WEEKEND UPDATE (Memorial Day Weekend)

Peace and Greetings to all as we remember today those who have died defending our freedom.  It was a remarkable day at Crossroads yesterday as we saw the biggest crowd ever for a holiday weekend!  We taught ROADIES 101, kicked off a new series called "I Love My Church", passed out Baptism Certificagtes and pictures to the 25 people who were baptized on May 16th, rolled out a new vid advertising Hot Blues & BBQ on June 13th, and saw 16 new people sign up to serve in Crossroads Hospitality Ministry!  It was a FULL day.  Here's a few quick takes from Sunday's service:

• Had technical diffs in Cinema Three and had to do ROADIES 101 in the main auditorium.  Thanks for your patience and for all who had come for the first service, but dug into our membership class when we had to move it!  That won't happen again.  Thanks for being good sports and great servants!
• Don't have a count on new members yet, but saw a BUNCH of people who had not been through the class.  GREAT turnout!
• Second service on Sunday was AWESOME!  The music was pumping, the crowd was buzzing and we busted out I LOVE MY CHURCH by digging in to the single most important ministry opportunity we have at Crossroads: Warmly Welcoming those who attend.  HOSPITALITY!
• Quotable Quote #1: There's nothing like the local church, when the local church is working right.
• We talked about the joy of rediscovering things that were lost; like brushes, sunglasses, and our fervor for serving God.  Talked to SO MANY after service who shared the similar experience of losing the purpose and meaning of church somewhere along the way.
• Amazing response when we laid out the next five weeks and said in the last week of June we were rolling out our capital campaign to raise enough money in the next 11 months to facilitate the PURCHASE of the COLLEGE CINEMA!!  Huge hollerin' cheer of approval!
• Quotable Quote #2: Our original purpose was to 'Create a church that people who don't like church would like to attend'.  
• We talked about how people decide in the first seven minutes whether they're coming back to Crossroads.  Long before the music, or the videos or the message.  YOU are the face of Crossroads.
• We said that people who are greeted warmly are 5 TIMES more likely to return.  And all of that happens between the car door and the auditorium door.  I LOVE serving in a church with people who totally get that whole concept.  Crossroads people ARE SO WELCOMING!!
• Quotable Quote #3: No matter what your gift, there's important work for you at Crossroads...even if you are a lawyer (listen to the podcast).

I have never been more excited about a series at Crossroads as I LOVE MY CHURCH.  Look for ILMC t-shirts, stickers, and other accoutrement in the next few weeks!  Next week it's all about Crossroads ROCKIN' Children's ministry.  If you do not have young children, you may not realize what a GIFT we have at Crossroads.  Our Children's ministry BLOWS AWAY most of the children's minstry that I have seen at other churches.  That's not bragging, folks.  That's recognizing the AMAZING blessing that God has poured out on our church, and seeing what an opportunity we have to speak into the lives of future generations for the Kingdom of God!  As you enjoy your Memorial Day with friends, or family, or just having the day off, remember those who have died to defend our freedom and pray for the families of our fallen heros.  And thank God that you are numbered among those who can say without hesitation: "I LOVE MY CHURCH!"  Have a GREAT week!!

It's Not Rocket Science

Albert Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough".  From the beginning, what Crossroads is all about, is simple enough for everyone to understand. 

Crossroads exists to CONNECT people:

  To GOD.

  To EACH OTHER.

  To THE WORLD.

And when we do that, people experience LIFE CHANGE.  And when people experience LIFE CHANGE they actually change the WORLD.  Now, we could make it more complicated than that.  But I promise, we never ever will.  Even though, at times, people have asked us to make it more complicated than that.  To be honest, some have even left because we refused to make it more complicated than that.  But many, many more have come, and served, and learned, and stayed, and have grown, and have actually changed the world, simply because it isn't more complicated than that.

If you could only do a few things with your life in your time here on this planet, shouldn't changing the world be one of the most important things on YOUR list?  This Sunday morning at 9:00 AM in Cinema Three, come and attend ROADIES 101.  It's a one-hour class about the simple things that make Crossroads what it is.  Then attend the 10:30 AM service in Cinema One.  We're starting a new series called "I LOVE MY CHURCH".  I can't think of a better way to change the world.  Will you join me?

