THE INTERSECTION

"ROCKTOBER"

2011-11-16T08:36:00.004-06:00

Now that the first half of November 2011 is officially in the books, I am beginning to come out of the fog enough to talk about this past 'Rocktober'. That is not a phrase I use for every October. Nope. 'Rocktober' only seems to come once every 5 to 7 years. But for reasons I have never been able to figure out, all of the monumentally big, difficult, drastic, or otherwise annoyingly huge and distracting changes in my life (and Leslie's life - because we're one flesh), happen in the month of October, hereinafter to be referred to by me as 'Rocktober', not because it's cool and involves multiple bands from the '80's, but because every time it happens, it absolutely ROCKS our lives and our world.

Maybe you have something similar in your life, where despite your best efforts, some eerily familiar season of your life rolls around and you know you're in for it. Now for those of you that were always the biggest or toughest kid in school, this next part probably won't resonate with you, but it bears saying that the way 'Rocktober' feels to me is the same way I felt when I was in the 7th grade, in my 6th period English class with Mr. Benevidas, when Denny Thomas, the kid in the desk next to me leaned over and said, "Jeff Montano saw you look at his grilfriend and he's going to rearrange your face on the bus after school. Get ready for a fight." And your stomach drops to your feet for fear, not so much fear of getting beat up, but fear that there's absolutely no way to get out of getting beat up. After all, no one was ever afraid of a punch after it landed. It's the anticipation and uncertainty that really gets you.

What is at the heart of 'Rocktober'? It's CHANGE, man. C-H-A-N-G-E. And it's not that change is bad. Fundamentally, change is good, and I totally embrace it as such. But - and you know this - the anticipation and uncertainty of a looming change (whatever that change is to you) can absolutely peg your freak-out meter. Know what I mean?

Every time 'Rocktober' comes for me, it brings with it sweeping change. Sometimes job-related, sometimes relationship related, sometimes geographic, but in every case, it is something that somehow I was completely unprepared for (either by Divine Providence, or some ommission on my part that God used to bring it), and every time it happens (thank God it's only once ever 5 to 7 years) it totally owns me.

This 'Rocktober' wasn't about a geographic change, or moving to a new church, or even changing jobs. It was about some fundamental changes in the way I approach the business of my life. It was about adding discipline to a certain area of my life that was lacking it. And it hurt like a mother. Honestly, I felt beat up from the inside out.

But...(and thank God for big buts) with the bruising of this particular 'Rocktober' comes the cleansing.

"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects;

therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

For He bruises, but He binds up;

He wounds, but His hands make whole" (Job 5:17-18).

This 'Rocktober' forced me to take some measures that have changed my relationship with forecasting, long-range planning, financial programming, and pragmmatic decision-making. It needed to happen, and it came about because I put it off for as long as I could. But truly, the specifics of my 'Rocktober' are not really all that important. Because it's really not about what you're going through that's important. It's the lesson-learned and the action taken moving forward.

For me, life is ALWAYS better after 'Rocktober'. Every time it happens, it's as if my life is literally propelled forward into the next season. And it's ALWAYS good, not just for me, but for EVERYONE around me. In fact, I have found that the harder 'Rocktober' is, and the longer it lasts, the better things are for me and those I'm called to influence. And it's not just because it stops hurting, it's because you learned something about yourself during the beating. And you got to see again how much God loves you. And how He loves you too much to allow you to ignore important things.

So let me ask you (not, have you ever experienced something like 'Rocktober, or how do you deal with big changes, or did you ever get beat up in the 7th grade, but instead, more specifically):

What are you ignoring?

What are things in your life that you need to deal with?

What have you put off confronting because you're afraid?

Epilogue: Jeff Montano only threw one punch. It landed on my cheek. I'm pretty sure it hurt his hand more than it hurt my face. I just sort of stared at him and didn't move afterward. He looked real confused. I think the bus lady took him to the Principal's office. I remember he cried. When we were in high school he apologized to me.

'Rocktober" is over for me. But the hard work of making meaningful, forward-looking, positive changes has just begun. Feels good, though. Do it. Peace.

"The church that helps people..."

2011-11-02T12:47:00.001-05:00

Heard last week that someone referencing our church said, "Oh Crossroads, yeah. That's the church that helps people, right?" wow. There it is. You know what else? I heard two more times last week the exact same thing from different people.

Last Thursday a mother and her daughter (who is also a mother) came into the building. Like many who have come before them, they were short on food and really needed help. As per our practice, we welcomed them and gave them a place to sit while they filled out a quick form. Our resources only allow us to distribute food boxes to a family one time per month, so we keep track of who's come in so we can help as many as possible.

They left a few minutes later with two sets of food boxes - enough food for each of their two families for one week, when they add perishables, such as milk, eggs and bread.

This past Sunday was "Food Box Sunday", the last Sunday of the month - a day we have designated to help everyone remember to bring in their food box supplies for packaging and distribution. This past Sunday, we didn't recieve much food. Only enough to make a couple of boxes - which were distributed to people who came to the building Monday morning. Our food boxes were gone before 10 AM.

The people of Crossroads have been so great about embracing generosity and serving the needs of others in our community. It's so important for us to remember that we don't just go to church here...but we are a vital part of the community. Even if you live far away from the church, the church is here, everyday to love and serve the needs of others. Help us make that happen. We're short on food. Please don't wait 'til the end of the month to respond.

"For I was hungry, and you fed me." MT 25:35

AWESOME ANSWER!!

2011-10-31T15:59:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, our rockin' worship band at Crossroads (with yours truly bangin' the drums) played a face-melting rendition of Ozzy's Crazy Train before the message. Here's some great facebook traffic from a long-time Crossroads attender (not a staff member, folks but a comitted Christ-follower and faithful volunteer) who really gets it:

HEATHER: Crazy Train??? Only @ Crossroads!!!

SHAUN: Please explain why prince of darkness as Ozzie is known on earth, theme music was used at church? :)

HEATHER: Great question Shaun! And there is no short answer so here’s the Top 10:

10. This aint yo grandma’s church

9. We believe that boring church is a sin (and there’s never a dull moment here)

8. If you read the lyrics of Crazy Train, it reads like a modern-day psalm/prayer (check it out: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/o/ozzy+osbourne/crazy+train_20103982.html )

7. It is our mission to reach the un-churched people in this world – what better way to do so?

6. We practice, as Jesus did, taking this sinful world as it is

5. God is famous for taking what is meant for evil and turning it to good

4. Crossroads is famous, as Jesus is, for meeting people right where they are and connecting them to God in ways that transform them-if you’ve ever felt like your life was going off the rails of a crazy train, then you know what I mean :)

3. Our band ROCKS!

2. We are taught to make a joyful noise

And the #1 reason:

1. THAT’S HOW WE ROLL…

Way to cast vision and spread the message, Heather!

BB&B 7 (101611)

2011-10-18T08:08:00.000-05:00

Greetings in the name of Jesus! What a wonderful day we experienced this past Sunday as we engaged in Part Four of our current series Game Plan, then headed to the West Beach of Lake Tholocco for Crossroads 7th Beach, BBQ & Baptism celebration! This event was a wonderful way to begin the Fall season and for many was a day they will never forget. The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful and (unlike last year at this time) the water was warm!!

Though it was a privilege to baptize ten people on Sunday, I must tell you my heart is heavy for the many who signed up to be baptized who did not make it out to the lake. Some must have slipped through the cracks between noon and 3PM. It happens. There we several who made very recent decisions to be baptized, and then when there's time between the service and the event, you get home and get comfortable and sometimes as busy as we all are, it's hard to get motivated to get back out of the house. I totally get that. But there were also several that I know for certain, simply did not have a ride to the party. As a church, we need to pay attention to that in the future and make sure that everyone who wants to be baptized can actually get there. Next time we do this, there's three things we're going to make sure we do:

We're going to teach about Baptism the Sunday of the event. What it is and why it matters. Every time we've done that in the past, more people have made the decision to be baptized. I won't make that mistake again.
We're going to send a team out ahead so we can all leave from church and go directly to lunch at the Lake. After lunch, we'll baptize folks and then hang out. That'll help people who might be apt to stay home once they get home.
We're going to have a couple of vans available to shuttle people from the church to the lake and back, so that no one is excluded from participating if they want to be there.

I think if we do those three things, we'll baptize more people than ever before. All that said, this past Sunday was truly a wonderful day. Biggest crowd in a month, great crowd out at the lake. West Beach is WAY better than East Beach. That's a keeper.

We ran some numbers yesterday that I want to share with you. They are fantastically encouraging and they demonstrate what I've been sharing with you for the past few months: God is really up to something big at Crossroads. Here's just a bit of the evidence from the past 90 days alone:

156 First Time Attenders!
92 Second time Attenders!
63 Third Time Attenders!
42 became Regular Attenders (that's more than 25% sticking around and that's HUGE)!
63 people made high quality, life-changing decisions to renew their commitment to Christ, to trust Christ for the first time, or to go public with their faith through baptism!

Guys, things are cooking at Crossroads, and God is about to blow the lid right off this place! Look forward to some very exciting news for our church in the next 30 days.

God bless you and keep you and give you peace. Have a GREAT week!

LOCATION CHANGE: BB&B at WEST BEACH

2011-10-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

So...I'm all amped up to share a few baptism blog posts and I get a call this morning that the East Beach pavillion at Lake Tholocco is under construction necessitating a move to the West Beach.

So...BEACH, BBQ & BAPTISM is still at 3:00PM this Sunday October 16th...BUT...it will be at the pavillion at the WEST BEACH of Lake Tholocco.

Spread it around, let everyone know. We'll have new directions up on the website as quickly as possible, and we'll also have them available in the lobby on Sunday morning. See you there...at the WEST BEACH...for Crossroads 7th Beach, BBQ & Baptism!!

This Sunday at the Beach

2011-10-11T08:31:00.000-05:00

I am amazed when I think that this Sunday October 16th marks the seventh time since Crossroads launched that we will celebrate people "going public" with their faith at 3:00PM on the East Beach of Lake Tholocco at Crossroads BEACH, BBQ & BAPTISM celebration!

Each Fall and Spring since September of 2008, we have gathered together at Lake Tholocco and have shared a time of fellowship and celebration as nearly 200 people have been baptized. It is such an honor to be able to witness and celebrate such a significant event in the life of a believer! It is - by far - the greatest privilege that any of us have as a part of the Crossroads community.

We have been praying and believing God for the past 10 weeks that we would see 50 people baptized this Sunday. Though not that many have signed up to be baptized, I am confident that those who SHOULD be baptized Sunday WILL be baptized Sunday. But often, people don't realize that they should. So here's your part in that:

Yes, pray...but do more. Share with those in your circle of influence (friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, fellow students, anyone) that this event is OPEN TO ALL. Let them know, they do not have to attend Crossroads to be baptized Sunday. Let them know, they don't even have to be people that go to church to be baptized Sunday. Let them know if they have never been baptized, this event is for them. Let them know that if they were baptized, or sprinkled, or Christened, or Blessed at some point in their life but they don't remember it, or it wasn't a significant or meaningful experience, this event is for them. Let them know if they have been baptized or blessed or Christened or sprinkled or whatever, and they have come back to God, or want to come back to God, this event is for them. Let them know!

Why is this event for them? Why is this event for YOU? Because the Bible clearly teaches that God's desire for everyone, is that they would take the step to publicly demonstrate that they are identifying their lives with Christ by being baptized. Don't wait til next time. Be baptized this Sunday at 3:00PM on the East Beach of Lake Tholocco.

Beach, BBQ, & Baptism from Crossroads Community Church on Vimeo.

In the next few posts, I'll be sharing more about what Baptism is, and why it should matter to all of us!

THANK GOD IT'S...

2011-10-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

Friday? Sunny? Easy? Early? Comfortable? Certain? Possible? Reasonable? What?

I'm just really, really thankful. I try to stay that way regardless of what's going on in my life. Sometimes that's really difficult. I know it is for you as well. Here's something the Apostle Paul said about that:

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

In our clamour to know and understand God's will, God's plan for our lives, it is easy to overlook how important it is to remain thankful. An attitude of thankfulness is a foundational piece of God's plan for all of us, and if we shoot right past it we wind up being more concerned with what is missing than what is present, what we don't have rather than what we do have. When we are thankful, we place ourselves in a position of being generous with our hearts and minds and attitudes and actions. ThanksGIVING.

ThanksGIVING in the midst of troubling circumstances is the best giving because it is sacrificial giving. It is the best giving because it actually costs us something. That it costs us something means that it isn't always easy. You know...it's easy to be thankful - to give thanks - when everything seems to be going your way. But it is far more difficult to intentionally be thankful in the midst of life's obstacles, speed bumps, and potholes. That's why it is so much more valuable. God's will for you is to be thankful regardless of your circumstances.

So...what are YOU thankful for today?

GUEST BLOGGER: Dave Clark (Prophet/Mystic/Cajun)

2011-10-06T07:37:00.000-05:00

This is a continuing series of guest posts by my very good friend Dave Clark. I usually start out by saying, "No editing. No disclaimer", but Dave has added his own opener this time. This should be interesting... -Gene

The views expressed here do not reflect the views of Crossroads Community Church, the pastor, staff, or congregation but are solely the thoughts of the author.

I want to talk about the nativity (birth) stories of Jesus. If you can get what's called a 'Synopsis of the Gospels' you can see the two stories side-by-side and interesting things are revealed. The stories are in Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1:5-2:40. Let's compare.

They both have him born in Bethlehem, but why? There was a well-known prophecy from Micah 5:2 saying the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Matthew even has it woven into his narrative as a pronouncement from the priests and scribes (2:6). John knows of it too, (John 7:41-42). Though he doesn't quote it, Luke knows it too and has to make sure Jesus 'comes from' David's city, Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7). The problem for both authors was the common knowledge that Jesus was from Nazareth and that didn't fit into the prophecies; no Messiah comes from Nazareth. (See John 1:45-46). So, what to do? Two different stories of the same 'event' emerge. In Matthew, Jesus ends up in Nazareth via Egypt, and even includes prophesy that “He” (Messiah?) will be called a Nazarene (2:23). Problem is there is no prophecy known like that. In Luke he is clearly from Nazareth (1:26; 2:4). Additionally, Luke's device to ensure Jesus is born in Bethlehem is a worldwide census by Caesar Augustus in the days of Quirinius, governor of Syria. Problem is there was no worldwide census in that time period and none when Quirinius was governor of Syria. What you clearly have here is two separate tales woven to explain the birth of Jesus. Nativity stories of great men were common in the day, with tales of signs and miracles that attended their birth. Caesar had them; Alexander had them; the Pharaoh’s had them. The evangelists were going to have them also.

Only because they come from the Bible do we not look at these differences and what they might mean. We are engaging in what is called 'the suspension of disbelief'. It is a recognized principle of psychology that in a story people will set aside critical thought to embrace the story. Nowhere more true than some views of the Bible and what it is.

Am I saying the Bible is not true? Am I saying the virgin birth and the miracles didn't occur? Am I trying to destroy your faith in the Bible? Am I some kind of godless, liberal, atheist? Many point out these contradictions (and there are many in the Bible) because they are unbelievers trying to tear down the faith. I am not one of them.

I say the Bible is not true in the way some people call it true; that every word is literally true and everything in it objective fact. There are different truths. The sun is a giant, thermonuclear ball of hydrogen. That is a fact. And the sun rises in gilded beauty. That is also true, a different fact. The virgin birth and miracles; I don't know. They could well be true facts. But if they aren't, it doesn't change who Jesus was, or is, or what he did and said. Or what he does still. I suppose I am trying to destroy a certain type of faith in the Bible. The one that sees it as magic and unquestionable; used to bind people to only one way of thinking. The kind of faith that is used as a cudgel to beat people and keep them in line. As to godless, liberal, atheist; I say no, though the religious background from which I come already has consigned me to the pit. So be it. They worship a book instead of the one who gave it to them. They have made an idol. I worship an infinite, infallible God; he is more than the book he gave us.

Faith and love can't live in fear. Many view the Bible as the inerrant word of God. So any questioning of it is heresy and laden with fear and judgment. But demanding scientific accuracy in a narrative where it doesn't exist isn't faith and denies the mysterious, winsome nature of our faith. But Jesus told us to be like children, full of trust and curiosity and joy and love. Children trust, they don't know all the answers. Children love, they have hearts attune with their parents and aren't looking at their mother's resume'. Children are curious, believing that goodness can be discovered. Children are filled with joy, knowing they bathe in the love of their parents. True faith means living with mystery, trusting God to fill in the blanks.

So where did the theory of inerrancy came from, why do inerrantists hold their views and what are the implications for them and us all if they hold sway?

The tenacious insistence of an infallible, inerrant Bible is only about 150 years old. Prior to then it was not an issue. Why? What happened? Study history and you find this was the midst of the scientific revolution. Science began to displace religion as an authoritative explanation of the natural world. Added to that, the time was also the true beginning of biblical criticism, the treatment of the Bible as literature, subject to the disciplines of textual, literary, historical and form criticism. These tools were already being used on other ancient literature but only recently had the church lost the power punish the “heretics” for forwarding such ideas. With the church now impotent to launch reprisals against those who held other views, they were free to be and to question. One of the main reactions to this was the doctrine of inerrancy.

Why would this be so? In criticism, the literalists perceived an attack on the truth of God. They were as much slaves to rationalism as any scientist. Anything not objectively true is false. So they manically began to try to prove the Bible. They might as well have tried to prove the color blue. The reality of our belief will always be on the inside, where a (yes, subjective) knowing confirms in our heart the truth and reality of God. Or as Paul put it “the Spirit of God affirms to our spirit that we are God's children” (Romans 8:16). That is why it is faith. It has no objective proof. There is much more to it than that of course, but I only have time for a brief description. So what does it matter if Christians hold the view of requiring empirical evidence of faith?

I can think of no more glaring example of the inerrantists view made concrete than the Creation Museum in Kentucky. There they teach that Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs! Though even this is a change for creationists (a subset of inerrantists). In earlier decades they denied altogether the existence of dinosaurs but were finally overwhelmed by enough evidence that they just had to accept reality. Having to work them into their scheme somehow, now the first couple frolic with T-Rex and Jesus rides a Triceratops! This is the product that comes from that world view.

The final outcome of inerrancy unchecked, is fear and retreat from the modern world; a rejection of science for pseudo-science and a return to superstition, repression and the dark ages; for their god is too small.

Think carefully about this. The exchange of certainty from an inerrant Bible for the hurly-burly of real life is not the great deal you may think. They still want to silence the heretics.

The Lesson from What If?

2011-10-06T07:24:00.002-05:00

Good morning from Florida's Space Coast! I write this from my mother's kitchen table in Cocoa, Florida where I have been for the last couple of days. I was in Ocala on Friday to meet with Ron Sylvia, lead pastor of the Springs (we'll be talking about that in the weeks to come), and I got to spend time with my coach Hal Mayer, and friend and fellow church planter Brian Burgi. You should remember Brian, his wife Jennifer and their extremely cool small son Barrett from the time they spent at Crossroads while Brian was in Flight School.

It seemed good to come and see my mom and Uncle Gene while I was so close to Cocoa, and I just sort of showed up with no agenda or timetable. My mom is 84 and very young at heart. We've done little but sit around and eat and talk and laugh and rest and it's been a perfect visit (except Leslie's not with me). I ran 5 miles yesterday morning to keep my mojo intact, and I'll be home later this afternoon.

This past Sunday was one of the most wonderful experiences I've had since a bunch of starry-eyed believers started Crossroads more than 3-1/2 years ago. We interrupted our series Game Plan for a special service called 'What If?'. If you weren't there you can watch it in standard definition and beautiful black & white (in keeping with the minimalist theme) by clicking HERE. This is what I'm taking away from Sunday:

God has invited Crossroads to play a significant role in what He is up to in the earth.
You are obviously up for what He is up to. Well done.

That said, let's get together again this coming Sunday. We'll do part 3 of our series Game Plan, I'll share with you some specifics about this past Sunday and I'll tell you why my confidence has never been higher going forward. We have much to do. Can't wait to gather together again. See you soon!

Here's What's Happening...

