Bragging About My Baby Girl

I am so proud of my daughter. She and several other CrossPoint girls competed in the Miss Pinson Valley High School Beauty Pageant last Saturday night.

For the fathers who do not have a daughter, you do not know what kind of blessing you are missing. Yes, beauty pageants cost a lot of time and money, but when your daughter graces the stage with her presence it is worth all the effort and expense that goes into it.

There are three specific reasons as to why I am so proud of my baby girl. First, I am proud she finished first runner up as the 9th grade beauty. Second, I am proud of her witness for Christ. Kelsey, along with several other CrossPoint girls expressed their commitment to Christ when they were introduced. Third, I am proud of Kelsey because she is so inwardly beautiful, and that is what makes her so outwardly attractive.

Kelsey gets her inward beauty from her mother. Vonda has done an incredible job instilling in Kelsey the inner confidence she needs to be secure in Christ. At age 14 Kelsey already realizes her true identity and worth are found entirely in Christ. My daughter is secure in herself, because she is so secure in Christ.

While discussing Kelsey’s inward beauty the other night I said to Vonda, “There is a young man out there that is going to marry my duaghter some day. And when he does, he will be the most fortunate man alive, because my girl is just that special.”

Thank you for letting me brag about my girl. She is special.

I would be thoughtless if I did not commend Casey Wooten, Anna Smith (Miss Photogenic) and Haley Bryan (9th Grade Beauty Queen) for their beauty and witness last weekend also. These girls represented CrossPoint and Christ in a beautiful manner. Congratulations girls!

Ministry Links

Today I am adding a host of ministry links that I think may be of service to you. Periodically I may add some other webpages. These are some basic links that I occasionally visit in order to remain informed about the news of the Christian world.

• For the Southern Baptist Convention click here: www.sbc.net
• To read about the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention click www.imb.org
• To keep up with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention click www.namb.net
• For some good Christian reading and resources click www.crosswalk.com
• For other gospel communications I read www.gospelcom.net
• World Net Daily is a powerful resource for keeping up with the world at large. You will find this resource at www.worldnetdaily.com
• I often read www.bpnews.net to stay attuned to Baptist news.

Sometime in the future I will add some other links. At this time however, I think it is always good to have these links listed as favorites. I find each one of these resources to be a great tool of research and reading. I hope they will help you as well. From now on, you will be able to find these to the right of the page labeled "Ministry Links".

Amazing Grace

For those of you who were in worship yesterday, you heard me refer to the movie Amazing Grace. I strongly recommend you see this movie. It is a powerful portrayal of William Wilberforce’s role in abolishing slavery in England.

If my recommendation does not convince you to see the movie, then I encourage you to click here and watch the movie trailer.

When you watch the movie, the pastor Wilberforce visits is John Newton. As you know, Newton is the slave trader who was converted on the high seas, and who later wrote the great hymn “Amazing Grace”.

There are many memorable moments in the movie. You must listen closely to appreciate some of the humorous moments. Perhaps the most emotional part of the movie is at the end when John Newton attends the session where parliament abolishes slavery. His blind eyes are filled with tears as the British leaders cast their votes. That is followed by a powerful presentation of the hymn, starting with bagpipes and ending with a full instrumental piece.

Again, I would not attend the movie for entertainment purposes. And, there are moments you must certainly concentrate in order to keep up with the timeline. However, I do recommend the movie to each of you.

Christianity Today provides a great accounting of Wilberforce’s life. Click here to read the article.

By the way, the Reformed Reader has a great piece on John Newton. Click here to read more about his story.

Again, I highly recommend the movie Amazing Grace. If anything, it will cause you to give thanks for your salvation through Jesus Christ. It may also inspire you to give thanks for men like Newton, Clarkson and Wilberforce who literally changed the history of mankind because of their convictions.

Silver ADDY Award

CrossPoint was the recent recipient of an advertisement award. We were presented the 2006 – 2007 Silver ADDY Award during the Forty-Ninth Birmingham ADDY Awards last weekend. Actually, it was not CrossPoint that won the award as much as it was some of our CrossPointers, Robert and Stephanie Holland, who own Holland & Holland Advertising. Holland and Holland were noted as the entrant and CrossPoint was noted as the advertiser.

