WHAT'S HAPPENING? (w/Foghat Story)

Happy Wednesday!  Looking forward to CHILL-OUT tonight at 7PM at CROSSROADS!  No agenda other than Hang time, Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Tons of Toppings!  Hey, this past Sunday at Crossroads was an AMAZING day!  here's a few of the many things that stood out to me:

• People made life changing decisions to trust Christ for the first time, to renew their relationship with Christ, or to go public with their faith through Baptism!!  That's the REASON we are here, and hearing about it NEVER gets old! Woo-hoo!!
• Heard about one sweet 9 year-old boy in our main service Sunday, visiting from Germany with his parents.  He spoke very little English, but asked his parents and their friends to hold hands at the end of the service as Nic was playing and I was praying and giving an invitation to receive Christ.  They did, and grinning ear to ear, he told them, "I not understand, but I feel something!"  That one response opened the door for Christ as that story went out to dozens and gave friends of that young boys family opportunities to share Christ with MANY people including him!  We're believing God for 100 people to receive Christ by 9 October.  It is HAPPENING NOW in ways we could not have predicted, imagined, or pretended to control!
• The past Sunday was a CRAZY service.  Breaking down a piece of the account of Nehemiah from the Old Testament, we looked at what it would be like for Nehemiah to come into our "Jerusalem" and take inventory of our "rubble".  We said, "The RUBBLE in our lives reveals the TROUBLE in our lives".  If you were not at Crossroads Sunday you HAVE to see this message.  Watch City of Progress 02 HERE.
• Had several people make similar remarks like, "It was like Saturday Night Live", or services at Crossroads are "like a comedy show".  Look, the Bible says in Proverbs 17:22 that, "A merry heart does good, like a medicine, but a crushed spirit dries the bones".  I BELIEVE in the power of joyous laughter to lift our spirits and make us receptive to receiving the word of God.  Too many sermons crush our spirits and dry up our bones.  I choose laughing over drying up!
• FOGHAT!  Woo-Hoo!  Almost forgot...I got to sit in with the band and bludgeon Max's drumkit to the tune of "Fool for the City".  That was an AWESOME good time!  Thanks for letting me play guys!!   

I shared with you on Sunday that back in the "bad old days" before I trusted my life to Christ, I was in a band that opened for Foghat at a college in Western Colorado.  I remarked that it was "the only time I was ever thrown out of an entire town".  We hung out all night and hit clubs and parties with Foghat, and as the night wore on, we got out of control.  Foghat went back to their bus, but we went to the hotel.  It was after 3 o'clock in the morning as we rolled into the hotel.  The band, the roadies and tech guys and several "hanger's-on".  We were rowdy, and then a couple of fights broke out and things were broken and the guests we woke up were mad and the cops came.  One real big cop with a badge and a gun looked at us and said, "Which one of you losers is the least drunk?"  I looked at the guys and decided it was me.  I told him so.  He said, "Then you", pointing at me, "get in your car - or whatever that thing is" (we rode in a 26 foot long Checker Aerobus), "and get out of my town and don't EVER come back!"  They escorted us to the city limits of Gunnison and turned around as we headed down the road.

Yeah, it's a cool story...I get that.  But I don't share it to sound cool or to glorify playing rock and roll and living out of control and hurting other people and being in trouble with the law.  There was nothing about that lifestyle that helped anyone.  It was 100% self-motivated, self-serving and self-driven loser, and it cost me - and others - dearly. 

My point in sharing that story is to reveal the dramatic difference between darkness and light, between death and life, between a relationship with our heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ, and eternal separation from God.  God cleared the rubble from the destruction I wreaked in my own life, took those stones, and put them back together again in a way that glorifies Him.  He took me from dark to light, from death to life, from self-serving to Christ-following.  And he will do the same in your life as you allow Him to.  Give your heart to Christ - without reservation - and watch as he creates in you a BRAND NEW spirit.  A new life.  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17

       

GUEST BLOGGER: Dave Clark (Prophet/Mystic/Cajun)

This is the first in a series of regular guest blog posts from my friend Dave Clark.  No editing.  No disclaimer.  - Gene

Recently, Pastor Gene spoke in church and said something like “I love you gay person (or struggler with pornography or alcoholic, or whatever), not because I hope you one day won’t be gay, but because I love you”. In doing so he truly represented the heart of God. This understanding is vital because we must come to know in our innermost heart that God is saying; “I love you person who ____________ (fill in the blank with your own particular torment), not because I hope you one day won’t do that but simply because I love you”. 