2011-09-27T16:27:00.000-05:00

Great day this past Sunday as we shared Part 2 of our current series Game Plan. Again, TONS of first-time attenders! I talk to people in the ministry all the time. People like church planters and pastors, and they will tell you that averaging 15 to 20 first-time attenders a week, in a church our size, in a town our size is just something that is not normal. I shared with many of you some months ago, that I really sensed that a wave of growth was coming in the Fall for Crossroads, and I think we are seeing the pre-cursor of that wave finally hit the shore. I really believe that God is up to something big on the earth, and in our community, and the truly remarkable thing is, He has invited you and I to participate in it.

With that invitation though comes a responsibility, and it's a respinsibility not to be taken lightly. It's as if God - as He is doing in many, many churches around the world - has passed the baton to Crossroads, and He's saying, "Look, I'm putting this in your hands. Don't drop it. It's precious and it's important". We need to know that God has invited us to play a significant role in what He is up to, and we have to ask ourselves, "Are we up for what He is up to?" It's gut-check time. We must grasp the reality that for you and me perhaps the most significant thing we do, not in the church but with our lives, is to care for His church, to nurture it and help it grow, so that we might hand it off healthy to the next generation. I am up for it. How about you?

This coming Sunday is probably the single most important service we've ever had at Crossroads. Please make every effort to be there. If you are up for what God is up to, you do not want to miss this coming Sunday. We're halfway through our series Game Plan, and it's the perfect moment (halftime) to head for the locker room and get the game plan for the second half of the game. Every time we take the field in life, we have a choice. We can choose to finish each play strong, or we can choose to let up and let others take responsibility for covering our assignment. But as we choose, we're wise if we understand that finishing each play is ultimately the only way to win the game.

Yeah, yeah, I like football, okay? I dig sports metaphors. And the reason I do is because what happens on the field of play so accurately depicts the reality of many of the struggles and challenges we face in life. In closing, I offer this absolutely rock solid promise to you: this Sunday's service at Crossroads will be completely unlike anything you have ever experienced here before. Be here, as we dig in to learning more about God's game plan for our lives.

Come with the expectation that God will speak to your heart. See you Sunday.

WEEKEND UPDATE (091911)

2011-09-19T11:34:00.000-05:00

Greetings and salutations Crossroads family! Smashing day Sunday as we "kicked-off" a new football-themed series called Game Plan. I don't know about you, but this series is EXACTLY what I need in my life, and the timing couldn't be better! This series, though not original to Crossroads, is like every series we do, in that I personally learn as much as anyone, and I get as much as anyone out of it. I trust that you get everything God has for you out of the next four weeks, and that you're able to apply what you are learning to your life!

Here's a few of the many things that stood out to me yesterday:

The trend continues with first-time attenders! We are experiencing a HUGE wave of growth in the number of people coming through our doors! Reach out to those coming for the first time. Walk across the lobby to shake hands with someone you've never met before. And continue to invite BIG!
Many people made high quality life-changing decisions to renew their relationship with Christ, or to go public with their faith through baptism! (Don't forget: Beach, BBQ & Baptism, Sunday October 9th, 3:00PM Lake Tholocco, East Beach)
Loved the band Sunday! Great job on worship and the 'Queen' tune! You guys absolutely ROCK. I think Crossroads is blessed with the most awesome worship team going, period!
This new series is incredible. Just sayin'. If you were not there on Sunday, you must-must-must go to our website, click on media and watch Game Plan, Part 1!

Here's just a few of the things you might have heard if you were there Sunday:

"There IS a God, and this God has a GREAT PLAN for your life!"
"If you don't understand the Fundamentals of the Game, you're not going to understand the Game Plan."
"When you understand Who Jesus is, and the potential on the inside of you, you live life on a higher plan (like Lazarus, the second time around)!"
"God's answer to the question, 'God, what is Your will for my life', is this: "I AM your life!"
"When you understand that God IS your life, and not just a COMPONENT of your life, you begin to understand that the focus of your life is not a FUTURE. The focus of your life is a person. Jesus."
"When your focus is on Jesus (and not on a future), He leads you to the future He has for you!"
"Maybe you have heard that God loves you, and that's true. Maybe you have heard the God is for you, and that's also true. Maybe you have heard that God is with you, and that is true as well. but maybe you have not heard that God is actually LIVING on the INSIDE of you!"
"As you shift your focus from your FUTURE to your SAVIOR, the BIG QUESTION of our lives actually changes from 'God, what do you want me to do with my life?', to 'God, what do you want me to do with YOUR life, that is WITHIN ME?'"

Favorite comment from Connection Cards on Sunday:

(In reference to the way I was dressed), "It's a referee! It's a Foot Locker employee! It's Pastor Gene!"

Remember how we ended things Sunday: "For the next seven days, will you just allow God to be God, and stop trying to control the future? For the next seven days, will you simply...rest?" Have a GREAT week. See you next Sunday for Part 2 of Game Plan!

GUEST BLOGGER: Dave Clark (Prophet/Mystic Cajun)

2011-09-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

Third in a continuing series of guest blog posts from my friend Dave Clark. No editing. No disclaimer.

OF LUST AND RESONANCE AND TRIPPING SPIRITS

Some time ago, I worked for a Christian organization. One day an employee, a woman who was a counselor, came into the front office to fill out an accident report about an incident that happened that morning. In going down the stairs of the building, she had tripped and twisted her ankle. Thankfully, her injury was minor. But in relaying the incident to the clerk for the report she said this had happened due to a “spirit of tripping”. That's right, that's why I put it in quotes; direct from her mouth. Now as I often do when impacted by the absurd, I joked. So I asked her, had this tripping spirit, did she suppose, not done to well in demon school, top honorees garnering such powerful evils as lust and greed, while the lesser darknesses were left to reign over horrors such as tripping and nose-picking? She was not amused.

I joked with her because what I wanted to ask her was, 'could it be possible you tripped on the stairs because of female vanity'. (She was always dressed very well and liked high heels though stairs were a mandatory part of our job). I thought the joke would be slightly less dangerous to my health than this comment.

The woman comes from a prevalent religious background that sees spirits behind virtually all events and spiritual warfare a constant, like gravity. Please hear me clearly; I most surely believe the spirits exist and that warfare with them is possible and for a Christian, inevitable. But they are not the whole story, or even the major part of the story.

The story is about us, and what we are made of. You see, the demons don't stand outside us trying to trip us (though surely tripping is what they wish us). No, the demons are on the inside, trying to get us to join in their fun and games. And far too often we listen. They sing a song that so many times strikes a responsive chord in us, and we resonate to it. Jesus said it this way: “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not” (John 8:23).

Jesus was tempted like us and yet didn't sin (Hebrews 4:15). Why? The usual response, from the temptation stories, was that he quoted Scripture back to Satan. Now I am sure that bathing in the Word is of great use in combating evil. But that isn't the whole picture. I am certain that also there was no resonant chord in Jesus for Satan to strum. Not so much with us.

This realization allows those, who are willing, to be humble before God, knowing they are fatally flawed and only he can mend them.

But we would rather think there is a spirit tripping us down the stairs than to acknowledge we like our sexy high heels and the way they make us feel. It is much more comforting to man our watchtowers gazing diligently into the dark, than it is to admit the enemy is already inside the gate sitting down to dinner with us. “Pass the gravy, please”.

Weekend Update (9-11-11)

2011-09-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

Greeetings in the name of Jesus Christ! It's been more than a week since I shared a blog post - a week filled with pressing deadlines and uphill climbs, a week fraught with potholes and speedbumps, and a week that saw tragic circumstances for one of our beloved Crossroads families as they say goodbye to a cherished loved one. It was also a week in which we mourned as a people for those lost on September 11th, 2001.

That said, I greet this Monday morning with the peace of God which passes all understanding, and joy in the Holy Ghost! Jesus is alive and well and beckoning us into a life-changing, soul-saving relationship with our heavenly Father! God be praised!

Sunday, as we honored the memory of all who were lost on 9-11 by observing a moment of silence and praying for our nation, we wrapped up our series City of Progress sharing from the 8th Chapter of the Book of Nehemiah.

I strongly encourage you - if you missed even one week of this compelling teaching series, go HERE right away and catch up on the services you missed. I promise you, it will be time well spent! Here's just a few of the things that stood out to me:

"The RUBBLE in your life reveals the TROUBLE in your life". The rubble isn't the problem. Just like for the people of Jerusalem, the rubble was an indicator of how far they had wandered from God's purpose for their lives. Nehemiah is the guy that says, "Look past the rubble of financial meltdowns, problems in your relationships, marital discord and dissatisfaction with your jobs, and see that all of those troubles are rooted in wandering from God's purpose for your life".
"The TROUBLE in your life comes through the GATES in your life". Though none of us could be expected to control many of the challenges, difficulties and tragic circumstances that come our way, if we're honest, many of the troubles in our lives are events (or sequences of events) that we ourselves have authored. Nehemiah is the guy that says, "Honoring God means that we must be dilligent and responsible Gatekeepers". We're not responsible for the thoughts that come our way, we're only responsible for what we do with those thoughts after they've arrived. When we allow potentially destructive or dangerous things to enter unabated and ancontrolled through the gates of our eyes, ears, and mind - and we decide to allow those things to stay so that we might dwell on them for a while - they captivate us, and ultimately capture our hearts. Just as God's people we're taken captive for 70 years in Babylon, you and I can be taken captive by the things we allow to walk right in to our lives.

So many great things came about as a result of this series, I don't have time to mention but a few of them. Here's a HUGE one: we averaged 20 First-Time Attenders each week of City of Progress! Way to go Crossroads family! Way to reach out into your world and invite BIG! Also...Huge thanks to Nic, Janna and the band for letting me sit in with them a couple of times during this series. That was SO COOL!

Next Sunday, September 18th we kick-off a brand new series called GAME PLAN. Don't miss a week! Have fun in small groups this week as you dig in to DRIVE! Remember to pray for the lost, and continue to pray and believe God for 50 to be baptized at Beach, BBQ and Baptism on Sunday October 9th! Peace.

GUEST BLOGGER: Dave Clark (Prophet/Mystic/Cajun)

2011-09-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

This is a continuing series of weekly guest posts by my friend Dave Clark. No editing. No disclaimers. - Gene

"Love Wins”, Rob Bell's new book has caused a sensation, even garnering a Time magazine cover. People at church are talking about it too. So here's my two cents. The reason for all the controversy is Bell's belief (held by a prominent Evangelical) that there is no hell. Reaction has been fast and furious, mainly accusing him of attacking the truth of the Scriptures. More on that some other time. I don't think the problem lies with his view of Scripture but with his view of God.

Freedom requires hell. There can be no love given truly and freely to God if there is no possibility of rejecting him. We know that even from this life. If someone coerces another into 'loving' them, we may call it many things, but not love. Can the infinite lover be any different? And if freedom to reject God must be honored, what state of being could that be? Rob has taken the view of so many Christians that hell is punishment and retribution. So a god that would promote it would be sadistic and cruel. Bell rightly rejects that view of God's character. But that is a misreading of the New Testament. Yes, there is imagery of fire and suffering but look at the full picture and the main thrust is summed up in the words of Jesus; 'I never knew you, depart from me your evildoers' (Matthew 7:23). The primary truth is separation from God. If you finally just can't stand God, where can you go? All beauty, all truth, all love and affection, all creation belong to God. If you reject the one who is everywhere, where is there for you to be? And if the only others with you are 'like minded' having rejected God and turned inward into endless self-absorption, what would you call that existence? Hell, maybe?

Hell is primarily eternal quarantine in a self made sewer, and that instructs on Gods' character and purpose. He isn't consumed with hatred for 'the damned'. What if the prodigal son didn't “come to his senses”? Some never will, you know, and they won't ever come home. The father in Jesus' parable is a picture of God who suffered waiting for his son. God has made us and loves us and nothing can change that, not even hell. So for those who accept him, joy and relationship are eternally theirs and God rejoices in that fellowship. But those who reject him will never leave their Father's heart. For them he suffers eternally. That is, I’m certain, at least part of the meaning of Jesus' eternal scars. They speak of a God who loves us always, even if we never love him back; a God who chooses to suffer forever.

It is a hard and terrible reality this freedom we have. With it we can love God and other humans, his very image, or use and abuse people and strike at the very heart of God.

I think if Bell, or anyone else, would look at it that way they would see that no one will suffer because of hell any more than God.

BATTLE READY-TO-WEAR

2011-09-02T11:07:00.001-05:00

When I came out of the bedroom this morning, after getting ready for the day, and came in the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before heading out, I thought nothing of the fact that I was wearing an old pair of shorts, a comfortable shirt, and my running shoes. Until I realized that it wasn't Saturday yet. Oops.

While my attire was certainly comfomfortable - and totally appropriate for relaxing at home, or doing office work over the weekend (or going to church, haha!) - I was totally underdressed to be on a construction jobsite, or be in my office in a professional capacity, or attend a formal ceremony, or meet with clients, or do any number of other things that would happen on a normal work day.

Something we all recognize is that there is an appropriate way to clothe ourselves, depending on the situation we are in. Whether your daily clothing is a military uniform, a suit and tie, a pair of scrubs, blue jeans and workboots, khaki's and a polo shirt, or whatever, you KNOW when you are dressed right, and when you're not. You wouldn't think of showing up for formation in the same clothes you wear to the beach, or walk in the X-ray room at work in a party dress. The strange thing is...we often miss the importance of putting on the right "spiritual clothing". As a result, we often march right out of the house to face the biggest challenges of our lives buck-naked!

How should we dress then? The Bible says that our struggles in life are not simply against the things that we can see, but against unseen "spiritual forces of evil". The Apostle Paul writes:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". (Ephesians 6:12-17)

Next time you're getting ready for the day, take a little inventory. Got the right shoes, shirt, pants, belt, hat and tools for work? Great! But know this: you and I aren't really dressed at all, until we're clothed with the full armor of God.

So let me ask you, are you just dressed for work? Or are you dressed for battle?

WHAT'S HAPPENING? (w/Foghat Story)

2011-08-31T18:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! Looking forward to CHILL-OUT tonight at 7PM at CROSSROADS! No agenda other than Hang time, Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Tons of Toppings! Hey, this past Sunday at Crossroads was an AMAZING day! here's a few of the many things that stood out to me:

People made life changing decisions to trust Christ for the first time, to renew their relationship with Christ, or to go public with their faith through Baptism!! That's the REASON we are here, and hearing about it NEVER gets old! Woo-hoo!!
Heard about one sweet 9 year-old boy in our main service Sunday, visiting from Germany with his parents. He spoke very little English, but asked his parents and their friends to hold hands at the end of the service as Nic was playing and I was praying and giving an invitation to receive Christ. They did, and grinning ear to ear, he told them, "I not understand, but I feel something!" That one response opened the door for Christ as that story went out to dozens and gave friends of that young boys family opportunities to share Christ with MANY people including him! We're believing God for 100 people to receive Christ by 9 October. It is HAPPENING NOW in ways we could not have predicted, imagined, or pretended to control!
The past Sunday was a CRAZY service. Breaking down a piece of the account of Nehemiah from the Old Testament, we looked at what it would be like for Nehemiah to come into our "Jerusalem" and take inventory of our "rubble". We said, "The RUBBLE in our lives reveals the TROUBLE in our lives". If you were not at Crossroads Sunday you HAVE to see this message. Watch City of Progress 02 HERE.
Had several people make similar remarks like, "It was like Saturday Night Live", or services at Crossroads are "like a comedy show". Look, the Bible says in Proverbs 17:22 that, "A merry heart does good, like a medicine, but a crushed spirit dries the bones". I BELIEVE in the power of joyous laughter to lift our spirits and make us receptive to receiving the word of God. Too many sermons crush our spirits and dry up our bones. I choose laughing over drying up!
FOGHAT! Woo-Hoo! Almost forgot...I got to sit in with the band and bludgeon Max's drumkit to the tune of "Fool for the City". That was an AWESOME good time! Thanks for letting me play guys!!

I shared with you on Sunday that back in the "bad old days" before I trusted my life to Christ, I was in a band that opened for Foghat at a college in Western Colorado. I remarked that it was "the only time I was ever thrown out of an entire town". We hung out all night and hit clubs and parties with Foghat, and as the night wore on, we got out of control. Foghat went back to their bus, but we went to the hotel. It was after 3 o'clock in the morning as we rolled into the hotel. The band, the roadies and tech guys and several "hanger's-on". We were rowdy, and then a couple of fights broke out and things were broken and the guests we woke up were mad and the cops came. One real big cop with a badge and a gun looked at us and said, "Which one of you losers is the least drunk?" I looked at the guys and decided it was me. I told him so. He said, "Then you", pointing at me, "get in your car - or whatever that thing is" (we rode in a 26 foot long Checker Aerobus), "and get out of my town and don't EVER come back!" They escorted us to the city limits of Gunnison and turned around as we headed down the road.

Yeah, it's a cool story...I get that. But I don't share it to sound cool or to glorify playing rock and roll and living out of control and hurting other people and being in trouble with the law. There was nothing about that lifestyle that helped anyone. It was 100% self-motivated, self-serving and self-driven loser, and it cost me - and others - dearly.

My point in sharing that story is to reveal the dramatic difference between darkness and light, between death and life, between a relationship with our heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ, and eternal separation from God. God cleared the rubble from the destruction I wreaked in my own life, took those stones, and put them back together again in a way that glorifies Him. He took me from dark to light, from death to life, from self-serving to Christ-following. And he will do the same in your life as you allow Him to. Give your heart to Christ - without reservation - and watch as he creates in you a BRAND NEW spirit. A new life.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

GUEST BLOGGER: Dave Clark (Prophet/Mystic/Cajun)

2011-08-27T18:50:00.000-05:00

This is the first in a series of regular guest blog posts from my friend Dave Clark. No editing. No disclaimer. - Gene

Recently, Pastor Gene spoke in church and said something like “I love you gay person (or struggler with pornography or alcoholic, or whatever), not because I hope you one day won’t be gay, but because I love you”. In doing so he truly represented the heart of God. This understanding is vital because we must come to know in our innermost heart that God is saying; “I love you person who ____________ (fill in the blank with your own particular torment), not because I hope you one day won’t do that but simply because I love you”.

In this world everything is ‘performance based’. If you want to do well, study hard. If you want to get paid well, work hard. You see, money is the medium the employer uses to tell you how much she “loves” you. And in our real life love is most often doled out the same way. “I will love you – if you do this or if you don’t do that or if you meet this need of mine.” It goes on forever. And always in our deepest self we think, “If you knew the real me, you wouldn’t love me”. But God already knows the real you.

Now to my point: I have prayed and anguished so often, ‘Lord, deliver me from_________________’. You have too. We long for: “Victory In Jesus ♪”. And he wants it for us as well. But he wants something even more. He craves for us to know as settled fact deep in our spirit that we are loved now, before we are delivered from whatever plagues us. But some of the things that debilitate us could bring deep shame to us and disrepute to the church if they were exposed. Just look at church scandals. But still, your knowing you are loved is of greater value to him than his (or your) reputation. He has already suffered the shame of the cross. (To get a handle on that, think – What if the faith began in this day? The symbol for it might well be an electric chair instead of a cross.) What else can your shame do to him? God has chosen to suffer for us and with us. That is what real love is.

I am convinced I will never be fully delivered from my deepest evils until I truly believe with all that is in me that I am loved just like I am. Only then can I be of any use to him…or to you.

Live Like You Were Dialing

2011-08-26T13:27:00.000-05:00

Several years ago I had to ride to a nearby town 45 minutes away to pick up some materials. A guy I worked with rode with me. He was kind of a big guy. Getting situated in my truck, he pulled the seatbelt across his barrel-like midsection, and snapped the seatbelt latch into place. With that simple move, he unleashed a torrent of unintended consequences.

His cell phone was in his back pocket. To snap the seatbelt in place he had to ease up on one cheek, just enough to perfectly execute a classic butt-dial. His cell phone called the last number he had previously dialed. It was his wife's number.

What he could not have known as he spent the next 30 minutes verbally downloading all the things he couldn't stand about his marriage, and his wife (which included some truly unsavory chapters in their life - I should add, NONE of which I wanted to hear), was that when he executed the perfect butt-dial...to his wife...she spent the next 30 minutes listening to everything he said.

