Crossroads Talk

In this serious and confusing time we live in, it is important for all of us of all faiths to recognize these Four Deep Religious Truths:

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God’s chosen people.
2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian World.
4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

(I saw this earlier today and thought it should be shared with you in light of its deep theological implications! Yeah right...)

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

I am constantly being asked who the people are in our newspaper ads.

The truth is their just two people that we selected out of a group of photographs that we purchased for use in our printed materials.....you probably won't see them at Walmart or Kroger.

Be on the look out for some new ads in the next couple of weeks and by the way if you haven't signed up to receive our email updates you need too.

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

I love this!

You have to watch this....it's great!

Baby Got.....

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 5:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

Isn't it so easy to get discouraged.

You have this feeling that God has called you to do something or maybe make a change and then all heck breaks loose. Here you are....you've done what you felt you were supposed to do and all of the sudden things seem to be getting worse instead of better. It really doesn't seem to make sense does it?

Been there done that and will probably do it again! Isn't it crazy that those of us who know better seem to fall into the same ruts over and over?

This morning I was reading and came across something that really hit home....

"The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (The Message)

I am continually amazed at the power of scripture!

Now I can move along!!!!

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

As most of you know we just finished with our local county fair and man do they do a great job. Hats off to those who make this event so great!

I wanted to thank those of you I was able to see and talk to while I visited the fair. It seems like every conversation was filled with excitement and questions about Crossroads. We can truly tell that your looking forward to experiencing what Crossroads is all about.

I want to encourage you to keep talking and getting the word out about Crossroads!

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 5:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ok, ok, ok.....I know you think I'm crazy, but this is one of my favorite television programs.

I love the way this guy relates to his family. If you listen real close (my wife leaves the room when I watch this show) he is really a funny guy with some pretty good words of wisdom.

If you get a chance you need to check out "Runs House," its on MTV.

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

I received an email today with that famous line by M.C. Hammer, "Sweetness is my weakness."

As I was reading it I was reminded how sweet it is to be included on what God is doing at Crossroads!

Oh by the way, try the sweet tea at Chick-fil-a.....as they say, "it's the bomb."

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

As I wrestled myself out of bed on Sunday, I reached for the television remote so that I could catch up on what had been going on in the world while I slept.

"Breaking News," said the CNN anchor....."Reports out of Lexington, Kentucky indicate that a medium size passenger plane has crashed...we will bring you more on this as it becomes available." Nevertheless, I set glued to the television for at least a couple of hours. As details became available it was true, a Comair plane headed for Atlanta had crashed killing 49 of the 50 people that were on board.

The more I thought about those 49 people the more I wondered about where they were headed and what excitement had filled the morning as they prepared for their day. On that plane were a newlywed couple, a Habitat for Humanity board member and a businessman who took an early flight home so he could be with his children

The earthly lives of these 49 people were over, gone in an instant.

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14 NIV

Yesterday's news just reminded me that I should live each day with God and eternity in mind.

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 5:24 AM | Permalink | Comments

Take a close look at some churches and what do you see? It seems like a club, a place for those who are already on the inside. Yeah, they say all the right things and they even believe all the things they are saying but the truth is your an outsider and when you attend their church you feel that way.

One of the values of Crossroads is "lost and unchurched people matter to God and therefore matter to the church."

When we thought about what we valued most as a church this was it. We truly had a heart for those who were outside the walls, for those who didn't feel like they could come and be apart.

Crossroads was birthed with those outside the church walls in mind, everything we do is for them. Every decision we make, every dollar we spend, every ounce of energy put forth is done with them in mind.

If this is where your heart is then this is probably a place that your gonna love.

If your looking for a place where you can sit and soak and not invest any of your time, talent or resources then Crossroads probably isn't your place.

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

People usually like to know how and where we came up with the name "Crossroads."

It's real simple. When the vision was given for this church, I stood at a crossroads. Was I going to do what I was being called to do or was I going to do what I wanted? Seeing that I had been down that road before, the answer was pretty obvious. (you can read about it in the post "a little history on me")

Now just so you know, Crossroads wasn't a name that I came up with but when one of our leadership team mentioned it as a possible name it was like God said....."remember when you stood at the crossroads of making the decision to do this church?"

Pretty obvious choice don't you think?

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

In a previous post I made reference to "what a hill we had to climb." Well here's a little detail on that hill.

When we started Crossroads we didn't go about it in the usual way. We felt that God was calling us to do something a little different, so different that from my perspective it ends up looking a little backwards from the way you might of thought it would have been done.

You see, we felt that what we really needed to do was to create an environment where people would come and feel at ease. An environment that would except them where they were and as they were. This environment was so important that we began to build our church actually without a congregation. Yeah that's right, we started building a church with just a small core group of people......no congregation and no money.