We won the Out-of-Home, Site, Interior medal for our JUST ONE MORE banners. These are the banners we have periodically displayed in the worship center, above the stage. Because our CONNECT process is now in that place, we will hang the banners above the Information Desk. The silver medallion is really cool, and it is heavy. I plan to show it at the end of worship next weekend.

I think this is another distinction of how CrossPoint is making herself known in the city of Birmingham. Holland and Holland help us with all of our displays, and now you know why each display is so impressive. Stephanie Holland, Jason Edwards and the rest of the Holland and Holland team serve CrossPoint well.

Below is a sample of the banners that won the Silver ADDY Award:

(click on image for larger view)

The next time you see Stephanie or Robert, please express your gratitude to them for their service, and for their creative effort which makes CrossPoint shine in her community.

Man Claims to Be God

So, have you read about the man who claims to be God? Newsweek published an interesting piece about this charlatan last week. Also, last week CNN’S Anderson Cooper presented a brief clip about the pretender.

In short, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, the man who thinks he is God, is the head of Growing in Grace International Ministry. At the time of this writing, his organization includes 300 congregations with more than 100,000 followers in two-dozen countries.

So what does he profess? He says, “Jesus came to me and integrated with me.” Just so you will know how out of touch this man is, he professed he was the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul in 1988. If that is not spooky enough, he teaches under a new covenant with God where there is no sin and no Satan, and people are pre-destined to be saved.

For a better understanding click here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16840066/site/newsweek/

There are some real nut jobs living in our age. I met a man like this years ago in Mississippi. The only difference between Miranda and the man from Mississippi was that the man I met was locked down in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. (By the way, you should have seen his face when I asked, “If you are Jesus then where are your disciples?”) After reading more about this man, I firmly settled on three observations.

First, when we encounter news like this we should immediately ask “what does the Bible say about this man’s claim to be ‘integrated’ with Jesus”?

The Bible records Jesus as saying,

"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

"Immediately after the distress of those days

"'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its
light; the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Matthew 24:26-31

Second, this should not surprise us. Again, more than 2000 years ago Jesus warned us about these kinds of reports, when He said:

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
Matthew 24:3-5

Third, we should not be quick to discount these kinds of things, because they tell us more than we want to admit. Yes, we should definitely discount the man and his blasphemous claims, but what does this say about the people who follow this basket case? This man has 100,000 followers! Hello! This should tell us something. It tells people are searching for answers; and we as the church, have the responsibility to tell them THE ANSWER.

Kudos to CrossPoint!

Last fall the CrossPoint Foundation hosted the Fifth Annual CrossPoint 5K. Several key businesses from our church and community sponsored the event. The sponsorships went toward the purchase of a new refrigerator truck for a homeless ministry in the Birmingham area.

A few weeks after the race we invited Pastor Roland Walker to join us for worship. Since he, too, is a pastor, he was only able to join us for the last worship. It was during that worship hour we presented him with a check for $5000. For those of you in that particular worship that day, you recall how warm of a response Pastor Roland gave us. It was a good day for Pastor Roland, and it was a better day for us.

The very next week, Tim Gordon, a CrossPointer and the Sales Manager for Freightliner of Birmingham, contacted Pastor Roland to suggest how his company could help him secure a truck for a very good price. From there the ball started rolling, and just a few weeks ago, Pastor Roland and his ministry purchased a 20 foot refrigerator truck.

I am providing some great photos of the new truck we were able to help Pastor Roland purchase. Our contribution was enough to secure half the purchase price. The photo of Pastor Roland opening the back door of the truck was made because he wanted people to see what he would be doing with the vehicle—opening the door and feeding the homeless.

Great job CrossPoint, great job!

10,000 Hallelujahs!

Wow, what an incredible day we had at CrossPoint today. I do not know the final numbers, but if the 8:15 AM crowd is any indication of our total attendance, we certainly set a new, all-time record. Steve Parr confirmed for me before we left the campus that we had 600+ adults in Bible study. That record, alone, will push us close to 1000.

I am so proud of you for CONNECTING WITH GOD and then for CONNECTING WITH GOD’S PEOPLE this morning. Those are the first two steps toward living the disciple-oriented life in Christ. Of course, the third and fourth steps include CONNECTING WITH GOD’S PLAN and then helping JUST ONE MORE to find a way to CONNECT.

