Update From Pastor Matt!

Hello,

I have been quiet far to long.  I am so sorry.  I miss everyone so much.  It is such an interesting thing to watch my awesome church grow and and have fun from so far away.  All I can say is that I think of every detail I can, as much as I can.  From set-up in the Filling Station to events at The Annex, to really everything that my little mind will let me recall.  I try to think about how awesome a thing God is doing in Enterprise, Alabama.  

Big shout out to each wonderful person that has reached out to help Hollie and the boys.  That's what community and family is all about.  Thank you very much.

Things are actually pretty good over here, except for the war part, but I am making meaningful relationships with several Afghans pilots.  God loves them just as much as any American, and that is what is so cool for me.  I know there's a way for them, or they wouldn't be here, and neither would I.  

Won't be to much longer and I will be home.  I just can't wait to see each of you and maybe this time we can sit and relax a bit.  The holidays are always so busy for everyone.  I was very thankful though to have been home and shared time with my Crossroads family.  I miss all of you.  Sounds like things are amazing.

Talk More Later,

Pastor Matt 

Thank You!

I read a comment to a blog post from a friend who is a pastor the other day.  And it reminded me how fortunate I am to be working with a group of people who really "get" what we are doing at Crossroads.  We have a plan, and we're sticking to it. Some may not like it, but that's the great thing about America...we all get to choose.  One thing is for sure, whether people like Crossroads or not, they'll never have to wonder what it is, or why we do the things we do.  

Let me challenge you:  Those of you who get off at 5PM have 40 more minutes to tap someone on the shoulder and invite them to Crossroads this weekend. Then there's tonight and tomorrow and tomorrow night.  Practically a lifetime.    

What's easy about doing that is you can tell them with absolute certainty what to expect when they get there. Do you know how rare that is?

Some will come because of the music.  Some will come because the message is short and sweet.  Some will come for free donuts.  Some will come because it's cool.  Some will come because it's casual.  But ALL will come because they were invited by someone who believed in what we are doing.

Thank you for being faithful to the vision of Crossroads!   

NEW SERIES STARTS SUNDAY!

Beginning this Sunday, Crossroads brand new & original relationship series about LOVE, LIFE and LOOT.

Feb 1 The Dating Game

Feb 8 The Newlywed Game

Feb 15 Family Feud

Feb 22 Wheel of Fortune

Mar 1 Deal or No Deal

Mar 8 The Price is Right

Vintage Dating Game

 

Birds of a Feather...

I am really digging one of the fastest growing small groups at Crossroads.  It's the electronic network of Roadies connecting on twitter.com

I first heard about twitter at a coaching meeting on April 28th of 2008.  I signed up the next day - with some reservation -  thinking that it was the third stupidest thing I had become involved in so far that year - right after starting a blog and being signing up for facebook.   

I am blown away by the growth of twitter in the past 6 months, over 350% growth - outpacing every other similar social networking site.

To the best of my knowledge there are currently a couple of dozen Roadies (and near-Roadies) that are on twitter.

What is twitter?  It's a FREE social networking and micro-blogging service that allow its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as 'tweets'), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.  You know, like text messages.

Sound stupid and meaningless and like a real time-waster?  That's what everyone I know thought at first.  But plug and give it some time.  You'll find yourself connected not just to other Roadies, but to people the world over.

Wanna start?  Go to twitter.com and follow @geneoden, @leslieoden, @willlurie, @natlurie, @kellyrice_bkmc, @Ben_Rice, @RachWilliams1, @christopher84, @jessiekb, @michelleordway, @maxoden, @ctv4ever, @5tephen, @maritalynn, @samwillgo, @guitarinjustin, @copstop429, @jeffreyw.  You'll be instantly hooked up with 18 other Roadies and the hundreds of people they follow.  

2009?  It's all about connections.   

