Seriously?

We are facing what could potentially be the most consequential election of our lifetime and this is the best we can do? Seriously? Where are the truly great conservative leaders in this nation?

Here at Christmas time I recall what Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming of Christ, "...and the government shall be upon His shoulders." Two thoughts come to mind - 1) If we are the body of Christ then we are the shoulders of Christ. 2) The shoulder is a type of responsibility! It is our responsibility as the Body of Christ to shoulder the responsibility of government. We see plainly what happens when the godless rule. My prayer is that God will raise up righteous men and women to lead America again! 

The Peanut Gallery

When Charles Shultz started his comic strip Peanuts it was originally called The Peanut Gallery. A Peanut Gallery is a theatrical term for people you don't take seriously. That's exactly what Satan wants to make out of us - A Peanut Gallery that the world just laughs at. He wants to rob us of our credibility because he knows that God wants to make us the light of the world. One of the ways he puts us in the funny papers is by continuing to maintain strongholds in our lives even after we've been born again. By keeping us as pessimistic as Charlie Brown or a control freak like Lucy Van Pelt, Satan succeeds in making us look like a comic strip character in the minds of those we're supposed to be influencing in the world around us. 

The truth is, the desire to control people and the practice of being habitually pessimistic isn't funny. It may be cute when Charlie Brown or Lucy acts this way in the comic strip, but if you struggle with these issues or love someone who does, you know there's nothing cute or funny about it! 

These things can't be written off as merely a personality trait or even a character flaw - They are strongholds our enemy has placed upon us and that's not the will of God for our lives! God wants us free! Jesus said that if the Son sets us free, we are free indeed! God can liberate us from the Peanut Gallery by dealing with the Charlie Brown in us all. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas

A couple of weeks ago we hosted our first Christmas production in our new worship center. Crossroads is known for big, elaborate productions, so the pressure was on to ‘bring it’ in the new digs. We designed the new building for these kinds of events - A big stage with multiple curtains and fly tracks for bringing things on and off stage. It was so much fun having the facility we needed to accommodate the kind of production we wanted to share. 

Early this year, while the building was still going up, we decided on a musical stage version of the beloved Peanuts television classic, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I’ve always enjoyed the comic strip, and the television special has always been a family favorite this time of year. One of Broadway’s most successful shows a few years back was “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown.” The combination of adult actors playing these characters in the costumes we remember, with over-sized sets to make them look more child-like has a magic all of it’s own and we knew it would work with the Christmas special as well as it had with the “Good Man” story line. We just needed to work in some original musical numbers, build on the spiritual message that already exists in the original script and we would have ourselves a terrific production for this Christmas season.

We began with a great director. We knew we needed someone who had experience with musical stage shows, so we asked Kathy Pooler to direct and I’m so glad we did. She did an incredible job filling our huge new stage!

Next we were on to casting. The actors we selected did an incredible job! Jason Rhoades played Charlie Brown. (Completely shaving his head for the role!) Daphne Gaspard played Lucy, Aaron Domegeaux played Linus, Coy Watson played Schroeder, Kari Campbell played Sally, Phil Bergeron played Snoopy, Michelle Sanchez played Frieda, Madelyn Roberts played Violet, Stephen Clark played Franklin and Stephanie Elmore played Peppermint Patty. 

Coy Watson, Kari Campbell and I wrote original songs for the production. They came out great. Kari’s song, “Phobias” was performed by Daphne Gaspard as Lucy in the  Psychiatrist scene. Kari, playing Sally Brown, performed a song written by Coy called “Tens and Twenties.” The song I wrote was called “This Little Tree” and it was performed by Jason Rhoades, as Charlie Brown.  We also included a song originally performed by the Royal Guardsmen called “Snoopy’s Christmas.” The song featured a mechanical doghouse that ‘flew’ (thanks to Shane Thompson) in front of a 16x19 screen, with Jordy Davidson on vocals and Mariah Hebert, Ashley Boullion, Anna Hansen, Kriston Arceneaux, Gavin Kondo and Kevin Wold dancing as German soldiers. Michelle Sanchez choreographed the dance numbers. As always, Coy Watson did a marvelous job arranging and performing the music with his talented band consisting of Steve Melancon, Tom Lyles, Kari Campbell and Lance Morgan. The stage set designed by Rhett Wyatt and company was magnificent! Rhett also managed the XMC stage hands who beasted all the prop placements and scene changes! Holane Davidson was our costume designer. She and our hair and make up  artists, Britney Bergeron and LaGwen Miller made all the Peanuts characters look legit! 

We had over 4,800 in attendance, the largest service we’ve ever had, with 80 decisions for Christ which means Charlie Brown isn''t such a blockhead after all! Thanks to everyone who helped make this year's production such a tremendous success! 

Nephew & Niece / Youth Pastors

I was so blessed last Sunday evening to officiate the wedding of my nephew Jordy Davidson and his lovely bride, Lindsay Kiely. Jordy and his brother, Jeremy are my sister Holane's boys. They were raised here in Acadiana and were around Donna and I all the time as they were growing up - Giving us plenty of parenting practice before our own children were born. We've always been very close with the boys.

Lindsay came to us by means of Master's Commission. She hails from Canada. She is a wonderful girl who, although we didn't know her name, we have been praying for since 1988 (The year Jordy was born.) It was so good to get to know her family this past week leading up to the wedding.

