It was an amazing day today at NewSpring. We had an all-church baptism celebration out in the parking lot. Perry invited folks to come tailgate prior to the celebration. The parking lots were full and we had cars parked out in the grass. People went all out with the tailgating. It looked like a Clemson football game with RVs, tents, grills and TVs set up to catch updates on today’s games.

We set up three pools in the parking lot and baptized six people at a time. By the time we were finished, 559 562 people were baptized. It was an incredible experience. I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight…especially since the new GameTime series launches tomorrow morning. Here are some pictures from today.

Because of family and ministry priorities/focus, I don’t often take the time to really engage in any serious dialogue on my blog. I enjoy the conversation. Wish I had more time for it. But, I’m in the season of life where I really have to prioritize where I invest my time.

That said, I knew the "Love Us or Hate Us" post would generate some push back. So, I’ve taken that opportunity to reveal a little bit of my personal passions and convictions. You may still disagree with me–even vehemently, but maybe it will help you understand the heart behind it.

Just so you know, I’m still learning. There’s a lot I don’t know about life. There are mysteries about God that I don’t comprehend. I’m not perfect. And neither is my understanding. I’m still a work in progress.

That said, here’s the conversation generated by "Love Us or Hate Us."

So many updates, but so little time…

• I finally broke down and downloaded the Steve Fee album. I hate to be a crowd-follower, but I’ve really enjoyed the songs Lee and the band have included in the regular worship rotation on Sundays.
• Speaking of worship, this may be one of my favorite Perry posts of all time. Uh, #3…Amen.
• And, while we’re on music, does it scare anyone else besides me that there are four Rihanna songs stored on my iPod?
• I may pass on the iPhone and just wait for the Google Phone.
• MyNakedPastor.com. Love it!
• We ended up with over 100 church nominations for this year’s most innovative churches list. I’m already getting input from the panel. Can’t wait to publish the new list in the January issue of Outreach magazine.
• Steven from Stonecreek Church in Alpharetta, Georgia sent me a gift. It’s a very stylish shirt from the Buckle. This goes back to a joke Steven made when I transitioned to NewSpring earlier this year. Yes, if you send me a free shirt, I’ll mention your church too.
• Death Valley. Wow! Turner Field. Yawn.
• "GameTime" starts this Sunday. Perry is going to use this new series to talk about NewSpring’s future. I’m jazzed about what’s coming next.

Jacob, Kayla and I went to our first Clemson football game last night. In case you didn’t hear (in Columbia or Athens), Clemson won. It was a great night. The kids had a blast. Here are five lessons I learned from the evening.

1. If thousands of people make some noise, it can get pretty loud. Jacob agreed, this is the loudest stadium we’ve ever been in. Don’t know if it’s because of the way the stadium was constructed or just because Clemson fans know how to get loud. When lots of people get focused on one thing, though, they can sure make some noise.
2. People will do some crazy things to worship something they love. Paint their bodies. Raise their arms in the air. Jump around. Sing songs. Clap. Chant. Even in the craziness of a nationally televised game, though, there are folks that are charged with keeping the “worship” orderly. (It was really funny watching the students charge the field three different times at the end of the game.)
3. When you really believe in something, you’ll take a stand. Clemson fans
   don’t sit down. I haven’t figured out why they installed seats in the
   stadium. The fans were on their feet for the entire four hours of the
   game.
4. People will put their money where their heart is. They’ll spend
   $30,000, as an example, just to own a piece of land to tailgate before
   and after the game. They’ll invest millions of dollars into a facility
   to help recruit new athletes. It’s amazing the cash people will lay down for something that they love.
5. When the cause is big enough, people will give their time. I’m convinced time is the scarcest commodity today. But, yesterday, people started showing up early in the morning to stake their territory. They hung out with friends. They served each other meals. They walked miles to find a parking spaces. They stood in the football stadium for over four hours. They sat in traffic for a couple more hours after the game. It takes a big investment of time to support something that’s bigger than yourself.