MONDAY MIND DUMP

There aren't enough positive adjectives to describe how I feel about Sunday's service at Crossroads.  So I'll say this: expectations met (and exceeded) on every level.  We concluded our series WiRED with the first-ever Group Link at Crossroads.  It was really a thrill to see how people responded.  Here's some quick takes from the weekend:

1. Here's the BIG deal right off the bat (no sense burying the lead): We had 62 adults (including leaders) sign up for small group participation.  That was a big, big win for all of us.  It means that relationships and community are indeed important to people.  And it demonstrates that we are in-tune with what God wants to do at Crossroads.
2. Great crowd this weekend!  Many first-time attenders.  Great to see some familiar faces from Dothan visiting.
3. Worrisome technical glitches prior to service time were once again dispelled by our crack technical team. Important, as the video elements of todays service were critical.  Many thanks for everyone's calm, rational, productive and problem-solving demeanor in the face of near-technical (and pastoral) meltdown.
4. Great job by the worship team!  Sounded really good this morning, and the crowd was really into it.  Bonus? Nic and Janna seem to be rising to the challenge of leading worship on Sunday morning with no sleep the night before.  Way to go guys.
5. Thanks to Ben and Chris B. for stepping up and covering communication detail today while Nat was on injured reserve. Great job!
   
6. Thanks to Brian and Michelle and all who helped to make the lobby experience really work well today, especially getting the set-up done during the service for Group Link.
7. Oh...just thought about this.  Did anyone notice how flat the donut holes were today? Weird.
8. Still blowing my nose after Brian & Michelle's vid.  Excited to see how God uses their life to kindle love and forgiveness in the lives of others.
9. One of my favorite things about today was how the lobby was a real place of connection after the service. People lingered in conversation and there's a great lesson for us in that. Probably the best use of the lobby since we started in the cinema.  Gotta figure out ways to keep that going.
10. For the many who asked (and we'll bring this out next Sunday) today was just the first Group Link at Crossroads and not the only.  We will continue to rollout new study group, fellowship group, and service group opportunities for Crossroads attenders in the weeks and months to come.  More to share on this important weekend, in future Blog posts this week.
11. Look for vids we showed on Sunday to be posted throughout the week right here in The Intersection.  

On a personal note, I almost feel selfish when I think about how much I got out of the whole video production experiment.  See, I got to spend all week with our Community Group leaders. First in shooting the videos, and after, in the hours of post-production work. I got an up close and personal tour of their hearts, not just for Community Groups, but for God, their relationships and their own lives.  It was a rare privilege.  Thanks to all who participated!

Have a FANTASTIC Monday!  

  

Heartbeat

I am so excited for this weekend.  We have been planning our community groups kick-off for quite a while now and it's exhilarating to see those plans come together.  Back in the Fall, I was in Ocala for my monthly coaching network, and I was struck with the realization that we needed to really focus our attention on developing connections.  We needed to be about more than Sunday mornings at the cinema.  We needed to connect our lives not only to God, but to each other as well.  And having done so, connect our community with the world around us.

This Sunday as part of the final installment in our current series WiRED, we're going to take a big step in that direction.  All month long we have shared about how we are created by God for relationships, for community, and for service to the world around us. Now we begin to see how that community is created, by connecting our lives through small groups.

As I sit here putting the finishing touches on short video clips from each of our community group leaders, I have to tell you that interviewing them, and editing their video pieces has given me insight into their heart for each of the first seven small groups at Crossroads.

Whether it's Brian and Michelle's heart for building marriages, Chris and Jessie's heart for twenty-somethings, Nic and Janna's heart for worship, Chris Vincent's heart for sharing our faith by loving other people, Ben and Kelly's heart for families, of Leslie's heart and my heart for sharing with and teaching new believers and those returning to the church after some time away, and our heart for those in recovery from drug or alcohol addictions, there is a heart-created place for everyone at Crossroads.  These groups are not the end.  They are just the beginning of what will become the heartbeat of Crossroads.  A church of small groups.  A Christ-centered community - healthy, growing and full of love - connected by positive human relationships.

I encourage you to be there this Sunday and join your heart with ours.  Plug in.  Get wired! Love God, love others, serve the world.   

