Big Picture

Merry Christmas! It is December 23rd and I am anxiously anticipating the Christmas Eve Celebration that commences at 4:30pm and 6:30pm at Calvary Cross Link tomorrow evening. As far as I can tell, over 7,500 invitations have been extended and I am planning to preach the Gospel with clarity, calling everyone in attendance to Jesus! If you're in the Shenandoah Valley, you don't want to miss this special event.

Well, enough for the commercial! A few days ago, at the urging of my brother-in-law, I downloaded the "You Version" app for my I-Phone. This awesome little app is provided by LifeChurch.tv and their pastor, Craig Groeschel. I expected it to provide me quick references on scriptures and word searches when I needed them. However, when I looked over the features of this App, I noticed that it provides various plans for reading through the Bible. I noticed one, in particular, that gets you through the Bible in 90 days. I have never read the Bible, cover to cover, in that amount of time and, being the competitive natured person that I am, I took that plan as a challenge! So, I'm almost 10% through and I am loving it!!! Granted I've got a long way to go, but I am deeply committed to finishing this plan in 90 days!

This reading plan requires 14-16 chapters per day. I'm currently in Leviticus and getting a detailed look at the sacrificial system of Israel under the leadership of Moses. It doesn't sound like ground breaking stuff, but the more I read about the various sacrifices demanded of the Israelites, the more and more grateful I become for the Ultimate Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ! This has led me to my Christmas Eve sermon, coming from John 1:29, "...John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"" Leviticus led me to John, which led me to Jesus which led me to the cross! That, I pray, is Christ centered preaching!

Once again, Merry Christmas! I pray God's best for you and your family into this new year!

Fleeting Thoughts on a Fantastic Sunday

If self-examination is hard, then evaluating the success/failure, quality, efficiency or productivity of a Sunday Worship Experience is just about impossible! How does one (other than God) quantify the quality of a worship service, objectively? I don't think it's really possible. But, after acknowledging the futility of the effort, here I go...

1) Patrick Simmons and his hospitality team handled a large number of visiting families with their kids in tow. I was able to introduce myself to them and the team members got their children set up in the appropriate places. Great job!!!

2) Terry Ross (my Sunday School Teacher & Part Time Director of Evangelism & Discipleship) did a fabulous job leading a packed house in his class to reach, teach and minister to people. He, furthermore, challenged the socks off his Sunday School leadership team in a post-worship service meeting. Those leaders left that meeting encouraged, challenged and convicted about their personal witness - all while trying to put their socks back on!

3) Robert Hampshire's team had the week off. But, in their place, the Christian Student Union Praise Band from James Madison University did a fabulous job leading worship! I particularly liked how, on the final song (How Deep the Father's Love for Us), they stepped back and the congregation took over, it was a sweet moment of praise to Jesus!

4) Tina Knight and Cher Younger have a fantastic team of leaders that love, teach and lead the children of Calvary Cross-link! I watched Mrs. Brenda Puffenbarger (Mrs. Puff) welcome a new child into her class, while at the same time, loving on the ones who were already there! A young man, visited Kids-Link for the first time on Sunday and came out of there RAVING about it to his mom and dad (also visiting for the first time). Bill & Karen Reedy made a real impact on that boy!

5) I preached on the value of friendship from Ecclesiastes 4:7-16 and I feel that God used the message. I am constantly fighting the battle of believing that little to no movement in the invitation does not constitute a poor message or delivery. However, I sensed a sweet spirit during the message and had someone attempt to join the church during the pastor's reception for visitors that followed the service. I know the Lord is working in our midst and I just want to be sensitive to His leading!

I deeply love the people of Calvary Cross-link! They are the most precious people I have ever had the privilege to lead and I'm so thankful that God led me here. We had 239 in worship this morning (only 3 short of the church's all-time high, set back in October), but we're growing and that's cool!

How to strike Rhythm in Worship!

I recently read a quote by the missional teaching pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama and author of "Radical", Dr David Platt. He said: "worship is a rhythm of revelation and response–hearing Scripture and responding with our hearts and lives..." He was responding to the American church’s' infatuation with stylistic identification of churches based on the type of music they play. This practice has so drastically pigeonholed the focus, process and basis of worship that it demands a corrective response! So, a few questions to ask about a corporate worship service that will, hopefully, steer us in the right direction:

Question # 1: What does this worship service reveal about person, work and character of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

Question # 2: What does that revelation demand, by way of response, from the worshippers?

Question # 3: What does the leadership of this worship service invite people to do, by way of response, to that revelation?

Question # 4: Is there adequate time given to respond to the revelation presented in the corporate worship service?