That they are divorced today has far less to do with the butt-dialing episode than the unresolved tensions and conflicts in their relationship. However, after a conversation about that episode with a friend whom I inadvertantly butt-dialed myself today, I concluded that perhaps you should NEVER say anything aloud, at any time in your life, that you weren't perfectly willing for anyone in your contact list to hear. He went one better:

Live your life like you're always butt-dialing.

"And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. the words you say will either acquit you or condemn you". (Matthew 12:36-37, NLT)

Sunday Wrap Up (August 21st, 2001)

2011-08-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

Last week it was Happy Birthday Crossroads, as we entered our fourth year meeting at the College Cinema each Sunday morning. Yesterday, it was happy birthday me, as I entered my 52 year of life with so many blessing to be grateful for, so many friendships to be thankful for, and a wonderful church - not just to preach at - but to truly call my home! Thank you to everyone who made the day special! Here's a few quick hits from the weekend:

First Service was rough for me. I was a little distracted...by the sound of the air conditioner. Seriously, first service was as light in attendance as it's ever been. I remember last week doing my best to encourage long-time Crossroads attenders to come to the first service to help make room for first-time guests. I guess no one got the memo. Or got it and ignored it. PLEASE help your church reach people! Yesterday's second service was packed. That's awesome, but we really need to spread it around. I promise you, first service is ROCKIN' when you are there!
Here's why the last paragraph is important: Two weeks ago we had 24 first-time guests! Sunday, we had 17 first-time guests! I don't know another church our size that has that kind of momentum. First-time guests are the most important people in the room, and we are PRIVILEGED at Crossroads to have so many! Please help your church make them feel welcome by ensuring there's somewhere for them to sit. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay...moving on...here's something really cool that happened Sunday: Steven Carlson proposed marriage to Ivy Mabalot in our lobby and (wait for it)...she said, "YES!" Congrats Steven and Ivy!!
Love the Book of Nehemiah. We'll be in it for the next few weeks. Dig in and read the first 8 chapters. We said this Sunday: "God didn't use the people to build a wall, He used the wall to build a people". God ALWAYS has more in mind than just the physical. While, using Nehemiah's inspired leadership, God provided for the physical safety, security and success of His people through the restoration of the wall, He also provided a WAY BACK TO HIM that ensured the spiritual renewal of the people He loved so much! He wants to do the same thing in our lives, too!
The Apostle Paul understood about building our lives - and the church - ON purpose (Romans 3). He showed us that "The key to building something that lasts is to build it on the right foundation".
Our church is in Enterprise. The slogan for our town: "CITY OF PROGRESS" is boldly painted on every water tower in town. Let us BE THE CHURCH in Enterprise that understands: The ultimate purpose of any great undertaking by a City of Progress, should be spiritual renewal!
Care about the things that God cares about. Pray for God's help in reaching our city for Christ.

In closing, part of the awesome progress we are comitted to at Crossroads is to make our Children's environments safe, secure and FUN! We implemented a new check-in procedure on Sunday that had some flaws in it, and caused parents to have to wait longer than usual. We'll do better next week, but please be patient and understand, we want to provide the safest and most secure environment possible for your children, where they can have fun and learn about Jesus! Check-in and check-out that works is an important piece of that. Work with us as we work out the bugs.

Remember also - as we enter our fourth year of being a church - that Crossroads, at times, is like an awkward, pimply-faced teenager. We're not nearly grown up yet, but we work dilligently at growing every day. There may be some things along the way that - when compared to a church that's been around for 50 years - make us look like amateurs. But just like that awkward teen, we're not what we're going to be when we grow up. And with your help and patience and love for others, Crossroads will grow up to something rare and something beautiful!

Jesus came to save sinners. Our job is to let people know.

WHY INVITE?

2011-08-20T06:00:00.003-05:00

I heard one time that Northpoint Church in Atlanta (pastored by Andy Stanley - one of my favorite pastor/teachers), never asked people in their church to INVITE people. Because they never HAD to. From the beginning, people just got it. They've ALWAYS invited big. The passion of those attending Northpoint was fueled by the the really smart things the leadership of the church did to cast vision for reaching un-reached, un-churched people. Some 20,000 a week now attend!

But I also heard that Northpoint launched with well over 1000 people. I also know that Andy is a REALLY smart guy, and (it's worth saying) he is the son of one of the most widely known and respected pastors in America, Charles Stanley. But that's Northpoint, and that's Andy. It's not Crossroads and it's not Gene or Leslie or Will or Ben or Nic or Chris or any of our awesome staff, leaders or volunteers. We also didn't start with over 1000 people. We started with 33 people...in my kitchen. And me and Leslie and a few others invited them. Or else they wouldn't have come. Invitations are SO IMPORTANT!

Look, I'm just not that smart. I mean, not ANDY smart, you know? So I really need your help, here. I believe that God wants to save people from hell. People that live right here in our community. I believe that God will meet our desire to see to lost come to Christ and our commitment to preach the Gospel with crowds coming through our door.

But I also believe they won't just show up accidentally. If we're intentional about praying, and studying, and preparing, and preaching, and everything else we do...we must also be intentional about EXTENDING THE INVITATION. I really believe that the NEXT STEP TOWARDS GOD FOR MANY PEOPLE is through us! YOU and I must open our hearts, and open our mouths and tell people about Jesus. I believe with all my heart that one of the BEST things you can do for someone you know, or someone care about, is to INVITE them to come to Crossroads.

I promise: you get 'em here, we'll preach the Gospel, and together we'll do everything, by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to lead those people into a life-changing, soul-saving relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. What's better than that?

Jesus Christ came to save people. Our job is to let them know.

Jesus Came to Save Sinners

2011-08-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

The Apostle Paul writes to a young Pastor named Timothy that, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners". And Paul uses his own life as an example, calling himself "the worst of them all". And he said that God had mercy on him, so that Jesus could use him as an example of his great patience with even the worst of sinners.

I LOVE this passage of Scripture, because I can relate to it. Honestly, I have a hard time relating to people who claim to have it all figured out and all cleaned up. I always have. For more than half my life: Jesus, God, the Bible all seemed irrelevant to me, because I thought it was all about being a goody two-shoes, and doing everything right. I was so aware of every rotten thing I ever did, that I didn't see myself as a person God could possibly be interested in. I didn't really "fit the mold" of church-going, right-living, decent-minded people.

Then someone told me that God loving me had nothing to do with anything I had ever done, or ever would do. That Jesus came to the world for the express purpose of saving self-centered, self-serving, self-absorbed, depraved people just like me. And then someone told me the story of Paul, and what he said about himself. And I remember thinking, "If God loved Paul, He could probably love me, too".

I can relate to Paul. Even his name change: from Saul. I was known by another name before I surrendered my life and my will to God, and asked Jesus to be my forgiver and leader. I haven't been known by that name - or by the lifestyle that characterized that name - since. But I have continued to make mistakes, and I continue to fall short of God's glorious standard. Thank God for His mercy and His grace! The Bible says that it's new every morning. I can relate to that, because I know how much I need it.

There's a lot I don't know about a lot of things, but I do know this: I NEED JESUS EVERY DAY, and so do you. I also know that if we think we don't, we're likely to be just the kind of Christian that other sinners look at and think, "I'm not good enough to be like them". What a pity that would be.

Listen...it's SO IMPORTANT that other people (family, friends, neighbors, co-workers) have a chance to know that God's grace and mercy are for them, REGARDLESS of what they've done. I am absolutely POSITIVE that one of the biggest roadblocks for people coming to Christ is that they think they're just not "good enough". No one ever was good enough. No one but Jesus.

Jesus came to save sinners. Our job is to let people know.

What's Happening...

2011-08-17T18:32:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday was an amazing day as we said "Happy Birthday Crossroads!", and marked the beginning of our fourth year at our College Cinema location. We celebrated in one big 10:30AM service that was packed out. If you weren't able to be there, we missed you in a huge way, but you can watch the whole service right HERE.

So grateful (not an adequate word) for all that God has done, and all the He continues to do at Crossroads! I am so thankful for all who serve each week to make Crossroads happen, and make it possible for our church to do what God had called us to do: Love God, Love Others and Serve the World! I am SO AWARE and awake to the reality of God's mandate: that we should do everything, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to lead people into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

LOVED worship on Sunday morning. Nic, Janna and the band sounded great! I never get tired of worship at Crossroads.
Huge thank you's to Scott & Natasha Chalker, Zeb and Sarah Dimmet, and Ivy Mabalot for sharing with us, in their video segments, a part of their life-changing experience at Crossroads!
So glad that Crossroads attenders are commited to LEVERAGING THEIR LIFE-CHANGE by sharing their stories!
Thank you for being willing to attend the early service, and sit down front, to make room in the second service for first time attenders. This past Sunday morning, we had 23 First Time Attenders! That's HUGE, and it keeps growing. Help out by coming early!
Thank you for taking the 100/50/10 Pledge: YOU and ME praying together - praying that God would use us to reach people - and praying that we would see 100 lives commited to Christ, and 50 people to go public with their faith at Beach, BBQ & Baptism on Sunday October 9th, 10 weeks from right now!

We had some great moments in the service. And we truly had some "God moments" as well! What an awesome and engaged crowd. I felt completely energized by your enthusiam, and confident that we are entering our fourth year more committed than ever to seeing people come to Christ. There were a couple of really BIG IDEAS to take home with us from the service, but perhaps none that engaged us all more than when we talked about inviting BIG, and recognizing that:

EVERY INVITE CARD REPRESENTS A CHANGED LIFE!

It's so important - especially if you have experienced life change as a result of your Crossroads experience - that you SHARE that with as many people as possible. The Bible says that God's desire is that no one should perish, but that everyone should come to repentance - to a place of genuine life-change through Jesus Christ! If we really believe that, how important is it for us to reach out and invite so that others can experience the same thing we have! Though the conversation may be casual, the invitation is eternal!

This Sunday we start a brand new series called CITY OF PROGRESS. We'll be looking at the Book of Nehemiah and sharing about what we can all do to not just use our city to build a great church, but to use this church to build a GREAT city! Have a great week! See you Sunday morning!

WHAT'S HAPPENING...

2011-08-11T19:25:00.000-05:00

Hey all, it's Thursday evening in LA and I've only now been able to sit still long enough to share a bit of an update on what's happening. this is a BIG post, with lot's of stuff, so let's do it bullet style:

First off - HUGE day this past Sunday as Pastor Ben finished up DIRTY JOBS. The response to this two-week series was off the charts. First, dozens of people who had not previously served said, "Put me to work!". Then, in week two, Ben busted out an awesome teaching on Biblical giving, supported by a totally groovy VIDEO, and introduced our brand-new automated on-line GIVING TOOL that supports recurring giving as well as a variety of flexible giving options. Did it help? Over a dozen immediately signed up to take advantage of the recurring feature, and one BOLD individual blessed Crossroads with a $2000 gift, while sitting in the service! AWESOME response! Way to go Crossroads!
Leslie and I and some of our staff we're comped by NEXT, to attend the two-day Nuts & Bolts Conference for church planters. This is where we started 3-1/2 years ago, and it was truly awesome to return to Church at the Springs in Ocala and reconnect with coaches, mentors and friends; be exposed to some fantastic teaching; and encourage others who are right where we were all those months ago. Thank you Pastor Ron and Teddi Sylvia and the whole Springs family for investing your lives in church planters like us!
This Sunday it's "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CROSSROADS!" as we celebrate the beginning our Year #4 at the College Cinema!! We're going to have ONE SERVICE ONLY at 10:30 AM this Sunday, and it is a DO NOT MISS event. Yes, cake and balloons and great worship and great friends, but even more than that, you are going to watch some videos of real Crossroads attenders sharing awesome stories about their Crossroads experience. And I will be sharing a message with you about what I truly believe that God wants all of us to experience in the year to come!
A quick note about CHILL OUT, our ice cream and fro-yo event: we have had a DATE CHANGE to 7:00PM on WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31st. This is going to be an awesome come and go time of just hanging out, eating cool treats, and meeting new friends. It's a great way to connect with people you have maybe seen in church before, but haven't met yet. I will be there and can't wait to "chill out" and get connected!

Guys, there's so much more, but I'm going to leave you with this: I am coming back from two-weeks off more focused than ever on God's mission for our church. I'm going to be sharing some of that with you, and I'm going to blow your mind on Sunday when I share a challenge with you that I believe is going to blow the lid off of Crossroads! I believe we are stepping into a season of unprecedented growth in our church. I cannot wait to see you all Sunday morning, celebrate Crossroads third birthday since we launched at the Cinema, and share my heart with you for what I believe will be the most remarkable year yet in the history of our church family! Invite BIG and do not miss this Sunday. One service. 10:30AM. Peace.

A Word About Recruiting People From Other Churches

2011-08-04T08:58:00.001-05:00

Twenty-two years ago, if I learned anything, I most surely learned a couple of "DON'Ts" that have stuck with me pretty good:

Don't sow discord among the brethren (King James version), and
Don't be a sheep rustler (John Wayne version).

I don't get overly pissy about too much, but violate one of the above two "DON'Ts", and I totally HULK out. Just kind of the way I've always been. Everybody has something that rubs them the wrong way. These are two of mine. And as a pastor of a growing church, I am more comitted than ever to the importance of those principles. I honestly believe that any action contrary to them is indefensible, reprehensible, and intolerable.

That first thing? About "sowing discord among the brethren"? That's a bit from Proverbs Chapter 6, where the writer of Proverbs is telling us about things God hates. He also says, there's a price to be paid for that kind of behavior. He says that someone who does that, "shall be broken without remedy", and that "calamity shall come upon him suddenly". I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound good to me. Don't be that guy.

What is discord? Lack of harmony, diasagreement, difference of opinion, STRIFE. The Bible instructs us in James Chapter 3 that where envying and strife are present, there is confusion and "every evil work". In simple terms: talking trash about someone else's church is discordant to the body of Christ. Don't be that guy. People that talk your church down to try to get you to come to their church are causing strife in the body of Christ. Not good.

You know how in the Old West they used to string rustlers up with a rope from a tree? Today, rustling happens every day, and it's become an accepted practice. I'm not talking about out on the prairie...I mean, in the church!

People routinely invite people who are already hooked up with a church family, serving in a church, connected in small groups, and an integral part of a faith community...to attend their church! What are you people smoking? Guys, that is so fundamentally wrong. That's sheep rustling. Sheep stealing. It's heinous. Now if you know someone doing that, know that they are a carrier of strife. Also know that strife is contagious. You catch it from disgruntled, selfish, ambitious, and/or jealous people who value their own personal agenda over the body of Christ. Don't be that guy.

So what about Crossroads? Don't people who have attended other churches come to Crossroads? Yes. However, you must know this: We do not believe in recruiting church members away from churches in which they are already planted. Period.

We talk about inviting all the time, but let me speak very plainly so that there is no misunderstanding: If you attend Crossroads, DO NOT under any circumstances recruit people to attend Crossroads who are already part of a church fellowship. It's wrong, and you're not helping Crossroads by doing that. You're just hurting another church. Remember, our target at Crossroads is to reach people who are far from God and far from church, and trust me, there's WAY more of them, then there is folks who already attend another church.

If someone recruits you to attend another church, do what seems good to you. As for me, I decided long ago to always grow where I was planted.

Peace.

Sunday, Dirty Sunday!

2011-08-02T08:18:00.001-05:00

Momentum continues to build at Crossroads! Sunday was a banner day as Pastor Ben Rice shared Part 1 of our two-part series DIRTY JOBS. Tons of wins! Here's a few things I noticed:

I attended the first service and it was OFF THE CHAIN crazy! For my money, that was (bar none) my favorite Ben Rice message ever!
"It's not a dirty job unless you have to do it alone." Wow! What a strong (and absolutely accurate) statement. Pastor Ben brought the heat, but cast a TON of vision for serving in the church.
Response was OVERWHELMING. Dozens of people signed up to volunteer in some are of ministry in the church. The days of dirty jobs (some doing the work alone) are coming to an end!
MANY people made decisions Sunday, not only to serve, but to trust Christ for the first time, or to renew their committment to Christ!
"No one can do everything, but everyone can do something." HUGE point, as Pastor Ben shared from 2 Peter 4 ("Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace...")
"Each of you" means all of us!
I was all over the campus during second service, looking in on our AWESOME children's ministry (nursery, toddlers, pre-school and elementary) and surfing the lobby when I stuck my head in the auditorium just in time to see something I had never seen before: Due to a glitch in our pager system, ALL of the nursery pagers went off at the same time! I'd just come from the nursery area and everything was completely calm, so I knew it was a glitch, but when all the red flashing pagers went off at the same time, all the nursery parents got up at the same time and walked out of the auditorium. Pastor Ben looked rather confused for a moment, but kept driving! It was a non-event, but good to know that we can clear the parents our of the auditorium quickly if we needed to. (It had nothing to do with your preaching, Ben.)
The VIDEO SEGMENTS that Ben did with Worship Pastor Nic McElveen (WATCH IT HERE) and Sound Tech David Myers (WATCH IT HERE) were absolutely hysterical! Great job!

All in all, a wonderful day at Crossroads! Thanks to EVERYONE who makes Crossroads happen each and every week! See you next Sunday for Part 2 of DIRTY JOBS!

SUNDAY WRAP UP (072411)

2011-07-25T14:55:00.000-05:00

Fabulous day at Crossroads Sunday! Biggest crowd in several weeks as we closed out our original series SUPER! Our second week in Cinema Three, people coming back from vacation, and I'm really sensing the momentum that accompanies the kind of rapid growth we've seen before heading into the Fall of the year. Too exciting!! Here's a few quick hits from Sunday:

Atmosphere and energy in our new auditorium is off the charts! It's like a brand new church. Lots of fun!
Working through technical issues. We had 3 years to work out technical bugs in Cinema One, only a couple of weeks in Cinema 2. There's a buzz in the sound system. We all know there's a buzz. Thank you for your comments on your Connection Cards about the buzz. We're working on it. Our electrician will be in this week to run clean power into the auditorium. That'll fix it. Had to do the same thing next door.
Several people commented that it was louder than Cinema One. I agree. Gonna take a few services to get it all dialed in. Thanks for your patience...and don't forget that we provide ear plugs where you get your Worship Guides.
THANK YOU FOR BEING "DOWN IN FRONT"! Can't tell you how much energy you bring to the room and to the message when you engage by getting closer to the action. And you leave room in the back for first-timers or those who haven't decided yet. THANK YOU SO MUCH for joining me and Nic DOWN IN FRONT! You guys totally rock!
Loved sharing the message 'SUPER-BOLD'! If you didn't get a Worship Guide, get the notes and the Scriptures by clicking HERE.
Speaking of totally rockin' out: How 'bout Caleb Bannin and the band doing 'Eye of the Tiger'? That was AWESOME!!! Worship rocked my face off. Loved it all. And Caleb got the room going with Survivor's big hit!
Next time someone challenges you, or tries to run you down the road, or wants you to do things you know you shouldn't...what do you do? You look them in the eye, raise your fist 80's rocker style, and you go, "Dunt...Dunt-Dunt-Dunt...Dunt-Dunt-Dunt...Dunt-Dunt-Duuuuuuuun!" Be Bold!
Gave away every last copy of 'Be Bold' on Sunday. Yup! Read it. Use it. Live it! If you didn't get one, I'll get a link up to a downloadable PDF. Let me know if you want it.

So excited for the next two weekends. It's a brand new original series from Crossroads called 'DIRTY JOBS'. Don't miss a week. See you Sunday!

"Down In Front"

2011-07-21T06:32:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to all the faithful Crossroads attenders out there. You know our vibe, we place a high value on people walking through the front door the very first time. With our move into Cinema Three last week, I noticed that because the entrance to the auditorium is on the side, and the back seating area has a flat floor, and because so many folks like sitting in the back (I totally get that), the auditorium LOOKS like it's full when people come in after the music has started.

So here's what happens: people JAM the back of the room because (and you know what this is like) they feel uncomfortable coming "down in front", especially if they are first-time, or relatively new attenders. We had a ROCKIN' crowd last Sunday, but I noticed there were four to five rows front and center that were virtually empty.

