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Progress (pt. 2)

PROGRESS (Pt. 2). Last week we looked at a couple of keys to or principles of progress...being fully engaged and laying aside anything that may hinder us or slow us down.

The principle of progress that I want to introduce to you here may seem paradoxical initially. (Most Kingdom principles are!) Here it is...from time to time you need to slow down and step away so you don't lose your way! In the world of sports, we call it a "time out". In our walk with Christ, it's called the Sabbath.

A number of years ago I heard Andy Stanley say that in relationship to ministry and leadership "we need to work on it, not just in it." In other words, if you don't occasionally step back and step away, you could just be carried along and lose your way.

During our upcoming series, "Confessions of a Pastor", I'm going to take some time to do just that...work on it. Here's a confession...after 25 years of going full-throttle, I need to make sure I'm on track and good to go for the next 25 years!

The benefits? First, you'll have the privilege of hearing some of our other pastors make some bold confessions. Second, I believe I'll gain some fresh insights that will serve all of us well as we move into the future that God has for us. After all, the best is yet to come!

More Photos...

Here are a couple more pictures showing the progress of our White Pines Campus Building.

Roistemi

ROISTEMI. Say what? If you're thinking, "sounds Greek to me", that's because it is. So what is "proistemi"? Here's a hint...it's one of my favorite subjects and points of interest/study. Proistemi is the Greek word for leadership. It's a compound word. The word "pro" means in front of, above or before. "Histemi" means to bring, stand, establish or hold up. Put the two together and it means to stand before, preside over or to lead.

Let's break it down even further. How would you define leadership? I've discovered that there are about as many different definitions of leadership as there are authors on the subject.

To keep it simple, I like the definition that I've come across over and over again in my research and study...leadership is influence! I like this because I don't believe that leadership is necessarily tied to a position, title or personality.

According to Romans 12:8, there is a gift of leadership...like any gift, some have it, some don't. However every one of us has some level of influence on others. If you're influencing someone else's actions, opinions or behavior, you're leading them. Therefore, you are a leader!

Just like anything else that the Lord entrusts to us, we have a responsibility to manage or steward it well. At Crossroads, we're passionate about helping you to do that and take your "proistemi" (leadership) HNL. One vehicle through which we can do that is our Leadership Institute

Learn More here:
Midwest Location
Colorado Location

Focus

FOCUS. A friend gave me a ride to O'Hare airport this past Sunday after church. We enjoyed some great dialogue during the hour and a half drive.  At one point he made a statement in reference to a particular project that some of our leadership has been working on. He said that the issue was focus, not control.

Have you ever been challenged to stay focused? I certainly have! I could offer a number of reasons as to why, but at the end of the day, what matters is staying focused. It's critical!

Focus, or the lack of it can be the difference between victory and defeat, success or failure, even life and death. Champions stay focused on the goal, prize or mission at hand...especially when facing opposition. We see examples of this all through Scripture...

Paul said, "I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." (PHIL. 3:13 NLT)

It's not just what you choose to focus on, but what you choose NOT to focus on as we see in the life of Abraham...

Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. (ROM. 4:19 MSG) 

What are you focused on? May we all be like Paul and go for the prize! May we all be like Abraham in that we don't focus on our circumstances, but rather on God's promises! Speaking of prizes and promises...you are the focus of His love!

Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. (EPH. 1:4 MSG) 

White Pines Campus Building

Our White Pines Campus now has a concrete slab and the steel for the building was delivered yesterday. I have to say that I'm very excited to see how God will use this new building to change that community and continue the work that He has already begun!

 

Redeem

REDEEM. Have you ever lost something or fallen behind due to a number of "interruptions"? If so, you've simply wanted to recover that which was lost or redeem the time.

I love the word "redeem". It's such a positive word. It means to recover, to pay off, to ransom, to restore, to rescue, to make up for, to set free.

If you've ever lost face, you long to have your honor or reputation restored. Maybe you've messed up on a project or job assignment. If so, you hope to redeem yourself on the next one. Are you beginning to see why I love the word and more importantly, it's effects?

