micah 6:8

I read this today...what a great verse in the Bible. What if we lived our lives this way?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

the new and improved starting pointe

Man, the new NewPointe-written and produced Starting Pointe material is SCHWEEET! I can't wait till we roll it out church-wide. In the meantime, I'm enjoying going through the material by myself.
The new and improved Starting Pointe is a 10-week conversational environment where you can get your faith informed in a small group setting that meets Sunday mornings on campus. Wanna learn more about Starting Pointe at NewPointe? Click here.

If your church is interested in purchasing the new SP material, contact grouplife@newpointe.org.

to tattoo or not to tattoo...that is the question

Scott left a comment on my last post about secular music. And he asked me about tattoos. We did a First Wednesday a couple years back called "Marked By the Cross" and we talked a little about tattoos.

Since the tattoo thing is so huge right now, I thought I'd go ahead and post a couple of interesting links that address the subject of tattoos and Christians. Is it okay for a Christian to get a tattoo? What does the Bible have to say about it?

Check out these sites for some insight on the subject:

Sacred Ink

Got Questions: What does the Bible have to say about tattoos/body piercings?

What do YOU think?

do you believe in ghosts?

Jenny and I engaged in an interesting conversation with another couple recently about whether or not ghosts are for real. The other couple is absolutely convinced that ghosts exist and, in fact, they claim to have experienced paranormal activity...and have even communicated with the dead. Interesting.

They ask us, "Do you believe in ghosts." I said, "No." But I needed to clarify. I do believe in a spirit world. I believe in angels. I believe in demons. There's no talk of "ghosts" in the Bible. And there are only a few instances when living people actually had contact with those who passed on (the rich man and Lazarus being one, and another being Peter, James, and John seeing Moses and Elijah with Jesus).

You might say, "Well, there you go, John...proof that ghosts are real." Not so fast, my friend. Luke 16:27-31 would indicate that no human spirits are allowed to return to visit the living without permission. Permission is not even granted for the purpose of warning people to flee from the wrath to come, so it's reasonable to conclude that permission would not be granted so spirits could "haunt" or mess with people.

It really comes down to a matter of perspective. Jenny and I watched Ghost Hunters last week. Our friends would say, "That stuff's for real." Jenny and I laughed at the show because it seemed ridiculous. I do find conversations about ghosts interesting. I even enjoy a good ghost story. But scripture warns us not to become fascinated with the spirit world but to be fascinated by God and His awesome character and attributes (Psalm 27:4; Psalm 73:25).

Angels? Yes. Demons? Yes. Both are biblical. Ghosts? No. At least not when it comes to hauntings and paranormal manifestations. The Bible is clear that our spirits (souls) live on after death. But not here on earth.

Your thoughts?

so we're not giving up...

I read this in The Message today. Man, I love this passage. Check it out:

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

Does that give you hope or what?

How good is God?

the tithe...net or gross?

First off, this isn't a rant or a plea to get more money for the church. Let's be clear on that. I get asked about tithing from time to time so I'm addressing it here in my blog. Here are my thoughts on tithing net vs. gross:

Giving 10% of your income back to God demonstrates your thankfulness to Him for what He has provided and helps you to remember to rely on God instead of on riches.

The Bible teaches the principle of giving first fruits. (Exodus 23:16, 34:22, Leviticus 2:12-14; 2 Chronicles 31:5). What that means is that God's people gave the best of their crops...not the leftovers. They offered God the very best, the very first and finest of their resources as an act of trust and obedience. This principle still applies today. If God is truly #1 in our lives, that fact should be reflected in our finances. It's all God's anyway...we're just stewards of it.

Now, the Bible does not specifically say whether we should tithe off our gross or net income. I'll say this, though, if you're giving off of net income just so you can give less and still "be cool with God," I'd say that's not a healthy perspective. It all goes back to your heart attitude. Are you giving out of reverence for God or out of selfishness for your own wealth?