So here's what I'm asking you to do: move "down in front" into the center section when you come into the auditorium. Three totally awesome things will happen when you do this:

You'll leave room for new folks who want to check out Crossroads without "getting too close". (We always want to leave room in the back for people who haven't decided yet).
You'll be more connected than ever to the music and the message, while leading and inspiring others to do the same!
You'll give me confidence that I don't smell funny, causing the first four center rows to be empty.

This Sunday, as we close out our continuing series SUPER, come join me "down in front" and LEAD BIG as you show others how great it is to dive even deeper into the music and the message. Don't forget, ear plugs are always available at the table when you come in if the music's a little hot. (Just take them out before I start talking). See you Sunday!

SUPER SUNDAY - TAKE TWO

2011-07-18T15:32:00.000-05:00

I got a call late Saturday from the owner of the College Cinema, where Crossroads holds Sunday morning services. He told me that all the rain we had finally began leaking around the front A/C unit in Cinema One where we meet. He said the fire department came and blocked off a portion of the seating down in front in case the ceiling fell in. My first thought was, "no problem, no one ever sits down front". My second thought was, "This is ironic, considering we had originally slated moving our services into Cinema Three for the 3rd of July".

I called Will Lurie, our Media Arts Pastor, to let him know what I knew. By yesterday morning at 7:15AM, I'd heard from Rachel Williams our Guest Services director, and David Myers our soundman, that it was now raining in Cinema One..front and back. We made the call to move to Cinema Three and the race was on. We cancelled the early service and had two and a half hours to move stage, sound, lights, projector, to another cinema, and re-set the lobby to accomodate a new traffice flow.

Standing with the staff in wet. soggy. smelly Cinema One I asked, "Do you hear that? That's the sound of God laughing at us for not moving to Cinema Three two weeks ago." Under my leadership, we had allowed the date to slip, and opted for a re-launch on September 18th. Apparently...God wasn't confused when he led us to make the move. I'm pretty sure He knows when it's going to rain.

So we moved. And something amazing happened. Staff, leaders, volunteers dug in to the task at hand with and energy and passion I remember from the very first Crossroads service. The Lobby looked great, the hallway and traffic flow worked, and Cinema Three was absolutely electric! It looked better, it sounded better, it smelled better, it WAS better! Why didn't we do this years ago? It felt like we had moved...to a new church! (In fact, I remarked from the platform that I felt like I was cheating on my old church.)

God orchestrated a fresh start for Crossroads at exactly the right minute...when we least expected it. And I couldn't be more grateful to Him, or more appreciative of the hard work and fantastic attitudes with which EVERYONE approached the challenge of moving.

More people made first-time decisions to trust Christ and decisions to renew their commitment to Christ in one service than at any time in the last year. God is so good! He knows exactly what we need, when we need it. And often He lets us know about it in advance...we just have to be obedient. I'm grateful that our Heavenly Father is so patient with us, and not concerned about "paying us back". If He were, I'd have been standing on the stage of Cinema One when a hundred or so gallons of rainwater, and a half dozen ceiling tiles, came down with a resounding "Sploosh!".

"God, thank you for not embarrassing us like that, but for giving us the very best opportunity to worship You, to serve You and others, and tell people about You and Your Son Jesus!" See you all next week for two services in Cinema Three. Let it rain! We're good now.

OUR BILLBOARDS

2011-07-15T11:54:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Crossroads launched a new billboard campaign on our electronic digital billboard at Hwy 84 and Boll Weevil Circle. There are five slides in rotation that say:

On behalf of Christians we apologize for HATING GAYS.
On behalf of Christians we apologize for BEING RACIST.
On behalf of Christians we apologize for BEING HYPOCRITES.
On behalf of Christians we apologize for IGNORING THE POOR.
On behalf of Christians we apologize for THINKING WE'RE BETTER THAN YOU.

It has come to my attention that there are more than a few Christians who are offended by the billboards. I totally understand. They're absolutely correct. First off, there should be a comma between the word 'Christians' and the word 'we'. Clearly, a glaring grammatical error. Secondly, we should apologize for being 'RACISTS', not 'RACIST'. If it's a 'we' we're talking about, then the word should be plural. Grammer has never been my strong suit. I promise that on Monday we will discontinue this billboard series so we can make the appropriate corrections. (Just keeping it light, guys. I recognize there is more, but I admit I am somewhat flummoxed by the reaction from Christians.)

There is a concern that some have expressed (I should say, not to me personally), that our billboard series "casts Christians in a bad light", or "gives people who are poor, or gay, or racist a reason to dislike Christians". Here's where I fall on that: People who do not attend church don't really need a reason to dislike Christians. We've already given them plenty of them. In our ministry we hear about those reasons all the time. And that's just kind of the whole ever-lovin' point of the billboards.

The church (WHICH INCLUDES ME - BECAUSE I'M THE WORST OFFENDER), in my opinion, has consistenly dropped the ball - and excluded many as a result - through our failure to be intellectually honest. We claim to love God, and often hate other people. Maybe you don't personally. Good for you and those you have influenced. But there's is way more to the body of Christ than your experience alone. Taken in context of how the church has treated people that aren't just like them over the years, we have a lot of work to do. I think not acknowledging that is a prime reason so many shy away from church.

Those billboard apologies, and the website they are linked to, are not directed at those God-fearing Christ-followers determined to love other people no matter what the cost to personal reputations. This is not about you. They are directed at those who have been hurt by the church, who have been ignored by the church, who have been passed over by the church, who have been left out by the church, who have not been loved by the church. And there are MANY of them...yes, even right here our community.

People aren't disposable. Everyone, regardless of their status in life, the color of their skin, their political affliation, OR their SIN deserves an opportunity to hear the Gospel message of Christ. If you or your church are not into all that, fine. But one day, just like you, I'm going to have to stand before God and give an account for what I did with the skills, abilities, gifts, and resources that He gave me while I was on this earth. And I'm not going to face that day without doing EVERYTHING in my ability (empowered by the Holy Spirit) to reach the UN-churched and DE-churched in our community with the truth of God's Word and His message of grace for ALL who will come to Him.

Someone needs to do it. Don't hate on us. Pray for us. We're reaching people and providing an environment where the ignored, ambivilent, disinterested, and disposed of can experience the kind of life-change that is only possible when their life intersects with the power and the love of God. And I thank God every day that there are intelligent, deeply motivated, committed, mature Christians willing to stand alongside us and help us do the work.

That may not be what your church is called to do. But it IS our assignment at Crossroads. We're not trying to steal people away from anyone. We never have. We're not trying to be bigger than anyone else. We don't care. And it's important that you know that we are grateful that you are following God, and making disciples while you make a home for those you are called to serve. Why would you want anything less for us? Why would the church, the family of God, Christ-followers disparage our work?

Paul instructs us on the danger of criticism HERE. Don't fall into the trap of gossiping about other churches, or their congregation, or their methodology or (most importantly) their calling. I love that people have choices in our community. It's important, because we are all so different in so many ways. At Crossroads, we have shared the truth of the Gospel with those in our community for more than three years now. And we haven't done it in a vaccuum. Every message that we have shared from the platform is available HERE. We preach and teach the truth of God's Word. Our doctrinal beliefs are posted on our website and lived out in our church family every day.

Our styles may be different, our target may be different, but we are fighting the same enemy, and it isn't one another. Remember Paul's admonition, "Above all you must live as citizens of heaven conducting yourself in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith which is the Good News". (Phil 1:27, NLT)

The peace of God be with you all.

READ MY MAIL

2011-07-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

This hit the nail on the head for me. Can't do any better this week, than this blog post from Perry Noble. Take a look. See you Sunday for Week 3 of SUPER. This week: Kryptonite.

PERRY NOBLE

SUPER Sunday Update

2011-07-05T16:14:00.000-05:00

Great 4th of July weekend at Crossroads! Here's a few quick take-away's:

People made high quality life-changing decisions Sunday to trust Christ for the first time, and to renew their relationship with God! Nothing better than that!!
Amazed at size of crowd for the 4th of July weekend! Way to show up big!
The energy in the Lobby and in the Auditorium was AWESOME Sunday! People were amped to be serving and attending Crossroads and it showed!
Kicked off brand new original series called "SUPER" on Sunday!
Worship band rocked! Great worship set and then..."Perfect" by PINK?!?! Are you kidding me? that was FANTASTIC!! Clean version BTW, fit the message PERFECT-ly. I hear Nic, Janna and the band have something like that each week for the SUPER series! Can't wait.
We talked about Moses Sunday (watch the message by clicking HERE), and we talked about how many of us view him as a "Bible Superhero". But looking into parts of Moses' life, and his interaction with God, helps us see that God isn't looking for our skills and ability when He calls us into action - He's looking for us to SHOW UP and trust Him.

On Sunday, we ended the service with this idea: FOUND people FIND people. We shared Jesus instructions from ACTS 1:8, and Paul's encouragement to recognize our responsibility from 2 COR 5. And we provided in your worship guide a place to write down the names of the THREE PEOPLE you were going to invite to Crossroads next week. If you weren't with us Sunday, I encourage you to watch the video of the message, write those names down, and invite BIG. This is not about "putting butts in seats". This is about you having something worth sharing. The #1 reason people attend church is become someone invited them. Think about the person that invited you. Now...go be that person in the life of someone else.

Have a GREAT week, and I'll see you (and your friend, family member, co-worker, neighbor, classmate, mailman, cashier, UPS driver, and the rest of those you invite to Crossroads) next Sunday!!

Don't Forget to Feed the Dog

2011-07-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

As we enter the long July 4th weekend, I want to send out a quick reminder to the faithful at Crossroads to remain faithful in your generosity and commitment to support the work of the ministry. Each Summer, as families head for well-deserved vacations, making plans to ensure that things at home are paid up and provisions are made for pets, pools and property, churches accross America feel the pinch. It's a simple fact that church attendance drops off by an average of 45% during the Summer. What's often overlooked is that the average church's fixed costs are 95% of their budget. In other words, the bills are the same in the Summer as they are the rest of the year.

As you make plans to be out of town during the Summer, please make every effort to use On-Line Giving by clicking HERE, or mail your regular offering to:

Crossroads Church

P.O. Box 311567

Enterprise, AL 36331

Have a GREAT time on your Summer vacations! But make sure you don't forget to feed the dog...or your church. You want both of them healthy and doing well when you get back. We'll be right here. Woof!

WEEKEND UPDATE 062711

2011-06-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

Greetings in the name of Jesus! What a fantastic weekend I had. Just sayin'. Got to spend all of Saturday with Leslie doing tons of things I don't usually get to do on Saturday, 'cause Sunday I had the day off! Woot! Went to Crossroads 10:30AM service to worship with friends and hear from Student Pastor Chris Brooks who shared Sunday's message: Masquerade. GREAT job Chris! Exceptional, clear, compelling confrontation with the truth! Loved the visuals, loved the delivery, loved the message.

It was extremely cool getting to play "first-time attender" at Crossroads. I really tried to put myself in the mind of someone coming for the very first time. Loved the Lobby experience! The worship band did a great job, and the message was something relevant to my life and easy to understand. I would definitely come BACK to Crossroads!

In the days to come, I'll be sharing a really important series of Blog posts about something near and dear to all of our hearts: M-O-N-E-Y, and what we do (and don't do) with it. Good stuff for our lives. Hope you connect with the messages. Link the posts on your Facebook page. Help spread the word.

Speaking of spreading the word...we are kicking off a brand new Summer Series this Sunday July 3rd called SUPER! It's about discovering the Superhero in each of us. I hope you show up big and invite even BIGGER for this Summer Blockbuster. Look for more information on SUPER in this weeks email blast!

On a final note, we launched a brand new campaign this week on our digital billboard at Hwy 84 and Boll Weevil Circle. It's designed for one reason and one reason only: to reach those who are not reached by the traditional church. There's a link provided on the advertising that you might find interesting. I won't post it here. Get out there and sleuth it for yourself. It'll be better that way.

Have a GREAT week!

Crossroads Permanent Home: Part IV

2011-06-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

Over the last week or so, I've been sharing a series of Blog posts about our journery as a church from portable to permanent. This is the final post in this series until the Fall of this year. Make sure you read all the posts in the series. Thanks for connecting!

Today, as I write this post, there's some things that we know, and some things that we don't know. We know that God has chosen to bless the work at Crossroads in ways we never imagined. We know that with God's blessing we have already beaten some very daunting odds: (80% of all church plants fail in the first 18 months, and 80% of churches that do not reach 200 in attendance within the first two years, never do). We know that we CAN do portable church. We know that we have a great place to do it with a landlord who has never raised our rent, or fussed at us in any way for something we didn't deserve (a few minor things). We know we have a great (and exclusive) relationship with Clark Theatres.

We know we have a permanent home for our growing Children's ministries, Youth ministry and administrative functions. We know that Clark's intention is to build a new movie theatre complex sometime within the next 18 months, and we know that we have entered into a formal agreement to purchase the College Cinema when he does.

But we also know that plans change. And that opens the door to talk about what we don't know. Here's a biggie: Can I promise you with absolute certainty that Clark will build and move out within the next 18 months? No, I cannot. I don't KNOW that he absolutely positively will. But I CAN promise you that if he DOES (in a timely manner), Crossroads will secure a mortgage on the building and take possession of it.

Because plans change, we felt it was important to explore other options. Because we now own a building (a mortgage) in the College Plaza, we feel those options include building right where we are. Because we feel strongly compelled to remain at our current location, we are comitting to securing the property (17,500 SF) immediately adjacent to our existing building. Should Clark move as planned, we have room to expand on the other side. Some possibilities for that expansion might include a fellowship hall, cafe, workout facilities, educational facilities, but most importantly, a place from which to distribute food and other essential items to people in trouble. Should Clark opt not to move, we have room to construct a 700 seat auditorium, lobby, restrooms, and expanded children's and youth facilities, and tie them to our existing building. Either way you look at it, it's a smart play for us to acquire that land.

Additionally, since the College Plaza is our home, we feel it's important to make a modest investment in making the place more appealing. We're going to start that when the weather cools down a bit (say mid-August, LOL), by having a couple of Clean-up Weekends, getting a roll-off dumpster, assembling some volunteers (are you up?), and clean up all the flippin' garbage, trash, building materials, and other junk that is laying around all over the College Plaza. New signage comes next (look HERE for an example of why that's important). We want to raise the bar on what it means to be a tenant in the College Plaza - so we're going to have to lead big to make it happen.

Something else we don't know - but we suspect may be all too true - is how many people come through our doors, only to find that their Cinema One experience is a bit dark, and a bit smelly, and a bit worn out. And as a result, choose not to come back to Crossroads. The condition of Cinema One is something we've overlooked for the past three years, but I don't think everyone is willing to overlook it. We can do better.

This Fall (best guess on the exact date is Sunday, September 18th), we will be RE-LAUNCHING Crossroads main service down the hall in Cinema 3. Cinema 3 is newer, and nicer, and brighter, with exactly the same number of seats (that don't squeak) as Cinema One. The difference is, it's wider and makes for much better sightlines for those in attendance. The staging will be better, the sound will be better, the lighting will be better - the entire Sunday service experience will be better. We're going to renovate the hallway that leads to Cinema 3 as well, to make it brighter and more modern. We're also repainting the worn out, faded and raggedly looking metal awning on the front of the building. As long as we're in the College Cinema, we're going to make every effort to make it a place that people are PROUD to call their church home!

Well guys, that's it on this topic for now. Coming this Fall - in conjunction with our RE-LAUNCH and move to Cinema 3, we'll be announcing a new Capital Campaign with specific goals and specific timetables. Thank you for everything you have done to honor God with your special giving over the past year. It has born an abundant harvest of fruit for the Kingdom of God in the people that you have influenced for Christ, and the lives that have been changed as a result.

One day Crossroads WILL have a permanent home. It will happen on God's timetable and not ours. In the mean time, we're going to do everything we can possibly do, with the resources God has given us, to grow His Kingdom on the earth. We want MORE people to know Jesus! We want His Church to grow and grow and grow! And while we're doing that, we believe and we understand that people, not buildings, come first. We also believe and understand that:

"A church isn't a building, it's a family..but every family needs a home."

Mid-Week Update

2011-06-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

Greetings! Been out of the loop for the last couple of days as Leslie and I made a visit to Birmingham for UAB's Student/Parent Orientation. It was awesome, but a little like drinking from a firehose. Lot of information in a short amount of time. We'll do our best to digest it and make the most of it!

This past Sunday we celebrated Father's Day with an extra-special service for dads (and those who have them), called Father Knows Best. If you are a dad, or you ever had one, you know all too well that Father Knows Best is a seriously moving target. Fortunately we have a Heavenly Father who absolutely DOES know best. If you weren't able to be with us Sunday, check out the message by clicking HERE.

If you've been following the Intersection, then you know I've been sharing with you a multi-part series on Crossroads Plan for a Permanent Home. Check out PART 1, PART 2 and PART 3 by clicking on the links. We'll be continuing that series of posts this week.

Summer Semester of Small Groups will begin the week of 10 July and go for eight weeks. We'll be providing an in-house DVD-based study guide called DRIVE. It's packed with awesome essentials to help provide Fuel for You Journey...with God, with Others and with the World around you. Great stuff! If you are currently a small group leader and you have not contacted Pastor Ben Rice about whether you will be leading a summer semester small group, please do so as quick as you can. Also, please let him know who in your small group wants to attend the summer semester. If you've never been in a small group before, but you sent in an e-request, or you signed up in the lobby, we'll be contacting you with information about your summer semester small group in the next week.

Stay connected with everything going on at Crossroads and make sure you use all of the resources available to you that are provided on this blog, in our weekly email blasts, and at our WEBSITE! If you have TEENS or CHILDREN at Crossroads, there are fantastic resources that you can use to stay connected, and informed about what's going on in your kids areas of ministry at church.

Have a GREAT week!

Crossroads Permanent Home, Part III

2011-06-17T22:51:00.000-05:00

A ridiculous work schedule kept me from my blog for a couple of days. Hope you're still there. This is a continuing series of posts on our current plans for Crossroads permanent home. Be sure to read all the posts in the series.

"For which of you intending to build a tower does not sit down first and count the cost?"

Luke 14:28

Those words Jesus spoke, and the words that came after them, have implications for many areas of our lives. The context in which he is speaking is discipleship - the cost of being a disciple. But the Scripture is completely relevant for anything you're building, whether it's a life, a family, a career...or a church home.

One of the things we recognized while God was opening the door for us to purchse the dance studio, was that we had long ignored, or just looked past and stepped over, how makeshift and shoddy our Children's Ministry facilities were. We also recognized that we have a young congregation at Crossroads and, as a result, some days our toddler and pre-school areas are bursting with children.

We began to recognize that not everyone who walk through the doors at Crossroads would automatically understand - or appreciate - the opportunities represented by portable church. In fact, we saw many young families leave Crossroads because our children's facilities left much to be desired.

We counted the cost, and the cost was too high to afford. The cost, that is, of ignoring how important and valuable for our entire church family, upgrading our children's faclities would be. We didn't have a lot of cards to play, so we went "all in" with the cards we had. We might not have a permanent home for our entire church, but what God placed in our hands was the opportunity to have a permanent home for all the children of every Crossroads attender.

"Let the little children come to me, Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children". Matthew 19:14

We dove into remodeling our new building with tremendous passion. We constructed modest offices for our staff, and with tons of volunteer hours, creative ideas, and staff members with hammers and paint brushes in their hands, we turned 4000 square feet of space into awesome PERMANENT facilities. A new nursery, toddler area, pre-school, and elementary space that is shared with our teens. We planned and worked dilligently to make the very best use of the resources we had, spending less than $10 a square foot to renovate a frumpy, worn-out dance studio into Kids Crossing, Crossroads Teens and the church's permanent offices. It was a tremendous comittment. It cost something to do it. But we counted the cost, and the cost of NOT doing anything far outweighed the cost of progress.