Normally you see it works the other way around, you start with a few people and the group gets larger and larger, you raise a little cash and then you buy or build your building.

We knew that God had called us to do it a little differently and we knew that the environment was the key....it was in this strategically planned and developed environment that we knew the Holy Spirit could and would do His work.(for those of you who are thinking the Holy Spirit can work anywhere, your right...just keep in mind that were talking about what part we played in what we were called to do)

Your about to see and experience what has taken two years to prepare and as we look deeper into Crossroads your going to see and experience a place of authentic community, a place where people are passionate about serving God and each other.

The best is yet to come!

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

The number one question that I am constantly being asked is "Where are you meeting?" and the answer is we're not! Well, that's not totally true.

Back when Crossroads started we had a very clear vision about who we were and what God had called us to do. Make no mistake about it, we knew the direction that God had given us and we weren't about to screw it up.

The typical way a church plant happens is this, you have your core group, rent or use a building and off you go, but not us.....we knew that our calling was a little different and man what a hill it looked like we were going to have to climb. (more on this later)

Let's stop here and go back and answer the question, "Where are you meeting?"

Over the last three years we have only been having leadership meetings, we don't hold services as most of you know them to be. When I give people this answer you usually get that "deer in the headlights" look and the usually say "oh really."

The truth is we have put lots of time and energy into doing what we believe God has specifically called Crossroads to do. Over the next few days I want to give you a little more insight into just what that is. I kind of like to say it this way, "this ain't going to be your mama's church."

You're going to love it!

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

"If I keep my eyes on God I won't trip over my own feet" Psalms 25:15 The Message

Now that's pretty good.....simple and applicable!

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 6:17 AM | Permalink | Comments

Below is a link that will allow you to see some of the pic's that have been made recently during the construction of our new facility.

Just click the link...Crossroads.

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

If you want to know a little about me, then this is it. The next few paragraphs are going to give you a little history. I call it B.C.C.C., you know like A.D. and B.C. The B.C.C.C. stands for "Before Crossroads Community Church.

For those of you who know nothing about me, I am about to spill my guts and give you the low down about how I got to where I am today. It's a little like going back to school and the teacher telling you, "Randy, can you tell us about yourself?" So here we go.......

I was born in the great city of Nashville, where I lived until 1971. We moved to Lebanon and plugged into school and church. Being plugged into church was a real kick for me, I loved it and spent most of my time there during junior high, high school and college. I was a church going fool. My senior year in high school was when I was actually called into ministry, it was one of those walk the aisle and tell the preacher kind of deals. You know the one where they make you stand down front and everybody comes and shakes your hand.

Immediately after high school I started pursing my college education with ministry in mind but what happened shortly thereafter really sent me reeling. When I looked at the state of the local church I saw some really screwy things going on, I mean people were mean to each other and this was totally not what I wanted to be apart of so I bailed. Yeah, that's right. I said "God, thanks but no thanks, I know you called me but I'm headed another direction." So for about the next 20 plus years I worked and tried to make sense out of life.

During those 20 plus years, I married had great kids and even went into business for myself. Things seemed to be great but there was still this sense that I hadn't done what I was supposed to do. I must admit that as time went by God constantly reminded me of the call that He had on me. (I just never knew it would be starting a church from the ground up)

Early in 2000 I had an opportunity to sell my business interest and really spend time with my family. A couple of years into this hiatus, I realized that God was up to something. Little did I know that He wanted me to start this church.

Actually we began laying the foundation for what is now Crossroads in 2003 and its taken us this long to actually get where we are today. God has a great sense of humor.....one of the things I deal with the most is patience and man has this been pushing my buttons.

It's really been fun watching God bring this thing together and I must admit there have been some surprises along the way. Some of those have been good and some have not been so good, but all in all things are working out great.

Today was a little about me and the days to come will be more about Crossroads. I want to encourage you to sign-up on the Crossroads website for the email blast that we will begin sending out in the next week or so. These email blasts will be the primary communication tool that Crossroads uses to communicate to you whats going on.

Later.....

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Why another church?

That's usually the first question that people ask and when I think about the answer I am reminded of a quote by C. Peter Wagner in which he stated "it is the single most effective method of evangelism. New churches attract new people."

When you really think about it, its true. New churches attract new people!

The official launch of Crossroads Community Church is just around the corner and when those new people show up, its going to be exciting.

I encourage you to follow along with me as we look a little deeper into who Crossroads is and what God has called us to be. During the next few days I want to help you really get your arms around what God is doing at Crossroads and if you feel His leading then we would love to have you partner with us in the great things that are about to happen.

Let's get this party started!!!!

Posted by Randy S. Cook at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments