Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Every blog and news cast I've read the past few days has had a "year in review" section so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Here are some highlights from 2008 and a look ahead into 2009.

2008 started with a message series called "iresolve" that God used in a neat way in many lives. It was a great way to start a new year.

In March we had a Communion service outside of our new building. It was an incredible evening as we prayed for people who would one day walk into the doors of that building.

June was the month for Student camps. Cool things happened in our Middle School and High School students at Global Youth and Big Stuff.

In July we had our largest Newcomer's event ever. Over 100 people came to hear more about what God is up to at Crossroads Church. Great night.

We created some buzz in September as thousands of cars drove around Coweta County with "What If?" magnets on their cars.

The month of October brought us to our "Great Weekend of Giving" where we saw our church give nearly half a million dollars to our new campus. Our largest single offering in history.

The message series "Red, White, and You" in November brought me more e-mails than any series I've ever preached. Mostly positive I might add!

2008 came to a close with a great gift wrapping outreach effort at Ashley Park and a Christmas Eve service with nearly 3000 people in attendance.

As we turn the corner on 2009 I am very excited about the New Year. In 2009 we will begin worshiping at a brand new campus and celebrate our 20th anniversary! What I am most excited about, however, is stuff that only God knows. Just as in 2008 God will do incredible things in people's lives. We will see people come to faith in Christ, people grow in Christ, and people changed by Christ. When it is all said and done, those are the things that matter anyway. The buildings and events are just a way to help make disciples. I'm thanking God for all He has done in 2008 and I can't wait to see what He will do in 2009.

Running Away

This past weekend I preached a message on Jonah. We looked at two of the worst words in the Bible. Jonah 1:3 says, "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish." The words "ran away" are two of the worst words in the Bible. After the service a friend gave me a great quote to go along with the message.

"Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and charge you more than you want to pay!"

If by chance you find yourself running from God these days, why not run to Him instead of from Him?

The Team that Never Had a Chance!

This past Saturday I just finished coaching a team of young men that I will never forget. Along with Coach Kurt Brown and Coach Chuck Kinnamon, I had the honor of being able to associate with a group of 13 and 14 year old men that displayed incredible character.

In late July a group of 8 young men came together to form a football team. About half of those young men had never played football before in their lives. Thinking we might not even have enough players to make a team we slowly saw another handful of men added to the line up. As the season began with four straight losses. We were all beginning to think this team would never have a chance.

These young men never gave up! Over the course of the year we lost six players to injury and yet they hung together and worked harder every week. At the half way point in the season we had our first win and won every game after that until the first round of the play offs. We even finished the regular season beating the undefeated team in the league. These young men are real warriors! They never gave up and they demonstrated incredible resolve and strength. It was a real honor to coach such a team. The team that nobody gave a chance became the team to beat!

This football team reminds me of another team of guys that beat the odds. They are mentioned in the Bible. Acts 4: 13 describes them this way, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled and ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus." The team of disciples also beat the odds. Jesus used this rag tag uneducated group of nobodies to change the world.

God is still in the business of changing the world through nobodies. He wants to use people like me and you to make a difference in the world for him. God specializes in building teams that never had a chance and using them to impact the world. God's team is one team you don't want to miss out on!

A Great Opportunity

This weekend our church is having what we are calling a Great Weekend of Giving. We are setting aside one weekend to receive and offering to help cover some of the move in costs for our new worship facility which will open in the spring of 2009. As I have been praying about this weekend I have come to the conclusion that it really is the Great Weekend of Opportunity. I say that for the following reasons:

1) This offering is an opportunity to bring glory to God! All that I have belongs to God and when I give it back to Him- He loves it!

2) This offering is an opportunity to become more! That's right. Giving changes us and when I give I become more like Christ than I am now. How could I pass up that kind of opportunity?

3) This offering is an opportunity to bless others! I came to Christ and got involved in a church because someone made it possible. They gave and I was blessed. This weekend I get the chance to bless someone else. It might not be till eternity before I know how my gift has touched and blessed someone else.

The Great Weekend of Opportunity! Jesus said it like this- "It more blessed to give than receive". This weekend is all about an opportunity. An opportunity to be a part of something that will last forever. I don't dare miss it!

At Least He Tried!

I once heard it said that a person had the words, "At least he tried", carved into his tombstone. I like that idea and in many ways I want the same to be true of me. However, I want a phrase added. I want my tombstone to say, "At least he tried to create a movement of multiplying disciples".

One of my attempts to help create a movement of multiplying disciples of Christ is to put in print some of what I have learned about making disciples. I hope that through the written word others will be inspired, motivated, educated, and encouraged to live a life of multiplying disciples.

