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My New Adventure

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Let me share some big news from my world. Yesterday, Perry and I mutually agreed that I should leave the staff team at NewSpring Church. I can assure you it was a decision that wasn’t entered into lightly. Both Perry and I have had this weighing on us for some time. Perry and I share a lot of commonalities in ministry and leadership, but, if you know Perry and me very well, you know that we also approach both a little differently – differently enough that I was not fulfilled in my role.

Just to set the record straight here, we’re talking about differences that would be non-essentials if I was just attending NewSpring (which I plan to continue doing), but the differences weren’t healthy for the church or for me in the leadership role Perry needed me to fill.

Now, before you start reading into this more than you should, hear me out:

  • I still love Perry and the ministry of NewSpring Church.
  • I’m still 100% behind the vision God has given Perry.
  • You are a fool if you don’t think God is using NewSpring to help people meet Jesus and experience new life.
  • Perry promised he’d still be my friend. (But I’m still not going to let him hug me.)

Where does that leave me? I have no idea. I’m not at all sure what the future holds. I’m scared, but I’m not worried, if that makes sense. I’m questioning God, but I trust God completely.

I have a huge passion for the local church and reaching people for Jesus, but I’m not at all sure how God will use that in the future. I’m waiting on God to provide clear direction. And, frankly, after more than 10 years of nonstop ministry, this unexpected sabbatical may be God-ordained.

With that, really, I could use your wisdom. If you want to teach me, encourage me, challenge me, slap some sense into me or anything else, I’m ready for that.

In the mean time, please pray for Perry, the NewSpring family and my family. I’m confident the best is yet to come for all of us.

Check out Perry’s blog for his take on all of this.

Perryisms

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Today, Perry continued his teaching through the Sermon on the Mount that began in January and will run through May. This portion of that journey is part of “The Gospel” series that started last weekend. Here are some highlights from today’s message:

  • “I have a good friend up in Charlotte, Pastor Steven Furtick, and over 700 people accepted Christ up there last week.”
  • “I’ve been to the Anderson Mall.”
  • Some malls have valet parking. “In Anderson, someone will take your car, but you’ll never get it back.”
  • “Today, I just want to preach the Gospel to religious people.”
  • “Haven’t we made salvation all about appearance in the South?”
  • “In the South, our ‘best’ becomes the clothes we wear and not the life we live.”
  • “There are some people here today that are working hard to prove themselves to God.”
  • “When Jesus paid for our sins, he paid for every sin.”
  • “If you don’t let your past die, it won’t let you live.”
  • “In the Church, we suck at letting people get past their past.”
  • “We can’t meet Jesus and stay the same.”
  • “When our sin collides with His grace, He always wins.”
  • “I know I met Jesus? How about you?”

By the way, the band went a little retro funk with a cover of “Truth’ll Set You Free” from the 70s band Mother’s Finest. You’ll want to check out the video when it’s available on www.NewSpring.cc later this week. It’ll make you want to dance.

Highway to Hell…Greenville Version

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Yesterday I posted the version of “Highway to Hell” that was performed at the Anderson campus on Easter. Here’s the same song from our Greenville campus. Justin slammed it.


HIGHWAY2HELL_JUSTIN from Jiggle Snort on Vimeo.

Just in case you’re wondering, the band in Greenville does the exact same set list as Anderson probably 95% of the time. We also just launched a full band in Florence that Sam is leading. Not sure if they’re on the same set list at this point. Maybe Sam will chime in.

btw… I love, love, LOVE the camera work from Greenville. They’re getting some fabulous shots and the rapid cutaways to new shots is fantastic. It keeps those of us with ultra-short attention spans completely engaged.

Perryisms

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I know. It’s been some time since I last posted Perryisms. My apologies. Here are some highlights from Perry’s message today, though, that should make up for it. Enjoy!

  • “We’re talking about Jesus. He’s pretty important. He was dead, and now he’s alive. I’m going to listen to that guy.”
  • “If you don’t have a problem writing a big check for a car you’re driving but you do have a problem writing a big check to the church you’re attending, that’s a problem.”
  • “I know that’s a problem for some of you because you have a G-rated God.”
  • “Jesus said, ‘If you put me first, I’ll take care of everything else.’”
  • “I don’t want to do church. I want this church to be an unstoppable force.”
  • “I’m an ice cream connoisseur.
  • “We don’t have a problem recommending a restaurant, but we do have a problem recommending a Savior.”
  • “People need Jesus.”
  • “Hell is real. And people that don’t know Jesus go there.”
  • “If you think the church was created for you, either get saved or get out.”
  • “I’m a numbers guy. I want more and more people to know Jesus. Is that a sin?”
  • “At what point in the process was I supposed to tell people to go to Hell, because we want authentic community?”
  • “God’s plan is always bigger than our plans.”
  • “Every dime we take in goes to missions.”
  • “I don’t want to send money. I want to send people.”
  • “I stood at the ends of the earth.”
  • “Most Christians are willing to do something for Jesus as long as it doesn’t cost them anything.”
  • “If the things of God don’t matter to you, does he actually live inside of you?”

Check out NewSpring’s website for more details on our plans to minister to people in Kenya.

Stories

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Our staff team from all our campuses gathered in Anderson today. We introduced the new folks on our team, and then Perry opened it up for the team to share stories. It’s one of my favorite parts of ministry. I love to hear how God is moving in the lives of people in and out of our church.

Here are some of the highlights of what people shared:

  • “Last night I had the opportunity to pray with a middle school student who accepted Christ.”
  • “More and more people are watching video of our services online. Within the last 12 months, the amount of video bandwidth has quadrupled.”
  • “He said, ‘I’d like to have lunch with you because I have some questions about Jesus.’”
  • “There’s a woman in Wales connected to our web campus for her community of faith.”
  • “And then I thought, I’m going to be judged if I don’t get to know his name.”
  • “His dad is in prison for murder, but he’s showing up for student ministry.”
  • “God told him to buy a school bus and now 37 students are being picked up every week.”
  • “She said, ‘Every Sunday my kids wake up and ask if we’re going back to that church.’”
  • “He lives in Columbia, but he’s already referring to NewSpring as ‘my church.’”

Wish you could have been there. Some of these stories, like the bus story, are amazing.

Speaking of great stories, Perry will be talking about the the greatest story ever told on Easter Sunday. If you haven’t already, please get your FREE tickets for Easter services if you’re planning to attend one of the NewSpring campuses. That’ll help us make sure we have enough seats for everyone.

Churches that Give the Middle Finger

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Perry went on a rant today about the labels we try to put on our ministries. He confirmed that NewSpring is a traditional, seeker-friendly, emerging, missional, attractional, purpose-driven church. And, in some respects, we’re none of those. (There, now just about everyone has a reason to hate us.) During his tirade, he offered this statement:

“We have a purpose…and it’s not to be a country club with a steeple on top that gives our community the middle finger and tells them to go to hell because reaching them would make us uncomfortable!”

He concludes by acknowledging that you can try to label us all you want, but our main objective is to be the church God designed us to be. We aspire to be a movement and not a label.

I love it when my boss just says what’s on his mind. The phrase “politically correct” is not in his vocabularly.

Check out the rest of his post. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Cool Links

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