Who Is Hal Mayer?

I've had several people at Crossroads ask me this question.  Hal is the coach of our purpose driven church planting network.  We meet once a month in Ocala at Church@The Springs. Hal is the lead pastor of Church at the Bay in Tampa. He has a long and storied career in the ministry that includes serving as Executive Pastor at Flamingo Road Baptist Church and at The Springs.  

I can't possibly do his resume justice, but he did graduate from the University of Memphis in '77 with a degree in ribs and basketball.  Seriously though, Hal got his Masters in Religious Education at Memphis, and his Doctorate in Leadership from Southwestern Seminary in 1984. They don't give those away for making jump shots.  He is a GREAT teacher, and what I am learning from him is invaluable.  Hal has career level experience doing leadership training and consulting in the private sector for many major corporate clients.  He really knows what he's talking about, and it is a privilege to have him as a coach. (Is that how you wanted me to say all that stuff, Hal?).  

Kidding guys - not just sucking up (I did most of that at our meeting today) - Check out his blog at www.halmayer.blogspot.com and the great things going on at Church at the Bay!  And if there's anything that I do or say that really offends you in the next three weeks, be sure to let Hal know (I probably learned it from him).  Kidding...again.  

Onward and upward!  See you at our meeting, Tuesday night at 7PM at the Annex.        

Are We There Yet?

On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again...

After a great service this Sunday morning, Leslie and I are back in Ocala for another meeting with our Purpose Driven Coaching Network. And I am ready to take my monthly beating from my church planting coach Hal Mayer (after all, I preached on forgiveness, right?).

We'll be back late Monday night, and I want to invite those of you reading this to come to the Annex at 7PM Tuesday night for a quick meeting on the vision of Crossroads.

Unlike having annual eye exams (or in my case once every three years whether I need it or not), vision testing for church plants has to be a regular occurence. We've been rolling along, gathering steam since our first meeting at the Annex on Easter Sunday.

Join us as we gather together to share again the vision God has put on our hearts for Crossroads.

Bring your questions, your comments, and your ideas to this forum. Leslie and I look forward to seeing you, and to sharing with you our latest offerings from Ocala!

Wise Guys

Just to keep everyone clued in, we wrap up our current series Home Improvement this Sunday with the final episode, Don't Get Mad, Get Even.  

Often, when someone offends us or injures us in some way, we take a short-term view in our response to that offense or injury.  "I am angry today".  We don't think about the fact that we may have been angry yesterday, or the week before, or the year before.  We don't concern ourselves with whether we will be angry tomorrow, or next week, or next year.  Our anger exists in the moment.  

But today - in this moment - what if we took a long view of what anger and resentment is and what it does to US? That's right...us.  Not them.  Not the ones who have offended us, who have hurt us, who have injured us, who have damaged us in some way.  Our anger doesn't really hurt them back. Even if it could hurt them.  Would it help us?  A wise old Chinese man once said, "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves".  

From deep wounding hurts, to minor irritations, resentments are like little "Death Legos". Ignoring their impact on us in the immediate, we stack them up each day in a complicated arrangement of interlocking bricks, until one day we have built a wall so large, so wide, so tall that we find ourselves on one side - and love, joy, peace and contentment on the other side.  

Perhaps our anger, resentment, irritation and bitterness would be arrested if we really understood that (in the words of my 80 year-old mother), "People we are angry with fall into one of three categories: 

     1. They don't know we're angry, 

     2. They don't care, or 

     3. They're dead".  

Good news?  We can fix this now.  Old Chinese men and 80 year-old Italian woman aren't the only ones that get to be wise...

The 5500

Who are you?  

You are the 5500.

You want to know some things about yourself?

Let's look at some surveys and statistics.  

15% of you regularly use marijuana.  You committed 24% of all gun homicides in the past ten years. You racked up more than twice the number of misdemeanor charges of any other group.  While 25% of you are enrolled in post-secondary education, you also account for nearly 25% of all traffic fatalities.  50% of you come from single parent family homes.

12% of you say that you volunteer in church, the smallest percentage of any generation.  You are the least likely of any group to pray to God.  You are less likely to be born again.  You are least likely to indicate that faith matters in your life.  You are least likely to believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect creator that rules the world today.

There are 5500 of you within a ten mile radius of the front door of Crossroads Annex.  You are Mosaics, between the ages of 18 and 25.  You comprise half of all attenders at the Annex.  You are powerful, strong and beautiful.  You are the backbone of Crossroads.  And your influence on others, in the world in which you live, is greater than the influence of any other age group to ever walk the face of the planet.

You are influencers of the highest order.  You possess within yourselves the ability to actually change the world. That's who you are.  Now...who do you want to be?     

