November 2007

crosspointe is hosting “the approach” this friday night (6pm-12am) and saturday (9am-3pm). “the approach” is our next-level worship experience that we create several times per year. the format is always different, we want to keep it creative and fresh.

this time we’re repackaging the traditional advent celebration for our church community. several interactive stations will help to teach the meaning behind the four weeks of advent: hope, peace, love and joy. our aim is to equip families to create their own celebration throughout the month of december.

here’s an overview of the stations:

Holiday Pace
In our culture, Christmas has become anything but a peaceful season. Is there a different way to celebrate Christmas?

Advent Logs
Throughout the experience, you’ll assemble an advent log for your family. While this may seem vague as you’re doing it, by the end of the experience you will have built the central tool you need to continue the celebration of Advent at home with your family or life group.

Hope
Throughout the generations, God’s people, Israel, have waited for a promised Messiah - one who would rescue them from oppression and usher in a new age where God reigns. This station will help us identify with what it’s like to wait in hope.

Peace
Jesus brings us real peace. He came to earth as the Prince of Peace, and He calls us, too, to bring peace into our world. In this station, we will focus mainly on how Jesus uses us to bring peace to the world. The four centers at this station explore different ways to bring peace into your life, your family, your community, and the world.

Love
We’ve heard it said that Christmas is about giving. So, we empty our pockets and wrack up the credit card bills. After all, the more we spend, the more love we show, right? And each year we try to give bigger and better than we did last year. What if this year we gave something that can’t be wrapped?

Joy
The good news of the birth of Jesus was not first declared to high society, but to the working class - a band of ragtag shepherds, working the night shift. They did not have riches, but they received the riches of heaven with the greatest of joy. And with the same zeal, they shared this joy with their community. Here we will discover that joy is found not by those who seek it for themselves, but by those who share it with other people.

Christ
The good news of Christmas is that Jesus gave Himself for the whole world. He could have clung to his status and rights as royalty – the King of all Kings. But instead He emptied Himself and entered into our world in humility. Do we truly grasp the weight of this gift? At this station we’ll examine our hearts when it comes to our “rights.”

this event will also launch us into our christmas series the next few sundays. we’re calling it “a different way in a manger.” contrasting the two kingdoms of Herod and Jesus. one marked by power, coercion and manipulation. the other marked by humility, service and love.

a fun time should be had by all (who come out).

worship set:

“all because of jesus” by steve fee (cd “burn for you”)
“the highest and the greatest” by tim hughes (cd “holding nothing back”)
“mighty to save” by hillsong (cd “mighty to save”)
connect
“my hope is you” by third day (cd “offerings”)
“you never let go” by matt redman (cd “passion 06: everything glorious”)
message
“my hope is you” by third day

steve basically did part 2 of last weeks message. jesus reclaiming all things. today was centered on the resurrection. the christian faith hinges on the resurrection. if jesus did not defeat death, then we have no hope. he is our hope.

…add my mother-in-law’s recipe for sausage balls to the list of things i’m thankful for.

thanks Janet!

…work. here’s how it goes.

“thanksgiving is next week….perfect timing. i’m really looking forward to a long weekend, just relaxing (yeah right), and hanging out with my girls. it will be nice to take a break from work.”

end of thanksgiving day: “ahhhh, this was awesome. good food, great laughs, etc….“

day after thankgiving: “awesome, another day to just hang out and not think about work (yeah, right).”

today, saturday: “i can’t believe i’ve let two days go by without working at all!! (okay, a little bit. does email count?)”

we scheduled a large-scale worship event for next weekend. although perfect timing for the purpose of the event - to repackage advent for our church context and launch us into the christmas celebration together - horrible timing in terms of the prep work involved to pull it off. there are many people sacrificing to make this thing great. a huge thanks to any of you if you’re reading this!!

all of this being said, i’m struck today by how blessed i am to have meaningful and challenging work that pretty darn well matches up with my gifts, passions, etc. no doubt that the fall brought a curse on the nature of work, but there’s still something beautiful and right about engaging your brain, your energy, your hands in moving this human project forward. a friend of mine wondered aloud the other day if there would still be problems to figure out in heaven.

okay, i just got a subtle reminder from my wife that today is saturday after thanksgiving. time to be a husband and dad.

thanksgiving last year was one of our last days before seeing this picture of the little girl who would change our lives forever….

today was one of my favorite thanksgiving days ever. hanging out at home all day with my girls, eating good food, laughing, playing. life is GOOD.

praise God from whom all blessings flow…..