All of a sudden, PLAN B began to look more like something God actually envisioned in the first place. A project we could take on and accomplish. Something we could handle. If you read from Luke 14:28, you see Jesus explaining why it's so important to count the cost. He says:

"Who would begin construction of a building without first counting the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, 'There's the person who started the building and couldn't afford to finish it'". Luke 14:28-30

No one's laughing at us, and they're not going to either. And I am SO GRATEFUL that God directed us to THIS project FIRST! We were not ready yet in any way, shape, or form to begin renovating the College Cinema. We weren't ready to buy the building as a church family, and we weren't ready to finish it. We have a building now. It's small, but we're not "despising the day of small beginnings". We're rejoicing that God has protected us from our own zeal, and given us time to grow and get stronger. Along the way we have learned a great deal about doing a big project together. We've learned about raising some money to do it, and the sum total of that experience is that we have a permanent building RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO WHERE WE MEET ON SUNDAY that is an absolute showplace anyone who calls Crossroads home can be proud of and grateful for.

What will God do next? In the next post I'll share with you exactly where we are today with Clark Theatres, and with the land on the OTHER side of the building we now call home. Peace!

Crossroads Permanent Home: Part II

2011-06-15T11:18:00.000-05:00

This is a continuing series of posts about what's next for our church in terms of location and permanent buildings. Make sure you read all the posts in the series.

When we left off yesterday, we'd only raised about half the money we were trying to raise, and Clark was more than a year behind in his plan to move out of the College Cinema. It's important at this point to note that none of this took us by surprise. By late Summer of 2010 it was obvious to me that Clark's timetable for moving had slipped dramatically. But something happened while I was in Haiti that changed our course.

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God". Romans 8:14

It should have been obvious to me when Tracey Solomon called me in Haiti telling me she wanted to sell the Enterprise Dance Studio so she could buy a building owned by someone I knew that God was up to something. It should have been obvious when the person I knew who owned the building she wanted called me and told me how desperate he was to sell his building (BTW, the same building we'd looked at and planned to lease three years earlier, only to see the City of Enterprise intervene saying, "We don't want a church in that location"). It should have been obvious to me when Tracy called me back saying she wanted that new building so much she was willing to sell Crossroads her building, deferring the downpayment for a year, and carrying the note herself. It should have been obvious. But it wasn't...at least not to me.

"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool that for him".

Proverbs 26:12

"No, Tracey. We have a plan (PLAN A) and we're going to stick to it. It's never been our plan (PLAN A) to do anything other than put our money together for a down payment and acquire the College Cinema. that's what we've been planning to do all along (PLAN A)". I heard myself tell her that a half dozen times. She persisted. It was shameful really. She did everything in the world to make it 100% painless to purchase her building. A building we were already renting from her every Sunday for our children's Ministry. Finally, I had to begin admitting to myself that it was possible that God was opening a door for us to do something different than we thought He wanted us to do. We did the numbers. By purchasing her building, our operating expenses would be about $700 a month less than what we were currently spending to rent space in Morgan Square Mall for our Annex. It would take a financial commitment to remodel the space for our full-time use, but we had resources. Clearly...it was Plan B time.

"God is using your circumstances to position and prepare you to accomplish His vision for your life". Andy Stanley (from 'Visioneering')

Over the Fall of 2010 as we waited to take possession of the dance studio next door to the College Cinema, we dreamed and planned what could now be accomplished. Yes, it looked different than what we originally envisioned. But it became clear that God was orchestrating all of this, in spite of what we had thought He was going to do. The move gave us more time. It gave Clark more time. It gave us time to pray and learn and grow and get better at what we were doing without a $750 thousand mortgage hanging over our heads. It gave us time to restructure and reorganize our entire approach to ministry. It gave Clark time to seek the best possible terms for funding his project, and it removed his own self-imposed pressure to build before he was ready.

God has a vision - a plan and a purpose for what He wants to accomplish in and through Crossroads. I'm in a hurry. He isn't. I look at the calendar. He doesn't. In the end, spiritual transformation (for a person, or a family, or a church) doesn't take place when we get what we want...it takes place in the waiting.

Tommorow, more about Crossroads PLAN B: what the immediate results and benefits of purchasing the dance studio were, and what it all means as we continue looking forward to a permanent home for our church family.

Crossroads Permanent Home: Part I

2011-06-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

This week, I'll be sharing about Crossroads plan for the future in a series of blog posts and email blasts to help get everyone up to speed on our current plams and timetable for a permanent home for Crossroads Church.

"A church isn't a building, it's a family. But every family needs a home." - Rick Warren

Rick Warren had a reason to say that. Saddleback Church had their first service in 1980 with 205 people, and was a "portable church" without a permanent home for many years. Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek in Barrington, Illinois shares a similar story - one not unlike our own. They started out in 1975 in a movie theatre, where they met every Sunday for over six years before they had the opportunity to build. Today both church's have grown to more than 20,000 members each. What will God do at Crossroads?

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..."

Zechariah 4:10

We started in our house with 33 people. A few months later it was 65 people in a rented storefront. A few months later 172 met in a rented movie theatre. Today, over 2400 people have attended Crossroads Church. While our average attendance on Sunday morning is around 270, we have over 400 regular attenders, with nearly 800 either in attendance or remaining connected to Crossroads through our website or other electronic resources.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain". Psalm 127:1

A "win" for us has never been to have the biggest church in town, or become a "mega-church", or have to have the local cops direct traffic because our parking lot is so clogged. At Crossroads, a "win" is defined as influencing people for Christ. Portable, or permanent, God has given us abundant opportunity to do just that, with each new group of flight school students, and each new family that moves to Enterprise. Even though the face of Crossroads Church is constantly changing, we are most definitely a family. And a family needs a home.

In November of 2007 - long before we opened our home for the first service - we negotiated a lease agreement with Clark Theatres to use the Colleege Cinema on Sunday mornings for our church services. But it didn't make sense to start doing that until we grew a little. We started in the College Cinema in August of 2008, and have met there every Sunday since. And Mack (Clark) Clark who owns Clark Theatres has been a fantastic landlord!

We had a standing verbal agreement from the beginning that when Clark moved, he would give us first right of refusal to purchase the building. In the Spring of 2010, we made it official with a formal purchase agreement. Clark's plan was to build a 10 screen multiplex on land he owned adjacent to the Enterprise Wal-Mart. His target date for moving in was May 2011. We kicked off the "I Love My Church" capital campain with a goal of raising $150 thousand by May 2011. We received pledges (commitments) that equaled $90 thousand, to be honored by May of 2011. As of last week, we had deposited since last June a total of just over $50 thousand in honored pledges. As of last week, Clark is still in the financing and pre-design stages of his project. We are so humbled by those who honored those pledges, and so grateful for everything Clark has done to help Crossroads get off the ground. But clearly, we're not where we thought we'd be. So...

What do you do when God doesn't do what you thought he was going to do? You do what anyone would do who was confident that God was with them.

Tomorrow, we'll talk about what "PLAN B" looks like, as we move toward the dream of a home for our church family.

PLAN B WRAP-UP and CROSSROADS BUILDING PLAN B

2011-06-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday we bid farewell to our series PLAN B. In three and a half years of doing this, I've never had so many people comment on how their lives were impacted by the teaching we shared. In the past month, we've seen far more first-time decisions to trust Christ, decisions to renew a relationship with God, and first and second time attenders than usual. This series absolutely struck a chord that resonated in my heart and in my life, and it seems it did in yours as well.

One of the things we didn't get time to talk about during the series was Crossroads "Plan B" for our new permanent home. Those of you who have participated faithfully in our building campaign program recognize that May 2011 was our original target for taking up residence in the College Cinema permanently. You also recognize that May came and went without that happening. As of today, Clark Theatres is still in the financing stages of their proposed new cinema complex adjacent to the Enterprise Wal-Mart. Clearly, that puts us another 12 to 18 months away from permanent occupancy of the College Cinema.

So what have we done in the meantime? How are building fund resources being used? Will we launch a new capital campaign? When it comes to Plan B's, there are always many questions. Over the next few days - on my blog and through email blasts - I'll be detailing the answers to those questions, and to the big question everyone wants the answer to: "What is Crossroads 'Plan B' for a permanent home?"

Don't forget, next Sunday is Father's Day. We'll be sharing a brand new Father's Day message called "Father Knows Best". Can't wait to see you then. Have a GREAT week!

SUNDAY JUNE 6th at CROSSROADS!

2011-06-05T18:56:00.000-05:00

Fantastic day at Crossroads today as we continued in our current series 'PLAN B'. Here's a few of the many things that stood out to me today:

Great crowd today (especially during second service), TONS of first-time attenders!
Many people made life-changing decisions today! Some chose to trust their lives to Christ for the very first time! That's HUGE!!
Land of 1000 Hills Coffee! Do I need to say more? It's awesome! I'm addicted.
Worship was superb today! The sound was really, really good in the room, and Nic and the band we're very tight! Great job!
Live worship guides? Yeah! Click HERE. Too cool!
Absolutely LOVE our current series. Here's a few takes that weren't in your worship guide, or in your notes:
If you haven't experienced a Plan B moment or season in your life...you will. If you've gotten through one and thought "Shwoo! Glad that's over!", there's another one coming. Don't fight it, becuase it's in the middle of those moments that we really find God.
Instead of allowing crisis to steal your hope, look at crisis as a warning that your hope is in play and needs to be protected.
It's easy to have faith looking back, but hope relies on faith looking forward.
Sometimes God gets glory out of your shattered dream (read John 11).
I don't like standing in line. Doesn't matter if it's Disneyworld or Wal-Mart. It's all waiting, and it's all the same to me. I also hate waiting in traffic (like the paralyzing rush hour scene in Enterprie, Alabama). Oh...and I also hate waiting on God. I'm in a hurry...but God clearly isn't.
As long as our hope is in something other than God (like a house, a job, a bank account, a relationship, etc), God seems willing to let those things go through STRESS, so will let go of them and grab on to Him.
God (to you and me): "Stop struggling! Let go of what you're trusting, and trust me...so I can bless you" (read Matthew 5:3).
It's in the WAITING that your faith is tested, and unless it's tested...it isn't going to GROW.
Spiritual transformation doesn't take place when we get what we want...it takes place while we're waiting.

None of us WANT crisis in our lives. We don't really WANT to experience stress, or be challenged by life's circumstances. I'm pretty sure we can all agree on that. One of the greatest privileges afforded me as a pastor, is that I have been blessed to hear your amazing stories of life-change. The amazing thing is, all of our stories have a common thread. God took us from a place of crisis, to a place of peace and restored our hope! "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God..." (Romans 8:28, NLT)!

Have a GREAT week!

Vision Leaketh...all over the parking lot!

2011-06-01T16:57:00.000-05:00

I have this problem with my daughters 2000 Pontiac Sunfire. Well, better said, I share a problem with my daughter concerning her 2000 Pontiac Sunfire. It leaks transmission fluid like crazy. I'm constantly refilling it, and watching the effects on the pavement in front of my house and, I suppose...on the environment. This fall she'll be going away to college. It won't be in the leaky 2000 Pontiac Sunfire.

The car itself has held up fairly well. We bought it for a couple grand, a couple of years ago. During that time, we've only had to replace one engine. That's not bad, is it? And the air-conditioning doesn't really work...unless it's cold outside. But the most frustrating thing by far is the continual, uniterrupted leaking.

When the fluid is where it's supposed to be, everything runs fine. Little by little it leaks out, and performance drops way off. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm pretty sure if the leak is allowed to continue, the car will eventually be useless.

Andy Stanley told us all years ago that VISION leaks, too. The amazing thing is that it leaks out constantly and quickly. In fact - unlike repairing a leaky seal on a car's transmission - vision leak in a church is absolutely unavoidable. And just as damaging. When all the vision leaks out, the church becomes useless.

Why does vision leak? You know. People are busy. Life is challenging. And unless we're constantly reminded of the things that are important...they literally leak out. Andy says it way better, but you get the idea.

Leslie and I noticed vision leak that was as real and tangible as the tranny fluid spots on my driveway. We used to put signs out in front of the church every week on Sundays. We were so proud of those modest little signs. We adorned them with balloons. They mattered, because we wanted people to know, um...where the church was.

Fast forward three years. We have a building next to the Cinema where we meet. It has a giant sign on the front of it. We have an awesome website. Billboards. Car magnets. T-shirts. But if you pull up to the shopping center where our building is next to the cinema where we meet on Sunday, you see a mish-mosh of run-down signs, weeds, rusty hunks of metal where big signs once used to be, and a broken down van someone's trying to sell. In fact, the van is the first thing you see when you drive by our building. Ugh!

Clearly, vision leaked...and it spilled out all over the parking lot. We're going to fix that so everyone knows where we are. (Probably a good idea if you want people to, you know...show up.) My mother didn't raise a dummy. Just someone who sometimes fails to notice the obvious. We'll try something like this:

(BTW, none of the businesses on the sign attached to the big one are even in the shopping center anymore. Their signs won't be there, and neither will the old Enterprise Dance Studio sign. Hopefully we can get the van moved too. Just hope I don't have to buy it to accomplish that. Hey wait, maybe my daughter could drive it to college. Yessss! Two problems solved!)

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

2011-05-31T10:31:00.000-05:00

Wonderful Memorial Day weekend, punctuated by a great service at Crossroads on Sunday. Here's just a few of the many things that stood out to me:

Worship was excellent! Love the new songs.
Having the "Band That No One Respected" live on-stage during the second service was one of the highlights of my week. Your too, I hope.
I'm noticing that I am more concerned than ever about justice. just sayin'.
Thankfully God was more concerned about MERCY and GRACE than justice when He sent Jesus to die and rise again for all of us! Just sayin'.
Pastor Matt in Afghanistan continues to sharing important stuff with everyone. Read it HERE.
Had several people ask me Sunday if Crossroads has an iPhone app. Not yet, but Chris Brooks is making each Sunday's service bulletin and scriptures smart phone and iPad accessible. Check this out LINK to view the bulletin and scriptures from last Sunday's service. Look for the current link in each Sunday's bulletin.
Wonderful sharing some vignettes from the life of Joseph!
Joseph does what anyone in his circumstances would do...that was CONFIDENT that God was with them.
What a great lesson for all of us. A great model for how to respond in ANY circumstance: Do what anyone would do that was CONFIDENT that God was with them!
Often times we assume God's PRESENCE (or lack of it) by our CIRCUMSTANCES. Oops!
Be sure of THIS.
Often times we put our faith in God's ACTIVITY, rather than His IDENTITY.

Funny, in looking at the life of joseph, how many times the Bible says, "and the LORD was with him". When you contract that with how many difficult and challenging circumstances Joseph faced, you begin to see that the LORD being with us doesn't mean that everything goes great all the time. But we DO have the promise that He will never leave us, or forsake us. We also have the PROMISE that God will work every situation in our lives for our good.

May you see this week, that God wants to use every circumstance of your life for your good, and for the good of those you influence. Have a GREAT week!

Last Sunday, Next Sunday and Emergency Food Boxes

2011-05-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday morning! Just wanted to touch base with everyone about last Sunday, give a quick rundown on an important item, and a sneak peek of what's coming up this weekend at Crossroads.

This past Sunday was another in a very long line of wonderful experiences that I've had at Crossroads over the past few years. I hope the same was true for you. We kicked off our new series 'PLAN B' with a look into a season in the life of David. David had a dream and a promise from God - to be King of Israel. Just at the moment that it looked like that dream would come to pass, everything fell apart and David made some decisions that ended very poorly for a whole lot of people.

We talked about the common experience we all have of a dream for our lives not coming to pass, or being interrupted in some way. A marriage that ends in divorce, a financial plan that unravels, an unexpected illness, an education or career failure - whatever the scenario, we all know what it feels like to have a shattered dream or unmet expectation. We all know the feeling of abandonment and desperation, wondering if God really even cares...or if He's really even there. We shared that in those moments the decisions we make are critical to our life's outcomes. Will we try to wrestle control of the situation, or will we - even in the face of what we consider contrary physical evidence - trust God?

Sunday morning many, many people - choking back the tears brought on by life's difficulties, challenges and even tragedies - prayed for the courage to give control of our dreams, and our lives, and our will back to our Heavenly Father. It...was...an amazing experience. I am in awe of the many ways in which God moves in the lives of so many people I know who attend Crossroads. It is such a privilege to worship God with you.

This Sunday, we continue 'PLAN B' with a look at the life of Joseph. Want to get a head start? Read Genesis, chapters 37-50. We'll ask ourselves one of the most useful questions I have ever heard, and we will reveal a positively life-changing application. Please make every effort to be there this weekend. If you just can't make it, make sure you watch the video podcast next week.

In closing, I want to share with you what a HUGE impact you have made in our community by providing food items for our Emergency Food Boxes. Through your generosity, Crossroads has given away TONS of food to people who really need it, both inside our church family, and in the neighborhoods surrounding the church. Emergency Food Boxes are a God-inspired provision for so many who have needs; it's one of the very best things about Crossroads. WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW. Our supplies are running dangerously low. PLEASE take a moment to go over this LIST. The next time you go to the store, pick up some or all of these items and bring them on Sunday morning to church, or to the church office anytime during the week Monday-Thursday between 9AM and 5PM. THANK YOU!!

See you Sunday. Bring some food. And have a GREAT week!

Wow What a Weekend!

2011-05-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday at Crossroads we celebrated our 6th Beach, BBQ and Baptism, an event that absolutely positively never gets old. There is nothing like seeing people go public with their faith through baptism. It is such an honor to get to share that as a church family, and then to just hang out and eat and talk and relax and get to know people. Nothing better than that. Here's a few thinks that really stood out to me yesterday:

Three people, that I know of, made first time decisions to trust Christ with their lives. Many made the decision to recommit their lives to God, and fourteen people were baptized! (That kind of day prompts me to say that I am the luckiest guy on the planet, because I get to be a pastor!)
I thought worship on Sunday mornings services was great. Caleb Bannin did a wonderful job leading worship while Pastor Nic and Janna were on vacation. Well done!
I really like what Rachel Williams and the Lobby Team have done with the coffee service. I know it seems like a small thing, but I really like that they pour the coffee for you instead of fending for yourself. Yes, I'm all grown up and I can get my own coffee, but there's something really special about being served. Good call!
Great job by all who serve in Children's Ministry, and special thanks to Jennifer Phillips, Chad Phillips, Kimber Stinner, and Pastor Ben for making Sunday such a special day for all our Crossroads Kids!
Thanks to all our small group leaders and volunteers who made fantastic food and helped with set-up and clean-up at BB&B, and thanks to Dave Clark for grilling up some juicy burgers and dogs for the 160 people who came to celebrate at Lake Tholocco!

Next Sunday, we kick off a brand new 3-part series called 'Plan B', based, in part, on a book of the same title by Pete Wilson, pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville. It's about a nagging question that all of us have some experience with: What do you do when God doesn't do what you thought He was going to do, or when things in your life don't turn out the way you thought they would? Can't wait! Plan B. Gonna be awesome! Invite Big.

Have a GREAT week!

Some Thoughts About Women and the Weekend

2011-05-10T11:42:00.001-05:00

Hey guys, what a great weekend we had at Crossroads. This past Sunday was Mother's Day and what a wonderful day it was! I thoroughly enjoyed our two-part series Ladies First, and while it was a bit intimidating teaching women about women, I had a tremendous amount of help, and gained a great deal of insight, from my awesome wife Leslie and several fantastic leaders and writers who are women. I walk away from this series thinking: If men had to do what women are equipped to do, the human race would have stopped with the first man. No doubt about it. Men would never do what women do...because they can't. And I don't just mean physiologically.

As men, we are wholly imcomplete without the influence of women in our lives. As we reflect on the reality that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, it's important for us to remember that God is not a man. The "WE" that are created in His image includes both women AND men. Our creator possesses all of the attributes that are found in both genders. Thank God for women! Grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters, cousins, aunts, nieces, and that most wonderful gift of God...daughters and step-daughters! And let's not forget those significant and influential women who helped to shape us; those who cannot always be easily catagorized; the teachers, the writers, the care-givers, the nurses, the doctors, the nuturers, the influencers, the babysitters, the co-workers, the ministry partners, and my personal favorite...the pastor's wives! I know I've left someone out. Comment and share with us that significant and influential woman, without whose positive influence, you would not be who you are today!

