Then Came Crosspoint… 

If you have a young family like me, (I have 2 kids - 2 year old and 3 month old) Sunday is easily the craziest day of the week. For those of you who don’t, here is the rundown of a typical Sunday:

• Get everyone up, fed, dressed and out the door before 9:30 in time for sunday school.

• On the way to church everyone is crying because we forgot their favorite toy, pacifier, etc.

• Next, arrive at church completely stressed out! Get through sunday school on adrenaline; try to stay awake during the worship service.

• Rush home to get everyone down for naps (squeezing lunch in somewhere) and then do it all over again on Sudnay night.

Then came Crosspoint. We still have to get everyone up and ready, but KidsPoint and the Worship Experience doesn’t start untill 11:00am! My little boy loves Kidspoint and he never wants to take his name tag off. The Worship Experience is exciting AND engaging for the entire hour. The best part though is Sunday evenings! NO CHURCH…ever! Sunday night has become an awesome time that we spend together as a family. Sometimes we’ll watch a movie together or cook a meal together. Sometime soon I’m even hoping to sneak away and take the family to Cracker Barrell!

Adam Eldridge
Student Pastor

Have you ever taken the time to look around at the people God has placed in your life?  The people you work with, the friends you have, or even your family.  We believe God places people in our lives for a reason and we ask those who come to Crosspoint to invest in people around them and invite them to come to church.  Yesterday, I spent almost 2 hours at the park with my boys.  My 4 year old (Caleb) found a new friend name Tyler who was 3 and they played for a long time together.  When it was time to go, my son said, “Tyler, if want too, you can come to my church…Crosspoint.  It is really big…If you want too…I go to Kidspoint.  You don’t have to come but everyone is there.”  Here is my son (playing) investing in Tyler, then inviting him to come to church.  What blessed my heart is that I didn’t even tell him to ask…He just did it on his own.   However, here is daddy, the preacher, the pastor, out having fun with his boys but not looking for the parents to invest in or invite them to come.  Ouch! 

Question:  Who has God put around you?  What are you going to do with them?

Has your heart ever been faint?  Have you ever been to the point that it doesn’t seem that God hears your prayers?  The other day my heart was faint and it seemed like my prayers could not even get through the ceiling.  I asked God to search my heart and reveal anything that may be hindering my prayers.  Again, I did not hear anything from the Lord.  The next day I was reading my Bible and the Lord led me to Psalm 61:1-4.  You must read it!  It seems that David went through the same thing over 2000 years ago.  Here is what the Lord taught me:

• David wanted God to hear his prayer. V.1

• David’s heart was faint. V.2a

• David wanted to go to the next level. V.2b

• David remembered that God has always been his protector and took care of him. V.3-4

In the same manner, I want God to hear my prayer and I want God to take me to the next level in all aspects of my life.  You may be going through the same situation in your life.  I encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus, the one who has been your refuge and your tower of strength.

Have you ever prayed, “God, if this is your will, please open this door for me?”  Through out the years of my walk with the Lord I have prayed this prayer many times.  The more I have grown in the Lord and by experience, all open doors are not necessarily from the Lord.  We should ask for open doors but we should not walk through them just because they are open.  God speaks in several ways to His children; through prayer, His word, circumstances, and other people.  Circumstances alone should not be the only reasons why we walk through doors.  We should always seek God to confirm His will through His Word (the Bible) and His Spirit.

I will never forget the time, one of the largest churches in Kentucky offered me to be there full-time Student Pastor.  At first, I was amazed they would even consider me.  I was looking at a pay increase of $20,000 more a year, 30 minutes away from seminary, and the church was building an auditorium that would seat 1,800 people.  After much time praying and fasting, I came to the conclusion that God did not want me to take this position.  When I called them to decline the offer they told me, God told them I was going to be their Student Pastor.  I was like, what?  So, I went back and prayed some more, because I know God speaks through people as well, but God told me the same thing, “Do not go!”  Again, they could not believe I would turn this offer down.  Right after God took us through that time of seeking Him, He showed us clearly what His will was for our lives.  You see, there could be open doors and there could be people telling you to walk through them, but if God hasn’t confirmed it through His word or His Spirit then I say pull back and wait on Him.

