My nephew the model...

Birthday Girl

Just got back home from this little girl's birthday party! She is Kennedy Lane Davidson, my Great Niece. My sister Holane's first grandchild. She has stolen our hearts! Donna keeps her on Thursdays and most Thursdays I don't make it to work on time. I think you can see why! She turned one yesterday and in just twelve months has managed to completely wrap us all around her little finger! So thankful for her and proud for my nephew Jeremy and his wife Stephanie! 

Christmas Shenanigans at the Office

I've got some GREAT employees at Crossroads. They are all partners in the ministry God has given us. One of the things I love most about our team is how fun they are! This past Thursday our Team Building Committee put together a day of Christmas Shenanigans. It began with biscuits and jelly from Cracker Barrel and a game called Christmas Carol Remix where we had to rewrite traditional Christmas carols using the words Georgia, Sasquatch, congress, Netflix and puppies. Here's how my team's version of Frosty the Snowman went:

Georgia the Sasquatch went to congress the other day

He wanted congress to fix his bill at Netflix

But Obama said he had to pay.

Georgia the Sasquatch had some puppies known for attacks

He sicked them on congress, the whole doggone mess

Ended up in a higher tax! 

We won second place. 

Throughout the day, when you heard the song "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" over the intercom, it meant a trivia game was coming. You had to be the third one to dial the right extension to make your guess and possibly win a prize.

We had a great Chicken and Sausage Gumbo for lunch. (Thanks Yvette Melancon!) Then we awarded our monthly "High Five Award" to Quylana Moore who put hours and hours of volunteer time in above her regular work schedule last week to help make the Christmas Production happen this year! Our High Five Award is given out each month in recognition of an employee who goes above and beyond the call of duty here at Crossroads! 

Another challenge we were given was to reenact a favorite scene from a Christmas movie. My team chose the tongue to the flagpole dare from "A Christmas Story." Holane Davidson and Debbie Welch stuck their tongues on a very unfrozen canopy post. (As you can see above - I was completely grossed out!) 

Mid-afternoon, we gathered in the lobby to engage in Reindeer games - A crazy race involving departments in their desk chairs racing the clock. (I've included a video to demonstrate!) 

It was a great day and reminded me of how blessed I am to be surrounded by an incredible team of people that make life not only productive, but fun! Thanks to Adam Hoffman and the entire Team Building Committee for a great time! 

Casting Christmas

Let’s suppose God had an angel who served as a “casting director” of sorts  for all the great stories of the Bible. This angel was responsible for casting great scriptural characters like Moses, Abraham, Noah, and David. Now, he’s been given the task of casting Christmas. That’s the idea behind this year’s annual Christmas production here at Crossroads Church.

The angel, known as C.D., along with his new assistant, Thomas, has to find the characters who will fill the roles in the greatest story ever told - the story of Christmas. Along the way, they “audition” over-the-top candidates like the Virgin Blanch, the three wise guys, and Abigail, the Innkeeper’s widow. C.D. sees real potential in them, but young Thomas is looking for a little something more. 

Big, Broadway-inspired musical numbers, an amazing, elaborate set, and larger-than-life characters all combine to create a musical comedy that will tug at your heartstrings and your funny bone! Don’t miss it! Saturday, December 13th, at 5:00 & 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, December 14th, at 9:00 & 11:00 a.m. at Crossroads Church, 150 Verona Drive in Lafayette. 

Legacy

Legacy is a weighty thing.

Last Sunday evening the Matriarch of Crossroads Church went home to be with Jesus. Annie Jean Welch and her husband Gabe founded our church way back in 1956. That was years before I was born and yet that simple act of obedience was eternally linked to my destiny.

This past Thursday I had the honor of officiating her home going service. I stood before her children and grandchildren in the church she planted almost sixty years ago and as the current steward of the legacy she now leaves behind, I vowed to them to guard that sacred trust - To lead this work with the same type of integrity and commitment that she demonstrated.

For the past week, I have felt the weight of that responsibility heavy on my shoulders. Yesterday I shared with our church how I felt and confessed to them that I know I can't do it alone. I asked them to help me carry out this responsibility by joining ministry teams, using their gifts and talents, inviting people to church and supporting the work with their prayer and finances. I was blown away as the entire crowd came to their feet in an ovation of support, many of them verbally shouting out, "We're with you Pastor!"