::: i’m about to leave for lunch with my wife & daughter. we’re meeting up with several families in our China adoption travel group. we make every effort to take these opportunities that come up. we’re not as good at initiating, but…..

::: our .mac site is not publishing properly. i’ve spent a lot of hours on it and i’m very frustrated. our comments aren’t publishing. if you’re reading this and you’re a iWeb genious, please help a brother out….

::: lots of work-related things on my plate right now that are causing some stress, but i love what i do. it’s going to be worth it. we’re gearing up for our next “the approach” event. we’re repackaging advent and translating it to our church culture/community. also, trying to find some inspiration for christmas series and christmas eve services. the pressures on!!

::: jars of clay’s new christmas cd is GOOD.

::: going to hear rob bell speak tonight on his “the gods aren’t angry” tour. i’ve really been challenged and inspired by rob’s messages from his church via podcasting.

worship set:
“sing to the king” billy foote (ripped off from www.722.org)
“indescribable” by chris tomlin (cd “arriving”)
performed song: “hallelujahs” by chris rice (cd “deep enough to dream”)
“how great thou art” by charlie hall (cd “passion: hymns ancient and modern”)

message: god hugs trees

steve daugherty is a funny man. in a rant about the traditional (is it traditional?) view of heaven - clouds, wings, harps, singing - he threw in a reference to patrick swayze in “ghost”. nice.

God loves his creation, so we should too. Jesus is renewing ALL things. renewing, reclaiming, redeeming. you renovate your house because there’s inherent value. you don’t burn it down and build something different. several OT prophets and the book of revelation speak of heaven (the new jerusalem) coming down. new heaven, new earth. what if we don’t “fly away” some other place at the end of the age?

the longer i follow christ, the more i learn about and study the bible, the less i know for sure. but somehow that strengthens my faith instead of weakening it.

last week i turned 33 years young. the age jesus was when he died.

i’ve been familiar with david crowder band’s music since the mid-to-late nineties when his cd “all i can say” came out. his writing and recording style was and is fresh, especially among most of the worship music genre. until last night, i had never experienced dcb live…

as a worship leader, i’ve only been able to use a handful of dcb songs successfully in a corporate worship setting because the songs are so stylized. the best way to say it is that only david crowder can do david crowder.

i’d always heard that you haven’t truly experienced david crowder band unless you’ve been to a live show - the shared experience with a couple thousand people rocking along and singing worship to God. and after experiencing that last night, i see what they meant.

the show was great. they are extremely tight as a band, and they do a great job of incorporating all the programming (beats, synths, blips, blops, etc.) from their recordings in the live show. and there were definitely some great moments that went beyond just an impressive musical performance. crowder’s desire for God and passion for his Kingdom comes through loud and clear. it’s contageous.

BUT…..

i honestly had trouble completely joining in with the worship experience. after thinking about it today, i think i have an idea of why. we were 2,000 people with no shared experience. we don’t know each other. we don’t know what we have in common except that we were interested in david crowder band. sure, we worship the same God (or at least a good percentage of us). but we aren’t celebrating the same stories of God working in our lives and in our community.

i think that’s why the last two sundays at crosspointe have been two of the most meaningful, powerful corporate worship times i can ever remember being a part of - leading or not. (the second one, i wasn’t leading worship.) we told the stories of God working powerfully in and through the people in our community and then we celebrated that together. the music became a response. a chance to be together swept up in awe of God. a chance to thank him for allowing us to be participants and witnesses to the amazing things he’s doing. it was truly a shared corporate experience.

i thank God for david crowder band, chris tomlin, matt redman, hillsong united, tim hughes and others that are cranking out great music. our community benefits from those songs. they help give us language in our ongoing conversation with God. but there’s just no substitute for a community of people on a journey together, corporately celebrating the specific ways that God is moving among them.

