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Your Kingdom Or His?

September 28, 2009 in Cross Point Church, Leadership with 31 Comments

I’m a big fan of being “Kingdom Minded.” Craig Groeshel wrote a couple of years ago on his blog, “We should not just focus on our ministry, but embrace, celebrate, and partner with God’s Spirit in our cities, countries, and around the world.” I’ve never thought for a minute that Cross Point does church better than anyone else. Our way of doing church is not the only way, nor the best way. We are one of hundreds of thousands of churches that makes up the body of Christ around the world.

I believe the future effectiveness of the church will be directly tied to our ability not only to get along with one another, but in our desire to share resources, ideas, missions, buildings, and ministries.

I was told early in my ministry that smaller churches “get it” but most larger churches are too concerned with their own kingdoms and egos to partner with other churches. I’ve found that thought to be so untrue. In fact, here’s a couple of contrary examples.

The first example comes from Long Hollow Baptist, a fast growing contemporary church running around 6,000 just up the road in Hendersonville, TN. Their senior pastor David Landrith sought me ought a few years ago when Cross Point started to really grow and has been an incredible friend, mentor, and sounding board. When we announced we were launching Cross Point North (just a few miles from their main campus) David was one of the first ones to contact me and not only welcome us to the area, but offer all kinds of contacts and resources if we needed them.

A few weeks ago (on the first Sunday of our Cross Point North launch) David invited me to speak at their staff retreat. Invitations like that communicate to his church and staff that they are not in competition with other churches in the community but rather partnering with them. That’s Kingdom thinking!

My second example (and the inspiration for this post) comes from Perry Noble the pastor of New Spring Church in Anderson, South Carolina (Yeah, I don’t know where it really is either).  What I do know is God is using Perry and New Spring in some amazing ways. The fact that they are running over 11,000 people in their weekend services is amazing, but that’s only the beginning. A couple of weeks ago they baptized over 900 people in one stinking day!

So I get a twitter from Perry yesterday afternoon that he met a woman at his church who was from Nashville and he told her all about Cross Point and wants to get her connected here. My first thought is with everything going on there how and why would he take the time to twitter me concerned with getting some random woman he had just met connected with our church? Then later in the afternoon in the middle of his four services he CALLS me still excited and determined to get me this woman’s contact information so I can call her.

I’ve always known Perry is relentlessly committed to growing New Spring Church. Yesterday, he proved to me he’s equally as committed and passionate about growing THE CHURCH.

Guys like David and Perry are having a tremendous impact in their own churches, but the eternal impact they will make will go far beyond the four walls of their church to the larger Church. They get it. It’s not about their name. It’s not about the name of their church. It’s about making Christ famous and His church of all sizes and styles coming together to communicate His hope to a watching world.

What are some ways you think the church should be more Kingdom minded?

Cookie Cutter Souls

September 23, 2009 in God, Leadership, Religion with 55 Comments

For far too long the church has had an unhealthy and unrealistic expectation that all people should be at the same place at the same time.

I love this quote from “When The Heart Waits” by Sue Monk Kidd,

“If all souls developed in cookie-cutter fashion, we would have spirituality by duplication rather than by waiting and transformation.”

In so many different ways we often communicate…

Everyone should be happy. (But at times even Jesus was sad.)

Everyone should be balanced. (But doesn’t God speak to us in our seasons of imbalance.)

Everyone should be serving. (But didn’t Jesus commend the woman who just sat at his feet.)

Everyone should relate to God in the same way. (But isn’t Scripture full of examples of different people relating to God in different ways.)

These expectations have done immense damage to the body of Christ.

We need to help people begin to understand that God can and will meet them in the midst of whatever season they may find themselves.

We need to help people begin to understand that God can and will work differently in your life than He has worked in my life.

I don’t have all the answers, I just know souls don’t develop in cookie-cutter fashion and churches were never intended to become factories which cranked out people who would be at the same place at the same time.

The List

September 21, 2009 in Cross Point Church, Religion with 41 Comments

We’re in a series entitled “Religion Lies” right now at Cross Point. Yesterday we looked at the following parable from Jesus in Luke 18….

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10″Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee (religious Leader) and the other a tax collector (scum of the earth). 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

This is a classic look at religion which is all about comparing and condemning.

Everyone creates a list just like this religious leader did. It’s a list of the sins you think are most appalling to God. And do you know what sins you think are most appalling to God? The ones you don’t struggle with, right?

This is what religious institutions have done for centuries. A bunch of power hungry religious leaders get in a room and figure out which group of sins they are least likely to struggle with and then they declare that “list” as the posterboard sins their denomination is going to boycott, picket and vote against.