In this world everything is ‘performance based’. If you want to do well, study hard. If you want to get paid well, work hard. You see, money is the medium the employer uses to tell you how much she “loves” you. And in our real life love is most often doled out the same way. “I will love you – if you do this or if you don’t do that or if you meet this need of mine.” It goes on forever. And always in our deepest self we think, “If you knew the real me, you wouldn’t love me”. But God already knows the real you. 

Now to my point: I have prayed and anguished so often, ‘Lord, deliver me from_________________’. You have too. We long for: “Victory In Jesus ♪”. And he wants it for us as well. But he wants something even more. He craves for us to know as settled fact deep in our spirit that we are loved now, before we are delivered from whatever plagues us. But some of the things that debilitate us could bring deep shame to us and disrepute to the church if they were exposed. Just look at church scandals. But still, your knowing you are loved is of greater value to him than his (or your) reputation. He has already suffered the shame of the cross. (To get a handle on that, think – What if the faith began in this day? The symbol for it might well be an electric chair instead of a cross.) What else can your shame do to him? God has chosen to suffer for us and with us. That is what real love is. 

I am convinced I will never be fully delivered from my deepest evils until I truly believe with all that is in me that I am loved just like I am. Only then can I be of any use to him…or to you.

Live Like You Were Dialing

Several years ago I had to ride to a nearby town 45 minutes away to pick up some materials.  A guy I worked with rode with me.  He was kind of a big guy.  Getting situated in my truck, he pulled the seatbelt across his barrel-like midsection, and snapped the seatbelt latch into place.  With that simple move, he unleashed a torrent of unintended consequences.

His cell phone was in his back pocket.  To snap the seatbelt in place he had to ease up on one cheek, just enough to perfectly execute a classic butt-dial.  His cell phone called the last number he had previously dialed.  It was his wife's number.

What he could not have known as he spent the next 30 minutes verbally downloading all the things he couldn't stand about his marriage, and his wife (which included some truly unsavory chapters in their life - I should add, NONE of which I wanted to hear), was that when he executed the perfect butt-dial...to his wife...she spent the next 30 minutes listening to everything he said. 

That they are divorced today has far less to do with the butt-dialing episode than the unresolved tensions and conflicts in their relationship.  However, after a conversation about that episode with a friend whom I inadvertantly butt-dialed myself today, I concluded that perhaps you should NEVER say anything aloud, at any time in your life, that you weren't perfectly willing for anyone in your contact list to hear.  He went one better:

Live your life like you're always butt-dialing.

"And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.  the words you say will either acquit you or condemn you".  (Matthew 12:36-37, NLT)   

Sunday Wrap Up (August 21st, 2001)

Last week it was Happy Birthday Crossroads, as we entered our fourth year meeting at the College Cinema each Sunday morning.  Yesterday, it was happy birthday me, as I entered my 52 year of life with so many blessing to be grateful for, so many friendships to be thankful for, and a wonderful church - not just to preach at - but to truly call my home!  Thank you to everyone who made the day special!  Here's a few quick hits from the weekend:

• First Service was rough for me.  I was a little distracted...by the sound of the air conditioner.  Seriously, first service was as light in attendance as it's ever been.  I remember last week doing my best to encourage long-time Crossroads attenders to come to the first service to help make room for first-time guests.  I guess no one got the memo.  Or got it and ignored it.  PLEASE help your church reach people!  Yesterday's second service was packed.  That's awesome, but we really need to spread it around.  I promise you, first service is ROCKIN' when you are there!
• Here's why the last paragraph is important:  Two weeks ago we had 24 first-time guests!  Sunday, we had 17 first-time guests!  I don't know another church our size that has that kind of momentum.  First-time guests are the most important people in the room, and we are PRIVILEGED at Crossroads to have so many!  Please help your church make them feel welcome by ensuring there's somewhere for them to sit.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Okay...moving on...here's something really cool that happened Sunday: Steven Carlson proposed marriage to Ivy Mabalot in our lobby and (wait for it)...she said, "YES!"   Congrats Steven and Ivy!!
• Love the Book of Nehemiah.  We'll be in it for the next few weeks.  Dig in and read the first 8 chapters.  We said this Sunday: "God didn't use the people to build a wall, He used the wall to build a people".  God ALWAYS has more in mind than just the physical.  While, using Nehemiah's inspired leadership, God provided for the physical safety, security and success of His people through the restoration of the wall, He also provided a WAY BACK TO HIM that ensured the spiritual renewal of the people He loved so much!  He wants to do the same thing in our lives, too!
• The Apostle Paul understood about building our lives - and the church - ON purpose (Romans 3).  He showed us that "The key to building something that lasts is to build it on the right foundation".  
• Our church is in Enterprise.  The slogan for our town: "CITY OF PROGRESS" is boldly painted on every water tower in town.  Let us BE THE CHURCH in Enterprise that understands: The ultimate purpose of any great undertaking by a City of Progress, should be spiritual renewal!
• Care about the things that God cares about.  Pray for God's help in reaching our city for Christ.

In closing, part of the awesome progress we are comitted to at Crossroads is to make our Children's environments safe, secure and FUN!  We implemented a new check-in procedure on Sunday that had some flaws in it, and caused parents to have to wait longer than usual.  We'll do better next week, but please be patient and understand, we want to provide the safest and most secure environment possible for your children, where they can have fun and learn about Jesus!  Check-in and check-out that works is an important piece of that.  Work with us as we work out the bugs.

Remember also - as we enter our fourth year of being a church - that Crossroads, at times, is like an awkward, pimply-faced teenager.  We're not nearly grown up yet, but we work dilligently at growing every day.  There may be some things along the way that - when compared to a church that's been around for 50 years - make us look like amateurs.  But just like that awkward teen, we're not what we're going to be when we grow up.  And with your help and patience and love for others, Crossroads will grow up to something rare and something beautiful!

Jesus came to save sinners.  Our job is to let people know.

  

WHY INVITE?

I heard one time that Northpoint Church in Atlanta (pastored by Andy Stanley - one of my favorite pastor/teachers), never asked people in their church to INVITE people. Because they never HAD to.  From the beginning, people just got it.  They've ALWAYS invited big.  The passion of those attending Northpoint was fueled by the the really smart things the leadership of the church did to cast vision for reaching un-reached, un-churched people. Some 20,000 a week now attend!

But I also heard that Northpoint launched with well over 1000 people. I also know that Andy is a REALLY smart guy, and (it's worth saying) he is the son of one of the most widely known and respected pastors in America, Charles Stanley.  But that's Northpoint, and that's Andy. It's not Crossroads and it's not Gene or Leslie or Will or Ben or Nic or Chris or any of our awesome staff, leaders or volunteers.  We also didn't start with over 1000 people. We started with 33 people...in my kitchen. And me and Leslie and a few others invited them. Or else they wouldn't have come. Invitations are SO IMPORTANT!

Look, I'm just not that smart.  I mean, not ANDY smart, you know?  So I really need your help, here. I believe that God wants to save people from hell. People that live right here in our community. I believe that God will meet our desire to see to lost come to Christ and our commitment to preach the Gospel with crowds coming through our door.

But I also believe they won't just show up accidentally.  If we're intentional about praying, and studying, and preparing, and preaching, and everything else we do...we must also be intentional about EXTENDING THE INVITATION.  I really believe that the NEXT STEP TOWARDS GOD FOR MANY PEOPLE is through us!  YOU and I must open our hearts, and open our mouths and tell people about Jesus.  I believe with all my heart that one of the BEST things you can do for someone you know, or someone care about, is to INVITE them to come to Crossroads. 

I promise: you get 'em here, we'll preach the Gospel, and together we'll do everything, by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to lead those people into a life-changing, soul-saving relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.  What's better than that?

