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Archive - December, 2009

Forever Changed

December 10, 2009 in Cross Point Church, Videos with 29 Comments

I’m so proud of the student ministry here at Cross Point. George Stull and his team lead the student ministries which cover three, and soon to be four, campuses. In the past month I’ve heard people describe what’s going on in our student ministries here at CP as a “powerful movement of God among students.” Now that is exciting!

I saw this video the other day from their fall retreat and I couldn’t help but tear up. I’m passionate about seeing churches reach the next generation. I know the direction, support, and love I got from my youth group when I was a teenager forever changed the trajectory of my life. I’ll remain eternally grateful to God for putting a group of adults in my life who were willing to pour into an awkward, misdirected, yet searching teenager.

How about you? Did you have a youth group that impacted you?

Charge Fall Retreat from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

Soul City

December 9, 2009 in Church Planting with 7 Comments

Most of you know that I”m a huge fan of church planting. God has allowed me to be a part of two church plants. Both Morgantown Community Church and Cross Point church were launched because a group of people believed in the importance of launching a church with a unique vision to reach it’s community.

And while every church plant excites me every once in a while I hear about one that I’ve just got to jump in and help. Soul City Church is starting in the City of Chicago in 2010 and they are committed to helping people become all of who God created them to be. I believe in Jarrett & Jeanne Stevens – they spent 12 years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL and 3 ½ years at North Point Community Church in Atlanta, GA. They are two of the most incredible leaders I’ve ever been around! I’m so excited to see the vision of this church reach many people in the city of Chicago and beyond and I have decided that I want to be a part of the story of seeing this Church start. God is going to use this movement to make a significant impact on the city of Chicago!

Let’s help Soul City Church Start. Click below and give a one-time gift!

YEAREND START.COM

Is It Possible To Overparent?

December 8, 2009 in Family, Parenting with 70 Comments

Is it just me or does it seem parents these days put more pressure on kids than ever before?

We push them to walk by age 1.

We desire they excel at a sport by age 9.

We calculate grade point averages and start talking about scholarships by 6th grade.

We want them to not only master the English language but learn a few others before they graduate.

Years ago I heard a message by Andy Stanley where he talked about how these days we’re tempted to raise kids who are experience rich but relationally poor. In other words they’ve attended every camp, played every sport, mastered most of the arts, played three instruments, but they were so busy they never had the opportunity to just sit around the kitchen table.

I’m worried that sometimes in our effort to give our kids what we didn’t have we rob them of one of the most important things we can give them…ourselves.

I read an interesting article the other day entitled “The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting”. They said…

Since the onset of the Great Recession, according to a CBS News poll, a third of parents have cut their kids’ extracurricular activities. They downsized, downshifted and simplified because they had to — and often found, much to their surprise, that they liked it. When a TIME poll last spring asked how the recession had affected people’s relationships with their kids, nearly four times as many people said relationships had gotten better as said they’d gotten worse.

How ironic that we might actually become better parents creating a richer family with less money and fewer opportunities.

So what are your thoughts on “overparenting”?

A God Who Stoops To Ludicrous Depths

December 7, 2009 in God, Holidays with 49 Comments

It’s amazing how many of these Nativity scenes I can pass during this time of year and rarely, if ever, think much about it. It’s sad, but in many ways I’m afraid we’ve put the nativity scene in the same category as Santa, Frosty and the little elves reducing it to a mere symbol of the holiday season.

However the “Nativity” should be a reminder that Christmas is thick with unexpected, transcendent, hope.

The Nativity scene should be a reminder that Christmas is God telling His people, “You can’t predict me! I’ll show up at anytime, anywhere, in the midst of the most unlikely circumstances and through the most unlikely people.”

Frederick Buechner said

“Those who believe in God can never in a way be sure of Him again. Once they have seen him in a stable, they can never be sure where he will appear or to what lengths he will go or to what ludicrous depths of self-humiliation he will descend in his wild pursuit of man… And, this means that we are not safe, that there is no place where we can hide from God, no place where we are safe from his power to break into and recreate the human heart because it is where he seems most helpless that he is most strong and just where we least expect Him that he comes most fully.”

Don’t allow the frequency of the portrayal of this event to rob you of the wonder and awe it represents. What if over the next four weeks every time you see a nativity set up you simply….

