Happy Halloween

Well today is Halloween and yes we will be celebrating. Now we're not celebrating evil but celebrating people! I'm not sure how the discussion began but a couple of years ago we were thinking about what we as a church could do on Halloween. Let me be frank here and this is just my opinion but Harvest Festivals are kind of lame. Lame candy and just a bunch of Christian mooching. One church in our area did it and had over 5000 people come. They later reported that they only saw one family get connected to their church over it. So we had the thought let's bring the Harvest Festival to the people.

So we have for the last couple of years had various Commmunity Groups at our church host block parties. A family friendly way to meet neighbors. Groups have games, hot dogs, awesome candy, and other fun stuff. We don't have witches and ghosts, maybe a Scooby Doo costume but we also don't have Jesus junk either. You know what I mean! All those lame cards with lame sayings that I have never heard change someone's life!

The block parties are a part of our culture now. Groups on their own do them to invest in their neighborhood. One guy went so far to build his own putt-putt golf course! His neighbors were so touched that they have been asking for weeks if the block party was still on! Another guy in our church has actually had an unchurched neighbor come over and offer to do all the cooking for the event. Wow, an unchurched person is helping a follower of Jesus invest in his neighbors!

I am so proud of our church on Halloween. They really show that it's now about us! It is about taking the message of the Gospel through words of truth and deeds of love to our neighbors and world.

For more great thoughts may I recommend my friend Bob's blog. Gary Lamb's imfamous blog about Harvest festivals is also worth reading.

Weekend to Remember - the memories

Well we made it back! It was great to be with my wife and spend a lot of time with her. She really is the love of my life!

Well the conference was good too. It really spurred me on to think about how Crossbridge can be investing more in married couples. Last April Kathleen and I did a one night workshop on cultivating intimacy in marriage. We had a full house and a great time. Monday we talked at staff meeting about doing something like that every quarter in 2007.

If there are any married people reading this blog, what would be some topics that you would be interested in coming to a one night interactive workshop about?

The Church You Know

Just read this on my buddy Bob's blog. Hilarious! You have got to check this out.

www.thechurchyouknow.com

Weekend to Remember

>"...husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way..." 1 Peter 3:7

Part of my personal mission statement that I believe God gave to me several years ago is to "love my family fully". So this weekend I am seeking to do lean into that by taking my wife on a marriage retreat. We are headed to Family Life's "Weekend to Remember". If you are a pastor it is free for you! Wow, major thanks to Family Life for supporting pastors. I hope any pastors out there will take advantage of this.

I want to encourage you men to really seek to live out what Peter writes about above. What he is saying here is get to know your wives! Pursue your wife! If we are suppose to be modeling Jesus to them (Eph 5) then we should pursue our wives with love just like our Savior pursues us with love.

Let me give you a great first step. In his marvelous book "Sex. Romance and the Glory of God", CJ Mahaney exhorts husbands with a way to apply 1 Peter 3:7

"Do you know how to surprise and delight your wife in specific ways in each of the following areas?

* Sex
* clothing sizes, styles, and stores
* jewelry
* health
* exercise
* books and magazines
* movies
* the arts
* sports
* food
* music
* entertainment
* places to visit
* intellectual interests
* hobbies
* vacations/getaways
* and of course, sex

Do you know how your wife is faring in each of these areas?

* theological knowledge
* practice of spiritual disciplines
* growth in godliness
* spiritual gifts that can be used to serve others
* involvement in the local church
* relationship with children
* relationship with parents
* personal retreats
* fears
* hopes
* dreams
* disappointments
* temptations

How much of this information do you have readily available to you, preferably in written form? How much do you really know about your wife in each of these areas?"

CJ Mahaney: Sex, Romance and the Glory of God p. 32-33

Lost Rocked Last Night!

Wow! I love this show. The twists, the turns, the excitement. If you are not into Lost don't shoot yourself in the foot by just watching it on Wednesday nights. You should go back rent or buy Season 1 and take your time to get caught up. It's better than a lot of movies I have paid money for this year.

Racquetball and Community Groups

This morning I got to play Racquetball for the second day in a row with my good friends Tim, Brandon and Joe. I love that game. It is so fast spaced. You hit the ball, you're running, dodging, and even lunging! Today guys were running into walls, hitting themselves in the face with their own racket(a form of punishment for missing an easy shot?),and getting hit with the ball! Wow! We even saw bloodshed in the game.

I have been wanting to get into better shape for a while and honor God with my body. One thing I don't like to do though is work out alone. To be quite honest I cut myself a lot of slack and don't push myself to the limit. I also not quite sure if I am even doing the right things when it comes to training and exercise. I have read books but they didn't do for me.

Now I am in week two of working out with my friends. Joe is our trainer. The guy knows so much about fitness and weight training. He is also quite buff. Joe though is training too. He knows he hasn't arrived and keeps an eye on his health. I have learned that I am weaker than I thought in some areas but just knowing these guys will be showing up helps me get there. I am using muscles I have never used before and really didn't even know that I had!

These same ideas are true for us on our spiritual journey. We can do things by ourselves to grow close to God and we should. We should spend quality time in study, prayer and solitude. But if you are like me you hit a wall sometimes. What am I suppose to be doing? What would be good for me to work on? Then there is self-deception. I'm in pretty good shape spiritually right?

I believe one of the best ways to stay in shape spiritually is to be in small group. At Crossbridge we call them Community Groups. In CG you get to be with people in all different kinds of spiritual shape with all the same goal. Let's get closer to God and grow in our character. There is usually someone guiding the group who is further down the road than other but by no means "the expert". That person is growing too and keeping an eye on their relationship with God. You learn quickly in groups areas where you are weak. For me I learn how impatient I am with others but how I want everybody to be patient with me. Group push you to grow and bear with people. Groups push to exercise spiritual muscles maybe you haven't used before.

This month three new Community Groups will be starting at Crossbridge. If you are not in a group I highly encourage you to check them out. My prayer is that you will be encouraged in this environment to grow spiritually in ways you never have before!

Best Comedy since Seinfeld

Last night my wife and I finished watching the second season of "The Office" on DVD. I want to go on record. To the millions reading (hah!) that this is the best comedy show I have watched since Seinfeld and maybe even better than Seinfeld!

So if you want to laugh and laugh and waste alot of time go out and buy this.

Got Groups

Just had a great lunch meeting with two leaders in our church. We hashed out a strategy to try to go from 6 groups to 18 groups by Feb at the soonest and April at the latest.

We have struggled over the last couple of years with our groups. I feel like we are actually headed somewhere now.

UNTAMED: starts Sunday

New Series - UNTAMED

This Sunday Crossbridge will launch into a new series called "Untamed". I am very excited about it! We will study the first six chapters of Daniel.

We cannot let the culture tame our faith in Jesus. Daniel and his friends are a great example of how to live in a culture that is dishonoring to God but not let it tame their confidence in their heavenly Father.

I'll try and post the logo soon!