Love Ya…

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. 1 Corinthians 13:3 (MSG)

I was pondering on what to write for this month’s newsletter and this thought came to mind “Love Ya”. It is February and this is the month of LOVE right? I mean have you ever taken a count on how many times that we say that during any given day? Do we really love people or is it just some flippant saying that sounds good and makes us feel good. Look at how the Apostle Paul expressed what love is supposed to look like.

⁴Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. ⁶It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ¹³There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 (NLT)

Is this how we really feel and act toward the people that we tell that we love? Break the main words out of this passage and study them for a moment. Let’s see…patient, kind, not jealous, boastful or proud, nor rude, it never demands its own way, it is not irritable, it keeps no record of wrong, etc. This is not the exhaustive list but do you get the picture? This piece of scripture was one of the first that I studied and learned as a new Christian.  I am still learning how to love the way Jesus wants me to love others. The ability to love like Jesus loved is a lifelong process! I believe if we ask Him and allow Him the Holy Spirit will teach us how to do it though.

We are all a work in progress. If we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, will be constant in the reading of the Bible, and allow others to speak into our lives we can be lovers of God and others. It definitely is easier said than done though! The next time that you are tempted to say “Love Ya” think before you speak. This is one of those phrases that we may need to revamp in our vocabulary or put our money where our mouth is. There are a lot of people that need to be loved so ask God to give you a heart like He has for people the loveable and unlovable.  Let Him lead you and guide you to minister true love to one new person this month. Hey, I love ya…

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Some Thoughts on Vision…

This was a short note that I posted in our January newsletter. I hope that it blesses you! A lot of it pertains to our church but you can use it in any situation.

What is Your Vision?

Luke 19:10 (NLT) And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.”

Jesus had a very clear vision. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell very unique excerpts from Jesus’ life. He had a clear vision of what His purpose was here on earth. Jesus’ purpose was “to seek and save the LOST!” In Luke 19:10 Jesus gives His own vision statement. He knew what his vision was and He pursued it with every ounce of fiber in His being.  It even cost Him His life!  He was so passionate to fulfill the vision that His Father had given Him. What about us today? Do we know what our vision is? What is your personal vision? What is the vision for your family? What is the vision for your job or business? Or better yet, what is the vision of Crossway Church?

Renee’ and I are very excited about the year 2010! We believe that God is going to do extraordinary things in your life, your family and everywhere that God takes you this year. The year 2009 was a landmark year for our church.  We are confident that God wants to continue to increase every single part of this wonderful ministry that He has allowed us to be a part of. We believe that He will do this as we all find out what our vision is for our lives, our families and what part that we play in expanding the Kingdom of God in our region. It is our role as leaders to assist you in doing this.

One of the things that you will here a lot about this year is the word SIMPLIFY. Renee’ and I along with our leaders believe that if we are going to reach and retain the lost and hurting in our region, then we need to have simple processes that will allow people to grow in God and bear much fruit. That is why we are asking you now, as we are entering into the New Year, to seek God and find out what your personal vision is. There is not a better way to start 2010 then to begin setting attainable goals and asking God to help you accomplish them.

We know that you have heard this before but we are passionate about people being connected at Crossway Church. We are convinced that the best way to mature as a Christian and learn more about God is in on one of our SERVICE TEAMS or in one of our LIFE GROUPS.  Please step out the box and get involved in one of these many life-changing ministries. We will have our next Catch the Vision class on January 31, 2010. If you are new to Crossway Church this class will help you understand our vision, mission and core values so that you will know why we do church like we do.

The three R’s that motivate us are Revere, Reach and Retain.  Renee and I are confident that we can best fulfill these three R’s through all members being ministers. There is no better time to get involved than right now. It is a New Year so try something new. Please start by inviting someone new every week. Thank you so much for your faithful devotion to each other and to God. We are grateful God brought our family back to this region to be a part of such a great community of people. We love co-laboring with each and every one of you!

May God’s grace be with all of you,

Rodney and Renee

Last Post of ‘09…

I cannot believe that this year is over! It has been a year of up and downs for my family and our church. We have had some great things happen this year. We have also had some very sad moments as we had to stand beside many that lost love ones. We are ending the year with great anticipation of what 2010 will bring.