Finally...

Wednesday January 21st has arrived.  I know this may be meaningless to many of you, but I have anxiously awaited this day for many, many months.  Tonight...Season Five of LOST begins.  I will be planted in front of the plasma from 7 to 10PM Central.  No apologies.  That's just the way it is.

Sorry for the lack of posting so far this week.  I am slammed right now, in the middle of putting together 7 video segments for Sunday's service.  More on that a bit later in the week.

As for yesterday.  Guys - to me - it was a pretty special day for our country, for African-Americans across the United States, and for the cause of justice and equality for all people. But, like I said, that's just to me.  You may feel differently.  I celebrate your right to feel however you believe you should.  That's one of the benefits of living in a free nation.

I didn't blog about it because, frankly, I didn't feel that there was anything I could say or do that would add to the significance of the day.  It pretty much stands on its own.

Watching LOST tonight...and pretty happy about it.

Peace.    

"I've Been to the Mountaintop"

I don't care how many times I have watched this, it is the most stirring and compelling of all Dr. Kings public speeches.  Eloquent, and prophetic, it was given in Memphis on April 3rd, 1968, the day before he was assassinated.  At Crossroads on Sunday, we showed a video that included elements of that speech, but it fell far short of the impact of the words on their own.  Take a look at the end of the actual speech on video.  Then follow the link to see a written manuscript of it.

http://www.afscme.org/about/1549.cfm

Because You Asked...

For those who have asked me, "Just what is all this 'twitter' crap, huh?", I have provided a brief instructional video by Lee and Sachi LeFever.  Now that you know what all this twitter crap is about, let's get it on.  You follow me, I follow you, we stay connected.  Cool, huh? 

BTW, according to twittergrader.com, me and Leslie have the top two twitter grades in Enterprise.  Knock us off the top of the list. (It's a short list, it won't be hard.)

    

MONDAY MIND DUMP

Sunday was the 3rd week of our current series WiRED, and the 50th service since our first Sunday at the House!  It was a big day with many big wins.  Here's just a few:

1. The weather was gloomy and raining and people still showed up STRONG.
2. Again...many first-time attenders.
3. LOVE that our crowd is filling out the middle of the sanctuary...thanks ushers!
4. The worship band opened with 'Everyday People' and it absolutely rocked.  Loved it!
5. A couple of real cool Dr. King video segments.  The first of which was out-of-house.  Very innovative, very dramatic, if hard to understand at times.
6. Natalie did a great job with the transition between a high drama video piece,  and communication cards, putting everyone at ease.  Thanks for keeping the service together and keeping it moving!
7. Chris did a fantastic job receiving offering for the first time!
8. Message was tight, short, concise and to the point.  It really felt good today, flowed well and felt like we strongly and clearly conveyed God's heart for the purpose of community.
9. Podcast was EASY to edit Sunday night.
10. Great staff and leaders meeting tonight at the Annex.  We looked hard at some steps we can take to keep first-time attenders returning.  Look for lighting improvements throughout the Cinema, and positive changes to our nursery and pre-school environments in the coming weeks.
11. We are blessed to have the leaders and staff that we have at Crossroads.  We are all fortunate to be doing ministry in an environment where we constantly ask, "How can we do this better?  How can we be more effective".
12. Real excited about Group Link this Sunday!
13. After getting killed in offerings for the last three weeks...we cried out to God.  The result? We received the LARGEST Sunday offering EVER at Crossroads!  (And, trust me, it could not have come at a better time). 
14. Thank you God for Your awesome provision! Thank you Roadies for loving God and proving it!   
    

Have a fantastic day tomorrow.  For those who are privileged to have the day off, we encourage you to use it to honor God and to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., through kind and generous acts of service.  Make your day off, a great day ON!  For those that have to work tomorrow...I pray that the Holy Spirit would empower you to bring your highest level of energy, effort and enthusiasm to your job, so that you can truly do what you do, as unto the Lord!

  

What Would Life Look Like If...