Jesus Christ came to save people.  Our job is to let them know.

Jesus Came to Save Sinners

The Apostle Paul writes to a young Pastor named Timothy that, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners".  And Paul uses his own life as an example, calling himself "the worst of them all".  And he said that God had mercy on him, so that Jesus could use him as an example of his great patience with even the worst of sinners.

I LOVE this passage of Scripture, because I can relate to it.  Honestly, I have a hard time relating to people who claim to have it all figured out and all cleaned up.  I always have.  For more than half my life: Jesus, God, the Bible all seemed irrelevant to me, because I thought it was all about being a goody two-shoes, and doing everything right.  I was so aware of every rotten thing I ever did, that I didn't see myself as a person God could possibly be interested in.  I didn't really "fit the mold" of church-going, right-living, decent-minded people. 

Then someone told me that God loving me had nothing to do with anything I had ever done, or ever would do.  That Jesus came to the world for the express purpose of saving self-centered, self-serving, self-absorbed, depraved people just like me.  And then someone told me the story of Paul, and what he said about himself.  And I remember thinking, "If God loved Paul, He could probably love me, too".  

I can relate to Paul.  Even his name change: from Saul.  I was known by another name before I surrendered my life and my will to God, and asked Jesus to be my forgiver and leader.  I haven't been known by that name - or by the lifestyle that characterized that name - since.  But I have continued to make mistakes, and I continue to fall short of God's glorious standard.  Thank God for His mercy and His grace!  The Bible says that it's new every morning.  I can relate to that, because I know how much I need it. 

There's a lot I don't know about a lot of things, but I do know this:  I NEED JESUS EVERY DAY, and so do you.  I also know that if we think we don't, we're likely to be just the kind of Christian that other sinners look at and think, "I'm not good enough to be like them".  What a pity that would be.    

Listen...it's SO IMPORTANT that other people (family, friends, neighbors, co-workers) have a chance to know that God's grace and mercy are for them, REGARDLESS of what they've done.  I am absolutely POSITIVE that one of the biggest roadblocks for people coming to Christ is that they think they're just not "good enough".  No one ever was good enough.  No one but Jesus.  

 

Jesus came to save sinners.  Our job is to let people know.

              

What's Happening...

This past Sunday was an amazing day as we said "Happy Birthday Crossroads!", and marked the beginning of our fourth year at our College Cinema location.  We celebrated in one big 10:30AM service that was packed out.  If you weren't able to be there, we missed you in a huge way, but you can watch the whole service right HERE.

So grateful (not an adequate word) for all that God has done, and all the He continues to do at Crossroads!  I am so thankful for all who serve each week to make Crossroads happen, and make it possible for our church to do what God had called us to do: Love God, Love Others and Serve the World!  I am SO AWARE and awake to the reality of God's mandate: that we should do everything, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to lead people into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

• LOVED worship on Sunday morning.  Nic, Janna and the band sounded great!  I never get tired of worship at Crossroads.
• Huge thank you's to Scott & Natasha Chalker, Zeb and Sarah Dimmet, and Ivy Mabalot for sharing with us, in their video segments, a part of their life-changing experience at Crossroads!
• So glad that Crossroads attenders are commited to LEVERAGING THEIR LIFE-CHANGE by sharing their stories!
• Thank you for being willing to attend the early service, and sit down front, to make room in the second service for first time attenders.  This past Sunday morning, we had 23 First Time Attenders!  That's HUGE, and it keeps growing. Help out by coming early!
• Thank you for taking the 100/50/10 Pledge:  YOU and ME praying together - praying that God would use us to reach people - and praying that we would see 100 lives commited to Christ, and 50 people to go public with their faith at Beach, BBQ & Baptism on Sunday October 9th, 10 weeks from right now!

We had some great moments in the service.  And we truly had some "God moments" as well!  What an awesome and engaged crowd.  I felt completely energized by your enthusiam, and confident that we are entering our fourth year more committed than ever to seeing people come to Christ.  There were a couple of really BIG IDEAS to take home with us from the service, but perhaps none that engaged us all more than when we talked about inviting BIG, and recognizing that:

EVERY INVITE CARD REPRESENTS A CHANGED LIFE!

