Seth McRae

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.

I love hanging out with my little boy, he's just now getting to that point where he laughs, smiles, and plays a lot.  Each day he seems to get a little more personality, so much so you can literally read it on his face when something big is going to happen…whether a smile is coming, or an ear-piercing scream.  Anyway, I share all this to say that you don't have to look far to see a similar reality played out on the faces of those at Crossroads Monroe these days.  Faces that reveal not just that something big is going to happen, but is happening!  Last weekend we had our highest numbers since launch weekend, with an attendance of 240 for the week.  In fact, the network as a whole also broke records with 3200 in attendance throughout all the campuses…how awesome is that!  Also we're in the process of securing a 2500 square foot building, to launch a new Community Student Center right in the heart of Monroe.  This building will help to facilitate continued growth in our Student Ministry which has already grown out of it's current location.  Just last night Crave had 32 in attendance…8 of which surrendering their lives to Christ for the first time….ONLY GOD! So why share all this now?  Well, a couple of reasons…

 

1.  TO CELEBRATE.  We celebrate the reality that each one of those numbers represents a life, a marriage, a family being transformed.  We celebrate the answered prayers, and faithfulness of so many…those who refuse to settle for anything less than an "ONLY GOD" move in Green County.  We celebrate the countless volunteers that through God's help, are making it happen week in and week out.  We celebrate the fact that this is only the beginning of what God has got in store for our church and community.

 

2.  TO CHALLENGE YOU.  My hope is to challenge you to have the faith to simply look around and see that our time as a campus is now, not someday.  God is moving here, right now, in Green County!  I heard a story of someone last Sunday who said the reason they were there was because someone from our church wouldn't quit calling that morning until they came.  Now that's someone who get's it…get's that God is doing something in and through our church like never before!  Get's that our someday as a church, is today!   Now I'm not suggesting you annoy the snot out of your friend, co-worker or neighbor…but I do have to ask, when it comes to inviting them…if not now, when?   I can't think of a ministry season where the opportunities, and harvest around us has been more ready for the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.  See this is not just our year as a campus, but I believe with all my heart it's the year for your friend, your neighbor, your spouse…the year they encounter the God who formed them, loves them, and is for them! 

 

Finally, I just want to challenge each of us, just to be there.  Even if you can't get someone else there, get yourself there…this next series on "Honor" is going to be off the chart, it's going to encourage you and speak to you in a whole new way.  So make the commitment…and let's ride this wave together in 2010!

Campus Pastors Christmas Carol

Campus Pastors Carol from Seth McRae on Vimeo.

THE 15 REVOLUTION

About the 15 Revolution from 15 Revolution on Vimeo.

Find out more by going to www.15revolution.com. With Pastor Keith challenging us all to take it HNL (www.crossroadscn.com) this year, can't think of a better way to get a jumpstart on the year than by taking the 15 minute challenge.  Taking 15 minutes to simply notice, care, listen, and just stop long enough to love those around us...to be inconvenienced for the sake of the gospel.  The Bible says that "kindness leads to repentance."  I love that, because it reminds me that it takes more than a four point sermon, or evangelistic tract to change a life.  It's doing the small things, it's simply loving people where they're at, by taking the time to stop long enough from where we are going to notice. 15 minutes to make a phone call to someone you haven't seen in awhile, 15 minutes to say hi to a neighbor, 15 minutes to stop long enough to encourage someone, 15 minutes to give out a Crossroads Green Card.

Christmas in the Friendly Skies

At O'Hare watching a lady throw a fit over not getting sprinkles on her mocha. And you know I couldn't agree more...I mean really what is the world coming to when no sprinkles are provided for your mocha. I mean what's next ...one day your sprinkles...next day it's withholding coffee, or air to breath. It's time to draw a line and fight for your sprinkles!!!!

Operation Angel Tree

I just want to take a moment to give props to everyone who participated in this years Operation Angel Tree.  Thanks to your generosity and participation we were able to pass out gifts to over 40 kids throughout Green County who otherwise would've had nothing to open this Christmas.  I especially want to thank Barb Donar for her efforts in leading and coordinating the 80+ small group volunteers who braved the snow to get the giftswherethey needed to go.

Christmas in Wisconsin

God's Plan for My Life?

What is God's plan for my life? Sure most of us get the big picture plan...a plan that has never changed from the beginning of time, a plan to see a broken, wounded world restored to a right relationship with Him, through Christ's finished work on the cross. Salvation if you will in a nutshell. But within His plan for humanity what is His specific plan for me? It's interesting to me that when we talk about His plan for our life how we often use words like mystery... hidden...or somewhere over the rainbow. God's plan is seen as something one must set out to find. But the more I wrestle with it, the more I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, God's plan for my life and yours is less about something you find but rather something that finds us. Moses, Noah, Gideon, Paul...didn't set out on a quest for the meaning of life, they didn't sit around at Starbucks pondering what God's plan was for them...but rather God's plan found them. It found Moses in the suffering and plight of the Israelites around him. It found Noah in a crazy, audacious dream to build a boat. It found Gideon through an angel who seemed to have the wrong address. It found Paul in the messiness of his life. The Bible puts it this way..."God makes everything work according to His plan." I love that...could it be that God's plan is not something that hides from us but rather it's us who hide from His plan? You know...that group of teens we don't feel we've got the time or patience to deal with , that co-worker we don't feel we've got the time to reach out to, that vanilla job or life we spend our days complaining about, that random encounter that seems like a burden. Ever notice that God never used the the most skilled, or gifted people to carry out His plan but rather the most available, those willing to see and respond to the God opportunities right in front them. Those willing to be inconvenienced for something bigger than themselves. It's not God's plan that hides from us but truth be told it's us who hide from His plan. See in reality God puts His plan out there for any and all who are willing to have the courage and the vision to "come out, come out wherever you are."

Great Performances On Small Stages

2 Samuel 23:11-12. "One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory."

Shammah reminds us that it's in the often overlooked, and ordinary places that extraordinary victories come about. It's the decision to take a day for your family, it's the decision to own a mistake rather than to blame, it's the decision to notice who you normally ignore. It's these lentil field moments...decisions and choices most people walk right on by...thinking what do they matter? What's the big deal? It's in these ordinary places, moments, and decisions that set the stage for the most extraordinary victories in our lives. It's understanding that the greatest performances take place on the smallest of stages. It's realizing my greatest accomplishment today, is in simply being there for the accomplishment of my little boy learning how to smile...what a moment!

LHC India Crusade

Thought I'd share a video from my friend and former pastor John Bishop.

MC Guys Basketball Night