Been to Ziklag?

I have been a really sorry blogger and tweeter lately.  Because of that, my twitter grade has dropped 2/10th's and my blog readership fell below 1000 for the first time in four months.  Oops.  The realities of life we all deal with - moving, work, financial pressure, too much to do, too little time - have gotten the upper hand on my digital output.  But during that absence a great deal of positive forward motion has been realized in our personal and professional lives.  So it's a bit of a trade off.

Had a long talk with a pastor friend of mine the other day.  He pastors an established church that is still going strong after more than 15 years.  We were talking about the reality of discouragement in people's lives and what we have to do to stand guard over discouragement, to keep it from taking root in our hearts.

He talked about David at Ziklag.  Do you know the story from 1 Samuel 30?  While David and his men were off fighting with the Philistines (long story), the Amalekites (a fierce and hated enemy) came into the camp of David and his men at Ziklag and took their wives and children captive, made off with all their possessions, and burned their camp to the ground.  David and his 600 men were despondent.  They wailed and mourned in sorrow at their great and tragic loss.  Before long, in their anger, they began to plot about killing David, blaming him for their horrible fate.

David - in his distress - had seemingly nowhere to turn.  He didn't have a friend in the camp.  Samuel the prophet of God, and David's spiritual mentor was gone.  He couldn't send someone from his coaching network an email.  He couldn't call up another king with his own band of 600 marauders on his i-phone.  He couldn't blog about it, he couldn't tweet about it, he was on his own.  And then he did an interesting thing.

1 Samuel 30:6 says, "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (emphasis mine).  Several translations say he 'encouraged himself'.  The point is, he found strength, he found encouragement, he found it in God, and he found it HIMSELF.  In this day and age, when the world is upside down, when good is evil and evil is good, when the economic future of the entire globe is uncertain and unstable, when radical fundamentalists from within and without are plotting the destruction of all we hold dear, when YOUR OWN LIFE is in turmoil, when you can't pay the rent, when your husband just left you, when you boss is an ogre, when your kids are on your last nerve, when you've been laid off, when every road you seem to go down is a dead end...finding strength in God YOURSELF is an important skill to have.

It's good to have a home church.  It's good to have friends you can count on to pray for you.  It's good to belong to a community of believers who will share your burden.  But there are times for ALL OF US, when it's UP TO US alone to strengthen and to encourage ourselves in God.  

How?  Do I jump up and down and shout and praise and sing?  Do I get down on my knees and softly whisper, "Jesus"? How do I strengthen myself - of FIND STRENGTH in God?  The Bible doesn't say exactly HOW David did it, but we get some insight in the very next verse as he inquires of God, he asks God for direction, he seeks input from his heavenly father.  And the INSTANT he does it, he is no longer ALONE.

David was never really alone, but just like us, we can put ourselves in a position of FEELING as though we are alone, when we stop looking to God as the source of life (and everything IN our lives).  We will not find the answers we are seeking within ourselves, all the less, the more challenging and difficult the circumstances we face.  But the INSTANT we turn to God to seek His help, His advice, His WAY...we are STRENGTHENED and we are ENCOURAGED.

Life knocking you around?  Stop trying to figure everything our yourself.  Turn your attention, your focus, your HEART towards God.  Inquire of (ASK) Him.  And you will find yourself flooded with the strength and encouragement that only comes from the power of a loving Creator.

It was a great meeting with my pastor friend.  And it's great to blog a bit.  Moving this weekend, but SO READY FOR SUNDAY!  I can't believe that we GET to go to CROSSROADS!  I'm strengthened and encouraged just thinking about it!  Have a GREAT weekend!  

MONDAY MIND DUMP

I looked forward to Sunday's service ALL week.  I was so excited to be going to Crossroads.  What a GREAT weekend we had.  God NEVER disappoints.  Here's a few quick takes:

1. Great to see the crowd back up after "Bomb Sunday".  Top ten crowd attendance.  More people=more fun (and more opportunities to connect)!
2. Lots of first-time attenders!
3. Eight people rededicated their lives to Christ!
4. We're halfway through current series.  It's challenging everyone. 
5. Got to give away an Apple i-pod nano, and Apple i-tunes card, and...an apple.
6. Teaching on jealousy, good stuff.  Need it.  Listen to the podcast if you weren't there.
7. Absolute MOTHER of all blonde jokes (yes...in church)!
8. GREAT JOB by Nic, Janna and the band in the face of ridiculous technical glitches that weren't their fault. Way to troop!
9. Bad news: Getting really TIRED of jacked-up sound gear.
10. Good news: Getting really INSPIRED to raise money for new sound gear.
11. Krispy Kreme: FAIL.
12. Dunkin' Donuts: You're up!
13. Children's ministry at Crossroads ROCKS!  In every area.  But....WE NEED MORE ADULT VOLUNTEERS TO HELP OUT IN NURSERY/PRE-SCHOOL (were those letters big enough, Jesse?).

Met a first-time attender on the way out the door after service.  He had a big bible in his hands and said to me (in a mildly condescending tone), "I brought this...I guess I didn't need it".  I said, "Yeah, but we gave away an i-pod. Cool, huh?"  He knew I was kidding him, and I do hope I didn't offend him in any way.  I hope he takes it in stride and comes back again.  My promise to him - and ALL who attend Crossroads - is that we will preach the TRUTH of God's Word.  I can also promise that we will use any means at our disposal to get that truth across.  

Folks, Crossroads is a church for anybody, but that doesn't mean it's the place for everybody.  We get that.  It's dark in the sanctuary because we have no house lights.  We get that, and house lighting is on the list of things to purchase as part of our sound and lighting package.  So to compensate for the fact that it's dark in the cinema where we meet, we put the scriptures we're focusing on each week, up on a HUGE 30-foot screen, and also include them in the worship guides we pass out to each person.  

I bring my Bible every Sunday.  I teach from the Bible.  I believe the Bible is the actual, living Word of God and the power of God unto salvation and that is the TRUTH that we preach.  Every Sunday.  I also happen to like donuts, coffee and an occasional well-timed joke.  Hope you do to.

Two more weeks of our current series.  Then on May 17th, a special service called REVEAL, where we'll teach about baptism and then go baptize a few dozen people Sunday afternoon at Lake Tholocco. 

Then for three weeks, we're doing a series called .txt, teaching people (and inspiring them) to read the Bible on their own.

If you are a mature Christ-follower, my general assumption about you (which can be wrong at times, I realize), is that you are SELF-FEEDING.  In other words, you read your Bible, you pray, you follow, you study, you DO the things that you have learned to do as you have matured in your walk with Jesus.  And IF you are a mature Christian, then you totally understand that Crossroads Sunday service is not about mature Christians, it is ALL about reaching, teaching, and inspiring those who are not. (Think 'triage'.  You know...for the wounded?  Not 'trough').  Just sayin'.

Love doing LIFE with you at Crossroads!  Peace.

The Time For Everything

I don't know what season this is.  I mean, not like Spring, or Summer or anything like that, I mean season of life, season. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes that there is a "season for every activity under heaven".  I guess I didn't realize that was a literal season.  You know, as in, THIS is the season for every activity under heaven.  Pretty sure that's not what he meant , but it sure seems like it lately.

We're moving from one house into another, from two offices into two others all the while I'm consulting for three different companies, meeting folks and taking calls and message prep and so on and I guess I just got to busy to Blog about it.  Just like the video promo says, "Crossroads IS a center of activity".  And that's very cool.

Great stuff is going on at here.  God is adding to our numbers every week, our footprint has never been larger, we're finally actually a BLIP on the spiritual radar screen in our town, and we are planning for growth far beyond our current capacity.  In fact, everything we are doing is FAR beyond our capacity to "perform".  Fortunately, we don't have to.  Crossroads stage belongs to Jesus and He's the only One that's gonna get famous on it.  We get to be hands and feet and eyes and ears and mouth and heart but GOD is building the house. Thank God.

In a couple of weeks our first full-time staffer comes on-board. (Well, in fairness, he's been on-board since way before there was a board to be on, but he's just never been paid that way).  And I'm so excited about that I can't hardly stand it.  It is SO GREAT to be working out of my office at the Annex now, and I can't wait to work with others in this environment.

Ya'll, God is about to go...well, 'God', you know...BIG, right here in the middle of all this. We have just begun to scratch the surface of what God has for us to mine here.  So what season is it?  Is it the planning season, the deciding season, the moving season, the busy season, the rainy season, the hard work season, the plowing, the sowing, the reaping season, the praying season, the studying season, the GROWING season? Yup.  

