Sunday Night Reflections June 28, 2009

Here are a few thoughts as I try to digest the chicken in my belly!!!

• It was really…weird…watching me on screen today…but…I guess I needed it…found lots of areas to improve in.
• One of the things that we seem to forget the most as followers of Jesus is that He is right here with us!  (And when we forget that is when we usually do something really stupid!)
• Had some conversations that absolutely pumped me up about the future of NewSpring Church…
• Praying hard for our Florence campus…some BIG things about to happen down there that will set us up to reach so many more people for Christ!
• Praying hard for our Columbia campus…we are about 95% sure we have secured a location and quite possibly will begin services in August…we will let you know as soon as we know!
• Praying hard for our Greenville campus…the staff and volunteers over there are knocking the ball out of the park!
• Praying hard for our Anderson campus…and getting ready to do a few new things that is going to allow us to reach hundreds of more people every service!
• Yes, we are doing a singles series this fall!
• Yes, we are doing a series on “the end times” this fall!
• Yes, we are doing a series entitled, “Five Lies satan wants you to believe” this fall!
• Yes, we are doing a series entitled, “In Rhythm” that begins in a few weeks that will both FIRE people up…and quite possibly create some empty seats!
• Yes, we have a MAJOR announcement coming in regards to our 10th year anniversary service…it’s going to be HUGE!!!
• Was SO awesome to get to meet Bruce Frank from Biltmore Baptist this evening…love this guy and the work the Lord has called him to in Asheville, NC!
• Was SO awesome to get to connect with Daniel Lucas from Crosspoint Church in Morehead, Kentucky as well!  Daniel was in my first coaching network…and what the Lord is doing with his church in AWESOME!  I can’t wait to see what happens next for these guys!
• We are coming up on being a church for 10 years…so thankful for all He has done…and so absolutely PUMPED out of my mind when I think about what He wants to do next.  Jesus said to whom much is given…much is required…WOW…NewSpring, hold on to your fork…the best is yet to come!

Sunday Night Reflections June 21, 2009

Here are a few really random things running through my mind this evening…

• We saw over 70 people give their lives to Jesus today…that NEVER gets old.
• REALLY praying and believing that we are going to see more people receive Christ this fall than we saw in the spring!!!  NewSpring…LET’S BEG GOD FOR THAT TOGETHER!!!
• BTW…that’s over 1,000 people!!!
• “How Deep The Father’s Love For Us” today was absolutely amazing!
• Clayton preached in Anderson, Andy spoke in Greenville, Craig spoke in Florence…but we all worshipped the same God!
• Our new series, “In Rhythm” begins on Sunday, July 12th…and I am already pumped out of my mind about it.
• God is absolutely BLOWING my mind with thoughts and ideas about this fall–NewSpring, hold on to your fork!!!
• Got to speak to several people who went on our first mission trip to Kenya…and God absolutely blew their minds.  I am personally looking forward to going back in the future!  We have more trips coming up…go here if you want more information.
• It was so awesome to have Anne Jackson swing by the church today…dinner with her and a crew from here was a blast!
• My time with Mark Driscoll and Larry Osborne this past week was awesome.  God used both of those men to really encourage and challenge me.  So grateful for their friendship.
• My calf hurts…went for a six mile run this morning (almost stepped on a snake…more on that later) and then took a nap and woke up with a HUGE cramp.  AHHHHH!
• Charisse gave me a really sweet Father’s day card this morning!  (She turns two on Saturday!)
• Lucretia gave me an awesome card as well!  :-)
• Lucretia and some friends threw me a surprise party last night…and it literally was a surprise!!!  WOW…I turn 38 this week…two years away from 40!!!  When did THAT happen?
• I just got one of those flip camera thingys…can’t wait to try it out!  There will be some videos appearing on this blog!!!  :-)
• One of the things I am continually having poured into me is that THEOLOGY must drive METHODOLGY…it can’t be reversed…if it is the church will be in a constant state of “I really screwed that up!”
• Another thing that is continually being reinforced is that Scripture, not strategy, must be surpreme!  (NOT saying AT ALL that strategy isn’t important…but it MUST be placed in submission to the Scriptures…just like our lives!)
• AND…one more thing, I MUST be a fighter…I must throw punches and “kick satan in the cookies”…and I do so by keeping my eyes focused on Jesus and not the people who keep trying to pull me off the wall.  (Nehemiah 6:1-4!)
• Oh yeah…it is “birthday week” in the Noble house…Lucretia is going to make her incredible white chocolate fudge cake (here is the recipe) and I THINK I am going to Fogo for lunch on Thursday!  :-)
• WARNING…eating this cake MAY cause serious embarrassment as you will probably lick the plate it was on!!!