PAUSE.

Seriously how different would this Christmas be if you pause every time you see a nativity and remember you worship a God that is unpredictable. A God who can and will stoop to the most ludicrous depths to breath hope into your life.

Will you pause?

I Have A Disease

December 4, 2009 in Church Leadership with 80 Comments

Few things rob me of my…

-joy
-time with family
-peace
-dreams
-God given calling

like my terrible “people pleasing” disease.

While I have no formula for success what I do know is this… trying to please everyone is guaranteed failure.

Anyone else struggle with this disease?

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$1 An Hour

December 3, 2009 in God with 27 Comments

One of the highlights of over a decade and a half of ministry has been receiving emails just like this one over the past two weeks from people who stepped out in faith during Faith, Hope and Love.

I introduced you to Christina last week. Today, I want you to meet Josh. His faith and God’s faithfulness are intersecting in a new way!

Pete,

So I want to start off by saying thanks. Thank you for providing opportunities to trust, step out, and embrace faith. Although this isn’t the first time I’ve experienced God come through for me when I’ve stepped out, I just had to share this with you.

Throughout the whole series of Faith, Hope, and Love I was conflicted. I absolutely love Cross Point and it’s vision, and enjoy being part of a family that is relentlessly dedicated, but I was so unsure of how I could help. I’m not in the best of financial shape and have been working so hard this past year to get into better shape financially. I was going back and forth about how much I could commit to our cause and still be in shape to pay bills. After a lot of thought, I approached my commitment from a common sense and financial standpoint. Although I couldn’t really afford any pledge (budget wise) I had decided I would give $50 a month. I know it’s not alot, but I felt confident that I could cut out an extra dinner, or sacrifice a bit and still be able to budget the $50/mo. Sitting in the last week of the series, I felt compelled to trust and do more than I actually thought I could just afford.

Giving based on what I could reasonably afford really required no faith, just a bit of sacrifice. I decided to give $2000 through the course of the year. I had no idea how it would even be possible, I just knew that once I committed to it and made it a priority to trust, it would work out. Later that night and for the whole next 2 days I was completely stressed and worried that my heart had stepped a bit to far out on a limb and had no idea where I was going to pull $170 every month from.

3 days later, on Wednesday, I get pulled into my office at work and my boss let’s me know that although I’ve already received 3 raises this past year, he was excited about how well I was doing and said he was upping my pay another $1/hr. I was speechless. I certainly wasn’t expecting a pay increase for at least another year. $1/hr equals $2080 a year, just over my pledge. I left the office last Wed, high as a kite.

It’s so funny that every time in my life that I’ve stepped out on nothing more than hope and faith, God has ALWAYS come through. I shouldn’t be surprised, as it’s not the first time I have experienced it, but it never fails to amaze me. Now I know $2000 is still nothing extravagant, but to me, it was a pretty big deal. I’m so blessed to have a family at Crosspoint that pushes me to change my patterns, thinking habits, and really encourages you to step out on faith. I’m so excited that my initial pledge is now taken care of and I’m searching for ways that I can double my commitment. Thanks for sharing your vision and thanks for placing me in a spot where I truly reflect and search deeper in my faith than I ever have before.

I love this story. But probably not for the reason you think. Don’t miss the main point. The main point is not that he stepped out in faith and committed $2,000 and 3 days later got at $2,000 raise. In fact, I believe he may have received that raise even if he hadn’t made the financial commitment he made.

What I do know is this. If Josh hadn’t stepped out in faith and trusted God in the midst of his fear at best he would have received just another dollar an hour raise. Instead he just had an unforgettable encounter with the God of the universe. He went home that day with a new level of trust and intimacy with his Heavenly Father. He walked away knowing his story was taking place inside of a much larger story. One we all long to have a role in.

My Top 5

December 2, 2009 in Holidays with 74 Comments

I know, I know… I just did a post yesterday that mentioned Christmas but I can’t help it. All you scrooges can now move on to the next blog. I’ve been driving the people in my house and office crazy with my constant playing and singing of Christmas music. I just can’t get enough of it. So in the spirit of Christmas I thought I would share with you my top 5 Christmas songs of all time.