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

What you give (or don't give) is between you and God. Fortunately the Bible does give us a "recommended minimum": the tithe.

A moment of personal transparency: When Jenny and I were newlyweds, we did not tithe...at all. Several years into our marriage, God began to speak to us about the importance of it. It was the whole, "Hey, am I really #1 in your life?" thing. Our response? "God, we can't afford to tithe right now. Maybe someday when we get some debt paid off...or when our income increases...or, really, when we feel like it, we will." We soon realized that that's the wrong approach. We started giving as a way of saying, "God, we believe you are who you say you are and that you'll do what you've promised to do."

So we began to give regularly. We didn't give 10% at first. We slowly worked our way up to do. But we did see God in action. He's always come through for us.

The tithing principle is difficult to wrap our minds around. It's counter-intuitive. Our tendency to to hoard. God's economy is different. And now Jenny and I have experienced that.

My life verse is Matthew 6:33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

i read this often

About a year ago, Dwight gave me a laminated copy of what you're about to read. It's called a Doctrinal Affirmation. I keep it in my day planner and refer to it often. I need to be reminded of God's promises and who I am in Christ. Here it is.

I recognize that there is only one true and living God (Exodus 20:2-3) who exists as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that He is worthy of all honor, praise and glory as the Creator, Sustainer, and Beginning and End of all things (Revelation 4:11; 5:9-10; Isaiah 43:1, 7, 21).

I recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14). I believe that He came to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8), that He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of them, having triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15)

I believe that God has proven His love for me because when I was still a sinner, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8). I believe that He delivered me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to His kingdom, and in Him I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14).

I believe that I am now a child of God (1 John 3:1-3) and that I am seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6). I believe that I was saved by the grace of God through faith, that it was a gift and not the result of any works on my part (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of is might (Ephesians 6:10). I put no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3) for the weapons of warfare are not of the flesh (2 Corinthians 10:4). I put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20), and resolve to stand firm in my faith and resist the evil one.

I believe that apart from Christ I can do nothing (John 15:5), so I declare myself dependent on Him. I choose to abide in Christ in order to bear much fruit and glorify the Lord (John 15:8). I announce to Satan that Jesus is my Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3), and I reject any counterfeit gifts or works of Satan in my life.

I believe that the truth will set me free (John 8:32) and that walking in the light is the only path of fellowship (1 John 1:7). Therefore, I stand against Satan's deception by taking every thought captive in obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). I declare that the Bible is the only authoritative standard (2 Timothy 3:15-16). I choose to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

I choose to present my body as an instrument of righteousness, a living and holy sacrifice, and I renew my mind by the living Word of God in order that I may prove that the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect (Romans 6:13; 12:1-2). I put off the old self with its evil practices and put on the new self (Colossians 3:9-10), and I declare myself to be a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I ask my heavenly Father to fill me with His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), lead me into all truth (John 16:13), and empower my life that I may live above sin and not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). I crucify the flesh (Galatians 5:24) and choose to walk by the Spirit.

I renounce all selfish goals and choose the ultimate goal of love (1 Timothy 1:5). I choose to obey the two greatest commandments, to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul and mind, and to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39).

I believe that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) and that He is the head over all rule and authority (Colossians 2:10). I believe that Satan and his demons are subject to me in Christ since I am a member of Christ's body (Ephesians 1:19-23). Therefore, I obey the command to resist the devil (James 4:7) and command him in the name of Christ to leave my presence.

i wanna be full of it!

I'm reading the Book of Acts right now. Man, it is a blast to read through the beginnings of the church. I'm so inspired by the courage of the early Christians. One guy in particular fascinates me...Barnabas. Check out what Acts 11:24 says about Barnabas:

for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many
people were added to the Lord.

Man! That's the kind of guy I want to be! That's what I want people to say about me: he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith! And because of him, many people came to know Jesus!

which translation of the Bible is best?