Renee’ and I still stand in awe every day about the overwhelming spiritual and numerical growth that we have seen at Crossway Church this year. This has been the kind of year that I have only dreamed about as a pastor. Thank you Father for being so GOOD to us. We are so grateful to get to lead such a wonderful group of people.

In the world around us we have seen history made as America got her first African American president. We have come a long way…thank you God! We have also seen many popular celebrities pass away and watched as thousands lost their jobs when the economy collapsed. 2009 will definitely be a year to remember! Good or bad. Hopefully it was a great year for you. As a veteran I tear up one more time as I remember our Veterans and men and women fighting on foreign soil for our freedom. Thank you so much for your sacrifice!

I did not do a good job with my blog this year. With the increase in growth at the church my blog suffered as we cared for many. I am going to try and do a better job in 2010. Thanks for reading it this year if you did.

Some awesome memories from this year as a father were…my oldest daughters soccer team making state playoffs, her making homecoming court and being accepted into the University of Georgia and her being saved from any harm in all 4 vehicle wrecks…My son getting his passion back for playing the guitar and leading worship, his soccer and cross country team making state playoffs and the many days of deer and turkey hunting with him…and last but not least getting to coach my baby daughters soccer team, seeing her perform in many church events and have a love for hunting and hunting with her.

I told our people Sunday that my greatest memories this year as a pastor came from watching many give their life to Jesus and get baptized this year. It was also awesome to get to dedicate our new sanctuary and other areas of our building. I send out thanks to all who have made this year wonderful for me and my family. Thanks for the family and friends that believe in us as a family and as leaders in the Body of Christ.

I do not say it enough, but I am very pleased to have spent another wonderful year with my beautiful wife. We celebrated 21 phenomenal years in August.  I love you Renee’ and I could not do all that I do without you…

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Just Couldn’t Help It…

Psalm 100

¹Shout with joy to the LORD, O earth! ²Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. ³Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. ⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. ⁵For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

I was reading this passage this morning and I could not help myself…I felt like everyone needed to read it and just dwell on the fact of how good our God is! It is Thanksgiving week and I just wanted to continue to give thanks where thanks is due! He and He alone is worthy of all praise, glory, honor and thanks!

Hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving,

Rodney

Sunday Reflections…11/22/09

As a pastor I am always a bit nervous when I walk outside on Sunday morning and it is cold and raining. Let’s be honest, you really have to love Jesus to come out in the cold and rain to worship on Sunday morning. Nonetheless people showed up yesterday and we had an awesome Pre-Thanksgiving service. It is my belief that we could minister on being thankful to God and nothing else and minister out of a thankful heart and win our communities to Jesus Christ. Let”s be THANKFUL this week.

• Thanks Pastor Chris and the worship team for ministering with such energy, enthusiasm and anointing yesterday. I would still put y’all up against any team in the nation!
• Crossway volunteers you’re the best! There is no way that we could do what we do without every one of you! Thank you so much for your time and effort…even in the rain!
• I just wanted to say thank you to the whole church for coming out in the rain and cold yesterday. It seemed to be raining the hardest about 15 minutes prior to service time, but you were here anyway. Thanks for your dedication and commitment to God and others.
• A few notes from yesterday…

Matthew Henry quote after being robbed… “Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

“If you can’t be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape.” Anonymous

Remember as you go through the week…

Thanking God is a choice…Thankfulness is about obedience…Thankfulness draws us near to God…and Thankfulness produces peace in our lives…

The message is available online @ www.crosswaychurch.com

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week…

Rodney

Happy Thanksgiving…

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT) ¹⁶Always be joyful. ¹⁷Keep on praying. ¹⁸No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

If you are from Crossway this may look a little familiar. I shared this message in our November newsletter. I felt like the Blog audience needed to get in on this to. I absolutely cannot believe that it is November again. It only seemed like yesterday that I was turning forty-one and now it is time for my birthday again. No, this short note is not about my birthday but it is about a holiday that comes every year close to my birthday Thanksgiving.  Where did this year go? Was I thankful enough for all that my Heavenly Father gave me this year? Was I thankful in everything like the scripture above instructs me to be? I think these are questions that we can ask ourselves as the year 2009 is coming to an end.