That weight feels a lot lighter this morning. By the grace of God, with an army of support at my side, I am ready to move forward and live out this legacy!

Making room for increase!

Yesterday we broke ground on our latest expansion at the church. 

The tree line between the church and the former country club is coming down! We are building out a second entrance and exit that will turn into our existing parking behind the apartments. In addition to the new entrance and exit, we are building out 150 new parking spaces! When this parking/exit expansion is complete we will literally be able to empty our parking lot at it's maximum capacity within 15 minutes! 

We are so excited to eliminate this hurdle to people attending Crossroads Church. We are so proud of the faithful who have dealt with our parking dilemma without complaining! Your patience is being rewarded and I believe we are opening the door to the largest era of growth our church has ever experienced! 

God Winks

The coolest thing happened this week. We have been hosting an event here at Crossroads the past few days called "Launch." It is a church-planting training event that is put on by The Church Multiplication Network - The church-planting arm of the Assemblies of God. Several couples came from around the country for this week-long training event. One of the couples, Jeff and Kristy Kerr, in attendance from Minneapolis, MN just happen to be the daughter and son-in-law of the man who helped us with our fundraising campaign back in 2009 when we were preparing to build our new worship center. They had no idea when they chose the event here in Lafayette that they would be attending "Launch" at a church their dad, Roger Lane, helped build! I call moments like that a God wink. 

The Right Person In the Right Place, Pt. 2

I have got to get ahold of this blogging procrastination habit of mine! 

In May we elected a new Superintendent for the Louisiana Assemblies of God. The position was filled by none other than one of my favorite people in the entire world - Scott Holmes! 

Since then, Scott and Kara have been busy doing what they do best - Being uniters! They have been criss-crossing the state reaching out to people who are a part of the Assemblies, were once a part of the Assemblies, or should be a part of the Assemblies and pulling us all together.

I am so proud of this incredible couple that Donna and I love so much. I can't wait to see what all God will achieve through this dynamic duo! A few years ago I made the decision to get more involved in our district because I didn't feel like the Assemblies of God my dad handed off to me years ago was the same Assemblies of God I was going to be handing off to my kids. I believe Scott and Kara's election is a HUGE part of the potential we now have to hand off a better Assemblies of God to the next generation!

The Right Person in the Right Place!

For several years I've known that there was a missing piece to the puzzle as it relates to our Lead Team here at Crossroads and what is necessary for us to go to the next level as a church. We have an incredible Lead Team, but one of the most important aspects of Church Growth is what we refer to as assimilation: The process of moving people from point A to point B. Specifically, seeing visitors becoming members and seeing first-time responders to the Gospel becoming full-fledged followers of Christ. These efforts really boil down to our spiritual growth classes, our small groups and our ministry teams. The management of these crucial areas have been handled by a couple of our Lead Team members, David Baudoin and Holane Davidson, who have done a great job, but have never been able to devote their entire attention to them. 

Not long ago, I was meeting with these two Lead Team members and we were discussing how our practice has always been to hire from within, but there simply isn't anyone currently in our ranks that can bring what we need to the table for the management of these efforts. David Baudoin asked, "Isn't there anyone in your circle of friends who might be willing to leave his pastorate to come on board with our team?" I thought about it for a second and responded, "You know what we need is a Paul Burke." David immediately answered, "What we need is Paul Burke!" Initially, I thought there was no way I could ask my friend to leave the church he was pastoring, but I couldn't shake the strong leading to do so and so I gave him a call. 

Paul and Cindy Burke are incredible leaders who took an extremely small rural church of twenty people and grew the church to over three hundred in weekly attendance. Even more remarkable is the fact that the church has over 70% of their adults in small groups and on ministry teams! Paul is uniquely gifted and experienced in the assimilation process and has accepted our invitation to join the lead team of Crossroads Church! We are so excited to welcome them onboard and to see this pivotal role now being carried out by the right person in the right place! 

The Extended Vacation of 2014

Donna and I have just returned from a four week vacation. We have never taken an extended leave like this before, but it was an incredible blessing and we made some wonderful memories and actually checked a couple items off my bucket list.

