Here are my random thoughts, observations and insights from yesterday followed by Justin’s message notes.

• No matter what campus I’m at, I’m always missing the others and wishing I could be everywhere at once.
• I recognize that I wear my team out with details on Sunday mornings.  Some things you just have to coach in the moment, but there are other things that can wait.  I’m trying to learn to save what can wait and follow that up with good overall feedback on Mondays.
• I’m amazed and excited by the fact that the more campuses we have the more we rely on volunteer leaders to really lead and run the show.  We should have volunteer leaders already leading at this capacity, but multi-site has forced us to really equip leaders that way.  Did I mention I’m thankful for our volunteers?
• Justin continued our Chronicles series with the parable of The Two Debtors.  I have never heard anyone tell the story of the woman who washed Jesus feet with such passion and beauty.  Truly powerful.  The notes won’t do it justice so be sure to go listen online.

The Two Debtors by Justin Davis

Luke 7:36-50

When Jesus looks into this woman’s eyes, she feels love for who she is, not what she does.

An absence of gratitude allows religion to replace relationship.

What word would you use to describe your relationship with God right now? 

Numb, guarded, repetitive, distant, absent, controlled, exhausted, dull, beat up, disappointed, mechanical, uninspiring

Has gratitude for grace leaked out of your life?

When God doesn’t react the way we think he should react, we’re quick to question Him.

It’s hard to be overwhelmed by grace when you’ve convinced yourself you don’t need it.

We are the big debtors in this story.  We’re in the biggest need of grace.

What we need to bring Jesus:

Gift of Repentance. Religion can put you at the table with Jesus but only repentance will put you at his feet.

Gift of Adoration. When was the last time you shamelessly adored God?  Does your worship to God reflect your gratitude for grace?

He who has been forgiven of much, loves much.

Will you bring Jesus your gift of repentance and adoration?

This week flew by!

Fortunately it was a very good one.  Here are some things on my mind today:

• An important project that I’ve been working on (which happened to be one of my thorns), is officially complete today!  Holy cow, that’s a wonderful feeling.  I’m not sure how to adequately celebrate it.
• It’s been a roller coaster week for all things Cultivate Her.  Some good news, some bad news, some big dreaming and then a great event this past Wednesday with our guest speaker Tami Heim.  We’re dreaming and scheming some amazing stuff for all things women in leadership, so stay tuned.
• Our Cross Point missions teams are back home this week.  Our team in the Dominican Republic came back Tuesday and our Honduras team gets back tomorrow.  So proud of each of these teams for serving so big!  You can check out highlights from the Honduras trip HERE.
• Almost finished with Steven Furtick’s new book Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible.  This one is making me think and pray BIG!  It doesn’t release until Sept 21st, but you can pre-order by clicking the title.
• Gotta finish up my talk for The NINES this weekend.  Are you registered to attend?  It’s FREE!  Our entire staff is going to attend this year.
• Can’t believe July is almost over.
• I’m working on some big planning and leadership development stuff for our team for this fall.  I’m getting so excited – love people development stuff – LOVE IT!
• My thumb which I smashed during flood week is growing back really funky.  Kind of afraid it’s going to stay that way. 
• Going to the beach for a few days the end of next week with my sis.  Can’t wait!
• Walking with Ash in 30 minutes!  Love that sweet little Audrey Beth but she has messed up our weekly run/walk time.  Excited to get back to it!
• Hoping to see Inception this weekend.  Everyone is raving about it.  Have you seen it?

Find some joy in your weekend and tell us about it!

I get the question all the time “are you hiring?”  So I’m excited to say that we are!  Here are the details for our current opening.

Cross Point Church

announces the search for

Campus Pastor for Cross Point Dickson

We’re excited to extend the search for the Campus Pastor position at our Dickson, TN campus.  Cross Point Dickson launched in January 2008 and was the first venture into multi-site ministry for our church.  Cross Point Dickson has grown strong and steady for 2 1/2 years and we’re excited to find the leader who will help us take this campus to it’s next season of growth and impact.

