What a Wonderful World

Donna and I just got back from a trip of a lifetime to Europe. We spent a week in Paris and then another ten days in Italy, visiting Venice, Florence, Rome and Positano. Someone asked me if this was a “bucket list” trip for me. My response was, “This was a bucket list trip for my wife - and we share a bucket!” We have been dreaming of taking this trip for years!

Paris was amazing. We loved all the iconic attractions - the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc of Triumph, Notre Dame - the list goes on and on. The little cafes and restaurants on every corner in both Paris and Italy were delightful. We made no reservations, we just dropped by neighborhood cafes and enjoyed some AMAZING food! We had espresso and gelato every day! In Europe, you walk everywhere you go so thankfully we burned off all those calories! 

We enjoyed the Iconic attractions of Italy as well - the Colosseum, the Forum, the Vatican - once again, a pretty long list! Donna doesn’t believe in a lot of idle time on vacation! When we get home we typically need a vacation from our vacations! My favorite places in Italy were Venice - the most unique place I’ve ever been to - and Positano. The Amalfi Coast is just beautiful! I could spend some serious down time there!

We loved visiting the museums - the art and architecture was simply breathtaking. So much of it was created by those with strong religious leanings, so a witness to the reality of God and the Bible are all around you daily. However, most of western Europe is unchurched. It speaks to the fact that it is not enough to know about God - He wants us to truly know Him! 

We have a couple more of these type of trips on the list. Donna’s love language is travel! We hope to get those trips in over the next few years while Ezekiel is still young. Once he gets ‘travel’ age I have a feeling most of our travel will be focused on introducing him to the wonderful world we live in!  

Rejoicing Over Zeke

Words cannot describe what this little guy means to Donna and me. To be honest we rejoice over him! 

We have always heard grandparents talk about how special their grandchildren are to them. To be honest, I thought they must have really just disliked their kids! We didn’t! We loved our kids! They barely gave us a minutes trouble and they were an absolute delight to raise. To this day they are our favorite people to be around. We get together every Thursday night for family night and usually have lunch together every Sunday.

I'm sure you've heard those old grandparent cliches about grandkids being your reward for not killing your own kids. (See what I mean?) Then there’s the popular reference of spoiling your grandkids and sending them home to their parents - We have NO intention of doing that! I want to be an advocate for Zeke’s parents and uphold the values they are instilling in him. I don’t want to undermine those values in any way! Having said that, I do now understand what those grandparents were describing! I can’t explain it, but I definitely understand it! What we feel for Ezekiel is special! I think about him all the time and spending time with him is absolutely at the top of my list! 

He is such a sweet boy. Even when he doesn’t feel good he will still try to muster a smile for you. He is super smart. I’ve noticed lately that he seems to recognize the melody of the songs I regularly sing to him. He responds to them with such joy! 

The Bible says God sings over us. I hope I respond with similar elation to those familiar melodies! 

Zephaniah 3:17, For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Yancy

We host a monthly service we call "Inspire Night." We love to bring in various speakers and artists that encourage our church family and inspire them to love God and make Jesus famous! One of the events we host annually is our "Back to School Blessing." We love watching parents and grandparents lay hands of their kids and impart spiritual blessing as they prepare to go back to school. 

This year we brought in a wonderful friend who specializes in resourcing Kids Ministry. Yancy travels America performing at "Little Praise Parties" - leading kids and families in praise and worship. She also writes, produces and distributes worship resources for Kids Ministry. 

Yancy was in my youth group when she was fifteen. She was an amazingly talented young woman with a dream of becoming a worship artist. I saw so much potential in her. It was obvious God would use her in a mighty way! I remember telling her, "Yancy, if I had a record label I would sign you in a heartbeat! If I had a promotion company I would sign you immediately. I don't have anything like that, but what I do have is a weekly youth service and a band and I want you to do your first concert right here!" She did. She rocked it! And she never stopped. I'm so proud of this young lady! 

God Must Love Me

One of the ways you know God loves you is by the quality of friends He surrounds you with. When I think of my friendship with Paul Burke, I think God must really love me a lot!

We have been friends for over twenty years. We connected back in the days when we were both in student ministry. I’ve always admired his devotion to God and his love for people. He and his wife Cindy are two of the kindest people I know. 

Several years ago I saw him take a small rural church here in South Louisiana and lead that handful of people into a season of growth that was nothing short of remarkable! One of the greatest aspects of the church was the amount of volunteers they had serving the community. In a conversation at a staff meeting one day, I made the observation that Crossroads needed a ‘Paul Burke.’ My good friend David Baudoin, who was my associate at the time, said, “No, we need Paul Burke!” I felt led to offer Paul the role of Discipleship Pastor on our lead team and, to my surprise and great joy, he took it! Five years later we are a much better church because of the leadership and influence of Pastor Paul. He has nurtured our approach to small groups. He has developed our Freedom Track that helps people move out of the dysfunctions of their former life into the fulness of their liberty in Christ. He has put together our Next Steps initiative that provides people new to faith and new to Crossroads with a starting point. Hundreds of people have benefited from these measures. 

A while back, Paul was ready to get back into the lead pastor’s role. He had two great churches interested in him when the afore mentioned David Baudoin let us know he was being led to step off of our lead team and start a christian counseling agency. Paul immediately pulled his resumes and made a commitment to stay with us through that transition. He told me, “Our friendship is more important to me than a pastorate. He helped make what could have been an awfully difficult time for our church a very smooth transition. 

Fast forward a couple of years and Paul was recently approached by Glad Tidings Church in Lake Charles. They have elected him as their Lead Pastor and I am so excited for him and for the church! He’s going to make an incredible leader for that historic, flagship church of our network. Glad Tidings is a much greater opportunity than either of those two churches that were courting Paul two years ago. There’s no question in my mind it is God’s reward for his unselfish devotion. 

Through the years Paul and I have enjoyed skiing together, golfing together, we’ve enjoyed some great meals and great times. I’m going to miss seeing him every day, but I’m so thankful he’s just down the road! It means he will still be a part of the circle of close friends that surround me on a regular basis. And that means God must love me a lot! 

For Such a Time As This!

This past weekend I had the joy of introducing our new Discipleship Pastors, Brody and Jane Lantier!

Pastor Paul and Cindy Burke have been elected as the new Lead Pastors at Glad Tidings Church in Lake Charles (blog post about that coming up!) and Brody and Jane will be taking up the reins on our Discipleship Department. Paul has been grooming Brody for this role the entire five years he has been with us and Brody is uniquely trained and gifted to lead this ministry.  

Brody grew up in the church. He and his wife Jane are a true son and daughter of the house and we are so thankful for their friendship and their devotion to Crossroads. Brody has served as a volunteer in all the areas he will now be overseeing. Jane has served full time as a Personal Assistant to Pastor Paul and Pastor David Baudoin before him. She knows the ministry inside and out and she and Brody will make a true dynamic duo, leading this department forward into the greatest season of discipling  our church has ever known! 

Maxwell says, "Success without a successor is failure." Pastor Paul has had great success making disciples here at Crossroads and there is no question that he has raised up a wonderful successor ready to take up the mantle and lead - for such a time as this! 

Yesterday

It seems I am watching fewer movies than ever. I have always been a big movie fan, I just love great stories and story telling. Cinematography is one of the greatest forms of story telling, but there is such a lack of good films these days. It seems like Hollywood is just making the same movies over and over.

When I saw the trailer for Yesterday I thought, “Wow, that’s an original idea!” What if you woke up tomorrow and no-one knew who the Beatles were and no-one had ever heard their songs! That’s the premise of this really good movie. It’s well directed, has some very talented British actors and a wonderful sound track. The lead actor has a great voice and the films 21st century treatment of the Beatles catalog is quite enjoyable. In a way the film serves as a tribute to the genius of McCartney and Lennon’s song writing. 