I promise, it's not rocket science.

 

WEEKEND UPDATE (TEEN TAKEOVER)

Leslie and I got back in the early evening last night from Colorado, where we had been for several days having flown out to officiate at the wedding of a clost friend.  Great to be back in LA and back to work this morning.  While we were gone we had a total Teen Takeover of Crossroads.  Such an important service!  People at Crossroads need to know what young people are doing in their midst.  Our teens are the future of the Church!  We MUST invest in them!!  Kudos to Youth Pastor Chris Brooks and everyone who made Teen Takeover happen!  Here's a few takeaway's from Pastor Chris about Sunday's service:

Having the help of all the teens to set-up was soo great! The lobby was up in record time even though we got into the Cinema late.

I LOVED being able to share a message very important to me. Thank you all for having me.

 

It was very cool having Hannah Waggerman, one of our teens, do the announcements from the platform. awesome job!!

Music was ROCKIN!! Those guys are are getting better and better every week that I hear them!

Speaking of rockin, I loved hear one of my all-time favorite youth songs, Solid Rock sung on Sunday morning!

Had a great behind the scenes, Roll-in video of The Underground on a Wednesday.

"Ridin in my Swagger Wagon!" You had to be there. we saw one of the funniest and awesome-est music videos ever! I laugh ever time I see it!

 Also, showed my favorite Youth Rollins, composed by our own Justin Eshelman! woot!

 Finally thanks to all the youth that worked both behind the scenes, out in the lobby, and in Cinema 1 step up and pull off a great service. TEEN TAKEOVER!!

 Biggest take-away: You WILL leave a legacy. the question is "What will it be?"

The Taits

This Sunday the Crossroads family bids farewell to the Taits.  Jessie, Sarena, Seri, Toby, and Eddie are heading for Fort Hood next week.  Leslie and I are truly bummed that we will not be in town to pray for them in person before they head out, but we trust that many who are there on Sunday will.  Tait family, know that you are in our prayers and in our hearts even though we will not see you this Sunday.

To me, Jessie and Sarena have lived out how to come to a new town and get connected.  The first time I met Jessie and Sarena was the week I told the "mother of all blonde jokes" from the platform.  I'll never forget how Sarena (who happens to be...well, blonde) met me at the front door after the service and lovingly gave me a hard time for it.  Her great sense of humor instantly won me over and totally put me at ease, and I knew she was someone who loved to laugh.  I'll miss hearing that laugh coming from the back of Cinema One.  The next Sunday, Jessie showed up at our rained out Beach BBQ and Baptism with a great attitude and a large watermelon.  He went out of his way to meet everyone there, and then started bringing watermelon to youth every Wednesday.  Jessie and Sarena dug in and went to work serving at Crossroads and did it all while raising a beautiful family, and drinking from the fire hose that is Flight School at Fort Rucker.  The Taits taught me a great deal about living out their faith in practical ways and we will never forget them.  We are richer for knowing them and pray for God to pour out his blessings on them as they walk through life with Christ at the center of everything they do.

This is a video they did for small group about a year ago.  There is great stuff in here for young military families in transition, either coming to Fort Rucker, or heading out.  Tait family, you wrote an important chapter in the book of Crossroads being the Intersection of Church and Life.  And we know you will continue writing at Fort Hood and everywhere else you go.  Much love from all of us!

Jesse and Sarena Talk about Small Groups from Crossroads Community Church on Vimeo.
    

Rocky Mountain Hi!

Greetings from 5280!  Leslie and I are here for a short stay to see an old friend (and I mean REALLY old) and perform a wedding ceremony that will not soon be forgotten.  My old buddy and riding partner Brian Roach is getting married, and the ceremony is to be conducted like it's the 1880's!  Everyone in the wedding party and the congregation will be dressed up in Old West garb, including me, dressed in frock coat and flat brim hat like a traveling preacher from days gone by.  I'll even be doing the ceremony King James style with the thee's and thous's.  Can't wait!

