Wade's Words

Change

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:35:00 +0000

Change is inevitable just like death and taxes. Change comes with life. You may not want it and you may not like it but it comes. Sometimes change is hard like when your family moves to a new city and as a child you have to change schools. Sometimes you must change your ways if you want to save your marriage or if you want to make better grades in school. It can be hard but necessary. Change can be good as well. It can make you a better person! It can make you more appreciative of who you are as a person and where you've come from and what you have! I recently made a change! I decided to leave the church I started from scratch with my wife and about twenty people over five years ago! It wasn't an easy decision but one I knew was the right thing to do and the right time for me and my family and hopefully for Crosspoint! Change is not always easy but when you make a change knowing that it's the right thing to do, life takes on such more meaning! You come to realize what's really important in life like family and health and you value those you love more. Change brings questions. Some have wondered that it must be a waste that Crosspoint is no longer a church, since it went through a struggle following my departure and eventually merged with and became Next Level Church? My answer to that is an emphatic NO! What Christ did through Crosspoint will live on forever! Just ask Carol Cavanaugh, and Jeff Johnson and Ken Horgan and Sherry Hundley and Janet Poole and many, many others who came to know Christ at Crosspoint, or who found acceptance in our fellowship or who came to know real community through the friendships of others or who were blessed by the weekly teaching and worship! Ask the kids who received weekly hugs and love from the faithful volunteers or the many tireless servants who served together setting up week after week for the new folks who found a home at Crosspoint? They would say it was not a waste! If only one had come to know Christ during the four and half years it existed, it would have been worth it all! A waste? Not for a second! God will have the final say about Crosspoint and I'm confident that He will say his name was glorified and that his will was done! And the good news is that the ministry still continues there! It just doesn't say Crosspoint out on the front sign! It says Next Level and indications are that things are alive and well there! So, change happens! It may not always be what we imagined but it comes! The question is how will you respond to it when it does?

Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:02:00 +0000

I have had the good fortune to be able to lead several ministries over the past thirty years! First as a middle school teacher and coach, then as a middle school pastor, high school pastor, family and men's pastor and finally as a Lead Pastor. These positions included leading numbers of adult volunteers, thousands of students, and several staff members as well as hundreds of congregants. The past few months I have reflected on what it means to be a leader, whether it's the leader of a church as I was, the leader of a family, the leader of a committee or the leader of an athletic team or any other group or organization! We see and hear much today about leaders and leadership. Tim Tebow, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos has been described as a leader. Much has been made of his prayer pose on the field but he tries to let his abilities speak for themselves on the field with his team. Certain politicians in the GOP Presidential race have been trying to stand out as the right leader for their party. CEO's of major corporations have been branded as poor leaders of failed institutions. We could go on! As I have reflected on what it takes to be a leader today in any setting, I have noticed certain qualities that arise from those who have set the standard of leadership. Moses, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa and Truett Cathy are just a few great leaders who come to mind for me. I'll let you read up on their own personal qualities if you don't know their stories. I'll post a couple of these qualities here today for your consideration and a few more in later posts. To be a leader requires first and foremost humility! It's not about having a great vision or being relational or having a dynamic personality. Those things are fine but they are not the most important essential. It has to start with humility. I think humility is missing in many who call themselves leaders today! Jesus said that he who would be great must be the least of all. In other words, if you want to be a great leader, you must first learn what it means to be humble. Jesus said of Moses that he was the most humble person who ever lived. He was referring to Moses leadership. He was strong but tender. He knew that great leadership was about knowing from where one came and the great responsibility that comes with the job. Humility has been described by some as power under control. It's likened to a wild horse that's been broken and tamed. There can be no room for arrogance or ego or feeling as if you're above everyone else! To go up one must first go down. It was the epitome of how Jesus lived his life! If you think you're a leader or if you want to lead others, take on the attitude of humility. Humility enables one to see that leadership is hard and tenuous and requires an understanding heart for others who lead! Humility doesn't take pot shots at other leaders. Humility enables one to come alongside of other leaders to help and encourage and not tear down, because they sense and understand the difficulty of leading. Humility is never mentioned in most leadership books. It's usually about being strong and tenacious and driven and having a plan. But plans and goals mean nothing if you're not humble. Don't say you're a leader if you're not willing to humble yourself! A second quality of leadership that I believe is essential and the last we'll touch on here in today's blog is submission. Leaders aren't born and they don't assume leadership just because they may want to lead. There must be a willingness to submit to someone, to some group or to a process that channels people into leadership. They show by example that one can lead by the things they do (attitude-humility) and (action-submission) and prove that they're worthy of a leadership position. The best leaders at home are the ones who serve the rest without complaint. Jesus said he came to serve and not be served. Remarkable if you think about it. I mean, after all, he was the Son of God. He could have chosen to set up his throne and government right in the heart of Jerusalem. Yet he chose to lead in an upside down way that is contrary to what we usually think of leadership. In other words, he wasn't here to lord over others by strong arming and controlling. Leadership is born out of service to others and the willingness to do any and every task that may seem a long way from being the top dog, but it's the only way to leadership. Some of the greatest CEO's and president's of great companies started in the mail room or as a clerk or swept floors before they were ever appointed to the top. But they were willing to submit to a process that can take time and patience but in the end lead to places of leadership that was never imaginable. Many today have plans, ideas and visions that sound great. They're good people with great ambition. But they often try to assume leadership and leapfrog over the hard work of submission that's required to learn to lead. When Moses was young, you may remember he saw how his adopted nation of Egypt was mistreating his own people of Israel and he thought he could take matters into his own hands and kill an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite slave. He ran over and killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. He began looking for more of these opportunities to end the oppression of his people. He was looking to be a self-promoted leader. But it wasn't the right way or the right time. God wasn't ready for him to lead yet. Moses needed to learn humility and submission. Guess what happened to him. He spent the next 40 years on the back side of the desert herding sheep. Then after years of silence and solitude and hanging out with sheep, God was ready to let him lead. He learned the two greatest essentials of leadership. For all who yearn to lead, who may even have the biblical gift of leadership, check everything else at the door and let God work these two essentials deep into your character and life. Then and only then will you be ready to lead!