Preferred candidates will have experience leading in a church of 500+ in regular attendance and preferably experience in a multi-site church model.

Any interested individuals should submit a resume, social media contact, website/blog info (if applicable) and cover letter to Cross Point Executive Director, Jenni Catron at jenni@crosspoint.tv.  (That’s me )

I look forward to hearing from you.  And please feel free to pass the word along to anyone you know who may be interested.

I was recently talking to another Executive Pastor who was graciously asking me how we’ve been doing since the Flood in Nashville.  He was praising our team for how quickly we responded and served our community in that crisis.  And I had to be honest with him and tell him that it was “against my better judgment.”

I know, I know… that sounds horribly insensitive and calloused, but here’s what I mean.

Responding to the catastrophe of the flood was one of the most intense leadership situations I have ever found myself in.

We had to move.

We had to move fast… and we had no idea how.

Literally we asked volunteers to show up to help with flood relief and we had no idea what we were going to have them do.  I’m not joking.

We didn’t know exactly how to prep them and we certainly weren’t prepared with paperwork, tools, supplies, etc.

We didn’t do any of the things that a responsible Executive Director would normally be sure to do.  (I shudder just thinking back on it.)

But here’s the deal.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t thinking about the need for those things.

It wasn’t that I was throwing all caution to the wind.

It just wasn’t practical or possible in the state of emergency that we were facing for me to have every “i” dotted and every “t” crossed before we acted that Monday morning after the flood waters had ravaged over 10,000 homes in our community.

People needed hope and help immediately and they couldn’t wait on forms, procedure & process.

Talk about a “grey” leadership issue.  The compassionate side of me was aligning with our pastors to create an action plan to get people out to help, but my administrative side was raising red flags about the need for order, systems and protections.

This wasn’t black and white.  It was grey… really grey.

In the end, I believe we did what God called us to do that day.  We responded.  We loved people.  We provided hope for people.  And we provided practical help on that first day of recovery.

And to put you administrative types at peace, we did add all the proper administrative paperwork.  Even by Day 2 of relief efforts much of those things were in place.

Why didn’t we wait a day to have all of our “ducks in a row”? Because honestly, hurting people couldn’t wait for that.

For another day, another time, another project, you better believe that we’ll have our administrative stuff in order.  For events that are planned and prepared in advance, there’s no excuse for not following proper protocol and protections.

That’s wise.  It’s good stewardship of the responsibility we’re entrusted with as administrative leaders.

But every once in awhile, you’ll get thrown a leadership curve ball and you gotta pray for discernment in leading through the shades of grey.

Ever found yourself in one of these situations?

I spent my day at the Nashville campus today serving as the Worship Assistant.  I love this role because it provides me the opportunity to help set up our teaching pastor and to finish out the service with opportunities for people to respond and connect.  You could say I just did “announcements” but I always hope I can make it much more about helping people connect.

Before I give you the notes from the message today, I thought I would give you some additional highlights from today at the Nashville Campus:

• So proud of our worship team.  For those of you that don’t know, our entire band is made up of extraordinarily talented VOLUNTEERS every weekend at every campus.  These guys & gals are amazing.  Today we hit a hiccup and our drummer wasn’t able to be here, so our keyboard player (who also is an excellent drummer) changed gears, moved to the drum kit and brought his keyboard with him.  He played BOTH drums and keyboards for all four services!  That’s crazy dedication!
• After the 3rd service, I had the opportunity to reconnect with Gloria.  Gloria was one of the amazing people we met during flood week.  Her neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by the Nashville Flood just a little over 2 months ago and honestly Gloria still is struggling to figure out what to do.  I was so honored to pray for her, but left that conversation burdened by the work that still needs to be done to help families like hers get back on their feet.  Please pray for Gloria this week.
• We celebrated over a dozen baptisms today in our services.  Somehow this expression of a changed life never gets old to me… and I hope it never does.

Blake’s message today about The Good Shepherd was a powerful reminder of just how passionately God loves us.  I’m not sure we get it.  At least, I’m not sure that I get it.

Blake made one statement in his message that really stuck out to me.  He said “The mark of a true leader is self-sacrifice.”  Read his notes, ponder that statement and then let’s talk about it.