That's EXACTLY what season this is.  Crossroads is a CHURCH PLANT. That means: This IS the season for every activity under heaven.  Woot!

See you Sunday!  I'll Blog a little more next week now that I'm settled in the office.  

  

MONDAY (Evening) MIND DUMP

Sorry it's so late but I had a bit of tent-making work to finish up for Monday morning last night. Too sleepy to write after I got done. Here's a few quick takes from the weekend:

1. Eight people rededicated their lives to Christ yesterday!
2. The Lobby looked and worked fantastically well!
3. The crowd was super late (and that scared me a bit) but we had a good crowd for the Sunday after Easter...but we pushed back service start time 7 minutes to accommodate the sleepy heads.  Got us out later, but was exacerbated by the fact that my message was WAY TOO LONG.  Sorry guys, I promise it was 35 minutes when I ran through it Saturday night.  Must...stop...blabbering and rambling.
4. The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday, then Easter Sunday, and in the church world they call the Sunday after Easter "Bomb" Sunday.  It is traditionally the lowest attended church service of the year.  It's funny, 'cause attendance seemed great to me in the main sanctuary.  But we were down 30% under our average attendance, I think the children's areas felt it a bit more.  TONS of kidless 20-somethings BROUGHT IT yesterday!  Thank you!  
5. Plenty of donuts left over for the Christian Mission.
6. Thriller?  To open the worship set?  Really?  And it TOTALLY worked!  It was great.  And I thought worship was real good yesterday top to bottom.  Sounded great, totally connected for me. Watched one guy dance, and rock, and sing, and praise, and groove more than anyone else in the building and he never got out of his seat.  It was AWESOME!
7. Seriously, TONS of great comments from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd -time attenders!
8. Crossroads vibe and God's message of LOVE is resonating with people. 
9. Even thought yesterday's message (on guilt and confession) was one of those that can kind of make your butt itch, most people seemed to respond to it really well (even if it was 15 minutes too long).  Had tons of positive comments at the door.  
10. I wish we did church at Crossroads EVERY DAY!
11. Small groups ROCKED last night.  Heard from many how cool their group experience is.
12. Okay, now a bit of whining: What was the deal with tech stuff yesterday?  We had an amp go out in the main sanctuary, we had a cable disappear in the Filling Station and video problems galore back there.  Just one of those (really aggravating) things.  It's such a BLESSING to get to use the College Cinema for church, but we definitely pay a price in not knowing until showtime what our gear is going to do (or where it might be) from week to week.
    
13. I am really looking forward to having our own 30,000 square foot building!  I think the Office Depot building at the crossroads of Rucker Blvd. and BWC would be a FINE location for Crossroads in the future.  Though I wish Office Depot no harm and only success and blessing, I think that particular building would look much better with our church in it.  Just sayin'.

Much LOVE to all!  Look for announcements and email blasts this week and get the word out.  Because Beach BBQ and Baptism is on the 17th of May (and there is also a big honking family reunion taking place at Henderson Park this weekend) we are going to CONSOLIDATE our church picnic, with the Beach BBQ and Baptism Event.  Details to follow.

Go love on someone this week.  Invite an atheist to church.  Peace.  

Cracked Pots Welcome

I realize I haven't blogged much in the last couple of weeks.  It seems that as the church grows and as we engage in our three areas of focus (Connections, Connections, Connections...remember?), I seem to have less time to commit to connecting through my Blog. I'm working on it.

 

What a week.  It has been full of extraordinary highs and bottomless pit lows.  Ever have a week like that?  It has been a week of celebrations and challenges.  A week of fighting the good fight, and dressing wounds sustained.  A week of privilege and pressure.  A week in which Leslie and I looked at each other more than once and quoted Paul, as he is recorded in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed...

And in verse 13-15, 

It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

And most importantly in verse 16-18,

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Pray that when God looks for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth, He finds them at Crossroads.  God has promised us the Nations as an inheritance.  To you and me, that means those who do not yet know the eternal saving power of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Pray for that inheritance to be received in our church, and in all the churches of this city.  