We'll miss everyone this week (especially our kids), but we promise to get rested, attend a really cool church in Boulder, and come back recharged and ready for action.  Don't miss this weekend at Crossroads.  It's going to be exceptional.  It's TEEN TAKEOVER in every department including the a great worship set from the Underground Band, and one of the most important messages you have heard at Crossroads, delivered by Youth Pastor Chris Brooks.  So show up big and dig in, and see how you can make a HUGE difference in helping the next generation build the Kingdom of God in our community!

WEEKEND UPDATE (BAPTISM EDITION)!

Fantastic day at Crossroads on Sunday!  Huge crowd at the Cinema and at Lake Tholocco for Crossroads 4th Beach BBQ & Baptism!  The radar warned of threatening weather than never showed up, but more than 160 people did, to watch 25 people go public with their faith through baptism!  What a wonderful day!  Here's a few quick hits from the weekend:

1. Thanks to everyone who pitched in to make BBB a great experience for everyone!
2. Sunday morning started muggy and cloudy, like when we got rained out one year ago today and had to postpone, and I was thinking, "Not this time, Rainman.  We're gonna baptize people.  Deal with it!"  I really believed that everything would go off without a hitch.  Thank you God for such great weather!
3. The anticipation was electric at the Cinema.  I got to share about WHY we baptize people and WHO baptism is for.  It was great to see some folks make the decision to be baptized right then!  Awesome!
4. I love teaching about baptism.  It's one of my favorite topics that we get to share about at Crossroads.
5. Worship was SLAMMIN' on Sunday morning!  Absolutely LOVED that set!  Rise and Sing - I Am Free - All Over - Here I Am to Worship.  YESSSSS!!!
6. Never get tired of seeing Jack Black as Nacho Libre step out of the bathroom to impose his will in baptizing his friend.  Great video segment.  It's so wrong, but it sure makes the point!
7. Thanks to everyone who came early to help set up and get the burgers and dogs going!  
8. I was relieved as I stepped into the lake for the first time since October.  The water was unusually warm.  Last time...not so much.
9. Nothing in the world like seeing people emerge from the water!  That will never get old.
10. Baptizing people is the greatest honor I am afforded as a pastor.  I can't believe I get to participate! 

One of the coolest things about BB&B is standing in the water looking back at the crowd on the beach.  As we were standing there, Pastor Ben noted that there were many new faces since the last time we were there.  You know, because of the nature of our community being so focused on flight training, many come and then go and that's just the way it is.  We are a very transient community.  I believe in large part that is why God has placed Crossroads here. What a privilege it is to serve those in our community who are in one of the most significant times of transition in their lives.  We baptized people yesterday, someone of whom are moving out this week.  So tough to see them go, but the big takeaway for them and for those who remain here, is that everything they gave here, remains here.  And everything they gained here, they take with them to serve others.  I love being a part of what God is doing in our community, and if Beach, BBQ & Baptism is as good as it ever gets, then we are very, very rich indeed.  What a great God we serve!  Peace.

  

LOVING & LIVING (Part 1)

“Living for Christ?  Sounds great!  How do I do it?”  Here's an irreducible minimum: By LOVING other people.  “Loving other people?  Sounds great!  How do I do it?  Where do I start?”  Good questions.  Here are a few ideas:  Start on your knees.  Ask God in prayer to change you.  Ask God to help you love other people.  Tell God you want to love people like HE loves people.  But you need to know, if you pray that way earnestly, God WILL change you.  And you just might start loving some rather “unlovely” people.    

Here’s another, real practical way we can start:  We can start loving other people by laying aside our prejudices, our intolerance, our preconceived notions, our favoritism and our spiritual and natural pride.  Because when God’s love makes us whole, we begin to recognize that there really is no difference between THEM and US.  There is no “THEM”.  It’s just “US”.  All of US.  ALL dead in sin without Christ.  Not one BETTER than another.  At the core of Christ’s strength, his compassion, his patience, his tolerance is this: LOVE.  Because He IS love.  And if we are to be followers of Christ then we must be compelled, constrained, controlled, made whole by His love.  In John chapter 8 we get a first-hand example of all of this that we can LIVE every day.