Friends!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:46:00 +0000

I love good friends! You know the kind I'm talking about? They are unpretentious around you and they love you for you! You can be yourself around your friends and there's no need to impress. You don't have to! And good friends have your back. They know you so they can vouch for you and will take a bullet for you because they love you! Tonight, we were out with good friends. They know who they are. There was good conversation and laughter, funny moments and serious, thoughtful moments and the time to just be yourself. These friends are safe because everything we say stays there. There's no need to worry that something you said will be shared because friends don't share. And you're known and accepted for who you are and all that goes with that instead of known for what you do! When I'm in a conversation with someone I've just met, I try not to ask what they do until I've gotten to know them. And then, as the conversation dies down, I may ask what they do for a living just to keep the conversation going and to get to know them better! Sometimes I don't ask at all because I don't wont that to make me size them up financially or socially. You see, we are all more than the title we wear, whether it be pastor or manager or vice president of marketing or administrative assistant! The job is not who I am but something I do! With good friends, it doesn't matter what you do! You're accepted and loved for who you are, warts and all! May we all learn to accept each other and the friends and neighbors we love just for who they are, not for what they do or for what they can give! Jesus said to "love your neighbor as you love yourself!" That means fully, without reservation, through and through! It's at the heart of what it means to be Christian!

Volunteerism

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Today I was a volunteer at the Morrison YMCA Triatholon event that ran in South Charlotte around the Y and surrounding community! There were several hundred participants and a host of volunteers to help run things. I don't write this to toot my own horn so that you'll look at me! But I do write this to encourage those who follow Christ to get out in the community and serve! It was a pleasure to serve today and to help point runners in the right direction and then to help take down and clean up! There's something about rubbing shoulders with total strangers and working together on a unified event that stirs you to care for others and to make things better. Now this was just a race event but being able to encourage runners and support the Y was very rewarding and hopefully inspiring to others! It reminds you why we live in this community and why we should serve others. I did it because I love Christ and love others and so I feel compelled to volunteer! I think it's what Christ would do if he were here! It also reminds me that there's more to life than just hanging out with the same folks that I'm most comfortable with! That's easy to do and it's what I'm most likely to do! But I'm so glad I spent my Saturday morning doing whatever was needed to make a great event happen for the community! For those of us who love Christ, let's look for opportunities to get out of our comfort zones and serve our community and serve others! Let's do what Christ would do! Let's put our faith to work!

The Highs and Lows of Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:34:00 +0000

This past week, I rode a roller coaster of emotions as I was involved in several personal encounters with very good friends that typifies the highs and lows of ministry! On one hand, I visited a former student of my youth ministry days who is battling a brain tumor now for almost four years. His wife and parents moved him here to their home so that he could finish out his days among family and friends. I was able to spend two great hours with them and recall fond memories of youth ministry days! My heart aches for them as they walk this path. You aren't supposed to outlive your students! But it was so refreshing to see their spirit and courage of faith and hope in the midst of suffering!
The day before this visit, another former student who attends our church gave birth to her second child! There's always such great joy at the birth of a baby! It's fun to watch former students experience life in this way!
Then, finally, on Saturday of this week, I was invited to baptize an entire family of very good friends in the backyard pool of their parents. There were some twenty plus family members and friends there to witness the baptism and testimony of this family! They wanted everyone to know of their faith in Christ and their desire to live for Him! What a thrill to be able to participate with them in this blessed day!
As I reflected on this past week and the highs and lows of the events I was fortunate enough to share in, I thought of how life is surely a journey of trust and faith in the midst of joy and pain! But through it all, the same God is present in every situation with each person, no matter where the journey leads them. I'm grateful to be a pastor and to be able to share in these moments with friends, as hard as they may be sometimes. Thankfully, He is there every step of the way!

NT Wrigth's Repsonse to Hawking on Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:08:00 +0000

Stephen Hawking, the great physicist of England, says that "Heaven is a fairy story". And NT Wright, the renown Theologian, also of England, responds to Hawking's view. I have his response here!

