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Our first attempts at blogging.... You'll be hearing each week from different people in leadership within Community Christian Church. That is, if you read the blog. Otherwise you won't. Which is okay. Let's still be friends though.
Also, we've got a new website up and running at... (drum roll)...
www.communitychristianchurch.com
If you have spare time and want to do something besides Words with Friends, check it out. Its not your grandma's church website. Unless she goes to a hipsteresque church.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Friday, December 2, 2011
2011 --> 2012
The last year has been an incredible journey. I’ve
been surrounded by passionate people that all have one ultimate thing in mind:
helping people find their way back to God. Over the course of the year, the
people of Crossings North have formed together through communitas, that is,
community on mission.
I deeply love this faith community. They were with
me as a college student, and alongside me this year as I slowly learn what it
means to be a pastor. My experience here has always been one of both
affirmation and challenge.
It is with a bittersweet heart that I share with
you that on December 18th of this year, I will be transitioning out
of my staff role with Crossings. After key times of prayer and conversation
with my fiancé Katie Roller, I knew in my heart that while I love being in this
community and working with its staff, doing so in a part-time role was slowly
breaking down by spirit.
Simply put, Crossings will not have the financial
means for a full-time worship pastor for an unknown length of time. God
provided for me this year in so many ways: through friends and family, random
music gigs, part-time work, and my church community. The core of my struggle
was in no way connected with my income not meeting the cost of living, but
truly with time constraints that inhibited my growth as a follower of Christ, future-husband,
pastor, friend, leader, thinker, and musician. The result was that no one was
getting my best. Recognizing this, Katie and I prayed that if God would have us
go elsewhere, that He would make that apparent. While I was struggling,
initiating conversation with other churches didn’t feel natural or obedient to
God’s will. So, we prayed for clarity and were determined to be 100% present
here in Knoxville.
Two weeks later, I was contacted by a friend at Community Christian Church just outside of Hamilton, Ohio. He told me that they were searching for a full-time worship
pastor and asked if I would prayerfully consider applying and meeting with the
team. One careful step at a time, I continued to walk through the doors God was
opening. It is with excitement that I share with you that I was offered, and accepted,
the position. I start my role at Community on January 1st.
I’ll be moving from Tennessee to Ohio in less than
three weeks. Katie will remain in Knoxville to finish out her Master’s degree,
finishing school in May. After our wedding on June 2nd, she’ll join
me at Community, where we’ll be within an hour and a half driving range of both
our families. I am very excited about joining the ministry happening within
this great church.
Both the staff and leaders of Crossings have been
extremely supportive in the beginnings of this transition process. I really do
feel as though I am being sent out from this place into this next phase of
life. Simultaneously, I already feel a great sense of acceptance from
Community. My heart is full of anticipation.
Thank you so much for your support over this last
year. So many good things to come. Please don’t hesitate to drop me an email or
phone call if you have any questions or would like to talk more.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Throw Him Off The Cliff
Then my brain sets in. Thoughts about the upcoming week, the upcoming months & years. Thoughts about friends and family. But mostly, thoughts about tomorrow morning. I think through the morning from start to finish, from the moment we'll roll the first amplifier in, to the moment the trailer doors shut. We're talking about a significant turning point in Luke tomorrow: Jesus proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor through the lens of Isaiah 61... that this good news is here, now, for the poor, oppressed, and Gentile (Luke 4:18-19). In mere minutes, Jesus works his local hometown synagogue crowd up into a frenzy that will leave them wanting him dead. "But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way" (Luke 4:30, NIV)... and proceeds to go to another synagogue, where he will cast out a demon and begin a spree of miracles.
I think about how I would react if I were standing in the synagogue in Nazareth. Would I have wanted to drive him out to the cliff like the rest of them?
As I drift to sleep, my thoughts keep moving. They turn away from the direct narrative, and more to the service as a whole.
I think about the final song we'll be singing together... "Kingdom Come" written by the folks over at Elevation Church in Charlotte. Much of the verses are simply another take on the Lord's prayer put to a melody. But, the chorus rings out differently in my head.