Again, great weekend! Thanks to all who work so hard serving at Crossroads to make each Sunday experience possible. Pray for those impacted by recent disasters in the South, and pray for those serving our country in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world.

See you Sunday! Gonna be a big day. Two Sunday morning services, What Is Baptism and Why Should I Care?, followed by Crossroads 6th Beach, BBQ & Baptism celebration! If you haven't signed up to be baptized yet, you can do it by clicking HERE. Peace.

WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW...

2011-05-04T11:37:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Had to make an out of town trip Monday and got back Tuesday afternoon, so I wasn't able to post the regular WEEKEND UPDATE. Sunday was a fantastic day at Crossroads, though. I though I'd share a few of the many things that stood out, and give you a heads up on a few other things:

Started a two-week series called LADIES FIRST. So GREAT to take time to share with women about women from a Biblical perspective. Had an amazing amount of positive feedback from women who attended. Comments ranging from, "What an empowering message", to "encouraging words while my husband is deployed", to "powerful and striking", to one who expressed thanks for "condeming the objectification of women".
I LOVED sharing the message that God uses ordinary women to do extraordinary things! If you missed it, WATCH IT HERE.
Don't believe that objectification of women is a problem in our modern American culture? Seen a beer commercial lately? Guys, it's all the same. Controlling, dominating, using or abusing women is ungodly in any culture. The distance between Burkas and Budweiser ads may not be as great as you think. Just sayin'.

God has a different plan for women, and He is able to take them from unlikely backgrounds and impossible situations and protect them, preserve them and propel them forward to accomplish His plan and purpose for their lives. Great cues for guys about how to treat the women in our lives - whether wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, cousins or co-workers. Our part in the lives of women is to follow God's model: Preserve, protect, propel. We do as we facilitate their personal and spiritual growth by being encouragers, building them up so they can accomplish ALL that God has for them to accomplish. What a GREAT assignment for men!

Couple of other important things going on: Don't forget this Sunday is Mother's Day! For some it's a time of celebration and remembering mom. I have a great mom, and I've been married for 30 years to a woman who is a wonderful mother. But I recognize that for others, Mother's Day it's a challenging time of sorting out mixed emotions. For some, it's a seriously difficult time as they remember challenging or abusive relationships, or even tragic circumstances. Whatever your personal situation is, I encourage you to attend Sunday's service, as we celebrate the godly examples of motherhood, and work through some of the not-so-great experiences that many have gone through.

Finally, as you continue to determine how you might involve yourself in SERVING those in Alabama who have been devastated by the killer tornado's that swept through much of our State last week, remember also our loved ones and church family members serving our country who are still dealing with recent tragedies at home and abroad. Check out Pastor Matt's latest blog post from Afghanistan HERE.

Love and great peace to all!

This One's for the Girls (and the Guys who love them)!

2011-04-29T10:50:00.001-05:00

For the next two weeks (which includes Mother's Day on May 8th) we're doing a very special series dedicated to women everywhere, as we talk about women God chose to make our lives and our faith possible. Ladies First isn't just about how guys should hold doors open and pull chairs out and stand up when women walk in the room (but that's all good stuff). No, much more, Ladies First is about what happens when God choses women to do world-changing, life-changing things. The interesting thing is, he didn't just chose queens, and princesses, and women in powerful positions. He chose ordinary women, many with a "past", and did extraordinary things through their lives. Women like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Jesus.

Don't miss the next two weeks, and don't forget that May15th is Beach, BBQ and Baptism - one of the most exciting events we do at Crossroads! Sign up to be baptized by clicking HERE.

A Letter To Our Awesome Small Group Leaders

2011-04-27T09:39:00.000-05:00

Hey Guys! I want to take a minute to let you all know what I think: Crossroads has FANTASTIC Small Group Leaders! That's not a suck-up statement. It is something proven on a regular basis as I hear the amazing life-change stories coming out of your small groups.

So, in order to serve you better as you lead, we will be providing you with some NEW RESOURCES by way of video and email blast. These resources are designed to help you keep the people in your small groups up to speed on everything going on at Crossroads. Here's what you'll be receiving:

A weekly recap of all the relevant numbers from each Sunday service (from attendance to offerings to decisions) along with and great commentary from Crossroads attenders to encourage you, and keep you and your small group informed;
A list of service opportunities within the church so you know exactly where to point your small group members who are ready to serve;
A list of service ideas in our community (and across the world) to help you decide how your small group will reach out as a group and serve the world around you.

Additionally, we are working on a new in-house curriculum for a recurring 8-week long small group experience called DRIVE. DRIVE is a video-based small group study, complete with simple workbooks, that will be the first Small Group stop for people who are new to Crossroads. Designed to propel people forward in their spiritual journey, DRIVE will be a game-changer for small group leaders and participants alike!

Look for these new resources, and always remember: your feedback is important and welcomed! Keep up the GREAT work!

Grace Place Leads the Way

2011-04-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

I saw something remarkable happen in our community on Easter Sunday. And it was something God did through The Grace Place in Enterprise. Now, I've never been to the Grace Place, and I've only met Pastor Donnie Thrasher one time, briefly in the parking lot of Salem Baptist Church after a service. So it's not like we're "big buddies" and I'm blowing his horn here. But I am blowing his horn here.

I used to live near Salem Baptist, and I can recall for years driving by that little church on Sunday mornings on my way to "big" church. Then one day I saw a sign in front of tiny Salem Baptist Church that said "Grace Place". And I Sunday after Sunday as I drove by to "big" church I saw them grow and grow and grow. In the years since, I've only ever heard good things about The Grace Place, and as a pastor of a growing church, I am proud of what God has accomplished through their love for God and the people He has called them to serve.

Fast forward to Easter Sunday: I had heard that Pastor Donnie and the Grace Place had never been able to have an Easter Sunday service where they had their entire church under one roof at one time. I heard, in response to that, that they reserved the Enterprise Civic Center to have a big Easter Sunday service. While that is such an awesome and wonderful thing for them to have the opportunity to do, that's not what I want to brag about.

Here's what I want to brag about: All over town, in the days leading up to Easter Sunday, yard signs popped up with the simple invitation, "Easter Service - Enterprise Civic Center", with the date and time. The words Grace Place did not appear anywhere on those yard signs. That is about the coolest thing I've seen any Pastor or church in this town do for a very long time.

The Grace Place didn't promote themselves, their agenda, their church, their name, their location, their style, their ANYTHING. There were no cool graphics, or pictures of the Pastor, or pithy tag lines or ANYTHING else. The Grace Place promoted a risen Savior, and they invited our entire community to meet Him.

What happened? I heard around 1200 people attended. I don't know how many were Grace Place regulars, but having done this as long as I have, I would be willing to bet you that they reached dozens and dozens (and probably hundreds) of first-time attenders. People that might never have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel preached, had they been focused on promoting themselves. I'm blown away by what they did.

Pastor Donnie, Grace Place, way to lead! Well done.

WEEKEND UPDATE (Easter Sunday 2011)

2011-04-25T14:01:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful day of celebration we had Sunday at Crossroads! Our biggest crowd by far of the year packed out the college cinema for two awesome services. Many people made life-changing decisions including many who decided to go public with their faith through baptism. Here's a few highlights:

Worship was great! Loved the song selection!
Lots of Easter Sunday Launches including our fantastic NEW WEBSITE! Kudos to Will and Brian G. for making it happen. Tons of new resources including VIDEO PODCASTS!
Also launched Crossroads DRINK COFFEE DO GOOD campaign supported by Land of 1000 Hills Coffee, and sold over 10% of what we need to sell in an entire year to support an entire Rwandan village!
Loved the new "Good News" segment in our service where we take time to celebrate the awesome things God is doing in the lives of Crossroads attenders, in small groups, and in our community through the work of God's people!
We talked Sunday about how we've all asked the question "Where is God in all of this?" when confronted with difficult circumstances in life.
It's often hard to see God in the beginning of trouble. How do we find good news in tragedy? Or hope in hopeless situations? Peace in the midst of disaster?
Even though most of us would readily admit that the most significant and defining moments in our lives were difficulties (and even tragedies), when faced with challenging circumstances we often think, or say, "Does God really even care?
The BIBLICAL FACT remains that when it comes to faith in God through Jesus Christ "There is more here than meets the eye"!
Our tendency is to look at our lives through the filter of the circumstances in our lives and in the world around us.
But like PAUL SHARES, we need to instead look at life's circumstances through the filter of eternity!
Jesus conquered the world by being raised from the dead!
So we can take heart, because we have a brand new life!
Even though difficulties come, we have EVERYTHING to live for!
We just need to know WHERE to look: To the resurrection!
And WHO to look to: Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith!
What's the Good News? HE IS RISEN!

Such a great day! I shared about one time (of many) that I also asked, "Where's God in all this", a story about when we moved from Colorado to Alabama, and everything in my business life and work in the ministry seemed to be caving in on itself. I wound up in a metal building doing worship for about 30 teens. The reality of that experience is, without all the difficult move and the challenging circumstances, we likely never would have started Crossroads. In fact, teens from that very youth group serve at Crossroads today, nearly 15 years later. You heard from one of them last week...Pastor Ben Rice!

God is SO GOOD! Have a GREAT week!

Thank You, Pastor Ben!

2011-04-19T18:10:00.000-05:00

HUGE thanks to Pastor Ben Rice for sharing for the past two weeks in our series Leverage! Heard so many great comments, and look forward to having Ben back soon. Me and Leslie and some of our kids took full advantage this past Sunday as we headed out of town for a few days at a remote cabin in Northeast Alabama. A GREAT get-away and time to relax and recharge. Can't wait for this weekend! Easter Sunday at Crossroads is a FANTASTIC time to invite friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and complete strangers to church. Invite BIG this week and consider attending the early service at 9:00AM. I am so excited to be with you again as we share a special Easter message called, GOOD NEWS!

A Post From Pastor Ben

2011-04-16T13:34:00.000-05:00

What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. –A.W. Tozer.

Why should we look to the book of Colossians for insight when speaking about leveraging our life, even the seemingly mundane details, for God's glory. Colossians is one of the most Christ-centered books of the Bible. This is the case because the apostle Paul was writing specifically to the believers in the church of Colossae and Laodicea to inform them of the significance of remaining focused on the teachings of Jesus, the gospel, while there were competing philosophical and theological ideas that were circulating and gaining popularity in their community. From this we can see that the book of Colossians is relevant to us as believers right now in our world and in our community. Also, Laodicea was a small town with little economical significance to the Roman empire. However, at some point it began to become a hub of economic activity during the writing of this letter. Sounds similar to our area with the Fort Rucker community being part of Alabama culture, doesn’t it…ya’ll?

As a result of this, different philosophies and worldviews began to permeate the culture of their community. The apostle Paul, being the responsible Christian leader that he was, found it necessary to address these issues (Col 2:8).

What I find really interesting and also very assuring about this book is that even the early Christian had struggles with their faith. Not necessarily struggles with, “is Jesus the Lord?”, but just getting distracted with the details of everyday life, while also being influenced by other voices in the world around them, and consequently not necessarily holding fast and “remaining” in the teachings of Jesus.

This happens to us all the time, and it's something that we have to be aware of.

So, the book of Colossians served as an important reminder to those Christians, as well as serving as a reminder to us. Paul gives some very practical advice to the believers in chapter 3 in regards to all of the competing voices and distractions in their lives.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. -Colossians 3:16 ESV

In this passage he is encouraging the believers to allow, or be aware of, the teaching and character of Christ. To “let” Christ’s character influence our character. It almost sounds like he is describing a Sunday morning service at Crossroads. We come together, sing some songs with the worship band and celebrate our God and Savior, while also receiving teaching and admonishment from the message. This is why attendance on Sunday morning is important for Christians. The next passage takes a different turn. It looks at worship as being even more practical, taking it into our neighborhoods, places of work, and our homes.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. –Colossians 3:17 ESV

This is of paramount importance because if we see this then we see God in our lives. Not in a Bible story, not in an article of a newspaper, or a story we read online, or in a chain e-mail from our cousin that we have to send to 10 other people or else.

No…we see God in OUR life.

How important is this? Can you put a value on how important this is? I don't think you can. Don't you want this for your spouse? How about for your children? This is one of the reasons why ministers for years have used the term “personal relationship” when speaking about accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Jesus Christ is in you and with you.

To be continued…

WEEKEND UPDATE (041011)

2011-04-11T10:13:00.000-05:00

Fantastic day at Crossroads! I never get tired of being there, of doing life with others there, of serving there, of worshipping there, or of writing about things I experience there. Here's a few quick hits from this weekend:

TONS of first-time attenders! What a privilege. Let's all be sure to connect with every person that walks through our front door. You need to know how RARE it is for churches to have as many first-time attenders as we do. That's why it's so important to honor that gift from God, by warmly welcoming those who have given their morning to come to Crossroads!
MANY people made high-quality decisions yesterday to renew their commitment to Christ and to go public with their faith through baptism!
Pastor Ben did a GREAT job with Part One of our new series LEVERAGE! Ben Rice has such a huge heart for God and for the people of Crossroads. We are seriously blessed to have him as part of our church family! For those who don't know this, Pastor Ben and Kelly Rice are an integral part of the foundation of Crossroads. They are one of the very big reasons that there IS a Crossroads! Thank you guys so much for what you do!
People went NUTS updating their Facebook status, posting pictures and comments, and tweeting from yesterdays service at Crossroads. Way to EXPAND your reach!!
Jeff Williams takes awesome notes every week of every service and posts them to his blog. You can find it HERE. Thanks Jeff, you are a gift from God to the body of Christ!
Children's environments next door absolutely ROCK! I LOVE being in the building. So much energy, so much love, so many people loving God by serving others!

Don't forget this week: Get your invite cards out there in your world. Sunday April 24th is Easter Sunday and it's the day MANY people will come to church perhaps the only time in the entire year. What a great opportunity to invite them to Crossroads! Especially those who have wandered some in their lives. We have found over the past few years that people who have walked away from God really like it at Crossroads. Crossroads is a great place to invite people who don't like church, or who have walked away from church, who have been hurt in church, or who are simply fed up with church! So many have experienced life-change as a result of their decision to come. All they are waiting for is an invitation from you!

Have a GREAT week!

The Tip of the Iceberg

2011-04-08T10:40:00.000-05:00

Leslie and I were talking yesterday about the idea of what a person sees at Crossroads on Sunday morning as being just "the tip of the iceberg". In other words, there's a whole lot more going on, then someone might realize at first glance. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean:

We live in a "training town". The largest single block of attenders at Crossroads are in WOCS, or flight school, are family members of those in WOCS or flight school, or earn their living supporting the mission at Fort Rucker. As a result, our congregation (just like the population at Fort Rucker) is constantly rotating in and out.
Though the SIZE of Crossroads physical congregation tends to neither diminish nor significantly spike in growth, the FACE of the congregation constantly changes. Which means that untold numbers of people come through the front door, are impacted by the ministry in some way, and then leave a some point. In 2011 we'll likely see more than 600 first-time attenders.
Crossroads reaches WAY more people than you will ever see on Sunday morning. On an average Sunday morning at Crossroads what you are likely to see is somewhere around 270 people attending church. What you don't see is the 763 people (as of last Monday) who either attend on Sunday, participate in a small group, listen to our weekly podcast, or stay connected to our church community by taking advantage of one or more on-line resources.

Why is all of that important? So we can boast of numbers of people greater than those attending on Sunday? No, no. It's not about that. Our life is about influencing people for Christ. Here's what it's about: those 763 people that are connected at Crossroads are just the ones we know about! They ARE the "tip of the iceberg".

While I am so grateful for the opportunity to connect with those 763 people in a meaningful way, we ALL need to be aware of, and deeply concerned about, the HUNDREDS that come through our front door and never fill out a Communication Card, and never join a small group, and never get connected to God's mission, and LEAVE without anyone really knowing they were here.

Just as there is far more to Crossroads than meets the eye, there is an entire mission field of people God loves living just out of sight, just below the surface of the water. That is why, as followers of Christ, as representatives of the Gospel, it is incumbent upon every one of us to pay attention to more than just "tip of the iceberg".

What represents the "tip of the iceberg" for you at Crossroads? Maybe it's the group of people you gravitate to on Sunday morning. It's comfortable. I get it. You see them, you know them, it works, and those relationships are HUGELY important.

But what would it be like to say to your comfortable group, "Today at church, let's challenge ourselves to walk across the room and meet and talk to someone we have never met before".

When is the last time you met someone who is at Crossroads for the very first time? Look at it this way: you might be the only connection they make that first time. You could be the reason they come back. You could be the reason they get in a small group. You could be the reason they connect their lives with God's mission. You could be the reason they get their family in a great church and continue to grow relationally, spiritually and in service to the church and the world when they ultimately LEAVE.

You could be the very reason that number is 764 next Monday! Dive in! There's a whole world of relationships and opportunities to influence others for Christ just below the surface of the water!

Have a GREAT weekend!

POWER UP (Your Smart Phone In Church)!

2011-04-06T13:36:00.000-05:00

Though there's no scientific research to support this, I'm pretty sure the average age of the Crossroads attender is somewhere between 25 and 30. Which is also (and, again I have no data to support this, I'm just guessing) the age group representing the largest purchasing block of smart phone users AND the largest group of people with active Facebook accounts. I said all that to say, if you attend Crossroads, chances are good that you have two very important things: a Facebook account and some sort of smart phone. Hmm...how can we leverage that?

Statistics (which I do not have, but if I did would probably) indicate that you, with your smart phone, typically update your Facebook status at least three-times a week. (Some of you do it a WAY more than that, and that's AWESOME!).

With your smart phone and your Facebook account, you tell people all over the world about your day, your job, your dog, your politics, your purchases, and what your mother did to make you mad. You post pictures and videos, you play Farmland and Mafia Wars, and through all of that the biggest thing you do is use your smart phone and your Facebook account to communicate what's going on in YOUR world with THE PEOPLE in your world.

So...here's what I suggest you do with your smart phone the very next (and every) time you come to Crossroads and walk in the auditorium: POWER UP and let the people in your WORLD know what's going on in your CHURCH. How do you do that? Simple, just like you'd do any other Facebook status update. Take a picture. Post it. Hear a scripture. Post it. Hear something that makes you go, "Hmm...that's good". Post it. Love worship? Talk about it. Something good happen? Put it on your wall. Learn something useful. Let your world know. Experience God? Share it on Facebook on Sunday morning.

What would it be like if we extended the reach of our Sunday service to the Facebook account of every smart phone-user at Crossroads? For starters: If just twenty of you did it next Sunday, and you had an average of 250 facebook friends, we just increased the footprint of the gospel by 5,000 people! The sky's the limit from there. So the next time you come to Crossroads, turn your smart phone ON, and turn up the volume and the reach of the Gospel! (Just make sure your phone's on vibrate).

Look for MANY MORE opportunities to come to use electronic cabability and social media to enrich your Crossroads worship experience!

(P.S. Twitter users #fb your posts or set your Facebook account to allow status updates from your twitter account.)

WEEKEND UPDATE (040311- Communion)

2011-04-04T16:46:00.000-05:00

Great Scott, what a fantastic weekend! Started for Leslie and I on Saturday as we rode Harley's with a group of awesome folks for about six and a half hours. As I cracked open a generous amount of throttle on Highway 27 east of Ozark, I felt the stress and strain of life begin to break off of me like a plaster shell; my concerns and worries swallowed up in the deep fluttering exhaust note of my chromed-out V-Twin.... Everyone should have a large motorcycle. Preferably a Harley. I'm pretty sure that's in the Bible somewhere.

Sunday came, and what a remarkable day it was. I was a little shaky in the first service (sorry), as part of me was still out on the open road...Ahhhh the sticky black stripe rolling over green hills and through lush pastures...as I blast through the countryside, terrifying small farm animals with the blap-blappity-blap of 88 cubic inches of American steel... (Okay...clearly I have some issues here that only riding will address).

So...Sunday:

We celebrated communion. When we do that together as a church, a community of believers...well, there's just nothing like it! Next to Baptism, sharing communion in the context of our church community is one of my favorite things in life. Communion was given by Jesus to helps us remember Jesus in everything we do. Remembering helps us to remain in Christ. What an awesome God!

