Shorty wanna blog

JACKIE HAS A WORDPRESS! She is my hero. She is better than me in all aspects of life, and will know hand me my tail in blogging. Check her out! Give her some grace as she works through the transition from MySpace to WordPress, but she is now legit!

I think I am going Crazy

Saturday night was crazy, not much sleep, not much rest, but I was in Nashville on a Sunday and had to take advantage of the opportunity to go and check out Cross Point Church. I have formed a cool friendship with Jenni, Pete, and Brandi and had to check out what was happening. (Good timing cuz now Pete is a rock star, thanks to Los)

I arrived at CP and was blown away by how many people were moving around. Cars everywhere, people everywhere, smiles, hellos, handshakes, it was a very friendly, genuine atmosphere but without being intimidating. We made our way to the sanctuary, a few minutes late, and found a seat in the dark auditorium. The band was leading worship, and broke into Mighty To Save. Very talented band, great atmosphere set by the tech team and a solid worship experience. A very funny Tom Tyndall made the transitions smooth and Pete came up to speak.

Pete was starting a new series called, Crazy Love. I was challenged to ask what I am called to do, and how to create a healthy balance between my spiritual, church, and unchurched relations. Great kick off to a new series. Video rocked (you can check it here). After service, people hung out, talked, chilled etc.

2 things happened that impressed me the most. 1. Brandi, who I had just met in person for the first time, asked about Jackie and how she was doing. There was a sincere concern that I felt. That was cool. 2. As Tyler and I walked to the car, we passed the kids area and a girl, probably 9-10 years old came running to her mom. Her first word: “Can I invite my friends to come to church with me next week?” Kids, wanting to expose their peers to something that is impacting their lives. Very cool.

If I lived in Nashville, even without a relationship with Pete, I would attend CP. It is a great, growing, exciting church that is committed to helping people become Crazy For God, Crazy For Community, and Crazy For the Lost. If there was one recommendation I would give to Pete and crew, have a couple of CP’ers out on the street welcoming people and directing them where to go. Other than that, I am all in on what you do and pray that you guys continue to make a massive impact on your community!

A few quotes to share (may not be verbatim):

• We never started CP to be a big church. If your goal is to have a big church, things are going to get weird. 
• Growth is not the goal, health is the goal.
• Health is created when there is a balance between Intimacy with God, Community with Others, and Influence with Outsiders.
• It all comes down to Love.
• The opposite of Crazy love, is normal ordinary love. 
• I wrestle every year about this time with the question am i doing what I have been called to do, and am I working in my gift mix. 
• A church with no community is just a crowd. 
• Acts 2:42-47, John 13:35, Matthew 22:36-40, Galatians 4:19, Hebrews 11:36-38