Combine all this with true restraint in the profanity and gratuitous sex departments, throw in a moral lesson or two for good measure and you have one of my favorite films so far this year! 

Camp Courageous 2019

Once again this week we are hosting Camp Courageous - where God's love is contagious! This year we have over 530 campers - our largest camp ever! Pastor Marty and his crew do such an amazing job. This camp would absolutely not be possible without all the incredible volunteers that literally take time off of work and away from their busy schedules to minister to boys and girls. We are so blessed!

Throughout the week the kids are involved in great outings, team competition, exciting services and more. They make new friends, get closer to God and have a ton of fun! It is one of my favorite weeks of the year. The atmosphere is electric and I know God is pleased! 

The Mother of All Mother's Day Services!

Mother's Day is our third largest Sunday of the year at Crossroads Church! Only Easter and Christmas exceeds the crowds we draw on Mother's Day. Early on, it was actually one of the smallest attendances of the year, but we quickly figured out everyone was going to church with their moms that day and so we got really intentional and put together a GREAT service to bring one's mom to!

This year we had over 3,400 there and we really pulled out the stops! We had a super cute skit that was like a Mother's Day take on Jimmy Fallon's Thank You Card bit. Curvine Brewington wrote and directed the piece and everyone involved did an outstanding job! We had Taylor Wheeler cover the Meagan Trainer song "Mom" and I still can't get that song out of my head! The performance was complete with Taylor's mom Betsy Alleman showing up onscreen for a FaceTime conversation mid-song! 

We provided great photo booths for moms to get pics with their families (thanks Mallory Marks and company!), chocolates for the ladies as they came into the auditorium, a special gift card to NothingBuntCakes (whaaaat???) and to top it off, an incredible message from my wife Donna - the greatest mom ever! 

Another thing we do on Mother's Day is baby dedications (over 20 dedications that day) and - on a personal note - one of the babies dedicated that day was our grandson Ezekiel! What a special moment it was to get to dedicate our precious little guy! 

A Significant Platform

This past Friday, I was given the opportunity to speak at the annual conference for the Louisiana Assemblies of God network. This is my tribe! I am ordained through this network. My dad was ordained through this network. My entire ministry formulation came through this network. So having the assignment to speak to my peers was unlike any other speaking assignment I have ever been given. 

I have spoken in every kind of environment you can imagine and, by-and-large, I never get nervous when speaking - it's what I've been called and graced by God to do. But this was different! I wrestled with this assignment! Really, it wasn't until the morning after delivering the message that I finally felt like I got it right. I shared a message called, "Zerubbabel" about the governor of Judah who led the exiles to respond to Haggai's message from God to rebuild the broken down, chard, neglected temple there in Jerusalem. I was able to share with my peers that - at the end of the day - whatever office we hold or opportunity we're given in ministry, it all ultimately comes down to building up the torn down lives around us. I challenged our network to focus on soul winning like never before! 

Ruthie Oberg, one of the other speakers at the conference, used an illustration of the old bucket brigades that townships would use to fight fires back in the day. She pointed out that how one handled the bucket - ensuring the water stayed in the bucket as it was handed off - was the key to the success of those endeavors. With our network, I want to pass the bucket successfully! The bucket my dad's generation handed to my own was full! My prayer is it will be full when I hand it off to the next generation. (See picture above to get a vision of that next generation!) 

Our Network leader - my dear friend Scott Holmes - has a vision to see our network grow to 300 strong and healthy churches in the next ten years. I believe soul winning is the key to that goal! I believe soul winning is the most significant platform any of us will ever be given. 

Proof

Since the day we arrived back at Crossroads in 1999, we have attempted to use the draw of Easter weekend to reach as many as we can with the gospel. As I often remind our church, people will come to church on Easter when they won't come any other time of the year, so we pull out all the stops and attempt to monopolize on this golden opportunity. 