With that said, I want to let you know that I have just reviewed the first printed copy of a book I wrote called "Conversations ...about making disciples!" Some very special people have helped me compile some conversations about making disciples that I believe are much needed in the Christian community these days. Just think, when is the last time you saw a new book printed on the topic of "making disciples"? How can so few books be available on the very thing that Jesus came to do?

Please pray with me that this book starts a whole new set of conversations about fulfilling the Great Commission. That is really what the world needs! If you would like to have a copy of this book you can pick one up at Crossroads Church as soon as they are printed or you can order one by e-mailing snash@crossroadsnewnan.org.

Whatifcoweta?.com

The past couple of weeks I've been driving around town with a magnet bumpersticker on the back of my truck saying whatifcoweta?.com. Hopefully a few thousand other people at Crossroads Church in Newnan have been doing the same thing. It is a simple way to get the word out to people about a series of messages we are doing on the question "What If?"

For three weeks we are looking at "what if" you could change your life, your relationships, and your circumstances. Most people I know are wanting to change at least one or more of the three. From the results of the first week I think we might be on to something. This past weekend we had almost three times the number of visitors we usually have for the first week of a message series. I guess some people are wondering "what if"?

What If?

"What if" is a great question to ask. Especially for a church. This question opens the door to explore the possibilities of what God can do through a group of people that are sincerely seeking to be with Jesus. Acts 4:13 says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

What if the world once again took note and was astonished at what God was doing in the church? I am convinced that once we devote ourselves to being with Jesus the world will want what we have.

I wrote this small booklet called "What If Thirty Days Could Change Your Church" to be a catalyst for converstions for churches. I am asking the question myself, "what if" we could get a whole bunch of churches learning what it means to be with Jesus in such a way that the world was astonished and taking note!

Poison

A few weeks ago I preached a message on the impact that alcohol can have on a person's life. I preached on the passage in Proverbs 23:29-35. Read it if you get a chance. Regardless of the alcohol content, Solomon makes it very clear that "wine that sparkles in the cup" posions like a viper.

What has amazed me in the past few weeks is how many people have been ministered to by that message. It has been very clear to me that a lot more people are struggling with alcohol abuse than I realized. My heart breaks everytime I hear another story of how alochol has destroyed lives.

If you know someone whose life is being ruined by addiction to alcohol I recommend that you send them a copy of that message or have them check it out on itunes. If just one person finds freedom from alcoholism, the whole message was worth it.

A Cool Praise, A Big Challenge

I just opened my mail for the week and I found a magazine from my denomination with a listing of numbers of baptisms for churches in our state. I was blown away to discover our church was in the top eleven churches in our state when it came to baptizing people. That discovery led me to several thoughts.

First, I'm thankful and grateful that our church has been used to help people come to faith in Christ and follow Him in baptism. May God receive the glory in that praise!

Secondly, I'm challenged by the fact that as a whole baptisms in our denomination are down. Didn't Jesus say, "Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..."? Somehow we have to regain our focus on what is really important. Every church I know is busy. The question is, are we busy about the right things?

My prayer is that every church has an increase in baptisms. I pray that we increase baptisms so we can increase disciples. Let's get busy reaching "all nations".

Diapers, Diplomas, Disciples

This past week I took a new step on the journey of life. I watched my oldest son receive his High School diploma. It was a very surreal feeling. I'm expecting it to hit me even more when he moves away to college in the fall.
As hard as it is to watch your child develop wings you realize this is the way it is supposed to be. A healthy child does not remain in diapers for a lifetime. A child becomes an adult and is hopefully equipped to handle life on their own. Receiving a diploma is just one aspect of a process of training and preparation that we have been committed to for the past eighteen years. As hard as it is to watch our child leave us, we wouldn't want it any other way. It is the healthy thing to do.
Making disciples that make disciples is very much like raising a child. The time spent training and teaching a disciple is all a part of a process of preparing them to go out on their own. This is exactly what Jesus did and it is exactly what He expects us to do. God's plan is to see spiritual birth take place and spiritual growth follow until that person is ready to spiritually reproduce. That is the healthy thing to do.
I want to encourage you to make a spiritual investment in someone that will become a multiplying disciple of Jesus Christ. Be willing to do the hard work of training, teaching ,and equipping that person to be a disciple that builds more disciples. Few things compare to watching someone you disciple make another disciple! Take the next step in your spiritual journey. Become a disciple maker. I dare you!
On a side note, I developed a resource for my son as he prepares to start college this fall. It is a 30 day study filled with life lessons that relate to college life. Someone suggested I make it available to others so we printed it into a booklet and it is available through Impact Ministries. Let me know if you would like to order some copies.

