successful transition

As I watch rehearsal here at Crossroads this evening, I'm praising the Lord for another successful transition!

As the team prayed together during our rehearsal break Ernesto asked how many on the team were either new to the team or returning after a long break and about a 1/3 of the team raised their hands!  This filled me with a worshipful heart full of thanksgiving!

It's possible to be thankful for a rich past here at Crossroads while at the same time raising up new people to join us, change us!  We can enjoy reminiscing about  a past where all of us that started here served on multiple volunteer teams to make the church function - but none of us can do this alone long term!   And now we get to serve in the areas that we're the most talented in - not every area!

I'm thankful as we watched the Lord choose to touch Crossroads through Pastor Tim and Michelle's faithfulness leading us and introducing us to constant change.  Growing, maturing in Christ while having a blast!

Our staff has always joked about how fast things change here - they always have!

And now under Pastor Dave's leadership we get to enjoy being part of the God-given vision he is leading us toward!  A vision filled with future goals and continuing maturity in the Lord. And still having a blast!

Pastor Dave recently reminded us that if change ever stops then we have become the very thing we were terrified of becoming in the beginning.

How horrible it would be to not change and become stagnant...uninspired...unchallenged and unable to demonstrate with our lives that others are welcome here.

I'm thankful for change and leadership and new things that all lead us toward the God-given role for which we were created and the opportunity to welcome new family to the Kingdom!!

staying the same

I loved this sentence I just read in a leadership book I'm studying,

when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing, we are ripe for making a move.  Awareness also involves being able to see the possibility of living in a new way.  

In the chapter I'm reading, the study is in the context of Moses leading the Israelites, and just as they got going they faced the Red Sea.

It discusses how God rarely if ever takes us the fastest, most logical way - He has too much to teach us by leading us through the 'roundabout way'.

Just this week I had a chance to spend some time chatting with our pastor and we were discussing some of the things people have been through this past year.  And how in our earthly - limited human way it's impossible to see the whole picture and especially difficult to see the 'why'.  But, we can have such confidence in the fact that God, the creator of the entire universe and all of it's inhabitants can see everything from the beginning of time to the end.   He sees how it all fits together and all supports our journeys.  And all it takes for us to 'change or move on' is trust in His all-knowing plan and surrendering our lives to His way.

My prayer is to see the change He needs in me and in turn to lead well through change which always makes us stronger than we were before!  I do not want to stay the same!!

what I learned today

I've been studying The Sermon on the Mount - it's so interesting to realize what kind of people gathered around that mountain to listen to Jesus.

They were 'people with no spiritual qualification' (quote from the Divine Conspiracy).

I had never thought about that before - they were not people that already had answers, or spiritual accomplishment, they were people in great need.  They probably thought they only had physical needs but Jesus revealed there were much more important needs then those!  And these needy people were the 'ones that shall inherit the earth' - according to Jesus!

"if we look at the Beatitudes as another list of spiritual to-do's, we diminish the beauty of Christ" (DC)

I feel sometimes that's what I spend my time doing - diminishing the beauty of Christ.  When due to sin I do not even fully enter that 'beauty' how can I possibly tell others about it?

As I sat in my living room this morning looking at God's beautiful snow, I prayed - actually begged Him to so fully enwrap me in Him so that when I enter a room people immediately want to know what is different - how to know Him - there is no significance outside of this.  There is no purpose to take up space in the world outside of this.

The Crossroads fast that is going on right now, asks us all to spend some time today, day #2, reflecting on our areas of weakness, and reminds us that repentance means an internal change.  And true internal change will lead to an external change of action.

Will you join me in examining your life today - confess any unconfessed sin - and let's change this community for Him simply by being obedient and giving up anything that distracts us from Him.

Let's be different through Him.

What does this change

I'm asking myself this evening - so I'm here in Cambodia, falling deeper in love with the children of Asia's Hope and my team members, but what does that change?

If we invest money, give up valuable time, and travel around the world - what does it change?  Does it change this largely pagan country?  Does it change these kids?  Does it change me?  

I believe our investment of time and money will have an impact in Cambodia through the children whose lives we're investing in, some day.  But it may change me more...

I can't be here and go home the same, it's impossible.

When your normal is stripped away it reveals what you fill your life with.  

And although it may not actually be something bad - it could be that you're just settling instead of investing in what may be God's best.

I guess that's my prayer this week - to discern what I should invest every moment of my life in.  To not live carelessly as if it's my life, because it's not.

If The Lord thought I was worth enduring the kind of cruel - tortured death he died, then I want to live as if I believe that.  

He has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever imagined - now I long to be a blessing to others and to spend my life loving as He loved!

What will change

Every event in our lives bring change, all you have to do is watch for them, and walk into them.  So as I lay here in the dark of my Cambodian room I wonder what changes God has waiting for my heart today?