Sunday Night Reflections June 14, 2009

Here goes…will probably be EXTREMELY random!  :-)

• Had the honor of having Craig Groeschel speak to NewSpring today as a part of our “God Is” series…
• MANY decisions were made for Christ as a result of the message…that NEVER gets old!
• His opening line about believing that God can love others but struggling with God loving me was POWERFUL!  WOW!
• BTW…some people don’t have a hard time thinking God loves them…in fact, they are sure of it and are also quite sure that He doesn’t love anyone else!  :-)
• Many of the people I mentioned above twitter!!!
• Craig has been one of the guys that Jesus has really used to shape, encourage…and rebuke me over the past three years!  He is honestly one of the best leaders I know and it is a privilege to call him a friend.
• I think he and Amy (his wife) should write a commentary on the Song of Songs…THEY HAVE SIX KIDS…I think they have things figured out!!!
• Greenville campus had an amazing first day at their new location…I honestly believe God is setting the stage for an EXPLOSION of HIS GRACE this fall!
• I am SO proud of the staff and volunteers that BUSTED IT over the past week to make things happen so fast!
• I am continuing to hear AWESOME stories from our Florence campus…can’t WAIT to see what happens there this fall as well!
• Had some news come our way this week in regards to our Columbia campus that, if it works out, is going to be AMAZING!
• Next week is Father’s Day…get dad to church!!!  (You should bring him!)
• BTW…Mother’s Day is usually one of the highest attended church days every year…and Father’s Day is one of the lowest–what does that say about the men in the church?  (Or lack of!!!)
• I spend MOST of my day in a car driving back from Panama City Beach, Florida…got to spend some much needed time with ‘Cretia and Charisse and was able to rest a little as well.
• Tomorrow I head out to the West Coast…get to meet with Larry Osborne on Monday and Tuesday and then Mark Driscoll on Wednesday and Thursday.  I consider myself to be very blessed to have this opportunity to learn from these guys who are much wiser than me!
• Would appreciate your prayers for the trip I mentioned above…for safe travel and that I would be completely open to the Holy Spirit and all He wants to teach me!

That’s about it…going to set the coffee maker (gotta get up @ 4:40) and then head to bed!

Sunday Night Reflections June 7, 2009

It’s been a great day…sort of…here are a few highlights!

• Lucretia and I visited Northstar Church in Panama City Beach this morning…had an awesome experience.  This church is right in the middle of an INCREDIBLE move of God!!!
• They baptized around 120 people @ the beach this evening…THANK YOU JESUS!  THAT IS AWESOME!!!
• Having lunch with their pastor, Marty Martin, on Wednesday…love this guy and I always learn a lot whenever we get the chance to hang out.
• Roy Mansfield (pastor of small groups) spoke this morning and knocked the ball out of the park.  Some of the things he said that really stuck out to me were…
• “People do not want to be friends with people who appear needy for their friendship.”
• “The key to building beautiful friendships is becoming a giver instead of a taker.”
• “Love is about what we give…not get!”
• “Philippians 2:4 is a tough verse to follow!”
• “For some people God does not mean enough to them that to please Him would bring them joy.”
• After church I wooed ‘Cretia by taking her to the Waffle House…she was in awe of me!!!  :-)
• Charisse spent some time with her grandparents…and they brought her back to us today so we can have some family time at the beach.
• We went out to the ocean to play…and she’s fearless!  (Which is both good and bad.)
• Then she went to the pool…and…uh…well…if you are the person who does not like it when I talk about poop and such…you should stop reading NOW!
• I warned you…
• She crapped!  A LOT…so much that it literally began flowing out of her “swimmy diaper” while she was still in the pool!!!  IT WAS EVERYWHERE!
• SO…we had to get her out…clean it off the deck…and then I had to go around and tell all of the parents in the pool to please get their child out because of the “deposit” my little girl had made.
• Not only did they shut the pool down…but they made everyone leave the area surrounding the pool.
• The Noble family is VERY will loved at the place we are staying!!!  :-)
• BTW…my little girl is AWESOME!!!  I love her SO much…crap and all!!!
• I really missed not being at NewSpring Church today…it really is my favorite church on the planet!  BUT…I’ve been able to get some MUCH needed rest…and the Lord is setting my mind on fire with some things!
• Can’t wait to see what happens next.