What Stephen Hawking doesn’t understand about heaven

It’s depressing to see Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant minds in his field, trying to speak as an expert on things he sadly seems to know rather less about than many averagely intelligent Christians. Of course there are people who think of ‘heaven’ as a kind of pie-in-the-sky dream of an afterlife to make the thought of dying less awful. No doubt that’s a problem as old as the human race. But in the Bible ‘heaven’ isn’t ‘the place where people go when they die.’ In the Bible heaven is God’s space while earth (or, if you like, ‘the cosmos’ or ‘creation’) is our space. And the Bible makes it clear that the two overlap and interlock. For the ancient Jews, the place where this happened was the temple; for the Christians, the place where this happened was Jesus himself, and then, astonishingly, the persons of Christians because they, too, were ‘temples’ of God’s own spirit.

Hawking is working with a very low-grade and sub-biblical view of ‘going to heaven.’ Of course, if faced with the fully Christian two-stage view of what happens after death -- first, a time ‘with Christ’ in ‘heaven’ or ‘paradise,’and then, when God renews the whole creation, bodily resurrection -- he would no doubt dismiss that as incredible. But I wonder if he has ever even stopped to look properly, with his high-octane intellect, at the evidence for Jesus and the resurrection? I doubt it -- most people in England haven’t. Until he has, his opinion about all this is worth about the same as mine on nuclear physics, i.e. not much.

As for the creation being self-caused: I wonder if he realises that he is simply repeating a version of ancient Epicureanism? i.e. the gods are out of the picture, a long way away, so the world/human life/etc has to get on under its own steam. This is hardly a ‘conclusion’ from his study of the evidence; it’s simply a well known worldview shared by most post-Enlightenment westerners. It is the worldview which enables secular democracy to consider itself an absolute, despite its numerous and rather obvious failings right now. The depressing thing is that Hawking doesn’t seem to realize this and so hasn’t even stopped to think that there might be quite sophisticated critiques of Epicureanism, ancient and modern, which he should work through. Not least the Christian one, which again focusses on Jesus.

Of course, the old set-up of the ‘science and religion’ debate was itself deeply influenced by this same worldview, and needs realigning. In fact, the ancient Christians would have been shocked to see their worldview labelled as a ‘religion.’ It was a philosophy, a politics, a culture, a vocation... the category of ‘religion’ is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

N.T. Wright | May 16, 2011 4:15 PM

Thoughts on Pursuing God!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:07:00 +0000

How much do I want the Spirit of God to work in my life? Well, to answer that question I must compare that thought to other things I want. There are many things that I want and usually if I want them, I will go to great lengths to get them. It's the way I am, probably the way most people are. Depending on our motivation and the desire that fuels it, and maybe because of need if I want to really rationalize it, I will go to absurd lengths to get whatever it is I'm after. It could be clothes, a gadget, a car, food, just about anything. Recently I helped find my son a car. His car was totaled in a wreck by someone who ran into him, so he needed a car. We needed him to have a car. So, out of necessity I drove all over Charlotte and surrounding towns in an effort to find the right car that was safe, reliable and affordable. I'm talking about hours spent on the internet, driving, and sitting in garages having cars checked out! Now, I do believe it was out of due diligence that I did those things. But I wondered after that experience if I really pursue God with that same all out abandon, where nothing is going to stop me from getting what I want! Sadly, I don't think I do very often, at least not enough! Yes, we need cars and other things we rely on to get us through the daily grind of life. And there's nothing wrong with taking time and effort for things that are a necessity. But it really made me think about how easily I can go after things I want, and yet, the one thing or Person I need more than anything else, I sometimes hardly pursue. Don't I need God more? Doesn't He deserve my all out pursuit of Him more than the things of life I pursue? Part of following after Christ is learning what's important. This day and the days that follow, I commit to not only desiring more of God, but also of pursuing God more than the things of this life! May we all do the same! www.crosspoint521.org

A Glimpse of the Woman I Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:18:00 +0000

My wife writes a blog and she is writing about the people who have meant the most to her. This will give you insight into the great woman she is! Read below and check out her blog here: http://musingsofapastorswife.blogspot.com/2011/01/2011-cheer-year-letter-4.html Enjoy! Jimmy

2011 Cheer Year - Letter 4
This blog entry will never get read by the person who has greatly impacted my life (probably the one single person who has impacted my life the most). So a handwritten note will be sent to my mother, Barb Shrider, with the following thank you. Please know that everything we do regarding my mother, we always consider it the “last” time to be able to do it. We are having a “long” goodbye with her. She was diagnosed over a year ago with Multiple Myeloma cancer, this on top of the stroke that she had suffered several months before. She lives in the later stages of her life with my sister, Penny who considers it a privilege to have mom in her home to give her the dignity that she deserves. I am so grateful to my sister for doing this; but that’s a letter on a different day. She now is under hospice care, still living with my sister, and is presently stable but weak.

Dear Mommy Dearest (it’s a term of endearment and not in the Betty Davis sense!)

Your silly daughter has decided that 2011 is the Year of Cheer, so I’m looking back and thanking someone each day that has greatly impacted my life. This is your day and I want to thank you for being my mommy! It’s so funny to me how two people could be so different but yet their hearts be knitted together! I think it’s because there is so much mutual respect for each other’s differences! Thank you for teaching me so much. It’s not that you sat down and gave me lessons; it was more me watching you live life! I watched you go to work each day and provide extra money so we could enjoy a new dress or shoes without Dad knowing! I watched you give away your money to coworkers who couldn’t afford medicine. I watched you enjoy your home, friendships and neighbors when you moved out on your own. I watched you get involved in hobbies like painting, photography and dancing. I watched you take care of my grandmother when I was so young and she was dying of cancer and then your own husband when he was dying. You are a great caretaker and a person of sacrifice. Thank you that you never wallowed around in your dysfunctional upbringing but decided early on that your life would be different for yourself and your children when you left home. You always said the most important thing is what your children say about you when you aren’t in the room. Besides thinking you are a little crazy at times, you are truly held in the highest of esteem! A short letter cannot contain all the emotion I have for you but I’ll just simply say, thank you!

