I talk a lot about discouragement and criticism on this site; however, the Lord has allowed me to enter a season of encouragement here lately. I am not exactly sure what has happened—but God has been letting me see and hear things that have blessed my heart—things such as…
- A pastor in the upstate recently e-mailed me and apologized for resenting me and for saying critical things about me and our church. It BLEW MY MIND…pastors do not usually do this sort of thing! Seriously, it made my day.
- Another pastor recently e-mailed me and said that he has recently lost 30 pounds because of the challenges I have issued to pastors to take care of themselves…I nearly went through the roof.
- I had lunch with a dude the other day who told me that he has been in church all of his life…and that he has learned more about Scripture since being at NewSpring the past six months that he has the past 15-20 years!
- I heard another guy at supper say the other night that the reason he chose to attend NewSpring was because he felt we had a sincere “reverence for the Word of God.”
- (The previous two comments meant so much to me because it really hurts and ticks me off when people say we do not preach the Bible…or that we water down God’s Word. People who say that have never been to one of our services!)
- A guy told me on the phone the other night that since attending NewSpring that His love for the Bible has increased…and the other night on a business trip when his buddies were hitting the bars—he headed back to his motel room and read the book of Matthew!!!
- A couple shared the other night in a group gathering that they were offered a sweet job in another town—and the reason they didn’t go was because they refused to leave NewSpring.
- I heard a husband say that God used NewSpring to save his marriage—that he and his wife were on the brink of a marital disaster…and that they came to NewSpring during the Lord of the Rings series…and through it God taught him how to be a husband and a man!
- A lady shared the other night, “Because of what God is doing at NewSpring my husband accepted Christ—and now I KNOW that our entire family is going to heaven.”
- I received an e-mail last week of a lady telling me that she received Christ here at NewSpring—and then her family accepted Christ…and then several of her friends…all in all I think around 10 people have came to Christ in her circle of influence.
Folks…I said it before and I will say it again. When we planted NewSpring Church we didn’t even know what the heck a mega-church was…all we knew was that we wanted to start a church that was stripped of religious traditions and merely preach Jesus Christ…and as a result—lives are being changed.
Numbers are great—BUT—I know that behind each “number” is a story of a changed life—a changed family—and ULTIMATELY a changed eternity.
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement that gets sent my way…stories of life-change NEVER get old! AND I KNOW THERE ARE MORE TO COME!