The Secret History Behind the Final Four!

Dear Crosswalkers,

March Madness is down to the Final Four in college basketball.  The air this weekend will be filled with talk of the championship.  Interestingly, there is a secret history behind this popular sport.  Did you know that the game of basketball was invented by a Christian theologian for the purpose of outreach to young men?   The inventor of basketball, James Naismith, took a job at the YMCA's International Training School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts because he thought he could reach more youth through sports than through preaching.  His life purpose was "to win men for the Master through the gym." The result was the invention of a new game that could be played indoors during the winter:  Basketball.  In fact, basketball served its purpose for the next 50 years as many men were reached and lives were changed by faith in Christ!   There is a lesson for us here.  While there are some wonderful testimonies from some dedicated Christian athletes, it is clear that basketball as a sport has left its founding purpose and legacy behind.  The pervasive process of secularization has relegated basketball's spiritual history to the circular file of forgetfulness.  Perhaps when you talk about the Final Four this weekend, you can mention that basketball was originally designed to “to win men for the Master through the gym."

Every 5 years or so, our Church Council sponsors an all church assessment for the purpose of measuring our effectiveness in fulfilling our mission of connecting people to Jesus and to each other.  There are a number of things we do, like James Naismith did, to try to win men and women and boys and girls to the Master!  This is a wonderful opportunity to gather information from our entire church family which will help us assess our effectiveness and envision the future direction for Crosswalk Church.  A key component of this assessment/envisioning process is a congregational survey.  PLEASE PRIORITIZE PARTICIPATING IN THIS SURVEY during the next week so that we can hear from you.  Your thoughts and feelings and spiritual insights matter to us!  God wants to speak through you!  This Sunday, our assessor and spiritual coach, Doug Stevens, will bless us with an exciting message entitled “Everything We Need!” Also on Sunday we will be introduced to the congregational survey.  This is a stirring season for us as we listen to God speak to us through each other!  Please plan to be a part of it!  We want to win folks for the Master!!

Blessings,

Pastor John

Building Bridges to Display God's Splendor!

Dear Crosswalkers,

Here is a wonderful story of faith:  A congregation was struggling financially and so they created a separate fund to spread the good news about Jesus locally and around the world.  It was a program that challenged the church family to trust God to provide them with extra money that they could give to missions.  Twelve years later, the church had given $1,081,528 in local and world missions!  They had trusted God and God came through!  Their community and the world were blessed in the name of Jesus!

If you haven’t guessed it, this is the story of missions at Crosswalk Community Church!!  Last year we passed the one million dollar mark, and now we’re on our way to our second million.  It all happens when we seriously and joyfully trust God to provide!

For those of you who are new to Crosswalk, there are three ways you can give to expand God’s kingdom through your church family.  First is to our General Fund, which supports our staff, facilities, resources and a host of operating expenses.  This is where our tithes go.  Secondly, we have designated funds which support special projects.  Last year we raised money for our parking lot repair (which will be completed during the last week of April!).  Several of you give special gifts to reduce our indebtedness.  Thirdly, we support local and global missions through your Faith Promise giving.

This Sunday and next you will have the opportunity to participate by making a Faith Promise.  You will be asked to promise by faith to give a certain amount that you trust God to provide.  This is a faith promise, not a pledge.  You will never be asked to “make good” for the amount you promised by faith.  This is between you and the Lord!  If God does not provide, you are under no obligation to give!  The pressure is on God, not on us!!  But after you make a faith promise, the next step is to “watch and pray” for God to provide.

How does God provide for our faith promises?  From the experiences of many individuals and churches, there are four general ways God provides:

1.     Unexpected Income: These can be retroactive pay raises, bonuses, unexpected  gifts, inheritances, a second job, tax refunds, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

2.     Decrease in Expenses: Loans are paid off, kids educational expenses end, etc.

3.     Reordering of our Priorities: When we manage our lives as God would have it, we can generate additional income for the Lord’s work.  This would include a commitment to live more simply, to fast once a week and give the money for that meal to missions, or to cut down on unnecessary expenses.

4.     Innovative Ideas: There are creative ways to generate extra income, such as having a garage sale and giving the proceeds to missions, using a hobby to generate income, a fun job to keep busy during your retirement, etc.

I know some of you give and then trust God to provide!  Others are just so committed to missions that they make Faith Promise a regular part of their giving, in addition to their tithe.

Do Faith Promises work?  Yes!!  In the 12 years Crosswalk has done faith promises, God has provided a low of 73% and a high of 166% of our Faith Promises!  The average over those years is a remarkable 99%!!  This year we have received 72% of our Faith Promises, with one more Sunday and the rest of this month to raise our percentage!  I’m asking that we give “by faith” between now and the end of the month to raise our total!!

In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is!” - Isaiah 12:4

This Sunday our message is “Building Bridges to Display His Splendor!” Our speaker is missionary Angel Hernandez, currently on home leave with his family but returning to Paraguay in July.  At noon we will feature our popular International Potluck!!  It's going to be great!!

See you Sunday!

Blessings,

Pastor John

A Bridge Too Far?

