Graduation

Well, today my daughter graduated from eighth grade. Now that might not seem like such a big deal to some of you, but to me, it's HUGE! My only girl is no longer in middle school. She is now a high school student. And you know what that means! Yes!! It also means she is growing just a little more independent and a little less in need of mom and dad. At least until she wants money or clothes or a car. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for growing up and becoming independent. That's what we raise our kids to be, independent. But it's just another reminder to this old dad that the minutes I have with "my little girl" at home are fleeting and the way of life as we've known it becomes a little less common with every single day that passes. But that's okay! The reason it's okay is that God is growing this "little girl" into the woman he wants her to be. He has stamped his love on her heart and he is not finished with her yet. Hopefully we have modeled for her a love for God, imperfect though it is, that will carry her through all of her life. It will be okay. I know that, but I just like the way things are now with my little girl, a slight dependence on mom and dad, the innocence of being a young teen, the lack of a serious boyfriend, the cute little girl who curls up on the sofa watching TV with dad and the constant sounds of "I love you dad" ringing down the hall. Some of those things will continue, but not all. So, today I take in and savor every minute. And I pray like crazy that "daddy's girl" never really grows up, at least not now and I trust God that he will see her through! Congrats Tay!

Burden

I have such a burden for my church and for my community. I want our church to know the joy of following Christ as a way of lfe. I want them to know what it means to radically submit their lives to Him in complete abandon and surrender. I want them to realize that our church is a body that isn't complete unless everyone finds their place of service on Sunday mornings throughout every ministry. I want them to long for Sundays and not dare miss our worship gatherings because they know Christ is there. I want our church to see the vision of filling every seat in Ardrey Kell, not because we want to be big but because we want to make a dent in the vast seventy-five percent of people who don't attend church. I want them to feel the burden that Jesus has for our community and see it through his eyes and sense the lostness and hopelessness that pervades much of our city! I want our church to find ways to tell their friends to "come and see" because they know they won't be ashamed to bring them to Crosspoint! I want them to see themselves as Christ's hands and feet in this community and give of themselves because they have so much to give and they can share of the world's goods because they know they have more than they need. I want our church to love this community, not because it offers them so much but because we can offer it so much! I want our church to love the unloveable, to touch the untouchable, to give to the ungrateful, to forgive the unforgiveable, to do whatever Jesus would do no matter who it is! I dream of this, I long for this, I pray for this, I believe in this. May God make it so!

Vision

Tonight our staff and spouses and one member of our band attended the first session of the Drive Conference here at North Point Church in Alpharetta, GA. To say that it was incredible is an understatement! There are over 2000 pastors and staff members from all over the world here. After experiencing engaging worship that rocked the house, Andy Stanley spoke on how uncertain times are the best times to minister to people and when God does his best work. I think that is so true. If you look at the scriptures, that's what the stories are all about. God working in uncertain times and using people in uncertain times to do his work! That's especially true for church planters in young churches like ours. We don't know all the answers about where we're going and what it will look like when we get there, but we know that we're called to lead our churches with the vision God has given us. Our vision is and has been since we started two years ago to create a culture where people live out the values of Jesus. And within that vision to help people follow Jesus by learning to Love God, love others and serve the world. It's that simple. So, we are determined to keep it simple and live by this vison. If we do anything else, we'll be doing the wrong thing! And even though there will be those who will try to deter us from our vision with other well-intentioned ideas and opinions, we're sticking to what we were called to do in our neck of the woods! So, I may not know all of the answers to the who, what and where questions. But one thing I do know is that God called us to lead this church plant to reach our community and so we'll continue to go forward with this vision! Hope you'll join us!

Beach Retreats!