God send the people to us who you have designed from the beginning for us to reach, and we will love them, and point them ALWAYS to Christ.  In His Name we ask.

See you Sunday.  Come to worship.  Come to serve.  Come to be mended.  Come to be filled.   

     

It's All In The Presentation

Just because it's the same information, doesn't mean it has to be boring, right?

                                                                                                         

MONDAY MIND DUMP (Late Edition)

What a fantastic Easter Sunday at Crossroads.  This was our second Easter Sunday together.  The first one was our very first meeting in the Annex at Morgan Square.  There were 65 people there, most of whom worked for three days non-stop to get the Annex ready. I wept my way through worship, so grateful for all God had done.  We shared communion together.  It was a day I will always cherish.  This Easter Sunday at Crossroads we had almost as many first-time attenders as we had in our whole church a year ago.  Here's the highlight reel from yesterday:

1. Nine people (that we know about) made first-time decisions to trust Christ, eight people (that we know about) made decisions to rededicate their lives to Christ, thirteen people made decisions to be baptized.
2. Refer to Item Number One. YES!
3. We had FIFTY first-time attenders (that we know about)!  That was HUGE.  That means that 50 people were exposed to Crossroads for the very first time on a day when the church looked the BEST it has ever looked, and functioned as well as it ever has.  We LOVE first-time attenders at Crossroads, and the comments from those who filled out communication cards were overwhelmingly positive!
4. Here something I love: It's not that WE have embraced our military community that makes Crossroads a great place for flight-school singles and families - it's that YOU have embraced Crossroads.  WE LOVE you guys and people that are serving at Fort Rucker shape EVERYTHING that happens at Crossroads.  THANK YOU!
5. Thanks again to CATB Youth from Tampa for putting out 5000 door hangers!  We owe our first-time attenders yesterday to their hard work for the Kingdom of God.  
6. The Lobby, Main Sanctuary and Children's setup people went WAY above and beyond yesterday.  Everything GOOD that happened yesterday (and there was a lot of it) was because people who love God showed up and worked their tails off to make the whole Crossroads experience special!  Thank you ALL!  
7. Adding a new Family Entrance/Main entrance access and signage relieved congestion in the lobby and opened up and brightened the hallway and Children's Check-In area's in a way that makes them even more appealing and welcoming than they already were.
8. The new directional signage throughout the lobby, the new curtains behind the refreshment area, the Crossroads streetscape in the Main Sanctuary entrance were all home runs.  Everything looked top-notch.  
9. Elementary ministry in the Filling Station was off the chain yesterday! New puppet stage, black-light puppets, awesome message, high quality, high-capacity volunteers did a fantastic job with everything. I had one friend comment that when he opened the door he was "overwhelmed at the number of kids in the Filing Station".
10. The new environments in the Big Wheels Pre-School and Peek-A-Boo Nursery looked exceptional.  I heard from several parents how friendly and helpful everyone was who work in our pre-school and nursery environments.  Great job!
11. Worship band sounded great - we are SO FORTUNATE to have such talented people singing, playing, running sound, doing video production - the entire main sanctuary experience was electric!
12. I'm going to leave someone out for sure, so don't get upset with me (I'm old, you know), but I want to give a special "Thank You" to a few people who worked above and beyond during the week leading up to Sunday's service to get everything in place.  You would not believe the amount of work that these people did to get us ready: Brian & Michelle Ordway, Will & Natalie Lurie, Jessie Brooks (thanks for keeping the kitchen clean, Chris), Laura Armstrong, Hollie Mendenhall and ALL of those who worked alongside them providing assistance.
13. Our LOBBY TEAM rocks!  (I apologize again if I leave people out...forgive me) Thank you Erin & Justin, Rachel Williams, Caitlin Martinez-Lee, Ivy Mabalot and Star Walters and thank you SHELLY MARTINEZ for making the BEST coffee in Enterprise!
14. Thanks to Nic & Janna for getting up and getting donuts for 300 people.  I KNOW how tough it is to commute back and forth from Dothan to Enterprise and we are ALL grateful for your commitment!
15. Great time with a handful of Roadies last night at the Annex watching Rob Bell's 'Everything Is Spiritual'.  It certainly is!