The Gospel of John? Believe.

I am really excited about our new Bible study beginning this Wednesday night at 7PM at the Annex. I'm hungry to gather together around God's word with a like-minded group of "Roadies".  This is the stuff I have really been waiting for, and I'm so glad it's happening.  

I'll be teaching from the Gospel of John.  We're starting with John primarily because of this: John - led by the Holy Spirit - really focused on the nature of Jesus and the meaning of faith in Him. (His gospel is more centered on the person of Jesus than with the ethical teaching of the kingdom).  

You know, you can't really get close to someone, until you really know them.  You can know where they work, what they did, what they said, and what others said about them, but you can't get close until you know who they are.  When we really look into the Gospel of John, we have an opportunity to get closer to Jesus than ever before.  John's gospel is a HUGE faith builder, and no other person ever wrote so much about the love of God, revealed in Christ.  

If you want to get closer to Jesus, if you want to grow in the process of believing, if you want to experience the love of God from a fresh, eyewitness perspective then join us each Wednesday night at Crossroads Annex.  You'll be glad you came! 

He Said...She Said

Jesus was the greatest communicator that ever walked the earth.  He tells us exactly why his communication was effective and reliable.  In John 8:28 Jesus says, "I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me".  Later, in John 12:49,50 Jesus again says, "I don't speak on my own authority.  The Father who has sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say".  

Why was Jesus such a great communicator?  Because he only said what he heard the Father say.  If we want to prevent communication breakdowns in our lives - at home, in our marriages, with the kids, at work, wherever we go - we need to be saying what the Father said.  It's written for us in the Bible, and it's communicated to us by the Holy Spirit.  When we speak as we are led to speak by the Holy Spirit, we have the confidence of truly knowing what to say and how to say it.  Our communication will be effective and reliable!  

Bring a friend and come laugh with us, and learn with us, at Crossroads this Sunday at 10:00AM for Episode 3 in our continuing series Home Improvement.  This week: "Communication Breakdown". See you there!

Go Viral

So I'm going to keep putting up polls and surveys.  Why?  Because I think it's a great way for us to stay anonymous and voice our opinion, or identify where we are in life.  It's also a great way for me to stay in touch with who's reading this blog.  

I loved the last poll.  60% of those responding said, "I'm HOT and getting HOTTER", when asked about your spiritual temperature.  As I mentioned before, one of the greatest things about that poll was the fact that the people who responded weren't afraid to say, "Hey, I'm LUKEWARM".  

I have posted a quick survey.  I hope all who read this will respond to give me a better idea of the age of those who read The Intersection.  According to Sitemeter statistics, this blog has readers from Hawaii, Colorado, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.  Spread it around.  Provide a link to those around the world you are in contact with by email.  Help make Crossroads web resources viral in the world community.  Let's spread ETL (electronically transmitted love) to everyone we know!  

Temporary

What a great day Leslie and I had today!  It was her birthday so - as any truly sensitive husband would do - I took her to the Muscle Car Museum in Tallahassee!  Actually, it was her idea.  We always have a great time there, and it's even better now that they've built a new 100,000 square foot facility at I-10 and Hwy 90.  

A great drive, a great time at the museum and lunch at great restaurant, what could be better.  Blessings abounded as I spoke with the kids throughout the day to hear of their completion of birthday shopping, present wrapping, cake baking (another Blog), and family meal preparation.  It was a beautiful day that gave us time alone to talk and enjoy each others company as we made the two and half hour drive each way from Enterprise to Tallahassee and back.  

I was on the phone with Caitlin when I saw the cloud of dust boil up from the median a quarter mile ahead.  A darkly painted car exploded from the dust cloud like it was shot out of a cannon and crossed Westbound I-10 at a ninety degree angle to the rushing Interstate traffic.  A quick OMG and hurried goodbye to Caitlin, we saw the speeding car just ahead fly straight across our lane at a very high rate of speed.  Within a few seconds Leslie and I had slowed to the shoulder, and looking to our right saw the car wheels up, in the swamp.  

I yelled to Leslie, "Call star-fhp!", and I bolted from our car and ran to the upside-down, half-submerged vehicle.  We were the first on the scene, and as I ran into thigh-deep water, I was terrified at what I might find.  I'll admit, I truly wished it wasn't me there at that moment.  I saw a white pickup driving backwards toward our car.  A man jumped out of the truck and ran toward the car with me.  He began yelling for signs of life from the vehicle and I joined in the chorus.  We both made it to the door at the same time.  I must admit, the whole scene was so surreal, and I am so unfamiliar with situations like that, I couldn't even grasp what I was looking at - and had no idea what should be done next.  The man instinctively reached under the water and grabbed for the door handle.  Immediately I grabbed the bottom of the door and together we pulled it open through the muck.  

