2. Four Types of Staff Members

3. 8 reasons some churches do not grow

4. 10 Signs You Are An Insecure Leader!

5. 14 Things That Jesus Did Not Say…

If you are wanting to take your leadership to the next level then sign up for our Leadership Intensive on November 12th. Here is a blog post I wrote about it and here is where you can sign up.

This post is directed at Worship Leaders.  And if you’re a worship leader, you might hate me for what I’m going to say, but please read the whole thing.

Before I start, here is the tweetable phrase for you.  I know that’s what you’re looking for, so I won’t make you read an entire post to get to it.  here you go:

The quickest way to achieve your personal ministry dream, is to let it die.

If you’re a worship leader, and you’re decent, then you’re having lots of people tell you how awesome you are every sunday.  They say, “Wow, man!  You do that song way better than Chris Tomlin.”  And you actually start to believe it.  You’re an expert at worship.  You read the blogs.  You know the latest about all things worship.  You know who just released the new hotness that everyone will be singing next.  Or, if you’re really awesome, you don’t even listen to worship music because of its clear lack of artistic merit. You work at a church in a suburb, but you dress like you live in the East Village.  You’re a hipster for Jesus.  You used to shop at urban outfitters.  You wore Toms before everyone wore Toms. You wear fashion frames (glasses used for non corrective purposes).  You have so many Apple products that you may as well have a little white sticker on your mailbox.  You go to Catalyst East.  You go to Catalyst West.  You drop names.  You have deep and passionate opinions.

And you think your church is a tiny thing; A small stepping stone on your way to Nashville.  To you, it’s, “just a church.”  So, you network at conferences in the name of Wisdom, but you’re really just leveraging others to build your own platform.

Trust me. If you keep living like that, you’re not going to get what you think you want.

Listen, I’m not a hater or a cynic.  I am describing myself.  I am that worship leader with the serious hipster ego issue.

I’m a so-called expert too, full of my own importance, trying to look cool, thinking for years that my church platform was just a rung on a ministry ladder I was destined to climb.

I even hate the lack of artistry in worship music until I try to write worship music and realize how hard it is.  Evidently God will not be mocked. Evidently he won’t share glory with anyone. (Isaiah 48:11)

Over the last 12 years at NewSpring church, I’ve wanted to quit so many times because I had this dream of writing songs and touring and playing at conferences and arenas blah blah blah.  I mean, who doesn’t want to rock a sold out arena?  So I bucked at authority when my leaderships’ directives didn’t seem right or cool to me.

About 4 or 5 years into it, my pride and ego were painfully revealed to me when Perry asked me to perform a country song for a Sunday near Independence Day… I thought to myself, “if I play that song, people will think I picked it, and people will think I have bad taste in music.”  (Notice how many times I used the phrase, “people will think.”  #fearofman)

Well, everyone loved it.  And they actually told me things like, “that song really moved me.” etc etc.

What a fool I was.  And then, by Gods grace, the Spirit instructed me and helped me understand that pride and envy were greater enemies than obscurity or a lack of artistic coolness.  Fighting my flesh was a better battle than fighting to be heard or known.  I didn’t need to be famous.  I needed to be humble.  I didn’t need to play a cooler song.  I needed to submit joyfully to my leaders. My job as worship leader was to listen to Jesus and serve my people through music, but sadly, Perry was doing a far better job than I was.  Boom. I suck. Time to wake up, Lee.

One day, about 7 years into serving at NewSpring, I heard a mentor of mine (@carlcartee) say a phrase that changed me forever. He said, “Into greater fame, or complete obscurity, Jesus will be my greatest treasure.”  Then and there, I realized that I would live a happier, more abundant life if I gave up on my dreams and spent all my life, effort and energy pursuing God’s dream of a beautiful and thriving church.  I would find my greatest peace and happiness God’s way or not at all.