The vacation began to take form when I was invited to participate in an all-expense paid golf tournament at Pebble Beach to raise money for Fire Bible - An organization that prints a powerful Pentecostal Study Bible in the language of unreached people groups around the world. It is often the only Bible training the indigenous leaders of these people groups will have access to! Playing at Pebble is one of those bucket list items I mentioned, but the thrill of playing such a prestigious golf course pales in comparison to the thrill of helping place this incredible training tool in the hands of those reaching the unreached. Earlier this year, Crossroads gave $10,000.00 to Fire Bible! Here's a pic of my dear friends Scott Holmes, Gary Sapp and I at Pebble Beach. Scott and I placed 2nd in the Grand Champions category! The tournament included a round at both Pebble and Spanish Bay!

After I accepted the invitation to participate in the Fire Bible Summit at Pebble Beach, I received another invitation to enjoy an all-expense paid Alaskan Cruise with another incredible organization called Convoy of Hope. Convoy is the Christian equivalent of the Red Cross, coming to the aid of disaster victims around the world. We had always supported their work, but when we saw it up close and personal a few years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became one of the ministries we support most as a church. They do incredible work! Alaska was another bucket list item, so Donna and I immediately accepted the invitation to go on the Cruise. The Pebble trip was the first week of July, the cruise was the last week - So it just made sense to make a month-long vacation out of it!

After leaving Pebble, we drove down the Pacific coastline on Hwy 1 and took in the beauty of Monterey Bay, Carmel by the Sea and Big Sur. The scenery is breathtaking! We also enjoyed a visit to the Monterey Aquarium with all of it's amazing sea critters! Next, we struck out for a visit to the Sequoia National Park. The big trees are absolutely amazing! The one named after General Sherman is the largest living thing on earth! 

After enjoying the beauty of the Sequoias, we headed to San Francisco. I've got to be honest with you, I've never really had any interest in visiting the Bay area, but after spending three days there, I can absolutely see what all the fuss is about. It truly is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. We did all the tourist stops: The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Pier 39, riding cable cars, etc. We enjoyed a lot of good food including a stop in China Town for some of my new favorite cuisine: Dim Sum!

After taking in the sights and sounds of San Francisco, we were off to see more Redwoods - This time the towering giants of Northern Cal. We made our way to see these beauties by the scenic route called Napa Valley. Gorgeous vineyards and orchards line the landscape there and Donna and I decided we definitely could live there. It is almost as pretty as my beloved Colorado! After reaching the Redwoods National Forest, we discovered it is as spectacular as everyone says it is. The enormity of these legendary trees leaves you in awe.

Our next stop was in Redding California so we could spend Sunday morning at Bethel Church, home of the renown Worship Groups Bethel Live and Jesus Culture. They had just hosted their annual School of Worship and Martin Smith, formerly of the group Delirious was there leading worship. It was a powerful service and we were so glad we made it part of our itinerary. An added bonus was a stop at McArthur/Burney Falls, a beautiful cascading waterfall that was as peacefully tranquil a place as I can ever remember visiting. 

From Redding, we made the long drive to Seattle where we would board the cruise ship. We arranged our timing so we had a couple days in Seattle before boarding and took in all the tourist attractions of this great American city as well: The Space Needle, The Market, The original Starbucks, The EMP Museum, etc. We even visited Seattle's Chinatown for, you guessed it - More Dim Sum! 

We enjoyed our cruise with some of our very best friends, Doug and Rachel McAllister. Alaska is as marvelous as everyone says it is. We had great weather and enjoyed two Port stops in the 49th State, one in Juno and one in Skagway. In Juno, we did a Whale Watching excursion that was amazing! We got a rare glimpse of 18 Humpbacks bubble feeding. Together, they blow out underwater, forcing an upward jet stream that sends fish to the surface of the ocean where they arrive with mouths open for feeding. The big pod of whales surfaced not more than ten to twelve feet off our starboard bow! In Skagway we took a raft down the river to an eagle preserve where we saw twenty-five to thirty bald eagles. What a thrill it was to see our national symbol of strength there in their native habitat. So majestic! Our last port stop was in Victoria, B.C. where we enjoyed beautiful gardens in this old historic Canadian city. 

I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to do another extended vacation like this one, but we sure enjoyed it and we are so thankful for it. I've figured out that one of my wife's primary love languages is travel and this trip said "I love you" loud and clear! 