We ALL had a duck.  Sorry if you've seen this.  Couldn't resist.  Thanks to Leslie for passing it on.  Happy Saturday.  See you tomorrow.  Bring your duck.

Do You Know About This?

The Global Plumpy'nut Initiative... I didn't know anything about it.  I didn't know what Plumpy'nut was. But I do now.  And now I don't think I can NOT do something about it. Thanks to Shaun King at Courageous Church in the ATL for mobilizing his network.  There's so much to be done in the world to help others, we can't possibly do it all.  However, when presented with the reality of actual people, actually starving, we can't just ignore it either.

I am not posting a video, or a pic here...on purpose. You decide for yourself if you want to go to this site and see what is happening in various parts of the world, and see that there is help for those who are suffering.

http://www.TheyWillDie.org  

Who wants to get involved at Crossroads?  Let me hear from you.

  

"Did You Know? 3.0"

"Did You Know? 3.0" originally started out as a PowerPoint presentation for a faculty meeting in August 2006 at Arapahoe High School in my hometown of Littleton, Colorado.  The presentation “went viral” on the Web in February 2007 and, as of June 2007, had been seen by at least 5 million online viewers. Today the old and new versions of the online presentation have been seen by at least 15 million people, not including the countless others who have seen it at conferences, workshops, training institutes, and other venues. (Thanks to Ashley Clayton for posting it.)

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

The Only Problem With Macs

Curiosity from Si on Vimeo.

Shallow Thoughts

Back in the day - before they had a football penalty called 'Delay of Game' - it was called 'Too Much Time in the Huddle'. But I'm not thinking about football. I'm wondering if we spend too much time and money trying to figure out and implement what we think Jesus said, then we spend just doing what he said. Actually, I'm not wondering if, at all; more, recognizing that.

But it's easy for me to say that.  See, I recognize that I am lucky because I am barely a faint blip on the radar screen of local ministry, and I am positively far less than a micro-speck of astral dust in the cosmos of "professional Christianity".  And that anonymity affords me the great luxury of reading and listening much more than writing and speaking.  Truly, I have a great deal more time to contemplate what I hear national leaders say, than all whose words are parsed by people like me.  My relative obscurity also gives me ample time to watch them, and make snarky comments.  So let's get to it, shall we?

I was watching someone on a "Christian television station" today (no, I don't watch TBN, but on my TV it's right between ESPN and C-SPAN and sometimes I can't help it), and there was a guy on there that I know of, have read, seen, met and spent a bit of time with.  And he knows what he's talking about.  No doubt about it.  But that's not what I'm talking about.  He is a respected leader of a really big honking church.  I'm not going to say his name, or the name of his church...'cause it's not important. This guy is a serious influencer, and I am certain that MANY have found Christ through his ministry...but I'm not talking about that (because it doesn't lend itself well to snarky commentary).  While I make a point about the whole TBN vibe, I'm going to keep this blog post purposely shallow...and focus pretty much on the way the dude looks.     

'Cuz' is what I call a "rock star" preacher, baby.  You know...never actually got his rock star jones out playing in a rock and roll band, but gets it out now on Sunday morning?  Dudes, the whole wretched being on TV deal, in that venue, dressed like "The Artist formerly known as...", just gags me.  For real.  I don't know how else to say it.  Here's these grown men, sitting around on really stupid looking gilded furniture talking about what a blessing they are to each other in front of a live studio audience "Amen"-ing them, broadcast (presumably) to millions around the globe, and I'm like, "WHAT IS THIS FOR?"  Immediately, Matt Casper's great quote came to mind (you'll hear it again on Sunday), "Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?"   

Someone needs to throw a yellow flag right in the middle of the set, blow a whistle, and holler, "Penalty!  Too much time in the huddle!" At the very least, the absolutely over-40 leader of the big honking church should get flagged for the bleached perm, thumb rings, and the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band jacket he was wearing over a fluorescent argyle sweater vest (I'm NOT making this up). Dude, do you seriously dress that way when you go to Wal-Mart?  Mercifully, the whole mess was just a few remote clicks away from ESPN, where I was originally headed.