Lovingly, your daughter,
Patty

God and Everyday, Ordinary People

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:53:00 +0000

Part of the miracle of Christmas is that God chose to use the everyday, ordinary experiences of everyday, ordinary people to accomplish his will.
Yes, the central message of Christmas is that Jesus came into the world as Immanuel, God with us, but he came through a young girl named Mary.
Now that is really uncommon and such a mystery. Think about it. Mary was probably around 14 years of age and Joseph was more than likely between 18 to 20 years old, according to Jewish culture. And then to top it all off, Mary, though most likely unsure of what the future would hold as the events of her life changed overnight, said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Luke 1: 38 (NIV)
Wow! What faith and what courage! You know God could have come up with some other way to accomplish his will. You and I would have certainly thought of another way. It could have involved angels coming to earth to be spiritual police or maybe we'd create some sort of cataclysmic event, but he didn’t do that. He became one of us via the womb of a virgin and grew up in a Jewish home under the care of everyday, ordinary parents who happened to love God and followed him.
The intriguing thing throughout the Bible is that God has always taken the initiative to act on behalf of humanity and he has always used men and women whom he has chosen to carry out his plan and purposes.
All of these people were not chosen because of their intellect or abilities or reputation or any other human quality. They were chosen because of God’s unmerited favor and grace. And he believed they could and would be able, with his help, to do what he asked of them, including Mary and Joseph.
Do you know God wants the same for us? He wants to work through you and me to accomplish the unbelievable. He wants us to trust him and believe that he can use our everyday, ordinary lives to accomplish his will.
All we have to do is say what Mary said some 2,000 years ago: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
Merry Christmas!

Is it All Real?

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:33:00 +0000

Lanny Donoho, who heads up BigStuf Camps and the 410bridge posted this on his blog today. I must repeat it here! It really sums up what we all feel about life and death and God and existence. Please read! It's worth the time.

Is it all real? “an excerpt”
Posted by: Lanny Donoho on December 9, 2010 at 1:06 am

we dont connect unless we are forced to.

we have to feel the need.

drowning, you reach for the air hose

falling, you reach for the rope

lonely, you reach for people

down, you connect to music..

hopeless, you just wish for hope..

and you hope there is a God.

can we connect with who or what God is????

do we believe or not?

dad gets cancer.

mom dies…

bobby is in a wheelchair

unplanned pregnancy…despair…

friends die and get sick

people make fun of me and i feel like crap

hell doesnt seem right or fair

god loves us…but a billion people dont have water?

tsunamis kill thousands…and where again was god?

jesus loved us but he’s dead now and…maybe… some people saw him alive after he was crucified or maybe they didn’t.

history books are really too sketchy to know for sure. nobody even wrote about it for at least 40 years after he died.

the old testament is bizarre…leviticus…ha! that’s just weird.

the new testament books share similar stories but different timelines, and have different details in different books that don’t match up

biblical scholars dont agree with scientists even on the age of the earth

what the hell? what’s real? what isn’t?

why do we say “what the hell?” if we aren’t even sure it exists?

But…when I stop to really think about all this….if god doesn’t exist….then how does anything else exist?

if there was once nothing …can something come from nothing?

why is god any harder to believe in than “something coming from nothing”?

If it all started with nothing…from our perspective “something” had to be there…because we just said “IT” all started from nothing.

“nothing” isn’t fathomable.

so why would it be hard to believe in “god” existing if you can believe in “nothing” …and then everything coming from “that”

so think about this:

the symmetry of the universe.

the balance of nature

the rhythm of the seasons

the regularity of the electrons around atoms

water

air

what it feels like to BREATHE that air

and drink that water…

the fact that you can have feelings about breathing.

the ability to think…

the ability to say that something or someone is beautiful…

and then

that a smell can trigger a memory of a time with someone you love.

that a sound through a phone is simply vibration of particles in the air, and that sound is a voice on the other side of the world, and the first vibration of that sound, and the recognition of your daughters voice can cause your heart to stir… and whatever might be described as a soul, swells up inside you and you smile and your heart beats faster ….because of a vibration of atoms?

that a touch on the lips by another being could stir every fibre in your being

that the incredible pain of childbirth can be forgotten completely when a mothers eyes get the first glimpse of her baby boy

that we could actually feel so deeply the pain of the death and loss of someone we care so much about

that we can actually care and love…and there is no way to adequately explain what caring and loving really are

that we absorb light through cones and rods to the point that the hues and colors and vibrations of those light waves allow us to label unexplainable art as sunrise and stars and ocean waves and mountain ranges…

and so many illustrations of beautiful art can move us to tears

that the vibration of strings and wind through instruments cause music to happen and that very music causes us to sing, and dance and love and celebrate and weep…

how can any of this be explained by only matter and heat and movement….a cosmic happenstance of sorts?

