When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. Acts 8:6 NIV

Can we transform our cities simply by attracting a crowd of people to a building once a week to hear a well-prepared, inspiring talk from a professional minister?  Of course we can’t! But that seems to be the focus of most pastors, including myself. Notice the crowds in Samaria were listening to Philip give an inspiring talk, but they only paid close attention because of the miraculous signs that also happened at the gatherings.

I am convinced that we must pray for the miraculous if we want to see real transformation in our cities and in our country.  I really believe in teaching correct theology and explaining Scripture in creative and compelling ways. But our preaching is not enough. God’s power must be on display if we want to win over skeptics, atheists and agnostics.  I don’t mind intellectual debates, but it is much easier to tell someone about Jesus after they have been miraculously healed of some disease.

I know many people believe God’s power is not available to us today as it was in the day of Philip, but I do. The number of stories told by Jesus, Paul and Peter that involve the intervention of heaven into the affairs of men on the earth are too numerous to ignore.  The original recipe of church involved the spice of the miraculous and I am ready to add it back to the mixing bowl.

Let’s be sensible and let’s follow sound doctrine. Let’s commit to being “weird free” and not allow our behavior to distract people from their gaze on Jesus.  Let’s aggressively pray for people to be healed and set free from bondages. 

I believe America today is not much different than Samaria, Corinth or Ephesus.  They needed the Gospel and we need the Gospel. I am convinced that people will listen closely to us as they did Philip if we will speak the plain truth in compelling ways and allow the miraculous to happen among us. Let’s pray for people to both hear the Gospel and to see the Gospel.

Do you want to be famous? Do you have a secret desire for everyone to know your name or for people to admire you? It seems we have a cultural obsession with notoriety and attention. Right now in Colorado, a family is being accused of staging an elaborate hoax involving a homemade balloon and their young son for the sole purpose of attracting media attention. I am not the judge of this family’s motives. I will leave that to God, law enforcement officials and trained therapists. However, it has caused me to think about our need for attention.

I have had national media attention on several occasions in the past two years. I have appeared live on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, and I have been quoted by almost every major newspaper in the country, including the New York Times, the LA Times, and the Dallas Morning News. Believe me, notoriety is overrated.  It does nothing to feed your soul and does everything to feed your flesh.

Three years ago, before I became Senior Pastor of New Life Church, I told friends that my goal in life was to make Jesus famous and not myself. Of course, at that time, no one in the media knew my name and certainly no one cared about my opinion. It was easy to promise God that I would remain anonymous when anonymity was almost guaranteed.

The exposure to media attention has been both bothersome and flattering. Most of the interviews from media have been about topics that are sad or dark. But, make no mistake, any attention can be a slippery slope and better people than I have surrendered to the carnal desire to be noticed, even if the attention is negative. Thankfully, I have a wife and a close cadre of friends who hold me accountable and all of them have promised to break my kneecaps if I become too infatuated with myself.

The root causes of this need for attention are narcissism and egotism. Narcissism is the erotic gratification derived from the admiration of one’s own physical or mental attributes, while egotism is an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Either way, both egotism and narcissism are fueled by the attention of others and only humility and repentance can set us free from their grips.

Certainly, some of us will be known more than others. We cannot always avoid the spotlight or the recognition that comes from leading something that is successful. But there is a difference between the spotlights finding us than us seeking the spotlight.  Our motives are the real issue.

What would happen if every local church and its leaders were committed to making Jesus famous and not themselves? Could it be that Jesus is longing for a group of people who are committed to real humility, anonymity and servant hood? How cool would it be if we were really successful doing things for God and no one noticed?

Can we try something new at church if there is a risk it will fail? I believe church should be a place where we can experiment, take risks, start over and make changes. What would church be like if we held everything in open hands and were willing to try anything if it would possibly help us? What if there were no sacred cows? Can we experiment with new ideas in church or is this reserved only for the marketplace?

This fall at New Life, we planned, created and started three new things. Two of them have been great and are accomplishing exactly what we had hoped. One of them has not. It was an experiment that did not produce the desired results. Now what? Should we continue despite the bad results or should we tell the church the idea stinks and not do it anymore? Wouldn’t that damage our credibility as leaders to admit that an experiment failed or would it create an environment where everyone is given permission to take risks? I believe it will communicate to the church that we are a work in progress and we are willing to try anything even if it creates a mess that needs cleaning up later.

Here is what happened. We decided back in the summer to change our Sunday morning service times from 9am and 11am to 9:30am and 11:30am. There were lots of reasons we felt the need to change. The 11am was really full and we felt that by adding an extra half hour to both services, people would be more motivated to attend the early service and make room for new people in the later service. The new 9:30 service did increase dramatically, but 11:30 did not grow as we intended. People told us the later time meant their kids were eating lunch too late in the day and it was not good for families.