Oh God arise up in us We'll show the world how You love Jesus take our heart and make it Yours Salvation reign over us The fight was won on the cross We take heart for You have overcome the worldHow easily could we sing this song as an ideal? A fantasy? Without caution, these words could feed the cynical mind. Nothing more than another spiritual version of Arby's Good Mood Food.
But... What if we sang this with desperation? With our hearts, emotions AND intellects fully functioning? There's no need for the body of Christ to shut their minds off and just "feel" when they worship together. What if we sang words like these knowing that Jesus came with love for all of humanity, not just an uber-righteous few? What if we didn't just pass air through our lungs to create noise...but through these ideas we confessed, in unity, a belief that the love of God is here and now, for all... that the Kingdom is here and now, for all? That WE get to be a part of the very growth of that Kingdom?
What if we believed that Jesus really has overcome the world? What if we believed that while we see so much wrong in the world, we are called to live everyday with hope and restoration in our hearts? What if we saw injustice in the world, and instead of reacting with disbelief or doubt, we allowed the Spirit's voice to guide us in BRINGING justice.
Or, we can keep a cold grip on our cynicism, sacred cows, traditions, comforts, exclusive community, and sectarian pride. In short, we can try and drag Jesus and his words out to the cliff, and attempt (in vain) to throw the Omnipotent off. Sounds a bit ridiculous doesn't it?
My thoughts start shooting off in other random directions and my eyelids feel as heavy as boulders. And...asleep.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
North Podcast
The Crossings North podcast is now up and running through iTunes.
SUBSCRIBE if you'd like to keep up with us!
We've uploaded all of the teachings from our 2nd preview service and on...
Friday, July 8, 2011
Chicago
Early (very early, 5 AM early) Tuesday morning, the majority of the staff of Crossings squeezed into a borrowed van (thank you West Village Christian Church) and began the long drive to Chicago.We first made a pit stop in West Lafayette, Indiana to spend an hour with the folks at Purdue Christian Campus House. They really do have some powerful ministry going there, and it was great to run into Duane Chew again for the second time this year. After a tour & some Five Guys for lunch, we loaded back into the van and charged on. About 12 hours later, we made it to Naperville, Illinois.
We took off just a little before 7 on Wednesday morning towards northern Chicago to have breakfast with Tammy Melchien, the campus pastor of one of the newest sites of Community Christian Church. The site meets in Chappell Elementary, in Lincoln Square neighborhood. Being the first female campus pastor leading the first downtown Chicago campus for Community, she had a lot of great insights to share…very much a story of pioneering.
Next we headed south to meet with Paul Clark and CCDA (Christian Community Development Association). CCDA is an organization that exists to empower & inspire individuals, churches, and other organizations to reclaim & restore under-resourced communities. Their vision is, “wholistically restored communities with Christians fully engaged in the process of transformation.”
CCDA sent us on a trip 3 miles to the west into North Lawndale, an extremely low-income area of Chicago. We met with Darryl Saffore, the executive pastor of Lawndale Community Church. The church was founded by Dr. Wayne Gordon in 1978 with 15 people in the neighborhood that shared a dream of restoring their community. The church is now made up of more than 1000 families, and ministries covering nearly two blocks of the neighborhood. Some of the dozens of ministries include professional arms like the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (primarily housing improvement, restoration, and connection), Lawndale Christian Health Center (a professional health center providing care to 75,000 patients per year), and Lawndale Christian Legal Center.
After hours of walking, we our tour came to an end at the Hope House, a ministry that takes in men coming out of prison, and helps them take steps towards a better life. Darryl then revealed to us that he was actually a graduate of the Hope House just 10 years prior.
As we sat & ate amazing deep-dish pizza at Lou Malnati's on the end of the block, I think we all were stunned. Lawndale is a living, breathing example not only of caring for the widow & orphan…but following a footstep behind Jesus. (On a sidenote: Dr. Gordon actually asked Lou Malnati’s to open their 10th Chicago-area pizza shop in North Lawndale & give all of the profits of the restaurant as a tithe to the neighborhood. For nearly two decades, they have continued doing so.