I was finally free.  Free to push my talented friends (whom I envied) forward. Free to not be in the spotlight.  Free to share or even give up my platform.  Free to not be known.  Free to be fully known by God.  Evidently, He only knows the proud from afar. (Psalm 138:6)

Some of you guys need to walk into your pastor’s office today and repent for being double minded.  Your pastor needs you to be his biggest fan.  He has got to be Moses, hearing from God and delivering the Word to your people.  And if you as Aaron are trying to build your own kingdom instead of holding his arms up, you both lose!  Unity in the church is vital… And the potential for a church split is greatest between you and the lead pastor.  You’re the second most visible person in the church.  We worship leaders should fear dissecting the Bride of Christ over our own artistic ambitions.

Bottom line: the way up in the kingdom is down.  (Mark 9:35)

The whole idea of worship leading is to draw attention to Someone else, anyway.  Why strive for fame?  If God loves you and your people, you won’t get fame by striving for it.  Who cares about my name?? Only one Name matters in this whole thing.

The quickest way to achieve your personal ministry dream, is to let it die.

Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” – John 12:24

A couple of years ago, at NewSpring’s 10 year anniversary service, I got the opportunity to lead worship for a capacity crowd at the BiLo Center arena in Greenville, with my best friends, making great sound, with my church, for the glory of God.  The dream I had given up on was finally given to me in greater measure than I ever imagined.  (FYI, cranking up your Les Paul in an arena during soundcheck is every bit as awesome as you think it is.)

God had given me my dream.  And suddenly filled with overwhelming gratitude, I realized a new dream… To serve God’s church at NewSpring for the entirety of my life, in whatever capacity my leaders dictate.  To be a doorkeeper in the house of God (Psalm 84).  Music is no longer the dream.  God is the dream.  His bride, radiant and growing is the dream.

We serve a God who brings dead things to life.  And not only does He bring them back to life, but infinitely better than before.  Remember Jesus’ words.  Let your dream die.  Give it to the God who raises the dead, and let him return it to you 100 fold.

(This post was written by Lee McDerment, our Worship Director here at NewSpring Church.  You can follow him on twitter right here! )

Before we get into the highlights of an AMAZING week at NewSpring, let me first ask you to continue to pray for Perry, Lucretia and Charisse.   They are having a blast so far and are really expecting the Lord to bless them during their time away.  As a church, we need to be so thankful that we have been given a Pastor like Perry who is committed to loving Jesus, his family and our church in ways that will equip us to reach 100,000!

With that said, let’s jump into what is going on at NewSpring Church…

#1 - This past Sunday’s message from Dan Lian was incredible! We saw 117 people at all of our campuses surrender their lives to Christ which never gets old!

At the 9:15 and 11:15 services he preached on how we practically live a life that moves from where we are to where Jesus wants us to be. Dan told us that we do this by forgetting what was behind, straining ahead and pressing on. It was one of the best messages I have ever heard preached on Philippians 3:12-14. If you missed it, please check it out on our Weird series page.

At the 6pm service Dan felt led to share a different message.  Wow! He preached on the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.  He challenged us to “live life, love your world and serve the purposes of God in a way that causes God to say to us, ‘well done’”.  I was so challenged by this message as well.  If you missed this one, we will also be posting this message later this week on our series page.

#2 - Last week our student ministry had their annual Fuse Summer Kickoff and Jesus showed up in a big way.

- 3,903 students heard the Gospel preached.

- 668 volunteers embraced the fact that Saved People Serve People.

- 901 first timers came because their friends believe that Found People Find People

- 283 teenagers across the state of South Carolina surrendered their lives to Christ!!!!

Our student ministry is growing like never before and will not be slowing down over the summer. Next week kicks off a new series, Summer of Love, and the Gauntlet is just around the corner.

#3 – If you are a student who just completed 6th-12th grade then don’t miss out on this trip! It will be hands down the greatest week of you life. The cost is $375 and you can sign up here.

For all of us non teenagers, you still can witness first hand what God will do in Daytona by serving as a leader. For more information on how to volunteer at the Gauntlet check out this site.

#4 – Last week Perry went through a 5 day devotional covering NewSpring’s core values on this blog. If you missed reading any of those the links are below.