we create love and art and music and poetry and beauty… or should i say we re create it… and with all of the reason we can muster, the only way that any of that is possible is if it were created for those purposes …for our pleasure …for our ability to feel so we can know that beyond our grasp of knowledge there is something more mysterious… way beyond knowledge…

something that makes us who we are and how we are

we cannot see it we cannot explain it but IT IS there. we KNOW it….in the middle of all the doubts we just know

because we have touched something that contains no matter…

with a part of our soul that has no substance.

we dance to a tune that no man has written

we see art that cannot be painted or drawn

we love an individual who is not defined by anything in our 4 dimensions

we know what we cannot know because we are what we cannot define.

so how could we even say what love is if it may come from a creator who exists outside of all we can comprehend?

love and everything about it seems to be why most of us have any desire to even exist…

and so IT MUST exist…and if so where would it come from except from a thinking creator who…

cannot be defined, understood, described, or really even imagined…

so whoever jesus was ..his words seem to echo all of what we have just said…

trust in what you do not understand ….live in that trust…take the little pieces that you can comprehend and connect with those pieces.

then look around…

the people who live as though all of this were true seem to experience life in a more satisfying way than those who do not.

and for some reason everyone’s goal (other than to be loved) is to be satisfied.

and the mere thought that that is what everyone desires signifies that there must be a desire-maker and therefore maybe…

a desire-fulfiller.

One last thought…

all of the universe has movement…without movement there is no time and no space…

Since the beginning, our planet, our solar system, our galaxy, our cluster, all galaxies, are not only spinning…they are all moving.

Towards what?

Away from what?

In space if there were nothing visible around you, you could be moving at a million miles an hour and not even know you were moving. So everything moves, but movement only exists if it is relative to something else. If we know our solar systems and galaxies and clusters all move because we see them in relationship to other galaxies, we deduce that the whole universe is moving. So again, the question is posed…what are we moving towards or away from….???

Well… it must be something outside of our universe…because our word universe incorporates everything we can possibly imagine…which brings us back to the fact that something we cannot imagine or begin to comprehend exists… beyond even what our understanding of the word “exists” means.

Maybe it is the same incomprehensible “what if” that created the unfathomable, non-definable experiences of love and wonder and passion.

Leaving a Church

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:09:00 +0000

I recently came upon a blog post from a fellow pastor, Michael Lukaszweski, whom I met at a church planters conference a few years ago and I thought I'd share it here. It's a timely word to us all in a city where people leave churches like they leave a hair dresser.

As Francis Chan so eloquently put it recently, you’d be hard pressed to read in the book of Acts about a guy who got upset about service times or music style and deciding to leave a church. It’s true…people really do leave churches for silly reasons. I recently heard about someone who left our church because we focused too much on reaching the unchurched. Pretty amazing, since that’s exactly why Jesus came to earth. Sometimes, a Christian leaves a church for a good reason – perhaps to be a part of a new work or perhaps because they move. Let me offer some tips and comments on leaving a church and dealing with the fact that people leave your church.

* If you’re leaving a church, talk to the pastor or a leader about your reasons. Don’t just disappear. My friend Kyle recently talked to me about why he was leaving our church to help out a church plant. I appreciated the fact that he wanted me to hear it from him before I heard it from somewhere else. He was kind and gracious, and I was able to bless him and will continue to pray for him.
* If you’re planting a church, don’t try and steal people from other churches. Ed Young calls this pirating, and I’d tend to agree. If you’re trying to talk up what you’re doing and how your church can offer more opportunities than the church they are currently attending, you’re doing a disservice to the Kingdom.
* If people come to your church from another church, make sure they left well. Make sure they have the conversations they need to have and that they left on good terms. In the early days of Oak Leaf Church, there are a few people I would not let step into leadership because they hadn’t talked to their previous pastor.
* If people badmouth their previous church to you, they will badmouth you to their next church.
* As a pastor, it’s tough not to take it personally when someone leaves your church. I compare it to someone not liking your kid.
* I promise you that the kids ministry is going to do something that upsets you, or the pastor is going to say something that you don’t totally agree with. If you’re involvement there is shaky enough to be threatened by those things, then check your heart and see why you’re there in the first place.
* 7 times out of 10, leaving a church because the teaching isn’t deep enough is a sign of your own personal shallowness and has nothing to do with what the church is doing or teaching. Christians are supposed to learn how to feed themselves.
* Many times, when people say they “had a bad experience,” what they mean is “they tried to pastor me, hold me accountable, actually help me grow, or expected me to honor my commitments and I didn’t want that.” Not all the times, but many times.
* Leading a church is tough. Christians, pray for your church and for all of the pastors. You have NO IDEA what they go through. They deal with their own stuff, but they also worry and deal with the stuff of hundreds of people. On top of that, they know they are being judged more harshly by God. (James 3:1)

Wrong Reasons to Love the Church

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Here's a blog I read from Josh Harris, Pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I think it's a timely word to all of us about the church!

Do you love the church? Romans 12:10 tells Christians to "Love one another with brotherly affection."

