Merry Christmas everyone!

I want to share with you this gem that our Cross Point team put together this year for our Christmas services…

Before you watch, you must know why I’m so proud.  This video is significant not only for the message, but for several reasons:

1) Every element is a unique creation.

2) “Reflections of Jesus” is an original song written by some of the amazingly talented musicians who call Cross Point home. Congrats Wayne Baird, Hillary McBride, Nathan Spicer and Seth Penn!  Beautiful!!

3) The video was shot and produced under the direction of our crazy talented Matt Singleton with the help of a cast of volunteers and actors who all volunteered A LOT of hours to shoot this.  Thank you all!

4) The homes featured in the video are houses that were submerged in over 4 feet of water in the 2010 Nashville flood.  Cross Point volunteers gutted those homes and helped families start to rebuild.  Such a precious picture of redemption 19 months later.

5) One of the houses featured in the video is the home where my sister relocated after losing everything she owned in her apartment fire earlier this year.  I love her heart to give back.

Reflections of Jesus from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

I’m praying that you and yours have a wonderful Christmas together.  I’ll be a little quiet around here for a few days.  (I get to meet my new little niece for the first time this Christmas! ). 

Much love to all!

Today was another day of Christmas gift distribution in Honduras.  I can’t wait to share pictures with you all… unfortunately our internet connection is a bit weak so uploading photos is a challenge.

If you are a Cross Point attender, I hope you’ve been partnering with us in our 12 Days of Serving.  Some of the stories that I’m hearing have been amazing!

One of the 12 Days of Serving opportunities that is most dear to my heart is our Honduras Child Sponsorships.  I had the opportunity to meet Emely this week, the little girl that I sponsor.  I was able to give her a Christmas gift, a giant hug and confirm that she is thriving and happy.  That’s the best Christmas gift I’ll get this year!

If you are still looking for a way to be a part of our 12 Days of Serving, I encourage you to consider child sponsorship.  The children we sponsor attend the school that Cross Point supports in San Marcos de Colon, Honduras.  Your sponsorship of $30.00 a month helps pay for two meals a day plus school fees for the most impoverished children in the area.

You can get more info here.  Maybe you could join us on a future trip to meet your sponsor child too!

Cross Point is blessed to have some pretty amazing leaders a part of our community.  Our most recent additions are Matt & Sarah Hasselbeck.  As quarterback for the Titans, Matt sits in a place of influence that he doesn’t take lightly.

This Sunday (Nov 27) we’ll be sharing Pete‘s interview with Matt in our services at all of our campuses.  Bring your Thanksgiving company and join us!

Matt Hasselbeck Interview // Promo from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

Nashville – 9:00am, 11:00am, Noon & 5:30pm

Bellevue – 9:00am & 11:00am

Dickson – 9:00am & 11:00am

North – 10:00am

Downtown – 8:00pm

Internet – 6:00pm CST

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done a Sunday Lessons post.. sorry about that.

We wrapped up the Better Days series at Cross Point today with a message on “Gratitude”… fitting of course for the week of Thanksgiving.   Although it was the type of message that most of us will hear this week, Pete’s intentionality with it somehow caused it to resonate differently for me.

There were plenty of great quotables from his message but the lesson that sticks out to me the most is this:

“Gratitude is never invisible or silent.”

I’m ashamed at the number of times I’ve gone about my day thinking of the things that I’m grateful for with my team, but failing to verbalize them.

If I didn’t say it, it’s as if I didn’t think it.  My team will never benefit from appreciation left unsaid.

Do you ever fall into this trap?  Maybe this is the week to start speaking up.

This weekend is one of my favorite events at Cross Point!

Serving Saturday!

A few times a year we put together a massive serving day where all of our campuses participate in serving projects all across the greater Nashville area.

We partner with local ministries, non-profits and public schools to serve our community where resources might otherwise be slim.  From construction projects to landscaping to adopt-a-block clean-ups to a spa day with women from a women’s shelter, hundreds of Cross Point volunteers serve their hearts out.

It’s beautiful!

If you don’t believe me, hear what they have to say…

Serving Saturday // 10.29.2011 from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

It’s not too late to join us.  You can sign up here!

Hope to serve beside you Saturday!

It wasn’t too long after I began working in ministry full-time that I got a startling question from a Cross Point attendee.  As we were walking out of the service, she stopped me in the back of the auditorium and with great sincerity asked me where she could purchase a Bible.

I was a little taken aback but quickly tried to answer her question…

“Well, Lifeway is just down the street.  That’s probably the closest.”

“What’s Lifeway?”

What’s Lifeway?  Are you kidding me?  Everyone in Nashville knows about LifeWay… for goodness sake a massive cross juts out from their building in downtown Nashville as a beacon for the entire city.

Don’t worry… I didn’t say any of that out loud.  Instead I took a moment to help her get a Bible and then began to process what was a very eye-opening moment for the professional Christian I had become.

It was foreign to me to not have a Bible or not know where to find one.  My family became Christians and starting attending church regularly when I was eight years old, so I pretty much don’t remember life without access to Bibles, devotionals and Gaither Homecoming videos.

I’ve had Christian products at my figure tips pretty much my entire life.

But that’s not true for everyone.  In fact, it’s not true for most of the people we’re called to reach.