JOHN 8:1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.   4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”   6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.  9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”   11 “No, Lord,” she said.  And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Can you imagine what it was like for that woman that day?  Let’s put ourselves in her place.  There isn’t a person reading this that hasn’t done something that they wish they hadn’t done; that they’re embarrassed about or ashamed of.  What if you were smack in the middle of doing whatever that was, and the Sin Police came busting in the room – caught you doing whatever it was you were doing, and then drug you immediately to First Church of Intolerance, and put you in front of a whole crowd of people – told EVERYONE exactly what it was they caught you doing – and then wanted to punish you for it, by throwing rocks at you until you were dead?  What if?

“I saw him get drunk at Cowboys on a weeknight!  She was smoking cigarettes…again!  We found him looking at porn on the computer!  She’s been taking prescription painkillers!  They’re having sex and they’re not married!  They haven’t been to church in 30 years!  He cheated on his taxes! She cheated on her husband!  They stole!  He lied!” 

But it just so happened that on the day they decided to do that, the Son of God was there.  And he said, “All right, let him have it.  Let her have it.  But let the one without sin throw the first rock”. And one by one they walk away until it’s just you and Jesus.  And he says to you, “Where are your accusers?  Is there no one to condemn you?” and you say, “No one”.  And he says, “Then neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”.  What if?

How about this: It did happen.  You and I were both dead in our sin, caught in the act.  And Jesus ran off our accusers and he’s saying to you and me, “I don’t condemn you, go and sin no more”. Many of us have been raised in places, families, churches, where they spent a lot more time on the “Go and sin no more” part than they spent on the “Neither do I accuse you” part.  And what happens is, we get afraid that the rock throwers are going to be there to meet us at the front door of the church.  So we run FROM God instead of running TO Him.  Can you imagine for just a moment, what the value of a place would be where before anyone ever heard the words “Go and sin no more”, they heard the words, “Neither do I accuse you”? Perhaps there’s a reason Jesus put them in that order. First things first.  It’s the GOODNESS of God that brings people to repentance – not His judgment and anger.

Sin is sin and wrong is wrong and we ALL need to repent of our sin and start walking right.  Our actions absolutely have consequences. But those consequences shouldn't include having your actions met with the feigned shock and accompanying condemnation of people who have done the very same thing themselves.  If we want to LIVE for Christ, we must FORGIVE like Christ.  More tomorrow...

Catching Up

Hey guys, I've had a real busy week as I'm sure you have too.  Just wanted to catch up a bit and share a couple of things before we head into the weekend.  First, I want to thank Ken Tuck and LIA Ministries for having us to their Celebrate Recovery Meeting at LIA Ministries headquarters last Tuesday night.  It was fantastic.  Thanks to Nic & Janna and the Crossroads Band also!  They did an awesome job and completely blew the roof of the place with a smokin' worship set.  They were a tough act to follow as I came up and shared a bit about God's amazing love for us through Jesus Christ.  Always a privilege to share at LIA Ministries.  Hopefully they'll have us back there sometime this Summer, and if they do, ya'll need to come be a part of it.  You won't soon forget it.

So excited for this Sunday's service, REVEAL.  We'll be talking about baptism and answering a HUGE question that many people have: "Why should I be Baptized?"  Then we'll head out to the East Beach at Lake Tholocco for Crossroads 4th Beach, BBQ and Baptism celebration!  I have NEVER experienced anything as powerful as these baptism events!  It is - bar none - the most exciting thing we get to do at Crossroads and it never, ever gets old!

I'll have a couple of more posts this week, talking about LOVE, and then it's two services Sunday morning and off to Lake Tholocco!  Do not miss this opportunity to GO PUBLIC with YOUR faith through Baptism.  This is a GREAT Sunday to invite friends and family!!  See you there!

THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AT L.I.A.