Sunday Night Reflections May 31, 2009

What a day at NewSpring Church…here are some of the highlights…

• Today’s message was what Matt Chandler often refers to as a “space maker!”  Sometimes truth isn’t easily digested!
• To say that the room was tense for most of the day is an understatement.  BUT…as a preacher I am understanding more and more that where there is no tension there is no truth!
• Personally…I thought the music today was UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!!!  WOW!
• Gauntlet sign ups today were insane…LOVE the way the people in our church stepped up to the challenge and were generous!
• Yes, a dude really did tell me that his dad hates me…but then went on to tell me that he did not…that made me feel better!  :-)
• As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to completely submit to His authority in EVERY area of our lives…we don’t get to pick and choose.
• The Gospel is not people in church telling people not in the church “you are bad,” but rather people who have met Jesus telling those who haven’t met Jesus, “I’m bad and your bad…and the only difference between us is that Jesus paid for my sins!”
• People that follow Christ out of convenience do more damage to God’s Kingdom than those who do not follow Christ at all!
• Yes, I did say that parents who allow their children’s sports schedules to govern their times of worship are INSANE!!!  One day your child will stand before Jesus…and He will not be obsessed with how well he or she can kick a soccer ball!
• Everyone of us have broken every single one of the 10 commandments…we’re NOT GOOD…we NEED JESUS!
• There are too many Christians who are willing to wear a cross around their neck but not put one on their back and follow HIM daily!  (Luke 9:23-24)
• Riley opened the door for me tonight…he’s learning!!!  :-)  NOW…can he do it on Monday?
• The call that Jesus places on the lives of people who surrender to Him is to make Galatians 2:20 a reality.
• When a group of people get radically committed to Jesus they are often referred to (by “churched” people) as a “cult!”  Why is it that we equate “cult” with commitment and not “Christian?”
• MAYBE because Christianity in America has been reduced to, “live however you want…just show up at church every once in a while and you will be fine!”  Uh…problem…THAT ISN’T ANYWHERE IN THE SCRIPTURES!
• WHO is preaching isn’t important–WHAT is being preached is…and we will always make sure that WHAT is being preached is JESUS!!!
• Met with the team to finalize the peeps for our coaching network this fall…REALLY excited about the guys that will be participating.
• I was overwhelmed with the number of people who responded…and because of the response we went ahead and made the decision to do a spring coaching network as well.  (And it is already filled!)
• Sign ups for “One” begin tomorrow!
• We begin a new series next week - “God Is…”  CAN’T WAIT!!!

NewSpring…I love you guys…I am so blessed to be here and serving as your pastor.  I am BLOWN away by all that God is doing…and I can’t wait to see what happens next around here.  Ephesians 3:20 is becoming more and more real to all of us…we serve an amazing God!

Sunday Night Reflections May 25, 2009

OK…so it’s a bit late…but I did want to post a few thoughts before heading to bed…

