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• Kicked off ReThink today.  In spite of a bit of technical chaos and some sickness - i thought it was GREAT!
• I missed being at church last week!
• I was pumped up to share the vision God’s giving us for 2009.
• We are going to obey the great commission and GO!
• We are going to the internet.  I believe we can ramp up an internet campus like NOTHING that is being done in North Alabama.  But it can reach the WORLD!
• Today we had people from Alabama, South Carolina, Colorado and GERMANY worshiping with us live.  What would happen if we advertised and worked all forms of digital media to drive people to the internet campus?
• We will be looking for a digital pimp evangelist who can work facebook/twitter/myspace/etc and act as campus pastor during the live broadcast.  Maybe even use tokbox to have small groups
• We also believe Crosspoint is uniquely positioned to reach smaller towns in North Alabama and we’ll be going to one of them this year when God opens the door!
• It amazes me what I see happening with social media.
• Today we had 2 people who’ve attended Crosspoint for 6+ months who already had a twitter relationship meet for the first time at church.
• Today a relationship that started a year ago on Facebook resulted in a family attending Crosspoint.
• God is able to do infinately more than we can ask or think.
• Get ready to Rock North Alabama for Jesus!
• Excited about taking some of our staff to visit the good folks at Brand New Church and H2O Church to hang with some SHARP leaders and talk about reaching small towns for Christ!
• Yes, Bama lost their bowl game.  Im over it.  Football season is over.
• I got sidetracked and now I forgot what else I was going to say - Night!

Today is New Year’s Day. Many people use the New Year as a time to reflect and then re-think. Some people call this making new year’s resolutions.  Many people know they cant keep resolutions but they still probably set new goals and priorities. The reality for most of us though is that this year wont be that much different from last year. Not unless we are intentional and we really - ReThink EVERYTHING.

Personally I am re-thinking several things. They relate to time management, organizing the chaos of my life, achieving fitness goals, and setting some financial objectives.

As a church, we will also be re-thinking everything. God has called us to make it hard to go to hell from Morgan County Alabama! What does that look like? How will it change us?  How will it challenge us? Where will it take us? I dont have all the answers - but I know what got us to where we are wont get us where we are going. So we are ReThinking EVERYTHING!

We start ReThink Sunday as we ReThink Church. Then on January 11, we are bringing in Casey Graham of ReThink Money. Casey is a gifted speaker and financial wizard.  He is going to help all of us be better at stewarding God’s money and dumping our debt.  Casey will return on January 24 to do a seminar for us.  You can sign up Sunday or the on-line sign up will be available soon.

We are going to kick a dent in hell from North Alabama one life at a time and I hope you are fired up about it!  I know I am!

Hey Gang! I hope you had a VERY Merry Christmas. Remember, we are NOT having services tomorrow, Sunday 28. We are taking the Sunday off to give our Incredible volunteers and staff a break. We worked hard every Sunday - from 5:00am to 1:00pm for many of you. And it paid off! Our Sunday attendance this December was nearly 3 times what it was last year! So we can celebrate by staying home!

I have talked to pastors who said “I wish we could do that” - but their church wont let them - or worse they cant afford it because they need the money from offerings. I would hate to be in a church where religious tradition kept us from showing people they are valued. And we know that the people who give to make Crosspoint happen will give because they love Jesus and are part of his mission - not because they come to church on Sunday.

Enjoy your Sunday off! I’ll be enjoying mine at an undisclosed beach location! I can’t wait to see you all next year! We start ReThink on January 4! Its time to ReThink Everything from the ground up!

This was probably the best Christmas I can remember in a while. We opened presents with our children and grandkids on the 24th and then laid around and did NOTHING on the 25th. Later Dana and I will take in a movie while Jordan spends the evening with her boy.  Lara spent today with her man and kids in their new home.  Im very proud for them!