Anne Lamott says, …

“You can tell you have made God in your image when it turns out He hates all the same people you do.”

Ever struggle with this “list”?

A Deadly Game

September 14, 2009 in Church Leadership, Friends, Relationships with 70 Comments

I was driving home last night from speaking  at staff and spouses retreat for Long Hollow Baptist Church located in nearby Hendersonville, TN. Long Hollow is an amazing church that is growing leaps and bounds. With almost 6,ooo people in attendance each weekend it’s one of the best kept secrets in the church world. Their pastor, David Landrith is one of the most incredible men I’ve ever met. It would be an understatement to say he’s got the entire “package.”

To be honest, anytime I get around high capacity people like this I start to play this mental game. I call it the “I Wish” game.

I wish I could lead like Jeff Henderson.

I wish I was creative like Scott Hodge.

I wish I could preach like Perry Noble.

I wish I could cast vision like Greg Surratt.

I wish I could network like Brad Lomenick

But comparison is a deadly game. The danger of comparison is no matter who you do it with, eventually there is always someone whose prettier, smarter, faster, more connected or higher-up then you. They’re more _______________________.

There is always somebody who is “more.”

The danger of comparison is we find ourselves looking to other people for our value and determining our value by how we compare with other people.

You put two similar things side-by-side and compare them. We all do it when we comparison shop. It’s okay for cars, golf clubs, and shoes… but not for people. For people, comparison is deadly.

We have a tendency to keep looking over our shoulder to see who gets the car we wanted, the job we needed, the spouse we desired. Who has the most gifted children, the bigger blog, and whose got the latest iBook, iMac, iPhone or anything else that starts with an i.

I’m tired of playing this game. How about you?

Religion Lies

September 11, 2009 in Cross Point Church with 16 Comments

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Religion Lies starts this weekend at all 3 Cross Point campuses I’ve got a feeling this series will be one of the more controversial series we’ve done as it will challenge many of the religious traditions we’ve all begun to believe as truth. We’ve all heard them, most of us have believed them, and now we’re going to expose them….Religion Lies.

I’m really looking forward to what God is going to do in our hearts and minds over these next few weeks.

This is the perfect series to invite that neighbor, friend, co-worker or family member who might be running from God. Here’s a link to send an evite.

Just Days Away

September 9, 2009 in Multi Campus with 16 Comments

It’s hard to believe this Sunday we launch Cross Point North in Madison Creek Elementary school. I’m so excited.

I had the opportunity to visit the North Campus for their preview/prayer service we had this past Sunday and was amazed at all the hard work they’ve been putting in.

I’m so proud of Kevin Cook, the North Campus pastor, and his entire team. Kevin, we’re all praying for you guys and can’t wait to see how God is going to use you and your leadership to impact this community with the hope of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a quick video we shot while there on Sunday to give you an idea of the set up out there.

Cross Point North from Pete Wilson on Vimeo.

Nines Conference Today

September 9, 2009 in Church Leadership, Leadership with 12 Comments

Don’t miss the Nines Conference today. Leadership Network asked some of the church’s greatest communicators: “If you had nine minutes to talk one-on-one with thousands of church leaders, what is the one thing that you would tell them?” The result is a series of passionate and personal messages which will help you and your church navigate into the future.

So far, there are over 9,000 people registered. You can go HERE to watch for FREE. What an incredible learning opportunity and you never have to leave your home or office!

Someone leaked the preliminary speakers and their time slots last night to Scott and I ripped it off of his blog. According to his schedule I’ll be on sometime around 1:00 p.m. (CST). Should be a great day! I can’t get enough of  John Ortberg so I’ll certainly be hanging out around 4:00 p.m.

Here’s the schedule (all times CST):

9AM — Troy Gramling, Mark Beeson, Anne Jackson, Dave Ferguson, Scott Hodge

10AM — Perry Noble, Stacy Spencer

11AM — Dino Rizzo, Nancy Beach, Steven Furtick, Reggie McNeal

12PM — Craig Groeschel, Leonard Sweet, Greg Surratt, Jon Tyson

1PM — Margaret Feinberg, Larry Osborne, Matt Carter, Pete Wilson

2PM — Neil Cole, Reggie Joiner, JD Greear

3PM — Mark Batterson, Dan Kimball, Mark DeYmaz

4PM — Jud Wilhite, Brian McLaren, Bob Roberts, Rick McKinley, John Ortberg

5PM — Alan Hirsch, John Bishop, Toby Slough, Ed Stetzer

6PM — Mark Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, Brad Powell

7PM — Darrin Whitehead, Brian Bloye

8PM — Eric Bryant, Nancy Ortberg, Rick Warren

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