Managing As Jesus Managed

This past Wednesday night I witnessed something that is simply amazing. I watched over 250 people pour into our church to start a thirteen week course called "Financial Peace University" by Dave Ramsey. We have been told that this is the largest FPU training for the spring semester. That's awesome!

What excites me about having so many people attending this class is what I know can happen in the next 24 months. Dave Ramsey teaches people to manage their money according to Biblical principles. To me, that is managing as Jesus managed.

When people learn to manage as Jesus managed several things can happen. They can become debt free. They can have resources available for emergencies. They can plan for future events like college and retirement. They can give abundantly and cheerfully.

Being a Pastor that is committed to being and building disciples, I can only give God thanks for such a great response to this training. I know that making disciples involves making better managers. For the next twelve weeks I will be praying for every person in FPU. Stay the course- you will be glad you did!

Simplifying As Jesus Simplified

Jesus lived a very simple life. It was a busy life at times, but it was always a simple life. He did not get incumbered by the things of the world to the degree in which he was unable to maximize his influence for eternity.

This coming weekend I am teaching on how to navigate a financial crossroads in life. One of the keys to doing so is to restructure your financial priorities. I just finished reading a great book that addresses this very issue. It is called "Simplify" and is written by Paul Borthwick. I highly recommend it if your goal is to walk as Jesus walked.

Crossroads Church: Now more than Ever

Today Crossroads Church of Newnan celebrates her 19th anniversary as a church! To God be the glory for all the good things that have happened in the past nineteen years. Many disciples have been made for the sake of Jesus Christ because Crossroads Church was started by a handful of people who wanted to see a church do ministry like Jesus did.

As I reflect on our journey as a group of Christ followers I want to thank those people who paid the price to get our church started in those early days. To those folks who met in a home as a core group. To those people from our sponsoring church who helped us launch. To those leaders who had a vision for this work and believed in my leadership. To those people who sat up and took down chairs in a lunchroom week after week. To those people who opened their homes for small groups and still have them open nineteen years later. To those people who have given faithfully in tithes and offerings. To those people who have led teams and organized ministries, outreaches, and events. To everyone who has passed out an invite card and encouraged someone to attend our church. Thank you to everyone who has ever done a single act of service to make God's church at Crossroads a place that honors Him!

As I reflect on our journey I truly believe our best days are ahead of us. This past weekend we had over 6500 people attending in seven different Crossroads Churches in the U.S. That wouldn't have happened if this church had not been planted nineteen years ago. At Crossroads of Newnan we had over 3900 people walk in the doors of our church this past weekend. Dozens of people raised their hand indicating they had accepted Christ in our services. Right now, construction on a brand new worship facility is taking place on our Highway 16 campus. The future couldn't look better!

As I reflect on our journey, past and future, I am convinced that the world needs churches like Crossroads now more than ever! The world needs disciple making churches. The world needs churches that will do ministry the way Jesus did. The world needs churches that present an unchanging message to an ever changing world. The world needs churches where people can find true Biblical community and a place to serve in ministry. The world needs churches that help people know what it means to be and build disciples of Christ. The world needs churches where people get saved and Jesus is glorified with an uncompromising commitment to His word.

Yes, the world needs churches like Crossroads Church now more than ever. Crossroads is not the perfect church, far from it. In fact, if it were perfect I'd have to leave and so would you. However, Crossroads Church is an authentic church. It is a church filled with people who are real and who are seeking to honor God by fulfilling the purpose of his church- to make disciples!

On this the 19th anniversary of Crossroads Church I can sum my thoughts with this...Thanks God for letting us partner with you (what a ride), thanks everyone who has stayed the course and stayed committed to this church (what a team), thanks for letting me serve you as your pastor (what a risk).

Oh yeah, I'm signing on for nineteen more, how about you?

Persistent Praying

We've all heard stories of people who have prayed for others to come to Christ for ten, twenty, or thirty years. We read these stories in amazement and long to see God do the same in our lives. Guess what? This week- God did!

A woman started attending our church about ten years ago. She was married, but her husband never attended services with her. As I got to know her I decided to place her husband on my prayer list. I began praying that he would connect to God and to God's church. I have prayed off and on for this guy for ten years. I actually have the prayer journals to prove it.

Check this out! This week I had lunch with this guy I had been praying for these past ten years. He began attending services around the first of this year and we finally had the opportunity to set down and discuss his relationship with Jesus Christ. Discussing his journey was an answer to prayer. It wasn't my timing, but it was God's. He is doing some amazing things in this man's life.