The Good Shepherd by Blake Bergstrom

John 9:24-25

Are you aware of the spiritual stories happening all around you?

Do you ever allow your agenda to get in the way of what God is doing?

John 10:1-5

Sheep trust the voice of their shepherd implicitly.

Sheep don’t need cowboys they need a shepherd.  The shepherd has earned the right to be heard.

What voices are you allowing to lead you?

Do you recognize the voice of God?  Are you listening to the voice of your shepherd to lead you?

John 10:6-10

Are you about sacrifice or self-promotion?

Do you represent the Cross or are you simply a hired hand?

John 10:11-14

The mark of a true leader is always self-sacrifice.

The Good Shepherd wants to tend to your every need.  Do you trust him?

The enemy is a thief, a robber of life and of love.

Do you understand that Christ is jealous for you?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you really truly understand just how deeply He loves you?

I’m really enjoying our Chronicles series.  Although I’ve heard these parables before, I think sometimes it’s easy to brush over them and miss many of the points that Jesus was trying to communicate.  Justin did a great job with this one today.  I needed to be reminded of the power of a little seed… of a little hope!

The Mustard Seed & Yeast by Justin Davis

Parable – an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Matthew 13:31-34

Have you ever had an unmet expectation of God?

When you’ve had enough unmet expectations, you lose hope.

Just because you can’t see it working doesn’t mean He’s not working.

Unmet expectations turn into hope deferred and hope deferred turns into spiritual disappointment.

Small beginnings from an unlikely source = Irresistible growth

We have unmet expectations of God because we’ve placed our culture’s measuring standards on a kingdom that can’t be measured.

We miss mustard seed moments because we resent small beginnings.

God’s work is not always instant, but it’s inevitable.

Don’t lose hope.

Hope waits patiently.

• God’s timing isn’t always our timing.
• God is much more concerned about your character than your calendar.
• What area of your life do you need to wait patiently?

Hope lives courageously.

• Courage is not the absence of fear.
• Courage is overcoming fear with faith.
• Is there an area of your life that you’ve allowed fear to overtake your faith?

God has placed a list of dreams in your heart… they may be your mustard see moments.

Once the seed is in the ground, once the yeast is in the dough, it’s only a matter of time.

Jesus knows all about broken dreams.

Don’t give up.

Don’t lose hope.

Is there an area of your life that you’ve lost hope?  How can I pray for you this week?

This weekend at Cross Point we begin our new series “Chronicles – the Chronicles of the Parables of Jesus“.

I think it’s going to be a pretty cool series as all of our teaching pastors take on a couple of the parables and give us insight into the meaning and application for us today.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Interesting bit: Pastor Tom Tyndall who is the reader in this video piece officially begins his retirement today.  I’m so thrilled that he was able to be a part of this series even though he’ll be traveling and enjoying time with family for the next few weeks.

Pastor Tom has been an amazing pastor, friend and encourager to me and I’m so thankful for how he faithfully served Cross Point for over 7 years and the kingdom for 40 years!  What an amazing accomplishment!

We love you Tom!  I’m praying that you enjoy every minute of this new chronicle in your life!

We wrapped up the Be Rich series today.  I told you this series would start some paradigm shifts for you.  Here are my notes from Pete’s message today.

New Math by Pete Wilson

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Proverbs 21:20

You create more margin in your money by either:

1. Making more
2. Spending less

You create more margin in your time by learning to say “no”.  What is normal (crazy, hectic, frenzied schedules) in our culture is no longer healthy.

What you do with your money here on this earth impacts what happens to you in eternity.  We don’t know exactly how, but we know that it will matter somehow because of what Jesus says.

Luke 12:13-21, 33-34

The problem: we believe that “more” is always for “me”.  As soon as I get a little margin of time or money, I believe it is for me.  We consume the margin for ourselves.

So many of our money issues are God issues.

We have to decide when enough is enough.

We have to come to grips with the fact that our identity is not in what we have, what we earn or how we rank.

Everything we own eventually becomes a pile of trash.