Day 1 - Found People Find People

Day 2 - Saved People Serve People

Day 3 - I Cannot Outgive God

Day 4 - Growing People Change

Day 5 - I Can’t Do Life Alone

#5 – Don’t forget that you can still sign up for the 90 day challenge or commit to help NewSpring Church take the land. Remember, if you are not tithing we are asking you to take the 90 day challenge first.  But, for those who are faithfully giving we are asking you to partner with us by making a sacrificial contribution to this initiative BEFORE July 1st.  There will be other steps along the way…but…this FIRST ONE is SO IMPORTANT!  We are asking everyone to NOT GIVE COMFORTABLY, but sacrificially!!

#6 – This coming Sunday Brad Cooper will be preaching our 3rd week of the Weird Series. You DO NOT want to miss it.

#2 – That saved people really will serve people…and that we would embrace how God has gifted us and then use the gift He has given us for HIS glory!  (With this in mind read Matthew 25:14-30 and ask how did the Master treat the people who used what he blessed them with?  And what was his response to the guy who had buried it?  AND…which person are you in that story?)  (AND…once again HERE IS THE WEBSITE where you can take a spiritual gifts/personality profile that will take about an hour but will offer you insight into how God has wired you for life and ministry.  The cost of the test is normally $10…but if you will enter the code “serve” in at checkout it will only cost you $5.)

#3 – That we would really believe at the core of our being that we cannot out give God.  (Read Psalm 24:1, who does EVERYTHING belong to?  Read Deuteronomy 8:10-20 and consider…

• What warning is issued in Deuteronomy 8:10-11?
• What can happen when we fall in love with what God has blessed us with rather than God (Deuteronomy 8:12-14)?
• WHO is the source of all we’ve been blessed with (Deuteronomy 8:15-18)?
• What is the warning to us if we forget about God (which include forgetting Him in our finances)?  See Deuteronomy 8:19-20
• Here is our giving page at NewSpring that has our 90 tithe challenge on it as well as a place where you can sign up for financial coaching.

#4 – That we really would embrace the fact that growing people change.  (With that in mind we would, once again, read and PRAY Psalm 139:23-24, asking the Lord to reveal our next step to us.  Also read Ezekiel 14:1-6 and notice that God clearly says when people come to Him seeking answers and direction that the FIRST thing He is going to specifically deal with is the idolatry in their hearts!  So…is there anything you are holding onto that He is telling you to let go of?)

#5 – That we would all embrace the fact that we cannot do life alone.  (With that in mind read Daniel 3, specifically Daniel 3:16-18 and count the number of times “we” is used in this particular text.  Notice that the three guys made the decision to stand together…and they stuck to it!  When we have people in our lives that love Jesus and love us…we can literally walk through any fire that the world sends our way!)

What a GREAT week…before you leave though spend some time praying for tomorrow’s service at whatever campus you attend as well as the rest of the summer…asking God to do things in our church that only HE can get the glory for (see Habakkuk 1:5!)

#1 – Read Hebrews 10:19-25 and answer the following…

• Count the number of times the words “us” and “we” are used…with this in mind do you think God intended Christianity to be a solo or a team sport?
• According to Hebrews 10:25…does God want His people meeting together on a consistant basis?

#2 – Some would argue that church is just not that big of a deal, with that in mind let’s work through the following verses…

• Read Matthew 16:18…who did Jesus say the church belonged to?  (Follow up…if something belongs to Him is it important?)
• Read Ephesians 1:22–who is the Head of the Church?  (Follow up…would Jesus really sit at the head of something that is unimportant?)
• Read Ephesians 3:10–does Jesus want the church to “contain” or “proclaim” His message?
• Read Ephesians 3:20-21–does Jesus have small or great plans for His church?
• Read Colossians 1:18–once again, who is the Head of the church?
• Read Revelation 22:16-21–what is the ONE ORGANIZATION that is still standing when everything else on earth has been destroyed (hint…the answer is in verse 16!)