We walked the killing fields earlier.  The same path that thousands had walked the day the truck pulled up and emptied them out blindfolded and terrified.   The same path down which men and women were walked that one day had regular flourishing careers and lives and the next day were taken from their homes by an evil man's desire for complete power.  He wasn't a brave man, he was a coward with the ability to manipulate others behind an idea of power.  As thousands were slaughtered he enjoyed the wealth of a selfish leader with his family and grandchildren as if nothing was going on - unbelievable. 

I can only assume that Satan fully possessed the men that lead these atrocities against mankind - there is no other explanation.  

I have lived in complete freedom my entire life and as always when I come here I wonder why God chose me to live this way instead of bondage.

There is another kind of bondage - the bondage of too much.  Our minds fool ourselves into thinking nothing evil exists beyond the little world that concerns us.  This bondage causes the very people that poccess the ability to help others, not to.  We wallow in our plenty and are satisfied.

I don't want to live merely satisfied.  In fact the word itself suggests 'settling'...how sad if I remain there.

I pray this trip feeds a deep dissatisfaction within me that burns my entire life.  I want to 'see' outside myself, to know why I was created and to fulfill God's desire for the days he's numbered as my life.

This kind of desire and search is simply an openness, an willingness to change, will you join me and begin to search your heart?

creative God

One of my favorite things about Crossroads is the variety and changes that never stop happening here!

The contrast between the past couple of weekends with the steel set design and services packed completely full of countless elements compared to this weekend where it's a soft set design and simple straight forward worship!  Such a blessing.

It is reflective of God's creativity and how He wants us to live.

God made a intricate, specific, unbelievably detailed creation for us to enjoy and yet also created such a simple path to His throne.  Detail and simplicity.  Both equally celebrated in His magnificent creation and relationship with us.

He could have made everything the same color, the same taste just exactly the same but gave us so many choices and variety!

I watched yesterday as gorgeous clouds passed quickly below slow large higher clouds.  Then a hideously ugly turkey vulture flew into view as a beautiful butterfly almost flew in my face!  God is amazing, wonderful, omniscient and never ending.....

what I learned today

This is a statement I came across in my reading today. Change is made by leaders who are proud to be called heretics because their faith is never in question.

Heretic : anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.

We can all just get by, go along with the flow. Anyone can live within the confines of established rules and guidelines. It seems to me that this would be a very boring existence. So, can change ever happen within established attitudes? Unless these attitudes are truly given up I do not think change can happen, at least not long lasting change. I served in a previous ministry where we tried to move the church from their established ways of doing things. They said this is the direction they wanted to go, but then changed their minds later. So, for a season there were beginnings of change, but they were short lived. Attendance fell, and they were content to stay where they were. And I believe this was best,
it's not about me!

What I LOVE about Crossroads is that we change constantly. Have we been called heretics? Probably. But, to my knowledge, no one has ever questioned our faith in Christ!! Change is not good just for changes sake. But when we find ourselves doing anything just because it is the way it has always been done! Find the nearest heretic and get things changing!

walk out the door

With the new week before me I realize tomorrow I need to sit down and prioritize my to do list.

1. I have to create some blog training for my teams
2. Finish writing evaluations for my staff
3. spend some time reviewing old systems that we aren't really using anymore and rework or abandon them
4. create 2 new small groups
   
5. organize an ongoing writing schedule
   

As I was considering what to work on first I came across this question on one of the blogs I was reading.

If we got fired and they hired a new guy, what would the new guy change or do different? Let's walk out the door and walk back in, and make those changes.

Walk out the door and walk back in, what a great illustration! We would have a completely different perspective on what had to be done if we were new on the job. I want to stay fresh minded and identify things as a leader that aren't working.

The blog went on to say...When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near. You look back with smiles and lots to celebrate, but you don't have a lot to work forward to.

How sad to only be able to look back and to no longer be visionary. I really want to dream, to look ahead. I think with all the problems facing our country right now, we as leaders will be required to have a clearer, stronger vision than ever before. If the economy continues in the direction it seems to be heading, memories may be all many of our people have left.

We need to all walk out the door and come back in again to see things as they really are and to be brave and visionary enough to make changes that need to be made. And to always base those changes in the never changing message of Christ where our hope comes from!

weekend changes

Even the best laid plans don't always guarantee success!

You may have watched our live programming broadcast on Thursday. If so you may also realize that what we planned didn't happen.

As we always do we met after the Saturday night service to discuss what worked and what didn't. A lot didn't! Pastor Tim just didn't feel like the flow worked, both in the praise music as well as his message.

We decided as a team to eliminate a song completely and moved the order of music around. It was a huge improvement, our pastor was dead on!

Don't be afraid of last minute changes, the key of course is to clearly communicate with all the volunteers involved. It takes leadership, vision casting, if you will to communicate the reason for last minute changes. After all the team has invested time learning the song that you just cut, so never make cuts without taking time to explain why. And to thank them for being flexible.

Never, never settle for OK, push forward always to give your very best to the Lord. The rewards are forever!