I just dropped off my fourteen year old daughter at Ardrey Kell with the other students headed to the beach for their first ever retreat with Crosspoint. I must say it's a little surreal. She was going on the kind of retreat that I led every year for sixteen years. You know the routine. Parents drop off students, luggage is loaded in the vans, parents wave good-bye and youth leaders head off with teens in-tow for a time of fun and sun and bible study. The cool thing about this retreat is that I left my daughter with our volunteer team and one happens to be a former student of mine from back in the day. Her name is Lauren and she was one of our finest students. She loved God passionately then and she does today. She had a heart for her friends, constantly bringing them to our youth gatherings, and she does the same today, bringing friends to our church with her husband Chris. I tell you all of this because I'm moved that my daughter is now part of youth ministry being led by a former student who has taken up the mantle of ministry. Another generation leads another generation! That's the beauty of discipleship and giving your life away to something that has so many returns! God calls and adds new leaders to fill the shoes of others all of the time. So today, as my daughter drove away to the beach, I was awed that God has chosen to use every generation to reach the next generation. It's all the same. People loving students so that they will carry the same mantle that Jesus first gave to his disciples. And it never ends!

Good Friday?

It's commonly called Good Friday. I always wondered why the day the Lord died would be called "Good Friday." After all, it was a day of scourging and crucifixion. How would it be a good day? But of course, we all know as followers of Christ that because of his death it would surely be a good day for all who would come to understand what his death meant for those who believe. It would be a day of the just dying for the unjust, a day of God bringing man to himself. It would be a day of beginnings as Jesus would invite all to leave behind a life of self and give their lives to him so that all would know what it really means to live. It was truly a dark day in history but it was only Friday. Sunday was coming. And just as he predicted his death, he predicted something even greater that was about to happen. So, this day, focus on what his death means. And as you reflect, remember, it's only Friday and Sunday's coming! Peace!

"No Evolution, No Cussing, No Baggy Pants"

More times than not, my wife shares her wisdom and sage advice on life and faith. Today was one of those times, as she felt compelled to write her thoughts on Facebook. I thought I'd post them here.

By Patty Wade

Driving through the countryside of rural Waxhaw, NC, I came upon a small marquee of a church that usually has one of those pithy sayings. Most of the sayings that I remember have "creepy crawled" to the countryside appearing as if some new revelation has been revealed. Remember “Church is a hospital for sinners...Not a museum for saints”; or “If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything?” Well the marquee that I saw last weekend was one that I had never read before. It simply said “No Evolution, No Cussing, No Baggy Pants.” At first glance, we might smile and somewhat agree especially if our religious roots go deep into the ground. These three phrases have been rolling around in my mind all week sort of like a cow chewing on its cud which is regurgitated at least three times before finally digested. I just can’t digest these phrases. Although probably unintended, my translation of these “rules,” are:
1) No Evolution – If you don’t believe the same as us, then keep on going.
2) No Cussing – If you don’t talk the way we do, then keep on going.
3) No Baggy Pants – If you don’t dress the way we do, then keep on going.
My translation could also include no thinking, no discussing, and no disagreeing and by the way, no entering without proper attire. And, if our religious roots go deeper, we might translate this not only to the front door of our churches but it could be written on our heart’s front door as we move through the week and encounter people. We may find ourselves contained within our “holy huddles” at church and throughout the week, “safe and pure” obeying the rules. Christ had a lot to say about “holy huddles” that obeyed rules and regulations and looked down on others. So now I have a new mantra as I encounter people this week in my neighborhood, workplace, fun places and also at our church:
1) If you don’t believe the same as me, welcome. I’d love to listen.
2) If you don’t talk the way I do, welcome. I’d love to converse.
3)If you don’t dress the way I do, welcome. I’d love to learn why.
The commandment “Love your neighbor” doesn’t come with conditions that the neighbor needs to meet prior to receiving my love and acceptance. It makes me wonder what other criteria that I may mentally use to unfairly judge others and cause them to keep on going without stopping.

2nd Birthday for Crosspoint!

Sunday was special! It was our church's second birthday and we got to celebrate what God is doing in us and through us! Throughout the worship gathering we had interwoven video stories from people who have seen God do something in their lives because of coming to our church! We also watched a slide show of all the things we participated in as a church this past year! I'm amazed at all that we've been doing. Not only did we have a great crowd Sunday, but over 160 people stayed around to enjoy a catered meal from Moe's Southwest Grille and a smorgasbord of desserts brought by our own members. To say that it was just another Sunday at Crosspoint would be an understatement. God is at work and we're just hanging on for the ride! Now that we're entering our third year, I pray that God continues to use our church community to be the church He so longs for us to be!