Eric Offstage

Inside Info On What is Going On At The Crossing

1.  This is the last weekend of Eat this book.  You do not want to miss the "How to Prepare it" talk.  I am so excited.  (Hint - Subway is amazing.)  BE THERE!!  Halloween is over and so is deer hunting opener.  Come to church this weekend and keep using your EZ313 journal.  Jesus will change your life. 

2.  Our Saturday 7:00 service is our lowest attended service.  We are averaging only about 150 people at that service so I would love to see some of you switch from the 11:00AM on Sunday to Saturday at 7:00PM if possible. Why?  Because seekers usually come to the 11:00 on Sunday and we keep running out of comfortable chairs.  Switch to Saturdays at 7:00 so someone far from God can get a comfortable seat on Sunday. 

3.  Our church has settled in at a healthy average of 1000 people per weekend.  HELL IS WAY BIGGER THAN OUR CHURCH!!  LETS NOT KEEP SETTLING!  WHO ARE YOU INVITING THIS WEEKEND THAT NEEDS TO KNOW JESUS?

4.  Our Zimmerman location is doing fantastic.  If you live in Zimmerman you should totally stop driving to Elk River and should go to the 10:30AM service in Zimmerman.  I will be there live some time during the next series.  I can't wait. 

5.  We start a new two week series November 21-22, called:  CRAVE.  I WANT IT NOW!  Lets be honest all of us crave something.  This series takes a look at what our cravings are, where they come from and how we live in self control.  IT WILL BE TOTALLY EPIC!!  DON'T MISS IT!   

5.  Yesterday, our creative team had an awesome planning meeting for our Christmas series called:  Christmas on Location.  (Yes we are already thinking about Christmas.)  IT IS GOING TO BE OFF THE CHAIN!  I promise this will be the best Christmas series our church has ever done.  I am shooting video for this series in Indiana, Washington D.C., Tennessee and several places in Minnesota.  It is going to be so awesome.  It starts the weekend of December 5-6 and goes all the way through Christmas Eve.  YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO BRING PEOPLE TO THIS 4 WEEK SERIES.  I KNOW IT WILL CHANGE THEIR LIFE!!  CHRISTMAS IS COMING TO THE CROSSING!!

6.  If you haven't read the posts on this blog about the WUSSIFICATION OF GOD'S CHURCH.  I challenge you to not wuss out and read them.  We need strong bold courageous Christian leaders.  God could really use you if you avoid wussy Jesus. 

See you this weekend.    

Wussification of God's Church Part # 2 - Conflict

Let's be honest.  Most religious people are wusses when it comes to dealing with conflict. 

When someone says something hurtful or does something intentionally or unintentionally that we don't like, many church people run away and pout and get all bitter and gossipy and whiny rather than deal with the issue like a mature adult.

Jesus says in, Matthew 18:15  "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 

Or what Jesus expects of his followers is that when someone hurts us intentionally or unintentionally we are to have the maturity and gonads to go talk to that person PRIVATELY AND DIRECTLY and get it fixed!! 

• We don't go off by ourselves with a few friends and whine about how hurt and mad and offended we are.
• We don't sweep the issue under the rug and ignore it. 
• We don't go ask other people what they think about the person who hurt us. 
• We don't start a petition or blog about how stupid the person is who hurt us.   

No!  We quietly, humbly and carefully go directly to the person who hurt us.  And with grace and mercy we talk to that person about what they did or said to us that hurt us in hopes of finding a solution to the issue. 

THIS TAKES GUTS!!  WUSSES can't and won't do this.  Christians stop wussing out on Jesus.  To many of us have run from healthy conflict and when we do we make ourselves and everyone around us miserable because we have the relational IQ of a toddler.

Who has hurt you lately?  (I'm sorry but that is life.  What you do next is really important.) 

Have you talked with them about it?  (This is following Jesus)

Have you been talking to other people about it?  (This is gossip, bitterness and wussing out on Jesus.)

The only way we will ever have the relationships in life that we want is to fight for them.  You can't wuss out on confrontation and see your relationships get healthy.

Do the hard work and watch God bless your life. 

 

 

Encouragement from Jesus

I know that we are in the grind of fall busy season. 

I know many of you are worn down. 

I know that you are stressed. 

I wanted to give you all a little encouragement from Jesus today. 

 

Matthew 11:28 (the message)

Jesus says "Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

 

If you are stressed or anxious or worried or pissed or just not right spiritually or emotionally it is because you are not alone with Jesus enough.  (This happens to me all time.) 