If you don’t declare in your life when enough is enough, enough will never be enough.

We’ve failed the test of prosperity because we’ve made it all about us/we’ve assumed it’s all for us.

The wise person is thinking beyond this life.

To break the cycle of “get, get, get”, I have to “give, give, give.”

How to Be Rich:

1. Admit your rich.
2. Don’t trust in it.
3. Become a systematic percentage giver of your time and money.
4. View it realizing there is more to life than this life.

So do you believe that you are rich?  What is one thing you can do this week to live richly?

Justin Davis continued our “Be Rich” series today.  Such an important discussion that we’re often too afraid of to engage honestly, especially in church.  I appreciate Justin’s transparency today.  Be challenged but be encouraged!

Leftovers by Justin Davis

There is no correlation between money and peace.

What is the best financial advice you’ve ever received and did you take it?

Those of you that are rich will always have something competing for your heart.

If you don’t view yourself as rich, you won’t take Jesus’ principles to heart.

I Timothy 6:17-19

Be rich in good deeds and be generous and willing to share.

The greatest barrier to doing good is margin.  We have to intentionally create the space in our lives to live generously.

We are rich in time and money, but we aren’t always purposeful with them.

Create margin in your time.

• We equate busyness with significance.
• We’re rich in activities, meetings, appointments, etc
• You can be rich in busyness and bankrupt in good deeds.

Create margin in your finances.

• We equate possessions with wealth.
• You can be reach in possessions and bankrupt in generosity.

You will have to choose this.  You will have to be intentional about this.

Rich people plan ahead.

If you don’t plan ahead, you will be giving God and others the leftovers.

If you don’t plan ahead to give God your time and your money, you will be giving him leftovers.

Rich people purposely give away their time and money.

1. Pre-decide to give your time in service.
2. Pre-decide to be a percentage giver.

Rich people don’t operate in the urgent, they operate in the important.

How you treat money reflects the priorities of your life.

Determine to trust God with your time and money.

When you give God and others the best, God somehow allows the leftovers to be satisfying and sufficient.

Are you being purposeful with your time and money or are you giving God and others the leftovers?

Meet Ernie.

Or as he’s come to be known this year “FHL Ernie” – short for “Faith, Hope & Love Ernie”.

Ernie’s been a part of the family for almost 11 years.  We’ve logged just over 236,000 miles now.  We’ve replaced nearly everything but the engine and a few non-essentials like the windshield wiper fluid squirter-thingy – if I hit a mud puddle things get kind of interesting, and the radio antennae that no longer goes up and down – just makes a whining noise every time you turn the car on.

But for 11 years and 236,000 miles, Ernie’s been a good car.  Sadly I almost gave Ernie up last year.  We had decided we were ready to move on and were saving for a new fancy car.  That’s when things took an interesting turn.  Cross Point launched our “Faith, Hope & Love” initiative to raise over $2 million dollars for the launch of our Bellevue Campus and the opening of our Hope Centers.  As we prayed about what we could give, I began to wrestle with the fact that I didn’t need a new car.  While Ernie’s kind of a gamble every day I drive it, it still runs.  It still gets me where I need to go every day.  I needed to postpone a “want” in order to give more generously to a “need” – a need to create environments (and open seats) where people can be reached with the hope of Christ.

Our “Be Rich” series has been an important reminder to me of how quickly my perspective gets skewed.  A year ago I was begging my husband for a new car.  I was mad and borderline resentful that I was still driving beat up old Ernie.  Today I’m grateful for every day that Ernie still runs.  With every day and every month that passes, I know I’ve used my resources to support a need so much greater than my own.

Let me assure you though, most days my perspective is way off.  I forget that I’m truly rich – that God has blessed me tremendously; that compared to the majority of the world I have more than I’ll ever need… and then some.  I hate that I lose site of that.  I hate the feelings of entitlement that I wrestle with on nearly a daily basis.  I hate the comparison game that I constantly play.

I want to learn to be generous, to be grateful – to be rich!

How about you?

Is there an area of your life that you take for granted God’s blessing and abundance?