The affection and love we're to have for fellow-Christians is to be based on the work of Jesus Christ for us. It's not about elitism, it's not because Christians are better than anyone else, it certainly isn't because Christians are necessarily more lovable. We love the church because we love the Savior who redeemed the church.

Acts 20:28 tells us that Jesus obtained the church with his own blood. Is this what your love for the church is based on? If it's anything less, it won't last long.

* Don't love the church because of what it does for you. Because sooner or later it won't do enough.

* Don't love the church because of a leader. Because human leaders are fallible and will let you down.

* Don't love the church because of a program or a building or activities because all those things get old.

* Don't love the church because of a certain group of friends because friendships change and people move.

Love the church because of who shed his blood to obtain the church. Love the church because of who the church belongs to. Love the church because of who the church worships. Love the church because you love Jesus Christ and his glory. Love the church because Jesus is worthy and faithful and true. Love the church because Jesus loves the church.

Excerpted from the sermon "We Are Here to Love the Church." by Josh Harris

The Nines

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:05:00 +0000

As a pastor of a church plant now going on four years, I still feel at times like there are so many things I don't know. This is coming from a youth ministry veteran of over 16 years and one who has been in ministry for over 25 years. But I'll admit it. I'm still learning. But I think that's a good thing. Know one should ever stop learning or think they've learned all there is to know, because the truth is, there's always something new around the corner. The culture changes, the nature of church ministry changes, the methodology of ministry changes and certainly in scripture I find that I continually learn new things from God! So, as I navigate the tenuous nature of church plant world, I'm still finding the need to learn from others. That's why I love to attend conferences such as Catalyst in Atlanta or North Point's Drive or sit down with fellow pastors and hear what they've learned along the way. One really cool ministry venue that I'm excited about is an online conference called the Nines. In one day, over 100 ministry leaders will share for five minutes via video everything they know! Not really, but they will share one nugget that has help them grow and change and feel that others could glean from. If you're not familiar with the Nines, check them out here http://thenines.leadnet.org and register today. You'll love it!

My Friend Bob Pace

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:49:00 +0000

My friend Bob Pace died last week. We had his funeral last Monday. I've never been to a more God-honoring memorial in my life! It was truly awesome! Bob was a great individual and a true friend. He loved God passionately and he had this desire to see God's people spiritually formed. In fact, he told a friend that the reason most Christians never grow up spiritually is because they don't know what it means to love God. He said that Christians need to focus on loving God and then all the other stuff that goes with being a follower of Christ will take care of itself. I think he is so right! What if we spent more time learning what it means to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? Can you imagine what that would do to a person? It would revolutionize every facet of a person's life! There's no way they would be the same. Life would hold new meaning, relationships would take on a whole new life and the world would look so different from their point of view. You could not possibly stay the same. So maybe we need to stop spinning our wheels worrying about being better christians or running to another meeting on church growth or being concerned about creating another study guide on what it means to be a mature christian. Maybe we just need to focus on loving God. I have a sneaking suspicion Bob is smiling right about now as he's discovered the love of his life is far greater than anything he could ever imagine! Love has never looked so good to him right now! "We love because He first loved us!"

Seven Thoughts on Suffering

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:07:00 +0000

In light of the news about Pastor Matt Chandler and his very public battle with cancer, I came across a great article on suffering from one of his pastors at Village Church. Here's the link to the article, Seven Thoughts on Suffering. Would love to hear your thoughts. http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/theology/?p=287

Such Great Faith in Suffering!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:24:00 +0000