Question # 5: Is your corporate worship service designed, first and foremost, to connect people with God or to make a lost person comfortable? Or both? Or neither?

These questions are complex and require much thought. Don't breeze past the issue without significant prayer and meditation!

Humility & Teachability: Inseperable Qualities

A mark of my ministry has always been a multitude of counselors/mentors. I can name, at any point in the last 13+ years of ministry, mentors who spoke truth into my life when it was needed the most. In fact, Proverbs 15:22 says: "Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established." I can talk about the "Johnny Hunt's", "Allen Welborn's" and "Danny Lovett's" that have been faithful friends to me, but over the years, there have been many, many others who have offered the desperately needed counsel that the ministry requires.

However, a "multitude of counselors" is only as good as the one receiving the counsel. Is it not?

James 4:6 tells us "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:6 explains that if we "Humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." It takes Humility to receive AND to submit to wise counsel! The combination of both Humility and Counselors equals the lost art of being "TEACHABLE!!!"

The proud person doesn't feel that he or she has anything to learn. Of course they would never "say" that out loud, but it's true. The proud person is terribly insecure, but covers it up with digging in their heels or building a team of "supporters" (usually made up of even more insecure people). The proud person feels threatened when anyone who might know a little more about a certain subject is around. Basically, the proud person is not a teachable person...AND...the teachable person is NOT a proud person!

So, how does one become a humble/teachable person? What am I going to say here? If you know me very well, you can say it with me: "Intimacy with God!" If you are not intimate with God, you have a wide-open door to pride and arrogance!!! If you cultivate intimacy with God, you become more aware of your own sinfulness and, more and more, don't feel that you are God's gift to ____________ (insert your thing here).

Attitude makes it work!

A phrase that was popular when I was in High School was this: "Act like a Rock Star till you ARE a Rock Star!" Or another one: "Fake it, till you make it!" These seem like juvenile phrases for people looking for an excuse to act like a big-shot, and that is certainly how my friends meant it. However, is there anything for the modern day believer and servant in the local church to learn from those weird slogans? At their core, these phrases deal with one single element: Attitude!

Obviously, attitude can be positive or negative, helpful or destructive, motivating or debilitating! Obviously, I am encouraging the positive, motivational and helpful attitude in all our lives, but what about an attitude that chooses to see (and accentuate) the best? For instance, when we put someone on our Hospitality Team at Calvary Cross-link, and they greet someone in the parking lot: Do we want their attitude to accentuate the best about our church? Or the Worst?

Could you imagine if someone got out of their car and complimented the grounds of the church as being well-kept, nicely presented only to hear one of our "hospitality team members" say "well they ought to be, we're swallowed up in debt on this property!" And, what about on their way in, that same "team member" tells this visitor "we've got some ornery people in there, watch your back and don't sit in the wrong seat!" Even if (and that's a BIG IF) what that "team member" was saying was true, it represents a pessimistic attitude towards the church. Wouldn't it be more productive to accentuate the positive aspects of Calvary Cross-link to those who may visit? Maybe we do have our warts (who doesn't?), but focusing attention on the things God has blessed us with the ability to do well is a strict principle of leadership that can make or break a church!

They say leaders must focus 80% of their time on complimenting their followers strengths and only 20% correcting their mistakes. So, is that "faking it till we make it?" I guess time will tell!

Knowing God

I recently began a discipleship group with a few guys from Calvary Cross-link, studying a fantastic book by J.I. Packer called "Knowing God." The title seems simple enough, but the book is incredibly challenging in many areas of my life. I was recently challenged by a dear friend and church planter, Vance Pittman, when he said, "Ministry is the only natural outflow of a deep intimacy with God! We shouldn't be shoving our people into ministry, but rather, challenging them to a deeper intimacy with God and THEN ministry will happen more naturally and effectively!" That struck a chord with me, for 2 reasons...

1) It is so hard to get people to invest in ministry that really matters! I plan an outreach time, and 2-3 people show up...but, when I plan a worship service, hundreds are in attendance. Why? Is it because only 2 or 3 people give a "rip" about the lost in this world? No, I think there is a lack of deep intimacy with God happening in the average Christian's life! I'm trying to yell at the cart for not moving, when I haven't even attached the horse to it! Intimacy with God is the Clydesdale that pulls the cart of ministry.

2) No more "dreaming up" ideas on how to grow a church! In fact, the real work is not in creativity, self-discipline or even exposition. The real work is...intimacy with God. That will be the motivator, coach and game-planner for every area of my life and ministry. And another thing...how could I presume to lead people without a deep and abiding intimacy with God? Where am I leading them? hmmmmm

Anyway, doesn't matter if you're a pastor, teacher, evangelist, fireman, major league baseball player, husband, mother, father, wife, doctor, attorney, farmer, business owner, under water basket weaver, teenager or democrat...deepening your intimacy with God will make you more effective at any of that!