#3 – In regards to taking this to a personal level…not only do we need church but we need godly men and women in our lives, Christian community, to take a deeper look at this look at the following verses…

• Read John 13:34-35–how did Jesus say that His followers would be identified?
• Read Romans 12:10–are we supposed to turn our backs on each other?  (Remember, this was written to people IN THE CHURCH!)
• Read Ephesians 4:2–how are we supposed to treat one another?  (Once again, this was written to people IN THE CHURCH!)
• Read Colossians 3:13–how are we supposed to treat others who have sinned against us?
• Read I Thessalonians 5:11–who comes to mind when you read this verse…and what can you do today to follow through on what this verse commands?
• Read James 5:16–is there anyone in your life that you feel you could do this with?

#4 – Read Matthew 26:36-39 and answer the following…

• Did Jesus try to do life alone…or was He honest & vulnerable with those closest to Him?
• As His followers are we called to do the same?

#5 – Here is a link to our next steps page if you need to attend an ownership class at NewSpring Church!  (At NewSpring we do not have “members” but rather we have “owners!”  Because…members have “rights” but owners have “responsibilities!”)

WOW!  We made it through all of our core values here at NewSpring Church…I’m PUMPED!  See you tomorrow for one more day in this devotional journey!!  Don’t forget!

#1 – Let’s think about the Apostle Paul for a second, the man who wrote most of the New Testament and is, other than JESUS, probably the most influential man when it comes to Christianity that has ever lived.  With that in mind read Philippians 3:1-14 and answer the following…

• Was there a time in Paul’s life that he was more focused on what he was doing rather than who he was becoming (Philippians 3:1-6)?
• Was Paul more dependent upon his works or Christ’s righteousness (Philippians 3:7-9)?
• Was Paul content with where he was in his spiritual journey, did he think he had arrived and didn’t need to work on anything else (Philippians 3:10-14)?

#2 – David was considered to be a “man after God’s own heart,” with that in mind read Psalm 139:23-24 and begin to pray that very same prayer…WARNING, this can result in DRAMATIC LIFE CHANGE!!!

#3 – Read Colossians 3:1-2 & Hebrews 12:1-2 and with these Scriptures in mind ask yourself if you are making a practice of these patterns.

#4 – Read James 1:22 – do you do what this verse says?

#5 – Read Matthew 7:24-27 and ask yourself which person are you in the story.

#6 – Read I John 1:9 and James 5:16…with these Scriptures in mind is there anything (sin) you are holding onto that God is saying to let go of?  (Remember, God will not trust us with what is NEXT if we will not obey what He is telling us NOW!)

#7 – Read Mark 10:17-22, paying special attention to verse 21…with this in mind what do you think Jesus would tell you is the “one thing” you need to let go of?  (Why not do what James 1:22 says?)

AND…FYI…remember that Christianity is meeting Christ and then following Him one step at a time.  Here is our “Next Steps” page on our website at NewSpring Church with quite a few options that may point you in the right direction…I would encourage you to check it out.

THANKS to everyone who has taken the time to take this journey so far this week…we will have one more devotional tomorrow on our fifth core value here at NewSpring. Come back and join us!

#1 – Read II Corinthians 9:6-15 and work through the following questions…

• Is it possible to outgive God (II Corinthians 9:6-8)?
• Does God take care of those who are generous (II Corinthians 9:10)?
• Why does God make people generous (II Corinthians 9:11)?
• What does Paul tell us in II Corinthians 9:12-14 will be the result of our generosity?
• Seriously, is it possible to outgive God (II Corinthians 9:15)?

#2 – Read Malachi 3:6-12 and work through the following…

• Do you think that God has changed His mind about tithing (Malachi 3:6)?
• Is refusing to tithe a big deal to the Lord (Malachi 3:7-9)?
• What does God promise to do if we will simply trust Him with this area of our lives (Malachi 3:10-12)?

#3 – Some other things to consider in regards to this…

• Read I Timothy 6:6-10 about the warnings of people who fall in love with money.
• Read Ecclesiastes 5:10 about the warnings of being in love with money.
• Read Luke 6:38…what does JESUS promise for those who will give?
• Read Proverbs 3:9-10, once again, is it possible to outgive God?
• Read Matthew 6:19-24, is it possible to follow God & love money?
• Read John 3:16 and ask was Jesus a taker or a giver?  If we are becoming more like Him are we becoming more generous or more greedy?