DALLAS — Matt Chandler doesn't feel anything when the radiation penetrates his brain. It could start to burn later in treatment. But it hasn't been bad this time. Not yet, anyway.
Chandler's lanky 6-foot-5-inch frame rests on a table at Baylor University Medical Center. He wears the same kind of jeans he wears preaching to 6,000 people at The Village Church in suburban Flower Mound, where the 35-year-old pastor is a rising star of evangelical Christianity.
Another cancer patient Chandler has gotten to know spends his time in radiation imagining that he's playing a round of golf. Chandler on this first Monday in January is reflecting on Colossians 1:15-23, about the pre-eminence of Christ and making peace through the blood of his cross.
Chandler wears a mask with white webbing that keeps his head still as the radiation machine delivers the highest possible dose to what is considered to be fatal and incurable brain cancer.
This is Matt Chandler's new normal. Each weekday, he spends two hours in the car — driven from his suburban home to downtown Dallas — for eight minutes of radiation and Scripture.
Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.
Since all this began on Thanksgiving morning, Chandler says he has asked "Why me?" just once, in a moment of weakness.
He is praying that God will heal him. He wants to grow old, to walk his two daughters down the aisle and see his son become a better athlete than he ever was.
Whatever happens, he says, is God's will, and God has his reasons. For Chandler, that does not mean waiting for his fate. It means fighting for his life.
Chandler can be sober and silly, charming and tough. He'll call men "bro" and women "mama."
One of Chandler's sayings is, "It's OK to not be OK — just don't stay there."
Chandler's long, meaty messages untangle large chunks of Scripture. His challenging approach appeals, he believes, to a generation looking for transcendence and power.
His theology teaches that all humans are wicked, that human beings have offended a loving and sovereign God, and that God saves through Jesus' death, burial and resurrection — not because people do good deeds.
Congregation explodes
After college Chandler became a fiery evangelist who led a college Bible study and traveled the Christian speaking circuit. He was hired from another church in 2002 at age 28 to lead what is now The Village Church, a Southern Baptist congregation that claimed 160 members at the time.
The church now meets in a renovated former grocery store with a 1,430-seat auditorium; two satellite campuses are flourishing in Denton and Dallas, and Chandler speaks to large conferences.
Matt prays that his friends and family, especially his children — Audrey, 7, Reid, 4, and the baby — do not grow resentful.
Chandler says learning he had brain cancer was "kind of like getting punched in the gut. You take the shot, you try not to vomit, then you get back to doing what you do, believing what you believe.
"We never felt, still have not felt, betrayed by the Lord or abandoned by the Lord," Chandler said.
Chandler never thought such a trial would shake his faith. But until now, that was just hope.
"This has not surprised God," Chandler says on the drive home. "He is not in a panic right now trying to figure out what to do with me or this disease. Those things have been warm blankets, man."
Chandler has, however, wrestled with the tension between belief in an all-powerful God and what he can do about his situation. He believes he has responsibilities: to use his brain, to take advantage of technology, to walk in faith and hope, to pray for healing and then "see what God wants to do."
"If he suffers well, that might be the most important sermon he's ever preached," said Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle's Mars Hill Church and a friend of Chandler's.
Chandler has preached the last two weekends and is planning trips to South Africa and England. He lost his hair to radiation but got a positive lab report last week and feels strong.
The average life expectancy for a patient with the type of malignant tumor Chandler has is two to three years. But his doctors say Chandler will live longer because of the aggressive surgery, treatment and Chandler's otherwise good health. There's also a chance the cancer goes into remission for years.
Chandler is drinking life in, watching his son build sand castles at the park, preaching each sermon as if eternity is at stake, and feeling a heightened sense of reality.
"It's carpe diem on steroids," he says.

God's Knowledge of Me! Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:08:00 +0000

"What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it--the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative on knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.
This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort... in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me."

J.I. Packer, Knowing God,InterVarsity Press, 1993, as quoted in "Intimacy with the Almighty", Chuck Swindoll, Insight for Living, 1996.

Haiti Rescue

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:30:00 +0000

There was a great video image coming out of Haiti today. The story said that a ten year old girl and her eight year old brother were found alive in the rubble of a building. The video showed a host of rescuers gathered around an opening in the rubble and all of a sudden the eight year old boy was lifted up out of the hole and the crowd began to cheer and applaud and the little boy, dirty and bruised but alive and well, raised his arms into the air, smiling all the while, as if he had just won a race at the Olympics. It was awesome to see! Cameras flashed and people were smiling and celebrating the rescue of another missing Haitian, snatched from the claws of death and destruction. I wonder if that's what happens in Heaven when another person, lost in the clutches of sin and death, is rescued by God's saving grace? I have a feeling there's a party going on there always! Just a reminder that life is short and oh so fragile and we have a job to do-never stop telling the Story!!

Praying for Matt Chandler

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:29:00 +0000

Recently I asked that you pray for Matt Chandler, the Lead Pastor of the Village Church near Dallas. He was found to have a brain tumor on the right front of his brain. Surgery was performed over a week ago and yesterday the pathology report was shared with Matt and his wife. Today they posted a blog about Matt's tumor. You can read the blog by going to this site: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/ Please continue to pray for Matt's healing and for strength for his wife and family and the Village Church.

Immortal, Invisible - “Something Greater”

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:00:00 +0000

The following is a blog from a very good friend of mine, Laura Story. You may know her from the popular worship song, Indescribable. She wrote that a few years ago and Chris Tomlin made it famous.

“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever.

They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
- Revelations 4: 6-11 (NIV)

There is something mysterious about worship. Even as I child, I remember singing songs like, “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” and “I Surrender All,” and feeling all warm inside. Whether it’s the thunderous voice of a hundred-person choir or “Amazing Grace” being played by a single violin, there is a tenderness that cannot be explained with words. It’s the feeling of being part of something greater than myself. And in the book of Revelation, John gives us a hint of what that “something greater” might be. There are many theories suggesting how the book of Revelation should be interpreted. Some think that John, the self-professed author, is speaking strictly about the end times. Others view the book as a panorama of historical events throughout the life of the church. But either way you slice it, God gave John a vision and what he saw was magnificent. It was so magnificent that John was in too much shock to even stand! The Lord spoke with a voice like a trumpet, and there were angels and other creatures consumed with worshipping the One who sat on the throne. They were bowing low in awe of their Radiant King, singing “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power…”

Though this may not sound like normal worship services at your church or mine, we still may see small glimpses. Here on earth, we will only experience a taste of this splendor. But it is enough; it’s enough to remind us that this life is about something greater than ourselves. When we sing praises to our Lord, we join in the chorus that creation has been singing from the beginning of time. And it is the same anthem that we as believers will be singing for all eternity.

God, may I savor each moment in your presence as a glimpse of the glory that is to come. May I never grow weary of singing Your praise.