I was so thrilled to bring Jordy on staff as our youth pastor here at Crossroads back in August of this year. He and Lindsay are loved by the students of our church and I can't wait to see how God will use this dynamic duo in the years to come as they reach the young people of Acadiana to the glory of God!

Their wedding was as unique as the bride and groom - An eclectic outdoor celebration with a vintage theme that was enjoyed by all!

A few of my favorite smells...

#1 - Pipe Tobacco 

My cousin Eddie was my best friend growing up as a kid. He was always at my house or I was at his. His dad was a pipe smoker. I can still remember the smell of that pipe tobacco. Any time I smell it today, the aroma takes me back to those days Eddie and I roamed the woods and creek banks of rural Ouachita Parish. Great memories indeed.

#2 - Saddle Leather

I know this will seem like a no-brainer to those who know me well. I love everything associated with horses. From the sense of smell perspective, saddle leather is one of my all time favorites. When I walk into a saddle shop I could stay there for hours just to take in the smells!

#3 - Coffee Beans

Last, but certainly not least - I LOVE the smell of coffee beans. I wasn't always a coffee drinker but my friend David Baudoin changed all that. Now I can't get enough of the stuff. I have a grinder and a French press that I use every Saturday and Monday mornings with great pleasure. But before the process starts, I take a deep whiff of the fresh beans from the bag.







So these are a few of my favorite smells. How about you?

Amy's Skylight (Sally) 1984-2011

Sally came to us in 2002 - A beautiful 18 year old Sorrel AQHA mare. She was a gift from a wonderful friend and our first horse here at the farm. She was the horse our children learned to ride on. She was so patient with them: Gentle enough to be a teacher, with just enough spunk to keep it fun. In her earlier life she had been a barrel racer and even at 18 she could fly! Robin entered her in Western Pleasure and Trail the year after we got her. We worked for months at these disciplines that Robin or Sally had never participated in. She was smart and a fast learner, so before long she was flawlessly side-stepping on cue, changing leads on cue, backing up, crossing hazards, allowing Robin to enter through gates mounted and the other things Western Pleasure and Trail disciplines require. That is, until she got to the show ring. At that point everything we had been working on for months went out the window and Sally completely reverted to her Barrel Racing days. As far as she was concerned, she was there for one thing only - to run as fast as possible! We knew we were in trouble when, while Robin tried to pass though the gate mounted, Sally finally got frustrated enough to push the gate closed herself. The crowd got a big kick out of that one.

Sally loved children and was always our go-to mount when families would visit us with kids interested in their first horse back ride. Few things gives me more pleasure than that, but I think Sally enjoyed it even more. She also has given us some wonderful memories of family rides when the kids were young. I'm so thankful for those times.

A few weeks ago our precious 27 year old Sally (that's 81 in human years) called it quits. She'd been losing weight for months despite our best attempts to keep it on. A few weeks before she started losing her hair and she finally laid down and wouldn't get up. I went out and pet on her for a while and we had a good talk, like we have so many times before. She's been somewhat of a therapist for me these past few years. I could tell her anything and she'd always keep it to herself. That day I told her how blessed we were to have her as a part of our family. How many great memories she's left us with and how we'll never forget her. I called the vet and asked him to come put her down, but he didn't have enough medicine to do so. He encouraged me to let things happen naturally and assured me she wasn't suffering. The next morning she was back up! I laughed and told the kids she must have overheard my conversation with the vet! We were thankful she was back up and moving around, but we knew the writing was on the wall and it was just a matter of time.

Wednesday, while we were in Alabama at a conference, Sally laid down for good. I'm going to miss her greatly. Her registered name was Amy's skylight. I don't really know who Amy is, but if you're reading this I'd like you to know what an incredible blessing your skylight was to me! 

Another New (Used) Car

Today we blessed Chase with a new (used) 2006 Jeep Liberty. I found an incredible deal on one in Chicago (around $2,500.00 under Blue Book value!) and flew there Monday night and drove it back on Tuesday. He had been with Master's Commission in Mobile for over a week working at House of Horrors and had no idea I had made the purchase. He was aware I was looking at a couple of vehicles when he left and, although I spoke with him every day while he was away, he never asked me about it! (He is one laid back kid! I would have been bugging my dad every day about it!)

They arrived back yesterday and Donna and I arranged to have lunch with he and Robin. Afterward I told them I needed pick up my vehicle at the oil change place (where I had left his Jeep to be serviced) and when we arrived, I went inside and paid then drove his Jeep around where they were waiting. He was ecstatic!

As I wrote in a previous post, it has always been our desire to bless our children with their first vehicle for their senior year of high school. Since Chase graduated early to attend Master's Commission, we were so thankful to be able to provide him with a good vehicle. He is a wonderful young man and we are so proud of him!

Spooky

Here's the latest Sermon series roll-in. The guys just keep cranking out great stuff! This is actually a two-parter and I'll post the second one next week!

Under Cover

Our October series is called Under Cover. Here's the roll-in the guys came up with. Doug and Holly Palombo did a really great job as the featured couple who learns the importance of proper covering!

Thanks Steve!