Lesson learned. Now what? We are going back to the old times – 9am and 11am on November 1^st. Our experiment failed, but we learned something valuable – the old times were just fine.  No one harmed. Jesus is not offended, and there was no heresy involved. All in all, it was a successful mess.

Can church be a place of experiments? Can church become a place where everyone can try new things and make messes? It is in these messy environments where some of the world’s greatest inventions and ideas have come to the surface. I fear most churches have such a low tolerance for experiments and messes that the result is a void of new ideas and innovations.

I want New Life to have an experimental environment. I am not advocating impulsive or irrational decision-making because I do believe prayer, wisdom and due diligence are the best ways to make decisions. But even the best laid plans of mice and men can go awry. Let the experiments begin so the best ideas can surface. So what if, from time to time, a mop is needed in Aisle 4?

Momentum is the strength or force gained by motion or through the development of events. That is the official definition. Every church either has forward momentum, or they are stagnant or worse yet, they are in decline. I call momentum “Big Mo”. When he is with you, it seems you can do anything, but without “Big Mo”, even the simplest obstacles appear like impassable mountains. Every leader wants “Big Mo” around because life is better with him than without him.

New Life lost “Big Mo” after two very dark days that happened 13 months apart in 2006 and 2007.  The results of those two cataclysmic events were devastating on many fronts. Trust was broken, our innocence was lost, and our world seemed to be crashing in around us. The Holy Spirit never left us and God’s love was very real to us, but “Big Mo” was nowhere to be found.

Then he suddenly reappeared at New Life in June of this year like a Christmas miracle. He came back and I was glad to see him because there were times when I was not sure I would ever see him again. I was beginning to believe he was like Big Foot, a fictional beast that others would sometimes claim to see but no one could ever capture.

Why did he come back to New Life? Am I genius leader? Did he come back out of sympathy? I am just now processing all that has happened, so I do not have all the answers. I know for sure that I am no genius, so I have marked that one off my list and I don’t think “Big Mo” is a sympathetic creature. He only hangs out with people who are ready to advance and take ground.

You see, “Big Mo” loves the windshield and not the rearview mirror. He hangs out with people who are looking ahead and not dwelling in the past. This summer, we did just that. We became convinced that God had not removed his lamp stand from New Life and we should get busy with our assignment. We began to dream about taking care of widows, orphans, and the poor. We began to dream about planting life giving churches around the world. We began to serve the needs of our city and we made a choice to pray with fervor and passion.

We are not moving real fast right now, but we are moving forward. The most important step in any journey is the very first one. We will pick up speed in the days ahead and our resources will match our growing vision. The poor will be helped, churches will be planted, and lives will be changed. The Holy Spirit is the one who decides where “Big Mo” spends his time and I am grateful God has sent him back to New Life.

Do you have “Big Mo” in your life right now? Are you moving forward with force or have you stalled? Are you in retreat? The first step is to deal with the past honestly and prayerfully so you can spend more time looking ahead through the windshield. The Holy Spirit will then send “Big Mo” back into your life and you will move forward with strength and force.

Being a parent is like jumping out of an airplane. You have only one chance to get it right.  By the time we figure it out, it’s all over. I want to be a great parent. I want to figure some stuff out before Abram and Callie leave the house. Believe me, I am no expert, but I have some insight that might be helpful if you are on the same journey as me.  Some of this I learned because I paid attention to what really great parents were doing with their children and some of this I learned from my own painful failures.

1.       Be there

The more time you spend with your kids, the less money you will have to spend on guilt offerings. You know what I mean. You work nonstop and then spend huge amounts of money on gifts or trips to make up for your absence. If you spend consistent time, your kids will not care as much about the trips or gifts. All they ever really wanted was lots of hang time anyway. I have a demanding job that requires a lot of hours and emotional energy, so I understand how tough this can be. Say no to more stuff, manage your time well during the day and get home as soon as possible.

2.       Be a filter

What they see and what they hear will go a long way in determining our children’s values and worldview. Pam and I have always been very conservative with the movies, cartoons, video games and music we allow in our home.  There are lots of great shows and movies for kids today, but there is also a lot of media that is crude, sexual, and violent. Just because the characters on the screen are animated does not mean it is suitable for kids to watch. Preview the movies, watch the shows first and then let your kids watch it. Also, only let your kids go to other homes and hang out with other kids that have the same values and make sure the grandparents enforce your media convictions.

3.       Be consistent

Say what you mean and mean what you say. The rules today will be the rules for tomorrow. Don’t make a lot of rules, but please enforce the few you have. Kids want boundaries, but get frustrated when the boundaries are not clear or when the boundaries constantly change. Become a predictable parent and you will most likely get predictable kids with fairly predictable behavior.