Hey guys, be sure to join us this Tuesday night at L.I.A. Ministries Celebrate Recovery meeting at 6:30 PM at LIA Ministries headquarters at 1140 Montgomery Hwy (in the old Piggly Wiggly store) in Dothan.  Nic and the band will be there leading worship and I'll be sharing a message of hope.

Love In Action Ministries does an INCREDIBLE job getting the homeless off the street and back to work, and is committed to helping people recover from crippling addictions through weekly Celebrate Recovery Meetings, and sharing the life changing power of God through Jesus Christ!  Cool, yes?  At 6:30 PM come and share a meal with us, then worship with Crossroads worship band and laugh at me while I do my best to bring a bit of Crossroads teaching to 100 of the best people you'll ever meet!

Let's show up big on Tuesday night.  I PROMISE, this event is WELL WORTH the time you invest.  You'll see ministry that you didn't even know existed around here.  See you there!!

WEEKEND UPDATE (Mother's Day 2010)

Fantastic day at Crossroads on Sunday!  The weather was fabulous - crisp air, beautiful blue skies, just perfect.  Here's just a few of the things I noticed on Sunday:

• Woke up and made Eggs Benedict for Leslie.  A Mother's Day tradition!  I ROCK Eggs Benedict!
• Mother's Day at Crossroads!  What a great reason to get up and gather together!  Lots of mom's in the house...including mine!
• GREAT crowd at both services!  We continue to grow each week at Crossroads.
• So great to see so many people coming back to Crossroads after a few visits!  People digging in and hooking up!
• MANY people made decisions on Sunday and the list of folks who are going public with their faith through Baptism next week is GROWING!!  So excited to see that!
• Worship was fantastic.  Great job by Nic, Caleb and the band! 
• LOVED the videos in Sunday's service.  Will & Chris's intro piece is a hoot!  The skit guys, "I'm Sorry" was also a great video segment!
• Loved sharing about the history of Mother's Day.  Who knew??
• Fun telling stories about buying my mom a card, and the minefield of Mother's Day gift buying!  Great laughs!
• Praying together as a church family for moms and women in all situations was powerful!
• Absolutely LOVED the scripture from Proverbs 31, breaking it down, and getting some insight into the life and heart of "King Lemuel's" mother!
• In the first service I totally forgot a scripture reference, having to resort to: "Um...it's in the Bible".
• In the second service I got tongue-tied about a half dozen different times.
• Fortunately there's no Sermon Scoring section on our Communication Cards!
• Made my Mom cry when I told the story about running away at 17.  (Good to know I don't make her cry like I used to!)
• To the wife of my youth (and something for all guys to tell their wives): "There are many virtuous and capable women, but you surpass them all!"
• Great takeaway to remember and put in practice every day: Children - BLESS your Mother!  Husbands - PRAISE your Wife!

Be praying this week for Beach, BBQ and Baptism: for God to move on the hearts of MANY to be Baptized, and for PERFECT weather! Have a GREAT week!!

 

I HOPE (2)

The Apostle Paul wrote, recorded in 2 Corinthians 4:8, We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  1 Cor 4:8-9 (NIV)

Paul had the attitude that said: “You can knock me down, but you can’t keep me down”.  Why? Because he had hope.  He was sustained by it.  He was strengthened by it, and he was bound to God by it.  And he maintained hope.  He didn’t cast away his confidence, which has great reward (Hebrews 10:35).

Have you ever seen someone who has cast away his or her confidence?  Have you ever been someone who has cast away his confidence?  We ALL have trials and difficulties.  Jesus said we would (John 16:33).  But casting away our confidence can cause us to lose hope.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the strongest Christian in the world, there are times you can feel hopeless.  And you know that.  Maybe you have experienced a sense of loneliness and abandonment in the past, maybe you are experiencing it right now, it happens.  But you need to know that you are not alone.  Sometimes Bible-believing people experience spiritual meltdowns.  Knowing we’re not the only one gives us hope!   