Steve Jobs, founder of Apple died today. When I first heard the news, I thought - The world has lost a true genius! He was the Edison of our time. His contributions to the world reshaped how we do life. My Mac, IPad and IPhone that I use every day to stay connected, creative and competitive are products of his drive, focus and vision. These virtues were a gift from God Himself. I'm not sure if Steve recognized that, or gave God credit for it - but I will. Thank God for Steve Jobs and the tools God inspired him to create that assist us in in so many ways.
God's Word predicts that in the last days knowledge will increase. We certainly have seen that in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. It is important that we as Christ followers use that knowledge to advance the cause of Christ. Harnessing the technology that is available because of men like Jobs can help us to reach more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can use these devices to send emails, build websites, offer podcasts and stream videos that can lead people all over the world into a relationship with God. I'm not sure that's what Steve had in mind when he imagined these inventions, but that's what I'll continue to use them for. Thanks Steve.

Enjoying The Sportsman's Paradise

While in Colorado last year I discovered that my new friend, Pastor Troy Lewis - who grew up in Steamboat Springs, doesn't ski. That blew my mind! Here's a guy, living in a skiers paradise and he doesn't ski? It made no sense to me! Then I started thinking about where I live. Our State is called The Sportsman's Paradise. People from all over the world come here to hunt and to fish. Yet, although I live literally minutes away from some of the best fishing and hunting in the world, I rarely engage in either of those activities! I've decided that should change!

A couple weeks ago, I made my first alligator hunt! My good friend, Greg (Spanky) Arsement, invited me to go with him and supplied me with a tag. (Louisiana requires them to legally kill an alligator.) We went to a lease in a swamp northeast of Baton Rouge and I killed this 7 1/2-footer while our Media Director, Richard Gaspard captured it all on video. We felt like real 'Swamp People' and Spanky made sure I received the appropriate Troy Landry-like encouragement - "Choot 'em!" The next day, Spanky went out and killed an 11-footer! (That's a real tree-shaker there boy!)


This week I made a duck hunt with my good friend Dennis Clark. He is an incredibly accomplished hunter and I had a really great time! We hunted Teal, which are smaller ducks that are amazingly fast and hard to hit! My right shoulder has a huge bruise from all the shooting! Watching Dennis' dog Topper retrieve the ducks we shot was something to behold! He is so smart, and watching him work with Dennis was a reminder of why we need to get out and enjoy all that Louisiana life has to offer! I'm truly thankful for our little slice of paradise!

1st and 2nd Samuel

Last year, when we brought Robin to Master's Commission on opening day, we told everyone we were dropping our little Samuel off at the temple. It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the wonderful Old Testament story of Samuel and his mother Hannah's promise to dedicate her child to God. This weekend we brought 2nd Samuel and dropped him off at the temple too. (There are two Samuels - go check your Old Testament!)

Chase, who would have been a Senior this year, finished his remaining credits this summer so he could go to Master's Commission early. (He will still participate in our local Home School Network Graduation ceremonies in May.) We are very proud of him and we can't wait to see what God will do both in and through him this year!

Robin is doing her second year at Master's and will earn her Bachelor's Degree in Missions from the West Coast Bible College. Afterward, she plans to spend a year in Kenya assisting with planting a Master's Commission program there. We plan to all go to Kenya in January on a missions trip to see where she'll be working. Just thought I'd catch you up on what's happening with 1st and 2nd Samuel!

Makes Sense!

This weekend two of my great loves come together for what promises to be a wonderful time! I'll be kicking off a brand new message series at Crossroads that combines my love for preaching with my love for horses. The series is called Horse Sense.

The premise is simple: There are many similarities to what we do to train horses and the things God does to provide us with spiritual training. I figured, why not point out the comparisons and learn some things about what God wants to do in our lives? We'll be looking at the principals of trust and respect, harnessing the power we have in Christ, bridling our tongues and spurring one another on to good works! 

Our media director, Richard Gaspard, filmed a wonderful local horse trainer named Dwayne Desormeaux giving us some interesting insights into training horses. These short tutorials, along with everyone dressed in boots and jeans, some preservice games and a few surprises throughout the series will make for a lot of fun at Crossroads in September! Saddle up and come join us!

Families Reach Cities

A while back I attended a service where my friend Rich Wilkerson was preaching. He shared an incredible message about how families reach cities for God. His premise was that the Levitical Priesthood is a trans-covenant reality. Just like God chose a family in the Old Testament to serve as His priests, He also chooses families today, in this New Covenant hour to do His work upon the earth. He pointed out the many examples we see around us like Franklin Graham following in the footsteps of his famous father Billy, Joel Osteen taking over for his dad John, the list goes on and on. Rich pointed out that, growing up as a pastor's son, he was raised with the idea that you never attempt to persuade your children to follow you in the ministry. He confessed that he ignored that advice and told his four boys everyday of their lives that, although he wasn't sure what they would do for a living, he believed that they would preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth! Today, all four of his sons are involved in ministry. At the end of the service he invited all the pastors in attendance to come forward and dedicate their families to God. I was there by myself, but as I stood at the alter I took my iPhone and I held pictures of my children up to God and cried out to Him to use them in His service anyway He sees fit!

I am so proud of my kids and so thankful that both of them are in Master's Commission this year following the will of God for their lives! In addition, we just hired my nephew Jordy as our Youth Pastor here at Crossroads Church and it was one of the most thrilling moments of my life! Rich is right - Families reach cities! 