yeah.

series: reverb

opening worship set:
“you are good” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“everlasting god” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“glorious one” by steve fee (cd “burn for you”)

closing song (w/recent baptism footage on screen):
“amazing grace (my chains are gone)” by chris tomlin (cd “see the morning”)

my friend and worship associate at crosspointe, chris mills, led worship yesterday. he always does such a great job - incredibly gifted musician and worship leader. i love having a front row seat to what God is doing in and through chris!

yesterday was just another great day. again, i love the direction our church is headed. this week we focused on the specific ways that our church community is making a difference in the broader local community - through our partnership with the durham rescue mission, the way we’re walking with tasha and her kids, and just through the ministry that goes on at our church campus, people consistently making the decision to trust their life to christ and to follow in his way.

loren price made his vocal debut as part of our worship band. he rocked it on the bgv’s and sang the snot out of “amazing grace”. i love the diversity in terms of vocal stylings that God is developing at crosspointe. loren grew up singing southern gospel. big voice.

that’s it for now…..

thanks to everyone who came out tonight, braving the cold, and giving so much of your hard-earned cash to benefit the haitian children’s home. we raised $2,006. awesome!

the music was fun. how many times have you heard allison krauss, alicia keys, and led zeppelin in the same night, besides when your iPod is on shuffle? one of my favorite things in life is to play good music with a good band. steve, dan, chris, frank, kristi, heather, summer - you guys RAWK!

i heard that pheasant creek coffee had a record sales night, too, so that makes me happy.

my mind is spinning with ideas now for how to use music to raise support for another cause that’s near and dear to our family, international adoption. anyone reading this that wants to brainstorm with me (especially those of you that are smarter than me when it comes to administration and non-profit stuff), please let me know…..

series: reverb

opening worship set:
“i am free” by desperation band (cd “from the rooftops”)
“majestic” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“all over the world” by matt redman (cd “passion 06: everything glorious”)

special (w/video highlights from africa and haiti mission trips):
“solution” by hillsong united (cd “all of the above”)

closing song:
“salvation is here” by hillsong united (cd “look to you”)

today was an awesome day! jonathan updated us on what’s been happening in our ongoing DRIVE campaign. today was focused on our efforts globally, with our strategic partnerships with ministries in kenya and haiti. kristi and kris shared some of their experiences on the two trips that some of our leadership has taken to visit each ministry. these first trips were to meet the kids and staff people, as well as sort of a fact finding trip to start to dream about what a long-term partnership will look like.

we used video to help tell these stories, thanks to my friend and co-worker, don smith. he’s got the mad editing skillz… one of these days, don’s going to start a blog. and when he does, the world will never be the same!

today was one of those “i’m SO glad to be part of this church” days. and for anyone reading who’s ever been on staff at a church, you may realize what a rare blessing it is to be able to say that.

i’m sure i’ll have more thoughts as a reflect on today, but one thing that strikes me is that today was very tangible. not only are we painting a picture of how things could be (like we did when we kicked off our DRIVE journey), but today - a year later - we were able to show it. here’s what being a part of ushering in the Kingdom of God looks like!

within 5 minutes of the end of the first service, every child in both of our partner schools/orphanages in kenya and haiti were sponsored. we’ve started a waiting list. incredible to think of the way these kids lives will be forever changed.

thank you God for allowing us to play a small part in your redemptive work in the world! thank you crosspointe, for seeing it and stepping up to do your part!

“salvation is here, and He lives in me!”

…my friends, nick and gwenn are in haiti right now, right in the midst of the continuing rains from hurricane noel that went through there earlier this week. they’re safe, but please pray for the people of haiti. this is devastating to these already oppressed people in the western hemisphere’s poorest country. i’m so thankful for the people who lead the efforts at the haitian children’s home in jacmel. they’re truly bringing hope to some very special kids.

….my friend, don, is spending the next couple of days with his sister, kim, who will be finding out today if she is about to enter a battle with the same cancer that took the lives of her mother and grandmother.

…my friends, mario and vanessa, are dealing with being new parents, leading a brand new church plant, and recovering from (and paying for) a recent kitchen fire all at the same time!