So, tell me what you think of the new building? Do you like it? What about the new classrooms; are they big enough for you? It is an awesome facility, isn’t it? What did you think of the new gathering area? I hear we will have a brand new coffee bar set up there very, very soon.

I am also curious to hear about the new way we have exiting the worship center. We are doing that to relieve some of the major congestion we are experiencing at the front entrance.

Seriously, give me your judgment of the day. I want to know what you think.

Great FEAT, Not so Great FEET & some Application!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Amen, and amen! Yesterday, I completed another 20 miler in my 13th week of training for the ING Georgia Marathon on March 25. In reality, instead of running 20 miles, I pushed it to 22.

My motivation for running 22 was to get near the “wall”. For those of you who do not know, the “wall” in marathon running is the point your body shuts down and you feel like you can not take another step. From past experience, my marathon “wall” is somewhere between miles 18 and 22. Since I have not yet hit the “wall” in my last three long runs, I decided to push my body to see if I could get near it.

I have good news. I did not hit the “wall” at 22 miles. Now that does not mean the “wall” (or the BIG HAIRY GORILLA, as I like to refer to it) was not waiting me at mile 22.1 or 22.2. But thank goodness for today I did not brush near it. In fact, it was a great run. What made the run even better was that it was my fastest 22-miler ever.

Here is how the run with my good friend, Dr. John Thweatt, pastor of FBC Pell City played out:

• First, it was a little bit chilly in the initial five miles. I think the last temperature I heard from James Spann was 27 degrees. Yes, that is chilly.
• John and I conversed about everything—our families, ourselves, our preaching, our churches, our ministries—you name it we talked about it. By the way, every time I speak of you, I always speak in glowing terms. And so does John when he speaks of his people.
• The first half-marathon (13.2 miles) was a new personal record for me—2:05:00. If my brain calculated the time correctly that is 9:37 per mile pace, twenty three seconds faster than my marathon goal pace.
• Mile 20 was another personal record for me at 3:15:00. That translates into 9:45 per mile pace.

Finally, I achieved my personal best with 22 miles at 3:38:00, which is a 9:55 per mile pace. I am not totally convinced of the accuracy of the last mile since I was running more by feel and not by a specific distance. I may have run more than a mile. I can safely say I know I did not run less than a mile, because I ran for 11 minutes on the last mile.

Pardon me for writing so much about this feat in my training program. I recounted every step with Vonda late this afternoon. After divulging my thoughts with her, I thought I would share my excitement with you.

Now, for the not so Great FEET

My run was filled with some humorous moments. Whenever you run for 3 hours and 38 minutes with someone else something funny will inevitably to happen to you.

At mile 17 or 18 John and I were reminiscing about our college football playing days. Have you ever noticed the farther away you get from those days the better athlete you were? I ask that question rhetorically. So, please, do not leave any comments.

Some of the humorous experiences I cannot divulge. However, one is worth recounting.

While running through Jemison Trail in Mountain Brook I was bragging about my ability as an offensive lineman. “I was too small to play, but I made up for it in my ability,” I bragged. Of course, John asked how I developed that ability, and that is when I reminded him of how my brother and I taught ourselves how to ride a unicycle for better balance.

What happened next, as we would say, is priceless.

Remember now, we are running a trail with rocks, gravel and roots. ROOTS would be the operative word in the preceding sentence, and I am bragging about my agility.

So, I am boasting and bragging when out of nowhere a root moves in front of me…and you can only guess what kind of mess I made. My fall was in slow motion. I stumbled. I stammered. It was deliberate. I even had time to think, “Uh oh, I am falling. This is not going to be good.” And then I fell with a great crash.
Yes, I put my hands out to catch myself, and now the palms of my hands are very fresh and tender, not to mention my left knee and shin.
The look on John’s face said it all. I think he was glad he was two or three strides in front of me. If we had been closer, we would be at the hospital having his body x-rayed for broken bones; for I am confident I would have landed on him. He stepped back to lift me to my feet, brush dirt off my shoulder and we pressed on.

And Now for the Application
Trust me I hear those of you who have read this far in my blog saying, “Get to the point, Ryan. Get to the point. Give us the application.”

Running 22 miles is a microcosm of life, and so here is my application.

