It seems our church has regained some momentum and I am encouraged that our sails are filled with the winds of heaven once again. Momentum is a powerful idea that is defined as “an impelling force or strength” and is absolutely necessary for any of us to move forward or to feel like we are making progress. Early sailors prayed for favorable winds to fill their sails for their journey across the oceans and seas and we have prayed the same prayers as a church.

The past two weekends, over 35,000 people witnessed the Thorn and Crown, epic productions focusing on the arrest, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Over 1000 volunteers from our church spent over two months practicing and praying for the eight performances. As a result, hundreds made decisions to follow Jesus and thousands of believers rediscovered a new passion for the message of the cross.

Sunday, I sensed a renewed energy in the people of New Life and new sense of forward momentum. I think this happened because so many people committed themselves to something that required strength from heaven and the use of their unique spiritual gifts. When we surrender ourselves to the call and purposes of God, heaven responds with power and strength that literally propels us forward, like a ship charging across the waves.

Our church has had its share of challenges and many more opportunities for shipwrecks. We are thankful and grateful that God has steered us away from the rocks time after time and has pointed us to the deep waters where we can sail fast and free to new lands. Momentum is good and I am thankful for the new day that is dawning at New Life Church.

^“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6-6-7 NIV

The car rides to school with Abram and Callie usually involve normal kid chatter and some silly songs on the radio from XM Kids. Today was different. I took the opportunity of our 15-minute car ride to talk to them about Holy Week, the most sacred time of remembrance and celebration for followers of Christ. Once again, I told them the story of Jesus’ arrest, his death and his resurrection and why Easter is more than chocolate eggs, pretty dresses and bigger than normal crowds at church.

I wonder sometimes how much of our belief system is rooted in sound theology and how much is based on experiences that produce good feelings. Please don’t misunderstand, I am in favor of good experiences and I even prefer them over bad ones. I just want my two children to have some understanding of basic theology so they can defend what they believe and not rely solely on how they feel at the moment.

Recent studies from numerous sources all prove that most children and students today are ignorant of basic theology. Most have a difficult time explaining why they believe Jesus was the son of God, why the death of Jesus paid for our sins, why the resurrection is factual and why Jesus is the only way to heaven. It is not surprising then, to hear that over 80-percent of high school students leave the local church once they leave their parent’s homes.

The reason they are confused is because parents are confused. We have become consumer Christians who view the church as a place that meets all our spiritual needs. We assume that children’s pastors and youth pastors are teaching our children all they need to know, when that is simply not the case. Parents play the biggest role in influencing their children to follow Christ and I believe we have missed the mark many times.

So, I think I will talk more about these ideas on future car rides to school and at night when we are getting ready for sleep.  Obviously, Abram and Callie will have to decide for themselves if they believe these things to be true or not. My challenge is to be passionate about the truth of Scripture and to talk about such things at every opportunity. I believe we can do this while singing lots of silly songs out loud together and enjoying every moment of the innocent years of childhood.

I am no politician but I love politics and, like many, I am concerned about the enormous national debt and the wasteful spending from those elected to serve our country. Recently, I challenged our church to take a 90-day challenge which would require us to do four things.

1. Be thankful at all times
2. Live below our means
3. Give generously
4. Look for opportunities to serve

I wonder what our country would look like if our government leaders followed the same principles. I offer my predictions below.

1. Be thankful at all times
Instead of fearful predictions of gloom and depression, our government leaders should tell us the realities of our challenges, but also remind us of our enormous blessings. We have a highly trained work force and we have incredible creativity and imagination. The computer, the airplane, and automobile are all products of American ingenuity and with the encouragement of our leaders the next generation can create the new marvels of the world. God has blessed our country and we should stop often and give Him thanks and remember that He was our source yesterday and He is our source today and tomorrow.

2. Live below our means
I am convinced the reason so many Americans live with out of control debt is because our government leaders set the tone. Debt is a silent killer. It traps its victims and strangles them with burdens that are too heavy to bear. I know this sounds simplistic, but why can’t we determine the amount of revenue that will be collected and set our budgets to a lesser amount. We must tell our elected leaders that we do not expect them to solve our problems, but we do demand good stewardship and reasonable taxes.

