I’ll talk about Portland over the next few months more than you’ll want to hear Portland is one of those God things that I’m freaked out over. This is going to be HUGE! Alright, I need to get focused on tomorrow…Newington I’ll always have a special place in my heart for you…it all began with you! I love you guys and you are not going to believe what you guys were used by God to start in New England. Don’t miss tomorrow – may be one of the greatest messages God has ever dropped on my heart. It’s all for HIS GLORY!

The 3:20 challenge was a 3 month challenge…we’ve completed 2 months and here’s what I’m going to do. Because you reached our goal in two months, I’m going to honor you and celebrate with you! I’m not going to keep raising money for the same thing…as your pastor, I set a goal and you hit it in 2 months. I’m not going to break my word after you kept yours! Here’s what we are going to do…in the third month of the 3:20 challenge ALL THAT YOU GIVE above and beyond your tithe will go directly into paying off our Newington location debt. Newington was our original location and, as expected, has accrued some debt. It’s a very small amount of debt for a church our size, but it’s still debt. We are launching Portland and Dover with NO DEBT! We are going to reach several hundred people a week at these locations and have NO DEBT – that is awesome! My goal is to have all three locations along with our coffee house debt free and completely healthy within the next year. Think about it…we will be a 3 year old church with three (maybe four) locations and a coffee house with well over 1000 people a Sunday and NO DEBT! So that’s what I believe God would have us do now…focus on getting Newington debt free.

I am so proud of you! I am so honored to be a part of NLC! If God has done this in two years, what does the future hold? I can’t wait to see! God is using us to change the landscape of New England. We will be one of the greatest moves of God the North East has ever seen. Not because we do “cool” series or have “cool” experiences. Not because our band rocks it out or we have good teaching. But because we are a large group of people who are ALL ON the same team under the SAME vision and stop at nothing to see the lost saved! I love you NLC! The best is yet to come!

1. You see momentum as something that will always exist, rather than understanding momentum is only as effective as your current level of effectiveness. Momentum isn’t an excuse to stop doing the things you did to achieve your goal, it’s an encouragement to continue pressing forward.

2. Decisions become harder. I always heard this statment and thought to myself, bring it on! Now that we’re a 2 year old church with a lot more influence than we deserve, decisions become a lot harder. Pastor Craig Groeschel told me recently: “There are some decisions only you can make! That’s why you’re God’s man for the job. Every decsion will be talked about in one fashion or another.” In other words, every leader that has a desire to do the impossible through Christ is going to be willing to take the game winning shot. You make some, you miss some…but in order to do the impossible you have to be willing to make decisions few would embrace.

3. What got you there, won’t keep you there. I feel as far from Jesus today as I did 2 years ago…but I spend WAY MORE time in intimacy with Jesus today than when we launched NLC. At every stage of your dream there will be a decsion that needs to be made, and it’s this one…are you willing to up the temperature again? Are you willing to do what no one else is doing in order to see what no one else is seeing? Most churches stop growing because the cost of growth became higher than what they were willing to pay in order to grow. What area do you need to go deeper in?

I was on my way to CT to preach a few weeks ago and as I was driving down the interstate looking at all the different cars this thought hit me…every single one of these cars were the showcase car of their day. Think about it, every vehicle you see was the hot new model coming out the next year. That rust box driving down the road was someone’s pride and joy, the cars sitting in junk yard being used for parts were the nicest cars on the road at one time. There is, however, this rare occasion when you will see a car from decades ago that has increased in value. We’ve all seen that antique car driving down the road and what happens when one of those cars step outside the garage? Everyone looks in awe at it! Everyone is amazed by its beauty! It’s not because there isn’t any new 2010 models driving down the road, it’s because somehow that old car kept its new car smell and that amazes people!

So what happens? How does a used car keep it’s new car smell? The owner is desperate to maintain a high level of excellence. The owner has a vision for that car and no matter how many people try to dirty up the car, or get in the way of the vision, the owner manages their decision and holds true to the vision.

I think that most churches have become the old car driving down the road or the car sitting in the junk yard. Every church starts with a dream and a vision, but somewhere along the way the lack of excellence and the desire to stay true to the vision have caused most churches to  become just another car on the road. Most churches have lost their new car smell. The scariest thing is that instead of going through the hard process of restoring the church back to the vision and excellence it once had, we buy “new car smell air fresheners” – a fake imitation! Far too many churches are pretending to make hard decisions. Far too many leaders are pretending to lead. Far too many churches pretend they will do anything short of sin to see the lost saved. Far too many Christians pretend that they want to see the lost saved. We have become a country full of churches using the imitation of vision and change but they are never truly changing. The car can smell new on the inside and still be full of rust on the outside…in the same way the church can fake their desires to those on the “inside” but the world, those on the outside, only see an old model of the church that has lost its new car smell.

I talk to so many people who are completely defeated by their past. There are so many people living in the condemnation of yesterday because they haven’t resolved their past. I was talking to someone the other day who had messed up and instead of running into a dark corner and hiding in guilt, pride or denial, he sent an email out humbling himself and asking forgiveness. It hit me that we are all going to mess up, we are all going to fall short of the glory of God, we are all going to do stupid things relationally, no one is perfect and the statistics are very clear: 1 out of 1 people sin….but it’s not the mess up that usually does the most damage; it’s the response or lack of response that usually does the most damage. As followers of Christ, we must be driven by reconciliation. How have you messed up? Has your pride held you in captivity?  How do you need to react today when it comes to a past “mess up” or even a hidden one that has yet to be found out. Remember your legacy still has yet to be written. I would rather be known as imperfect, seeking perfection through humility, than imperfect and unwilling to admit my wrongs.

I’ve been a church planter for a little over two years and the entire way I lead has changed. I love leadership! I could sit and listen to leadership thoughts ALL DAY! I have a huge passion for teaching and training people in leadership. One of the things I used to do is force decisions…I used to use my title, my role, my calling to force people into decisions rather than lead them into one. Here’s what I learned…The decision never stuck! A month would go by and I would have to force them into making the same decision. A decision without ownership and conviction is most likely a temporary solution. Today my staff would tell you (because they tell me) I lead through humility, I lead through love, I lead through understanding, I lead through the eyes and heart of the person I’m leading. Trust me, I’M FAR FROM PERFECT, but the way I lead has changed from power to perspective. Now, there are times as a lead pastor that I make it clear a decision needs to be made but I won’t allow it to be made unless there is true ownership and conviction from the one making it.

I hope I grow in this area! Leaders who lead through power alone are not invested leaders. A leader who walks those he’s leading down the path of ownership and conviction is following after the example of Jesus! Remember leadership isn’t just a job position…it’s parenting kids and any other area that you have influence.