FALL = AWESOME!

It is hard to believe, but summer is over and fall is here! Fall has always been a great time at Crossbridge as college students come back and we see a lot of new faces. This year fall not only brings these usual things, but two other exciting things as well.

1. Our move to Florida High THIS Sunday, September 6th! The last 3.5 years we have been meeting at the YMCA @ SouthWood and it has been a great home for us. As we have grown, it has become necessary for us to find a new space for our weekend gatherings. We will miss the YMCA, but we have great plans to continue partnering with them to impact our community. (The next partnership opportunity is on October 31st as we combine our Fall Fest with the YMCA’s annual Trick or Trot Run.) This move to Florida High has God’s fingerprints all over it and I am excited to see what He has planned for us in these new digs.

2. “Our Church is a Mess” (ourchurchisamess.com) September 13th.

This is our DNA as a church AND our fall emphasis. Crossbridge is called to be a messy church. What does that mean? If we are loving as Jesus loved and if we are living in community as we were created to live…it is going to be messy! If we allow ourselves to really known by others and we take the time to know them, things will get messy. That’s a GREAT thing! We’ll talk more about this, but as you look at Jesus’ example, his life, his relationships and his interaction with others…it was messy.

Who are you inviting on September 13th? The challenge is there…bring 2 people with you on September 13th. Take this time to be asking God about who those people might be.

If you have Facebook, join the ourchurchisamess.com group page and change your profile picture to the logo.

You can also help get the word out through updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Please be praying for our move – that this might be an opportunity to connect with those that are disconnected from God.

Rearview Mirror

A few thoughts about the weekend…

> Shawn Grant did a great job this morning talking about simplicity in our Ancient Ways series. Crossbridge is so blessed with some excellent teachers.

> What an amazing impact we would have if we followed the example of Jesus and lived simply. Imagine if we were known for our willingness to give away our time, resources, and abilities rather than just being known for the things that we “don’t do.”

> Crossbridge has been so blessed with amazing musicians and this week we said goodbye to one of the best drummers that I have ever heard. Ben Miller has been with us since the beginning in 2005 and is moving to Orlando for college. Ben, you will be missed!

> We announced today that God has really been moving in helping us discover our next step for a meeting space in the fall. Since our prayer gathering last month some amazing stuff has been happening and I will talk more about that later. Let’s just leave at this for now, unless something crazy happens, we will be meeting at Florida High in September!

> Speaking of the Prayer Gathering… we are having our second one tonight. I am pumped about being a part of this with you! Last month’s was so amazing that there is a great temptation to try and force this one to be just as awesome. What a huge mistake that would be, as the only reason the last gathering was so powerful was because of what God was up to through that experience. We all have to recognize that not every prayer gathering is going to be an “off the charts” experience, but all that we as a community can do is to be faithful in seeking God.

> OKAY…we challenged people to draw a “Simplicity Experiment” out of a bowl during communion this morning. I took one during both gatherings today and I got the SAME one both times:

“Identify one thing you’ve been wanting to buy for yourself and buy it and give it away to someone that needs it.”

I guess God is trying to communicate something to me. I will let you know how that goes!

> It was awesome to see one of our community highlighted in the simplicity experiment video this morning. Renee & Tony Miller started “Mount Moriah Thrift Store” as a way to live missionally in their community. They are having a huge impact and I encourage you to support them in any way you can. By the way…Renee was the first the person to be baptized at Crossbridge! AWESOME!!

Meeting Jesus In Israel

As many of you know, I just got back from Israel, where I spent 2 weeks on a Pilgrimage with about 20 pastors.

When I started out on this pilgrimage, I had questions for God and expected answers on this journey.

Day One - God spoke clearly into my reality. “This is not about answers to YOUR questions. This is about ME. Release the questions, the expectation of answers. Seek me. Expect me. That will be more than enough.”

So, my single prayer on this journey, “God, meet me on this journey. May I see you, know you, and experience you.” He did, again, contrary to the how and where I assumed He would.