We need to be there for each other.  That’s why Paul says, “Don’t forsake assembling yourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25).  When we gather together we bring encouragement and hope to each other.  There’s nothing like being around people that believe like you do to strengthen your faith.  There’s nothing like sharing your hope in God with those who haven’t heard that message before to build your hope.

Please don’t isolate.  When we get off alone and become isolated we buy into the lie that we’re the only ones that feel the way we do, that we don’t fit in with other people.  And when we stay isolated long enough we begin to lose hope, and when our hope loss is in full bloom our faith can collapse.  We HAVE to stay together; bound to one another in our mutual hope in God.  

The key to fighting off isolation is to stay connected: to God and to each other.  That’s what having hope is all about.  We stay connected to God by the hope we have in him.  We stay connected to each other by sharing that mutual hope. Today, if you’re tempted, don’t give up hope.  Especially when you are surrounded by so many – with shared experiences – who are so willing to be there.  Allow your church family to strengthen your faith.  And if you are tempted to not share your story, to not share your faith, to not share your hope with someone else because you think it doesn’t matter.  Think again.  Someone needs to know they're not alone, and you are more than qualified to carry that message.  

I HOPE

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  (Hebrews 10:23)

What do you HOPE for?  Do you ever lose HOPE?  Is HOPE ever really lost?  Have you ever HOPED against HOPE?  Are you HOLDING OUT HOPE?

There is a difference between Biblical hope and wish fulfillment. Often we use the word ‘hope’, where maybe we should use the word ‘wish’.  Because real hope is not a wish, it’s not a feeling, and it’s not just a desire. “Oh, I hope things get better, soon”.  Real Biblical hope is joyful, confident EXPECTATION. 

A lot of times when we ‘wish’ for something to be true, we aren’t really expecting that it will be.  But hope has an outcome, an expected end.  Wishing has a connotation of undelivered promises.  But hope has a connotation of a delivery you can count on.  Wishing may make you happy for a time, but hope fills you with a lasting joy.  If you look at the word ‘hope’ in the Greek, it is the word “elpis”, and it means JOYFUL and CONFIDENT EXPECTATION of salvation!  When you have hope you have JOY!

Let me ask you something.  Given the choice would you rather be happy or unhappy?  Would you rather be full of joy, or full of sorrow?  Recognizing that there are people with grave emotional disorders who can’t tell the difference, I believe the majority of people would choose happiness over unhappiness – joy over sorrow, every time.  Did you know it’s a choice?  Living a life of hope is something that we CHOOSE.

Some would say, “What do you mean we choose it?   Like I have a choice.  You don’t know all the bad things that have happened to me.  Maybe YOU can choose to be happy and full of joy, but I don’t have the choice to be joyful, my circumstances prevent it!”

Living a life of hope has nothing to do with our present circumstances.  Because HOPE and FAITH work together to produce an unwavering belief in an outcome that is GOOD, regardless of our present circumstances.  Some would say, “But all around me my life is falling apart.  Bad luck just seems to chase me down, it’s waiting behind every corner, I’m like a magnet for sorrow and discontent”.

Here’s the good news:  Hope renders our present circumstances powerless to control our lives.  Have you got problems, concerns, fears, anxieties, cares, and difficulties?  You’re in good company.  And that stuff doesn’t disqualify you from having hope.  It makes you a perfect candidate for it!  That’s right, when you have difficulty in life, you are a perfect candidate for hope.  And it all begins with what you look for.

But now, Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in you!  (Psalm 39:7)

There is always difficulty in life.  In every life. And you know that because you’re smart and you have experience with it.  So when you compare your life, with your perception of the lives of others, don’t forget that a life of hope is not a life that is without difficulty.  But it is a life that knows that whatever difficulty may be present, it is not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to come, for those whose hope is in Christ! 

So have hope!  There IS hope for you!  Be like the Psalmist who says to God, “My HOPE is in YOU!”  Guys, hope looks GOOD on you!    Hopeful people are so attractive!  Not boastful, proud and arrogant people, but those whose CONFIDENT EXPECTATION is in Christ.  You want to have a positive impact on the world around you, and draw others to Christ?  Then choose HOPE!