Guys, seriously, if Crossroads ever gets to be some big honking church, and you see me on TV wearing eye make-up and dressing like Gary Glitter, someone please (PLEASE!!!) knock me in the side of the head with something large and heavy, and remind me how unimportant I really am.   

    

GREAT IDEA!!

If we HAD a 6PM service on Sundays, this is EXACTLY what I'd want to do.  Take a look...

Super Bowl Promo 2009 from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

MONDAY MIND DUMP

Today was the second week of our new series WiRED. Truly, it was a fantastic day at Crossroads!  Here's just a few of the reasons why:

1. Despite the rain (and the arctic cold front that came in) we had a GREAT crowd today, in fact, it was the largest crowd we've had since before the Christmas holiday.  It was great to see old friends and meet new ones.  And there were many new folks to meet today. Why? Because we had the largest number of first-time attenders since we launched! LOVE first-time attenders (and LOVE to see them come back)!
2. So many children today, too!  The lobby was absolutely buzzing with elementary-age kids and Hollie and her team saw the second-biggest crowd in Filling Station like...ever.
3. Now, for some REALLY important stuff: MANY people made seriously high-quality decisions today to rededicate their lives to Christ!  Really an honor to be a part of that. 
4. Sound system was (almost) virtually buzz-free for the first time ever.
5. Worship, you ask?  Well, despite the fact that worship leader (and Dothan police officer) Nic McElveen works the night shift now - and was totally whacked on sleep depravation (but, thankfully, didn't accidentally 'taze' anyone) - worship ABSOLUTELY ROCKED (once the whole band got on stage and got in tune)!
6. Will Lurie didn't fall through any ceilings today, and that blesses me...and him, I'm sure!
7. I felt like we really connected well with our central message today; that we are wired for community (not just ANY community, but a community that is healthy and growing and full of love).  Other parts of the message seemed a bit herky-jerky at times, and the verbal wandering around I did (and I know BETTER than that) is going to make editing the podcast a deliciously difficult task. But honestly, considering the challenges we faced last week, I was just really grateful to be at Crossroads today, in a place I belong, sharing God's word with people that love Him, and need Him, and need each other.  In itself, that was a big, BIG win.
8. Thank you, thank you, thank you to our incredible set-up teams for the sanctuary, the lobby and all the children's areas.  You guys are the backbone of Crossroads.  Each week you show up, dig in, do your job and you make it possible for Crossroads to exist. I am humbled by your faithfulness and willingness to do it week in and week out. Thank you! 
9. Finally for this post, the Perpetual and Somewhat Spontaneous Crossroads Touch Football Extravaganza was back in action today (and I'll be needing Active-On tomorrow). Great fun!

Have a FANTASTIC Monday!

TGIF!

Cool new Xroads vid.  (Found some new tools for slide shows. Lotsa fun).  

Check it out, and have a GREAT day!

GO LOVE SERVE from Gene Oden on Vimeo.

Winter Extreme

Take a peek inside Cinema Two as children's pastor Hollie Mendenhall "chills out" with several of her charges.  Snow in South Alabama?  Definitely. Every Sunday morning in Crossroads awesome elementary ministry, the FILLING STATION!

   

LIVE LIKE JESUS FOR A YEAR?

Could you do it for a year?  For a month?  For a week? Today?  Pretty tall order. Take a look and comment. Would you do it better? Holier?  Different-"er"?  Would you drink beer? Would you vote Obama?  He did. Sound off.