Go get alone with your Savior.  He is the strength of our lives.  When I take extended amounts of time and focus it on Christ I find I recover my life. 

 I know you have a ton to do - So does everyone.  Don't be so narcissistic as to think that your to do list is more important than time with Jesus. 

By faith TITHE some time to Jesus like you tithe your money and the result will be He will give your peace and strength and to do whatever he wants you to do.

 

YOU WILL RECOVER YOUR LIFE!! 

 

I pray that God blesses your weekend and that you will seek him and not just work hard to get your list of things done.   

I LOVE MY JOB!! (and more importantly my JESUS)

I know this might sound cheesy but I don't care.  I have the greatest job in the whole world.  I know it takes tons of hours, and it is incredibly stressful, and I get really nervous every weekend, but seriously I LOVE MY JOB! 

The fact that every week I get the privilege on behalf of all of heaven to tell the good news about Jesus is such a honor.  What an joy it is to be used by the KING OF KINGS and the LORD OF LORDS!! 

I don't deserve this honor, my heart is sinful like everyone else's. 

My motives are not always pure and my actions are never always good, BUT GOD keeps using me!  He keeps using our church!  Lives keep getting changed despite my sinfulness and lack of perfection!!

WOW!  

Crossing, God is doing great things at our place.  Even with Halloween killing our attendance on Saturday we were still right under 1000 people for the weekend.  Zimmerman did awesome with 161 people!  WELL DONE ZIMTOWN! 

I have received so many cards, letters, phone calls and emails about how God is changing people's lives.  I don't think a week has gone by since our fall grand opening that I have not heard the story of someone crossing the line of faith and making Jesus their forgiver and leader.

God is changing our world Crossing!  He is using us to do it.  Keep us the great work Church.  Stop for a second today and just tell him Thank YOU!! 

Wussification Of God's church Post # 1

Over the next few weeks I am starting a new series of posts entitled:  THE WUSSIFICATION ofGod's Church.  This series of posts is born out of looking out at Christians in America and many times seeing anything but the strong insane risk takers of the Bible.  

If you look in the Bible, God followers were radicals; not wieners:  (Check out Hebrews 11)

• Noah spent 100 years building a boat unafraid of the criticism of the entire world.  (FEARLESS)
• Abraham moved his entire family to a new country by faith without even knowing where he was going.  (RADICAL FAITH)
• Abraham also was so radical he was willing to sacrifice his only son to God.  (CRAZY!)
• Moses confronted a powerful king to see his people freed from slavery.  (CONFRONTATION)
• Gideon went to war for freedom.  (the original William Wallace)
• Samson went totally nuts on bad guys with a jawbone of a donkey.  (even without any resources, he refused to quit.) 
• Teenage David killed a giant.  (Fearless)
• Elijah confronted an evil king and hundreds of false prophets.  (Confrontation)
• Esther risked her own life to save her people.  (Selfless risk for the good of others)
• The disciples were tortured and beaten for the name of Christ.  (Strength and honor)

The stories of Scripture are filled with Great RISK and Great PAIN and Great JOY.  You can't look at these men and women and say:  WUSS!

But on the other hand, many times that is a great way to label many American Christians. 

• We sacrifice for Christ if it's easy. 
• We serve Christ if we have the time.
• We give if we have some extra.
• We praise Christ as long as no one thinks we are weird. 
• We speak up for Christ if we think no one will make fun of us. 
• We run from conflict, we avoid risk, we choose the easy way, we wimp out and give in to sin, we complain about hardship, we keep our mouths shut about Jesus, we give little, we serve halfheartedly and we complain we don't experience the powerful, miraculous, life-changing Christ. 

Do you see a problem here?  Why don't we EXPERIENCE A POWERFUL MIRACULOUS LIFE CHANGING CHRIST?  Because we wussed out on the call of Christ.  JESUS ISN'T FOR WUSSIES!!

Jesus said: Matthew 10:34-39  "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword. I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household! If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it. 

Jesus is saying you can't be a WUSS and follow me. You have to be all in. If you want to find your life and experience God for real, you have to stop being a WUSSY and FIND YOUR BALLS and get a fearless, radical, confrontational (at times) selfless, risk taking faith. And when you do that, when you serve and give and risk it all you encounter our powerful miraculous life changing Jesus.  YOU FIND YOUR LIFE!! 