Dear Crosswalkers, Last Sunday we were captivated by the story of Oscar James, missionary to his native country of Liberia.  He came to study in the States two months before Civil War broke out, and the family he left behind all died as a result.  He never wanted to go back to Africa, but God had a better plan, and a bridge of love for the people of Liberia sent him back!   Today is St. Patrick's Day, and this day celebrates another bridge of love.  According to the book, People Whose Faith Got Them Into Trouble, as a youth Patrick lived a comfortable life near an English coastal city where his father was a deacon in their church. But at the age of 16, his comfortable life disintegrated. Irish pirates attacked his village, abducting Patrick. After arriving in Ireland, Patrick was sold as a slave to a Druid tribal chieftain who forced Patrick to work with a herd of pigs. In the midst of pig filth, God began to change Patrick's heart. In his Confessions he wrote,"I was sixteen and knew not the true God, but in a strange land the Lord opened my unbelieving eyes, and I was converted." Patrick became convinced that the kidnapping and homesickness were actually opportunities to know Christ better.  He wrote:  "Anything that happens to me, whether pleasant or distasteful, I ought to accept with [serenity] giving thanks to God … who never disappoints." After serving as a slave for six years, Patrick escaped, boarded a boat, and somehow found his way back home. At long last, he was on British soil, warmly embraced by his family and his community. In his own mind Patrick was done with Ireland for good. According to Patrick, "It is not in my nature to show divine mercy toward the very ones who once enslaved me." Once again, God would change Patrick's heart, and build a bridge from his heart to the people of Ireland who had abused him. Partially through a dramatic dream, Patrick knew that God had called him to return to Ireland—not as a slave, but as a preacher of the gospel. His family and friends were understandably horrified by his decision. "Many friends tried to stop my mission," Patrick wrote. "They said, 'Why does this fellow waste himself among dangerous enemies who don't even know God?'" Despite these objections, in A.D. 432 Patrick used his own money to purchase a boat and sail back to Ireland. Patrick spent the rest of his life preaching the gospel in Ireland, watching many people come to Christ. He also passionately defended the human rights of slaves. For the rest of his life, Patrick would remain captivated by the grace of God. In hisConfessions he wrote: And I am certain of this: I was a dumb stone lying squashed in the mud; the Mighty and Merciful God came, dug me out and set me on top of the wall. Therefore, I praise him and ought to render him something for his wonderful benefits to me both now and in eternity. Jesus built a bridge from Oscar's heart to Africa, and from Patrick's heart to Ireland.  Humanly speaking, it was a bridge too far.  From God's perspective, it was a bridge of grace.  From God's perspective, no bridge is too far.  How is God building a bridge in your heart?   See you Sunday! Blessings, Pastor John

A BRIDGE TO JAPAN? From our missionary in Japan, John Letaw: "Tomodachi"  is Japanese for "friend".  On March 12 -- the day following the Sendai Earthquake -- U.S. Forces Pacific launched Operation Tomodachi, a massive undertaking to bring aid to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.  On mainland Japan, Iwakuni is the closest military airfield to Okinawa, so our little base has become a major staging point for relief work.  A fleet of C-130s is bringing in supplies, and delivering them further north to the stricken areas. The base is providing logistic support to rescue teams already on the ground, augmenting Japanese civil and military forces.   From our missionary to Asia, Wilson Phang: Wilson is scheduled to travel into Japan in 3 weeks.  However, with the radioactive risks, many whom Wilson is scheduled to minister to are choosing to leave the country, internationals and Japanese nationals alike.  Please pray with us as we consider the prudence of this trip at this time. From Rick Warren:  More than 2 billion people claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. That’s one third of the world’s population! Imagine all of us focusing our prayers, resources, and efforts on helping the people of Japan. Please pray for the Japanese people and their recovery from the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and aftershocks!  We will alert you to other practical ways in which you can help in the days and weeks ahead.

Building Bridges

Dear Crosswalkers,

The great poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, said of Archbishop Cranmer: "To do him a hurt was to beget a kindness from him. His heart was made of such fine soil that if you planted in it the seeds of hate they blossomed love." Wow!  What an amazing testimony of a man who truly followed Jesus.  I want that to be true of me, and of all of us.

This Sunday we begin a new series entitled "Building Bridges with your Life." After having spent the first two months of the year looking at the wonderful ways God wants to bless us, we now see that God blesses us to be a blessing to others!  Isaac Newton, assessing the problems of his generation, said "We build too many walls and not enough bridges." God is in the bridge building business.  When there was an impassable chasm separating humanity from God, God took the initiative to bridge that chasm by sending his son.  And whenever there is a separation between us and others, God wants us to bridge that gap with the love of and forgiveness of Jesus.

March historically has been missions month at Crosswalk.  This year our focus will be on building bridges with our lives; bridges into our community and into the world that God loves.  The theme verse for our missions emphasis is John 14:12 (NIV) - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. We are praying for God's help in doing these "greater things!"

Here's how you can help:

1.  Pray! Every good work for God begins and ends with prayer.  Would you pause in your reading of these words to pray for our Men's Retreat this weekend?  We have 70 men who will get together to make themselves available to receive God's blessings in a deeper way so they can be a blessing to others.  Pray also for our efforts at Crosswalk to be a church in mission!  I praise God that we are having a greater impact than ever before into our community.  Pray that God would show us new ways to have an irresistible influence in our neighborhoods, schools, and places of employment.  And then lastly pray for our Faith Promise Missions outreach to the world!  Our missionaries need our financial support but more importantly, our prayers!

2.  Participate! Please plan to participate fully in this next series.  This will be a very practical study from God's word on how we can be more like Jesus to our world.  We are in this together.  We are better together!  We need you to study along with us and make the appropriate spiritual commitments to build bridges!  Think of the bridges you can build with others in your life, and then commit it to God!

3.  Provide! You will hear more about our Faith Promise Missions program during the next few weeks.  Faith Promise is a promise we make to God by faith to give to local, national, and international missions.  The basic premise is this:  God wants to use us as a conduit to bless a needy world.  It all starts by saying, "God, I'm willing to let you use me to bless the world in the name of Jesus."  Please read the following article below about an exciting opportunity God has given us to impact the world for his kingdom!

I hope to see you in church!

Blessings,

Pastor John