Guys, me and Leslie are blown away by God's goodness and the faithfulness of those he has called to serve at Crossroads. We are humbled that we get to do this.  So MANY comments from people that yesterday's service was EXACTLY what they needed to hear from God.  There has been nothing in my 48 years of life on this earth that has come CLOSE to the sense of belonging, meaning and purpose that we get from having  the privilege of DOING LIFE with all of YOU at Crossroads.  I know MANY of you feel the same way.  We are BLESSED!  

My prayer is that God teaches us how to reach those He loves so much with His message of forgiveness, acceptance in Christ, and eternal salvation.  You and I have friends at other area churches praying for the very same thing.  All over Enterprise yesterday people made LIFE CHANGING decisions!  Continue to pray for HighPointe and Christ-Life Church and their leadership.  Our UNITY will be seen by our WORLD and people will KNOW that God sent JESUS and that He loves them (JOHN 17:23)!

Have a GREAT week! 

 

Heart's Desire

Once again, my big take-away from anything Crossroads related is totally tied into what people are doing.  I mean I know it's Passion week, and I understand what Good Friday is all about, and I've read it and shared it with others, and prayed about it, and meditated on it in my heart, and I am certain that the most important part of EVERYTHING that has ANYTHING to do with ANYTHING Jesus ever did has EVERYTHING to do with how MUCH God loves PEOPLE.

And that cranks my tractor.

All week long Roadies (and honorary Roadies - like our missions group from CATB in Tampa) have been pouring their hearts into making preparations for Easter Sunday service at Crossroads.  And why?  Because there will be PEOPLE there that God is CRAZY about. And He wants them to know that life doesn't END in the grave, but through the awesome power of resurrection and the blood of Jesus Christ, our life can be ETERNALLY SPENT in the presence of a Creator who totally digs you and me. 

And that cranks my tractor.

So as we finish preparations, as we put the finishing touches on videos, on messages, on environments, on songs, on sound, on lighting, on signage, on 30-foot green dinosaurs in the parking lot, let our HEART'S DESIRE be this: to do ALL we do, with ALL our hearts, in the Name of the Lord, to make Jesus famous, to point people to Christ, and to kick a HUGE DENT in hell.  PRAY for those who will come.  Pray that NOTHING stops them.  Pray that their ears are open to hear, their minds are open to understand, and their hearts are open to receive ALL that God has for them this Sunday.

Somewhere in heaven, I hear God's tractor...cranking.

Getting Ready

This week a TON of stuff is going on at Crossroads as we prepare for Easter Sunday.  Video is being edited, transitions are being worked on, messages begin prepared, art work being completed, worship guides being printed, email blast being prepared, invite cards being dropped at random locations and handed directly to people, digital billboards getting new graphic elements and in the midst of that 20 awesome, selfless youth and their leaders come up from Tampa and hang 5000 door hangers on front doors all over Enterprise inviting people to Crossroads new series beginning Easter Sunday.

This is a big deal.  For those of you who have labored long since our first service Easter Sunday at the Annex last year, or since we launched at the College Cinema on August 10th, this coming Sunday is not just a big deal for the church, it's a big deal for you and me, because together, WE are the church.

Here's a couple of things I want to ask you to think about, pray about, and do about all that to make this already special day, really special for those who may be attending for the first time:

• Show up early Sunday morning to help with set-up.  We have a bunch of new signs to hang and things to arrange.
• Avoid clumping with folks you know real well, and make yourself available to meet and welcome new people as they come in.  Here's a great thing to say, "Hi, I'm ______, welcome to Crossroads!"  And have a conversation with them
• Please, please, please fill up the seats down front and center.  It's seems like most people like to sit as far back as possible (I TOTALLY understand that).  But  I promise, I will shower EXTRA hard on Sunday morning and eat LOTS of breath mints.  Join me down front, and let's allow lots of room for first-time attenders further back.
• Personally invite people to Crossroads on Sunday.  No matter how much advertising we do, nothing will ever take the place of a personal invite.
• Pray that God will send people for us to LOVE and pray for for those who attend to receive Christ THIS Sunday.
• Be ready and willing to pitch in wherever help is needed.
• Make sure you come on Sunday unless you are dead (or bleeding really badly).
• Stay late and help get Easter Sunday packed away.

Have a FANTASTIC day!  I am so TOTALLY stoked for Easter Sunday at Crossroads, can't wait to see you all there, and to experience what God has planned for all of us!

