
- THANK YOU to everyone who invited someone to church with them this past weekend and they came! Even if they did NOT receive Christ this past Sunday they clearly heard the Gospel and now you have something with which to begin a conversation in regards to Christ and eternity. Be PATIENT with them and the Lord was patient with you (II Peter 3:9!)
#3 – This coming weekend is going to be amazing as we talk about “Sex In The Church” part one. Jesus rebukes two churches in a row because of sexual immorality IN the church in the book of Revelation…and so because He talked about it we will as well. A word of warning…we will not be pulling punches this weekend (or next)…we will be taking a look at what the Bible says about sex and marriage and what culture says as well. The church has danced around this subject for too long and tried not to offend anyone…we’re going to punch the subject right in the mouth! Can’t wait! I am sick and tired of seeing marriages fall apart and people dive into sexual immorality because the CHURCH refuses to deal with the subject in a way that people comprehend!!!
#4 – Pray for our Columbia campus…we need another location to meet!!! We’ve literally outgrown the facility we are in…this past weekend we had over 2,000 people show up! The potential for that campus is unlimited and we are aggressively looking for places in which we can move. (We are also making a lot of progress in finding locations for our Spartanburg, Greenwood and Myrtle Beach campuses…keep praying for us there as well!)
#5 – I believe there MAY be around 50 spaces left for our trip to Israel next spring! (Here is where you can go to get more information and sign up!) It is open to anyone who would like to go…not just NewSpring peeps. Trust me…this trip will absolutely change the way you see the Scriptures. I can’t wait!
Something We All Need To Keep In Mind August 19, 2011
OK NewSpring Church…this weekend is going to be AMAZING! Let’s continue to pray like crazy, invite people to church and believe God for amazing things…because reality is that everyone spends eternity somewhere! As C.S. Lewis once said…
“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.”
I LOVE SUNDAYS…EVERY CHURCH LEADER SHOULD!!! August 18, 2011
I honestly believe that Sunday is the most important day of the week…and I make no apologies for that.
It’s a bit insane to see some in church culture become irritated at pastors and church leaders who look forward to and celebrate Sundays. They make comments like, “It’s not about what happens on Sunday but what happens the rest of the week…”
Don’t get me wrong…I TOTALLY get what they are saying…but my fear is that in saying things like this we are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Honestly, it would be the same as saying to a college football team, “you guys seem to get way too excited about Saturdays! Seriously guys, it’s more than just about Saturday…it’s how you practice, it’s how you conduct yourself off the field. I think you guys are really narrow minded and shallow because you all seem to focus on one day.”
Anyone who said that to a college football team would be considered insane…but we’ve started calling these people “holy” in church culture.
RIDICULOUS!
I say to pastors and church leaders…GET PUMPED ABOUT SUNDAYs!!
Get EXCITED ABOUT SUNDAYS!!!
Sunday is GAME DAY! And you should NEVER apologize for your passion about the day when God’s people gather together!!! EVER!!!
Yes, what happens for the rest of the week matters. Yes, Sunday SHOULD BE a catalyst for all of us to walk out the doors and live for and share Christ with others all week long. Yes, we should follow Jesus as passionately Monday through Saturday as we do on Sunday’s…I get all of that…
BUT…those things are NO REASON to DIS SUNDAY!!! Sunday is the day that Jesus rose from the freakin’ GRAVE…THAT IS FREAKIN’ EXCITING!!!! And…excuse me (and others) for being PUMPED about it…but when God’s people get together to focus on, proclaim and celebrate who JESUS IS…well, I THINK THAT IS A BIG FREAKIN’ DEAL…and it is something that we should ALL look forward to!!!
Church leader…if you’re not excited about your church then I can promise you that satan is!!! And church leaders have GOT to lead the way when it comes to PASSION and PURPOSE!
People have tried to criticize me in the past saying, “you always think that this coming Sunday is going to be epic, the best ever…it can’t always be that way.”
YES IT CAN!!! Don’t try to hold me hostage in your prison of predictability and passionless leadership!!! I can’t WAIT for the next Sunday, the next series…and I really do believe it is going to be THE BEST EVER!! DANG…how much would it suck to serve under a leader that didn’t believe that God had anything great in store for the church?
AND…one more thing, when God moves in your church, when someone receives Christ or a prodigal comes home or anything like that…CELEBRATE…tell the WHOLE WORLD what JESUS has done!!! Don’t hold back…CELEBRATE!! Good gosh…Christians should LEAD THE WORLD in regards to HOW TO THROW A PARTY!!! Don’t hold back because you are scared that others will think you are boasting…you ARE BOASTING IN THE LORD!!! You are boasting in WHO HE IS and WHAT HE IS DOING!!! Don’t hold it in…SHOUT IT OUT!!! Jesus said in Luke 15 that we should throw parties when just ONE person surrenders their life to CHRIST!!!
Sundays are AWESOME! I love Sundays! I anticipate Sundays! I celebrate Sundays!!! Every church leader should!!! (Psalm 122:1!!!)