I have had the opportunity to sit before a lot of people this year in many different circumstances. Some were happy, some were mourning, some were bitter, some were excited and some were bewildered by the economy and other circumstances that they were facing. I have caught myself saying more times than not but be thankful that…you fill in the blank. You are still breathing, you did not lose your home, you still have a job, your family still has a roof over its head, you have a car, you have a little bit of money to put gas in your car, you have food in your pantry and the list goes on and on. I believe that we sell our God short when we are not thankful for all the things that we take for granted on a daily basis. I love what the Apostle Paul instructs us to do in our passage “be thankful for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” These were some of his final instructions to the church in Thessalonica.

If you want to know what God’s will for you is this Thanksgiving season then take note. It has not changed. Be thankful for everything that He has done for you, is doing for you and will do for you. I had a wise preacher tell me one time, “Get up everyday and write down three things that you are thankful for and this will help you have a grateful heart.” I have been obedient to this, maybe not everyday but most and it is very seldom that I cannot find something to be thankful for and it keeps my heart healthy and grateful. If you struggle with being thankful let this be the year that God transforms you into a thankful person. Start now by creating a gratitude list of all the things that you are thankful for. You will not be sorry! May God’s blessings overtake you and yours as you celebrate His goodness in this season!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving…

Rodney

History Part 2…

Thought that I might get back to a blog that I posted in August. I have not posted in 3 months. I will be very honest and tell you that I have not had time. It has not been my priority. God, my wife,  my children and our church have been at the top of my list and I am not ashamed to post that. I am going to do my best to post weekly, but I am not going to promise anything.

Back to our history…I said before, that the small group of people began to grow. They did, and we ended up meeting on Saturday night in one location for about 6 months. After that we moved to our home where we had a building that we met in for 4 years on Sunday. During that time we built that building out twice and filled up our home as well. For numbers sake…we were probably averaging 75 people a service before we moved to our current location. (2081 Ware Street Extension-Blackshear GA-31516) We are in an old shoe factory. It is a 13,000 sq. ft. warehouse that we have renovated. We have had 3 building phases up to this point. We have secured almost 3/4 of the building. In December of last year we moved into our Worship Center that seats 400 comfortably. It has been a GREAT year!

If I could some up our story in two words they would be grace and servants. God’s grace has been so sufficient for us as we have been obedient to lean on Him to accomplish His mission. The people that serve with us and have served with us through the years have been AWESOME! Every person that has been on the journey with us has meant so much to us. We could not have done any of this without God and all of the people that have given of their lives, time, talents, resources and abilities to see the vision accomplished. Thanks to every one of you!

Good to be back on the BLOGOSPHERE again!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Rewind back to Sunday…

I will post tomorrow to finish up on our history…Sunday was absolutely off the charts! Again and I know that I say it all of the time but our volunteers, leaders and staff are the best around. Thanks to everyone of you that worked so hard to pull off our birthday event! The worship was awesome, the preaching was phenomenal, Thank you Father for all of the salvations…the food was excellent…thanks to every one of ya’ll that made it happen…Crossway Church you are the BEST!!!

My Father in the Lord, Pastor LA Joiner preached an awesome message entitled “Building Principles that Transcend all TIME”. You can check it out online, but I thought that I would insert the key points…

Matthew 16:18 (KJV) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

The Process of Building…

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,  in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Eph. 2: 19-22

Have a specific word regarding a location…

Acts 16:19 “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

Make Jesus The Focus…

Heb. 12:2 “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”

Make People The Target…

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world…”

Build On Integrity…

Prov. 10:9  “He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known.”

Train and raise up leaders that you are not afraid to release…

Look for the leadership gift…Train, delegate and release slowly…Follow carefully the qualifications of 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:3-9…

Make The Scripture Your Center…

Gain a working knowledge of the Scripture so that you build the Kingdom of God and not a counterfeit.