The Help

I will admit, I’m probably more inclined to be attracted to the subject matter of this film because of my upbringing. I was born in 1962. My formative years were spent watching the rise of the civil rights movement from the den of segregation. I was raised in the deep south of rural north Louisiana. Our family didn’t have a maid but we knew people who did. I remember what it looked like and it looked like this film. Our schools in Ouachita Parish were integrated the year I entered first grade. My parents pulled me out of school and sent me to a private Christian school that was all white. A year later I returned to public school and I remember well the struggles of desegregation first hand. 

The Help is the best movie I’ve seen in a long, long time. I am a movie fanatic. I see a lot of films and I like all kinds - Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy... I enjoy them all. But once and a while a different kind of film comes out. A film that can change who you are. A film that makes you want to be a better person. A film that makes you evaluate yourself and the world around you. The Help is that kind of film. 

Based on the best selling book by the same name, The Help takes us back to the turbulent 1960’s in the racially-divided city of Jackson, Mississippi and let’s us view the world through the eyes of the black women who cleaned the homes, cooked the suppers and raised the children of prominent white families in southern communities. 

The story centers mainly around the character of a young Mississippi white woman named Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan, a journalist who plans to write a book from the perspective of the black maids she has grown up around. She attempts to enlist the help of Aibileen Clark, who works in the home of one of Skeeter’s close friends, but Aibileen initially declines. When she later agrees to tell her story, Skeeter asks her what changed her mind. Her response is “God.” Her Pastor’s sermon has reminded her that courage requires us to sometimes do things we’re not comfortable doing. Courage becomes the theme of the movie, as Skeeter’s mother, who is initially critical of her daughter’s view of the world, eventually expresses pride in her by telling her, “Courage sometimes skips a generation. I’m so glad you’ve brought it back to this family.” 

The film brings laughs, the film brings tears, the film brings regrets and hopefully the film brings change. Because, as much progress as has been made in race relations since the 1960’s - We’ve still got so far to go! Those changes will require courage and our courage depends on a different kind of help - The help of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, we can bring lasting change and love one another as God has called us to! I can almost hear Him whispering now, “You is kind, You is smart, You is important.” 

New Message Series Roll In

Our new message series is called "Back to School." Here's the video roll in our Media Department came up with for the series. It features a couple of extremely cute kiddos from the Crossroads family! I think you'll enjoy it!

Converge

con·verge

[kən-ˈvərj] - (of several people or things) come together from different directions so as eventually to meet.

This is a perfect description of what happened last Tuesday night in Romania at our very first Master's Commission Romania graduation. Seven young people - four Romanians and three Americans - received their diplomas as two distinct happenings in time converged.

You see, in 1989 a revolution took place in Romania as the people of that nation shook off the chains of Communist oppression and became a free country. The same year, Donna and I traveled to Phoenix, AZ where we were introduced to a program called Master's Commission. At that time there was just one program located there in Phoenix, but I knew it was the kind of program we wanted here in Lafayette, so I came home and launched the very first Master's Commission program outside of the original. Many more would follow and now Master's Commission programs exist all over the world!  Thanks to one of the graduates of that first extension program here in Lafayette - Shawn Marcell (pictured here with Donna and I) - that list of nations with Master's Commission programs now includes Romania! The stage was set in 1989 by two events that would pull me in and allow me to experience their impact and last Tuesday, Donna, Shawn and I had the joy of watching those two worlds converge! 

This is what it's going to take!

Tying the Knot

I recently conducted the wedding ceremony of my nephew Jeremy Davidson and his new bride, Stephanie Zmijewski. I am so excited for them, they make an awesome couple! Donna and I are very close to Jeremy and his brother Jordy. They grew up here in Acadiana and we have seen them almost every day of their entire lives! Before our own kids were born, Donna and I honed our parenting skills on them and it was kind of like seeing one of my own children get married.

When Jeremy was little, his eye teeth came in before the rest and we nicknamed him fangs. We used to tease him and say he was a little werewolf - then he grew up and has the thickest hair/beard I've ever seen! Coincidence? Watch out on the night on those full moons Stephanie! (LOL) At some point he realized people liked being complemented. He would tell me every time I saw him, "Uncle Jeff (in his thick North Louisiana Accent) - I like your shoes!" Last night I got to complement him on a very nice pair of shoes he wore with his handsome wedding suit.

Stephanie came to us through Master's Commission from Florida. She was a stand out among a lot of incredible young people in her class. When I learned that she and Jeremy were dating, I was so happy because I knew she was the answer to all of the prayers we've prayed for Jeremy since he was just a little boy - Prayers that God would send him a wonderful, godly wife one day.

It was a fine celebration with friends and family and I tied the knot as tight as I know how.

A Little Good News!

Here's a great report concerning the movement Crossroads Church is affiliated with and I have my ordination through. 

The Assemblies of God, one of the largest Pentecostal denominations, is growing faster than the U.S. population.

AG reported that its U.S. adherents increased four percent in 2010, which is several times higher than the U.S. population growth rate, which is about one percent a year. Adherents of the Assemblies of God USA have surpassed three million followers, 3,030,944 to be exact, in 2010.

This is the largest annual percentage increase since 1983, according to AG records.

In terms of official membership, AG reported a 2.5 percent increase, to 1.75 million members. Attendance at major worship service, water baptism, spirit baptism, and conversions were also up, according to statistics.