Crossing, I confess I have not been radical or courageous enough.  It is time I raise the bar again in my own life.  I want to be included in the great band of brothers and sisters of Scripture as hero of faith, and not a wuss of faith.

How about you?  Is it time to raise the bar again?

Let us never be wusses for Christ, but let us be crazy and radical and experience the real Christ. 

Perfection vs. Passion. - Guest Blogger Clint Haley

From Eric: Clint Haley, our weekend Service Director, wrote this and read it to the band last weekend before our service.  I thought everyone should have an opportunity to be impacted by Clint's message.

I've been listening to some legends of music tonight. Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones. I have so much admiration for their art. I call it art because to them it's expression of who they are. You can feel it in your chest when you listen to it.

It's so frustrating to me to think that our modern day culture is so obsessed with perfection that it misses the opportunity at passion. I know not everyone agrees with American Idol, and I hope I am assuming the worse, but if you placed Janis Joplin on American Idol she'd fail. She'd never make it.
Her style is sloppy. She doesn't always hit the notes. She doesn't have the perfect figure or angelic features. She's too spastic on stage for the American audience.

If our modern day music snobs were to judge "the king" and his guitar skills he'd never get the opportunity to make a record. Maybe, just maybe, they'd tell him to stick to truckin'...

Buddy Holly is too repetitive. average skills. nothing flashy.

Jimi Hendrix should have direction to his guitar solos, and he should stop singing.  No vocal skills. Have someone else sing. (Can you imagine his guitar work without his voice?)


Just these few examples makes me wonder....is anyone out there still desiring to see passion on display? Would we rather listen to the perfection of Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift than the raw emotion of a Janis Joplin? is there room for an emerging Elvis Presley in the sea of faceless pop rock and techno beats?

Would you rather go to a concert where the band has been doing the same thing all tour long? 
...or experience a moment where a guitarist takes the stage and makes history as he plays The Star Spangled Banner?

Maybe I am posting this to a culture of people who could really care less about the musician's heart; the artist's heart. But I guess I care. I guess that's why I would rather listen to something raw like mewithoutyou or Switchfoot. Saul Williams and U2. Janis Joplin and Elvis Presley. It may not be perfect. but it bleeds their heart's passion.

I wonder...Are musicians today trying to write music? Or are they trying to live music? Are people trying to manipulate and distort themselves to be able to climb the cultural ladder? Or are their passionate hearts bleeding out expressions of what they love and feel and believe?

Haven't you ever noticed how many bands' careers go south after their first "breakout" record? How many times have record companies gotten a hold of a band only to crush everything that made them special?

I know I have been hitting music pretty hard, but this goes way beyond how media filters out the music that they don't think sells...this is about you. This is about me. It's about our struggle. This is where we have to fight to keep our hearts and dreams alive. This is the moment and we can choose to sit back and take it or take a stand to be more than what the world would allow of us. We have a choice that many times comes down to one or the other: Perfection or Passion.

Passion will lead to perfection, but perfection will never lead to passion.

I choose passion first.

ONE CHURCH, MULTIPLE LOCATIONS!! WAY TO GO ZIMMERMAN!

This past weekend the Crossing celebrated our 5th birthday!  Wow!!  God has done some pretty amazing stuff with us in 5 years!! 
-  To go from 40 to over 1000 in attendance is pretty unbelievable. 

-  We have seen hundreds and hundreds of people give the leadership of their life to God.

-  And now this past weekend we opened our second campus.  THAT IS OFF THE CHAIN! 

(click the link to watch a recap video of our last 5 years)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWi6h1-Ph3A

Our new Zimmerman campus had 277 people show up for our first official worship service.  HOLY COW! THAT IS SO FREAKING COOL!!  YAH GOD!  AND WELL DONE ZIMTOWN LAUNCH TEAM!  YOU PEOPLE RULE!!

Ok now that I have that out of my system, I need to tell you that the Crossing is now officially forever one church in multiple locations. 

Let me explain what that means for us as a church. Here are the basics:

The Zimmerman campus is not its own church, but just another worship service of The Crossing.

·        In Zimmerman, the music is the same, the series is the same, the teaching is the same, and the leadership is all the same.

·        Ted, Ben, or one of our other staff band leaders leads music in Zimmerman, just like they do in Elk River. (Usually the Saturday Elk River band will be the Sunday Zimmerman band.)

·        I preach in Zimmerman just like I do in Elk River.