First, be selective who you run with.
I ran with John today so he would pace me. He lifted me up to a personal best. In life we must be particular who we run with. People will either lift us up or bring us down. Associate with people who lift you up, or who make you better. John Thweatt made me a better runner today.

Second, as in running, you have many ups and downs in life.
You should embrace each challenge as it comes, pick yourself up, clean yourself off and move on.

Third, decide in advance you will do your best.
Today, I set out to run a personal best. Each day I should decide to do my personal best, not for myself but for the Lord.

Four, recount on the good.
There were parts of the run that were not very pleasing. We climbed three or four brutal hills. My fall bruised my pride. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I dwelled on the best parts of the run. Life is like that, also. There are parts of your day that tough. Instead of dwelling on those things, recount the good from your day to others.

I could give many more applications, but I will resist and bring this elaborate and self-consuming blog to a conclusion. In short, today was a good day to run. Actually, every day is a good day to run.

What a Sweet Night

I left the office late Monday evening. I slipped out one of the side exits so as not to interrupt one of the sweetest nights of the year for our church. Monday night was the celebration of the “Daddy Daughter Date Night.” This is the once-a-year party we celebrate for the fathers and daughters (or granddaughters) for Valentines Day.

I was informed that we had more than 150 fathers and daughters participating. A few of them slipped into my office to say hello. The girls were so beautiful in their outfits. I even saw a few running through the building early that afternoon wearing curlers in their hair. When I inquired about her hair, she promptly said, “My daddy and I have a date tonight.”

That’s good stuff, isn’t it?

Speaking of Good Stuff
How many of you saw this article in USA Today two days after Tony Dungy’s Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl? Better yet, how many of you saw the accompanying photo?

(Click on the photo above for the complete article)

I just cannot find enough words of praise for this man. He is apparently the real deal. I believe Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears is the real deal as well.

As I have tried in the past with other high profile believers, I am currently trying to contact Coach Dungy’s assistant or agent to secure him for a speaking engagement at CrossPoint. You will not know if you can have someone like that in your church until you try.

Blessed are the Meek

So, what do you think of our study from the beatitudes? Are you learning anything new? I know I am learning something new with each trait.

The last time I preached through Matthew 5:1-12 was in 1989. I am embarrassed by what I preached back then. My notes from that series serve me no purpose today. My study was shallow and my messages were superficial. I pity the sweet people who had to endure my preaching in those days.

I don’t guess I was mature enough then to appreciate the depth of the beatitudes. I am probably not mature enough now to value Jesus’ teaching. But one thing I do know, I understand the beatitudes deeper now than I ever have before.

While praying through the trait of meekness this morning, I kept running through my mind the thought of being “under controlled authority.” And while asking God to help me be meek, the Holy Spirit reminded me of two similar statements from Colossians.

As you read through these sentences see if you can identify what we can do to be meek:

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24

Did you see it? What did you read?

I read that one of the keys to meekness is servitude. To write it another way, meek people are servants. I think the more we serve the Lord by serving others the meeker we become.

It was very clear this morning the Lord wanted to develop meekness within me by challenging me to do everything in His name and for His glory.

Remember, blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn and the meek!

I look forward to preaching what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Hearing God

When was the last time you heard God’s voice? I am not speaking of God’s audible voice, because I believe anyone on earth who heard God’s audible voice would be dumbstruck speechless and deaf for the remainder of their life. No, the voice I am speaking of is the every day voice God uses to speak to us through His Word. So, with that explanation in mind let me ask the question this way: when was the last time God spoke to you through His word?

There are days I can read God’s word and not get anything out of it. Those are the days I must re-read God’s Word, because I learned long ago that the problem with hearing God through His Word has nothing to do with God but has everything to do with me.

Last week was a marquee week for me in hearing God’s voice. Just about every day I opened His word and studied it, I heard from God very loud and clear.

What did you hear God say last week in your daily Bible reading?

On Monday, February 5, I learned from Abraham:

God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering my son.
Genesis 22:8

On Tuesday, February 6, this message from God jumped off the page:

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the world the he had done for Israel.
Judges 2:10

On Wednesday, February 7, David taught me:

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

It seems every day I read my Bible the Lord had a fresh word for me to hear.