I sometimes get asked this. Here's my answer: Read one you can understand. The most imporant thing is not which translation, it's just doing it!

If you can roll with the KJV, then go for it! If you're NIV or CEV, great! Read it...study it...let the Word of God transform you.

I get in these conversations sometimes with someone who's really hung up on which translation should be used. And always, by the way--without exception--the person who wants to debate about it--the person with the hang-up is a KJV person. Often times they just have a dogmatic approach they are convinced that no other translation is appropriate.

Before I go any further, let me say this: I am not anti-KJV. Again, if that's the best translation for you personally, and you're comfortable reading it, I wouldn't steer you away from it. For me, it's a tough read, quite frankly. I read multiple translations. Right now, I'm reading out of the NIV. Often I will spend time in The Message. My wife reads her CEV Bible.

If you're trying to decide on a translation, here are a couple things you might want to consider: When the Bible gets translated into a new language for today, it's translated into the language a particular culture speaks and writes today, not how they spoke and wrote 400 years ago. Why should people who read and speak English today have to use a Bible translation that is not translated in the English they use in everyday life? Here's the thing: the Bible was originally written in the common, ordinary language of the people. Bible translations today should be the same. That is why Bible translations get updated and revised as languages develop and change.

God wants you to understand His Word. And the Bible was originally written to be understood.

Now, by far, the most common objection I get from KJV-only people about other translations (specifically the NIV) is this: "There are whole verses missing from the NIV (John 5:4, Acts 8:37, and 1 John 5:7). People say, "The Word of God can't be added to or taken away from, and the NIV has obviously taken verses out, so consequently, it's no good."

When I hear that argument, it tells me that that person has not done any research on the subject. Here's my two-cents on that: the KJV was translated in 1611 AD. Since then, many Biblical manuscripts have been discovered that are older and more accurate than the manuscripts that were used for the KJV. When Bible scholars researched through these manuscripts, they discovered some differences. It seems that over the course of 1500 years, some words, phrases, and even sentences got added to the Bible. The "missing verses" are simply not found in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. So, the newer translations remove these verses or place them in footnotes or in the margin because they do not truly belong in the Bible.

We know a lot more now than they did in 1611. I wouldn't want a doctor from 1611 doing surgery on me...I'm not so sure I want a scholar from 1611 translating my Bible.

The bottom line, again, is this: Read your Bible. If it's KJV or NIV or CEV, just read it. I recommend you read multiple translations. By comparing and contrasting the different translations, it is often easier to get a good grasp on what the verse is saying than by only using one translation.

I'm always amazed that some people can get so hung up on this subject. There are much more important things to be doing than worrying about which translation of the Bible people are reading.

positive promises

We had a great night at Aqua on Tuesday. Aqua is just a great place to be.

We started a new series in there called "It's All In Your Mind." On Tuesday we dealt with negative attitudes. Philippians 2:5 says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…" We asked the question: Is that even a legitimate possibility? Is that achievable? I say it is...but it's not necessarily easy.

We ended the evening by passing out little reminder cards that had the positive promises that we committed to make. Here they are:

I WILL NOT HANG OUT WITH NEGATIVE PEOPLE.
Bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33

I WILL NOT DWELL ON NEGATIVE THOUGHTS.
… we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

I WILL REPLACE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS WITH GOD’S THOUGHTS.
…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true… noble… right… pure… lovely… admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Philippians 4:7-8

And then we wrapped it up with this prayer of commitment that's printed on the back of the card:

God, I commit to you not to hang around those who pull me away from you with negativity. Give me the power not to dwell on negative, destructive thoughts, but to replace them with your truth. Renew my mind with the truth of your word. Help me to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus.