• I went skydiving!!!
• The line above is a joke…I really didn’t!!!  :-)
• Lucretia and I have had an amazing time the past couple of days connecting with Wayne Corderio and his wife!
• Wayne is an amazing leader whom God is using to seriously impact this world for Jesus!
• We visited his church this morning…and it was weird being a part of a service in which I wasn’t really responsible for anything!
• Wayne sings!!!  He sang today…I think I am going to sing this Sunday…Lee, get ready!!!  (We will make sure my song makes it to every campus.)
• The line above is a joke…I will not be singing this Sunday!  UNLESS…we work a Travis Tritt song into the set…if that is ever the case–I’m ON!!!
• Some of the things that Wayne said in his sermon this morning that REALLY stood out to me were…
• “People don’t want to be delivered from sin but rather then penalty of sin.”
• “I need to hear from God more than He needs to hear from me!”
• “The best prayer times come about when we are close to God and clear headed!”
• “The greatest weapon you have against the devil is repentance!”  (DANG!!!)
• Tonight Lucretia and I were able to have dinner with Tim Wilson (my college roommate and one of my best friends) and his family!  Tim is stationed over here and it was so good to reconnect with him.
• I REALLY missed NewSpring this morning…but heard BCoop KILLED IT!  (I had NO DOUBT!)

That’s it…gotta head to bed and then get up in the morning, pack and head home!  Pray for LOW drama at the airport!!!!  :-)

Sunday Night Reflections May 17, 2009

My brain is FRIED…but I will try to wrap up some of the thoughts FLYING through me head…

• AMAZING day at NewSpring Church…people were absolutely FIRED up about the next step of our vision.
• Heck, it was an amazing weekend…yesterday we baptized over 500 people…and have baptized 1,405 people since October.  God is doing some unbelievable things…more about that in a bit…
• A dude who watches the web campus flew from Oklahoma to Greenville yesterday to be baptized…THAT IS AWESOME!!!
• Six people received Christ in Florence today!!!
• Sometimes in life we have to face opposition to truly discover God’s omnipotence!!!
• AND…sometimes we must face the “impossible” before He truly becomes visible.
• When we reach times of desperation we are more likely to seek revelation!!!
• God is ALWAYS setting His church up for a WIN…we’ve just got to be willing to listen to His voice and do what He says.
• I know there were people at church today who feel like “the brook has gone dry” in their lives…my advice…hold on to Philippians 1:6 and don’t give up on the God that has never given up on you!!!
• It’s always easy to believe “God reigns” when someone else is experiencing problems…it’s a lot tougher to believe it when we are experiencing them!
• If you haven’t heard yet…it’s about a 95% done deal that we are going to lose the building that our Greenville campus currently meets in.
• Why?  We signed a sub lease with BI-LO, they declared bankruptcy…which impacted our lease situation in a huge way.
• So…it looks like within the next few weeks we are going to have to vacate the building.
• What God has done at our Greenville campus is amazing…we’ve seen over 500 salvations, over 500 baptisms…and had a record attendance of over 3,000 and have being doing church there less than a year!!!
• We’ve basically out grown the building…so…
• We began searching for other options…and Howard Frist, our Greenville campus pastor, has found us a location to meet in that will seat up to 3,000 people per worship service.  (Our current building can sit up to 1,100!)
• This is going to allow us to reach THOUSANDS of more people for Jesus!!!
• God has ALWAYS had a plan…and when we shut up and seek Him He will reveal it!!!  (Jeremiah 29:13)
• God wants HIS church to reach more people…and He’s BLOWING MY MIND with the doors HE has opened for us during this time.
• SO…Greenville campus is about to be a “portable campus,” load in/load out type stuff…and SO MANY PEOPLE signed up today to be a part of those teams!
• Yes, I am going to preach a sermon one day entitled, “God Kills People!”
• And yes, I am also going to preach a sermon one day entitled, “God hates your stupid Christian bumper sticker!!!”

One more thing before I head to bed…

• I think God is up to something HUGE right now!
• I’ve talked with quite a few pastors this past week or so that are seeing Him move in their churches in amazing ways.  Record numbers of people showing up, receiving Christ and being baptized.
• I believe we are on the verge of another Great Awakening!
• I believe we are about to see God do something in the church unlike we have never seen before!
• I believe we are seeing more and more pastors make a return to preaching JESUS…and because of it lives are being changed…
• AND…when lifechange happens in a church…that church become unstoppable!!!
• NewSpring…hold on to your fork…the best is yet to come!  I believe our best days are ahead of us…and if we will continue to see HIS face there is literally NO LIMIT to what He can do in HIS church!

DANG IT…I was sleepy when I began typing this…now I am PUMPED UP!  WOO HOO!!!!!