This past week our church gathered at our new building site to pray for the people we want to see come to faith in Christ. We wrote names of people who are far from God on the beams that are being erected in this new building. This week God reminded me that he hears those prayers! He may not answer them on our time table, but he will answer them. Don't stop praying! Be persistent in praying for people who need to know the Father.

232- Preparing for Easter

Easter means two things to me. First,it is a chance to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Secondly, it is one of the best opportunities I'll have all year to invite someone to church.

My opportunity to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually takes place all year long. My chance to invite someone to an Easter service is a once a year opportunity. People are much more likely to attend a church service on Easter weekend than any other time of the year.

This window of opportunity to invite someone to church is too good to pass up. With only a few weeks to Easter I need to be praying and looking for people to invite to church. Once the Easter weekend is gone it will be a whole year before I get this same prime time opportunity.

Acts 2:32 says, "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact." That verse sums up Easter for me. Because Jesus is risen from the dead, I am a witness. This year let's all take seriously our witness to the fact of the resurrection. Let's fast and pray for God to open doors for inviting people. Let's open our eyes and see the people in our lives that need and invitation. Let's give people an invitation and care enough to ask them to come. That's what Easter is all about.

Building Buildings to Build Disciples

Let me be totally upfront with you. In my opinion buildings are a necessary evil. They are in many ways like automobiles. They take a lot of money and effort, but you can't make it without them. You have to have some form of transportation and you have to have shelter to do ministry. Buildings are simply a necessary part of fulfilling the Great Commandment and Great Commission in our cultural context.

As much as I struggle with the need for buildings, I look back at how God has used the buildings of our church to make disciples and that excites me. I am very thankful God has provided us with the necessary physical structures to create environments for disciple making to occur.

Knowing that we need buildings to help make disciples makes me all the more excited about the expansion plans for Crossroads Church in Newnan. As I watched the steel frame go up on our new building this week I was overwhelmed with thoughts of how many disciples will be influenced for Christ through these buildings. The more I think about how many disciples we can make the more excited I get about watching this building come together. Check out the pictures of this brand new disciple making complex!

Obviously this building comes with a fairly large price tag. A price tag God will cover through our giving. We get to make an investment in a building that God will use to make disciples! How much better does it get. Please pray about your investment in this disciple making venture. You will never regret putting your money in the very thing God blesses. He blesses disciple making, so why not invest in something that will make disciple making happen?

Old School Jesus Music

This past week I came across a podcast on itunes called "Full Circle". It is a radio show featuring Christian music from the 70's and 80's. It's good stuff! You can also google the phrase "Full Circle Jesus Music" and find the website for the show.

The music on this podcast is the first Jesus music I really listened to. I went to all the concerts, bought the albums and listened to the radio when Christian Music was only played on an AM station. People like Larry Norman, Paul Clark, Keith Green, Second Chapter of Acts, Randy Stonehill, and Steve Camp were writing songs that fueled my faith and gave me a great alternative to secular music.

I laugh these days when the majority of people I discuss music with have never heard of these once "cutting edge" artists. These guys made Christian rock music before it was popular and before big record contracts were available. I love the fact that the name "Jesus" was a regular part of their lyrics. It maybe old school muisc, but it is still real cool music!

If you get the urge to listen to something new I suggest you listen to something old. Find the Full Circle podcast and get a dose of old school Christian rock music. You might be surprised how God will speak to you. In fact, I think even Jesus would listen to old school Jesus music.
Listening as Jesus did!

Doing Missions Like Jesus Did Missions

I believe Jesus was the greatest church planter that ever lived. He came to earth and started a church that would become a movement of multiplying disciples. He did it with none of the things we think are essential for starting a church. He simply took a handful of people, gave them a mission, trained them for it, and then turned them loose to accomplish it. I am amazed at times how complicated we have made it.

This past week I have been blessed by being a witness to seeing missions done the way Jesus did it. It started with me spending two days with a pastor (Ray Parascondo) who planted a church in Staten Island New York. This man has two campuses meeting on the island with over 200 people in attendance in one of the hardest places in the nation to plant a church. Ray is committed to leading a church that makes disciples of all nations.

On Sunday morning of this past week I attended the one year anniversary service of a new church lead by Pastor Dwight Boone in South Fulton County. Dwight has developed a core group of believers that have joined him in a commitment to making disciples of all nations.

Sunday night I attended a Global Missions service at Crossroads Church in Newnan that highlighted dozens of mission opportunities designed to help make disciples of all nations. During that service we had prayer times for missionaries and locations that our church will have opportunity to connect with.