The largest decline was seen in the Sunday evening service, where attendance drastically fell 4.1 percent, to 399,728.

“This is a unique moment in the history of our movement,” said Assemblies of God General Superintendent George Wood in a video promoting the denomination’s annual General Council meeting next month in Phoenix.

The Montes Family

It was so great to host some wonderful friends here at Crossroads this week. Hugo and Michelle Montes were our Junior High Pastors when we worked at Church On The Move in Tulsa, OK. We became close friends and have stayed connected though the years. They work at a school in the Dallas, TX area and travel weekends and summers doing Children's Crusades. They also do a lot of Public School Assemblies at elementary schools in the Dallas area. They conducted a special family night for us this past Wednesday that was a lot of fun. It was so great to get to spend some time with these dear friends that we love so much!

Their daughter Zoe was able to check three items off her 'Bucket List' (she is awfully young to have one of those already) by tasting some fried crawfish and alligator and by enjoying her first horseback ride on our always kid-friendly Paint Mare, Jessie. She loved it! I think Hugo better be prepared to find her access to a horse near their home. Shouldn't be hard - It's Texas for crying out loud!

Aye-aye Captain!

My Rap Music Debut!

May be my new favorite singer!

The Next J.J. Abrams Movie

Donna and I enjoyed the new summer blockbuster movie Super 8 yesterday with our good friends Bud and Yo Plake. The movie is the brainchild of director J.J. Abrams, known for his smash hit television series Lost and last years reboot of the Star Trek series. We loved it for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of the obvious homage it pays to Abrams' childhood hero Steven Spielberg. The movie is set in the late 1970's so it immediately has a similar look to movies in Spielberg's early career that put him on the map: Films like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and of course ET. The main characters in the new movie are kids - once again bringing to mind movies like ET and The Goonies (another movie that was produced by Spielberg early in his career). Then there's the fact that the movie is about an alien trying to get back home - uh, yeah - sounds familiar right? I think it's supposed to because again - this is really a tribute film - A film to honor the genius who inspired, not only J.J. Abrams, but an entire generation of young film makers. And it's a worthy effort - The movie smacks of Spielberg right down to the John Williams-esque soundtrack, the secret military handling of the extra terrestrials and the inclusion of tense family drama woven within an effects-laden sci-fi flick! 

It got me thinking of one of my life-long fantasies - I would love to produce a major motion picture - One with a Hollywood budget, cast and crew. Before you write me off as a goofball, studio mongol wanna-be, hear me out! My film would be the story of one of my true heros - Dave Roever. I believe the Dave Roever story is as powerful as any Hollywood has ever told and could be made into an Oscar winning film. It's got all the elements required for an Academy award winner: It's a war story, a love story, a story of redemption - It's got good guys and bad guys and most of all it has moral lessons this world desperately needs to be reminded of! I'm telling you, it could be a blockbuster in the tradition of Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List! All I need is a few million dollars and Steven Spielberg to agree to direct it. Or maybe J.J. Abrams! 

Don't Be A Weiner

By now you have all heard of the tweeting indiscretions of New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. Like me, I'm sure you have sat back in disbelief all week and wondered, "Why?" Why would anyone do that? I believe one word explains it all - PRIDE. If you have had any opportunity to see Weiner in action as a congressman you know it is obvious. This man has carried himself in a more egotistic fashion than almost anyone else in Washington - and that's saying a lot! Now the arrogance demonstrated in interviews and grandstanding sessions on the congressional floor has placed him center stage in one of the most embarrassing public scandals that's come around in a while. Only pride could convince someone they could get away with this kind of thing.

Pride wants to convince us of the same. Go on doing what you want! No one will ever know. God doesn't notice!

Galatians 6:7 says, Do not be deceived: God cannot be not mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Don't be fooled. Don't listen to pride! Don't be a weiner!

Excited about Master's Commission

Twenty years ago, when we launched a program called Master's Commission here in Lafayette. I knew God would use it to lay a strong discipleship foundation for young men and women in our church as they moved from their teen years into being an adult. I knew it would help them discover the call that God has on their lives and prepare them for ministry in whatever capacity God had chosen. What I didn't know was that it would be my own children that this program would serve. This weekend, Robin graduated from our Master's Commission program and we are so proud of the way she has embraced everything this program was designed to accomplish in a young person's life. She is more mature, more Christ-like, more bold and confident in her faith than ever and has heard God's Holy Spirit calling her into the ministry He had in mind for her before the world began! Robin has always known she wanted to go through Master's Commission and it's been such a joy to see her dream realized. She'll be attending a second year to complete her degree with West Coast Bible Institute and prepare for work in Africa.

Chase has never really expressed an interest in attending the program. In fact, he went as far as to say he didn't think he would. However, a couple of weeks ago, XMC hosted their annual Experience week, where Juniors and Seniors can spend a week experiencing what it's like to be in the program. We let Chase know we wanted him to attend. He reluctantly agreed. By the end of the week, God had really got a hold of his heart and, to our surprise, he asked us to allow him to graduate early (he only lacks two credits to complete his High School education) because he wants to go through Master's Commission this year! We have decided to allow him to do that and he is very excited! As are we.

Is that egg on your face?