On Saturday, February 10, this word sounded loudly in my ear:

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 14:14

Then again, on Sunday, February 11, I was awestruck by this sentence:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36

I cannot stress the importance of reading God’s Word each day. When you do read God’s Word, you are opening yourself up to hear directly from God. Imagine what kind of life you would live for Christ if each day you opened the Bible and said, “God, please speak directly to me today so I may obey you.”

For those of you online with reading through God’s Word, I implore you to keep reading.

For those of you who are behind, I encourage you to catch up. You can catch up a week’s worth of reading in about one hour. So, turn off your television set and spend some time in the Word of God.

For those of you who have not started reading through your Bible, start today and finish the reading plan in February 2008.

I will make you this promise—if you read it, He will speak to you!

Famous for Being Famous

Were any of you amazed with last week’s news coverage associated Anna Nicole Smith’s death? I was. I was both amazed and perplexed.

I was amazed by the unlimited coverage. I was perplexed by the priority of the unending cycle of “more of the same” video reports.

I understand the necessity of announcing her death. Anna Nicole died the way she lived, tragically. And, I guess, in today’s culture that is newsworthy. However, what I do not understand is the round the clock news coverage associated with her death. By the day’s end, I thought the news media would be announcing a national day of mourning or at the least a state funeral—designated only for heads of state or for other important people of national significance.

While watching the news coverage last Thursday evening I kept asking myself (and Vonda) the same question—what made this woman so famous as to deserve such news worthiness? Did she discover a vaccine to save millions of lives? Did she devote her life to some worthy cause? Did she build an institution devoted to helping others? What did this woman do that made her so famous?Before the night concluded, a commentator for Fox News answered my inquiry. The commentator (and I do not recall his name) said, “Anna Nicole Smith was famous for being famous, much like Paris Hilton and so many others.” He’s right. Anna Nicole Smith was famous for being famous.

Anna Nicole Smith’s life and death are both sad. I pity her family and friends that are now fraught with the responsibility of picking up the broken pieces she leaves behind for her daughter. Anna’s life and death are a mere image of our culture. She lived a decadent life without any boundaries. She was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Her life was a depraved train wreck. And at 39 years of age, her death was nothing more than the result of her fame.

If I were I were a news reporter, instead of calling her famous, I would call Anna Nicole Smith infamous; for she was well recognized for her depravity. But then again, that would not be politically correct, would it? I guess that is why God called me to be a pastor and preacher. Because I am sure I would not last long on the television air waves.

I am curious. What did you think of the news coverage? Better yet, what did you think of Anna Nicole’s tragic life and death?

Do We Have a Deal?

I called a pastor friend of mine Monday morning to get his report from the previous Sunday. When I asked what he preached, the question stumped him. It took him several seconds to think about what he communicated just 24 hours earlier.
We preachers have a tendency to do that. We often forget what we preached. We are the only creatures I know who can pour their heart and soul into a message, preach it one, two or three times on Sunday morning, and then not remember much of what we said the following day. It is a strange phenomenon that we preachers experience. Perhaps many of you experience something similar when you leave CrossPoint on Sunday morning and ask, “What did he just talk about?”
I may not remember everything I said last Sunday, but there is one part of that message I have no problem remembering. That is the part of my message which pertains to preaching the Gospel. Allow me to cut to an excerpt from my manuscript:

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of hearing messages about achieving your divine destiny or discovering your true purpose in life or how to find happiness. The church has heard enough messages about our selves. We have heard enough about how to be happy, how to achieve success, how to be prosperous, how to have a happy marriage, how to be all you can be.

Instead of hearing that junk, I believe we must hear more messages about God and His Gospel. I, myself, have been weak in this area. And I am asking you to hold me more accountable to preaching a Gospel-centered message each week. We need to hear the Gospel in every message.

Just so you will know the true Gospel to which I am referring, let me explain it with greater detail. I am doing this because sometimes my Gospel presentations are weak and watered-down to “God loves you, you are a sinner, and you must repent and be saved.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so much more than that. It is also so much more then praying a simple prayer.

Here is a good starting point for us to work on:

• There is a God and we are not He. There is only one God.

  We must acknowledge that God is our Holy Creator and Righteous Judge. He created every part of creation, and He stands as Righteous Judge of every human being.

