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!

Two Years Ago Today-Crosspoint's Launch!

So, here we are on March 18 and we're two years old as a church community. How is that possible? Has it really been two years? Well, as I look back over these past two years, here's a few things I've learned along the way as a church planter hoping to engage the unchurched and formerly churched in our community.

1. When you go past surface stuff with people, life can be messy
2. Everyone (no matter who they are) has some issues they deal with that gnaw at them and cause unrest
3. We are right on target with our vision and mission and that will continue to propel us for the future
4. People are looking for something that’s real and that calls them to something bigger than themselves (greater purpose and fulfillment)
5. Church is less about what happens on the stage than what happens in the seats
6. Some people need to belong before they believe
7. Not everyone believes our message but they sure do respond to whole-hearted acceptance
8. Small groups aren’t perfect but they are the best chance to go deeper with others and find a place of connection
9. Announcements from the front help raise an issue, but the best way to get involvement is one on one!
10. Church is a team sport! (we have an awesome team of volunteers)
11. Don’t ever tire of preaching the message-it does find its way into hearts
12. God has led us every step of the way and one day I'll write a book about it!
13. God changes lives in the trenches and sometimes we don't even realize it
14. God delights in people coming with all their messes and allowing him to change them
15. This has been the single most exciting thing I have ever done in my life! (apart from my family life)

Mark Driscoll on St. Patrick

Vintage Saints: Saint Patrick

Mark Driscoll

“I am a servant of Christ to a foreign nation for the unspeakable glory of life everlasting which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Patrick

My family name was originally O’Driscoll until it was changed a few generations ago by relatives hoping to more fully assimilate into American culture after immigrating from Ireland. Though I was raised Irish Catholic, I knew virtually nothing about Saint Patrick other than the green beer, parades, shamrocks, leprechauns, and drunken Red Sox fans that celebrated in his honor every March 17th.

Technically, Saint Patrick is not even a saint, as he was never canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally, Patrick was not even Irish. Rather, he was an Englishman who was a Roman citizen that spoke Latin and a bit of Welsh.

Patrick was born around 390 A.D. When he was roughly 16 years of age he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland on a ship where he was sold into slavery. He spent the next six years alone in the wilderness as a shepherd for his masters’ cattle and sheep.

Isolation

Patrick was a rebellious non-Christian teenager who had come from a Christian family. His grandfather was a pastor, and his father was a deacon. However, during his extended periods of isolation without any human contact, Patrick began praying and was eventually born again into a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. Patrick endured the years of isolation in rain and snow by praying up to 100 prayers each day and another 100 each night.

In his early twenties God spoke to Patrick in a dream, telling him to flee from his master for a ship that was waiting for him. Amazingly, Patrick made the 200-mile walk without being caught or harmed to find a ship setting sail for his home, just as God had promised. The sailors were out of food for the journey, and after Patrick prayed a herd of pigs miraculously ran toward the ship, providing a bountiful feast for the long voyage home.

God Speaks to Patrick

Upon returning home, Patrick enrolled in seminary and was eventually commissioned as a pastor. Some years later God spoke to Patrick in a dream, commanding him to return to Ireland to preach the gospel and plant churches for the pagans who lived there.

The Roman Catholic Church had given up on converting such “barbarians” deemed beyond hope. The Celtic peoples, of which the Irish were part, were an illiterate bunch of drunken, fighting, perverted pagans who basically had sex with anyone and worshipped anything. They were such a violent and lawless people, numbering anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000, that they had no city centers or national government and were spread out among some 150 warring clans. Their enemies were terrified of them because they were known to show up for battles and partake in wild orgies before running into battle naked and drunk while screaming as if they were demon-possessed. One clan was so debased that it was customary for each of their new kings to copulate with a white mare as part of his inauguration.

Unique Missionary Strategy

In faith, the forty-something year-old Patrick sold all of his possessions, including the land he had inherited from his father, to fund his missionary journey to Ireland. He worked as an itinerant preacher and paid large sums of money to various tribal chiefs to ensure he could travel safely through their lands and preach the gospel. His strategy was completely unique, and he functioned like a missionary trying to relate to the Irish people and communicate the gospel in their culture by using such things as three-leaf clovers to explain the gospel. Upon entering a pagan clan, Patrick would seek to first convert the tribal leaders and other people of influence. He would then pray for the sick, cast demons out of the possessed, preach the Bible, and use both musical and visual arts to compel people to put their faith in Jesus. If enough converts were present he would build a simple church that did not resemble ornate Roman architecture, baptize the converts, and hand over the church to a convert he had trained to be the pastor so that he could move on to repeat the process with another clan.

