The Evangelist

Growing up as an Assemblies of God Pastor's son from Louisiana, Jimmy Swaggart had a huge influence on my upbringing. He was the consummate evangelist, the Pentecostal Billy Graham, traveling the world filling stadiums with a world wide telecast reaching millions. He was a preaching machine and with musical influences shared by cousins Jerry Lee Lewis and Micky Gilly, he brought a southern rockabilly to gospel music, along with a powerful anointing that was loved by so many - including my parents who had all his records. 

When I got saved in my early twenties, I felt called to write and record contemporary Christian music. At that time CCM was a fledgling genre that Brother Swaggart was very critical of. That soured me to his influence and despite the inspiration I drew from him as an evangelist and the admiration I felt for the incredible church and Bible College he built in Baton Rouge, I always felt conflicted about the man. I both loved him and resented him at the same time. 

When his moral failure happened in the late 1980's it impacted me in a transformational way. I have often shared that the event is what shaped my ethic and conviction about the role of accountability in the life of believers. I knew if someone like Jimmy Swaggart was vulnerable then I certainly needed a spiritual covering. I have prioritized it ever since. 

I never listened to him much after that. Not because of the failure - any of are capable of that. There was a certain air of judgementalism toward those that didn't completely see things the was he did that I never liked. Even writing this I am torn between the admiration I had for him and the frustration I often felt toward his criticism of those of a different stripe. Regardless, I am thankful for the life, the ministry and the influence of the evangelist and I am praying for his family. 

Who Has Your Autopen?

There has been a lot said lately about the role of the autopen in American politics. To be honest, I had no idea there was such a thing until the current administration began to criticize the former about it's use of this device that apparently allows your signature to be added to legal documents without you even being in the room. 

I don't bring this up to make a political statement but rather to ask us to consider who we are allow to decide what we endorse. I want to challenge us all to determine right here and now that no one decides that but us! I am not going to allow Hollywood or politics or popular opinion determine what I give my  endorsement. I decide that through the wisdom of God's Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit! No one but God has my autopen! 

The Flowers and Showers of Spring

This year is really flying by! We had so many great things going on in April and May, way more than showers and flowers! Although we have definitely had our share of showers!

We had an incredible Easter weekend with a Saturday night service and two Sunday morning services. We had four services last year and decided we would try doing three instead this year and definitely regretted it. We will be back on schedule with four services next year for sure! Our sermon series in April was called The Trial and Easter's message was called Pilate, Barabbas and The Cry of the Crowd. Media pulled together some awesome video support and Meghin found great songs to drive the message home. The video clips were really special. We knew movie footage would be limited and dated so we found ways to illustrate the dialog of each piece with really cool graphics and imagery. It was very artistic and creative. We had a huge response with right at 4,000 in attendance and over 40 salvations. 

Once again this year we recognized the Directors on our Lead Team. We have been doing this several years now. Along with honoring the Pastors on the team in October, we love celebrating these incredible members of our team whose responsibilities are more directional in nature. Pastor Matt Ackman and his wife Mariah direct our Leadership College, Holane Davidson directs our offices, Marshal Hunter directs our Media Department and Courtney Lantier directs our Accounting Department. The church really blessed our team this year and showed them a lot of love! 

The first weekend of May we got to honor our High School and College graduates. This is always such a treat! We are so proud of these young men and women. We celebrated 39 graduates this year! We call each one up on stage, announcing their name, their school and any accolades they have achieved and Pastor Matt and his team are there to present them with a nice gift from the church. Once they're all on stage, I go up and lead the congregation in prayer over them. Before and after service they have refreshments in the Green Room and are hosted by representatives from Chi Alpha and CLC. Pastor Matt shared a powerful message that day. I am so thankful for the incredible job he and Mariah do with our students and with the Leadership College. 

Mother's Day is always special at Crossroads. When we first took the church it was one of the least attended days of the year. Everyone went to church with their moms at the Catholic church. However, we got really intentional with it and converted it into one of the largest days of the year! We have a gift for every mom, special music, funny video, message just for moms and great photo opps. My message series in May was Identity Crisis and I kicked it off with my Mother's Day message called A Mother's Identity. We do baby dedications that day and it typically is our biggest response to that ordinance of the church. After service we took Donna to eat Indian food ad she really enjoyed it! 

We wrapped up May with our annual Viva la Serve event where we celebrate over 600 volunteers that serve our church each week. We do great give aways and celebrate the results of the past year of ministry, announcing the numbers of visitors, salvations, baptisms, etc. We share some vision for the coming year and then feed our teams all-they-can-eat boiled crawfish. It is a HUGE hit every year! I am so grateful for all the amazing volunteers that work shoulder-to-shoulder with us as we reach people at the crossroads of life! 

We have enjoyed the spring's flowers and showers and are now ready for a busy summer to begin! 

Life Long Friends

We attended the Lead Conference this past week in Lake Charles. Our dear friends Paul and Cyndi Burke hosted the conference this year at Glad Tidings. The church looked so good! They have made up so much ground since the hurricane and flooding of 2020. So thankful for how God has blessed them and so proud of their leadership! 

The conference was a real blessing. Bryan Jerod was our keynote speaker and he truly came with a word from God! His message on Monday night was about the role of patience in our lives and how the lack of patience is really paganism! It demonstrates a lack of trust in God and a desire to be in control. Ouch! 

Our lifelong friend, Gary Sapp was awarded his 50-year ordination pin. We are so thankful for Gary and Dee. They have been such great friends and they have been so supportive of our ministry from the very beginning. Gary was one of the very first ones to recognize the call of God on my life and God used him to open some very significant doors for us. He gave me oppertunities to play when I first started out in music ministry. He introduced me to Pastor Linney who hired me to be his Youth Pastor here in Lafayette. He got me started speaking at camps and conventions in the 90's. He encouraged me to get involved in Presbytery work. His finger prints are all over the ways God has used my life and ministry through the years and I am so grateful!