It's so important - especially if you have experienced life change as a result of your Crossroads experience - that you SHARE that with as many people as possible.  The Bible says that God's desire is that no one should perish, but that everyone should come to repentance - to a place of genuine life-change through Jesus Christ!  If we really believe that, how important is it for us to reach out and invite so that others can experience the same thing we have!  Though the conversation may be casual, the invitation is eternal!

This Sunday we start a brand new series called CITY OF PROGRESS.  We'll be looking at the Book of Nehemiah and sharing about what we can all do to not just use our city to build a great church, but to use this church to build a GREAT city!  Have a great week!  See you Sunday morning!

  

WHAT'S HAPPENING...

Hey all, it's Thursday evening in LA and I've only now been able to sit still long enough to share a bit of an update on what's happening.  this is a BIG post, with lot's of stuff, so let's do it bullet style:

• First off - HUGE day this past Sunday as Pastor Ben finished up DIRTY JOBS.  The response to this two-week series was off the charts.  First, dozens of people who had not previously served said, "Put me to work!".  Then, in week two, Ben busted out an awesome teaching on Biblical giving, supported by a totally groovy VIDEO, and introduced our brand-new automated on-line GIVING TOOL that supports recurring giving as well as a variety of flexible giving options.  Did it help?  Over a dozen immediately signed up to take advantage of the recurring feature, and one BOLD individual blessed Crossroads with a $2000 gift, while sitting in the service!  AWESOME response!  Way to go Crossroads!
• Leslie and I and some of our staff we're comped by NEXT, to attend the two-day Nuts & Bolts Conference for church planters.  This is where we started 3-1/2 years ago, and it was truly awesome to return to Church at the Springs in Ocala and reconnect with coaches, mentors and friends; be exposed to some fantastic teaching; and encourage others who are right where we were all those months ago.  Thank you Pastor Ron and Teddi Sylvia and the whole Springs family for investing your lives in church planters like us!  
• This Sunday it's "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CROSSROADS!" as we celebrate the beginning our Year #4 at the College Cinema!!  We're going to have ONE SERVICE ONLY at 10:30 AM this Sunday, and it is a DO NOT MISS event.  Yes, cake and balloons and great worship and great friends, but even more than that, you are going to watch some videos of real Crossroads attenders sharing awesome stories about their Crossroads experience.  And I will be sharing a message with you about what I truly believe that God wants all of us to experience in the year to come!
• A quick note about CHILL OUT, our ice cream and fro-yo event:  we have had a DATE CHANGE to 7:00PM on WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31st.  This is going to be an awesome come and go time of just hanging out, eating cool treats, and meeting new friends.  It's a great way to connect with people you have maybe seen in church before, but haven't met yet.  I will be there and can't wait to "chill out" and get connected!

Guys, there's so much more, but I'm going to leave you with this:  I am coming back from two-weeks off more focused than ever on God's mission for our church.  I'm going to be sharing some of that with you, and I'm going to blow your mind on Sunday when I share a challenge with you that I believe is going to blow the lid off of Crossroads!  I believe we are stepping into a season of unprecedented growth in our church.  I cannot wait to see you all Sunday morning, celebrate Crossroads third birthday since we launched at the Cinema, and share my heart with you for what I believe will be the most remarkable year yet in the history of our church family!  Invite BIG and do not miss this Sunday.  One service.  10:30AM.  Peace.

A Word About Recruiting People From Other Churches

Twenty-two years ago, if I learned anything, I most surely learned a couple of "DON'Ts" that have stuck with me pretty good:

1. Don't sow discord among the brethren (King James version), and
2. Don't be a sheep rustler (John Wayne version).

I don't get overly pissy about too much, but violate one of the above two "DON'Ts", and I totally HULK out.  Just kind of the way I've always been.  Everybody has something that rubs them the wrong way.  These are two of mine.  And as a pastor of a growing church, I am more comitted than ever to the importance of those principles.  I honestly believe that any action contrary to them is indefensible, reprehensible, and intolerable.