Thanks to everyone who made Sunday's communion services at Crossroads possible! Have a GREAT week. Next Sunday, we begin a brand new two-part series called 'LEVERAGE'. Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough...and I will move the world". Join us for the next two weeks as we talk about the "levers in our own lives" and how God wants us to leverage our time, talent and treasure to "move our world" for Christ!

WEEKEND UPDATE (FIRE PIT EDITION)

2011-03-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

Wow. Don't even know where to start. What an indescribable weekend at Crossroads. Now it's my job to try and describe pieces of it. Here's some pieces that stood out to me:

I thought worship was excellent. Nic and the band sounded great (great job tech crew), the song selection was great, the energy was high, the musicianship was excellent, and God was praised in the house! Great stuff!
We had an awesome crowd yesterday for both services! Really impressed by people that get out of bed early to come to serve and worship. You inspire and encourage me!
The Lobby Team ROCKS! You guys did a fantastic job yesterday.
LOVE our new Children's Center! Yeah, the building is really cool, but the coolest part is seeing all the people who serve there! Thank you for loving and serving Crossroads Kids! When you do what you do, you not only bring life to the Gospel through the love you have for the children you serve, but you also make it possible for their parents to experience the service and not worry about the children. As a dad of four (who used to be little kids) that's priceless!
Oh...and then there's this small item: 150 or so people came forward Sunday and said, "I'm not going to carry the weight of the sin that drags me down ANY LONGER. It's over!" It was a HUGE moment in both services. I was completely overwhelmed at the response of the entire congregation! You guys ROCK, and I LOVE seeing how YOU love and honor God! What a thrill!!
And if that wasn't enough...24 people became members Sunday afternoon at ROADIES 101! That was so AWESOME!
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make Sunday such a special and significant day in the lives of so many people.

There's some things God wants US to do. But even though we have to take that first step, God is always there, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him (Phillipians 2:12-13). I am praying for all of you who took that step to clear the "deadwood" out of your own life, and toss it in the fire. I trust you are praying for me as well.

Next week...communion. See you Sunday. Have a GREAT week!

WEEKEND UPDATE (032011)

2011-03-21T13:47:00.000-05:00

Spring has sprung! Yea!! I love this weather!!! Absolutely gorgeous day on Sunday at Crossroads, and even though many were off taking advantage of it, we had a HUGE crowd and two wonderful services! Here's just a few of the many things that stood out to me:

Love the new Children's Center! Our children's ministry team added an additional check-in station to clear up hallway congestion and it worked great.
Once the video system is installed by Easter Sunday, the Lobby in Children's Center will be an IDEAL place for parents to sit with wiggly or crying babies who are not in the nursery. You'll be able to hear AND watch the whole service from a comfortable couch!
TONS of first-time attenders on Sunday!
We continued our series about John 15 and what it means to remain in Jesus and be fruitful.
We talked about pruning. Ouch! Pruning can be painful.
In horticulture (and, apparently in our lives as well) pruning most often occurs when growth has stopped.
We had some laughs as we talked about our Westernized approach to Lent, and how Lent can become more about temporary behavior modification then actual life-change.
Regardless of whether our lives are in the "sweet spot" or we're just bumping along, stuff like major disappointments, financial meltdowns, relationship problems/failures, rebellious children, stubborn parents, failed businesses or the death of a loved one can make us want to RUN and not REMAIN.
God uses Problems, Pressures and even People to prune us.
Throughout the Bible, people God LOVED were pruned and disciplined.
One of the biggest mistakes we can make as Christians is to equate PRUNING with PUNISHMENT. It isn't.
God's not mad at you. He loves you and sees POTENTIAL in you beyond what you see in you.
God knows (better than we do) in order for us to reach that potential, there are some things we have to learn.
We're okay with the idea of God pruning away the sinful, superficial or superfluous JUNK from our lives, but none of us want to take a hit to the things WE think are good.
Sometimes the "good stuff" that we are holding onto with a death grip are the very things standing in the way of us reaching our potential. We're often afraid to "give up the good stuff", not recognizing that sometimes God wants us to let go of it so He can put something in our hands, or use us in some way, that will make us more productive for HIS purpose.
When we become fruitful, we become useful.
Just like it is for a little kid that doesn't want to get a haircut and squirms and struggles and complains, how much God's pruning hurts in our lives has everything to do with whether we hold still.

Don't RUN. Instead...REMAIN. Love you. See you Sunday, and come expecting something GOOD from God! Have a GREAT week!

WEEKEND UPDATE (031311)

2011-03-14T09:16:00.000-05:00

Daylight Savings Time kicked my butt. Not Sunday, but this morning. Boy it was dark at 0530! So dark in fact, I crawled back in my cave for another hour. This weekend, we had a lot of people out on Sunday and the auditorium during the first service (which would have felt like 0800 to everybody's bones) looked like a ghost town. But things heated up as the morning went along and we actually had a huge crowd in the second service. I know it was tough just getting up Sunday. Hats off to everyone who got it done! Here's just a few things from the morning at Crossroads:

I loved worship Sunday morning. I stood in the third row during first service worship and had an AWESOME time! I love to sing and praise God. For the first three years of pastoring Crossroads, I''ve stood in the back and worshipped on Sunday morning. Guess what? It sounds WAY better down in front. I think I'll be there a lot more in the future. Love to connect with God in that way!
Same as last week, totally digging the ENERGY in our new Children's Center. Kid's Crossing is absolutely BUZZING! Awesome to be around all the kids and parents and everyone who serves in children's ministry at Crossroads!
We kicked off 'DEADWOOD' Sunday morning, a brand new original series for Crosroads. It's a study of John 15, and a pretty challenging message for Christ-followers!
I was sick all week leading up to Sunday. It took all the energy I had (and quite a bit that I didn't have that I'm sure came directly from the Holy Spirit) just to make it through both services. I do my best to put everything into the work when I am sharing a message, in preparation and delivery, but Sunday's message was particularly...well, challenging. That's the only way I can put it. Jesus challenges a lot of our assumptions as His followers in John 15. It wasn't a message about puppies and kittens, know what I mean?
As someone with the gaping character flaw of wanting (needing?) people to like him, messages like that a hard for me to share. But I'm comitted to doing it anyway, even when it's hard. Besides, I didn't write John 15.
Jesus says, "Remain in me". All of us (totally including me) are naturally pre-disposed...to not to.
Remaining in Jesus means making Him "first" in our lives. That's hard for us to do because we like to make US "first".
Jesus makes it clear that God wants us to be fruitful. Knowing Jesus doesn't making us fruitful. It only makes us a branch. While being a branch is necessary, being a branch that bears fruit is essential.
Because the whole point of fruit is to make more fruit...followers are fruitful.

Next week we're going to unpack the whole idea of God "pruning" us to make us even more fruitful. We're going to talk about how difficult it is at times, how unfair it seems, and we're going to get a long-view of what "being fruitful" means in pratical terms. This week, join me as I pray asking God to reveal the things in my life that are real fruit, and the things in my life that are fake or artificial fruit. I think that as we do that, God will show us the things that make us useful to Him and to others, and the things that keep us from accomplishing God's plan and purpose for our lives.

Have a FRUITFUL week!

WEEKEND UPDATE (030611)

2011-03-07T07:35:00.000-06:00

Great weekend at Crossroads as we finished up our series God, Love & Sex! Here's a few of the MANY things that stood out to me (very random and in no particular order):

Momentum continues to build as we had our biggest crowd so far in 2011!
GREAT JOB by everyone who made the Kid's Crossing launch a HUGE success! Thank you Nic, Janna, Chris, Jessie, Will, Natalie, Rachel, Jeff, Mike Nelson and Keith Wirsing and Terry Brooks and Ali and Watson Glass and everyone I am forgetting to mention.
Thank you to everyone who gave so generously to make the new building possible!
I hope I don't have to go to LOWES this week!
I LOVE the energy in our new building! Home to our offices, Kid's Crossing and Crossroads Teens, our building gives us a permanent platform to do the things Jesus said to do and be a vital, contributing part of our community!
God, Love & Sex was a HUGE series for Crossroads. We learned things we didn't know, we got practical application for our marriages and our lives, and I cannot count the number of husbands, wives and single young adults who told me personally how the series was life changing for them.
I love small groups! Just sayin'.
I thought worship was great Sunday. Really connected!
Great to see old Roadies Jesse and Serena Tait on Sunday with Ollie! Woot!
I was worn out after two services Sunday morning and went home, sat down, and didn't move for several hours. I can only imagine how our staff felt after pouring so much energy into their work over the past month!
So MANY new faces at Crossroads over the past five weeks! I LOVE first-time attenders! I love it even more when they stick!
Speaking Sunday about the traditions of an Old Testament Jewish wedding and how it mirrors what God did for us was MIND BLOWING! I could see the connections being made as I looked at your faces on Sunday morning. Was that not the coolest thing ever? Do you now know, better than you ever knew before, why the holy covenant of marriage between and man and a woman is the perfect picture of the relationship between Christ and the church? Wow!
Some of the scriptures shared on Sunday, in the context of the message we were sharing, absolutely gave me the chills, but more than that, they overwhelmed me with gratitude. Statements like: "Only my Father knows", and "I must go and prepare a place for you", will never mean the same thing to me. I'm walking away from this series with a much deeper appreciation for them. I hope you are as well.

That's about it for me this morning. Next week, we're kicking of a BRAND NEW ORIGINAL SERIES called "DEADWOOD". It's a Western-themed study of John 15. We're going to share a moment during this series that will absolutely CHANGE YOUR LIFE in a totally positive way. Trust me, you do not want to miss this!

Have a GREAT week!

WEEKEND UPDATE (022711)

2011-02-28T16:17:00.000-06:00

Greetings! Been two weeks since I last posted here, what with conferences out of town, remodeling projects, and my work schedule, I really slacked off the blog posting thing. But I'm back, rested and ready! We had a wonderful weekend at Crossroads! Here's a few of the many things I noticed:

Absolutely gorgeous weather and one of our biggest crowds so far this year!
People made life-changing decisions!
Really appreciate the hard work of the many dedicated Volunteers who literally make the Crossroads experience possible every week!
This series (God, Love & Sex) has been incredible! In three years we have never had as many positive comments about the impact a teaching series is having on the lives of Crossroads attenders!
We shared Sunday about CONFLICT. Every marriage has it. Couples that last learn how to "fight CLEAN", by always pushing towards resolution.
Saying, "I'm sorry", goes a really long way in any relationship.
Loved the "I do" promises: To ACT and not REACT, To focus on the GOOD and not the BAD, and To TALK and not WALK.
Some people walk out of a relationship because they are too proud to admit they might be wrong.
Don't throw your marriage away because of selfishness or pride. Work toward resolution. If BOTH PEOPLE in a marriage will turn their hearts to God, there is NO PROBLEM TO BIG for Him to overcome! Don't give up!

We made the decision to extend this series for one more week, and let me tell you this next Sunday is going to be a BIG DEAL. I promise you, you will hear some things that you have never heard before that will help you understand WHY our marriages are supposed to be, "Til Death Do Us Part" forever. If you have used "the D-word" in your conversation and conflicts, I URGE you to repent of doing that, together. Just sit down and decide together, "We're not going to allow the word or the idea of divorce to enter into our conversation". You will find that when divorce is no longer an acceptable option to a couple, the only thing left is to work things out. God is IN that. I've SEEN it. Leslie and I LIVE it, and many others do as well and I'm telling you it will REVOLUTIONIZE your marriage. Just that one simple step.

Next week is going to be OFF THE CHAIN huge. It's a great oppotunity to INVITE BIG! Can't wait to see you there as we close out God, Love & Sex! Have a GREAT week!

WEEKEND UPDATE (I Totally HEART You Edition - REVISED)

2011-02-14T10:07:00.001-06:00

For 30 years now (because my wedding anniversary is February 9th) I have lovingly received a "pass" from Leslie on Valentines Day. It suited me well as I have always viewed this day as little more than a commercially contrived conspiracy to drive up cost and manufacture demand for greeting cards, chocolates and flower arrangements. (I know, I know...how could anyone possibly "Bah Humbug" poor little Cupid, right?) But I bring good news for all you gooey-hearted, dreamy-eyed lovers out there. Something I studied a bit (and actually taught in Youth several years ago) actually changed my opinion of Valentines Day forever. You can read one of the literally hundreds of stories (and legends) of St. Valentine, Martyr for Christ HERE. In other fantastic news, Sunday at Crossroads was AWESOME! Here's just a few of the many reasons why:

GREAT crowd! SEVENTEEN first-time attenders!
MANY people raised their hands evidencing quality decisions to attend every week of our current series God, Love & Sex; to allow God to change their hearts concerning relationships; to allow God to intervene in their marriages; to renew their relationship with God through Christ; even to trust Christ with their lives for the very first time! It was a HUGE day of decisions!
The first service has numerous technical difficulties which were all sorted out by the second service. We apologize for any inconvenience, but God is so much bigger than all of that, and we really experienced the Holy Spirit moving on people's hearts yesterday, helping them overcome difficulties in their marriages and in the dating lives of singles. God is SO good!
Loved the "I Love You THIS Much" segment yesterday. Surprising answers!
Our young, single contestant Leo really cracked me up. He put his top ten list together of what women want for Valentine's Day and it was very nearly opposite of the survey results. When I asked him if he learned anything, he said (off the mic), "Yeah, whatever I think is the exact opposite of what women think!" Leo, keep up that thinking you'll go far in your future marriage!
Having a great marriage isn't as much about FINDING the right person as it is about BECOMING the right person.
Even in great marriages "Seasons of Winter" are a part of preparing for great blessings to come. Don't throw in the towel on your marriage just because you're in a season of winter. Spring is coming!
Singles: Don't abandon your life for the "perfect" guy or gal. That's not love. Love invites this person into the TOTALITY of your life. You invite them to know your family, your friends, your church. You INCLUDE them in your life, not ABANDON your life for them.
Singles: Don't speak prematurely (especially weighty words like "I love you"). Give God time to build a foundation for your relationship before you put too much pressure on it.
Singles: Be careful to remember that when your HEART moves toward someone, your HANDS naturally want to follow. Easy does it.
When talking about your past (especially your past relationships and especially past sexual relationships, if you've had them) be honest, but spare the details. The devil seems to use the details to plant seeds of doubt and mistrust.
Single Guys: She is relying on YOU to "catch the little foxes" of sexually tempting things that could destroy the purity of your relationship.
Single Gals: If you're in a relationship with a guy who is pressuring you sexually, you are in a relationship with a guy who DOES NOT fear the standard of God. And if he doesn't fear God's standard BEFORE you are married, what makes you think he'll fear it AFTER you're married. Think about it.

So many great take-aways from yesterday's service, but the best is surely this: I saw and spoke to MANY people on Sunday who are taking this series and the application it affords SERIOUSLY. God is working relational MIRACLES in people's lives and it is so AWESOME to see! Keep coming back. Don't give up. Next week: GREAT SEX! Feel free to invite Grandma...but you might not want to sit next to her! I'm kidding mostly. When God's teaching on intimate loving marriages lands where it's supposed to land, no one is embarrassed or uncomfortable. Invite big!

Have a GREAT week!

30 Years Later

2011-02-09T06:45:00.000-06:00

Happy Anniversary, Leslie! Who would have thought when we skipped out of the History Class movie showing of "Failsafe" that Tuesday Night on May 16th, 1977 and drove out to McClellan Reservoir, that we would be celebrating 30 years of marriage today? I simply love you. Your Blog post today was awesome and I couldn't be more proud! It made me grin from ear to ear...and then cringe a bit on the inside as I realized that now all of your friends know that I actually had a yellow 1980 Pinto Station Wagon. Funny isn't it, I'm not remotely embarrassed about any of the gooey things you said about our love for each other. I couldn't have grown up any manlier than to love you with all my heart. But knowing that I had a yellow 1980 Pinto Station Wagon....in 1980...well, suffice it to say, I'll be turning in my credentials to the Man Card Review Board this afternoon. I was also notified this morning of a pending hearing with the Association for Good Taste in Automobiles, at which I'm certain I will be censured...for life.

Just in case anyone was wondering what your Burger King uniform looked like...

HAPPY 30th ANNIVERSARY!

WEEKEND UPDATE (Reeeeeally Late Edition)

2011-02-07T23:04:00.000-06:00

Wow...today really got away from me. Sorry this post is so late in the day. INCREDIBLE day at Crossroads yesterday, seriously just GREAT! Here's a few quick take-aways from the weekend:

Saturday we had a small group leaders luncheon and I can tell you we have an amazing team of small group leaders who are really on the same page. We have great small groups getting ready to launch our Spring Semester and another weekend left for sign up. Get thyself to the lobby between first and second service, or after the second service this coming Sunday and get in a small group. It's one of the BEST ways you can possibly spend your time!
Sunday's service ROCKED beginning to end! Back to TWO SERVICES for the first time in 10 weeks. So GREAT to have the 9AM crowd again!
Biggest attendance of the year so far. Way to go Crossroads!
Children's Center is about 85% complete and looks FANTASTIC! Great response from everyone serving there and from parents taking their nursery and toddler-age children there. Getting better every week.
Great new signage out front: "Love God - Love Others - Serve the World"!
LOVED seeing all our great lobby team volunteers and ushers wearing the awesome new "iServe" t-shirts and badges! Didn't they look great? We have one in YOUR size, too! Just sign up and show up once a month to serve with our awesome guest services team and you'll be sporting the latest in Crossroads-wear! Thank you ALL for demonstrating such team spirit!
Week One of GOD, LOVE & SEX was awesome! Great job by Doug and Rodney (our two unsuspecting victims that dressed up in Romeo garb and read classic poetry) who showed their wives that real men read "How Do I Love Thee"! Way to go guys! Hope you enjoy the "free" movie tickets. You totally earned them!
Laughed HARD at the Tim Hawkins video!
Heard from MANY people that they were really comitting to dig in to the teaching this month. I really believe that as folks do, they will see radically positive changes in their marriages!
Also heard from many singles and young people that Sundays teaching was a HUGE blessing and a help to them in their pursuit of purity in their relationships!
Worship band brought it Sunday. Totally ROCKED!
Did I mention i LOVED being back to two services?

Guys, I have never been so pumped for a series of teaching as I am for our current series GOD, LOVE & SEX. This is GREAT stuff whether you are married, in a relationship, or single. There is something for EVERYONE in this series. I encourage you to INVITE friends, family, co-workers whoever. Everybody knows somebody who need real practical answers to the questions we all have in our real relationships. Cant wait to see you all next Sunday. Have a GREAT week!

TODAY

2011-02-04T06:30:00.001-06:00

I woke up this morning thinking about things that are RARE and PRECIOUS. I was thinking about it in terms of the abundance of opportunities I have enjoyed from the time I was a kid, right up to this very moment. How God has blessed me! I was thinking about it in terms of relationships; caring and nuturing parents, a beautiful and godly wife, loving and tender-hearted children, mentors, friends, and those I've had the privilege of influencing. How God has blessed me! I was thinking about it in terms of my work experiences; somehow a door for advancement and promotion always open in every job. How God has blessed me! I was thinking about it in terms of my church experiences; without exception, a continual track of growth as I've been led in the paths of righteousness and truth. How God has blessed me! I was thinking about it in terms of Crossroads; not just a church, but a way of life literally bursting with meaning and purpose. How God has blessed me!

As I pondered the sheer number of things - life opportunties, life relationships and life experiences - that each in itself could be looked at as something so RARE and so PRECIOUS that it may only come around a handful of times in an entire life...it occured to me: the thing that is so rare and precious is TODAY!