I loved this year because It wasn’t hectic. It didn’t involve a lot of people. It didn’t take a ton of time. I think everyone enjoyed their gifts in spite of duplicates, size issues and choking hazards. Dana got her iPhone early so she didn’t have much to unwrap. She made up for by double and triple wrapping - her trademark “gotcha” strategy.  I didn’t get earrings but Dana did get tattoo money. We are trying to be cool senior citizens & thats how we roll. And mine and Dana’s gift from Evan ROCKS! Is he sucking up to me? A few more Christmases and I might decide I like him. I love my kids, and my grandkids!

Dana and I along with Lara, Jordan, Curtis, Kristyn and Madisyn hope you had a very merry Christmas whatever came your way. Enjoy watching our family Christmas!

Warning - this is us - in the raw - having a good time!

Anderson Family Christmas on Vimeo.

MySpace leave you feeling spaced out?  Been Poked enough in Facebook?  Thinking IM is Old School.  Do People really Email any more?  How many tweets do you have on Twitter?  Could Tokbox be the new social media girlfriend EVERYONE is talking about?  We live in the Web 2.0 World.  And in 2009 Crosspoint will dive into the deep end of the Internet Social Media pool.  I played with it before.  I dabble in it (well except for twitter where I am pretty much a huge nusiance) But now I have a vision for HOW social media is evolving and creating tools to reach people for Christ like never before.

From internet campuses to small groups to eVangelism - Social Media, Web 2.0, and smart mobile devices are no longer the playground of geeks and teenagers.  And they are no longer just toys to amuse the masses.  They are now tools to reach people for Christ just like business uses them to attract and retain customers and build brand loyalty.  I honestly dont have it all figured out - but I see where this is headed and I feel like we are VERY late to the party!  But that doesnt mean we can’t jump on.

Whether we are using Mogulus to broadcast services or Tokbox and Blogs to Create Small Group’s Online, or facebook to build online community, or something we haven’t figured out yet, Social Media will be playing a larger and larger role at Crosspoint.  No longer is a web page with a map and service times sufficent for reaching people with the gospel.  Web 2.0 is not the future of the church.  It is the NOW - and we are plunging in.  We might be like someone who doesnt swim very well taking on a tsunami - but we are going in the deep water.

If you have an interest in all things digital, and some “spare” time, and would love to pimp be a digital evangelist on Crosspoint’s Social Media team shoot me an email.  We’ll talk.  (Note: I had a tokbox below but it became annoying - and could be REALLY embarrassing as one of my twitter friends almost found out!)

Two Yeas ago I wrote the following in THIS post:

I’ve blogged in the past but felt like I didnt have anything to say.  But thats not true.  I am a Christ follower and a pastor.  I have an incredible mission in life and I want to be as effective as I can for God’s Kingdom.  Over the past few months i’ve been insprired by guys like Perry Noble, Mark Batterson, and Tony Morgan.

Their blogs are more than their daily musings about their self centered lives or commentaries on the social or cultural scene.  They are guys who are forging the way through the darkness of this world using the current trends in technolgy and encouraging thousands of Christ followers in a movement to change the world.  I see in their blogs and see excitement, enthusiasm, and encouragement for what the church could be and should be.

Compared to their churches - my church is small.  A drop in a bucket so to speak.  But we resonate with the same vison and desire to be world changers.  My goal for 07 is to raise my level of leadership by following leaders who are getting the job done.  If Perry Noble can be used by God to grow a church from 4000 to 8000 in a year, Dave Anderson can be used by God to grow a church from 125 to 250. The bible says in 1 Samuel 14:6

Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”

Has it REALLY been two years?  WOW.  I cannot believe the Journey I have been on.  What I didn’ t know is how utterly scary and somewhat prophetic this post was.  I did quit my job in 2007.  I believed God wanted me to do that.  Im not so sure about the timing looking back.  But God used it in my life and the life of Crosspoint in a major way.

He also used blogging, and social networking in a major way.   Since I wrote this, I have met some great pastors!  I have become friends with many pastors I would never have even known had it not been for social networking.  And what they did for me, and for Crosspoint, I cannot even begin to explain.  Thanks to the men and women i’ve met through social networking, I have been encouraged,  challenged, sharpened, and stretched - sometimes to the point I thought I would break.