I met Jesus in some of the expected places…

…with a group of pastors ‘pilgrimaging’ together and enjoying great community

…in the land and places where Jesus once walked

Interestingly, when I shed the security of my like-minded group and wandered into the more “local” areas, I was surprised by Jesus…

…in the life of Lavi, a guy trying to figure out who God is and what he is supposed to do with his life

…at work in a “non-religious” Jewish girl named Ziggy

…in a Russian girl named Lea, working behind a bar in Jerusalem – searching

…in an amazing group of Palestinian Christians in Nazareth

…imprisoned behind a wall in the West Bank

…in one of my “heroes of the faith,” Brother Andrew

…in a pre-written prayer, read out loud at a spot on “The Stations of The Cross,” the station where I had the least expectation to see / hear Him.

He met me, because he is STILL there, working and active in the living stones.

Where is He at work around you? My advice: turn off your computer, turn off the lights, and walk outside. You may be surprised where you find him.

This Time Next Week

Sea of Galilee

I can’t believe it. One week from today I will be in Israel in a region known as Galilee.

This is an area where Jesus spent a significant amount of time walking, visiting, teaching, sailing on the water (as well as walking on it)…all the while making God the Father known in a real, tangible way. I am praying and ask you to join me, that just as the people in Jesus’ day had a fresh experience with God in this place that I will have a similar experience in knowing and experiencing Him in a new and fresh way.

I am excited to be walking where Jesus walked, with the exception of the walking on water part!

Now, I guess it’s time that I should start thinking about packing…

This Is a First

I’ve never been blogged about before, so I was a little nervous when Zack sent me a link to his dad’s recent post. With my heart beating a little faster, I clicked on the link and began to read. “Oh, no.” was my first reaction when realizing what he, a recent visitor to a Crossbridge service, had blogged about, but then I read on.

This blog was not one Christian bashing another Christian for saying something that they felt was inappropriate. He didn’t question my relationship with Christ because of my choice of words that day. He got it, and he shared it.

Thanks, Ken, for understanding. It was not an easy message to teach, but I felt like I needed to say it. (Yes, even those words.)

In My Rear View

My primary take-away from this weekend:

Sunday we sang a song that is special to us as a community. The song “Kingdom Come” is a song that has flowed out of the heartbeat of who we are and who God is calling us to be as a church. This is a song that Dan Cole, our creative arts guy, wrote for our community to sing as a prayer and a cry out to God. We sing a lot of amazing songs that were written by some awesomely gifted song writers, but this one is by far my favorite. We should sing it every weekend as a prayer to God and a reminder to us.

Below is a link to the song if you would like to listen (Thanks to Dan for allowing me to post this demo version of the song…it is all we have right now)…

Kingdom Come

LYRICS:

Take our hands to do the holy work of You
‘Cause we know that nothing else will do
Break our hearts for the people who are breaking Yours
Let us love the lepers of the earth
Take our lives, we’re giving it all to You
Hear our cries, we’ll die to follow You

Lord, now, teach us to love in the ways that You do
Some-how let our hearts be Yours
Lord, now, open our eyes to the people who need You
Some-how let Your Kingdom come – down

Move our feet to the places where You want us to go
Son of God, we want the world to Know
Take our lives, we’re giving it all to You
Hear our cries, we’ll die to follow You

Kingdom come, let the rich and the poor worship You Lord
Kingdom come, let the broken be healed, Your glory revealed
Kingdom come, mercy You’ll bring, as one voice we’ll sing
Kingdom come, we worship You now, oh Spirit come down

__________

Now, here are some random thoughts from the weekend…

> Loved hearing about the work that Shawn’s parents, Mike and Theresa Grant, are doing in Haiti.

> Thanks to all of the Leaders that braved the nasty weather to come out to the Leadership Huddle!

> I am excited about our upcoming “One Prayer” series. This was such a great time in the life of our church last year!

> It is hard to believe that I will be leaving for my Pilgrimage to Israel in 2 weeks…wow!

> I am loving that Dan Cole has been playing all over Tallahassee so much, but man he is costing me some serious $$ and inches on my waist line (start playing at some places with bad food!).

> It was cool to meet someone that I knew through Twitter before actually meeting them in person.

> (Earlier this week) I drove a Hummer for the first time…this was a somewhat life changing experience. I think I may have used one month of my salary to drive across town!

> We are in a season where we are hearing a lot of cool “God Stories.” I love these times!

> Another baptism this week happening within the context of their Community Group…I love that we are seeing more and more of these! Congrats, Wendy!

> Reminded again this weekend that trying to live like Jesus is painful and costly…but He is more than enough.

> We strive to make a memorable impression on first time guests…a car wreck in the parking lot is not what we had in mind!

