Catfish, Kroger and Family…

Monday is our day off for our whole staff at Crossway Church. There was a time when I would say I was taking a day off but would not take it off. Something would always come up or I would schedule a meeting that would not fit anywhere else on the day that I was supposed to take off. In January of 2008 I made a commitment to God, my wife and my family that my day off would be just that and so far I have been very diligent to keep my commitment and be faithful to my word in this area of my life. It has definitely been for the better…for everyone involved!

I said all of that so that I could talk about Catfish, Kroger, and Family. My catfish story of the week is that my son Aaron and I went fishing Saturday evening and after catching 6 Bass around 1/2 lb a piece and throwing them back I landed a catfish that weighed about 8 lbs. It was awesome!!! It took me about 5 minutes to get it on the bank. I hope that the picture we took will show up on this post…what does this have to do with anything you might ask? FAMILY…It has to do with family…As important as ministry is to me, loving my wife and raising my kids cannot play a secondary role to the ministry! I did not say to God I said to the ministry. I believe that my priorities must stay in line with my Heavenly Fathers’ in order for me to have His full blessing on my life. I desire every good thing that He has for me.

You may be wondering where Kroger fits in…Again…FAMILY! If you do not know what Kroger is, it is a chain of grocery stores. Ours has a STARBUCKS in it. Some of you may say whipidee-doo!…But when you live in a town as small as ours and it has a STARBUCKS in it is a pretty big deal. Anyway, Monday we went grocery shopping and when I say we I mean all of us! It is becoming a regular thing around our home for the whole family to go grocery shopping together. Monday was really special because not only did we have the 5 of us but we had one of my daughter’s friends with us as well! Now that is FAMILY! The best thing about going grocery shopping with my family is that I get to pick out my own snacks…not really, it is the bonding, laughing, joking, and hanging out together. You do not have to go grocery shopping with your family but at least spend some time with those God has given you called FAMILY!

Rodney

Thoughts on Yesterday…

We had another wonderful Sunday at Crossway…I believe that through the new series “EXPECT” God will stretch us a church in ways that we have never been stretched. It is a clarion call to move forward and do the vision that God has laid before us. Like I said yesterday, “It will be hard work!”, but I have faith in God and every member of Crossway Church that we can make it happen together. All of you are awesome and I love being your pastor.

I cannot say it enough, “thanks again” for all of your hard work that enables us to be able to pull off our services every week. As we go through this week let’s be authentic in our walk with God and others and also let’s make meeting together a frequent happening. Do not forget about the community wide events Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday Night @ 7:00pm at Waycross Middle School with Power Unlimited and Thursday Night @ 6:00pm at the Waycross City Auditorium for the National Day of Prayer. Let’s support the city by being in attendance at these meetings…have a great day!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

What I have been thinking…

This will not be a long post…

• The weekend was awesome…Thanks for all of your hard work on Sunday CROSSWAY!!! All of you ROCK!!!
• Our God never ceases to amaze me at how wonderful He is!!!
• What about Danica Patrick being the first lady to win in an Indy car in Japan over the weekend? It was a long time coming and I am glad to finally see her win…
• In NASCAR the Nationwide CUP boys raced in Mexico City, MX…Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards are unstoppable…GO young guns!!!
• I am reading in Exodus…I love how much God loves His people…He cares so much for them and every little thing matters to Him…Good lesson for all of us!
• Our school year is winding down, I believe that we have 4 weeks left…I do not remember  school ever getting out this early  when I was a boy!
• My oldest daughter will be going to her first prom this Saturday night…I am still processing this…I cannot figure out if I am getting older or what!
• My son and I are hitting the weights hard again now that his soccer season is over…there is a possibility that he can play summer soccer…that might be pretty cool!
• This is a rough time of the year for my baby daughter…her asthma and allergies really cause a lot of trouble for her…unless you have asthma you really do not understand what people with it go through…I believe Jesus called this compassion!
• Spin Class comes early in the morning 5:15 so I am going to bed…have a good evening!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Spiritual Fathers…

Spiritual Fathers…

I was at my monthly CAM (Christian Alliance of Ministries) meeting today all day in Valdosta, GA. It was awesome!!! It is a time when pastors from all over Southeast GA…Northeast FL, and a few other areas who are connected to CAM come and fellowship together. Usually one of the pastors will share a WORD in the morning, we will eat together and then we will come back in the afternoon, share, and pray for one another in small groups. It is great to be with others who are going though what you are going through. It is also wonderful to have Spiritual Fathers that can speak into your life and ministry. My Spiritual Father or “Papa” as I have grown to call him is L.A. Joiner (lajoiner.blogspot.com).