3. Give generously
America has always been one of the most generous nations on earth and that is one of the reasons God has blessed us with abundance. The people of our country want to give to others and they want to bless those in need. We need to champion this idea and allow for generosity. We should reward those who give with even more tax credits and give the individual the freedom to decide where they wish to contribute.

4. Look for opportunities to serve
Every recession reveals the character of our nation. I still believe most people want to serve their fellow man and most of us would sacrifice to see others blessed. This season could fuel a new revolution of service and inspire the millennial generation to give their lives away for something bigger than themselves. I challenge our government leaders to stop living for the next election and to lead the way by doing the right thing for the right reason even if it means losing an election. Jesus was a servant who was a leader, not a leader who served. We must be servants at our very core and see leadership as something we do only when absolutely necessary.

The sound system crashed Sunday morning at New Life during the 9am service and it did not bother God at all. How do I know? His presence was strong as ever, people worshipped, prayed and the Scriptures were taught.  Of course, I like it when the sound system works, but I was reminded that God is not limited by technology and that most churches around the world operate just fine without any at all.

The sound system is fine now, but the Sunday morning snafu made me wonder how many people can tell the difference between hype and God’s presence, something us Charismatics call “anointing.” We live in a wired society and we are bombarded with a symphony of sounds, instant messages, Facebook wall posts, Twitter tweets and podcasts. 

What happens when the wired world malfunctions?  Can we still hear the “still small voice of God” when all is quiet, when the band stops playing, when the lights are not flashing and no one is in front of us leading the way? Do we need hype to worship or is worship all the hype we need?

Later, a BBC film crew asked me what makes church work around the world.  I told them church was not about huge buildings or spiritual rock stars, but church works when all the simple ingredients are mixed together. There must be people who love one another. There must be prayer and focused worship of the living God. The Scriptures need to be taught and the Lord’s death and resurrection remembered with communion. People should get baptized at some point after their salvation and those with needs should have them met from the resources of those who have plenty at the moment.

I like our big building and great sound system, and I even like all the flashing lights and giant screens. I like the café, the bookstore, the Tent, the World Prayer Center, the Theatre, the Tag chapel and even the scary angel in the rotunda. But what I love most is the timeless truth of Scripture, God’s presence, the great people and the revelation that grace is all we need.

As the pastor of New Life, I hope we never substitute hype for worship or allow technology to determine our passion for His presence because the church works just fine whether the sound system does or not.

I am convinced that most people can live free lives once they discover their real spiritual identity.  Identity is everything. If we believe wrong information about our identity, it affects the way we think, feel and behave. If we know the truth about our identity, bondages are broken and freedom is found.

I believe there are three primary groups of people in most local churches – orphans, slaves and sons.

Orphans are never sure about their place in the family and never believe they really belong among God’s chosen people. The idea of a heavenly father that is good is difficult for an orphan to grasp. Most spiritual orphans have had a lousy experience with their earthly father or other male authority figures. They were never fathered, so they never learned how to be a son. They often wander through life with no sense of purpose and find it difficult to commit long-term to a career, a marriage or a ministry assignment. Orphans are cynical and skeptical of real relationships and often end up hurting others before they can be hurt by others.

Slaves know they have an assignment, but are convinced the only way to please the father is to perform and work harder than others. Their place in the family is dependent on how well they do something. They do not believe their place is secure and believe at any moment they could be replaced or demoted.  Slaves want the constant attention of the father and are jealous when the spotlight is on someone else.

Sons are free to love the father and enjoy the land the father owns. Sons know they have chores and assignments, but know that the father is more pleased with whom they are becoming rather than what they are doing. Sons are free to make mistakes and are sure to receive discipline from the father, but the discipline is only to help them and not intended to harm them. Sons make good fathers, good husbands and healthy leaders. Sons get to spend a lot of time with the father and are never threatened that dad will leave or reject them.

I know I am a son. This truth is what set me free to live years ago.  I pray everyone will discover their true identity and begin to live free.

