It's a Wonderful Life

Last night, I took Zach to his soccer game.  The game started and the other team had only a few players.  I watched a team of five kids move the ball with great precision and actually scored a goal on our team!  Finally other players showed up so we could play a full team on each side.

Zach played hard all game.  He had a dozen shots on goal.  Every one of the shots came so close, and finally at the very end of the game he scored a goal. 

Two things I took away from this fantastic game.  Zach's opponents played short at the beginning, but because their passing was so precise they were able to move the ball down the field and eventually score.  Even if your playing short, stay in the game.  Where two are three are gathered in His name he is there also!  Remember that!

Also, I thought about Zach.  He did not give up.  It was hot, he was tired, but he kept running.  We need to set our sites toward the goal and even when we don't hit the mark, we need to get back up and keep trying!

Be encouraged, church!  Be a light to someone today, even if you've been rejected a thousand times over.  Share Jesus with someone today.  Today may be the day that will make a difference for the rest of their lives.

Go For Launch Part II

In this pic by a NJ woman, is a unique view from an airplane capturing the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor.  What an amazing shot of the shuttle bursting through the clouds and into the sunshine on it's way to space.

I am excited to say that the launch of Crossroads Church is underway.  We have planted a seed, and we are watering it and watching it grow. In the beginning there were many questions whether or not this was where God wanted us to be.  Even after God gave us the "go for launch" we still felt like we were under a blanket of clouds.  This past weekend though, I felt as if we have risen above the clouds just like this picture.  I know that we are in the infancy stages and we have much to learn still about church planting, but there is a feeling that we are on our way.  There is forward movement.

Last week we talked about how God has given us many gifts.  In Ephesians 4:12 we see that the reason for these gifts is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.  We realized that no matter whether you are a worshiper, teacher, graphic designer, web designer, financial planner, entrepreneur, or pastor, God has given you those gifts, and those gifts are to be used for the work of ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ.  Fortunately, God has surrounded us with a bunch of families that have that heart to use their gifts to launch this church.  


As we looked at the word "equip" we found out that the word comes from a verb in Greek that means "to mend".  We are to share the word of the Lord through our gifts to mend the body of Christ.  

As a pastor sometimes the first thing you ask when you are hanging out with other pastors is, how many people did you have last week at your service.  What we don't ask is how many people were mended or equipped for service last week.  God desires that we raise up a church of leaders that are using their gifts to mend or equip the body of Christ.  We see this in the bible.  Zeb and his sons Jimmy and Johnny were fisherman.  When Jesus found them they were mending their nets.  They did not mend them to sit on a shelf or put in a museum or say to their fellow fisherman, I have "X" number of mended nets.  They mend their nets so that those nets can catch more fish!  Our job as a church is to mend people and equip them so that they can go be fishers of men.  Get engaged in the process of mending and equipping today!