  All people have sinned against Him, offending His holy character, alienating ourselves from Him and exposing ourselves to His righteous anger.

  As a result of offending God with our sin, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die the death that we deserved for our sins.

  Christ’s death and resurrection is the only way to be reconciled to the one true God. That is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:1) If you want to call me narrow minded for preaching this way, then so be it, because the Bible says the way to Christ is narrow.

  We must respond to His Gospel News by repenting of our sins and believing in the Gospel if we would be forgiven by God, reconciled to Him, and saved from the wrath to come. Jesus’ first recorded message on earth was this: “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15).

I trust you sensed my deep conviction Sunday morning when I said that. I am convinced that I cannot preach the Gospel enough every time we meet.

I will make you this promise when it comes to preaching the Gospel: every week I will do my best, with the Holy Spirit’s power, to preach the Gospel if you promise to do your best, with the Holy Spirit’s power, to bring JUST ONE MORE with you to worship. That is a deadly combination when it comes to introducing the world to Jesus Christ.Do we have a deal?

Twenty-One Years & Counting

My wife and I are celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary today. We were married on February 8, 1986 at the First Baptist Church of Pleasant Grove. Please don’t tell what I am about to share with you, because it is a surprise. Just don’t say anything until Sunday.

My gift for her this year is something that has taken me twelve months to create. I received the idea from Dr. John Thweatt, my pastor friend and marathon training partner from First Baptist Church, Pell City, Alabama.

Last February I purchased a journal. It is a “blank book”, in which you can record your own words. In the book I recorded some keepsake thoughts for her to always cherish. It has been a delightful experience creating this memento of our marriage.

I have had a blast putting it all together. It is amazing what you can think of to record over a matter of a year. I made one mistake, however; I did not purchase a large enough journal. As many of you know, I am a journal freak. So, writing my thoughts is an easy and enjoyable task.

For anyone interested, this could also serve as a great Christmas gift to your family or birthday gift to a family member. Another pastor friend and NOT a marathon training partner, Dr. Ron Ethridge from Woodward Avenue Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, compiled a similar piece for his entire family last year for Christmas. He made an accompanying PowerPoint slideshow. He said his family loved it.

What did I write about? You name it. One day I recorded the major milestones in our life—when and where we first met, our first date, our first kiss, our engagement, our wedding day, the birth of our children and so on. Some times I wrote the lyrics to some of our favorite songs. While surfing the web one day I discovered how to write “I love you” in about 40 different languages. I conducted some research on her name, along with mine, Taylor’s and Kelsey’s. The really good stuff included personal thoughts and letters I wrote for her only. I also filled the pages with special Scripture passages.

I cannot wait to see her response when she opens the gift today. I think she will most definitely cry. I know I have cried periodically writing my thoughts. I have also wondered what my children will think of this family heirloom when they read it years later after we have left this earth for our eternal home.

I like the idea so much I am currently compiling a one-year journal for my son to read his first year in college. I am assembling this journal a little bit differently. Instead of containing only my thoughts and ideas, I am asking other family members and friends to write one or two devotions to be included. It is a major task writing 365 devotions. Actually, I am writing 265, while my family and friends are writing the other 100. As with his mother, I cannot wait to see his response.

I hesitated sharing such an intimate part of my life with you, but I felt like some of you would benefit from the idea. And, once again, try to keep this a secret until Sunday. I doubt any of you will see her until then since I am taking her out of town for a quick 48-hour get-a-way.

A Flurry of Activity

I know the word WOW has become my favorite aphorism, but I am telling you that is the best word I can think of with regard to what the Lord is doing at CrossPoint. The WOW to which I am referring has to do with the flurry of activity and air of excitement stirring around the CrossPoint campus this week.

The excitement began with staff meeting this morning. Although it was a chaotic meeting, we accomplished many things. Hugh Patrick, our Phase II Construction Team Leader, joined us the first 30 minutes to review preparations for entering the new Education Wing on February 18. That was followed by Paul Welch, another faithful CrossPointer, taking on us a virtual tour of our new webpage. For the minutes we had remaining we settled on some very convincing ideas for implementing CrossPoint’s process to CONNECT in every phase of our vision. We concluded the meeting with our monthly lunch together.