1 Corinthians 4:15 (NLT) For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father…

This passage is clear about Spiritual Fathers. I have many people that I lean on and learn from but even as Paul said in the latter part of this scripture, I have learned to imitate what my father does as he imitates Christ.

There was a season where I was not walking with this man as closely I should have and I learned some valuable lessons during that time. All I know is ever since I have been back in right relationship with him my life and ministry have been so much better. I would encourage you if you do not have a spiritual father or mother to find one and glean from the benefits and heritage that is in it. I am grateful that my spiritual father will be able to speak into our congregation on Sunday. If you are from CROSSWAY come expecting as he blesses us with a powerful word that will be in season and applicable for this hour that our Heavenly Father has us in as a church. Renee and I love you CROSSWAY FAMILY and we will see you on Sunday!

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Change…

We finished up the last week of our “METAMORPHOSIS” series on Sunday. CHANGE is the short definition for metamorphosis. We got to see a real change in a couple of people this week. I am so indebted to our Creative Team and all the others that helped us pull off the total makeover on 2 people from our congregation…it was awesome!!! I remember several weeks back when this was just a thought while we were sitting around a table brainstorming. To see it become a reality was really powerful…for all the teams at Crossway Church week in and week out you continue to amaze me!!! Thank you for all of your effort and hard work!!! As we continue on this journey together, I am certain that we will get to see many more lives changed by the awesome power of our God!!! Keep Up the Good Work!

Until allhave heard,

Rodney

Hard Hearted…

Mark 6:52 tells us that…Mark 6:52 (NIV) for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened… I tried to wrap my mind around the question of why their hearts were hardened after witnessing such a great miracle…the feeding of the 5 thousand …with 5 loaves and two fish.  It was not until I researched a bit and found this from the Barnes Commentary that I realized just how much I acted like the disciples.

Barnes Commentary says…‘Their “mind” was dull to perceive it. This does not mean that they were “opposed” to Jesus, or that they had what we denominate “hardness of heart,” but simply that they were slow to perceive his power.’

I do not know how spiritual you are, but many times, I am just as these guys were. Slow to perceive or understand the power of the God that I serve.  He is so awesome and so many times, we forget about whom it really is that we get to serve day in and day out! So do not be hard hearted, have the heart of a child and believe God for something miraculous today.

Until all have heard,

Rodney

Fun with the Family…

In my last post I stated that I was on Spring Break with my family. I told our congregation on Sunday that I felt as close to God last week as I had in a long time. What I meant was that as we were together and having a wonderful time in Orlando FL and God was with us! I believe the scripture says, “where 2 0r 3 are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of you”…I believe he was with us, he refreshed us, renewed us and gave us new insight as a family. That’s what vacation is supposed to be about right?  Hopefully  your next one will be that for you!

Our weekend was great, METAMORPHOSIS took on a whole new meaning Sunday as 7 people helped me teach on the subject from their own lives. Thanks to all of you who helped with “HOLLYWOOD STAIRS”. I got a lot of good feedback on it. You will not want to miss this Sunday as we close the series out with “Total Makeover” it is going to be wonderful!!!

I am going to talk about  Mark 6:52 tomorrow, the subject will be on being hard hearted. I was amazed when I researched this passage. It looked a lot like most of us when it came down to it.

Until tomorrow,

Rodney

The Last Few Days…

Some thoughts of what has happened over the last few days…

• One of the highlights of last week on Thursday was my son Aaron’s soccer team winning the region championship. GO BEARS!!! I liked their coaches attitude…he said, “Warriors are champions before they enter the Battlefield!”…not a bad quote!!!
• My oldest daughter’s soccer team won Friday night against a team that beat them earlier in the season. Sweet Victory!!!
• We had an awesome service on Sunday…we started a new series called “METAMORPHOSIS“!!! Thanks to all of our staff, leaders and volunteers for all of  your help. You guys and gals ROCK!
• My family and I arrived in Orlando FL today for our Spring Break vacation…It is wonderful to get to spend quality time with all of them.
• On the way down the hand of God was on us…it started raining real hard, the road was slick and the vehicles in front of us started piling up…I went off the road on the median and was able to drive past all of the cars that were piling up. I think about 6 or 8 cars piled up together. Nothing like a little bit of excitement to get things started!!!
• We will get to experience a few of the Disney parks tomorrow…my youngest daughter is very excited. My oldest two are happy as well.
• That’s all for now…I will give you an update on Mickey and the boys tomorrow!!!

Until all have heard,

Rodney