Needless to say, I have had an amazing week. I've actually been in awe of the way God allows us to join him in reaching the world for Christ. The process is really not very complicated. Reach Out, Lift Up, Plug In, Build Up, Send Out. It worked for Jesus, now we simply need to work the work!

Some Weeks you just can't Win

This week I've made the final call on two different occasions to cancel services due to weather situations that did not turn out to be nearly as bad as predicted. I wish I had the time and the space to tell you all the anguish that goes along with making such a call. There are dozens of variables that figure into the decision to cancel a service at our church. Every time a decision is made to cancel a service you have those who disagree and those who do agree. Each person sees the decision from a different perspective. The one thing I can tell you is this. The bottom line on making a decision about canceling a service at Crossroads Church is safety! If the information we are working with indicates the possibility of an unsafe situation occurring we will err on the side of caution. Even if the information turns out to be different than anticipated we will err on the side of safety. If we ignored the information we had and someone was hurt we would regret that decision. If we heed the information given and it turns out to be different, our regret will be far less. Thanks to everyone for your understanding, patience and support as we make decisions that affect so many people. We never make these decisions lightly.

iresolve reflections and recommendations

This weekend I will have completed teaching a series of messages called iresolve. It's been very exciting to see how God's Word has helped people learn to walk as Jesus walked in the areas of emotional health, relational health, and physical health. I am praying that those who have listened to these messages will see great things happen in their lives in 2008.

In an effort to come along side of you and help you be successful in the coming year I want to recommend some additional reading to go with the iresolve series. Here are some good reads to take you further:

Honest to God by Bill Hybels (relational, emotional, physical and spiritual health)

Love and Respect by Emmerson Eggerichs (relational health)

The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Swhartz (emotional & physical

health)

What the Bible Says about Healthy Living by Rex Russell

In addition to the recommending reading I also want to encourage you to think about joining a support group, a men's or women's discipleship group, or a Community Group. There is no way I can overestimate the power of a small group in your life. Meeting in Biblical community on a weekly basis will have incredible dividends in your life in 2008. If you attend our monthly Connection Class we can help you connect to the right group.

I'd like to share one additional thought in regrads to the iresolve series. The Lord has used this series to bring some additional people into Crossroads Church. The increase of people means we need more people than ever to commit to worshipping on Saturday nights and in our Hangar facility on Sunday morning. Thank you for resolving to make room for others in 2008. I have a feeling 2008 is going to be a really good year!

Get ready for the next series..."OUR SPACE"

Bring Your Bible to Your Funeral

This week I had the opportunity to speak with another pastor at the funeral of a dear woman who walked as Jesus walked. The clearest indicator of this was when the other pastor stood up with this woman's bible in his hand. As he began to turn to verses she had marked over the years it was clear that she had been a doer of the word and not just a hearer.

As I drove to the cemetary one question penetrated my mind. How many people can have their bible brought to their funeral? My guess is that some people would have their bible laying on the dashboard of the car. Some people would have bibles with pages that still crack (like new) when you open them. Some people have a bible that is still in the lost and found at church. Some people have a bible that is falling apart!

If someone does bring my bible to my funeral I hope it is falling apart. I hope it is that well read and well lived. Somewhere I heard someone say, "A bible that is falling apart is usually owned by someone who isn't." When we walk as Jesus walked we carry bibles that are falling apart, but we live lives that are not.

I hope someone can bring your bible to your funeral and I hope the life you lived matches up with what that bible says. A life that matches the Word is a life that is walking as Jesus walked.

Blogging as Jesus Blogged

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus would have a blog if he lived on earth these days. I don't really know, but my hunch is he would. I have to think that his message was so important that he would go to every means possible to communicate it. Even creating a blog if necessary.

So that brings me to the creation of a blog. I made some commitments some years ago that give me no other option than to join the world of bloggers. One of those commitments was to live my life as an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. That meant "walking as Jesus did" (I John 2:6). With that commitment came another commitment to link up with others and help them be and build disciples of all nations. I guess to do that one has no other option but to take advantage of the Internet as a way to champion the Great Commandment and Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

I reluctantly but optimistically post my first blog today. Reluctantly, because I'm really not looking for one more thing to do. Optimistically, however, because it will be worth the effort if someone reading my blog gets a passion for "walking as Jesus did".

The purpose of my blog will be clear. I will champion being and building disciples of Jesus Christ!

I want to encourage and help everybody I can to learn how to walk as Jesus walked. If that means I must blog as Jesus blogged then count me in!