Through everything thats happened - ups, downs, highs, lows, victories, and setbacks - God has been with me every step of the way.  Honestly, Im not sure I believed it when I wrote

Dave Anderson can be used by God to grow a church from 125 to 250

But guess what? It happened! Last year in December, we averaged about 100 people in the theater. This year in December, we averaged over 275 people worshiping in two services.  As I reflect on the past two years what I quoted from 1 Samuel 14:6 I honestly get a little scared.

Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”

Because if God used Crosspoint Church to reach 250 people, then I believe he can use Crosspoint Church to reach 500 2,500 people! Whats to stop us?

Yes we did some some crazy stuff today at Crosspoint- you have to watch to find out what. The Song “Mary Did You Know” was a Crosspoint Original Arrangement and freaking ROCKED! The mogulus broadcast isnt very high resolution. We’ll get vimeo up later this week. If you want to see what we did just like we streamed it live - Click here or watch below. (Announcements and video bumper roll first - patience)

We just completed our Christmas Series called Inked - and I honestly cannot think of a series that has done more in my life, and the life of our church to define who we are and what we are about. The things that we did in the services to communicate the truth of God’s word have probably never been seen in any church in Alabama - Ever. For Inked we:

• Inked a dude live on stage during the sermon
• Pierced my ears live on stage as a sermon illustration
• Shaved two people’s heads during the teaching.

We didnt do this because it was cool.  We didnt do it because it was edgy.  We didnt do it as a gimmick (no one except staff and a couple volunteers knew what was going to happen).  We did it because it was THE VERY BEST WAY to communicate WHY Christ came to earth and show what our response should be.  When Christ came he left a permanent “mark” on this planet.  He left us here to continue that.

I have a LOT of thoughts about this series and could give you the reasons behind each thing we did and try and explain it so people who don’t “get it” would at least understand it.  But the truth is - you either “get it” or you don’t.  The bottom line: Jesus came to do one thing - seek and save the lost.  And He told us to go to the margins and fringes of our culture and get the people are the farthest from God and bring them to him.  This is NOT optional.  It was WHY the church exists.

There are a lot of churches and Christians that SAY they want to reach the Lost.  But when it comes to actually DOING WHAT IT TAKES; thats where people start to squirm.  People get uncomfortable. They even get angry.  We actually had people who got up and walked out of church one Sunday because of something I said.  Im pretty sure there are people who said at our New Members class “we get it, we want to be part of it, count me in” that said “im not sure I can take this, we wont be coming back!”

Church for the unchurched makes people nervous.  People aren’t sure what to do when a single teenager gets pregnant and the church embraces her and helps her instead of condemns her.  People aren’t sure what to do when they smell alcohol on someone’s breath during set up.  People aren’t sure what to do when a 5 year old asks her teacher “what they hell is that?” People arent sure what to make of things like tattoo’s for a sermon illustration.  Sure they understand “other people” get them - but they still think there is something “wrong” with it.  They can live with the idea that the drummer has a tattoo and an earring - but he’s a musician.  But the Pastor gets his ears pierced?  Thats just not right.  Sure, we get that people in the bible shaved their heads for ceremonial reasons - but doing it in church - to a woman?  You’ve gone too far.

Jesus went too far.  Because he died on a tree - no let me change that - he was MURDERED on a tree - and I put him there!  How’s that for going far.  He did something CRAZY to SHOW ME WITH A PICTURE how bad my sin really was.  And he showed me with a picture - rising from the dead - that I cannot deny how powerful God really is.  Jesus was inked - literally black and blue from a beating.  It left a permanent mark.  Dead is permanent (unless you are Jesus or a Christian).  Jesus was pierced.  Not in his ear like the Old Testament slave.  He was pierced in his hands, his feet, and eventually his HEART to make sure he was dead (But He came back to life).  That left a mark.  Showed it to Thomas to prove to him it was real.  Jesus wasn’t a Nazarite and didnt have his head shaved.  But they ripped out his hair and his beard WITH THEIR BARE HANDS.