There is only one time I can worship God and that is right now. I worshipped God yesterday and I plan to worship Him tomorrow, but right now is the only time I can actually bow low before my Maker and declare my love for Him.  Our enemy knows this and that is why he wants to distract us from the “right now” moment and make us focus on other things. If he can keep us from worshipping God right now, he can rob us of the victory we need right now.

He uses fear and shame to keep us away from God. Shame is the focus on the failures of yesterday and fear is the worry about tomorrow. If our enemy can keep us focused on yesterday and tomorrow, we will not worship the one true God right now. People who are ashamed will shrink from the idea of worship and people who are fearful might go through the religious motions of worship but their minds are distracted by the worries of tomorrow.

Worship is not for perfect people. Jesus never told us to get our act together before we approached Him in worship. He told us to come to Him when we are tired and weary and He would give us rest. He told us to come to Him when we are needy, dirty and desperate. He told us to believe in what He had done for us at the cross and not focus on what we had done for Him or what we failed to do for Him.

So right now is the time to worship Him. Shame and fear will not keep me from His presence another second. He is waiting and wanting me to approach Him because in His presence is the joy I so desperately need.

Sunday night we met as a New Life family for an update on the ministries of the church. I took questions from those who attended and promised everyone that I would answer additional questions today on my blog. I answered a number of important questions Sunday night before we ran out of time. These are actual questions that were submitted via text that I did not have time to answer.

1.      Who are the church’s current overseers and how often do you meet?

Our current overseers are Pastor Robert Morris and Pastor Tom Lane from Gateway Church in Southlake, TX; Dr. Jack Hayford from Church on the Way in Van Nuys, CA;  Pastor Larry Stockstill from Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, LA; and Pastor Jimmy Evans from Marriage Today Ministries. All of these men are trusted local church leaders and have a close relationship to me and my family. We do not formally meet as a group, but I am in constant contact with them by phone, text and email. I see each of them personally several times a year and value their counsel and friendship more than they can imagine. They love New Life and they often come to the church to speak and minister.

2.      What is the latest with the “Wait No More” initiative?

I can’t believe I forgot give the update on this ministry last night. “Wait No More” was launched in November of 2008 in partnership with Focus on the Family and local churches across our state with the goal of finding homes for every child in the Colorado foster system. A few weeks ago over 130 people came to our church for an official orientation so they could get started in the process. There is a great deal of paper work, interviews and background checks that must happen before the state will let a child go to a new home. We are believing for 100 of these children to become a part of New Life families. To date, we have three that have officially been adopted, but again, we are very early in the process and I believe we will exceed our goal.

3.      Has New Life gone from being a small group church to a program church?

No we have not. Small groups will always be the core ministry of our church. I believe in authentic community, but also believe small groups cannot meet every need in a church body. We cannot place the entire burden of discipleship on small group leaders because that leads to burnout and fatigue. We believe programs like New Life U can take some of this burden off leaders and will actually produce more mature leaders for small groups. I have witnessed the powerful effect of community in my own life and will always champion the idea of small groups at New Life.

4.      Will we ever give more than 10 percent to outreach and missions?

I sure hope so. Right now we are facing over $24 million in debt and a challenging economy, but I really believe we will be able to give more and more in the years to come. 

              5. What is your middle name? J

My middle name is Brady, but my first name is Leland, which is my late dad’s name.

In the past month, two trusted pastors from around the country have spoken encouraging words to our church. Both men used rain as the metaphor to describe God’s blessing and both men said the rain is coming soon. New Life could sure use some rain and I am thankful for the forecast. The past month has been especially difficult for many of us as the painful issues of our past have been opened again. Today, though, I feel a burden has been lifted.

One of the pastors described a scene from the movie, “The Shawshank Redemption.” It is one of my favorite movies, too. Andy is one of the main characters and was an inmate at the state prison in Maine. He was there for a crime he did not commit and for many years he slowly chipped his way through his cell wall using a small rock hammer. One night during a thunderstorm, he slipped through the hole in the wall, and crawled several hundred yards through a sewage pipe which led to a creek outside the prison walls. When he finally reached freedom, he tore off his old clothes and stood with his face and hands lifted in the pouring rain. Andy was free and he was letting the rain wash away the stench of his journey.

