I don’t promote my own messages or sermons on my blog. It just feels awkward. However, this past Sunday, I shared a story of hate and murder that consumed my heart for almost two years. God freed me and gave me the power to forgive the person that had wounded me. Whether you are having trouble forgiving a spouse or a former friend or just an acquaintance in life, my prayer is that this message from our marriage series, I Do…Not Anymore, will bring you similar hope and healing.
Only God Can Get the Glory
I hate preparing a budget. It’s not fun at all. Especially when you have to look at the reality of how much it costs to run a church and the reality of how much money actually comes in to the church; and then there’s the balancing act of budget requests. I never really liked it when I was younger when my dad would tell me that money “doesn’t just grow on trees.” I’ve not only come to realize that as an individual trying to provide for a family, I’ve definitely learned it as a pastor. I could add to my dad’s statement that “God doesn’t just put money in the bank account either, even though its his church.”
I met with our CFO last night and as I was preparing for our meeting I was listing our income versus expenses for the last quarter, laying out some of the things we need to purchase right away, some of the things it would be nice to have right away, and of course the new budget for the second quarter of 2011 (we do a quarterly budget right now since everything is so fluid as a church plant). I was almost tempted to get depressed by what we didn’t have and how little we do have, but in the midst of looking at actual numbers, I was excited and thankful. We are not rich by any means, but we are still breathing and we have what we need to operate and to do a little extra as we need to. See, it wasn’t always this way…
It was only about 22 months ago when things were quite depressing although I made sure to put my happy face on. I wouldn’t recommend starting a church the way I did unless you are absolutely 100% SURE you are called to do it. Most experts will tell you to raise $125,000 or more to do it right, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. At this point I had asked three friends to be as stupid as me and help me launch the church, two friends couldn’t do it, and the other, Billy Wilson, agreed to launch with me as New Passion’s Mission’s Director. We absolutely had no money. The only money we had was our tithe and the pastor at the church where we were members recommended that I start tithing to New Passion. We had no choice, we had to.
A friend who pastor’s a house church sent me a message and wanted to meet with me. He said that their church wanted to help us, but because they were only a small group of around 8 people and had little money themselves, they could only offer us a loan of $5,000 which would have no due date, no interest, we would just pay them 10% of whatever we brought in the offering every month. We had no money, no building or location to meet, no equipment, we had a CFO outside the church, Billy Wilson and his family was the only leader who had committed, and we had only one other family who was praying about jumping on-board, and I wanted to borrow $5,000. Do you know what you can do with $5,000? A lot with God. I don’t think any of them thought it was a GREAT idea, but they knew we didn’t have too many other options, so they gave me the good ‘ol ‘whatever you think pastor‘ commitment and we signed the papers.
I think I came to the realization at that moment and it has been my personal slogan and motto ever since that “God was going to build New Passion in such a way that only He can get the glory!” Which honestly should be the story of any church. Let me put this into a little bit of perspective though. Between our church logo (one of the first things we bought), our trailer, our first community, “Hey where coming to the area come join us” event, and our mix-matched sound system over $3,800 of that loan was spent. Here’s a few more notes of interest:
- We launched with a team of 35, oh yeah half of those were children and they can’t serve.
- When we secured a location, it was an Elementary School, the school board just doubled their rates, we were looking at a lease of $1,740 on a four week month and $2,100 for a five week month.
- We didn’t have a worship leader until one month before we launched. I asked five other leaders who didn’t work out.
- We had no other churches partner with us. We had two churches give us $1,000 each and tell us they were praying for us, the spiritual definition of that means, “Good Luck!” 🙂
- We did have some individuals give us one time gifts while one friend gave us a re-occurring gift for 6 months.
- We finally (right before we launched) got $5,000 in start-up funds from the GA Baptist Convention.
- By the way…Our Church Planting “Coach” left mid-way through our launch process, so we really had no help or guidance in the last couple of months of our launch.
- All said and done, we launched New Passion with $15,000; $5,000 of which was a loan (oh yeah…and a lot of PVC).
- Jonothan Powell and his family came on-board as our Worship Leader in August and we launched in September. One of the first things he asked to see was what we had for sound. I showed him our $800 investment, his immediate response was a giggle and a reply, “So, how much money do we have?” We used that sound equipment for a couple of months or more until Jonothan sold his personal motorcycle and used the money to buy a very nice sound board and two very nice speakers.
We were also fortunate to have received a phone call from a guy who I had only talked with a couple of times on the phone and connected with through the internet. His church had some equipment they were not going to be using for a while, so they loaned it to us (cafe items, lights, children’s stuff, etc). This was huge because we couldn’t afford any of it.
I can go on and on and on and tell story after story of small and big risks we took and how we shouldn’t even be breathing as a church. If it were up to the belief others had in us, we’d be dead. However, there is only one thing I have had to cling to over the last 18+ months, this is what I know God called me to do.