May 21 has come and gone and the rapture did not take place! In case you were unaware, Harold Camping, California Bible teacher and owner of Family Radio International said that it would happen last Saturday at 5:59 PM. I blogged on this earlier this year, but I felt like I should write this follow-up piece to emphasize why this is so dangerous.

When these 'predictions' get this kind of publicity and then fail to happen, instead of just discrediting the false prophet who wrongly predicted it, it begins to discredit the idea of the rapture itself in the minds of people. Maybe that's why the Bible declares so few will be expecting Christ's return when He comes! The truth is, the rapture will one day take place and God's people will be caught away, ushering in a seven year period of great tribulation like this world has never experienced. As awful as the recent natural disasters have been, they are nothing compared with what the Bible says will happen when God's judgement is poured out on this world. We need to be ready, waiting and watching!

Today, Harold Camping has egg on his face because he ignorantly tried to predict what Jesus declared none of us can know (the exact time and day the rapture will happen), but there is a much worse case of egg on the face - and that will be found on the face of those who say the rapture will never happen!

Summer Movies

It’s mid-May, we're all getting graduation invitations in the mail every day, and that can only mean one thing: Summer movie season is upon us! There are a lot of promising offerings on the docket as well. I realize there will be a lot of sequels and reboots, but I don’t mind. Many of their predecessors were HUGE! Take for instance the Pirates franchise. Johnny  is back in the Caribbean on stranger tides. The original Pirates has found a place on my all-time favorites list. I didn’t care much for the two sequels that followed but this summer’s forth installment promises to be a reboot, ditching Orlando and Kiera’s characters and focusing primarily on the true star of the show - Captain Jack Sparrow! 

Another reboot will be X-men: First Class. It’s more of a prequel than a sequel - demonstrating how the group of mutants got their start. The trailer reveals the setting is within the context of the 1960’s Kennedy era. It should make for a very interesting story line and James McAvoy (cast as Professor Charles Xavier) is one of my favorite actors. Can’t wait to see how the X-men deal with the Cuban missile crises. (Or start it?) 

One movie on the summer line up I’m really looking forward to is J.J. Abrams’ Super 8. Abrams is one of the most brilliant young directors out there and the preview for his latest film looks like he’s taken his cues straight out of the Spielberg catalog of movie making: Serving up extra-terrestrial mayhem in a stereo-typical midwest town. Should be fun! 

Superhero films will be out in full force with Green Lantern and Captan America making their debuts. I hope they are as entertaining as this month’s Thor. (I really like it!) Captan America was one of my favorite superheros when I was growing up and I’m really glad they are keeping the film within the context of World War II and the 1940’s. 

Another original offering that I really liked that stumbled with it’s successor was the Transformers films. They’re back this summer with another effort and I sure hope it will be as well thought out as the first one and not just all eye candy. 

Last but not least is a film I have mixed feelings about: Cowboys and Aliens. I know - The premise is ridiculous! (But intriguing!) One of the things that upset me most about last summer’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the way they tried to sneak the inclusion of aliens in. (I felt betrayed.) At least Cowboys and Aliens are letting you know up front what to expect - So I’ll give it a try! 

I’d love to hear about the movies you’re looking forward to this summer and I hope to see you at the Theater! 

What do our church services say to the unchurched?

Sometimes when attempting to apply the Scripture to our lives, I think we miss the point. I'll give you an example.

1 Corinthians 14:22-25 says, Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” 

A lot of people will look at this passage of Scripture and see a discussion about spiritual gifts. I look at it and see God's heart for the unchurched! 

First of all, I see that in the early church, as believers met together week-to-week they were bringing the unchurched to their services. They weren't having church as a Christian 'bless-me' club, they were using their services to reach the lost! 

Secondly, it's clear that God wants us to conduct our services with the unchurched in mind! We have a tendency to think about how our services will be received by Christians, but obviously God is more concerned about those who have yet to receive Christ as their Savior. Instead of catering to the whims of those already secure in their salvation, we should structure our services to purposefully appeal to those who do not know Christ.

The motive of bringing unchurched people to our services should be to get them saved! I'm so glad our church understands that! At Crossroads, our people look at their role in our church as a partnership. They know if they will leverage their influence with the unchurched to get them to one of our services, that service will be designed to bring their friends to a decision about Christ. Every week, dozens of people receive Christ as their Savior at our services because of that partnership!

The next thing I see in this passage is that God wants to use everyone in the church to accomplish His goal of bringing the unchurched to Christ through weekly church services. Verse 24 talks about everybody prophesying. Now, I know what you're thinking: "How's that going to work? Will everyone take turns getting up on the platform and prophesying?" Our problem is with our concept of prophecy! We think that prophesying is pronouncing a word of warning or judgement. It certainly can come down to that, but the word 'prophesy' simply means to proclaim! A proclamation doesn't have to be words at all! Like the old saying goes, "Our actions speak louder than our words." God wants to use the actions of every member of the church to make a proclamation to the unchurched attending our services. What is that proclamation? Verse 25 makes it clear: The proclamation is, "God is here!" God is in our services. That fact will bring sinners to their knees in repentance and reverence saying, "God really is among you." How will they know? Because our actions will reveal it - The way we have treated them, the kindness we've shown. Remember, Romans 2:4 says it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance. Let's make godly kindness the proclamation we collectively make each weekend in our services to reach the lost! 