Always let the Scripture adjust your steps and define your vision.

Seek The Power Of The Holy Spirit To Accomplish All That You Do…

Zech. 4: 6 “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.”

Allow The Holy Spirit To Do A Complete Work Among You…

1 Sam. 17:50-51 “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”

Build A Church That Releases Ministry Through The People And Not Upon One Leader Or A Small Group Of Leaders…

Neh. 4:6 “So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…”

Build A Church For The Long Haul…

Isa. 9:7 “of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end…”

Until Tomorrow,

Rodney

History 1…

Job 25:5 (NLT) “God is so glorious that even the moon and stars scarcely shine compared to him.”

Before I look back at how awesome God has been to us over the last seven years I thought that I would just share this passage out of the Book of Job. We are celebrating how good God has been to us and my personal reading is in Job right now. I love all the references to how unfathomable our God is by all the people in Job. This passage out of Job 25 rocked my world this morning. God’s glory is so bright that even the moon and stars are not bright compared to Him…if you are Pentecostal that should make you want to run a lap around your house! Anyway just thought I would give glory where it is due! I was at spin class @ 5:15 or I think I might would take a lap…

HISTORY…I was telling my wife earlier today that it just does not seem possible that we have been leading this wonderful ministry for 7 years now! I am absolutely humbled and amazed at what God has done! This dream all started in a deer stand in November of 2001. I felt like the Lord told me on a cold and rainy fall morning to move from Atlanta to Waycross and start a church that would primarily reach out to unchurched and dechurched  people. I started looking at the demographics and found out that in my home town on Sunday morning that over 40,000 people were not in church on any given Sunday of the year. This broke my heart and I asked the Lord to give me a passion for Ware County and the 7 counties that surround this county in Southeast Ga. Rewind just for a moment…When I felt that the Lord had first told me to move back I was very stubborn and did not want to leave the Atlanta area where we were ministering. After 7 confirmations in 3 different states and events I thought maybe I should be obedient to the Lord. I did not want to get swallowed by a whale! After a season of prayer and fasting we spoke with our Pastor and leadership team at the church where we were serving and they thought it was the Lord. We set the ball in motion and found a team of people in the Waycross area and began to pray, fast, and meet monthly until we felt like it was time to launch…In the early days we met on Saturday Nights in homes and stayed under the radar until we felt like it was time to go public with the launch. We eventually went public and our small team of people began to grow! More tomorrow…

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Sunday Night Reflections…

Great day @ Crossway!!! I just want to say that our staff and leadership teams are the best around…thank every one of you for all of your hard work and desire to see the Kingdom of God pressed forward in this region of the nation. We had two people give their lives to Jesus today! Go God! It is always awesome to watch people who are far away from God take the first step in getting to know him. Just a few things that we are learning as God is gracious enough to trust us with more people…

• We have to have systems in place to disciple people…(we are kicking our small groups back off in 3 weeks)
• We use our service teams in the discipleship area as well…
• 5 Star Service to everyone that comes on our property…coming in and going out…no exceptions…and we are still learning how to do this!
• Make sure that you have enough space and workers for all of the children that adults bring…keep it clean and safe…we are learning this too!
• Communicate daily at least weekly with all of your teams…communicate, communicate, communicate…this is one of our key watchwords…
• When you start videoing and put stuff up for everyone to see…you get to see all of your flaws magnified 100 times…okay maybe only 50 times…also people have a hard time getting used to the camera guys…
• Practice still makes perfect!!! Even though we will never be perfect…
• Always, always, always walk slowly through the crowd…people enjoy seeing you and talking to you…especially the kids!!!
• I know this has been said a lot…and we still do not do it enough…but celebrate all of your wins with your teams and key people…
• Last but not least today…have someone keep you accountable with this…STAY HUMBLE…all the GLORY is God’s!

Just a few thoughts from today…we are celebrating our 7th Birthday as a church this week. Our church is very excited and we cannot wait to see what God is going to do this year! I will try to post daily this week and share a little each day about our history. Blessings until tomorrow…

Until all have heard,

Rodney