We constantly ask ourselves a simple question at Crosswind, “Are we turning inward?”  Another way to state it is this, “Are we spending all of our time and talent and treasure on us?”  Have we become our own client?

It’s budget time. There’s no clearer check on whether ‘we are who we say we are’ than to look at our budget.

• How much did we spend on us?  How much did we spend on them?  
• How much of our staff did we hire for us? How many for them?
• How many of our programs are for us? How many for them?
• How many of our Bible classes are for us? How many for them?

It’s really simple. We have made a commitment for our client to be our broken neighbor and not to become ourselves. To that end we budget, hire, plan and organize.  

 

When I was a traditional church pastor we hired music guys, for us. We hired youth guys, for our youth. We hired program coordinators, to design programs for us. We enlisted volunteers from us and for us. We enlisted Bible teachers for us and our kids. We used almost all our money on us, almost all our volunteers on us and almost all our talents on us. 

 

“I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls” – Paul, 2 Cor 12:15

 

The Crosswind model (some call a missional model) is to spend ourselves and be spent for others and not just for us.  We surely take care of each other. We have a portion of our budget and staff and volunteer time and programs for us. We love each other and want to ensure each other is healthy and whole. But most of all the above goes to them.

 

Practically it goes like this: Last month we had “dinner on the grounds” twice, but it was their grounds, in their parking lot, by us for them.  We have children’s ministry every week, but it’s for their children, by us for them. We hired four of the six of our staff… you get it, for them.  Four of our staff have nothing to do with caring for the saints in the fellowship, their entire job is to care for the broken neighbor.  

 

It simple, we believe Jesus meant it when he said ” leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it…”  Sometimes we feel that whole wilderness thing too.  I had a dear pastor friend ask me one time if I wasn’t neglecting the sheep, “Neglect them? Jesus said leave them in the wilderness! I don’t think we’re doing that yet.” Ha!  Really though, our families have sacrificed some of the cool programs and things that others spend time, talent and treasure on. But it’s because we believe God has called us to them, not us.

 

It’s budget time, time to see if we’re still on track. Time to check and see who our client is.

 

And it better not be us.

 

BC

Recently we had scheduled some time to engage with our friends in the community and I became aware of a schedule conflict with a very important forum in our area that I really ‘needed’ and definitely wanted to attend.  I decided to hang out in the neighborhood instead and as I sent my regrets I heard myself say regarding our community time “you’ve gotta be present to win.” I at once thought it was a clever slip of the tongue but in hindsight it was really a cool way to say a life-changing truth that we have learned here at Crosswind.

There’s a lot of things you can do ‘long distance’. Very good things. Very needed things. You can donate to your favorite charities and 🙂 please do here. You can do meaningful ‘need oriented’ events (the recent health fair is one that comes to mind),  ‘special treat type’ events (this time of year especially), attend and contribute to fundraisers, support your local civic clubs which in turn do periodic events and raise money for other charities/ministries and much much more.  All of these activities combine to bring blessing after blessing to those in need and to those who care for them. That we are thankful is an understatement.

But when you’re present, you can

…make a new friend.
…understand the plight of someone who doesn’t live anything like you do.
…convince someone that you care, not just about a class of people called ‘the poor’ but about them (you know, Susan and Latisha and Joe)
…watch a life change, little by little, month by month, year by year
…not just give a well thought and well presented gospel presentation on ‘evangelism night’, but watch what the gospel does as it bears fruit in a person’s life

I don’t know, but for us here at Crosswind…

you’ve gotta be present to win.

 

BC

It matters that we help each other get on in our spiritual walk. Until I do, I’m gonna mess you up.

It’s really simple when you think about it. All sin is against you. I lie to you, cheat on you, gossip about you, am lazy and want you to pay, and on and on we go… all sin is against you. So it is really in your best interest that I stop.

In sanctification (God making me holy), I am quitting my sins… sins against my spouse, my children, my neighbor, my city, my government, my earth, or said another way… against you. There is no such thing as private sin, all sin affects someone or something.

So as God is sanctifying me, He is helping you too. As God fixes me, He is also fixing you. Let me give you a simple example. I sin and hurt you. Now you are injured because of me. God fixes me. I come to you and ask your forgiveness and make amends to you. That heals you. God fixing me, fixed you.

So as God is fixing me, He is also at the same time blessing all the things that I (in my sin) cursed, healing what I hurt, restoring what I destroyed, fixing what I broke.

As God fixes you, He fixes everything around you because a sinful you messes a lot of stuff up.

One of the reasons to help messed up people find “the God who fixes people” is because you get fixed at the same time. Remember, until I’m holy I’m gonna hurt you.

Please help me to be holy.

BC 

So many times in outreach we meet people who are where they are as a result, in part, of a broken relationship with a parent. Now, at once all of us parents bristle, “don’t be blaming me for my kids choices” or the others of us that with deep regret and some sense of ownership feel perpetually guilty and overwhelmed at the poor parenting job we did, especially when our kids are not doing so well. What to do? Here’s some thoughts for ya:

1. We are all bad parents – I know that’s hard for some to choke down but you HAVE messed up your kids. To cut us a little slack, we may have done the best we could with what we knew at the time, but even then there is no such thing as a perfect parent and that means your imperfect parenting has negatively affected your kids.

2. Your kids all have wounds from you that need healing – if you look at your kid’s negative actions and attitudes many of them stem from reactions to wounds that you caused your children as you parented them imperfectly. Your kid has a bad self-esteem, your kid has an anger problem, or the way your kid “acts out” many times stems from your relationship to them. And your kids need to be healed from your mistakes in parenting.

3. God fixes parents – Just last month my 26 year old brought up an old wound that I had given him. When he was in the hospital I said it was the best time we’d had in a long time because he had been slowed down enough to share some quality time. He jokingly said that as he grew up I wasn’t there when he needed me either and was always “helping someone else”. Wow! A lump went up in my throat and right there in the presence of his close friends I confessed my sin of neglect and told him how that that was one was one of my deepest regrets in parenting him, and I asked him to forgive me. I love my son with all my heart but I sinned against my son and wounded him in his childhood. I am not a perfect parent. Jesus is. And Jesus used that holy moment to bring healing to me, Jeffrey’s imperfect father.

4. God heals kids – No matter what we’ve done to our kids in our imperfection God can and will heal as they trust in Him. I suffered much at the hands of my earthly father and God has over time healed me from much of that suffering. Did he do the best he could with what he had? Yes! But he wasn’t perfect and I suffered. The good news is that on that glorious weekend long ago Jesus bore in His body my bad parenting and my parents bad parenting and now lives to set me free from the ill effects of it.

Friend, don’t hide from the fact that you’ve blown it and your kids have suffered. Own it, grieve it, confess it, reconcile it. But never ever think that what sin has done God in Christ can’t forgive and heal and restore back to new.

I hope that what transacted between my son and I will help him too, time will tell, but know this, God was so loving and merciful to grant to me on that special day some healing from my regrets and sins.

BC