4.        Be rested

This is one of the biggest mistakes young parents make. They take their kids on all day shopping trips and then wonder why their kids are throwing fits in the mall at 8pm. They did not have a nap and they are exhausted. That is not their fault. They need a routine that includes lots of rest and some quiet time. We flood their senses with outside stimulation and then wonder why they are wired to the ceiling and acting like little monsters.  Plan your day around their rest schedule and make sure they are home at night and you will get better behavior.

5.       Be passionate

Kids who become passionate followers of Jesus either come from homes where Jesus was not mentioned or they come from homes where the parents were passionate for Jesus. Lukewarm parents rarely produce passionate children. If we are casual in our beliefs, our kids will reject those beliefs altogether once they leave our homes. It would be better for our kids if we were pagans than if we told them we love Jesus, but produced no evidence to prove it to them. Kids can spot posers, especially if the posers are their parents.

Sometimes I think we judge the success of our churches with how much stuff is happening and how many people come to the stuff. I like it when we have stuff and I like it when people come to the stuff, but I want to evaluate our success from a different grid.

My question for you is this – what does church provide for you that is helping transform you into a more committed follower of Jesus? What do you take away from the Sunday worship gatherings? Has your participation in a small group caused you to grow, remain stagnant or caused you spiritual harm? What resources could the church provide that would equip you, your family and your friends to be more mature disciples?

These are dangerous questions for church leaders to ask because the results could cause major changes to programs that are now considered sacred cows. Are we willing to make the painful changes if it means better results for the people we are leading? Could the results mean a major shift of the ministry budget? Could the results mean some staff is not needed while more staff is needed in areas that have been ignored?

The team here at New Life is about to ask these questions. I am bracing myself for the answers. We will not know the results for a few months because we want to be thorough but I can guarantee that everything is on the table for discussion. Sometimes putting a dent in the universe requires honest evaluation and courageous change.

We may also find that we are doing better than we think. It is possible we have strategically positioned ourselves to produce disciples and not many things need to change. That would be great, but what would be better is a healthy streamlined church that is operating in its calling with full forward momentum. Stay tuned!

New Life was recently named one of the 100 fastest growing churches in America and one of the 100 largest churches in America. It was quite an honor to be named on both lists, but it also caused our team to discuss the purpose of counting attendance. Our conclusion – it is not the most important measurement or indicator of success.

I don’t think it is wrong to count attendance. Jesus knew how many people needed food and he told a story of a missing sheep. He knew how many people were on that hillside that afternoon and he knew one of the 100 sheep was missing. So counting is ok it seems.

The problem with the list in the magazine is that it can cause pastors to compete for people in the seats instead of things that more important. Attendance matters and it can be a sign that a church is doing great things for the Kingdom, but attracting a crowd on the weekends is the not mandate of the Great Commission.

I would rather count and celebrate the number of people who have said yes to following Jesus, or the number of people who have been baptized. Why not focus all of our attention on the number of people who have been mobilized to minister in the city or the number of people who have taken the next step to becoming more like Jesus?

I made the decision this week to not look at my attendance numbers for a season. We will still count, but I do not want to know the number so I can focus on the more important things. I do not want to be distracted by the ebb and flow of attendance or allow a low attendance weekend to discourage me. I also do not want a really high attendance weekend to lure me into any false perceptions of success.

Success can only be measured by people being saved, baptized and formed into disciples. For sure, our church will grow when these things happen and we will have to add worship services and open new campuses to accommodate the crowds. I just want my focus to be on the main thing right now and not become infatuated with our name on some list.

Dear God,

It’s  the Monday after Easter Sunday, but I am sure you’re already aware of that fact.  I hope you were pleased with what happened at church yesterday. By the way, thanks for being there. Church is always better when you attend. I hope you felt honored and I did not hinder people from meeting you personally.  I realize I am already rambling here, but you know how tanked I feel on Sunday afternoons and on most Mondays.  Why can’t I be one of those pastors who are hyped after a service instead of one who feels like a can of Spam?

It was great to see 102 people baptized last night and hundreds more praying to follow you during the morning gatherings. I hope you felt honored and trust that the spotlight was on you more than those of us on the stage.

Lord, help me not to notice the empty seats more than I see the faces of people sitting in the occupied chairs. I do want to pray for new people to attend New Life and fill the empty seats, but I also want to be a good shepherd to those who are there.

Lord, help me to not be so aggravated when people give me immediate criticism about the Sunday talk or wait for me off the stage to point out one minor detail I got wrong. They should wait a day or so to give me their opinion but they don’t and probably never will. Forgive them Lord, because they have no idea how vulnerable and tired I feel right after a service. They have never been on a stage in front of people talking about life and death issues. When you give them that chance, I am sure they will then be more considerate about when to give their feedback.

