I think we had an awesome weekend. I hope that you did too. Our service on Sunday was off the charts and I still cannot get enough of that Uncle Sam guy. If you are not from the Crossway family we have an Uncle Sam character that shows up on all patriotic holidays. He usually gives the announcements or something. Anyway…My families 4th was our usual…we watched our awesome worship team (You Guys Rock!!!) lead worship in our towns 4th of July rally, went to eat with about 20 other people from our church and then ate boiled peanuts and watched the fireworks together. Hope that you had a great 4th as well.

For those of you that know how crazy of a time that I have had with our swimming pool this year…guess what? We are hopefully only a couple of days from swimming! Everyone in the Thrift household give me a BIG AMEN!!! This has been one of the biggest battles that we have fought in a long time. I had to weed-eat my dad’s yard today. You might say no big deal…think again…he has 5 acres…a pond covers about 3/4 of one of the acres and it has to be trimmed…fun, fun, fun in the South GA HEAT! It’s the least that I can do for him for all that he has done for me over the years.

Have you heard…we are only a few days away from “SUPERNATURAL” our new series at Crossway Church. It is going to be absolutely one of the best series that we have ever done. If you are a part of the Crossway family you will not want to miss it. If you are not we are live streaming now. You can pick us up @ www.crosswaychurch.com at 10:00 am on Sunday mornings. Please pray for our students this week, they are at Crossroads Camp hanging out with Clayton King and his gang in Boiling Springs, NC. I know that they are having an incredible time!!! Have a great evening!!!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Summer is really not here but it is getting close.  The first day of summer is June 21, 2009. If you are a parent, because school is out you use the statement that the “summer is here”. This is not a true statement though. It is thirty days off. It is a part of our routine as a parent with a kid/kid’s in school to think that when school is out that the summer is here. Even though it is really spring.   Why does it seem like we are trying to hurry things along? I noticed this spring that I was getting antsy when it started getting warmer and my yard and flowerbeds were still not fixed the way that I wanted them to be. Then one afternoon the Lord spoke to me and said, “that we barely were in the spring season and to calm my nerves”. I am a type A personality and maybe a little OCD…okay a lot. When things are out of place it irritates me to say the least. So, why am I talking about seasons and being in a hurry? If your summer is anything like mine it will be busy. What we need to figure out is how and when we need to do certain things. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT) There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.

 Take a deep breath. Do you feel better? I hope so. Many times I am asked when ministering to people that are under lot of stress, “How do I keep my stress from making me explode?” My answer is the same that I teach children about dealing with tough situations or times when they feel like acting out, saying the wrong words, or wanting to punch someone. First things first, take a deep breath, possibly turn away for a moment and count to ten or twenty if you need to. Get your thoughts together, then speak or act and hopefully you won’t explode on someone or something. What does this have to do with time or timing you may ask? Everything! Think about your time. I figured out long ago that I bring more stress on myself than anyone else. I have been taught time and time again that I make my schedule. So why do I let others dictate it, even my kids? In the past we have had a calendar at the Thrift house that has all of our ministry obligations and the kids activities on it so we know where everyone is supposed to be and when. This makes life much easier. Lately, our calendar has been inoperable and things have been a little disorganized. I think I might go get our calendar worked out now so that I can get things back under control…The only thing about a calendar is that you have to work it. If you want it to work you have to make it work. It takes a little discipline. We are all capable of making it happen though. In the military we had five p’s that we used when dealing with time. They were…proper planning prevents poor performance. Makes sense to me. If you want things to operate in an orderly fashion be a proficient planner. I thought that I would just give you a little nugget to hopefully take some of the stress off of your daily living this summer.

 A few other stress busters are spend time with God, read your Bible, let someone hold you accountable on your time, laugh more and laugh at yourself more. Proverbs 22:17 (MSG) tells us…A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired. We have a lot going on at the church this summer. Our new series starts Sunday 06.07.09 it is titled “REFLECTIONS” and we will look at the four most important relationships that we should all have. I am very excited about this series and I hope that you will glean a lot out of it. Make it a point to bring someone new every week. Every Wednesday of the summer starting 06.03.07 our student ministry will be doing Cross & Towel. Cross & Towel is an opportunity to serve in some capacity (just as Jesus came to serve) in the morning and they hang out, go swimming or do something relational in the afternoon. Our children’s ministry is getting ready for Kid’s Aflame in June and VBS in July. There is a lot of work that goes in to these two events so if you would like to help in anyway please call the church (912.284.9066) and we would be glad to get you plugged in. Renee’ and I hope that you have a wonderful summer and please look at the church calendar and make as many events as you can. 