Ten years ago we did a production called "Proof." When deciding what to do with Easter this year, I suggested we revisit that idea and take it up a notch. Our media team ran with it and produced a short film that sets a new watermark for our church. It came with an extremely well-written screen play by Grant Robin and featured some remarkable local acting talent from the Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans market. The film follows the story of a young boy growing up in the shadow of an intellectual giant who frequently reminds him of his inferior cognizant capabilities - especially when it comes to the issue of faith.

The story-line goes back and forth between scenes of a young Alex, struggling with daddy issues that threaten to leave him embittered to the now grown Alex who has joined a debate team at his local university only to find himself challenged by familiar resistance to his faith in Christ. Through the classroom debates we are presented with historic evidence of the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and the more significant proof of changed and transformed lives. The film segued into what we dubbed 'film strip testimonies' as one-by-one, members of Crossroads came out to present enlarged photos that represented their former lives before Christ and who they are today by the grace of God.

All of this, combined with incredible music and strong, fun-filled ministry for kids drew over 4,500 in attendance this year with a remarkable 80 decisions for Christ! Each Easter, our church distributes thousands of Easter Invites that help us attract the unchurched to our services so we can introduce them to God's love and grace. This kind of intentionality is PROOF that ours is a church with Kingdom priorities! I'm so thankful to pastor a group of people who want to see people reached with the gospel! 

My Cup Runneth Over

This past weekend was a mind-blowing experience. We were to start a new series for April called "Proof" that will lead into Easter. I was all ready with a great message - but it was not to be. After the first song my friends Devin Lantier and David Baudoin came walking out onto the stage. I thought, "What is this about?" I am not a control freak, but I'm used to being in control. Believe me - the rest of the day was out of control! In a good way.

This month we celebrate 20 years as the Lead Pastors here at Crossroads Church. For months, my staff, our board of directors and others have been secretly planning a special service in honor of our twenty year anniversary. (I'm sure there is some kind of ecclesiastical absolution for all the lying and deceiving they have engaged in to pull this off!) David began by pointing to the fact that the average stay of a pastor these days is three-and-a-half years. We have been so blessed to have this kind of tenure in one place. Devin pointed out that, in addition to the twenty years as Lead Pastor, we were here for eight years as the Youth Pastors - Can I say it again: WE ARE BLESSED! 

I've always believed that there are some things you will never experience in ministry without longevity! As the tribute videos began to play, I was reminded of so many of those things. The one that probably defines my point best was represented by a video of Emily Thibodeaux, who is now one of our missionaries in Kenya. Her video greeting from Africa segued into a video of me dedicating her as a baby. One-by-one the videos played - Ministry colleagues from around the country, staff that have served along side me through the years, members of my family, sons and daughters in ministry that are now serving around the world - It was heart warming and so extremely SURREAL. I know this sounds horrible but it was almost like attending your own funeral. We sat there (very much alive!) and got to hear people say things about us that people typically say at your memorial service. 

Many of the people who are responsible for where and who we are today participated in Sunday's tribute. Gary and Dee Sapp, who actually introduced us to the Pastors of Bethel Assembly of God (now Crossroads Church) way back in 1986 were there. Gary actually had me come up on stage and sing my infamous "Moon Pie" song. Pastor Denny Duron kicked off the video segments with some extremely kind words. Pastor Scott and Kara Holmes, leaders of the Louisiana Assemblies of God and our close friends for many years, were there and presented us with two gifts - one was a photo album that they found a few weeks ago at the old Claiborne Assembly of God church in West Monroe, filled with pictures from our first days of ministry  - the other was a beautiful leather bound journal, with it's blank pages waiting to be filled with descriptions of future adventures because, as so many pointed out - OUR BEST DAYS ARE STILL AHEAD OF US! 