·        These two campuses are identical. It is The Crossing in all our uniqueness. It is Crossing McChurch, and the “face with the place” is Campus Pastor Chris Schierholz.

 

I tell you all this because now you have another option for when and where to attend The Crossing.  We now offer 5 worship times in two cities.  You can attend in Elk River on Saturday (5 or 7) or Sunday (9 or 11). Or you can attend at Westwood Elementary school Zimmerman on Sunday (10:30). 

It is important to me that you understand that we are all one church.

 

In the days ahead, as long as God continues to provide and lead, we will be launching a campus in Salida (Becker/ Big Lake), Buffalo, Anoka/Ramsey, Milaca and several other locations.  I will be teaching at all of these locations and hopefully you can find a Crossing campus closer to your home.

 

For now, go check out the Zimmerman campus one of these coming Sundays.  Don’t be surprised when you find it feels just like home.

 

See you this weekend!

 

Pastor Ed Young and His Wife Lisa on the Today Show

The pastor (and wife) that Kelly and I have probably learned the most from over the past 5 years of ministry is Ed and Lisa Young.   They pastor Fellowship Church is Grapevine, TX.  We have traveled to their church 4 years in a row to be taught by Ed, his wife Lisa, and their amazing staff at their Creative Church Conference. 

They have inspired us, challenged our thinking, stretched us to be who God called us to be and really changed the entire way we do church at The Crossing.  

Yesterday, Ed and Lisa were invited on to the the Today show to talk about the changing role of pastor's wives in American churches.  It was a great interview.  You can watch the interview here: http://www.edyoungblog.com/  It is worth the watch. 

I am so thankful there are couples like this that serve side by side in the ministry.  They represent Jesus well and model a good marriage to our hurting world.   

This is how Kelly and I function.  She co-leads with me.  If it were not for her and her dedication to me and our church we would not be nearly as successful as we are.

Kelly, if you read this blog know that I am so thankful I have the ministry partner I have in you.  You are the delight of my eyes and besides Jesus the reason for my success.  I love you. 

As for Ed and Lisa Young.  I am so thankful that they have mentored Kelly and I from afar. 

Some day I hope to sit down and eat dinner with them and tell them how much they have been spiritual parents to us. 

 

THIS WEEKEND IS A BIG FREAKING DEAL!

You do not want to miss church this weekend.  We are pulling out all the stops, man.  It is triple the importance of the average weekend.  Why?

First, It is The Crossing's 5th birthday!  Yes, we are 5 years old this weekend.  And we are going to  celebrate all the amazing stuff that God has done with this church in 5 years.  We have a ton to be grateful for!  Hundreds and hundreds of lives changed!   

Second, our Zimmerman campus Grand Opening is this weekend at 10:30!  As of this Sunday the Crossing is now permanently one church in two locations.  Zimmerman, here we come! 

Third, this weekend is the launch of our new series EAT THIS BOOK.  For the next 4 weeks we are going to be teaching you why the Bible is so important, where is came from, what is in it, and how you can begin to consume it on your own.  This is a great series for both skeptics and Christians.  Check out the video of our series @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1AUyvuLt_A

So show up this weekend!  Bring someone who isn't sure about the whole God thing and watch God change their life. 

See you there. 

Spiritual Running Partners

People usually only exercise consistently if they have a partner to push them.  I used to run, and as long as I had a running partner to push me I did pretty well.  Without a partner I SUCK at running.  

I think the same thing is true spiritually.  We will all SUCK spiritually and never be who Jesus called us to be unless we get someone to push us.  I call these people spiritual running partners.   

Many of you know that I (and every staff member) have a weekly meeting with my spiritual running partner.  This person has permission to ask me the hard questions about my personal, family, spiritual and work life so that I get pushed to be a person who is radically committed to personal integrity and spiritual growth. 

The questions I get asked every week are as follows.  Maybe some of you would grow more consistently if you had a spiritual running partner to push you too. 

Proverbs 27:17  As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

 1 Timothy 6:11-12  Man of God…  pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith.

-          Are the "visible" you and the "real" you being consistent?
-          Have you committed any sexual sin or looked at a woman in the wrong way?
-          What one sin plagued you this week?
-          Did you accomplish your spiritual goals this week?
-          Are you tithing faithfully? 
-          Are you serving with excellence and a good attitude?
-          Who did you invite to church or actively share your faith with this week?
-          Are you healthy and balanced between work and home life?
-          What significant thing did you do for or with your wife and/or family?
-          Have you been dishonest in answering any of these questions?