Patrick gave his life to the people who had enslaved him until he died at 77 years of age. He had seen untold thousands of people convert as between 30-40 of the 150 tribes had become substantially Christian. He had trained 1000 pastors, planted 700 churches, and was the first noted person in history to take a strong public stand against slavery.

Roman Opposition

Curiously, Patrick’s unorthodox ministry methods, which had brought so much fruit among the Irish, also brought much opposition from the Roman Catholic Church. Because Patrick was so far removed from Roman civilization and church polity he was seen by some as an instigator of unwelcome changes. This lead to great conflicts between the Roman and Celtic Christians. The Celtic Christians had their own calendar and celebrated Easter a week earlier than their Roman counterparts. Additionally, the Roman monks shaved only the hair on the top of their head, whereas the Celtic monks shaved all of their hair except their long locks which began around the bottom of their head as a funky monk mullet. The Romans considered these and other variations by the Celtic Christian leaders to be acts of insubordination.

In the end, the Roman Church should have learned from Patrick, who is one of the greatest missionaries who has ever lived. Though Patrick’s pastors and churches looked different in method, they were very orthodox in their theology and radically committed to such things as Scripture and the Trinity. Additionally, they were some of the most gifted Christian artists the world has ever known, and their prayers and songs endure to this day around the world, including at Mars Hill where we occasionally sing the “Prayer of Saint Patrick” and the Celtic hymn “Be Thou My Vision.”

For Further Study:

• At www.ccel.org there is a free copy available of Patrick’s book Confessions.
• Steve Rabey’s book In the House of Memory is a good introduction to Patrick and Celtic Christianity.
• Thomas Cahill’s book How the Irish Saved Civilization is a fascinating historical look at Patrick and the implications of Celtic Christianity on western history.
• www.ChristianityToday.com/history is the site for Christian History and Biography magazine, which is a wonderful resource that includes an entire issue on Patrick and Celtic Christianity.

Neglect

Have you ever neglected something only to see that something fall into disrepair? It may have been your yard. It only takes a few weeks for a yard to turn into weeds if left to itself. What about a car? If you neglect to change the oil, rotate the tires, and give it a wash every so often, a car can turn into a piece of junk. Or what about something closer to home, your teeth? Go without brushing for awhile or stop making visits to the dentist and watch what happens. Plaque builds up and teeth yellow and before long you have cavities. And then you're in for long hours in the dentist's chair. Isn't it amazing how the smallest things, no matter how insignificant can turn into broken down pains in the rear if not tended to. Well, if those things need our attention, how much more so our hearts? I'm not talking about the muscle beating within your body. I'm talking about the real you. The place where you live on the inside. That inner most part of you that dreams and believes and loves and yearns and wishes and hopes and cares and is consumed with anything that catches it's attention. It's more than just your mind. You can't see it but you know it's there. It's the place where desire can run wild. The writer of Proverbs said to "guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." What happens if we don't? Well, it can become hard and full of junk that distracts it from what is real and true. Of all the things that need tending to, the heart is surely the one we cannot affort to neglect! Had a heart check up lately?

Weekend

• It was one of the rainiest days I can remember in a long time yesterday. But we still had a decent crowd for the worship gathering.
• Loved the snow last night but hated that it melted so fast!
• I'm so grateful for all of our volunteers! They serve so faithfully and consistently!
• We have two female vocalists that rock each Sunday! What a difference they've made in our worship times!
• It's so amazing that God has given us a Children's director now in Rachel Sawhook. I just know our Kid's program is going to rock as we unveil the new direction in the coming months!
• It was a tough weekend knowing that one of our church attender's was slowly losing her dad to illness. Having talked with him on Thursday night and Friday morning, it was tough to hear that he passed away Saturday night. Part of the ministry that is never easy!
• James has turned into a fun series. Not that I didn't think it would, but it has been cool to hear the responses on the truth of the messages each week!
  
• I always look forward to Mondays after Sunday! It's my day off and I love to do almost nothing sometimes after a busy weekend!
• Another week and more opportunities! Looking forward to it! Amen!