Prayer for a Pastor

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:25:00 +0000

Well, it has been a few weeks since I last left a post on my blog. Sometimes life gets in the way! But today I wanted to post a special prayer request for a pastor whom I've never met, but have followed for sometime because of his great passion and skills as a communicator. His name is Matt Chandler and he is Lead Pastor of The Village Church in Denton, TX. He is 35 and his church has grown from a few hundred to several thousand in a few short years. His church blog says that he suffered a seizure earlier in the week and it was found that he has a tumor on the front of his brain. He will undergo surgery this Friday morning to remove it! So pray for Matt, his family, the Village Church, the surgeons and all touched by his ministry. We know that God is sovereign and is with Matt. So we trust Him. The body of Christ is an army of saints who prays for each other, whether we know each other or not! So let's join together to pray for Matt during this very difficult time! Grace and Peace!

Spiritual Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:20:00 +0000

I often wonder if we get things confused sometimes about who really is at work when it comes to growing as a follower of Christ. I think we often have the idea that if we do something, then God will do something. In other words, because we read our Bibles, we'll grow or if we pray, we'll grow. But is it really left to us to grow spiritually on our own? Philippians 2:12 says "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," as if it's left to us to somehow grow and mature spiritually. It is true that we need to be people of the Book, God's Word, and seek to let it permeate our hearts and minds. And we need to talk daily with God through prayer. He uses those things as a means to grow us and to reveal more of himself to us. But the next verse in Philippians 2:13 also says, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
In other words, apart from God working in us and moving in us and shaping our lives, we wouldn't even have the desire for maturity, much less a spiritual hunger for the things of God. God does his work in us to create the desire to want to know him. He initiates and then we follow. He does his work so that we that we can then work. He works and we work, in that order. So today, thank God that he is so gracious to work in you and me so that we can grow in him to be the person he wants us to be! It's really all about him! And then, as a good soldier, discipline yourself for battle. As an athlete trains to be the best, train yourself to be all that God wants you to be. Work hard, sweat, be disciplined, stay at it and watch as God works in you to make you conformed to the image of His Son.

Happenings!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:35:00 +0000

I'm very excited about some happenings going on within our Crosspoint community these days!! We have a couple of new small groups with some great leaders that have just formed and many new people in these groups! Small groups are where it's at! Secondly, we're having a Tailgate Party Sunday, October 11 that is going to be awesome! We'll have a shortened version of our worship gathering and then we're moving outside to the courtyard parking area in front of Ardrey Kell and tailgating complete with bouncies for the kids, cornhole games, football and frisbee throwing, grilling and the company of lots of people as we sit out around the back of our cars and have a great time together! This is a first for us and maybe for a church in Charlotte on a Sunday morning, but it should be fun! I've never had a hotdog at 10:30 in the morning but I'm sure it will be just as good as one eaten at noon! Can't wait to see how well everyone decorates their cars and trucks like a real game, too. Also, our Kids ministry is going to rock this October as they prepare 100 boxes to be sent to Operation Christmas Child. They'll be spending the entire service on October 25th to put the goodies in the shoeboxes that will be sent to kids all over the world! Very cool. Lastly, we're planning our first ever overseas missions trip to Kenya for next Summer. Over twenty people showed up at our Info Meeting or expressed an interest in going! We'll probably be partnering with another church in the area which will draw two churches together for a global outreach that is going to be awesome! It's exciting to be a part of Crosspoint these days as we seek to love God, love others and serve our world!

Small Group

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:59:00 +0000

Tonight our small group or Life Community, as we call it at Crosspoint, reconvened after taking most of the summer off! And it was like we had never missed a week. Some things just fit like an old glove. I think that's a good description? Yes, it is. When you can share openly and honestly with the group you've come to know and pray with and laugh with and even cry with, you know it fits well! Tonight we shared stories of our summer vacations! Each went to a different place and had a different experience but each was similar in so many ways because they were about family and memories and rest. But the one link we keep coming back to in our group are our teens. We all have kids in their teens and we share that one bond that unites us in so many ways! It's powerful, encouraging and freeing. We know what each is facing and feeling and we are together in this. That's the power of a small group! It's where we share life together! If you're not in a small group, get in one today! Learn what it's like to be cared for by others. Find out what it means to truly carry one another's burdens. You'll be so glad you did!

People

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Wade) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:01:00 +0000

We like to think that we do church well. I think we do for the most part. We have a welcoming entrance and a up and coming Kids Program and awesome volunteers and quality musicians who lead us in worship each week and hopefully there are engaging messages on life and what it means to follow Christ. But we can have the best show in town and still miss out on what the church is about. It's about people. It's about relentlessly pursuing people who walk through our door each week. It's about getting up close and personal with these people by learning their names and finding out where they're from and what issues are going on in their lives and why they came to our church. It's about loving them, no matter how messy it may be. It's about staying after them and challenging them to not only want to pursue Christ themselves, but to push them to see the church as a healthy functioning community that needs each other. That's why church attendance is so important because it spurs us on and encourages us and reminds us that no one is in this race alone. That's why it's so necessary to find small groups called life communities for everyone because we believe they are so vital in giving us a place to be safe and belong, to laugh and cry together, to share the load that comes with living life. So sure, we strive each week to do church really well from the front and every area that requires planning and execution. But if we fail to be about the one thing that gives a church its life, the relentless pursuing of people as we relentlessly pursue God, then we are nothing better than a big show each week. God help us to never lose sight of why we open the doors each week!