    

MONDAY (LATE AFTERNOON) MIND DUMP

Fantastic day yesterday at Crossroads.  here's some quick takes from the day, and a bit of what's happening this week:

1. Great attendance on a rainy Sunday.  Many re-commitments, and decisions for baptism!
2. We did the final installment of GOD LOVES U2, a series that I hope all enjoyed, and trust brought inspiration and change in the lives of many.  TONS of positive feedback from this series (even from people who don't like U2).  It was fun, challenging, and I believe it helped grow the kingdom of God. 
3. This series (and some cool billboards) accompanied our biggest bump in overall attendance since Freedom-Fest pre-launch.
4. My biggest take-away from the whole series is all the new people I got to meet.  That continues week after week to be the thing that gets me out of bed every morning.  I LOVE having the opportunity to meet new people and share with them what God has given us at Crossroads.
5. Sunday morning THE WORSHIP BAND ROCKED!!!!!  Sam, Will and Chris sounded HUGE as a three-piece with Brian at the board and Janna absolutely sang my face off as she sang her heart out.  Great, great worship.
6. Had some unavoidable technical glitches throughout the service which gave us all the ammunition we needed to continue to promote our effort to raise $30 thousand for top-notch sound and lighting gear for the sanctuary.  What a BLESSING it was that a family that does not even ATTEND Crossroads (though there are strong ties that bind us together) gave us over $600 to seed that effort!
7. OCONUS giving by deployed military personnel (some of whom have NEVER SET FOOT in our church, continues to be a HUGE part of the financial support Crossroads receives each month.  10% of all giving at Crossroads comes from some unbelievably faithful Apache pilots in Iraq.  Not to mention what we receive from faithful servants of God in Afghanistan.  GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE!  
8. Greg and Becki knocked it out of the park in the Filling Station Sunday and Children's Pastor Hollie Mendenhall got to actually sit in the adult service.  Awesome teamwork and leadership guys!
9. Too many people to thank for making Crossroads work each week without leaving DOZENS out, but HAVE to mention Shelly Martinez who ROCKS coffee!  Thank you for giving us all the edge we need!  
10. Brian and Michelle, Mike Armstrong and Chris & Jessie Brooks and EVERYONE who gets it set-up and torn down each week are the BACKBONE of our ministry.  Without your faithfulness and those you inspire to serve, there would be no Crossroads.
11. Our small group was absolutely KICKIN' on Sunday night, trust yours was as well!
12. Will Lurie has created some incredible 3D video for our new series 'It Came From Within - 3D' which begins EASTER SUNDAY!
13. Test inflating our giant 30-foot tall T-Rex in the Crossroads parking lot tomorrow at 9:00AM.  Thanks to Royal Southern for coming through.  Where else will you find an inflatable dinosaur at church on Easter Sunday?  Only one place in Enterprise.  Our place.
14. Sunday night a group of 15 young people and five Youth Leaders including Hal Mayer IV - youth pastor for Church at The Bay in Tampa, Florida arrived in E'prise to help us get the word out.  But late this afternoon they had distributed 2500 door hangers, w/2500 more to go tomorrow.  Thanks you is not neraly enough.  COME TO THE GARAGE on WEDNESDAY NIGHT at the Annex.  Hal will be sharing and the CATB youth will be in attendance.  Let's LOVE on them so GOOD, they can't WAIT to come back to Enterprise!
15. Praying for a couple thousand square foot facility for the CATB youth!

THIS SUNDAY is EASTER SUNDAY.  Invite Big.  I'll be in touch all week long with Blog posts, video tweets, email blasts and other opportunities to stay connected with the preparation for the biggest weekend to date at Crossroads.  Can't wait!

I KNOW I forgot a lot of stuff I wanted to share in this post because it came so late after the service but know that we love you and are praying for.  Have a fantastic week!

     

In The Event of Failure...

Zig Ziglar has always been fond of saying "Failure is an event, not a person".  Have you failed? Good.  Now you know how not to do something.  Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, "I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work".  I got to tell you, I love that kind of talk.  You may disagree, but I have always believed that if you're not making mistakes...you're not trying hard enough.   

Yeah, I know you've seen this vid before, watch it again anyway...