MONDAY MIND DUMP

What a GREAT weekend at Crossroads as we started a new year and a brand new series about getting connected called WiRED.  Here's some quick takes from the day:

1. Lobby experience was fantastic.  The energy of the lobby was off the charts as we welcomed many returning from vacations with friends and family.  Props to all who who worked the lobby this week and made it go!
2. ZERO TECHNICAL GLITCHES!! First time ever! (Except, of course for our usual low level, low hertz hum attributable to existing circuitry in the movie theatre...but we're used to that hum...it's like, part of our DNA.  You know, coffee, donuts, balloons and low level hum).  Super tech day all around!
3. Great to meet new people today, like folks from Heaven's Saints MC!
4. How GREAT is our set-up team?  So good, we pushed set-up back a half an hour this year.  Awesome job guys!
5. Today was probably my personal favorite day of WORSHIP at Crossroads.  The worship team did a fantastic job, new songs, great vibe, good sound, and really PURE worship. Made it easy to connect with God, the crowd was totally engaged.  I'll tell you this, it REALLY blessed MY life and prepared the way for me to share the message. Thank you, God and way to bring it, guys...and gal!
6. Felt like we connected well with each other during the message, good flow, real easy to deliver...GREAT CROWD!
7. Small Groups took a HUGE step forward today at Crossroads. Many people plugged into the concept, and many came forward asking how to get involved and offering to lead small groups!  Great first week of our series.  Can't wait for GROUP LINK! 
8. Excited for the Filling Station, starting a new series, WINTER EXTREME.  Pretty ouchy emotionally to see Matt head back to Afghanistan.  Nothing like it is for Hollie and the boys, though.  Pray for great success and safety for Matt and for the whole family.  He's hardly left, and I can't wait to see him again.
9. Looking forward to LIVE praise and worship to begin in the Filling Station!
10. Special thanks to Buddy Haskins for all the electrical work he did at the Cinema and at the Annex last week.  Made a HUGE difference.
11. One more big thank you to Pastor Ben and Kelly, Buddy, Rob, Mike, JD, Brian, Trask & Monica, Greg & Becky, Will & Nat (and everyone else I'm forgetting...sorry), ALL OUR GREAT STUDENT LEADERS AND HELPERS, and everyone else who pitched in to complete the renovation of the GARAGE and make New Year's Eve such a great success. 
12. On a personal note:  Thursday, Friday and Saturday are traditionally my big prep days for the weekend with the big final push each Saturday.  As a result, I have rarely left my office on Saturday's for almost a year.  Had a breakthrough. Went out for dinner with friends Saturday night.  It was great, and I plan on doing it again!

Let's focus this week on building positive human relationships - not just with those in the church - but with people we come in contact with outside of Crossroads.  This is an important and pivotal time in the development of our community.  Reach out and INVITE people to come to Crossroads this weekend.  Make it a priority, and let's go STRONG into the new year.  Have a GREAT Monday, and a GREAT week!  TCB

 

SOCK IT TO ME!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take care...TCB

I don't know if you know this or not (or if you care anything about the whole Motown thing), but the song Respect, from which the chorus lyrics above were taken, was a galactic hit for Aretha Franklin, but was written by Otis Redding, as a man's plea for respect and recognition from a woman.  Aretha respected him so much, she recorded the song and it earned her a number one on the Billboard Pop singles chart and made her an international celebrity.  Otis Redding was quoted as describing Respect as, "the song that little girl done stole from me". Jokingly, presumably.

I knew that part of the story, because years ago, I OWNED that song - Otis Redding style, when I fronted a Motown-bent top-40 band.  I listened to that recording dozens and dozens of times to learn the song for performance. Remember, it's 1981 and we're poor starving musicians and personal computers and Internet is still science fiction to us.  (Many of us are still holding out hope for flying cars by 2000).  So there is NOWHERE to get the lyrics for this song outside of just listening and writing them down.  Oh...and we were all white, raised in the white 'burbs.  So that made it somewhat more difficult.  No cross-cultural understanding whatsoever.

And there is this line at the end of the chorus, "take care...TCP, TCT, PCP, BCB, BCP"?!?!?! What!?  Over and over, and OVER I listened to the cassette on my Walkman (anyone, anyone?), and I could not IMAGINE what she was saying.  So, for several years, I sang three unintelligible letters that sounded like T's, or B's, or C's and I never knew why.