The Bible is filled with references and stories about God's redeeming work and love. It's who He is! It's why Jesus came and suffered...it was all for us! We've all sinned, screwed up and made a mess. The Good News is that Jesus came to redeem us! He came to pay off our sin debt...to rescue us from sin, Satan and ourselves...to restore our honor....to recover all that was lost and set us free by becoming a curse for us. (GAL. 3:13) In Joel 2:25 God said that He would restore, repay, give back or make up to us all that the locusts have eaten! Our God is a redeemer!

Remember

REMEMBER. This past Monday our nation celebrated Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day). This is a day we set aside to remember and give honor to the brave men and women who have died while serving in our nation's military. To all of you who have served or are currently serving to defend and secure the freedoms that we all enjoy...thank you!

Have you noticed that we tend to forget that which we should remember and remember what we should forget? To help us stay focused on what's important, God provides us with certain symbols, markers, memorials, altars and/or practices. Scripture is replete with references to remembering...

In Genesis, God gave His people the rainbow as a symbol to remind them of the promise He made to never again destroy the earth with a flood.

In Exodus, we are exhorted to remember the Sabbath.

In Numbers, God had the priests put tassels on their garments to remember His commands.

In Deuteronomy, God told His people that the purpose of tithing was to help them to remember that He is to be #1 in their lives...in everything!

Jesus Himself established a practice by which we are to remember Him and what He did for us. As He sat with His disciples at what is commonly referred to as the Last Supper, He took bread, broke it and said, "This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me." In the same way, after supper He took the cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Each time you drink this cup, remember Me."

All Access Arc Conference

This has been an incredible time at the Arc Conference with the team. For those of you that would like to catch some of the teaching here is the link to the live internet feed.

http://www.allaccessconference.com/

Movies

MOVIES. Some of you "go to the movies" all the time and others of you were taught that "going to the movies" was a sin, right along side dancing and playing cards. Me? I’d probably land somewhere in the middle.

Before someone over-reacts, let's get perspective. Movies are amoral in that they are simply a tool or means of communication. Some send a favorable message and some…not so much.

So why a teaching series based on movies? Actually the series is based on knowing God--thus the title, "Reel to Real...Finding God in the Movies"--which I believe is the single most important thing in life! What you believe about God will not only determine your eternal destiny, but directly effect how you live from day to day.

My prayer is that through this series you'll get to now God better and lean how to find Him through the story tellers of our day… film producers. Just as we find God all over the Old Testament story of Esther, even though His name is not mentioned or referenced one time, so I believe we're going to be pleasantly surprised over the next number of weeks as we find God in the movies!

Humbled & Amazed

HUMBLED and AMAZED. If you were able to participate in one of our Easter experiences this past weekend, I probably don't need to say much more! However, I'm obligated to...I have a biblical responsibility to proclaim His greatness and make known what He has done!

Psalm 105:1 (NLT) Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.  Let the whole world know what he has done.

704 kids attended the Kidzlink lock-in at our Freeport campus.

3975 people celebrated the resurrection with us at one of our 5 campuses! (I'm guessing there were 25+ people in the bathroom when the counts took place.)

212 people made a public declaration of their new association through water baptism. Congratulations to all of you who took that radical, spontaneous step of faith in your street clothes...a number of you in your "Sunday best"!  I’m humbled!

I'm sincerely humbled and amazed by the goodness and faithfulness of our great God and King! Don't you just love Him?!

I'm humbled as well by the fact that our great God and King invites us, includes us and involves us in His activity in some small way!

I'm also humbled by the incredible army of people that He has assembled and mobilized as a part of Crossroads. Kudos to all of you who served in some capacity to make Easter 2009 what it was for the 3975 people who celebrated with us. Whether you brought a friend or family member, shared your testimony, set up at one of our four portable campuses, stayed up all night at the lock-in, served in the nursery or on one of our other teams...thank you! I'm humbled by your faith and dedication! May you share in the reward of all that God did this Easter! You really are loved, appreciated and prayed for!