NewSpring...

Do you anticipate Sunday mornings? Do you attend church with an expectation for God to speak? I have to say that many times I am guilty of just going through the motions of church. It is not something that I am proud of either. This past Sunday God really showed my wife and I how church ought to look. I had the privilege of attending NewSpring (http://www.newspring.cc/) church in Anderson, SC, while on vacation.

My wife, Joy, and I were both blown away. From the minute we pulled into the parking lot, there were probably 20 to 30 people directing traffic. They were very friendly, waving at us as we pulled in ( I realize that they are taught to be friendly and wave, but that's OK because they were good at it). They directed us all the way to our parking spot. We were then greeted by another 10 to 15 greeters on our way from the car to the front door of the church. My first trip was to get some coffee... and let me recommend the medium roast... it was excellent! We entered the worship service and were instantly blown away by the worship band... top notch all the way! Immediately preceding our amazing worship experience, Perry Noble, NewSpring's lead pastor, delivered a message that would make you want to slap your grandmother! In other words, he is an amazing communicator!

After the service... Trevor Cox... NewSpring's Home Groups Pastor gave Joy and I a tour and showed us the ropes of NewSpring. He was very informative and helpful for young church planters like Joy and me. There were some things at NewSpring that God really used to speak to us and confirm God's direction and vision for the future of our church plant. I could go on and on about all that NewSpring has to offer, but that would take too long and you probably wouldn't read the whole thing anyways.

In closing, I would like to share a conversation Joy and I had with some Anderson, SC locals the night before we attended NewSpring. They said that NewSpring just wasn't their type of church (that's OK, I realize that it's probably not for everyone). Then they said that they didn't like the concert style of worship (their loss). They then proceeded to tell us that they felt like many people just attended NewSpring because it is the IN thing to do (to that comment I say GREAT)!!! If attending NewSpring has become the IN thing to do, that means they must be doing something right. Church should be the IN thing to do. We should all hope that our churches are so influential and culturally relevant that it has become the IN thing to do!!! The fact of the matter is... people come to NewSpring expecting God to show up in an awesome way!!! CHEW ON THAT ONE FOR A LITTLE BIT!!!