The Year A Bunny, Indiana Jones, The Death Matrix and Ballet Dancers Told The Easter Story

Imagine the most successful Easter Production ever put on by Crossroads Church. Wait! You don't have to use your imagination - It just happened! This past weekend we experienced unparalleled success with our Easter Production called "Imagine." Over 4200 people attended the five services we offered this Easter weekend with 70 people receiving Christ as their personal Savior!

The production gave us the opportunity to see the Easter story though the lens of a child's imagination. In our story that unfolds on video produced by our incredible production team, nine year old Joey (Played by Tom Wood) is curious about the Easter holiday. His mom (Played by Jennifer LaBerteau) explains the origin of Easter and how early pagan influences have all but taken over. Joey's imagination kicks in and provides us with an onstage performance of the old Veggie Tales classic The Bunny Song (performed by Richard Gaspard and rewritten to reflect the bunny's hostile takeover of Easter.) For the performance we used black light technology and full-bodied costumes to create a song and dance number that featured a puppet-version of Joey, his mom and dad, the bunny, evil minions and three singing peeps that you absolutely have to see! (I'll be posting the video here later this week.) Once the scene ended the band went into a lively Reliant K inspired version of Peter Cotton Tale arranged by the always masterful Coy Watson and performed by Jordy Davidson. Jordy was joined by the aforementioned "bunny" (brought to life by Luis Vasquez) and a host of candy-throwing teens from the youth group dressed in bunny attire! Jordy and the kids did a great job and the song was a lot of fun!

In the next scene, Joey is informed by his mom about the efforts that have been made by the scientific community for centuries to discredit the Easter story. She lets him know that there are many credible sources that point to scientific, historic and archeological evidence that supports the story of Easter. Yet, just like in the case of the lies the soldiers told in the first century, many choose to believe something other than the truth. When Joey asks about it, his mother explains what an archeologist does by referencing Indiana Jones. That's all it takes to send Joey's imagination into a onstage scene with he and Indy (Played by our magnificent set designer Rhett Wyatt) in a large cave where Nazi soldiers under the command of Professor Doubt (played by Jeff LaBerteau) try to steal the evidence for the Resurrection of Christ. Fight scenes, gunplay and the familiar Indian Jones theme music make for an exciting scene that everyone enjoyed! (It's always fun to see Nazi's get beat up by a nine year old kid!) When the scene ended the band (comprised of Coy Watson, Kari Campbell, Lance Morgan, Mark Conley, Bill LaLande and Beau Roy) kicked off an inspiring new arrangement of the old 4-Him hit Can't Get Past The Evidence. Jeremy Greene did a great job covering the song.


In our third act, Joey and his family are in church where the Pastor (played by Jason Rhoades) is sharing a sermon called "What Happened Those Three Days Jesus Was In The Grave." As the sermon unfolds, Joey's imagination transports him to an onstage portrayal of Sheol where Satan (played by Jared O'Kelly) and the Grave (played by Jordan Springer) are arguing over the body of Jesus (played by Chaz Jones). They are joined by ghoulish Voodoo dolls and Zombies (played by our Master's Commission students) who are all connected to what amounts to a death matrix - operated by the Grave. All of this played out to a sound track produced by Curvine Brewington that is a 21st Century remake of the old Carman song Sunday's on The Way. Both the track and the Human Video (written by Jared) were REMARKABLE - A definite highlight in the production! At the close of the scene the band covered Tree63's Sunday with Carter Berry providing lead vocals. It's a great song and Carter did an incredible job with it!

Lastly, Joey's dad explains the reason we celebrate Easter by pointing to our own resurrection from the grave. He tells the boy that because Jesus rose from the grave, we can too and makes the point personal by bringing up Joey's late grandfather. When asked what he thinks it will be like to see his grandfather again in heaven at the resurrection - Joey answers, "I can only Imagine." It's the perfect segue to a beautiful ballet arranged by Michelle Sanchez and performed by Michelle, Mariah Hebert, Brittany Alexander, Jasmine Chaisson, Natalie Myers and Skylar Courville. The ballet is set to the MercyMe classic I Can Only Imagine in an onstage heavenly setting. Jane Lantier breathed new life into the song that ended with Joey meeting up with his grandfather (played by Ken Lantier) and joined by Jesus Himself. The crowd loved it!

Once again this year, our team absolutely rocked! This was our last production in our current auditorium. We've achieved a lot in the old venue, but I'm really looking forward to what we will be able to accomplish in the new worship center!

Fine Arts Winner

This past Friday, Chase competed in the 2011 Louisiana Fine Arts Festival - A talent competition put on by the Louisiana Assemblies of God Youth Department. He competed in two categories: First Person Essay and Short Sermon. He did an incredible job with his short sermon. The boy is a great presenter! The theme of this year's competition was "Compelled by Love." His message was from the story of Jonah and was very insightful and inspirational! I might have to start letting him fill in for me at Crossroads every once-and-a-while! He rated a Superior and advanced to nationals in this category! His First Person Essay won Merit, which means his essay was first in State. He scored a perfect 40 and of course advanced to nationals in this category as well! Nationals will be held in Phoenix, AZ in August and we can't wait to see how he will do on the national stage! For all my pastor friends - If you're interested he's available for weekend and Wednesday night preaching engagements! Here's the essay he wrote:

My dear friends, 

     I would like to tell you all something that God has put on my heart. There are certain things which I notice Christians have been largely neglecting for a long time. I believe the solution to these problems can be described in one word – misfit.