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Quick Blog…We are so glad to have our new web site up and running www.crosswaychurch.com…welcome to Crossway Church if this is your first visit…please feel free to look around and hang out with the Crossway family…it will not be long and we will have our podcast and live web streaming going so come back soon…Jesus reigns!!!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

FAMILY

The Thrift Family Spring Break was awesome! I got to go turkey hunting for the first time in my life. My son was my guide. I do not know of another hunter that I would want to be with on the hunt anyway. We had turkeys in on us but we could not get them close enough and the coyotes came in and scared the turkeys off. Oh well that is why it is called hunting. We had a great time. Our week was relaxing and we all got to catch fish,ride ATV’s, hunt, sleep in, take naps and read books. It was the first vacation that my family ever went on with my brother and his family. We got along just fine. We ate a lot of food and had fun just being with one another. That is what family is all about anyway right?

CHURCH

Our Easter service was really a BLAST! Our numbers were definitely the highest for any regular single service. Go Crossway Church team leaders, members, volunteers and guests. You all did a wonderful job on Sunday. From all aspects of the service, to the meal and the Easter Egg Hunt your perfomance was off the charts. All of you are the best people that anyone would ever want to pastor. Renee’ and I appreciate you all so much.

I am really pumped up about our service this weekend. This will be the first time that we have done a Family Production in a long time. I cannot wait to see our Children’s Church team in action! If you come to Crossway you will not want to miss the powerful message that they are going to bring to us. This would be a great time to invite a new family, your family, or any friends that have kids.  Our new series that we start in two weeks will be one of the best series that we have ever done. In this series we will minister on “How to Survive In Times of CRISIS!” It will be Biblical principles for today’s tough times! You will not want to miss a single week of this series! I believe that we all have something to learn in this area…

GOD TIME

I would have to say that if God is teaching me anything right now it is to be still and learn how to listen to Him speak to me. If you know me then you know that this is hard for me. I am a doer. I love people and I enjoy doing for them. In the hour that we are living in God is teaching me to be still and listen then act. Jesus’ life was full of hurting people that needed ministry, but he talked to, touched, loved on and healed only those that the Father told Him to. I believe that if we will listen for His voice, He will lead us to everyone that we need to minister to. We do not have to be fearful of saying no to some things…even good things sometimes may not be God things. So many times in the Gospel’s Jesus pulled back and rested and prayed. He was listening to the Father to know His next move. Do not get so caught up in doing ministry that you are not being filled up daily to do the ministry. God desires time with us. That is important for us to be able to survive in the times that we are living in! Blessings…

Until all have heard,

Rodney

My family and I are on Spring Break. We have traveled up to a beautiful 300 acre plot of land outside of Elberton GA. This property has 2 lakes and plenty of land to hunt on. We will be doing a little turkey hunting while we are here. If we kill a big one I might have to blog twice this week. This is really a nice place to come to because we do not have cell service here. Therefore we can focus on one another! I do have the internet, but we spend most of our time fishing, reading, hunting, or driving one of the four-wheeled machines around. This might not seem like fun to everyone but to the Thrift family it is a blast.

It is real quiet up here as well. I love the mornings. Every time that I have been here I have always been refreshed and I usually get a fresh WORD from God. I really like this week. It is Holy Week. People are celebrating all around the world the wonderful God that I serve. I am still amazed at how many people do not want anything to do with my Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. I do not understand how people live without the peace that He brings into our lives. I am believing for many to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus this weekend. I know that churches all over America will be bringing a message that people will be able to respond to.

If you are a part of the Crossway Church Family, please invite people to be a part of our service Sunday morning. It will be awesome. I believe that it will be one of the most profound services that we have ever had.  I am believing for the largest service in the history of our church. I am also believing that we will see the most salvations that we have ever had in one service as well. Believe with me on Sunday! Invite your family, friends and neighbors. Be blessed and have a GREAT week!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

It has been 7 months since I last blogged. I know that this goes against the grain of blogging but to say the least my family and the church have been very busy. This is not really an excuse, but once again blogging was what got the axe in my agenda. I have decided that I am going to try to post once a week. This post will come out on Mondays. This seems to fit my schedule best. My focus will be as always…God, Family, and the Local Church! Blessings and Good Night!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