Now, Pay Attention Class - RELIGIOUS PEOPLE DID THIS!  Religious people saw that Jesus would not conform to “The Law” (He was showing them what The Law really meant) and so they conspired to kill him.  When Jesus ate with sinners, when he went to their parties with tax collectors, whores, addicts, and thieves they murmured about it.  They talked behind his back.  They HATED HIM for it.  And they killed him.  I am convinced that if Jesus came to earth today He would not be welcome in most churches and most Christians would be disgusted by where he went and who he went there with.

Christmas cards are famous for the saying “Peace On Earth”  - there is Scripture for that.  But Jesus said something very interesting in the gospel of Matthew

34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

Jesus caused division.  And doing what Jesus tells us to do will divide people.  There are people in our city who hate our church.  There are people who hate me.  People think we are a cult.  People think we are unbiblical.  People wonder if Im saved.  Some people think what we did during Inked is wrong.  People think all kinds of things about us because of who comes to our church and what we are willing to do to get them there.  Even my own family doesn’t get what we do and some of them wont come to my church.

But you know what?  Im OK with that.  Because they are going to heaven and they have already been forgiven.  People saw what Jesus was doing and they started talking about it (buzz is always a good thing) and Jesus said:

17…It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Crosspoint exists for one reason.  To reach people who are far from God.  If Christians like what we do - thats a bonus.  But Crosspoint isn’t here for Christians.  The dad I talked to this morning who fell off the wagon for the umpteenth time - He needs Jesus.  The teenager who slept with her boyfriend last month and pee’d on a stick this morning and prayed for it to be blue and not red; the one who wont go to another church but sits in the front row at Crosspoint - She needs Jesus.  The guy who was late for church this morning because he was up late watching porn but he came anyway because he knew something different was going to happen this week that might help him stop - He needs Jesus.  Even the religious guy who is not quite sure about what we are doing - but he knows in his heart that there is a reason his friends dont want to go to church - He needs Jesus - and so do his friends.

Thats why we do what we do.  Inked wasnt about “Wow, it would be cool to watch a guy get a tattoo in church”  If that’s all it was - there are lots of Tattoo Parlors and we can close up shop.  Inked was about reaching one more person for Christ.  And that happened.  Do I know exactly how many lives were changed?  No.  I didn’t have altar calls and we didnt have people stand or raise their hand “if they trusted Christ as Savior today”.  Im pretty sure that never happened in the bible either.   What I have seen is people on the fringe, people in the margins, people who religion has left behind, forgotten about and even condemned come to Crosspoint and find acceptance, forgiveness, kindness, and most importantly that they are loved by God himself. I have seen people on who gave up on Jesus and the church find a renewed passion for God and His mission to redeem the world because something at Crosspoint “marked” them.

Inked Marked Us.  It defined who we are and what we are trying to do.  If that made you uncomfortable - good.  God can use that.  If it made you angry, maybe thats good too.  At Crosspoint we will do ANYTHING short of sin to see one more sinner in heaven - and even one more saint take another step toward being like Jesus.  We are not running a country club for the frozen chosen to sit on their blessed assurance while people around them die and go to hell!  We are running a rescue mission at the very gate of hell for the worst kind of sinner.  Jude said it like this:

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them

Some people can’t handle that.  Thats OK.  I forget who I stole this from but We are a church for ANYBODY - We just may not be the church for EVERYBODY.  Go find a place to serve and serve God well.  This is a HUGE mission field and it will take ALL of our churches to reach everybody for Christ.

Inked left its mark on our church and on your pastor in more ways than two new places to put jewelry.  How about you?  If Crosspoint has somehow marked you for Christ, why dont you leave your story.  Let people know how Jesus has changed your life and how your church has played a role in that.

Something a little different for the blog today-how about some preacher cam!

No time to blog this week, mind dump got sucked into oblivion - but there is another Ink story on MyInkstory.moviechurch.tv.  This one you better have tissue handy for.  I cried when I read it and I already knew the story.  It may surprise you who it is too!  Yes, she looks like her Momma!