Sure we aren’t running thousands of people. This isn’t an Elevation story. This is the story of New Passion in Grovetown, Georgia that has about 15,000 residents. We’ve seen God take a team of 35, most of which have gone back to their own churches, and turned it into a weekly average of around 110 (including children), he took a group of nine people $5,000 in debt to a church that is averaging approximately $6,000 per month in giving (which could literally be doubled if more people would embrace Biblical Giving). We’ve already been able to send more financial support to two churches each, one in Baltimore, MD and the other in Surfside Beach, SC, than we received total from any other church to help us. Most importantly, we’re seeing lives changed by the gospel
God is literally building this church in such a way that only he can get the glory. There is still a lot of stuff we cannot do as a church, but we will be able to in God’s timing. I have nothing to complain about, I can only stand amazed at what God has done in 18 short months.
Happy 18 months New Passion. May God continue to always receive the glory from our church.
Why We Don’t Beg People to Stay
I have a firm rule as a pastor. I DO NOT beg (or ask) people to stay at New Passion.
I’ve always had my reasons why, but this verse, though simple, is very profound, I couldn’t have said it better myself…
These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. 1 John 2:19
Here are a few of my (personal) reasons…
1. Protection – Jesus warned against false prophets who come in the church dressed as one of the sheep, but are as vicious wolves on the inside (Matthew 7:15). I believe this verse can be extended beyond “prophets” to those who would prey on the flock God has entrusted into my leadership and the leadership of the other church leaders. It is my responsibility to care for this flock that Jesus entrusted to me (1 Peter 5:2 “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly…“)
- Why do “wolves” prey on the flock?
- Sexual Gain – There are people who’ll infiltrate the church to manipulate members of the opposite sex for sexual gain.
- Financial Gain – There are people, especially in businesses who rely on sales, marketing, and networking who will infiltrate the church to prey on others financially to build their own businesses and to profit personally from the people within the church. This is one of the reasons the “rich” and “successful” people flock to the largest churches in town, it’s good for business because there’s more people to “befriend.” And we all know that’s why Jesus established His church.
- Wicked Intentions – The fact is…there are evil people in this world and they have wicked intentions (whatever category they fall in). You are not going to convert a wolf into a vegetarian. Their nature is to devour meat. A “spiritual” wolf’s nature is to produce wickedness. Their goal is to cause chaos and destruction in the church. As Matt Chandler once asked, [paraphrased] “Would you dip your kids in blood and allow them to play with wolves?” “So why would we be okay with wolves hanging around our flock?
2. Preferences – The fact is, everyone has different preferences when it comes to church, and New Passion is not for everyone. We understand that and we are okay with that. Some people like chocolate ice cream, others prefer vanilla, while smart people (like me) choose strawberry. An Italian came along one day and decided he’d put all three together and it became known as “Neapolitan” Ice Cream. This would later become the blueprint for the church that offers a little bit of everything for everyone with a traditional service, contemporary service, Sunday School, and Small Groups. That’s okay for them, but it’s not for us. Our style is modern. Some people like a traditional style of worship or even a more toned down contemporary style. We know that people are going to come check us out and not everyone will be looking for what we are offering. That’s okay! It would be pointless to try and beg people to stay in an environment that they are uncomfortable with.
3. Prompting – Bottom-line, God leads people away from ministries in order to use them in other places. To try and convince people to “stay” with your ministry is selfish and could serve as potential confusion for those trying to discern the still small voice of God that is prompting them to serve in another capacity within another ministry. This is usually easy to recognize because these people will be faithful servants already serving or attempting to serve in the church where God placed them for that season. Some people will use this as an excuse to make it easier to leave because they fear confrontation and it’s pretty easy to discern, because they aren’t really faithfully serving in the present where they are at. Let them go! If we have someone who is faithfully serving, but feels God is prompting them to move to another ministry, we will do our very best to support them and pray for them as God uses them in a new capacity.
I was never the guy that dated a girl, broke up, dated again, broke up, dated again, etc, etc. I just didn’t see the point. I’ve been a part of churches where people would go to the leadership and announce that they felt it was time they found another church and through various forms of manipulation and “new” positions and jobs within the church, they would feel guilty and stay. In the end, the results were the same, but they spent several more months in misery. The reality is, no one can give me a single reason why any church or leader or pastor should beg anyone to stay…..yeah I didn’t think so.
If you start the habit of babying people, you have to keep it up! If you beg people to stay because they are big givers, well, then I believe you are a faithless, hireling, and people’s money will always control you.
Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. This is solely my personal opinion 🙂
Confessions about the Chaos
I was 5 seconds from confessing that I made a mistake in the way we did our stripped service today at New Passion.
But….I can’t confess making a mistake by being obedient to what I felt like God wanted us to do.
I felt God wanted us to do service the way we did service, so I have no apologies for that.
I found this statement by Perry Noble today as I was surfing through some of his old blog posts:
Leadership doesn’t mean we play it safe…it means we are the first to face our fears and embrace the unknown so that the path is cleared out for those who follow.
As the pastor I am always faced with an onslaught of two choices: 1. Obey or 2. Disobey. 1. Take risks or 2. Play it safe. 1. Do hard things or 2. Stick with what comes easy. And with each choice made, there is only one person responsible for making the right choice. Me. My leaders are responsible whether or not they follow well.