I have been traveling a lot over the last few days…Saturday evening my wife and I traveled to Moultrie, Ga. and ministered @ Heritage Church on Sunday. Monday I traveled to Lake City to the VA hospital. Today I traveled to Brunswick, Ga. to take a friend of mine to an appt. I am not sure how many miles that I have put on my van, but it has been a lot. It is amazing how much that you get to think, see, and experience when you go to other towns and places. I know that everyone is not like me but I am glad that I get to experience other places and not just stay in one location all of the time. I think that this is how our walk with God should be. It would be very boring if all I did was stay in one place with Him all the time. My desire is to go from glory to glory…or deeper and deeper with my Heavenly Father! I do not believe that He wants us to stay in a rut…I believe that it is His desire to establish us as His and then take us to greater heights with Him then we have ever been before. Ask, trust and believe and He will show Himself true to you. Stay on the journey…and have safe travels!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Are you ready for the weekend? Every Friday millions of people across America are ready for the weekend. Myself included! It is their time…free time, if you have a job that permits. The weekend is an important part in our lives. 2 days off for the most part…unless you are in ministry. Those of us in ministry usually don’t get this privilege and we take another day in the week. It is designed for rest…but, few of us do that. The unique thing to do this weekend would be to try and get some rest. Give yourself some time off and do not feel guilty about it. God did…

Genesis 2:2-3 (NLT) On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.

If you call yourself a Christ follower…be a copy cat this weekend and do what God did. It is good for us in all areas of our lives. I would suggest that you worship with your church family on Sunday though!!! Until next week…may God bless you!

Until all have heard,

Rodney 

Legacy is defined as something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor. Today, I wanted to talk about it for a few moments…before I do, I want to send out an EXTRA BIG “THANK YOU” to everyone from the Crossway family that made VBS a success last week. Your time and devotion paid off. The last count that I received on Sunday night was that 55 people gave their lives to Jesus Christ! My hat is off to each and every one of you. Keep doing what you do, it is making a difference. While I am on the subject…thanks for all of your hard work Sunday morning as well! We had an awesome Sunday and the momentum keeps building as we are getting closer to moving in to our new sanctuary! All of you ROCK!

Back to legacy…for Renee and I coming back to our hometown to plant a church was a “legacy” move on the big chess set of life! Much like the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez we knew when we came back to Waycross, GA, that we were burning our ships so there would be no way to retreat, and staying for life to see a region transformed by the glory of God! This week in VBS I got to experience a little of that. I believe that “longevity promotes legacy”. We ministered in this region for almost 5 years to students, children, and their parents . Then we moved to Atlanta, Ga for 3 years before coming back almost 6 years ago to plant a Life Giving local church.

Back to VBS week…I started thinking about the power of legacy as I watched many of the students that Renee and I had in student and children’s ministry doing ministry on the stage all week. It was awesome. It hit me even more when I was picking up and taking home the children of the students that we used to minister to. It was exciting to hear them talk about Jesus and their walk with Christ. At some points in our services this week there were 4 generations of Christians worshipping and ministering together! That is legacy! That is why we do what we do! God is on the move in our region and I cannot wait to see what He is going to do next, so we can come along beside Him and be his hands and feet in the flesh! Have a GREAT day…

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Yesterday marked 19 years that I have been serving the Greatest King that ever lived! I have been reflecting on the journey…my it has been wonderful! I have had so many awesome things happen since I gave my life to Jesus Christ on July 23, 1989. My journey with this wonderful God has taken me to many states in the USA, Panama, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Canada, and numerous trips to Mexico. Every trip has been different, power packed and exciting! My walk with God has definitely been breathtaking and interesting all at the same time. I think that this is how it should be for everyone. I have really enjoyed getting to serve Jesus Christ. I am grateful for my walk with Him…from my salvation, to my ordination, to getting to be the Lead Pastor of a local life giving church.

Nothing compares with the perks that come with being a Christ follower. I get to be married to the most beautiful woman in the world…which by the way in 26 days she and I will celebrate 20 wonderful years of marriage. We get to raise our kids in a home that is not perfect but filled with the joy, peace, gentleness, patience, and grace of Jesus Christ. What a joy it is to serve my King! Together, we all get to see people get to serve this King as we do, watch broken families get put back together, addicts get free of bad habits and the list goes on and on. It is an awesome responsibility but the rewards outweigh it by far! I am so glad I made the choice to serve this Great King 19 years ago!

Until all have heard,

Rodney