"So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom..." (Psalm 90:12)

WEEKEND UPDATE (013011)

2011-01-31T13:09:00.000-06:00

Great weekend at Crossroads! Here's just a few of the many things I noticed on Sunday:

I love CROSSROADS AFGHANISTAN. I love how our folks cheer for those defending the cause of freedom on foreign soil! I also remember that we have family, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ from Fort Rucker that are still serving in Iraq!
Favorite quote from Pastor Matt's blog: "Christ is the most important thing in Afghanistan, too!"
Biggest crowd in seven weeks. Woot!
Children's Center renovation looking GREAT!
Loved the "W" video on small groups. "Don't misunderestimate their importance", haha!
Had a few distracting sound crackles. pops, and hoots early on in the message. I'm so grateful for our awesome tech crew who got on it and made it go away!
What a win looks like at Crossroads: Influencing people for Christ (bring on the juice boxes and Little Debbies!)
We not just performing tasks in church. When we serve, we serve so that we might win the right to influence others for Christ.
We're not here to judge people. We're not here to condemn people. We're here to love and to serve people!
Influencing people for Christ isn't just something worth dying for...it's something worth living for!
A church that's going to influence people for Christ is a church that embraces God's message of GRACE through Christ.
To influence people for Christ, we're going to have to fight our natural tendency to put people into categories, and instead develop relationships.
Think RELATIONSHIP, not category.
Acceptance paves the way for influence (but looks like approval from the outside). Let's do it anyway, that we might influence people for Christ all the more!
God WINS, we WIN, everybody but the devil WINS, when we influence others for Christ!

Thoroughly enjoyed this month of prayer, hearing from God, discovery and preparation as we go full force into 2011! Can't wait to get back to two services each Sunday morning at 9AM and 10:30AM! Can't wait to kick off our new series God, Love & Sex. Remember to take your invite cards and invite BIG this week. Everybody knows someone who is struggling in a marriage or a relationship, everybody knows someone who is single. For the next four weeks we're going to provide REAL answers for REAL relationships from the Song of Solomon. Remember...it's not tough to invite someone. Just say, "Come and see for yourself".

Have a GREAT week!

WEEKEND UPDATE (012311)

2011-01-24T19:15:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday! Great weekend at Crossroads. Like I said last week, you can really feel momentum picking up. We had our biggest crowd since Thanksgiving. Really looking forward to our February series and going back to two services as it gives people options. Here's a few take-away's from Sunday morning:

First off, great job by everyone in our Children's Center working to provide a warm, caring, and fun environment for Corssroads attenders precious children in the midst of a major remodeling project. you guys are troopers! Thanks for your hard work and for the patience of all our parents!
I thought worship was excellent yesterday. Nic and the band sounded great! Our crack tech crew is doing a great job too, tweaking our gear for maximum quality. I love 'Our God is Greater' and 'You're Love Never Fails'. Got 'em back to back Sunday. Woo-hoo! Great job everyone!
Awesome to create some space to REMEMBER and REJOICE on Sunday as we dug into Psalm 19 verse by verse. I rarely ever teach that way. It was a departure from our normal mode of teaching, but it was so great to dig that deep into the Word!
I love the idea that "the heavens proclaim the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1-4), that their unspoken testimoney goes to the ends of the earth, that while language barriers may exist between nations, the heavens speal a COMMON LANGUAGE with which to teach ALL MEN at the same time. Blows me away!
I love that God's Word gives us LIFE! (Psalm 19:7)
I love that God's Word gives us WISDOM! (Psalm 19:7)
I love that God's Word fills us with JOY! (Psalm 19:8)
I love that God's Word gives us INSIGHT FOR LIVING! (Psalm 19:8)
I love that God's Word REVIVES, MAKES WISE, BRINGS JOY and GIVES CLEAR DIRECTION!
I love that God's Word warns us of our responsibility to Him and to others, warns us of our sin and its consequences, and points us to His mercy and forgiveness through Christ!

This week, may the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be pleasing to God. May the words of your mouth be words that build up and not tear down. The Apostle James said that our tongues are like a rudder on a ship. It follows that the words that come out of our mouths have EVERYTHING to do with the direction we have gone in life, and EVERYTHING to do with the direction we will go from here.

As you meditate in your heart on God's amazing Word this week, may you REMEMBER and REJOICE! Knowing that as we do, our hearts are changed, and as our hearts are changd, our words become more and more pleasing to God, setting the course for the destinations He desires for our lives!

Peace.

Church Hopping and Shopping

2011-01-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

You can count the number of churches I've been a part of for the past twenty years on one hand. Two of those churches we left because of geographic changes (we moved because of my job). One church we left because we were "gifted" to another church to lead worship there. The last church we left (with the prayers and blessing of the Pastor and the congregation) three years ago to plant Crossroads. I'm not special, but I learned something important along the way. There is GREAT benefit to you when you grow where God plants you.

I'm BIG on growing where God has planted me. I've experienced the blessing of being a vital part of a community of believers. At the same time, I've seen how my decision to stay comitted has been a blessing to others along the way. I've also seen the other side of things. As a Christian, a worship leader, a youth pastor and now a pastor, I have seen over and over how people "hop and shop"; literally going from church to church as the mood strikes them, or getting offended in some way and leaving without working things out, or staying in a continual mode of trying to find the "perfect church" and never settling down in one place long enough to actually be a vital part of a community of believers. It's flat tragic and totally avoidable.

Steven Furtick pastor of Elevation Church wrote an excellent Blog post about it yesterday. Have a look:

One of the things that really troubles me about the church today is the phenomenon of church hopping and church shopping. It’s a consumeristic mindset towards the body of Christ that grieves the heart of God.

It’s time for us to stop the hop. This isn’t Christianity. Jesus didn’t die so we could sample different churches like varieties of meat on a party platter. Jesus died to establish His church as the most powerful entity on the planet.

We are alive at the greatest time in history for the advance of the gospel. We have so much going for us.

We have the ability.

We have the resources.

We have the people.

What we don’t have is them committed to a place where they can actually be used for their God-ordained purpose.

If this generation doesn’t make the impact it should, it won’t be because it didn’t have the resources. Or even the passion. It will be because it was too busy hopping to different churches to stop and commit to one where its resources and passion could actually find an outlet.

The church is the change the world is waiting for. God help us if we keep the world waiting for us while we try to find the perfect church for us.

If you’ve fallen into the trap of church hopping, let me encourage you: embrace your place somewhere where God can use you. At the end of your life, God’s not going to be impressed or pleased that you saw what He was doing at ten different churches. He’s going be more pleased that you were a part of what He was doing at one church.

And you’re never going to find the perfect one, so give up looking. If the church you’re visiting doesn’t have what you’re looking for, it might be because God wants you to provide it.

Let’s all commit together to begin a campaign to stop the hop. Find a place to get planted. Embrace it. And start changing the world.

The question of our day isn’t if God wants to do incredible things through the church. The question is will we be in place to experience it?

Good stuff.

Principle of Magnification

2011-01-18T06:00:00.001-06:00

I had a lot of people ask me to tell them again what I said about magnifying the Lord, so I'm providing a bit of what I talked about Sunday here. It's a very simple principle that I have certainly oversimplified, but it's certainly effective nonetheless.

I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt His name together!

(Psalm 34:1,2 ESV)

What happens when you magnify something? It looks bigger, right? What happens when you magnify your problems? They look bigger, don't they? That's one of the reasons David (who had way bigger problems than you or me), says, "magnify the Lord".

God doesn't get any bigger because we magnify Him. He's already as big as He's going to get, and that's way bigger than any problem we will ever have. But when we magnify God, He gets bigger in our view! The more we magnify Him, the bigger our view of Him becomes. The bigger our view of Him becomes, the smaller our view of our troubles becomes.

If your troubles are all you can see, it's because your view of God is too small.

How do we increase (or magnify) our view of God? Instead of cursing, nursing and rehearsing your troubles, begin to praise Him for Who He is and thank Him for all that He has done. Praise Him continually, regardless of the circumstances you are facing. Don't know where to start? Start by thanking Him that you're sucking air right now. It is God who gives us life. Work from there. Let Scripture be your guide for praising Him. Read Psalm 145 aloud. Do it again. Do it again. Are you fearful and concerned for your own well-being. Read Psalm 91 aloud. Do it again. Do it again, but louder this time! Turn on some good praise and worship music and lift your voice. Are you bummed out, depressed, sad, or filled with grief? The Bible says to "put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness". Literally clothe yourself in the praise of God, by speaking or singing aloud (telling) of how strong and mighty God is, and recounting all the wonderful things He has done for us.

When you and I center our thoughts on Gods gift of His precious Son Jesus Christ, and the fact that His sacrifice paid for our sin so that we'll be in God's presence for all eternity...our troubles in this life become smaller and smaller and smaller until they're hardly noticeable in the light of God's glory!

WEEKEND UPDATE (011611)

2011-01-17T16:40:00.000-06:00

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! I hope you had as much fun on Sunday as I did. It was a big day at Crossroads for our third service of the New Year. I am starting to feel that momentum swing that happens every year around this time, where people are done with the holidays and begin re-connecting again with church. Here's a few of the things that stood out to me on Sunday morning:

Trend for lots of first-time attenders continues. Awesome!
Many people made decisions Sunday to renew their commitment to Christ!
Started a new three-week series called "play".
"play" is all about R&R (Remembering and Rejoicing).
We talked a lot about how we tend to forget why we started doing things.
I shared embarrassing pictures of myself from the 80's.
We had some good laughs, but in reality, looking at those pictures is like looking at photos of a dead man.
God wants us to celebrate because He knows that the MORE we focus on HIM, the LESS we focus on our PROBLEMS.
Just as God proscribed festivals at appointed times to keep His people connected with Who He is and what He'd done for them, He has commanded that we continually praise Him, so that He stays bigger to us than our challenges and difficulties.
We don't have to be in a GOOD PLACE to praise God, but praising God when we're in a BAD PLACE is something we can't afford to do without.
Here's the great thing about R&R (Remembering and Rejoicing): You can't praise God at the same time you're cursing, nursing and rehearsing your troubles. (Look for tomorrow's short blog post on the Principle of Magnification)
Love, love, loved seeing Pete and Katie's video. Praise God! He still does miracles!

Thanks to everyone who works so hard to make Crossroads work each Sunday. There are many of you, and you don't get near enough credit. But can I say there's something else I've noticed, too? The work of setting up and tearing down would go so much quicker for those who grind it out each week if folks would stay just a few minutes longer after service gets out. I know, I know, everyone wants to get out of there and get to lunch before the crowd, but what's happening is, so many have adopted that concern, that a handful of faithful folks are getting stuck with a HUGE workload. Yesterday, we didn't get out of the cinema until 1:00PM.

I am convinced, if we could get folks to stay 15 minutes past when they typically leave, we'd ALL get out no later than 12:30. Think about what you might do to help that process next weekend. Setup and tear down is as much about winning the world to Christ as anything else that happens at Crossroads. Thank you in advance for hooking up your heart with what God is doing in our community by serving with energy, passion, and commitment!

Have a GREAT week!!

WEEKEND UPDATE (010911)

2011-01-10T09:17:00.000-06:00

Just for grins, today is 011011. I kinda like that. I'm looking forward to 111111, but I'll have to wait a bit. Didn't have to wait to enjoy a great weekend at Crossroads, though. What a wonderful day Sunday was! I had an entire truckload of fun! here's just a few of the things that stood out to me:

Sunday's crowd was great. A lot of energy in the room!
MANY people made quality decisions about the direction of their lives!
Worship rocked! Nic and the band were great. I enjoyed worship so much from my spot at the back of the sanctuary. I was bouncing up and down, singing my lungs out, clapping my hands and having a great time celebrating how AWESOME God is!
Great to have Hollie up on stage as the service host! A lot of energy there, too!
Had a lot of fun during Sunday's message about Sabbath. Having the treadmill up on stage was a great illustration of what my life can look like if I'm not paying attention to God. How 'bout you?
I love the idea that God rested to demonstrate what we should do. Not because He was tired, or burned out from His work of creation, but because He knows that we are made from dust, and we need to rest from our toil.
He tells us to rest, like He rested, to remind us that though we are LIKE Him, we are NOT Him.
Sabbath isn't the same thing as a "day-off".
Sabbath is something more, something special, something sacred, something holy.
Other than intentionally dedicating your day to the Lord, and spending time in His presence, I don't know what your Sabbath should look like. Each of us needs to figure that out for ourselves. You (and probably the people closest to you) are the ones who know best what's crowding God out of your life.
Get off the treadmill. Jesus lived, died, and rose again so our lives wouldn't just be about making BRICKS.
I said on Sunday, "Everyone should get a motorcycle". That probably isn't a good idea for some people.
I also said that the Bible said we should ride motorcycles. For those of you who didn't hear what happened next, James Jones piped up and said, "It's true, the Bible says the sound of David's Triumph went throughout the land!" I don't know where that is in the Bible, but I like it. I do know that (much to my dissapointment) there is no Scriptural mention of Harley-Davidson, but 1 Chronicles 11 says, "The Lord saved them by giving them a great Victory!" Those are nice bikes, too.

But I digress. Great day Sunday FULL of victory for all of us! I especially want to thank everyone working with children from Nursery to Kindergarten, as they have done a fantastic job dealing with the on-going construction in our Children's Center. This is going to be a WONDERFUL facility when it is complete, but it's still a few weeks away from being there.

Having said that, to go to two services now as we had originally planned, would put a HUGE burden on our children's ministry volunteers, and add insult to the injury of making them do church in a construction zone. The facilities are not ready yet.

So here's what we're going to do: WE'RE GOING TO WAIT TO GO TO TWO SERVICES UNTIL THE FIRST SUNDAY OF FEBRUARY (FEBRUARY 6TH). It's going to be a great day to re-start two services as our new Children's Center will be complete, our offices will be finished, we'll be starting a brand-new relationship series (that includes the word 'sex' in the title), everyone will be over the holiday funk, and we'll be RE-LAUNCHING Crossroads into 2011 and beyond! Let everyone in your circle of influence know.

Have a GREAT week!

Vintage Video: CHOPPER PILOT

2011-01-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

Thought some of you might get a kick out of this Vietnam era film about WOC school and flight training back in the day...

Yes...it's CHOPPER PILOT!

Courtesy Cost Analyzer - web server analysis

WEEKEND UPDATE (010311)

2011-01-03T14:22:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year and welcome back to Crossroads! So great to be back in church on Sunday morning. Here's just a few of the things I noticed this weekend:

GREAT attendance...in fact, best ever for a first Sunday of the New Year. Way to go!
Lobby was great - even without Shelly on coffee duty. Great job Ben!
"What??? No donuts?!?" That's right folks, we started the new year by getting the white bread boiled in grease slathered with processed sugar off the counter. But your good health is not the only reason. As I shared Sunday, the real reason is we counted and figured we spent around $4000 on donuts in 2010. If you've been at Crossroads for any length of time, then you know that we know what's truly important. There's so many better things we could do with $4000 in 2011. Like feeding people, clothing people, sheltering people, caring for widows and orphans. So GRATEFUL that I go to a church that places a higher value on doing the things Jesus said to do, then filling our faces with Dunkin's. (FYI: We still have donut holes for the kids in Elementary Ministry).
I thought Nic and Caleb and the worship band did an exceptional job with worship Sunday morning. Great songs, great sound, and tons of energy. Good job!
Sunday was Pastor Nic and Janna's first Sunday as Children's Pastors, and they did a GREAT job! Thanks to everyone who pitched in to help. Great job by Nic doing double duty!
I totally blew the Communication Card thing at the end of service by telling people to take out their cards AFTER offering instead of BEFORE. Oops.
Thank you to everyone who helped us make the move from the Old Annex to the New Annex! Now we're digging into a solid month of construction and painting.
Parents of little ones, thank you so much for your patience as we renovate our new building into the best facility for nursery through kindergarten kids in town! It's rough right now, but it's going to be something very special when it's complete.
Had MANY people tell me that "pause" was what they needed to hear and do after the crazy-busy rush of the holidays. Before you finish your new year list - make sure God is at the top of it: SELAH!

So excited for 2011. We had our first staff meeting of the year this morning, and I can promise you that your hard-working staff is seriously pumped and ready for the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead! We'll be pushing hard through the renovation work this month to make a first-rate space on a Crossroads budget. We'll be planning out the teaching schedule, scheduling the volunteer effort, and taking leadership and professionalism to a whole new level. We want to do everything we can to make you proud to say, "I AM CROSSROADS" in 2011!

pause

2010-12-29T16:07:00.002-06:00

In our culture, we tend to look at the beginning of the year as a time to go charging off to accomplish all the things we said we’d do last year and didn’t, or to begin a host of new habits that we resolved to start, or to stop the old ones we promised ourselves we quit. The temptation is to hit the ground running.

But what if we just took a minute and paused…

I don’t know how it works for you, but I know that when I come home from work after a long day, and I walk through the door and the kids are bouncing off the walls and the dogs are barking, and the television is blaring, and the kitchen is bustling with activity, I just want to take a minute and decompress. Something about quiet at the end of a period, or a season, of high anxiety and stress, helps us to reorder our lives. The holiday season can get us so wrapped around the axle with urgent concerns – money, family, crowds, noise, decorations, cooking, cleaning – that our stress can go right through the roof. It’s hard to hear yourself think, let alone hear from God, when there’s so much going on.

If we’ll slow down… just for a moment… and listen… we might hear our Heavenly Father say, “You are concerned about many urgent things. But in all your activity, be careful not to overlook the truly important things”.

Maybe it’s time to hit pause, and just get quiet for a minute. Pause. Two weeks, starting January 2nd.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010!

2010-12-25T11:20:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas to all and to all a great day in Christ! Just a quick note to stop and celebrate what happened last night. Around 100 folks braved the chilly weather for an awesome Christmas Eve Communion service at Johnny Henderson Family Park last night. Mulled cider, Christmas carols, and communion with the Crossroads family...what an honor it is to serve God with you all!

Enjoy time with friends and family this weekend as we take a break from our regular Sunday services. Can't wait to see you all again on Sunday January 2nd at the College Cinema.

Peace.

WEEKEND UPDATE (Christmas Extravaganza 2010)

2010-12-20T08:30:00.000-06:00

What a hoot Sunday was! Crossroads was aboslutely JAMMED with people for our 3rd Annual Crossroads Christmas Extravaganza! Tons of visitors, family and friends! The Extravaganza is one of my favorite services of the year. It's a decidedly low-budget affair where maximum importance on the truth of the Gospel, and maximum opportunity for hijinx and tom-foolery meet. Here's a few of the things I noticed yesterday:

Lobby was ROCKIN'!
Nic, Janna and the band did a great job with the opening song and Christmas Carols.
I totally botched the announcements, completely forgetting to mention what Communication Cards were, or what people were supposed to do with them.
James Jones did a fantastic job with a straight up, old school, Gospel reading from Luke 2!
Janna ripped O Holy Night! Such a great voice. Thank you God that you brought her to Crossroads!
So great to welcome our listeners deployed in Afghanistan. The crowd noise cheering for you was AWESOME! Can't wait for you to hear it on the podcast!
Loved sharing the message about Good News, that brings Great Joy to ALL people!
I know many would disagree, but I aboslutely loathe singing Christmas trees. So it's no wonder that T-Wag's Low-Budget Singing Christmas Tree was the funniest thing I've ever seen! Way to go, Todd! That's the stuff legends are made of!
Elves were GREAT!! Caleb, Sam, Caitlin, Ashley, John, Justin and Natalie cracked me up and had the crowd rolling! Award for most disturbing elf has to go to Caleb. Nice tights, bro!
Will Lurie's Dancing Santa was ridiculously fantastic! Just the right blend of holiday tradition and hip-hop hilarity...and just a bit naughty. Will's an amazing talent...in a fat suit or out of one.
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make Sunday's service so special for so many people! From those on stage, to those who set the stage, to our crack tech crew, to everyone who served in the lobby, the auditorium, the office, and the children's ministry, you offered your time, talent and treasure and God used it to draw people to Christ!

I absolutely LOVE being part of a church that takes the truth and importance of the Gospel message so seriously, while never takes ourselves too seriously. The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus came and lived and died and rose again so that you and I don't have to go to hell. That's the greatest gift ever given!

While you're hustling to make your final Christmas preparations this week, slow down long enough to think about this: The most important thing is not finding the right present to give someone, or getting everything we want for Christmas. Christmas has nothing to do with stuff. Stuff isn't important. The important thing is that our Heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to save us, and to bring us into a right relationship with God. If you don't have anything else, but you have that, then you have everything!

Merry Christmas!