#4 – Read Colossians 1:17 and consider that “IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER,” so, if you are falling apart financially it is most likely because your finances are not “in Him!”  With this in mind…

• Put God first in this area of your life (Matthew 6:33) realizing that Jesus wants to bless you (Acts 20:35) and not take something from you!
• Here at NewSpring Church we believe that God’s Word is true and that you really cannot out give God, so much so that we are challenging everyone to take the 90 Day tithe challenge…take God at His Word and tithe for 90 days, and if He does not do what His Word says He will do we will refund your money at the end of the 90 day period!  Go to our giving page to take our 90 day tithe challenge (right here)!  
• Go here to find out more information about receiving FREE financial coaching!  (We believe that financial coaching IS discipleship as there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible on money & possessions, more than faith and prayer combined.  AND…when we do what God’s Word says we win, period!  We seriously want to serve you in this area…and if you are feeling overwhelmed & defeated when it comes to money then I promise you that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIVE THAT WAY ANYMORE, click the link and we will do our best to show you what God’s Word says about money.)

AND…don’t forget to be back at this site on Saturday for a BONUS devotional!

#1 – Sunday was special…it will be one of “those days” that I never forget!  I really do love my church…and the video at the end of the service where we got to see names associated with the numbers we hear about so often moved me to tears each time I saw it.  Seriously, it was a great reminder that every number has a name, every name has a story and every story matters to God!

#2 – I announced my sabbatical on Sunday (there will be a video of it on this site later this week.)  Don’t worry…I’m not working today, I “time stamped” this post yesterday!  I won’t give an explanation here, the video will accomplish that.  I will just say that our church is in GREAT hands.  First of all…it belongs to Jesus and He loves His church more than any of us do!  Second of all, the leadership team that is in place here as well as our campus pastors are amazing…and they are MORE than capable of making awesome and incredible decisions without me!  :-)  I am officially out of the office until Monday, July 9 and will not be speaking live again in our church until Sunday, July 29.  (My first time speaking will actually be the first night of the GAUNTLET…I’m PUMPED!)  And…do not worry, the messages this summer are going to be AMAZING…Clayton King, Dan Lian, Brad Cooper will all be “bringing the heat,” as well as a surprise guest and a couple of pre-recorded messages that I did last week.  It’s true…I won’t be here…BUT THE PRESENCE OF GOD WILL BE…and HE is the DIFFERENCE MAKER!!!  So…bring your friends, I can promise you it will be awesome.

#3 – Our online Bible study/devotional has been a blast so far.  If you haven’t joined us yet then simply scroll down on this website and you will see yesterday’s post “Found People Find People” as well as today’s, “Saved People Serve People.”  I would encourage you to jump in with us!

#4 – AND…last but not least, on Sunday I issued a 90 day tithe challenge (you can go here for more info!)  Basically we said as a church that we believe you cannot out give God…and we believe it so much that we are challenging everyone to tithe for 90 days…and at the end of that 90 days if you do not feel that God has blessed/taken care of you then all you need to do is call the church office and we will refund your money–period!

BUT…for those who are tithing we are asking them to take their next step (see II Corinthians 8:7) and give to our “Take The Land” initiative.  (Here is the website where you can find out how you can give an offering to this.)  Now, if you are not tithing we are asking you to take the 90 day challenge first.  But, for those who are faithfully giving we are asking you to partner with us by making a sacrificial contribution to this initiative BEFORE July 1st.  There will be other steps along the way…but…this FIRST ONE is SO IMPORTANT!  We are asking everyone to NOT GIVE COMFORTABLY, but sacrificially!!