New Life can relate to Andy standing in the rain. Our church family is finally crawling out of the long sewage pipe of scandal and terror and can smell the fresh rain ahead. The journey has been long and difficult and I am sure no one wants to repeat the trip, but what we have learned about God, each other, and ourselves is priceless.

God is not finished with New Life. In fact, I am convinced our best days are still ahead and God will receive all the glory. So, let it rain! Lord, open the floodgates of heaven, and let it rain!

This week marks the halfway point of the 90-day challenge we started on January 1st. The challenge includes four ideas.

* Be thankful at all  times

* Live below our means

* Set aside our first and best and give it away

* Look for opportunities to serve others

I realize that recent events have distracted us from this challenge, but I am still convinced these principles are life changing when put into practice. I have already heard great stories of families who have allowed “Mr. Budget” to live with them and how it has changed the way they plan and spend. Other couples tell me they are arguing less about finances, even in the midst of economic difficulty and uncertainty.

I also have heard stories of people giving the first and best to God for the first time. They tell me it has stretched their faith and allowed them to trust God more completely than ever before.  Without faith it is impossible to please God and the most difficult area to trust Him, many times, is with our finances. However, it is really fun to give to those in need and to give sacrificially toward vision and strategy.

I hope we can all re-focus our attention on these four principles and for the next 45 days allow God to change our perspective, discipline our spending, increase our generosity and turn our hearts toward our neighbors.

Send me your stories and thanks for accepting the challenge!

I enjoy the rhythms of a well-planned week and feel satisfied when a lot gets accomplished without a lot of wasted time. This does not happen every week, but after 18 months at New Life, I am finally following a fairly balanced schedule that allows plenty of time for my family, my work as a pastor, and for myself. Here is a snapshot of a normal week for me.

Monday – A few weeks ago, I stopped going into the office on Mondays and decided to work from home. I realized that I did not need to make a lot of major ministry decisions or have a lot of meetings on Mondays because my emotional batteries were not fully re-charged from the weekend. I prepare breakfast for the kids, take them to school and return home to read and write my blog. I normally go to lunch with Pam on Monday.

Tuesday – This is the busiest and longest work day of the week for me. I  get to the office around 7:30 and study and pray for the weekend message until noon. I usually eat lunch with a member of the church or one of the staff and then meet at 2pm with the four members of my Executive Team. At 3pm, I meet with the remainder of the Executive Team for at least two hours. Once a month on Tuesday, I meet with the elders until around 6pm and then I try to attend Revival Town on the same night.

Wednesday – I spend the morning studying and praying for the weekend message. At 11am, I meet with a diverse group of staff people who help me prepare even more for the Sunday talk. I bring them a rough outline and they help me with stories, illustrations and biblical insights. This is one of my favorite meetings of the week. After lunch, the rest of the afternoon is committed to meeting with people. I agree to almost every meeting request which means there is a backlog of appointments of at least two months. This is my chance to meet the great people of New Life and hear their stories.

Thursday – I am up early to pray at 6:30am with several hundred men at the World Prayer Center. I love this time of prayer, worship, and reading the scriptures together. I am back in my office by 8:30am to finish the Sunday talk. I normally submit my final notes by noon on Thursday. I meet with the entire ministry staff every Thursday at 11am to worship together, pray together and discuss all kinds of ministry topics. After lunch, I meet with my assistant to plan our upcoming week and then block off the rest of the afternoon for more meetings with people from the community and the church.

Friday – This is my sabbath day. I prepare breakfast for the kids, take them to school and return home to work out. This is my day with Pam since the kids are in school.  Friday nights are also set aside for dinners with friends or people we are getting to know in the church.

Saturday – This is my day with the family. I try to sleep a little later, prepare a late breakfast, work out and do something fun with the entire family. I normally do not go anywhere on Saturday night because I want to be really rested for Sunday morning.

Sunday – I get up early and arrive at church before 7:30am. I spend an hour praying and reviewing my notes and then at 8:30am, I gather with some staff to pray again. I speak twice on Sundays for about 35 minutes. At the end of  the second service, I go to Guest Central and stay there until the last guest has been greeted. I normally get home around 1:30pm.