Several years ago I was watching a special on Elvis.  (Not my motorcycle, the actual king.  You know, after Jesus, but before Michael Jackson.  That Elvis).  And the narrator was talking about those three initials he had on his necklace.  Can you guess what they were?  T-C-B.  Wow!  Apparently - all this time - it was a real common phrase in african-american culture.  But it was a watershed moment for me.  I FINALLY found out what it meant.  And I felt really stupid, because I'm sure everyone else already knew.  

Sometimes (many times) that happens when I get in a hurry.  I plug away or power through a task to get the desired result. (Like learning the song Respect, and not knowing what the most important part of the song meant.  I sang it anyway, because I had it to do).  Sometimes, I grab the big pieces and miss the whole point.    

You guys already know all about this TCB thing, right?  Well, for the three people who don't:   

TCB = Taking Care (of) Business

Dudes, that is my mantra for 2009. TCB, baby. Just take care of business and everything else will take care of itself.  If want to give God the R-E-S-P-E-C-T He deserves, I gotta take care...TCB!  If I want to give people the R-E-S-P-E-C-T they deserve, I gotta take care...TCB! For me, maybe that means leaving some of the big pieces laying there, until I understand why I'm picking it up.  What does it mean for you to TCB?  In your life, your family, your work, your relationship with God, and with others?  Lemme hear you.   

Peace.

 

     

The WiRED Roll-In

WiRED from Gene Oden on Vimeo.

WIRED

This Sunday we kick off a new series at Crossroads called WIRED.  Our focus?  Building a community connected by human relationships.  A community in Christ.  You don't want to miss this.  Invite BIG.  See you Sunday.  

(Roll-In temporarily disabled)

VERY COOL VID!

Thanks to Terrace Crawford for posting this great vid by Eirik Solheim, One Year in 40 Seconds.  Amazing images he captured from his balcony at different intervals in 2008.  Enjoy!

One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

That's What's Up in 2009

Already having much of the year ahead planned out week-by-week, my list is more attitude-oriented than event-oriented.  I "resolved" a lot of things some time ago, so the lion's share of things I am going to do differently in 2009 will be to execute many of the things we did in 2008 more effectively.  There are many things in my life I will continue to grow in.  My list is about degrees of more and less. Here's a smattering  of the things I'm committed to doing - and doing differently.  In 2009 I'm going to:

1. Listen more
2. Lead more
3. Read more
4. Love more
5. Play more
6. Work more
7. Study more
8. Worship more
9. Learn more
10. Require more
11. Talk less
12. Waste less
13. Need less
14. Argue less
15. Want less

Here's a few things things I have already devoted my life to.  So what's different in 2009?   i gotta do 'em BETTER, right?  Hey, it's a year later.  It's more important than ever.  Jesus will come back some day.  I will die some day. And this is the only chance I get at life.  The days cannot be wasted.  New and innovative tools must be acquired and implemented so that I can be SURE that with each passing day in 2009:

• I drive harder, longer and faster than ever to make Enterprise a hard place to get to hell from.
• I am be a better husband, a better father, and a more committed and effective leader.
• I achieve the maximum possible benefit for the Kingdom of God, for my family, and for others out of every opportunity, and I will honor God in the way I care for myself.
• I see true and lasting change in the lives of others.
• I realize true and lasting change in my own life and work.
• That Leslie and I take AT LEAST one trip on Elvis that lasts more than three days and covers more than 1000 miles. (And I'm NOT kidding).
• That I am the faithful, determined, loyal, and capable guardian of God's vision for my marriage and my family.
• That I am the faithful, determined, loyal and capable guardian of God's vision and purpose for Crossroads.
• And that I love GOD, and love OTHERS.

Pretty much everything else is negotiable.  Ha, ha!  Have a great year!  Now let me hear from YOU.

 

TOP TEN TIME

I'll show you mine...IF...you show me yours!  We're not talking about New Year's resolutions here.  We're talking about the things you actually going to do differently in your physical, emotional, spiritual, personal, professional, and/or recreational life in 2009. (You gotta write 'em down somewhere...why not here?)

Bring it.