Legacy

Yesterday, I got to visit with an incredible woman of God. Annie Jean Welch and her husband Gabe started our church in their home in 1956. Since then, the church has only had four pastors in 58 years and I am blessed to be one of them. Donna and I are so grateful for the privilege we have had to build on the great foundation these visionaries built so long ago. She raised an amazing family that we love dearly. As I bragged on her children and grandchildren yesterday, she grinned from ear-to-ear! God help me to leave this kind of legacy! 

The Fab Four

This past month we did a series called The Fab Four. With this past February marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles coming to America - performing on the Ed Sullivan Show, we just had to, right? After all, that moment really changed the world. It wasn't just the Beatles' music or popularity that made such an impact on American culture - It was their message. Timothy Leary (a popular physiologist at the time who was similar to today's Dr. Phil, only with a bad-boy twist) called the Beatles the Four Evangelists. Why would he use that term? The same term we would use for someone like Billy Graham? Because the Beatles changed the world with their message.

In our series we began by considering the gospel of John. (Lennon that is.) Think about his post-Beatles song Imagine: Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell beneath us. Above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. Sounds innocent, right? Far from it. The gospel of John is Agnosticism. The belief that their is no god. Or, if there is a god, that He is impersonal and aloof: Uninterested and uninvolved in human life.

Next we considered the gospel of Paul. (McCartney that is.) After leaving the Beatles, McCartney established another super-group called wings. One of their most popular songs was the theme song for a James Bond film called Live and Let Die: When you were young and your heart was an open book, you used to say live and let live. But if this ever-changing world in which you're living makes you give up and cry - Live and let die. The gospel of Paul is Humanism, where self is exalted is god.

Thirdly we considered the gospel of George. (You guessed it - George Harrison.) His most popular post-Beatles song was called My Sweet Lord: I really want to know you. I really want to be with you. Oh! It takes so long. My sweet Lord. The song was all over the radio in the seventies and kids were walking around everywhere singing, "My sweet Lord." (Some of them even in church!) The thing many didn't realize was in the background of the song Harrison was singing "Hare Krishna..." The gospel of George was Polytheism.  The belief that there are many gods.

Lastly we considered the gospel of Ringo. (That could only be Ringo Starr.) One of his most well known post-Beatle songs was You're Sixteen: You come on like a dream, peaches and cream, lips like strawberry wine. You're sixteen, you're beautiful and your mine. Innocent, cute love song, right? Wrong. Ringo was thirty six when this song hit the charts! (Can someone say creeper?) The gospel of Ringo was Hedonism. The worship of pleasure.

Please don't get the mistaken idea that this was a Beatle-bashing series calling for a record burning session! We didn't spin any records backwards during the series to check for satanic messages! I'm not suggesting the Beatles were the AntiChrist in musical form and if you listen to their music you're going to hell! I'm just simply saying their message changed the world and helped usher in a whole new set of American world views in the 60's and 70's. The four world views we refer to as agnosticism, humanism, polytheism and hedonism became four of the greatest challenges to the gospel in the 20th and now the 21st Centuries!

When I got the idea for this series, I thought it would make a great apologetics discussion we could use to reach the lost and unchurched. However, as I began to develop my outlines for each message, it became clear that this series was intended to challenge the agnosticism, humanism, polytheism and hedonism in the church! What we would never profess to be, we tend to practice daily! Living as if there's no God, as though we ourselves are gods, making gods out of many things and living for pleasure above all else. Sound familiar? It's the Fab Four - Reflected not just in the post-Christian culture around us, but in our churches and in our own lifestyles.

To view the messages check out www.mycrossroads.org.

From Skiing to Scooter

Every year, for the past twelve years, we've gone up to Colorado for a week of snow skiing. It's one of my favorite things to do! For twelve years, I've learned to ski better and better, progressing each year to more difficult skiing, even enjoying the black slopes the past three years without ever getting hurt! I was one run away, down a sweet little black slope, from another year of injury-free skiing and then it happened! Quickly and unexpectedly, my buddy I was skiing with (Paul Burke - Who is a very accomplished skier) and I collided and - boom! I broke my Fibula! Ankle Surgery and twelve weeks of recovery! 

Now, I mentioned how much I love skiing but did I also mention how much I love golfing? Twelve weeks of recovery during the peak golfing season! Was it worth it you ask? Absolutely! Can't wait to ski again next year!