At one point in the service, David stressed how we have always made the most of what God has given us - including the talent he has surrounded us with though the years. He mentioned how much I loved the music of Russ Taff and how I had my friend Tim Gautreaux sing every Russ Taff song in the book back in the day! As we were laughing at the memory,  the band strikes up the old classic song, "We Will Stand" and Tim comes walking out to sing! We were so elated and just when we thought, "It can't get any better!" Tim calls the real Russ Taff out on to the stage! JAW DROP MOMENT! For a kid preacher in the eighties - Russ was the equivalent of Bono and the Pope all wrapped up in one package and there he was Sunday, singing on our stage! The shark has officially been jumped! 

After service, our friends Troy and Melissa Bejeau had our family picked up in a limousine and brought to their restaurant where they had prepared an incredible meal for us. Another dear friend, Preston Broussard had a limo there for our guests. Needless to say, we are still processing all this. Being honored in this way is a very humbling experience that I can't seem to find the words for. Russ Taff told me over and over that day - "Jeff, I've been in church all my life and I've never seen love like this!" I guess that's a good way to describe it - I feel loved. Perhaps the best description is found in the 23rd Psalm - My cup runneth over! 

My First Zeke Post

He's here! He finally arrived! 

Ezekiel Wilder Price came into the world Tuesday, February 8, 2019 at 3:42 weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz, 19.5" long! 

HE HAS RED HAIR! (We were hoping!) 

He is perfect in every way. We could not be happier! 

Robin is well. She was a real trooper!  She and Eli are going to be the best parents ever. We are so proud of the two of them. 

Everything changes with his arrival. It marks the beginning of a new season for us. One I am very excited about. I look forward to so many things - his first experience on horseback, seeing him learn to love the game of golf, watching him ski down a mountain. Of course those are just the things Poppy hopes he will enjoy. It will be so much fun to see him experience the things his mom and dad will introduce him to and things that he will pick up on his own. They will be things to celebrate and things to blog about so that one day, when he's reading through this online journal - he will know how much he meant to his Poppy! 

Donna's New Car

Friday I flew out to Austin, Texas to pick up a 2017 Ford Edge for Donna. I've been shopping this vehicle for weeks, looking for the exact package we wanted for the right money. I finally found the exact vehicle we have been looking for right down to the color we love and the milage we hoped for. It was actually $10k less than this model car averages everywhere else in the country! God is good! 

The story gets even better! Because of the frugal money management of my wife, we were able to purchase the vehicle cash! Donna has driven her 2008 Chrysler Pacifica for 11 years! It's been a great car and she only puts about 10,000 miles per year on her car. So ever since we paid that vehicle off she's been saving toward purchasing our next vehicle cash! The Dave Ramsey approach to money management really works and I'm so grateful for a wife who practices these Biblical financial principals faithfully!

Earlier this year I purchased a Ford Explorer the same color as this car  - they are both a beautiful Ruby Red! So now she and I have matching automobiles! It's a real Sadie Hawkins moment for us! lol. All jokes aside, God is so good to us and we are thankful for His provision in our lives! 

How We Enter the New Year

Last night Donna and I attended a New Year's Eve party hosted by our dear friends Jason and Candice Esta. We had a great time hanging out with several friends from the church. We are so thankful for all the amazing friends God has given us! 

At the end of the evening, Candice had arranged for everyone in attendance to participate in something really cool. We all wrote down something that has been a real weight to us this past year - Things like worries, doubts, fears or offenses. We tied that piece of paper to a helium balloon and just before midnight, we took some time to pray and give those things to God - asking Him to help us not carry them in to the new year. After praying, we released those balloons into the air - symbols of our cares that we cast on the Lord.

1 Peter 5:7, Give all your worries and cares to God, 

because He cares about you. 

It was so inspiring to watch those weighty issues lift higher and higher until they were completely out of sight. I've always heard that how you leave one room is how you enter another. That's why it's so important that you settle issues in relationships, stages of life, etc. before you move on to another! I am entering into this new year right!