OK…some of you knew this was coming…it is sort of a pattern here…and so here goes…
First of all…if you are a NewSpring member or regular attender…THANK YOU so much for allowing me the privilege to serve as your pastor. I believe NewSpring Church is THE most incredible church in the world…and NOT because I pastor it (GOD KNOWS!) but because of YOU…because of YOUR involvement, YOUR passion…YOUR ambition to see this community turned upside down for Jesus Christ.
From time to time I lose sight of how good that I’ve got it. This website receives over 2,000 unique visits per day…many who love what we are doing, and then there are some who HATE what we are doing, and, as a result, they “hate” me.
Now here is the trap I fall into…I love this church, and I plan on being here for the rest of my life. Folks, I AM NOT LEAVING!!! AND…when someone attacks what we are doing here it totally ticks me off…and, because I am a fighter…I defend what we are doing.
From time to time this IS good…I have discovered that the church does like (and needs) to see the pastor get fired up. However, a pastor CAN fall into the trap of being reactive rather than proactive…and in so doing he begins to believe that the entire world is against him…and that he has to fight to make things right.
And that was me…until last week when God ROCKED my world…and I began to go through the e-mails and listen to the stories of lifechange…and I discovered…
- The e-mail from the lady who forgave the person who murdered her husband and brother-in-law.
- The e-mail from the person who said for years her husband would not come to church…and since coming to NewSpring he does not miss.
- The conversation with the guy in the gym this week who accepted Christ in his living room as a result of the sermons the past couple of weeks.
- The e-mail from the lady who told me that she used to be addicted to other things…but now she is addicted to church.
Folks…our inbox is FULL of stories of people who are meeting Jesus, and their LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED!!! AND…as your pastor I apologize for being WAY too focused on the negative and not the positive.
The bottom line is this—NewSpring is here to stay. You don’t have to like it…but you do have to deal with it. You may not agree with the way we do things…but God is changing lives—we are seeing Jesus at work…and we could care less what the critics and skeptics think…because we are WAY too busy reaching people instead of riding dead horses and criticizing those who are getting it done.
God is at work…and thank you to everyone who has sent us their story—telling us about how God is changing lives. I AM MORE PUMPED UP than I have ever been…and God is JUST GETTING STARTED!!! Folks…I am serious—what is about to happen is going to blow our minds. Our best days are yet to come.
One more thing…please keep me in your prayers…four services ARE awesome…but to be honest, it is kicking by butt and I need all of the prayer I can get. I love you guys…I love this church…YEAH!
A Few More Random Thoughts…
NO…Lee is NOT leaving NewSpring. (Some people asked this morning.) The “new” worship leader that was introduced today was Justin Land…and we brought him on to assist Lee and to help him out so that he doesn’t get burned out. Justin is incredible and is going to do an awesome job.
Today I spoke on money—yes, it WAS tense (but tension is good!)...but wow…the people at NewSpring were FIRED up…pastors, I will post some financial thoughts on this site later this week.
Today I spoke on money…and PLEASE, hear me…like I said, it was not getting stuff FROM people…but doing things FOR them. I mentioned FREE financial counseling with one of our pastors on line—here is Joe’s blog...call our church or contact him—there is NO ONE BETTER IN THE COUNTRY to help you out in this area of your life. BUT…you have to make the call.
Church leaders—as I said before—March 15th is when we are going to do our first “mini-conference.” Get ready—it’s going to be unlike ANYTHING you have ever experienced. (More on that tomorrow!)