I'm keeping my card with me. What a great reminder for me to keep a positive attitude...the attitude of Christ. I've got some extra cards. E-mail me if you'd like one for yourself. Also, you can listen to the whole message by clicking here.

sunday's scuds (may 6, 2007)

Yesterday at NewPointe, we wrapped up a quick, 2-part series that began on First Wednesday. We looked at communion on Wednesday and baptism on Sunday. Here are some of the scuds that were launched:

• "Your view of baptism probably has more to do with the way you were raised than any research you've done."
• "Jesus commands those who become his followers to be baptized."
• "There are exactly zero examples of infant baptism in the New Testament."
• "When you come out of a religious environment where you don't read the Bible, you're going to do what the church tells you to do."
• "There's a big difference between a version or a realm of Christianity where the church is the authority and one where the Bible is the authority."
• "It's easy to understand baptism. Baptism is a public declaration of a new association."
• "Baptism was not inherently spiritual just within one context. It was a somewhat common thing that became central to Christianity."
• "Baptism is for individuals who have individually, personally made a decision to associate with Jesus."
• "We don't believe there's any inherent spiritual value in infant baptism."
• "The tragedy of infant baptism is that it can give a false sense of security to parents and children."
• "If you ask the authorities in denominations that baptize infants why they do it, they may have some answers that make pretty good sense to you...but their answer will not come from a clear teaching from Scripture."
• "There are churches that teach that a person is 'saved' through being baptized. The Bible doesn't teach that."
• "Baptism is extremely important but it has nothing to do with where you spend eternity."
• "If you have not been baptized since putting your faith in Jesus, you need to be baptized."
• "Do it in a way to where it's public enough that it's a public declaration of this brand new association."
• "The issue isn't how or where, it's when."

For more information at baptism at NewPointe, check out this link.

You can also read Chad's take on the 2-part series right here.

quiet reverence vs. joyful noise

Sometimes we get asked why we do the kind of music we do at NewPointe. Sometimes people ask, "Could you throw in a hymn every once in a while for those of us who prefer to worship that way?"

The truth is, if we all had our personal preferences, the Sunday morning services at NewPointe would probably look very different from the way they look right now. We all have preferences. We all have things we wish the church would do differently. What we have to ask ourselves is: Am I on board with the mission and vision of the church? If you attend NewPointe, you ask: Am I on board with the mission and vision of NewPointe?

What is the mission? It's simply this: To lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through relevant environments designed to encourage intimacy with God, involvement in community, and influence in the world.

So what's that have to do with preferences? Well, maybe my personal preferences are not the best possible means by which to accomplish our mission. And at NewPointe, we've decided that we're not going to sacrifice the next generation on the altar of our preferences.

On Sunday mornings, we aim to create a relevant environment that will connect with people who view church as having nothing meaningful or worthwhile to say to them. So we design our services to speak the language of the generation we're trying to reach. In many cases, this includes your kids and grand kids.

As for the music...well, we could debate that from now until the cows come home, but as a church, we've decided to take the "joyful noise" approach over the "quiet reverence" approach.

We've found that our current generation is attracted to high-energy, exciting, colorful, multi-sensory things. Concerts, ballgames, amusement parks... Now, we're not trying to be a theme park or "put on a show" but we are trying to speak the language that our generation speaks.

Let me bring this back to the music theme I began with: I was doing some reading the other day and I read this verse (Isaiah 6:4): "At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook..." And I got to thinking, it's hard to shake doorposts and thresholds with organ music and traditional hymns. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

We, as church leadership, have decided that we're going to land on the "shaking doorposts and thresholds" side of things. And it has more to do with being relevant and connecting with a generation than it does anything else.