There are so many things going on this week, the next and the next, I thought I would highlight a few of them for you:

• We launched a new WEBPAGE at the same address. Check it out at http://www.crosspointchurch.info .
• We have RED STEEL going up! When you arrive on campus tonight take a look at the steel going up on the Phase II gymnasium. That is one massive structure.
• We are about to enter our NEW BUILDING on February 18. As of the date of this blog we are 10 days away from entering the new education wing. You are going to be blown away by the size, the décor and the usefulness of the building.
• We have many new potential members registered for D101 this Sunday. That means Sunday, February 18 will be special when we present a new group of family members to our family of faith.
• We meet for LEADERSHIP COMMUNITY Sunday night at 6 PM, followed by our first quarter FAMILY CONFERENCE.
• We re-open our PARENTS-OF-PRESCHOOL PARKING LOT and drive thru on Sunday, February 18. That will create 50 additional parking spaces. Plus it will give us more than one entrance into the building.
• We sold the TENT. Steve Parr has a contract in hand from a small church that purchased our tent. Now we need 50 people to help us deconstruct the tent on Saturday, February 24.
• We will soon open another PARKING LOT, if the Lord is willing. If we can get the tent removed in time (see the previous entry) we should be able to grate and pave the temporary parking area before Easter. Again, it is incumbent on us to deconstruct the tent. That will create parking for 120 more automobiles. For those counting, this will be the third time we have taken down the tent.
• We are inviting 10,000 guests to CELEBRATE EASTER with us. Last year we invited 5,000 guests and we had 1700 on campus. This year we want to invite 10,000 people. As a result of that effort, we are expecting 2500 people on campus Easter morning. We will be providing Easter details in the coming weeks.

Can anybody say, “WOW!”? I told you there was a flurry of activity going on at CrossPoint.Give thanks. Give thanks, CrossPoint, because these are days like no other. We are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let’s make the most of it by inviting JUST ONE MORE to join us.

Beyond the Ultimate

My friend Ron Ethridge made me aware of this website over the weekend. I thought you would like to check out the powerful stories behind the two Super Bowl coaches.

Click here: www.beyondtheultimate.com .

I am writing this blog a few hours before kickoff. It will be hard to choose which team to cheer for since both men are so closely connected to Christ. My heart wants me to pull for Peyton and the Colts. My head urges me to cheer for the Da’ Bears! We will see in a few hours who are the victors.

After watching their videos you will agree both Tony and Lovie are already winners in what counts.

Look at God!

Last Sunday we learned what it meant to be “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). You will recall to be “poor in spirit” is to recognize your true condition before God. And, our true condition before God is that we are spiritually bankrupt. The “poor in spirit” admit I am nothing, I have nothing and I can do nothing without the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Before concluding my thoughts on being “poor in spirit” I noted how Martin Lloyd-Jones says he developed a spirit of poverty. He said, “To develop a spirit of poverty you must look at God.”

The more we look at God, the less esteem we have for ourselves. When God is exalted in our lives, we are naturally humbled. Therefore, to develop the beatitude of “poor in spirit” one must continually look at God—not the god of our own making or the god of a television evangelist or the god of my parents—but the God of the Bible.

When I focus on whom God is and what He does, I realize this one simple truth: God is everything and I nothing.

My salvation is all of God and none of me. God is everything and I am nothing. It is not that I am something and God is something more. It is not that I am good and God is great. To look at God is very simply admitting that God is everything and I am nothing.

As you look to God today, take a few moments to answer the following questions:

Omniscience: Do we realize God knows everything?

Omnipresence: Do we realize God is everywhere?

Omnipotence: Do we realize God can do anything?

Sovereign: Do we realize God controls everything?

Holy: Do we realize God is totally perfect and utterly different from us and all of creation?
Gracious: Do we realize God gives gracious oversight to the affairs of all mankind?
Love: Do we realize God loves us even though we deserve His wrath?

Faithful: Do we realize God does everything He says He will do?
Good: Do we realize God is the final authority of everything that is good?
Wrath: Do we realize God intensely hates all sin?
Mercy: Do we realize God eternally gives Himself to us?

Immutable: Do we realize God does not change His basic character?

Remember, to be “poor in spirit” is to admit I am nothing, I have nothing and I can do nothing without the grace of God through Jesus Christ.