Influence is a powerful thing. Honestly, we all have it whether it is good influence or bad influence. Your gifts and abilities often determine your scope and level of influence but I believe your character determines the type and duration of your influence. There can be other factors involved but most of the time those three determine our influence.  There are a lot of people that God has blessed with ability and gifts but because of poor character their influence rises and falls quickly or is very negative in its impact. Some people are very steady in character but do not wield high levels of gifts or ability yet their influence is lasting and positive. If I were choosing someone to follow or be mentored by or to trust with things that are important, I’d pick the person that may not be as gifted or talented but has character every time.  It’s unfortunate but some people are blessed with so much but never learn the character lesson and as a result never go very far with their influence in life.  We may not be able to control how talented we are or how gifted, but we are in charge of our character.  I have seen people’s abilities increase as their character has increased and I have witnessed the opposite effect as well. Your character will be the sum total of who or what influences you and the decisions you make as a result of it.  So I hope you take this personal.  I hope you’ll evaluate your influence and not someone else’s.  I pray that you’ll own your culpability and power to become the influencer God has designed you to be. STOP WASTING THE TIME AND TALENTS GOD HAS BLESSED YOU WITH BY PARTNERING IT WITH UNDERACHIEVING CHARACTER.

This past weekend a team of tired but fully energized Crossroaders returned from a week of serving with Samaritan’s Purse in Nashville.  This is the second of three teams from our church that have gone out in the past year. It’s always amazing to me how God takes people who barely know each other and brings them together with different backgrounds, struggles and skills and forms a family through serving a greater purpose.  Our team that left one week as acquaintances came back the next as a family.  They went out not really sure about what was going to take place and came back convinced that God was in the very details of everything they experienced.  Along the way they impacted in a very deep way a man named Wiley.  Wiley is one of the thousands of  victims the Nashville floods left homeless.  He has lived in a fifteen by eight trailer for over a year now. With no heat or running water of his own he has faced challenges and adverse conditions yet he continues to smile and be thankful.  I was undone as I heard how our team loved on and connected with Wiley and in return how he did the same.  A huge WAY TO GO goes out to them.  I hope this is not the end of the story for Crossroads and Wiley, however I know that our rebuild team made an eternal impact.

When you think about it, this is a small glimpse of what the church as a whole is all about. It is the heart and soul of the early church in Acts.  People from different backgrounds, stories and struggles coming together for a greater purpose–JESUS! In the process they become a close & growing family  that changes the world. Thanks for this powerful and intimate reminder Rebuild Team I love you for it.  I’m asking all of us to please pray for our next team that goes out this weekend. There are great things being accomplished through Crossroads Church!!!

• Wow!!! What an incredible weekend at Crossroads! We had incredible worship experiences and love on all our moms.
• I continue to be amazed by the realness of our people and how Jesus is changing lives. This was week two of “The Real F Word” and people are finding freedom from what they’ve done and what’s been done to them. I have continued to receive emails and stories of past hurts and traumas that leave me undone. I pray that God’s healing grace continues.
• The Band  really brought it this week.  I enjoy our music every week but this week our music was on HGH!!!
• I love the fact that every week I see dozens of volunteers serving people with a smile on their faces. Someone shared recently about how they look forward to coming because they are inundated with smiles from the moment they pull on to our drive. A friendly church is an alive church.
• Our video podcast is up and going & it’s a great tool to use in exposing friends and loved ones to Crossroads.
• I love my wife and the mother of my children and it’s my goal to honor her everyday not just one day a year!!!
• Jesus is up to something big at Crossroads!!!

• Wow, I can’t believe the energy and response of the Crossroads family this past Easter! I want to thank everyone and I mean everyone that attended, invited, bribed, and brought people to one of the three Easter experiences.

• We celebrated our highest attendance ever with over 1300 people worshipping  and 50 crossing from death to life. Did you get that? That is 50 individuals who were on a collision course with hell and because somebody was willing to be uncomfortable, risk, and reach they are now apart of the forever family of Jesus. That just never gets old!

• Thanks again to all of our egg hunt volunteers! We had approximately 3500 people in attendance and the kids hunted down (with a vengeance might I add) 35,000 eggs. Man that is a lot of candy!

• If you were out of town ,and have yet to watch the podcast of Easter, the rumors are all true. I did wear a suit this  year and I did not need counseling as a result. Truth is I kinda liked it.(Did I just write that?)

• I have never been more fired up about the church and Jesus mission at Crossroads.  We have the most loving and passionate people around, this is humbling and so inspiring.

• KEEP BRINGING THE BROKEN, HURTING, AND LOST BECAUSE JESUS IS CHANGING LIVES!!!

I read an interesting email recently about burnout.  It is true that this time of year we all carry a sense of overload from our busy lives and schedules.  The smoldering embers of burnout may be emanating from you life.  What you may need to do is STOP-DROP-& ROLL.

STOP: When things get a little crazy the first thing you need to do is “stop” for a variety of reasons. Stop what you are doing long enough to look up and see the forest for the trees. Re-acquaint yourself with the big picture – the mission, vision and values. Then actually stop doing some things. Chances are, when you’re stressed out and feel like there is too much to get done, there are probably things you’re doing that aren’t urgent or important.

DROP: Next, drop those things that aren’t necessary. Or even if something is necessary, can it be trimmed down to the bare essentials? Take this opportunity to review some of your systems and processes. You’ll be amazed how much “fat” can be trimmed along the way.

ROLL: Finally, roll out the new plan and roll with the punches. Your plan should make your life a bit easier and ensure you are working on the right stuff. The punches are going to come no matter what. But with an improved plan and a trimmed down agenda you’ll be able to take them standing up and not hit the floor.

Don’t let overload and burnout have you so pre-occupied that you miss the best moments God has for you this season!

Have you ever really thought about how important it is to have trust?  Trust is in the foundation of relationships, partnerships, & leadership-we could say the absence of trust will sink these ships.  All this month at Crossroads we’ve been talking about finances and resources and I’ve been coming back to the same principle over and over, God wants us to trust him.  When you really think about it, trust goes to the very core of our struggles in life.  I think the answer to just about everything we wrestle with in life is addressed in one question: How much do we trust God?

My son McCoy is a wrestler and he has a great coach. McCoy’s coach, a friend of mine,  has experienced success at every level of wrestling (except the WWE).  Having never wrestled personally, I constantly encourage my son to listen to his coach and do what he says even when instincts, fatigue, fear, or someone else says differently.  I believe his success in wrestling truly depends on his ability to listen to his coach, trust what he’s told and then transfer that into action.

You see God wants to coach your life and He wants even more for your life than you do!  With God trust is a must! If you trust Him, you’re going to listen to Him and do what He says.  It really is that simple.

Proverbs 3:5-10 MSG. Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.