MONDAY MIND DUMP (Whole 'Nutha Level Edition)

Wow.  Amazing.  Stupendous.  Outrageous.  These are just the first four words that come to mind when I think about what God is doing at Crossroads, and what kind of day Sunday Feb, 22nd was! Truly this was yet another turning point experience.  Here are some of the reasons I say that:

1. Highest attendance since our premier service.  167 in the building.  Huge!
2. Almost a dozen people made first-time decisions or rededicated their lives to Christ this morning!  That's why we're here.
3. Looking around at the crowd in the lobby it is becoming obvious that God has given us something that has wide appeal.  We are seeing people from all walks of life come through our front door, and return.
4. Two words: COMMUNITY GROUPS! six of our small groups kicked off tonight with their first meetings.  I heard from many Roadies that their gatherings were great.  I know our Starting Point group was a fantastic experience.  As I sat there tonight, I thought about all the other Roadies out there gathering together in small groups, and I was overcome with the sense that were are experiencing another BIG STEP in the growth of our church, and our own lives as well.  HUGE DAY!
5. We wrapped up The Game Show with The Price is Right this morning - a straight up GRACE message.  I was really blown away by how well the service flowed and I felt a tremendous sense of connection with the people gathered in Cinema One as I shared the message.  It was a powerful and really sweet encounter with God and each other.  Very cool.
6. February - the shortest month of the year - saw Crossroads receive the LARGEST AMOUNT OF GIVING for any month since we started.  Amazing!
7. TONS - TONS - TONS of first-time attenders.  Were you in the main service on Sunday?  Did you SEE how many FTA's raised their hands?  AWESOME!
8. We had a few technical glitches this morning, but in true overcoming style, we wore it, owned it, and rolled with it.  And it didn't impact the momentum of the service in any way.
9. The worship band was TIGHT this morning.  We had some real difficulties with the sound system which is NOT their fault.  They really brought it today, and I apologize to them for not reproducing their sound as well as we should have.  Look for us to overcome that difficulty quickly.
10. Fantastically excited for our new series GOD LOVES U2, which starts next Sunday morning and runs for the next six weeks.
11. So many people working to make Crossroads what it is.  As leaders we will meet later this week to organize our efforts better to help hook people up with volunteer opportunities.
12. Overall it was a FANTASTIC day.  Even the areas where we had some difficulties were great and I'll tell you why:  We wouldn't HAVE the opportunity to experience the glitches (technical or organizational) if we weren't GROWING and striving to be BETTER at what we are doing.  I LOVE that about Crossroads.

So many more GREAT things from today, the people - oh my gosh - so many people and so good to see them.  What a privilege it is to get to do what we are doing at Crossroads.  Thank you God for letting us do this!

There is so much more I could share about today, but I gotta go.  Me and Leslie are off to Ocala tomorrow morning for my Next Level Leadership Network meeting.  Tuesday night we'll jhead down to Tampa and have dinner and stay the night with Hal and Sandy Mayer.  We'll be back late Wednesday.

God bless you and keep you this week.  We'll be praying for you all, and look forward to the next time we get together.  Until then - let's keep up with each other on twitter!  Have a GREAT week!