That first thing? About "sowing discord among the brethren"?  That's a bit from Proverbs Chapter 6, where the writer of Proverbs is telling us about things God hates.  He also says, there's a price to be paid for that kind of behavior.  He says that someone who does that, "shall be broken without remedy", and that "calamity shall come upon him suddenly".  I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound good to me.  Don't be that guy.

What is discord?  Lack of harmony, diasagreement, difference of opinion, STRIFE.  The Bible instructs us in James Chapter 3 that where envying and strife are present, there is confusion and "every evil work".  In simple terms: talking trash about someone else's church is discordant to the body of Christ.  Don't be that guy.  People that talk your church down to try to get you to come to their church are causing strife in the body of Christ.  Not good. 

You know how in the Old West they used to string rustlers up with a rope from a tree?  Today, rustling happens every day, and it's become an accepted practice.  I'm not talking about out on the prairie...I mean, in the church! 

People routinely invite people who are already hooked up with a church family, serving in a church, connected in small groups, and an integral part of a faith community...to attend their church!  What are you people smoking?  Guys, that is so fundamentally wrong.  That's sheep rustling.  Sheep stealing.  It's heinous.  Now if you know someone doing that, know that they are a carrier of strife.  Also know that strife is contagious.  You catch it from disgruntled, selfish, ambitious, and/or jealous people who value their own personal agenda over the body of Christ.  Don't be that guy.

So what about Crossroads?  Don't people who have attended other churches come to Crossroads?  Yes.  However, you must know this:  We do not believe in recruiting church members away from churches in which they are already planted.  Period.  

We talk about inviting all the time, but let me speak very plainly so that there is no misunderstanding: If you attend Crossroads, DO NOT under any circumstances recruit people to attend Crossroads who are already part of a church fellowship.  It's wrong, and you're not helping Crossroads by doing that.  You're just hurting another church.   Remember, our target at Crossroads is to reach people who are far from God and far from church, and trust me, there's WAY more of them, then there is folks who already attend another church.

If someone recruits you to attend another church, do what seems good to you.  As for me, I decided long ago to always grow where I was planted. 

Peace.

Sunday, Dirty Sunday!

Momentum continues to build at Crossroads!  Sunday was a banner day as Pastor Ben Rice shared Part 1 of our two-part series DIRTY JOBS.  Tons of wins!  Here's a few things I noticed:

1. I attended the first service and it was OFF THE CHAIN crazy!  For my money, that was (bar none) my favorite Ben Rice message ever!
2. "It's not a dirty job unless you have to do it alone."  Wow!  What a strong (and absolutely accurate) statement.  Pastor Ben brought the heat, but cast a TON of vision for serving in the church.
3. Response was OVERWHELMING.  Dozens of people signed up to volunteer in some are of ministry in the church.  The days of dirty jobs (some doing the work alone) are coming to an end!
4. MANY people made decisions Sunday, not only to serve, but to trust Christ for the first time, or to renew their committment to Christ!
5. "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something."  HUGE point, as Pastor Ben shared from 2 Peter 4 ("Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace...")
6. "Each of you" means all of us!
7. I was all over the campus during second service, looking in on our AWESOME children's ministry (nursery, toddlers, pre-school and elementary) and surfing the lobby when I stuck my head in the auditorium just in time to see something I had never seen before:  Due to a glitch in our pager system, ALL of the nursery pagers went off at the same time!  I'd just come from the nursery area and everything was completely calm, so I knew it was a glitch, but when all the red flashing pagers went off at the same time, all the nursery parents got up at the same time and walked out of the auditorium.  Pastor Ben looked rather confused for a moment, but kept driving!  It was a non-event, but good to know that we can clear the parents our of the auditorium quickly if we needed to.  (It had nothing to do with your preaching, Ben.)
8. The VIDEO SEGMENTS that Ben did with Worship Pastor Nic McElveen (WATCH IT HERE) and Sound Tech David Myers (WATCH IT HERE) were absolutely hysterical!  Great job!

All in all, a wonderful day at Crossroads!  Thanks to EVERYONE who makes Crossroads happen each and every week!  See you next Sunday for Part 2 of DIRTY JOBS!