The light of day poured into the murky opening.  The car was nearly filled with muddy water.  A very frightened and confused woman in her 50's looked up at us.  It was clear she had no idea where she was - but somehow in the drowning blackness that engulfed her, she had managed to unfasten her seat-belt and turn right side up in the car, keeping her head out of the water. We asked her quickly and loudly if there were any others in the car with her.  She said "No, just me and my dogs!" Gratefully, other than her obvious shock, she appeared to have no significant injuries.  Her only passengers - two very fat, very wet and very frightened terriers.  

Several others had joined us in the swamp by then.  We helped her and her two dogs to the safety of the grassy slope she had only a minute before flipped over.  Highway patrol, rescue squad and ultimately ambulance personnel showed up and the dramatic portion of the event was over for us.  

I don't have anything clever to say here.  No shrewd observations or witty illustrations.  I am just so very grateful for God's protection for her and for us.  If we had not lingered, at any given point during the day, and had been less than 30 seconds ahead of where we were, things could have been so different.  Once again, I am humbled at how truly fragile the human condition is, and how temporary life is for all of us.  All things considered, it was a tremendous day.  For Leslie, me, the kids, the woman in the car, and her two very fat, very wet and very frightened terriers.

Sodbusters

I was at the Annex today and I had to get the lights turned on in the unused portion of our space.  It was darker then the inside of a cow's belly back there, and I didn't have a flash light or a cell phone with me to light up my way.  As soon as I turned the corner from the hallway to the back part of the building, I was plunged into darkness so deep that I couldn't see my hands in front of my face.  I had to "feel" my way to the circuit breaker panel, to flip the right breaker and get some light on the subject.

As I was groping around in the dark, I encountered different obstacles that could only be described by how they felt.  One was cold, felt like metal, with rounded edges, and it had two protrusions that grabbed at me and held on as I tried to ease past it.  Then my right foot seemed to disappear in what felt like the soft crunchiness of a dead cat.  Creeped me right out.

I made it to the breaker panel and flipped the correct breaker on the first try.  I found myself standing with one foot in the middle of a large mop, and my jacket hung up by the handle of a set of hand trucks.  All of a sudden...everything made sense.

Not to mix metaphors (too severely), but I see Crossroads as a fertile, productive field where the all the activities associated with planting, growing, and harvesting are in full swing.  I see past the large stones in the field, the tree stumps and hard ground that is yet to be broken.  I see many laborers in the field sowing the Word, and planting their time, talents and treasure sure of the abundant harvest that follows their dedicated service.

We started so very small, but already we are growing, and growing quickly.  What we can see of Crossroads now with our eyes may be no more than a mustard seed; a scale model of what we will become.  But one day, we will stand on the side of that fertile field amazed at what God did with that small start, with that tiny bit of faith, and with the dedicated service of those laborers who believed.  And all of a sudden...everything will make sense.

Thank you to all whose hands are on the plow.  Together we are breaking that ground, and it's already making a big difference in the lives of many people.    

Special Delivery

What a great weekend we had at Crossroads!  Sundays service was just awesome!  A House Divided was the second installment of our series all this month, Home Improvement.  What a great crowd we had at the Annex.  With more new faces joining us each week, it won't be long before we add a second service on Sunday morning!

We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to gather together like we do each week.  It's so encouraging for me to see families get together in a relaxed atmosphere like Crossroads Annex, hear great worship (way to go Nick, Janna and our amazing band!), and share time together around God's Word.  You know, we are so blessed to be able to do that, and I'm just jumping for joy at your response to what God is doing in our community!  

I want to encourage you to really go for it this week - in everything you do!  God has a great and wonderful plan for the life of every person.  He has placed great desires in each one of us that are there to help us recognize His plan for our lives.  When we fuel those desires with His word, with prayer, and with a firm commitment to live out our lives with passion - we start to see those great plans come to pass.  

The greatest plan he has for each of us is to be a delivery system for His HUGE love for all people.  Can we have a bigger desire than to see the world changed, one person at a time, by the love of the Father?  Be a world changer this week.  Decide, in advance, to simply love other people as you walk through each day.  As you do that, your passion will grow, and your desire to love will be greater than ever!  That's the heart of the Father: That His children love each other!

   

He's Listening...

When the Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon, many must have surely thought that life was over.  That nothing good could possibly come of their experience.  But the Prophet Jeremiah gave this word to the Israelites and it is recorded in Jeremiah 29:11.  "For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen".  

Those of us who have young people in high school in Enterprise, or who are young people in high school in Enterprise, or who teach young people in high school in Enterprise have surely seen the despair that sometimes marks the countenance of our students.  Each day they face another day in exile, in makeshift classrooms hastily assembled in trailers laid out at the community college, after their high school was utterly destroyed by the tornado of March 1st, 2007.  