Do I wish we did some things differently at NewPointe? Sure. But I'm more concerned about reaching people for Jesus Christ. So my preferences will lose out to that every time.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

sunday's scuds (april 28, 2007)

Yesterday Dwight wrapped up the No Strings Attached series. The whole series has been about forgiveness and...wow...just wow. Just a few minutes into Dwight's talk, he stepped aside and showed a Nooma video (Luggage). Here are a few of the scuds from that one:

• "Everyone I know has wounds."
• "I don't want what somebody else did to me to determine how my life is going to be."
• "Whatever wrong was done to you...God saw it."
• "Don't take revenge. Leave room for God...It's a nice idea but not easy to do."
• "Revenge is like saying to God: I don't trust you with this situation."
• "Revenge doesn't satisfy, does it? Have you really ever evened the score? Revenge doesn't work."
• "None of us have clean hands. We've all wronged someone...but with Jesus, there is no condemnation."
• "When I forgive somebody, I'm giving them what God has given me."
• "If he's hitting your or you're being abused, you need to get out...now."
• "Forgiving doesn't always mean forgetting."
• "To forgive somebody means that I actually wish them well."
• "When I forgive somebody and set them free, I'm really setting myself free."
• "God didn't create you to carry that stuff around. He created you to be free."

Then Dwight brought it home...

• "Forgiveness is our responsibility." I don't need to wait until the offender asks. They may never ask."
• "Forgiveness is not forgetting. It's not 'excusing the wrong.'"
• "Forgiveness is dealing with the pain and leaving the other person to God."
• "It doesn't mean going on with life like nothing happened."
• "You can't afford to wait to forgive someone till you feel like it...you may never feel like it."
• "Time heals all wounds is not true. They can become infected over time."

His main points:

1. Forgiveness is our responsibility
2. Ask God to reveal people and hurts
3. Realize that forgiveness is the first step
4. Determine the boundaries
5. Maintain short accounts

For more on forgiveness, check out:

• John 8:11, 51
• Luke 11:4, 15:30, 2
• Acts 8:18-23
• Romans 1:5, 4:6-8, 12:19-21
• Ephesians 4:32
• Hebrews 10:17

are you the one?

I was doing some reading today and came across this passage in the Bible:

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between
Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no
one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Luke Luke 17:15-18

You'll recognize this as the story Luke tells of the ten who were healed of leprocy. And this thought struck me: Only one came back? One?

See, I think we live in a world of entitlement--we're all entitled to stuff. Am I right? I think that's what's going on here. There's just no gratitude.

So the question for today is this: Are you the one who comes back to give thanks? Are you grateful to your parents...your spouse...your employer...those you lead you...those whom you lead?

Let's not assume that those close to us assume that we're grateful. Let's express it. What would happen if we all started responding to one another with more gratitude? Let's try it and find out.

Be the one.

read this or i'm gonna be ANGRY!

Alec Baldwin is all over the news today. The tragedy at Virginia Tech still haunts. Then there's the babysitter in Illinois who drowned three kids in the tub. Actually, I could make a giant list of things in the news--just today's news--that centers around people's anger issues.

Your anger issues and my anger issues may not be quite as extreme (and thankfully not as public as Alec's)...but we all have them. And out of all of the emotions that we have, anger the rawest, strongest, and most destructive.

The Bible tells us that not all anger is sin. It does say, however, "In your anger, do not sin..." (Ephesians 4:26). One of the things we learn here is--and you can see this all throughout Scripture--that often times anger precedes sin. Anger sets sin on the tee for us. Proverbs 29:22 says, "An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins."

Hey, we all have to deal with this incredible emotion called anger. The question is: What do we do with? How do I resolve real-life anger issues God's way? How do we respond to people who keep making us angry?

Here's good news: Dwight's going to nail these questions for us on Sunday has he continues the No Strings Attached series.

Chew on this between now and then: People or circumstances can make us angry, but we can respond in forgiveness because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. God is bigger than circumstances. He's bigger than our emotions. And He wants you and I to be free...free to love...free to live...free to forgive.