After our time in Lawndale, Mark took us on a surprise field trip. We came to a stop in front of the headquarters of Eli’s Cheesecake. We were greeted by the President of Eli’s, Marc Schulman. Eli’s Cheesecake has played a unique role in the story of Crossings. On our launch Sunday nearly 5 years ago, Eli’s mailed enough cheesecake to Knoxville to feed an entire church. Every year on our birthday, we eat Eli’s cheesecake and remember our birth as a church. Eli’s shares many of the values we do, and as we heard parts of their story & their involvement with community & global development… Mark pointed out how communitas exists everywhere.
After Eli’s, we drove into downtown Chicago to spend a few hours relaxing & taking in the city. What a truly breathtaking place. Thus completing day one.
Today, we (& the staff of The Ridge Community Church) spent much of our day with a few of the central staff of Crossings Community Church at their Yellow Box campus in Naperville. In the morning, we heard a great talk from Kim Hammond about missional imagination. Kim has a great heart for sending out people on mission into their communities. Eric Metcalf, the director of NewThing Network, then led a discussion on the value & process of reproducing church.
We split off to eat lunch with some Community staff that shared similar roles as our own. Hearing the systems & practices of both The Ridge & Community was both affirming & challenging. More than anything, I think I walked with some new dreams (& renewed old dreams) stirring in my spirit.
After leaving the church, we went back to downtown Naperville to relax. As I type this, most of us are staying up in preparation to leave for Knoxville in less than three hours. This trip has been a whirlwind of story, example, culture, and dreams. It’s going to take me some time to really process what this all means and what it could mean for us in Knoxville.
What a week.
Continue to pray for us.
Pray that we listen to God’s leading as we run full-steam ahead into the unknown.
Pray our dreams & imagination are always bigger than what is currently "possible."
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Last 68 Days
Sixty-eight days ago, I unpacked my belongings in Knoxville once again, but this time to stay…indefinitely. So many things have happened since then & will be happening in the coming weeks. I will touch base on just a few.1) On March 27th, Crossings North was officially born. The seven weeks leading up to this date were filled with long days and nights for our staff and leaders, tough decisions, and epic God-moments. I think I would have been able to be more descriptive had I written about what was happening as it was actually happening, but there just simply wasn’t much time to do that. I can tell you that I am a part of a community that truly understands and owns its vision. It wasn’t and isn’t an atmosphere of my task and your task, it was and is an atmosphere of God’s mission. We really are all in this movement together.
Launch Day felt almost unnaturally smooth from the music & production standpoint. For those from home wondering, there were about 110 people in attendance on launch day & 120 in attendance the second week (making us probably the 3rd or 4th biggest church on the north side of town). Just one quick story… At the beginning of sound-check our second week, our volunteer sound coach had to leave to go to the Downtown site to help them troubleshoot a problem, and his volunteer apprentice took over (who had just learned the board a few weeks before from his coach). The only people that knew anything different? The band & the other productions guys. That is what means to reproduce leaders, and that is just one of the many reasons I love working & doing life alongside these wonderful people. There are so many great stories from the last few 2+ months that I simply don’t have time to tell here. Maybe someday soon. For now, please check out the blogs of my fellow team members listed at the bottom of the page to read more.
We are still eagerly and actively learning how we can truly become a part of the neighborhoods surrounding Christenberry Elementary School, how can we serve & contribute to them, and also how can we learn from them. Please continue to pray for our newly-established relationship.
On a personal note, it feels deeply fulfilling & exciting to be back in the weekly responsibility of helping piece together worship gatherings. I am surrounded by an incredible team of leaders that sacrifice their time, abilities, and gas tanks for their God and their faith community. It is a genuine privilege to work with them every week. You can expect to hear more about this church & these people in the weeks to come. Creativity is brewing as we learn what doing & being church in this neighborhood can and will look like.