     Misfit: a person poorly adjusted to his environment.

     When taken at face value, most people would not want to be described by that word. However, Christians should not want to fit into the environment of this world. My dear friends, I see a vision of us choosing to forget the fears of our past and focusing on the call of God to reach into the world’s environment to create more and more misfits for Christ. Anyone who has the love of our Father in them will feel compelled to spread that love into the world. It is the strength He has placed in our hearts to break the bonds of fear of rejection and persecution. It is the Great Commission of Mark 16:15. 

   Now don’t misunderstand me, I’m not suggesting we all become freaks or critics. Weird and judgmental people attract no one. If Christians only accomplish being awkward and untactful, we will just repel people. In being different, we should be showing a love, grace, and justice which this world is unfamiliar with.

   No longer can we be content to fail once and give up, saying “I tried.” Until I have accomplished what my Lord has compelled me to do, I will continue to go beyond what I tell myself I can do. If we forgot all our excuses and charged this world for our God’s sake, nothing would be able to stop us. 

     When I look back on my life, I see that even when I felt He had utterly abandoned me, God has never left my side. His blessings have been on me even when I had failed him in the worst of ways. With so much evidence of His unfailing love for us surrounding our every move, how could we refuse when He compels us to be misfits for Him?

     We need to get back to where we should be in our lives, especially in growing in our spiritual gifts. For some of us, this could mean discovering what our spiritual gifts are and how to use them. For others, it will mean breaking out of our shells and finding areas where our gifts are needed and using them to the glory of God. 

     We all need to remember that these gifts are to be used for God’s glory, and not our own. Trying to use them for our own ends with no regard for Christ, or taking selfish pride in our gifts is a sure way to lose them sooner or later, and usually sooner. Many people, even within the church, will scoff at us for embracing these gifts out of fear of something new and different. However, if we will take a step of faith and accept being misfits in this way, God will shine His love and glory through us and compel His lost children back to Him.

     Most importantly, we must be compelled to pray for each other. In Mathew 18:19, Jesus tells us that “if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything they will ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.” Staying in prayer for each other and will give support to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and ensures victory in any matter, which is in accordance with the Word. 

     If we embrace being misfits, seek out God’s will for us, develop our spiritual gifts, pray for ourselves, each other, and our world, then this movement will not stop with us. It will affect our churches, jobs, schools, everywhere else that God has placed us, and far beyond. You are there for a reason, even if you cannot see it yet. Trust in God. 

Sincerely,

C. Ables

Big Weekends

When I went to work for Willie George at Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK in 1994 the church was already running over four thousand. Today it runs over ten thousand in weekly attendance and is steadily growing. I asked Pastor Willie not long after I arrived what he felt like the key to the growth of the church was. Without hesitation, he answered "Big Days." He told me that since the church began, they regularly host big days that attract large crowds, allowing them to add a percentage of those in attendance to their regularly weekly services.

When we moved back to Lafayette to pastor Crossroads Church, we immediately began to implement that strategy. We do several Big Weekends every year. Two of them are no brainers: Christmas and Easter are our greatest opportunity to get people to church so we pull out all the stops. We put on major productions that highlight the things we do best as a church and then partner with our people to get their friends, family, neighbors and co-workers here to the productions. We create tickets for them to pass out to everyone they come in contact with in the weeks leading up to the Big Weekend. This Easter, over twelve thousand tickets have been distributed so far. We are hoping for attendance in excess of five thousand Easter weekend and it's the distribution of these tickets and our people leveraging their influence with others that will make it happen. In addition to bringing in big crowds for the production, hosting these kind of events creates a partnership mentality within our church. Our people understand that if they get people to Crossroads, we will have effective ministry in place and God will move on their hearts!

This year's Easter production is called "Imagine." It is the Easter story as seen trough the imagination of a nine year old boy named Joey. It is going to be one of the best productions we have ever put on and I can't wait to see what God does!

Joie De Vivre 2011

This past weekend we hosted our annual Joie De Vivre Women's Conference. Daphne Gaspard does a great job heading up our Women's Ministry and this annual conference is always one of the most highly anticipated events of the year here at Crossroads. This year the conference featured Meredith Andrews as our worship leader. Meredith has had some really great radio hits that we have covered in our services, but we were delighted to discover she is also the Worship Leader at her home church in Chicago. Her band included her husband Jacob on keyboards (he's originally from Alexandria!) and a group called Satellites and Sirens from Nashville. They did an incredible job leading our ladies in worship.




Nancy Alcorn was our featured speaker. Donna and I have known Nancy since the early 80's when we were all just getting started in ministry. Her outreach to young women with life-controlling problems is called Mercy Ministries. It it has grown to include several homes for girls in North America as well as Great Britain, New Zealand and Canada! Nancy shared a powerful message both at the conference and in our weekend services as well. It was so awesome to hear her stories of how God is transforming young women's lives! One of my favorite stories was about a young woman who was a 'cutter.' She came to Mercy with the word "Forgotten" literally carved into her arm. God set her free and several years after completing the program, Nancy ran into her at an event where she shared with her that God had not only healed her heart, He had healed her scars. She raised up her sleeve and showed her that the scars that once formed the word "forgotten" were gone!