That’s why I’m so grateful we’ve been doing this series called “Shaped” where we’re talking about spiritual disciplines and giving people access to tools to help them grow in their walk with God.  We’ve partnered with Monvee to help people assess the way they best connect with God and then give them resources to help them do that.

I love the spiritual discussions I’m hearing take place as people are diving into this with us.  I think it’s easy to take for granted when you’ve been a Christian the majority of your life how life-giving some simple direction can be when it comes to knowing how to grow in your faith.

What resources have been instrumental in helping you grow in your walk with God?

Whew!  This week got a little away from me.

We had our annual staff trip Wed & Thur.  What a blast!  Our team loves to spend time together… what a gift!

Cornhole

A little relaxation in the rocking chairs

Some arts and crafts time

The beauty of autumn

A little friendly competition with a game of kickball (emphasis on competition – apparently that’s a spiritual gift of Cross Point staff)

Family picture time

And the first annual CP’s – the Cross Point Staff Awards

I absolutely love spending time with our team.  The staff trip is one of the healthiest things we do for our staff culture.

How do you celebrate your staff?  What do you do to create a great staff culture?

After two amazing days in Chicago at the Global Leadership Summit I came racing back to a very full and exciting weekend here at Cross Point.

Not only was Pete back from his study break but we kicked off our new series “Together We Will.”

As is usual fashion for us in August, we spend a few weeks talking about the vision of Cross Point.

I remember a group of about 30 of us sitting in a circle on the patio of one of our founding leader’s homes hearing Pete cast this vision for the very first time.

I’ve heard it repeatedly since that summer evening 9 years ago and it never gets old.

A compelling, God-given vision never gets old.

Wherever you lead whether it’s…

• a church
• an organization
• your home
• a business
• a small group
• your family

… don’t forget the power of retelling the vision that God has put in your heart.

God’s dreams, God’s purpose, God’s plans don’t get old. 

Sometimes we just get bored.

As Pete shared a nine year-old vision with over 4,000 people yesterday, it was as compelling (if not more) than when he shared it with 30 of us for the very first time.

It never gets old.

Live it.

Breathe it.

Share it.

What vision has God put on your heart that you’ve become a little bored with?  It’s time to rekindle and refresh the plans and purpose He has for you!

This week in our Leadership at All Levels discussion we’re talking about “Leading Down”.

Right off the bat, I don’t like that phrase “leading down”.  It sounds a little derogatory, but the only other way for me to say it is “leading those who report to you” which is really too many words for a title… so I hope you’ll bear with me as I roll with it.  The heart of the concept is that if you are in leadership, you will likely at some point be leading others who are accountable to you.  And with that influence comes great responsibility.

With that understanding, let me share with you the notes from our staff discussion on this topic. 

Pete led this week of the series, so all the credit for the wisdom shared belongs to him.

1) Invest uniquely in each team member.

Provide growth opportunities for them.

Know their dreams and source of energy.

Be aware of the 3 questions that people have of their leaders:

1. Do they care about me?
2. Can they help me?
3. Can I trust them?

2) Place people in their strength zones.  (Marcus would be so proud of us! )

Seriously, this is one of my greatest passions – helping people understand and operate in their gifts.  There is nothing more fulfilling as a leader than to see people thriving!

3) Model the behavior you desire.

What you do trumps what you say.

Attitude determines atmosphere.

4) Transfer the vision.

Over communicate the vision because the vision always leaks.  (Bill was right.)

5) Reward for results.

What gets rewarded gets repeated.

Give praise privately and publicly.

What else do you think makes someone a great leader at this level?

Other posts in this series:

Leadership at All Levels (overview)

Leading Self

Leading Your Peers

I still remember the first time I made the decision to be a leader of one of our community groups at Cross Point. 

I was volunteering in many capacities but I had not yet made the commitment to lead a group.  My husband and I had been a part of an amazing couples group for several years but the idea of leading a group (as much as I like to lead) still concerned me.  This type of leadership felt more significant in some way… perhaps because of the spiritual purpose of groups.

But I finally took the plunge and have been leading groups ever since.  Being a group leader is one of the most rewarding leadership experiences I’ve ever encountered even though…

• I don’t have all the answers.
• I feel totally inadequate some days.
• I often have to consult another pastor for suggestions on leading my group.
• Sometimes I don’t feel like doing it.
• Most of the time I’m scrambling to have my house ready for company (and I quickly discover they could care less if it’s clean)
• I have to make time to prepare

But in spite of all the hurdles that I face to leading a group, I’m always amazed at how God uses this time for spiritual, relational and personal growth both for the members of the group and for myself.

I want to challenge you to consider leading a Community Group here at Cross Point.

It’s one of the most life-giving ways that you can be a part of this community.

This Sunday, August 7th our Community Groups Team will be hosting some meetings to answer your questions and share more about what it means to be a group leader.  If you are sitting where I was 8 years ago, wondering if you should lead a group, I encourage you to join us for this meeting.

We’ll plan to answer some of the questions you might have, such as:

• How do I know whether I’m ready to be a leader?
• What if I have no leadership experience?
• What if I commit to being a leader, and I’m not good at it?
• How is being a leader going to grow me spiritually?

Ok, so are you ready to at least take it a step further?

Join us this Sunday, August 7th for a short informational meeting.  We’ll be meeting after every service at every campus.  Simply go to the Community Groups table in the lobby after the service you attend and they’ll direct you to the meeting location.

I really hope to see you there!