WEEKEND UPDATE (050210)

What a fantastic day at Crossroads as we closed out our original series OZ!  A great crowd for both services and a great response from everyone as we opened the month of May.  Here's just a few of the things I noticed:

• TONS (yes, tons) of First Time Attenders!
• MANY (yes, many) people made DECISIONS!  Some to trust Christ for the first time, some to renew their commitment to Christ, and some to go public with their faith through Baptism!  What a GREAT day!
• Huge Crossroads kudos to the Lobby Team.  Shorthanded, everyone dug in and really made it happen!  You guys are AWESOME!
• Special thanks to Rachel for handling the, um..."dirty work"!   
• Worship sounded GREAT!
• I missed the black-light puppets in the Filling Station both times they did it.  :(  We have the best black-light puppet people anywhere...as far as I know...having missed, yet again, the opportunity to see them.  But I can tell you your kids LOVED it!
• Thank you to those folks who "took care of the dog" this week while they were out of town.  It makes a HUGE difference!  (You have to listen to last weeks message to get the dog joke. LOL)
• LOVE how generous people at Crossroads are, and how everyone responded to the message of how to love God with all your heart!
• More positive feedback about LIFE CHANGE from this series than any other we've done.  More first-time decisions, more renewed relationships, more results from the pure Gospel message about loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and loving your neighbor as yourself!
• Quotable quote:  JESUS:  "If I only had...YOU!"

Absolutely loved doing this series.  Could have easily run for six weeks instead of three.  But I'm really looking forward to the next three weeks.  This Sunday is MOTHER'S DAY, and I'll be picking up my mom in Cocoa, Florida and bringing her back for the weekend! Next week on May 16th, in what is for me the single most exciting thing we do at Crossroads, we'll be sharing about Baptism in our special Sunday service called REVEAL, and then we'll head out to the East Beach of Lake Tholocco for a Crossroads tradition, BEACH BBQ & BAPTISM!  65 people have gone public with their faith through Baptism since we started doing this.  And two dozen more are already signed up for the 16th!  I can't wait!!  And if that were not enough excitement, Sunday May 23rd is YOUTH SUNDAY.  Youth Pastor Chris Brooks will be sharing about what happens every week at Crossroads that many of you never get to see.  Each Wednesday night, He and a faithful team of volunteers work hard training up the NEXT GENERATION of followers of Jesus Christ.  What they are doing is SO important, we are dedicating and entire weekend service to share about it!  The Underground Band will lead worship, we'll show video of some of the great stuff that happens on Wednesday's at the Annex, and Pastor Chris will bring the message at both services!  Don't miss Mothers Day, Reveal, Beach BBQ & Baptism, and Youth Sunday.  What a GREAT way to invest your Sunday's in May!! Have a GREAT week!

DO WE HAVE CLASS?

Oh yes we do!  Sunday, May 30th at 9:00AM in Cinema Three don't miss Crossroads membership class ROADIES 101.  Join the hundreds who have taken their commitment to serve Christ to the next level at Crossroads.  Come early.  Have a cup of coffee and settle in for a quick, informative and important step in getting the most out of your experience at Crossroads.  Then enjoy the second service at 10:30 AM in Cinema One!  See you there!

  

BAPTISM SERVICE MAY 16th

The life of a follower of Christ is a life of NEXT STEPS.  If you have come to faith in Christ, your next step is to go public with your faith through baptism.  On Sunday, May 16th we'll have a service at the College Cinema called REVEAL where we'll teach about what Baptism is, what it isn't, who it's for, and why you should do it.  After that, on Sunday afternoon at 3:00PM at the East Beach of Lake Tholocco on Fort Rucker, we will have a baptism celebration at our fourth BEACH, BBQ & BAPTISM!  Sign up in the lobby (or decide the day of) ALL ARE WELCOME!!

Beach, BBQ & Baptism is one of the most awesome things I have ever experienced, and I think the hundreds who have attended and the 65 people who have gone public with their faith through baptism in the last 18 months would agree!!  Food, fun, fellowship and a baptism experience you will never forget!  Don't miss it!