Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

Church Stuff

  • Letter of Hope

    Last Sunday at the end of the sermon I gave everyone a stamped envelope and a couple sheets of paper.  We had just looked at how the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Thessalonica to encourage them with a message about our hope in Jesus Christ.  So I challenged everyone to write… Continue reading

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  • Real Life: Living in Hope

    Yesterday at CrossWay we read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 and talked about the hope we have in Jesus Christ.  The podcast will be up soon! Continue reading

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  • Christianese Blooper

    I just stumbled across a funny reminder that Christians need to be careful not to slip into Christianese.  When I saw a podcast sermon title and clicked on the information button to see what it was about, it said: “A study in Romans chapter 8 encouraging Christians to be anxious for nothing.” Sounds kinda like… Continue reading

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  • Catalyst: Andy Stanley (part 1)

    The first session of Catalyst, the conference I went to near Atlanta a couple weeks ago, featured Andy Stanley as the speaker.  Some highlights: As pastors and other Christian leaders, we’re called to influence people we don’t have official authority over.  In other words: “We can’t make them do anything.” In order to motivate people… Continue reading

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  • Living Stones

    We had some last-minute changes in our worship service yesterday at CrossWay.  Fortunately God has placed some gifted people in our congregation to stand in when needed.  Our worship leader, Josh, had to be out of town for a funeral.  I was unable to preach due to sickness.  But the music in the worship service… Continue reading

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  • Church Elders, Job Descriptions, and Next Generation Leader

    Last night the elders from CrossWay Church met for a couple hours.  After talking a little about what’s going on with everyone, we prayed and jumped into the business portion of the meeting. Two of our current projects are composing a job description for the pastor and another one for the elders.  (Of course, there… Continue reading

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  • Awesome Week at Catalyst

    Tuesday morning, and I’m still recovering from an amazing week at the Catalyst Conference near Atlanta, Georgia.  I was part of a 20-person team from four churches that traveled down there together.  We left for the 14-hour drive last Tuesday morning and got back around 6:45 on Saturday morning. Catalyst 2008 was easily the best… Continue reading

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  • Real Life: Living in Holiness

    At CrossWay yesterday we talked about “Living in Holiness” in week 6 of the Real Life series.  Our Scripture passages were 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 5:23-24. When we hear the word “holiness,” it might bring to mind some stuffy guys with their neckties too tight, who look down on everyone else for not being as good… Continue reading

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  • CrossWay Core Commitment #5

    The fifth core commitment–but certainly not less in importance–that members of CrossWay Church make is that we will love God and love people by inviting others to participate in the first four commitments.  In real life, this is played out in numerous ways: I tell others about Jesus Christ. I invite people to church. I… Continue reading

  • CrossWay Core Commitment #3

    Our third core commitment that we make as members of CrossWay Church is that we will love people by serving them. When I make this commitment, I live it out in several ways: I discover the gifts and abilities that God has given me. I discover the specific passions that God has given me. I… Continue reading