Invitation, and the impact there-in!

Last Tuesday morning, Ashley, Gracie and I had the privilege of having breakfast with some of our First Baptist Church, Woodstock family... including Pastor Johnny. As is usually the case when I'm around my pastor, I did a lot of listening and not much talking. While he was sharing, he mentioned a statistic that I couldn't help but write down and spend the next few days thinking about. He noted that "97 percent of people that will visit FBC Woodstock will do so at the invitation of a friend, neighbor, family member or co-worker." Now, this is a church where, literally, thousands of people visit each year. They are not on TV or the radio. They don't have any billboards and they do no advertising of mass proportion. The explosive growth of FBC Woodstock is due, mainly, to the inviting efforts of it's people! How amazing...

Preachers are terribly guilty of minimizing the power of a simple invitation, person to person. Many outreach directors, soul-winning believers and mature, evangelistically minded Christians have bought into the LIE that the only effective form of outreach must go deeper than "inviting someone to church." No question, we need more people out taking sinners through the Romans Road or Four Spiritual Laws, calling people to repent at Restaurants, street corners, coffee shops and passionate door to door evangelistic efforts. However, until someone is capable of such bold efforts, are they useless to God, His church and the cause of Christ? Let me go on record with an ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!

Each person has value because they have been given specific gifts to be used to edify the body and spread the Gospel. A simple invitation to hear the Gospel in a worship service is not only permissible, but desirable in the life of Every Believer! Now, as a preacher of the Gospel, IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESENT THE GOSPEL WITH CLARITY EACH TIME WE GATHER FOR WORSHIP!!! To my friends at Calvary Cross-link, where I am privileged to serve as lead pastor, you can count on it, every week!

Don't forget Andrew! As you look over your New Testament, you will find the disciple named Andrew was consistently associated with one thing. With few exceptions, every time his name was mentioned, it was while he was bringing someone to Jesus. He was committed to the simple invitation!

97% of people that will visit our church, I believe, will do so on the arm of a friend, co-worker, family member or neighbor. We MUST commit ourselves to being a vessel of truth in whatever capacity we're capable. Calvary Cross-link will experience growth in direct proportion to our obedience to the call of Christ to bring people to Him! Time to Invite!!!

Intentionality...

Question: When was the last time you heard any form of the word "INTENTION?" I would guess, in the vast majority of cases, the last time any of us heard (or spoke) of "intention" it was explaining a negative experience (i.e. "I had good intentions...I didn't do it intentionally"). The negative connotation is too bad because almost NOTHING in our lives happens without intention! Did you wake up this morning and "accidentally" take a shower, trip over the tub and spontaneously brush your teeth on the way to the floor? I seriously doubt it! You probably, just like I did, intentionally took a shower and purposefully brushed your teeth. You walked to your car, intending to drive it to work and arrived at work on purpose!

On the other hand, what would your day look like if you show up at work with body odor, bad breath, walking in 2 hours late and try to explain to your boss your good intentions. "I intended to take a shower, brush my teeth and drive to work on time! Honestly I did! But, I didn't!" Do that too many times and you'll be looking for a job!

I am discovering that intentionality is equally as necessary for the disciplines of the Christian life. We don't witness, worship or walk closely with Jesus on accident. We have to be intentional about it! I deeply want to see people come to Christ, but if I am not intentional about my witnessing there is very little chance that I will EVER lead anyone to Jesus! I want to have a handle on Apologetics and be able to sufficiently defend my faith, but if I never get intentional about the books I'm reading or the classes I'm taking there is no way I'll achieve my goal!

Church Ministry MUST BE INTENTIONAL!!!!!! Here are the 2 major areas we, at Calvary Cross-link, are going to be intentional...

1) In Reaching People - We'll be constantly sharing Jesus, Preaching Jesus, Singing about Jesus, Inviting people to hear about Jesus, Showing Jesus to people, Bringing people to Jesus and Talking about Jesus! It's all about People meeting Jesus! This INTENTIONALLY happens in Sunday Morning Worship, Sunday School Classes, Organized Outreach and Special Events. This valley is not going to be reached ACCIDENTALLY, we must be INTENTIONAL!

2) In Discipling People - We'll be mentoring people and modeling Jesus before them. Discipleship is "LIFE ON LIFE", not book on book, sermon on sermon or class on class. Our focus is to SHOW people, more than we TELL them what a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like. New believers won't be discipled ACCIDENTALLY, we must be INTENTIONAL!