Lord, help me not feel like every Sunday has to be “the best Sunday ever, in all of church history.” Not every talk has to be epic and not every worship service has to be “off the chain.” Remind all of my pastor friends on Twitter not to hype every weekend like it is the Super Bowl of all church weekends, every single week.  You know that every Sunday service is not that great, because you attend their churches, too.  Help us to build disciples with our weekend gatherings and not to create consumers who expect a new and improved product every weekend.

Lord, thanks again for allowing me to pastor New Life.  Keep me focused on the important things and help me to ignore my own carnality. Thanks for the time. I hope to talk to you again real soon.

Love,

Brady

How do you decide to do something or not? Should I go to a meeting? Should I go on a trip? Should I serve on a board?  Is your decision based on how you feel at the moment, or is there a reason for your answer? I find most people do not know how to say “no” to unnecessary things because they have not discovered what to say “yes” to.  How should we spend our time, since time is really valuable and there is only 24 hours in one day?

  1.       Discover your assignment

What is your purpose? What has God uniquely called you to accomplish right now in your life? Most of us bog down right here. Before we can plan our day we must discover the plan for our day.  My assignment is to love Pam, be a dad to Abram and Callie and to lead New Life Church. These three are priorities and get the first and the best of my time. I am writing a book and I am praying about serving on the board for a national ministry, but neither can interfere with my primary assignments.

 2.       Say “yes” to your assignment

When our assignment is clear, our schedule should reflect our priorities. If marriage and children are primary, they will get a lot of our time.  Then I say “yes” to anything that is strategic at work. For me, I must have time to study and pray because I speak and teach every week. That time is set aside in the mornings. In the afternoons, I have meetings with pastors, leaders and elders.  I also have time set aside during the week to meet with members of New Life and I have time set aside to meet with other pastors and leaders in the city.  Also, I have time set aside to rest and enjoy the Sabbath.  If we do not prioritize our schedule, the strategic things that we should be doing will be choked by meetings that are not necessary in the first place.

 3.       Say “no” to distractions

I say “no” to some meetings for one of these three reasons:

a.       If they are not strategic or do not build key relationships.  I love all the people at New Life, but most of my time is spent with established leaders or emerging leaders.

b.      If guilt is a motivator. If I am saying “yes” to a meeting because I will feel guilty for not attending, I say “no” and get over the false guilt later.

c.       If fear of man is a motivator. People expect me to attend everything and I simply cannot, even if it means that people will be upset or disappointed.

Cynics of the church, both young and old, want to know why they should come to our meetings and why they should give their money to the church. Both are valid questions and we must be able to answer them. If we were truthful, most of us attend church and give our money because of tradition, ritual or to ease our guilt or shame.  These are lousy reasons for sure so I think it is time to re-evaluate our answers.

Why should I come to your meetings?

Church in its purest form is a gathering of Christ followers where right doctrine is taught and the sacraments are rightly administered.  The Greek word for church is ekklesia – which means “a meeting of the called out ones.”  Jesus is the head of this meeting and Jesus should be the main focus. There should be recognized leaders at the meeting who are responsible for the welfare of the people and who are responsible for what is taught and how the sacraments are administered. These meetings are meant to strengthen the people with sound teaching, worship God through the sacraments and for each of us to come alongside each other for encouragement.  While the church has become corrupt at times and leaders have misbehaved, church is still important to Jesus.  Church is His bride and only those who love the bride will be allowed to participate in her healing and her redemption. Cynics need not apply.

I have been hurt by church, but I have also been strengthened and matured by church.  So, I choose to love the bride and help the bride get healthy instead of walking away from her in her time of greatest need. If we love Jesus, we must love the church because He still does.  We cannot say “yes” to Jesus and “no” to church. The two are forever connected and to forsake one is to forsake the other.

Why should I give my money to the church?

The church in America has done a great deal to tarnish the pure idea of church.  We have reduced church to steeples and buildings while ignoring the urgent needs of our cities. Pastors have used church to fund their lavish lifestyles and to sell their products instead of using the resources to meet the needs of people. Church was supposed to be a fellowship. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia which is a covenantal word that means everyone’s resources are available to meet any need among the people. If our neighbor has a need we can meet, we meet the need. If someone is without a home, they can stay in ours. If someone does not have food, we share our food. If someone needs clothes, we give them some of ours. Simply put, we believe we are blessed by God to be a blessing to others.  When church is really working well, there are no needs among the people and the needs of the city are being met with the surplus.

My prayer is that cynics of the church or those who have been hurt by the church would come to New Life and discover a tribe of people who are living in ekklesia and koinonia.  Let’s be a church where our love for one another is proof to the world we are His disciples.  I am falling in love with the bride again and I hope you are as well.