The service today was VERY unconventional for our church, but churches do “Family Services” all the time, while churches who have to meet in secret (I.E. Underground churches) consistently meet with the family together. BUT, here’s what I must confess….
- I don’t completely think things through at times, so a couple of things caught me by surprise….
- As a young child I attended service with my parents A LOT and I was taught to sit in a pew and listen or at least kneel in the pew and draw.
- I never thought 15 kids would be running loose, I expected some noise and some movement, but I imagined kids would physically be with their parents (like our first family service last year).
- Since I never imagined kids would be running wild, we didn’t have a plan in place to prevent that kind of chaos.
- I am not convinced that my whole team was completely on-board with this decision, much less the entire church, I saw a few people VERY Uncomfortable, but that’s why I have to make these decisions. Some people may have enjoyed the chaos to try and ‘teach me a lesson‘ to not pull something off as crazy as this again. It’s clear to me everyone has not grasped the vision of what we are doing when they have to take a dismissive stance on what’s taking place. It’s basically saying, “Blame the pastor…don’t blame me!“
- So I did make a mistake and that was a lack of planning and a lack of instruction in the beginning to ask parents to keep their kids with them in their possession (part of my defense is being in the middle of the ocean without phone or internet access for the last 7 days).
- Saying that, I am 100% happy we did the service the way we did it and I think it was the right thing to do!
So, we live and we learn on the rest of it 🙂
Here’s what I hope was the outcome of the service:
- I hope people were uncomfortable. Sometimes it requires us to touch the stove when it’s hot to believe we’ll get burned. Sometimes we have to ‘show’ people what we are talking about through the discomfort of reality.
- I hope everyone gained a new respect for the various children environments that we offer every Sunday morning and the “extra” elements that our team work hard to provide (I.E. Information banners and tables, Coffee and refreshments in the Cafe, Etc.)
- I especially hope that people grasp the vision that our PassionKidz environments are a huge tool both in leading children to a passionate relationship with Jesus as well as adults. This is why it’s important to have committed workers every week in these areas.
- I hope people understand that whether we are a huge crowd or a small group, we are missing the point if we walk away or send people away saying MORE about the band or the pastor or any other ministry environment instead of declaring, “The Lord- He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39)
- I hope people grasp the fact that outside of Jesus…everything else might be ‘good’ (Lights, Band, Graphics, Video, Etc.) but it’s not ‘essential.’
I am excited about the growth we’ve experienced at New Passion but I don’t want it to be growth based on our talent alone, I want it to be growth produced by the Holy Spirit moving in people’s lives. Jesus calls us to a life of carrying our cross and yielding ourselves to Him and His way…that’s a very unpopular and uncomfortable message. Jesus had a lot of observers, but few engagers. I pray the Holy Spirit leads people our way who are willing to make Jesus their primary focus and will abandon comfort for the sake of the gospel. As David Platt says in his book Radical, Jesus Christ was the youngest minichurch pastor in history. Many liked the idea of being one of his disciples, but few were willing to pay the cost. As any pastor, I hope we continue to grow, but I hope it’s in a way that pleases the Lord.
So my prayer for New Passion is that we would be so in tune with the Holy Spirit and be so willing to allow him to have HIS way that our people and those who come through our doors will walk away saying, “The Lord – He is God!”
P.S. The Grove and The Ridge (and the Cafe) will be in full operation next week 🙂
Help Metro Ministries Win a New Roof!!!
I would like to introduce you to a church and ministry in the inner-city of West Baltimore. Their name is Charm City Church and their pastor is Mike Kemper. You won’t find him on Facebook or Twitter but the church does have a website (charmcitychurch.org). The church cannot support Mike full-time so he works a full-time job during the week, like me to pay the bills. There is one thing special about this church, their people love people and they are doing all they can to bring revolutionary compassion to those most people in society would consider unlovable, dirty, broken, addicts, unwanted……..I have known Mike and his family for years, they have been great friends to our family. He doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk and he walks the talk. He has a genuine love for the people of his hometown. He is driven by the gospel of Jesus to see their lives changed.
They have an amazing ministry called MetroKidz, led by Colleen Smith, where they weekly minister, mentor, and educate around 120 kids from one of the darkest and most crime-ridden areas of Baltimore City. I’ve personally visited their church and taken a missions trip to this area. I can’t describe it in a blog post, but I walked away about three years ago when Nicki and I went to visit and made a promise at that time that when we launched New Passion, Charm City Church would be part of our missions support. We’ve been able to do that over the last several months at $50 a month and because of the faithful giving of New Passion’s people, beginning in 2011, we are going to be able to increase that to $100 a month.
But, all of us have the opportunity to help them right now and it will cost you nothing!!! Go to this link (right now): http://greenroofgiveaway.com/nominees/nominee-detail/?nominee_id=32 and vote for their ministry to win a new roof (up to a $30,000 value) for their building. You can vote everyday until the contest is over and I hope you will do that! It is easy and free…so why are you still reading this? Go! You can find out more about their ministry and watch a video while you are there voting….Go, Go, Go!