Saw Mat Kearney at the Blind Pig on Friday. Cool Show. Great Band. It was most cool to see a Christian dude out in the world doing what he was made to do and  meeting people where they were at. Check em out if you get a momento.

Based on the trailer I thought it was going to be a Napoleon Dynamite-esque or Nacho Libre type visual and story telling treat. Turned out to be the worst excuse for a movie I have ever seen. I do not offend easily and most of the time I'm probably on the cusp for most people in some of the things I view as having reedeming potential.... but...... Offensive just to be Offensive is not humor (and believe me there is no race, creed, gender, socio or economic group or stereo-type they left unturned) We made it through the first quarter of it and got up and left.Don't waste your time. If you do, don't say you weren't warned. It's that poorly done.

Hang around Scott Winstead, our Senior Pastor at Crossroads, for more than 5 minutes and you’ll hear him talk about vision. It’s one of his passions and I love how it impacts what we do.

“People give to vision, not to need,” is one of my favorites. Don’t tell me about your need. Tell me how my investment can help fuel something significant, and particularly, something that goes way beyond anything I think I could do on my own.

Theresa Hoeft, a staffer at Granger Community Church, facilitates ministry experiences to help people take their next steps toward Christ beyond the weekend services. She invited friends to attend Granger with her recently, asking them to give a fresh, critical lense to everything they experienced that Sunday. Their most significant comment surprised me. It wasn’t about the greeters, children’s environments, coffee bar, or the auditorium topic. It was “If we are going to give our money and our time to this church, really, where does it go and what do you really stand for?”

They were asking for information on the Granger investment. Hoeft realized “this couple was looking at this as an investment of their time and money. This was a place that was going to impact and shape their children. This was a place that they would spend time at, which means not spending time somewhere else. Was it worth it?”

Crossroads is driven by an investment vision. We estimate that 65,000 people within a 30 minute drive of our rented building either don’t know Christ as personal savior or have no meaningful connect with any church. God has called us to target those 65,000. Our vision is no less than changing the entire spiritual makeup of our county. That’s a vision that motivates me. I’m investing.

We have been playing with this site for about the last month. It is very cool and my assumption is we will begin to use it full force with all of our worship teams and for all of our experiences and environments.  Automatic updating, scheduling, ccli implementation. See what you think. There is a free version of it... you are limited to 10 people.

With  how God's wired you.

                        13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother?s womb. Psalm 139:13 (NIV Bible)

You put a hammer in my hand and you got ugly destruction, you buy me a basketball for Christmas and you just wasted 50 bucks (or whatever basketballs go for). But...give me 88 pieces of ivory lined up chromatically or six strings on a plank of wood and put me in a pop context and Ill hang out with anyone.The Point. You were made by God.  I was made by God.To be great at some things. Not so much with others. Don't be afraid to be great at what you are, and don't be afraid to not be great at what you aren't. This guy makes Van Gogh's out of computer code. This guy can take  2 dimensional things and bring them to life in a computer in a way that will take your breath away. My amazing lovely beautiful stunning wife works with money the way some people work in clay. We have a guy in our community named Chuck who is an artist in Media Shout, literally I keep telling him he should call them and show them what he does because he does things with the program and interface that were never meant to be done and he creates amazing things for young Kids to experience God.  I think when we use the gifts that God gave us to help others walk closer to him than we are glorifying him and bringing his Kingdom to Earth. So the  questions for me are. What am I wired to do? What am I not wired to do? How do I glorify God with what he has given me in context of relationship with Him and others?

but since this is a passion of mine, this is a great post to keep in mind when creating Worship experiences.

We stopped in at the Jackson, MI Culver’s. The frozen custard is worth the trip (bring on the carmel cashew. Bet that one shows up in heaven), but I also discovered something pretty radical. There were kids everywhere, but absolutely no clowns, animated characters, indoor playgrounds, or royal crowns. Is it possible that even kids can be satisfied with nothing more than great quality eats?

Does this raise anything about our church’s strategies with children?

from the previous post... where truth meets justice..... Grace Lives. Grace is the river that forgiveness flows from. What part do I play in Grace? What Part do you play in Grace? Your life can become about it. Now I don't have this anywhere close yet but we can become all about giving and receiving Grace. Make a point to forgive people and let go of judgment on them. Even if you are right. Especially when you are right. Thats what Jesus did....Father forgive them for they know not what they do.... remember the adulterous woman? ( look here for a refresher) You know what has me questioning that situation? Where was the dude she slept with... what's his story ? and how come the older ones were the first to walk away? See the girl understood it. She understood Grace and she received it and she didn't seem to blame the guys that strung her up, the Pharisees on the other hand obviously were judge mental and then they only exhibited shame by just walking away unrepentant. ( always wanted to use that word in blog post! ) The point. Life is short. Forgive. Love. Don't Judge. Make it away of Life not an act that is fulfilled instance by instance based on what you feel. Stop trying to earn God's love, you already have it. Accept it. Speak the Truth in Love. Look  at the potential in others not shortcomings. Be quick to forgive, slow to Judge, speak the truth in love. I'll be working on these things for a while.