Chris emailed earlier this week to find out if it’s still possible to purchase multiple copies of Simply Strategic Volunteers. Here’s the deal that Tim and I are offering:

• We’ll give you a sweet deal on 20 or more copies of any of the three books: Simply Strategic Volunteers, Simply Strategic Growth or Simply Strategic Stuff.
• That deal includes free shipping to anywhere in the United States.
• It’ll be cheaper than what you’ll pay anywhere else including Amazon.

Email me if you’re interested in learning more. If you want fewer than 20, I recommend checking out Amazon or WiredChurches.com. If you attend NewSpring, the resource center has all three titles available. You can check them out before or after any service.

Tell all your friends about the deal. And, remember, it’s never too early to purchase stocking stuffers for Christmas. Oh, also, if you order in the next 60 minutes, we may even throw in the Ginsu knives.

Jacob and I are feeling pretty confident about the Phat Attack, our fantasy football team. Here’s how our team stacks up after last night’s draft:

Starters

• Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys
• Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
• Thomas Jones, RB, New York Jets
• Marvin Harrison, WR, Indianapolis Colts
• Laveranues Coles, WR, New York Jets
• Kellen Winslow, TE, Cleveland Browns
• Ahman Green, W/R (RB), Houston Texans
• DeShaun Foster, W/R (RB), Carolina Panthers
• Jason Hanson, K, Detroit Lions
• Dallas Cowboys, Defense/Special Teams

Bench

• Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Mike Bell, RB, Denver Broncos
• Drew Bennett, WR, St. Louis Rams

Jacob and I are in "draft central" waiting for the beginning of our fantasy football draft. Let me set the stage:

• We’re sitting in my home office waiting to connect via webcam for the live draft.
• Skype and Windows Live Messenger are at the ready.
• I have a Google Spreadsheet open to track the live draft round-by-round and team-by-team.
• We have ESPN going on in the background to catch the opening kickoff to the college football season.
• Emily just brought food in for Jacob and me.

Aside from the draft tonight, I’m also heading to my first Braves game on Saturday afternoon. Then, on Monday evening, I get to experience my first Clemson game in Death Valley. Yes, it feels like I’ve died and gone to sports heaven.

Now, back to the draft.

A funny thing happened in recent days here at NewSpring. You may have heard about the service we recently did on Hell. Well, I’ve heard that service has caused a stir in blogland. I guess some bloggers that are always trying to fix us and other churches like NewSpring came down hard on us for that service.

The reason I know this is that a local pastor caught wind of the controversy. Someone attending the church indicated that the pastor showed short clips of that service to his church and essentially used it as an opportunity to attack our ministry. I’m sure this isn’t the first or last time it will happen. We had other churches attacking us from the pulpit in Granger as well. This isn’t a new phenomenon.

The reason I found out about this particular instance, though, is because someone who used to attend that church was curious about our ministry after hearing his pastor rail against us. He found our website and watched that service in its entirety. What he found, of course, was that Perry taught a very clear, biblical message that had a huge impact on the folks that heard it. And, now, that guy is attending NewSpring.

You want to know a little secret. We love controversy at NewSpring. Frankly, it’s our hope that lots of people love what we do. And, it’s our hope that at least a few people hate what we do. If we don’t experience those extreme reactions, then we’re probably not truly fulfilling God’s mission for our church. Don’t forget. God despises "lukewarm." We are a church for those who are unchurched or given up on church. If we are fully aligned with God’s mission for our ministry, we are going to offend people who love the institution or their version of "the truth" more than than they love the people the Truth was intended to reach.

So, love us or hate us, we love you.

Here are my thoughts and highlights from Jude as I continue my journey through the Bible:

• "Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!" I need that reminder to relax and rest.
• There are people with "pious skin" that don’t embrace the grace of God.
• "These people sneer at anything they can’t understand." What is it about human nature that chooses to distrust what we don’t know…even when it involves other Christ-followers or churches.
• "Carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love."
• "Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin."

Steven Furtick and the crew at Elevation Church have hit another home run. I’ve been dreaming of an 80′s series for years. Steven’s team actually had the guts to pull it off. Very clever way to communicate the vision of the church. Check out the Steven’s explanation, but make sure you click and watch the video trailer. Makes me want to figure out what I did with that pair of parachute pants.