What does the “Take The Land” Initiative include?  It will go towards…

• Helping us begin a Clemson campus that will launch at the beginning of next year.  It will take 2-3 million dollars to up-fit a facility with assembly and kids space that will allow us to reach over 3k people per weekend.
• Helping us up-fit the Greenwood campus, which is slated to officially launch towards the end of this year.  We have purchased the old Wal Mart building and are aggressively working to get that facility ready…it’s going to be awesome!
• Helping us relocate our existing Columbia campus to a facility (that we are under contract with) that will allow them to DOUBLE their current seating capacity!
• Helping us launch a second Columbia campus within the next 18-24 months.
• Helping us find a permanent facility for our Spartanburg campus as they have already outgrown the facility we launched them in just a few months ago!
• Helping us locate land and/or up-fit a facility for our Florence campus.
• Helping us locate land and/or up-fit a facility for our Charleston campus.  (AND…getting our FUSE student ministry and place to meet RIGHT NOW as they are literally out of room where they are currently meeting!)
• Helping us locate land and/or up-fit TWO facilities for our Greenville campus as we are seeking to launch two campuses within the next 24-36 months out of the current place we are meeting.
• Helping us renovate our existing children’s building in Anderson as it is near capacity at 9:15 and 11:15 every Sunday!  Currently the building is children’s space on the bottom floor and office space on the 2nd floor, the plan is to relocate the offices and use the entire building for children’s space.
• Helping us locate land and/or up-fit a facility for our Myrtle Beach campus.

Whew!  That’s about it (for now!)  The total investment in all of these projects over the next three years is going to be around 80 million dollars, and we are praying & believing that this is going to happen!  I’m pumped because this is going to definitely put us in position to reach 100,000 people for Christ!!!

The first step in this is for everyone in our church to participate in this initiative by giving a sacrificial gift before July 1.  Sacrifice is different for all of us…all we are asking is that you pray and ask the Lord what He would have you give…and then do what He says (keeping in mind that you cannot out give God!)

That’s is for today…I LOVE MY CHURCH…and the BEST IS YET TO COME!

That announcement was that I will be taking a sabbatical this summer. The decision was not easy to make but it was something God has been pressing into me for the last couple of years. You can watch my entire explanation and get all of the details in the video below.

I’m SO EXCITED to spend time with my family and I am already PUMPED up about being back at NewSpring ready to reach 100,000 people in the state of South Carolina with the Gospel. I will be back in the office around the middle of July and preaching live again at NewSpring on July 29th. However, what I am REALLY excited about is that my first time preaching will be Monday night at the Gauntlet!!

It is going to be AWESOME! I LOVE my church.

#1 – Spend some time reading through I Corinthians 12 and work through the following questions…

• Are spiritual gifts something we should be confused about (I Corinthians 12:1?)
• Is everyone gifted equally (I Corinthians 12:5-6?)
• Does everyone have at least one spiritual gift (I Corinthians 12:7, also see I Peter 4:10)?
• Who determines what spiritual gift we receive (I Corinthians 12:11 and I Corinthians 12:18)?
• WHY are we given a spiritual gift?  (SEE I Peter 4:10!!!)
• Is every gift important (I Corinthians 12:14-26)?
• Is every person called to be a part of the body of Christ (by serving with their gift) – I Corinthians 12:27?

#2 – Read Matthew 8:14-15 and notice the first thing that Peter’s mother in law did as soon as Jesus healed her (saved people serve people!)

#3 – Read Matthew 20:20-28 and answer the following…

• Is it easy to get more obsessed with our place in line rather than our position as a servant (Matthew 20:20-24)?
• What did JESUS say we needed to do if we want to become GREAT (Matthew 20:26-27)?
• If we are truly becoming more and more like Jesus…then what is our calling (Matthew 20:28?)

#4 – Other things to consider…

• Read Ephesians 4:11-16 and focus on the fact that a church is not effective when the pastor ministers to the people but rather when the body ministers to the body!
• Also look at Ephesians 4:13 and see who the Bible says benefits (matures) as we involve ourselves in ministry.
• Read John 13:1-17 and ask as followers of Jesus are we to be more focused on being served or serving?

#5 – Spend some time in prayer either asking God to reveal to you what your spiritual gift is, understanding that THE BEST WAY to actually discover your spiritual gift is to ask yourself…

• What do I do well?
• What do I enjoy?
• Where can I get involved RIGHT NOW?