Many relocating to the Wiregrass have chosen not to settle in Enterprise because we have no actual high school facilities for their children to attend.  Like many places around the country, "For Rent" signs have become commonplace in the yards of homes languishing on the real estate market. It stings us doubly here though, as we wonder how many might have come and stayed, if our community had a permanent high school.  

But I read in earlier in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord encouraging those in exile not to lose hope.  In fact he says this: "Build homes and plan to stay.  Plant gardens and eat the food they produce...  ...work for the peace and prosperity of the city...   ...Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare."  

What incredibly encouraging words!  And how applicable they are to our own city.  And to our young people!  The Lord spoke to His people Israel and instilled in them a sense of permanence and stability even in a time of great upheaval.  I am impressed that we must do now,  as God instructed His people then: work for the peace and prosperity of the city.  

There are many, many bright days ahead for Enterprise and the surrounding community.  Let's not grow weary in doing well.  We have been planted here for a purpose!  God is going to show off like only God can right here in our midst.  Pray for peace in our city.  Pray for the prosperity of it's people, it's businesses and it's government.  God has plans for good and not disaster for this community, to give us all a future and a hope!     

Money Makes The Man?

Back in the HOUSE!!!!  Only it's not in the house. Crossroads student ministry is back in full swing at the Annex tonight.  We pick up our previously postponed series called SIN CITY tonight with a message centered on GREED!  I know, I know - you guys we're wondering how long you'd have to wait to hear me preach about greed, right?  Listen, we're gonna talk about what greed is and why,  and how it hurts us.  But greed is just a counterfeit for the awesome gift that God has blessed each of us with: GENEROSITY.  Tune in tonight at the Annex for a great time talking about OUTRAGEOUS generosity - Jesus style!  Doors open at 6:30 PM, service at 7.  See you there!   

"Blog-zilla"

I had a weird and scary dream last night.  Now, before I go on we need to establish some ground rules, okay?  1.  I don't believe in being led by dreams, I believe in being led by the Holy Spirit; 2. The first reason I believe that, is because Romans 8:14 says, "All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God", and that's me; 3. The second reason I believe that is because the Bible says in Joel 2:28, "Your OLD men will dream dreams, and your YOUNG men will see visions".  I may not be as "new" as I used to be...but I ain't OLD yet! 

In my dream there were "monster-y" and "ghost-y" things all around.  It was one of those real scary-type deals where it seems like it's actually happening, you know?  And you're being chased, and everything is real creepy, and then you dream that you're awake (but you really aren't), and you get up and go turn the lights on, but the lights won't turn on ('cause you're still asleep), and it keeps happening until you finally actually do wake up and you sit up in bed and yell, "Jesus!"  Ever have one of those dreams?  

The Jesus part?  That's my favorite part of the whole deal.  Why?  Because this morning, I have absolutely no recollection what my dream was specifically about (other than that it was "monster-y" and "ghost-y" and I couldn't turn the lights on) but i STILL remember the name of Jesus!  Specifically.  That's the great thing about the Name. When you say the Name of Jesus, fear takes a hike.  

Fear is a natural reaction of natural men and natural women.  But there is such SUPERnatural power in the Name of Jesus!  Ephesians 1:21,22 says that Jesus is, "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED...the head over ALL THINGS to the church."  E.W. Kenyon, in his book The Wonderful Name of Jesus says, "We have the right to use that Name against our enemies".  Whoo-hoo!!  

Anything that makes us afraid, is an enemy.  Why? Because God is LOVE and fear is the opposite of love.  Fear tears down, love builds up.  Fear tends to death and bondage, love tends to life and freedom.  Fear steals peace and hope.  Love restores peace and hope. The love of God is greater than anything we could ever fear.  The Bible says, "Perfect love casts out ALL fear".  Fear is no match for love. And God's love for us is embodied in Christ, and put in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  

I ain't afraid of no monsters or ghosties!  They may make my skin crawl and the hair stand up on the back of my neck - but that's just my natural flesh responding to the fear stimulus.  But when I allow the supernatural power of God to take control by using the Name of Jesus (I prefer the shouting method, like this: "JESUS!!!"), fear tucks it's sorry tail and runs back to hell, where it came from.  Try it sometime.  

I love the story about Smith Wigglesworth the legendary plumber/evangelist.  He awoke one night to a ruckus, and satan himself was standing at the foot of Wiggelsworth's bed.  Wigglesworth looked at him and said, "Oh, it's just you".  And with that he rolled over and went back to sleep.  Never forget the REAL power belongs to the children of God, not the enemies of God.  Fear? Not!