Don't miss this Sunday @ NewPointe! I hope Alec Baldwin is there.

sunday's scuds (4-15-07)

Yesterday Dwight continued our No Strings Attached series. He brought a powerful message on forgiveness, focusing on forgiving others. Here are some the scuds:

• "Many of us are confused about forgiveness. We tend to think forgiveness is for the benefit of the offender."
• "We think to forgive someone is to do them a favor."
• "Our attitude is ususally, 'They owe me!'
• "We hold on to bitterness and rage and we begin to build a case against the offender thinking, that person needs to come to me and beg for forgiveness. If they do that then I will consider forgiving them."
• "We also tend to surpress our feelings and emotions. This leads to depression."
• We all have a tendency to hold on to anger and bitterness because we feel justified in doing so."
• "Jesus tells us through the parable of the unmerciful servant that we absolutely must forgive those who've wronged us."
• "Unforgivness in your life wreaks havoc on your body."
• "Jesus said: if you don't forgive others, I'm coming after you."
• "To refuse to forgive is to self-destruct."
• "If you fail to forgive you will drag the hurt into every one of your relationships."
• "70% of second marriages don't work out because the same issues, resenment, and bitterness that killed the first marriage never gets dealt with and so it carries into the second marriage."
• "Forgiveness is not for the benefit of those who've wronged you--forgiveness is for your benefit."

As Dwight wrapped up he gave us five things we need to do to "cut the strings." Here they are:

1. Identify the source
2. Acknowledge the pain
3. Grieve the loss
4. Cancel the debt (this is a willful choice)
5. Release the offender

history, prophecy, worship, and the book of revelation

If you like that kind of stuff, tomorrow's First Wednesday will be right up your alley. We're diving deep...but we're also going to keep it relevant. Does the Book of Revelation have relevance to our lives...right now? Or is it just a bunch of stuff that may happen in the future? Can we even begin to make sense of it? Is there anything we can learn from Roman history that applies to our lives in 2007?

Prepare murmur things like, "I never knew knew that," and, "That's amazing," and, "Whoa! That's deep," at First Wednesday. And then prepare yourself for some introspection. Warning: if you don't like having your toes stepped on, you may want to stay away from this one. But if, on the other hand, you're interested in being FULL ON for Jesus Christ, then DO NOT MISS THIS FIRST WEDNESDAY.

We're going to look at one of the Roman Caesars named Domitian. And we're going to look at what was going on in Ephesus in the 1st Century. Then we're going to look at why it all matters to us 2,000 years later.

If you want to do some advance reading, check out Revelation chapters 3 and 4. It'll give you a head start on where we'll going. Also, you may just want to bring your Bible with you. There may be some stuff you want to look up, write down, or highlight.

One more thing...and I don't want to give too much away...but be prepared to WORSHIP WITH INTENSITY! See you there.

Thanks, Rob, for the idea.

a review of the scuds i launched yesterday

If you attended church at NewPointe yesterday, you know that yours truly spoke about one of the six elements that we feel God uses to "move our faith beyond periodic."

What you may not know is that at the office we talk about "scuds"--as in scud missiles--that got fired on any given Sunday (our definition of a scud is this: a missile that gets launched by any one of us on staff at NewPointe that has the potential to "do damage" to the listener or reader). My man, Kevin came by my office to ask me if I'd heard any reverberation from the scuds I fired yesterday (by the way, you can listen to message online right here.

I told him that I hadn't received any backlash from the the multiple scuds fired into the crowd. I've only heard positive stuff (although, admittedly, the positive stuff is what I'm most likely to hear from people).

So, in case you missed it...or you just want a Sunday scud review, here are a few of the missiles I launched in church yesterday:

• "One of the things we hear from time to time is, 'I wish you guys would go deeper with your teaching.' What that person is usually saying is, 'I want you to confuse the snot out of me so I can leave feeling smarter but not having to actually do anything about what I just heard."
• "We don't think NewPointe attenders need a history lesson, we think people need practical help with how to live their lives."
• "Our lives don't end up screwed up because we don't know the Bible. Our lives get screwed up because we don't we're not applying it."
• "The problem with the church in America isn't that we haven't been teaching people the Bible. We just think that maybe that isn't the right goal.
• "Spiritual maturity is not synonymous with Bible knowledge. Spiritual maturity is synonymous with Bible application."
• "There's no blessing for knowledge...knowing is irrelevant...knowing doesn't count for anything. It's all in the doing. The doing is what spiritual maturity is."
• "If you can't control your tongue, it doesn't matter what you know. Your religion, according to the Bible, is worthless."
• "We're not against knowing...we're just against knowing without doing.
• "The goal of teaching at NewPointe is to teach people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles, and truths of the Bible."
• "If you haven't yet applied what you learned at NewPointe last weekend, you need to examine yourself to see if you're one of those people who just comes and sits and doesn't do anything with what they've heard."

If you got hit by a scud, don't worry...it's a good thing. It means that God is pointing out some things in your life that need examined. Scuds are good...if you take the time to prayerfully consider them.

unleash conference: general session two

Here are some of my notes from the second general session of the Unleash Conference at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC.

Perry Noble, senior pastor, spoke on "The Leadership Challenge."

"Myth: growing a church is all about style." Wrong...if a church grows, godly leadership is in place (and you'll find no exceptions).

Leadership Principles we learn from Moses:

1. Moses simply listened and obeyed.

"Leadership is as easy as listening to God."

"Time with God is the most important thing I do. Period."

"In Scripture, God never gave the vision to a committee. Your pastor is accountable to God." (Heb. 13:17)

"A personnel committee in a church? That's of Satan."

2. Moses didn't compromise the vision.

"Powerful people in your church will always try to alter your vision."

"As a pastor, I can't please everyone. I'd rather offend the people in the church seats than offend God (who gave us our vision). "

"We always talk about closing the 'back door' of a church. If the church is a body...then you need a back door. Maybe the problem with many churches today is that they're constipated."

"God will test every senior pastor with people who have money. What will be revealed is whether the pastor is a prostitute or a prophet."

3. Moses didn't try to do it all. (Numbers 11:14-17)

"Surround yourself with godly people.

"The best place to find people to staff your church is with the people already in your church--they own the vision." personal note: unless, of course, Tony Morgan is available (I guess there are exceptions to every rule).

4. Moses was willing to attempt the impossible.

"One of our biggest mistakes: we want a vision that's safe."

"What are you asking God for that's big?"

"If it's God's will, it's God's bill." (God isn't limited by a lack of $$$). "Don't use lack of money or resources as an excuse." Deut. 6:10-12

"Ask God for big things!" This means not asking for stuff that are my big things...he's talking about the things God lays on your heart.

If you're interested in the notes from the breakout sessions at Unleash, click here.

notes from NewSpring's Unleash conference...as promised

About a week ago I promisedt that I would blog some of my notes from the Unleash conference we attended at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC.

In the first session, senior pastor Perry Noble challenged us to "Go For It!" His text was Matthew 17 (the Transfiguration).

He kicked things off this this little nugget: "The problem with most churches is this. They say, 'If you don't know the rules, to hell with you.'"

Then he talked to us about the four things the church needs:

1. We need Creative Environments (vv. 1-3)

"Christianity is the most important, exciting thing to happen to the world...it took the church 2,000 years to make it boring."

"The sermon begins in the parking lot."

"Every week is somebody's first week at our church."

2. We need to look beyond ourselves. (v. 4) ...because we are selfish people.

"What type of people do we want in our church? We want people who need Jesus. Some people in our church will not be okay with the type people we want to reach and the methods we use to reach them."

3. We need to pay attention. (vv. 5-7)

"Get up (take some steps) and don't be afraid (you will make some people mad)."

"When you take steps to honor God, people will criticize you. When you begin to do what God wants you to do, you're going to piss some people off." (direct quote).

4. We need to focus on what matters (v. 8)

"People's behavior won't change until their perspective changes. Jesus changes perspectives."

"Focus on Jesus!" ("When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus" Mt: 17:8. )

"What we do matters for eternity."

I'll blog my notes from session two tomorrow.