For further study, you can read 2 Corinthians 2:12-17.

Random thoughts about today…

• This morning I had the privilege to teach about the “Lord’s Supper” and how it applies to our lives today.  It was awesome to see everyone for the first time, since we launched, celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.
• Today was the 100^th anniversary celebration for Mother’s Day.  I just found out this week that a lady named Anna Jarvis, in 1908, at the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, W.V., was the founder of this special day.
• I also want to say thanks to my wife (Leigh Ann) who is the best mom in the world!  She has chosen to put her career on hold to stay at home and raise our awesome boys.  No one really knows how much moms are worth, although the Associated Press tried to figure it out.  You can click here to read about it!
• Mom, I know you read this blog, so I just wanted to tell you that I love you and thanks for believing in me.  Thanks for always listening and being there in times of need.  Thanks for staying at home and raising your kids.  Thanks for giving up your desires and dreams, so that your children could pursue their own.  There are a lot of things that we can choose in this world, but one thing we cannot choose is the family that we are born into.  I am so glad that God chose you to be my mom…I love you!  HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!! 

Going to bed…

Momentum can be a very powerful force.  The unique thing about momentum is it can be hidden or it can be seen.  For instance, you will never see the momentum of a volcano building up ready to erupt all over the place until it has already erupted.  Though the momentum was unseen, it was there.  Or, you may be watching the NBA playoffs and see a team that is behind substantially, then something changes and the team that was once down begins to pick up momentum and comes back to win the game.  It was clear to everyone who was watching that something visible was taking place on the court.

Before we launched the church there was an unseen momentum building up that no one would recognize.  Once we launched, we started seeing a shift in attendance and the impact the church was having on people’s lives.  Our momentum begin to be visible to all those who were attending.  Look at the last 5 week’s attendance:

• 141

• 159

• 163

• 170

• 233

We increased in attendance by 63% in five weeks.  It is obvious momentum has taken place here at Crosspoint but there is something very dangerous that could be lurking in front of us if we are not careful.  It is called, “The Momentum Myth.”   You may be thinking, “What could be wrong with momentum?”  Here is the problem that could occur once momentum picks up and you begin to succeed in phenomenal ways. 

John Maxwell says, “Leaders presiding over good times and high profits begins to relax. Comfort sets in, and the leaders lose their edge. Hard work and a sense of urgency are replaced by naive optimism and idleness. Falsely believing they can coast, leaders fall asleep at the wheel. The end of their vigilance coincides with the end of their time at the top.” 

Just because things are going super well does not mean that we have time to stop or rest or really celebrate too long.  We cannot live on past numbers or past performances, so we must continue to work hard and bring our “A” game every Sunday.  We must always be thinking ahead or we will find ourselves living in the past; our past successes or past failures, both could hinder us from moving forward.  Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about this past Sunday, but I am really pumped about next Sunday!!!

Unbelievable! That’s all that can be said about yesterday.  Here’s the rundown…

• Two people decided to follow Christ.
• Fourteen people were baptized.
• We had our largest attendance to date…233!

Pictures are coming soon! 

This morning at 6:50 AM, the Lord woke me up to start my day with Him.  As I wobbled into the living room looking for my backpack, I began to check my email on my phone.  I know, I know, who would email me that early in the morning?  Ok, I’m addicted to my iPhone… Get over it or get you one.  As I finally made my way to the sofa, I sat down, sent a text message, and started reading about Joshua, Moses’ right hand man.  Over the next hour or so, God used the life of Joshua to teach me about some basic leadership principles that I would now like to share with you…

1. It takes time to prepare to be a faithful leader of others.
2. We must realize the unique balance between dependence on God and confidence in the strengths and abilities that He has given us.
3. We must begin to serve God now in order to prepare for future responsibility.

As God continues to stretch me and grow me as a leader, I must understand that He is taking me through preparation for the next level.  My prayer for you is that God will take your marriage, your business, your church or your relationship with Him to the next level.

Question: How is God preparing you for the next level?