> Thanks to the AMAZING response we have had in collecting books for our after-school program at Cascades Village.

> Welcome back to those that returned from the mission trip to Brazil…

> Good bye to those leaving for Russia!

> Thanks for the privilege of being your pastor!

One of the greatest TV moments…

Last night on 30 Rock I experienced one of the best TV moments I have ever witnessed. If you missed it, here is your chance to witness it…

Foy Vance: An Amazing Artist

I spent the day listening to one of my favorite artists and thought I would share the wealth. Seems like people either love him or hate him…just realize that if you don’t like him, your musical taste is questionable!

The guy’s name is Foy Vance and this video is one in a series that were all shot in public restrooms. Listen to the lyrics of this song. He is a great song writer/storyteller…

Just in case…

Just in case you don’t read the Crossbridge e-newsletter (which, by the way, you should BECAUSE IT’S AWESOME), I thought I would post the message that I put in it today. Here it is:

Dear Crossbridge family and friends,

In two weeks I will be joining 20 other Pastors from around the country and from all different Christian traditions on a pilgrimage to Israel. I cannot begin to describe how much I am anticipating this experience. I have been to the Middle East twice before, once for a college trip, and then in 1997 I spent 7 weeks in Jordan on an archaeological dig for seminary. This trip, however, is different. The emphasis is on spiritual renewal by spending time in the land and places where Jesus walked, not as a tourist, but as a disciple.

I am so grateful to the CF Foundation of Atlanta, and Emmanuel School of Religion for making this trip possible by providing a grant to cover the travel costs. What an incredible gift! I am also, very thankful for the leaders at Crossbridge for being supportive of this opportunity and for our amazing staff and volunteers that make it possible for me to even consider taking an extended time away. I will miss you all greatly as I will be gone from May 31st to June 16th. The first few days will be at a retreat in Atlanta before we fly to Israel on June 2nd.

I ask that you would please be praying for God to use this time to speak to me and to use this time as one of formation. I will commit to praying for you as well. If there are certain things for which I can be praying for you, please send them to info@crossbridgechcristian.com or communicate it on your connection card over the upcoming weekends. I look forward to seeing what God does with this opportunity and sharing those things with you!

In Christ,
Mark Michael
_________

Stay tuned to my blog for more about my trip!

This Weekend in My Rearview

Thoughts from this weekend…

1. Don’t be so sure the fire is gone. I learned this when I thought my attempt to burn up yard debris Friday morning had failed, but in the afternoon, upon my return from running errands, found a raging fire that was growing and spreading. It all turned out fine. I didn’t burn down the neighborhood, and my family enjoyed a nice evening around the fire, but I will be a lot more cautious next time.

2. God has a sense of humor, or at least odd timing, that Mother’s Day would immediately follow the series in which I was most transparent about my wrestling with God, especially over the loss of my own mom when I was a preschooler. That was a HARD message to teach and a difficult day to celebrate…sorry, Andrea.

3. I learned that even though I was busy every Saturday night since the fall because of having a Saturday night gathering, I was even BUSIER this Saturday night without one! Apparently, I’ve said, “No.” to most things on Saturdays because of set-up and the gathering, but this week I had no reason for saying, “no,” and said, “yes” to EVERYTHING…I was beat!

4. It was cool to see our Crossbridge community respond to a need on quick notice. I got an email Sunday afternoon from someone new to the neighborhood that was stuck unloading a moving truck alone. Within minutes there was a group of people giving up their plans to serve. Thanks to Michael Gene, Kirk, Zac, Jordan, and Ashlyn for being Jesus, and a sweaty one at that…

5. In the same vein as # 4…I love how our church community has responded to a couple that has gone through a lot of stuff this year. There have been times that have been painful and haven’t always made sense, nor seemed “fair,” but the result is beautiful little girl, Autumn Campbell Munyon. Congratulations Tim, Summer…and Autumn Campbell!!

6. Sunday night ended in a great way, hanging out at a local establishment with some wonderful people listening to our own Dan Cole, an amazing singer/songwriter.

7. Oh, yeah…our band is AMAZING!

8. One final thing…this is more than a thought from the weekend, but a reflection nonetheless. It seems there has been a transition in the types of discussions I am having. It seemed at one time they were almost all about Jesus, then for a season they seemed to be all about church “stuff,” but now they have transitioned back about Jesus…THANK GOD (seriously!)!