2) I’ve had the opportunity to play a lot of music. This coming weekend, I’ll be doing acoustic guitar, dobro, and backing vocals for my friend Bill Wolf on his 2011 mini-tour. Last year, Bill asked several of his friends to help him record an album of songs that, working together with short stories, tell the larger story of Easter. After we finished arranging and then recording, we took Easter: Stories & Songs on the road to churches and homes last year in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. After Bill’s song, “A Baby Will Come,” saw a lot of exposure through Worship Leader magazine’s Song DISCovery program, we have the opportunity to go on the road once again. This Thursday through Sunday, we’ll be performing Easter: Stories & Songs across Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, as well as two shows in Tennessee. Tour dates & info are available at www.billwolfmusic.com, and the album is available on iTunes.
I’m also excited to tell you that on May 5th, I’ll be playing at Relix Variety Theatre on the northern side of Knoxville for the release of the Taylor Brown & Company album, Danced With The Devil. I wrote about writing and recording guitars for this album last year, and I am so ready to share this project with all of you. Taylor is now officially a full-time musician, playing solo gigs all over the country. We cherish every opportunity to play out as a full band, and if you can make it out to Relix on May 5th, I promise you that you will hear music that has been tweaked & rehearsed for many, many hours. It’s going to be a great night, and hopefully you find it to be a enjoyable album. More info about TB&Co. and pre-order the new album is available at www.taylorbrownandcompany.com.
Lastly, I’m stoked to be playing guitar with an old Knoxville friend, Elijah Newman. His newest project, called LoveWar, is composed of Elijah Newman on guitar & vocals, Nick Cheek on bass, and Chris Potocik, an incredible drummer & fellow part-time sandwich maker. Really, really cool guys. LoveWar has a few shows coming over the next few months. Their next shows are on April 18th & April 30th, both at Longbranch Saloon on the strip in Knoxville. You can check out their facebook page for more info.
3) I work a minimum wage job, 20 hours a week. I know what you’re thinking… How does that fit with the excitement of items #1 and #2? Here’s the thing… I could lie to you and tell you how much I love working this part-time job and how much joy it brings into my life. I think I would probably just do that if my goal was to try and convince you how sexy my cool urban church planting life is. But, truthfully, the tasks that accompany making subs aren’t all that appealing. However, the people I work with make it totally worth it. They are really great people that I am getting to know better every day.
Last week, during a slow shift my manager asked me if I would help her do something. I agreed and found myself standing next to the men’s toilet looking at a new toilet seat, trying to figure out how to get the old toilet seat off. Neither of us really knew what we were doing. All we had was a kind-of-wrench and a hammer to work with. After some prying, and smacking, and pulling, she ran out to grab another tool. As I laid there on my back on the floor of the men’s restroom, almost under the toilet tank, staring up at the ceiling, making $7.25 an hour... I truly thought to myself that there was no way I would have ever imagined myself in that position 3 months after graduating college. Honestly, I wasn’t angry. I just laughed. Not an uppity laugh, but a, God-is-hilarious laugh. This is my season of life. Worship ministry, making subs, and sometimes attempting to fix old, urine-smelling toilet seats. It’s not sexy. It’s not a super-spiritual thing. It’s just a season that God has given me the opportunity to live, grow, and serve. And, I am really, really grateful for this incredible season.
I write about this job because it’s about a third of my week, and I thought I’d let you in on it. God has provided through the support of so many of my friends, and he is also providing through this job. God provides.
(On a sidenote: we eventually cracked the toilet. When I tried to test flush it, water starting spraying out of the side. We called a plumber after that. Also, my manager is awesome. She is a great leader).
I’ll try and write more often so the three or four of you interested can hear more of the really cool stories, and less of the really long synopses.
I leave you with a video that Wes Jones and some of our other great leaders put together for Launch Sunday. It was filmed in Christenberry’s surrounding neighborhoods. It is our hope that Crossings North is a place where all feel welcome to come to the table and wrestle through their questions…
CrossingsNorth from Wes Jones on Vimeo.
Other blogs from the North team...
Rob Hartley
Molly Aper
Mark Nelson
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