Final Note: The major reason most Christians intentionally brush their teeth EVERY DAY, yet don't reach and disciple people every day is NOT because they don't care! It IS because they have been intentionally brushing their teeth since they were 2 years old and have formed a POWERFUL LIFE CHANGING HABIT!!! I want to lead our church to be so consistently intentional about Reaching and Discipling People that it become habitual...second nature...routine...you get the picture!

Optimism

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I am eternally optimistic because of Psalms 24:1 "...the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." Since my optimism is based on my personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, then there is no reason for pessimism!!!

However, I am especially optimistic about the ministry at Calvary Cross-link for very specific reasons! Let me share a few with you...

1) God has removed all major obstacles for growth out of our way! The only thing we need now, is PEOPLE!!! We cannot get caught in the quagmire of thinking "if I only had _______, then I could grow my ministry!" This thinking will prevent you from greatness!!! As we reach people, teach people and minister to people, God will continue to provide the necessary tools for that ministry, I am confident!

2) New people are beginning to step up and serve in strategic areas around our church body! I'm thinking of specific people who have felt the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their lives to serve in much-needed capacities throughout this family. I can't help but think of Matthew 9:37-38 where Jesus pointed out the OPPORTUNITY (the Harvest) to His disciples, but followed it up by pointing out the DEFICIENCY (the lack of laborers). I think if Jesus had a word for Calvary Cross-link, it would be that the time of "wait and see" is over and it is time to "get to work!" I am optimistic about our ministry because I see people, all over our dear church, catching that concept every single week!

3) The Sunday School is coming together with great efficiency! Our small group Bible study plan is the reaching, teaching body of the church and our people are starting to catch that vision! We now have a class for every age group and these classes are being taught by capable and anointed men who feel a calling to that ministry! As individual classes grow by addition, then the church as a whole will grow by multiplication!!!

4) Opportunities abound! In the coming months, we will have many opportunities to become a better equipped, more motivated and therefore more effective church! There will be a Sunday School Workshop on January 30th for people who might be interested (now or in the future) in serving the church through our small groups. Also, we will be launching our Sunday School initiative: "We've made a spot for YOU!" campaign on Sunday February, 21st. Later on in the spring, there will be a block party for our neighborhood to join us on our campus for an exciting time of food, fun and games! This summer, we'll plan to host a city-wide 4th of July party complete with Fireworks display! This fall, we'll be having another Harvest Crusade, but this time it will be hosted by Calvary Baptist Church in Staunton. Many, many, many more opportunities exist and they will be designed to reach, teach and minister to people in our area!

5) Finally, it is clear to this preacher that the mighty "Wind of God" is at our backs! Many times, especially in church ministry, everything is a struggle! Every decision is met with opposition, every effort gets blindsided by challenges that distract from the purpose for which it was started. At this point, in our ministry, the direction we're headed and the efforts we're making are being super-naturally guarded by Almighty God!!! Just as a sailor loves to have a "tail wind", pushing them in the desired direction, so I rejoice in the "Wind of God" that is at our backs right now!

No question, there is reason for optimism! I cannot tell you how excited I am about 2010 and all it will hold! Take care and God bless.

Time Away...

So, I've only been "on the field" here in Harrisonburg for 3 months and, believe me, it has felt like only 3 weeks. However, I promised my family (all 20 of them) that I would take a week in Gatlinburg, TN. I really am looking forward to some time away, but after hosting a local camera crew last Sunday and having some fantastic publicity last weekend (See the clip: http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/80546832.html), I really hate to leave right now! But, I am finding that there is NEVER a good time to take a vacation in the life of a pastor! So, off to ole Rocky Top we go!!!

I've been reading Han Finzel's "Top 10 Mistakes Leaders Make" and it is a fantastic book. I would say that I am "enjoying" it, but since I keep seeing more of myself the more I read, the operative word might just be "enlightening!" He points out that delegating work is important, but in order to effectively lead, one must delegate authority. This is a challenge for me, because I tend to want to make the final call, but in order to succeed as a leader that must change in my life! Our unique set of challenges at CCL preclude me from being able to hire staff to carry out certain ministries, therefore I am in a situation where I must cultivate volunteer leaders to fill roles that would, typically, require full-time staff. I am blessed to have amazing people surrounding me at CCL whose comittment to Christ permeates every fiber of their being! They have, and continue to step up to meet the challenges we face! Praise the Lord for the challenges we face! "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience and experience hope and hope maketh no ashamed for the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us!" - Romans 5:3-5