We enjoyed the skiing at Winter Park this year instead of Steamboat Springs. It's a great resort and I highly recommend it! Donna and I enjoyed hanging out with the afore mentioned Paul Burke and his wife Cindy as well as Scott and Kara Holmes. Love these dear friends! 

Donna is being extremely patient and is taking great care of me and I am extremely grateful to Robert and Maggia Gordon who lent me this scooter to get around with. It's a lifesaver!

Light Bulb

I think our new Message Series opener is one of the best we've ever created!

Chase: Our Twenty Year Old Evangelist

Chase turns twenty today! My little boy is all grown up. A man. I'm so proud of the young man he has become.

Chase went through two years of Master's Commission, the discipleship training school we have at our church. He graduated with a General Studies degree from West Coast Bible College and believes that God has called him into evangelism.

He has just completed a five-month internship with our youth ministry at Crossroads and will be leaving March 2nd to spend three months with an evangelism team in Eastern Europe, traveling and preaching the gospel!

The Best Way to Travel on an Icy Day

   We've had a couple of snow days here this week (ice days really) and Louisiana absolutely can not deal with it: Schools are closed, roads are closed, grocery stores are wiped out! So I began to get cabin fever and decided to saddle up this afternoon. 

   Winter is my favorite time to ride. No bugs, no sweating and your horse always has plenty of spunk! Other than the occasional shotgun blast going off nearby (the ducks were really flying today) it was a wonderfully pleasant ride! Just wish Donna could have gone out with me. I really need to get my little 3-year old gelded trained so we can both have a horse to strike off down the trail on! 

MC Kenya!

Sunday at Crossroads, we got the opportunity to hear from our homegrown missionaries Aaron and Stephanie Domageaux. This couple launched Master's Commission Kenya last year at a Bush Base Camp on the Masai Mara with ten incredible young men. These young men were from different tribes, which is remarkable in and of itself because tribalism is still a huge problem in Kenya! Yet the Holy Spirit broken down the walls of tribalism and brought these young men together as a band of brothers united in their purpose to know God and to make Him known! 

Through their nine months of intense training, these young men completed the requirements for ordination by the Kenya Assemblies of God and are now prepared for full time service. The Gospel is spreading like wildfire through this area once considered to be one of the most unreached people's groups in the world. The real need is for pastors to teach and train those being reached, and seven of the ten graduates are already serving as lead pastors in villages throughout Kenya! Speaking of reaching the unreached, the team led over six hundred people to Christ this first year of the program! 

Aaron and Stephanie, along with Aaron Harrington, another one of our XMC graduates, left Monday to kick off year two of Master's Commission Kenya with twenty-one students! Six of the twenty-one are female! This is amazing, as women still suffer tremendous oppression in the very primitive environment of the African bush. God not only breaks down the walls of tribalism, He also elevates the value of women in the enlightened hearts of His own, tearing down the stronghold of sexist bigotry that has existed for centuries! 

We are so proud of this team and we can't wait to hear more great stories of how God will use them in miraculous ways in the coming year! 

New Album From My Favorite Band!

Love me some Switchfoot! 

Opportunities Await!

So the Saints are out of the playoffs. There's a lot of reasons for that. Despite a valiant effort on the part of our beloved New Orleans Saints, they shot themselves in the foot too many times in their playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. Including the bewildering illegal forward lateral pass thrown by Marques Colston with 3 seconds left on the clock. All he had to do was step out of bounds and give one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history an opportunity to go for a touch down and get the chance to tie the game.

We now know that the pass was a designed play called by head coach Sean Payton. Poorly executed by Colston yes, but the responsibility for the call is on Payton's shoulders. I think there are at least 3 great life-lessons in the Saint's blunder that cost them the opportunity to play in the NFC Championship game this weekend:

1. Always know what point you are at in the game. 

Timing is everything and as it relates to opportunities in life, we often miss out because we're just not paying attention! 

2. Sometimes you gotta step out of bounds!

Often the best thing you can do is just stop the clock and look at your options.

3. Be prepared to vary from the game plan.

Plans are important, but sometimes at the last moment we have to be intuitive enough to make a change that allows us to accomplish what we might not otherwise be able to if we stick with the original course.

Just some thoughts to ponder as we face the opportunities that await us in 2014 and while we look forward to next's season's Super Bowl win by the New Orleans Saints!

Book Recommendation

Here's a book I highly recommend for you to start off the new year with! Enjoy.