Social media is not a new concept for most people. By now, we’ve all heard about sites like Facebook and Twitter. We’ve seen them featured in movies, talked about them with our friends and probably have accounts on most, if not all, the popular networks. With over 850 million people on Facebook and 500 million on Twitter, businesses have began to turn their attention to these channels as way to interact with their customers, increase brand loyalty and generate new sales. Many tote the importance of social media for businesses, but what role does social media play for churches?

If the church is not trying to generate sales or compete with others, then should a church be active on Facebook or Twitter?

Yes. And here’s why:

Latest statistics show people spend at least 20 minutes a day on Facebook, 12 minutes a day on Twitter, and visit these sites on average of 3-4 times a week. Frankly, people spend more time on social networks than they do going to church. If the Church wants to get their message outside the four walls and continue the conversation beyond Sunday, they ought to look to social networks to engage those visitors and foster dialogue.

Many churches however do not have the resources or knowledge on how to effectively use sites like Facebook to generate conversations and engage their members. Having a Facebook page or posting the latest service to YouTube isn’t enough. Social media is a great tool in the local community that can help drive visitors to a church, extend Sunday’s message throughout the week, and increase fellowship and relationship within a congregation.

Let me give you a FIRM WARNING: DON”T LET FACEBOOK BE YOUR ONLY FORM OF COMMUNITY WITH YOUR CONGREGATION! JOURNEY GROUPS, AND FACE TO FACE CONVERSATIONS STILL NEED TO HAPPEN!

I believe we should use the tools that God has given us to reach out to those that don’t know Jesus and those disconnected from the church. I also believe we should use facebook to create fellowship through getting information out about the happenings around the church and post videos of sermons and logos for up and coming series to get people the info of what is to come!

If you’re part of a church congregation embrace the change, don’t hate on your church for being social. Just because your company doesnt let you use facebook during your work day, doesn’t mean that churches should stop using it! It’s the churches job to engage people socially. If a salesman didn’t sale he would not be in business long. If a factory stop producing products it would go out of business, and if a church is not social with people it will eventually close it’s doors too! God has called us to reach people far from God and to use the tools that he has given us to grow people.

The next time you see your pastor or church leaders reaching out, inspiring, inviting people  to church and letting people in on their private lives to build more community using social media, you need to thank them for all they do, because being social is not always an easy thing to do, but a very necessary one in a reaching our culture.

If used for the right reasons,  facebook is not a waste of time because networking with people is what Jesus has called us to do! So don’t be anti-social and send one of your FB friends a private message and invite them to church this Sunday. Let them know that you want to pray for them and see how God can use you socially to reach out. You might be surprised about how God may use you in the life of someone that has not shown any interest in God!

As a pastor I connect with at least 10 people a day on facebook that I normally wouldn’t  get a chance to connect with face to face. If it were not for social media I would have missed many opportunities to counsel, pray, and even encourage others. If I only averaged 10 contacts a day on facebook that would be 300 touches a month that wouldn’t happen otherwise so you do the math! Everyday that I use social media I get a “thank you” for your status post on my comments because God is using the updates to speak the solid truth into an ever changing world! People matter to God therefore they should matter to us!

Romans 8:31-34

Throughout life, there will be times when our sins and failures lead us to conclude that God is disappointed or angry with us. How can He still love me after what I’ve done? If I’m really forgiven, why do I still feel so guilty? At such tiimes, we need to fix our eyes on the truth of Scripture and ask the questions Paul posed in Romans 8.

If God is for us, who is against us
(v. 31)? Our heavenly Father proved His loyalty to us when He delivered His own Son over to death in order to save us. Without Christ’s atoning death on our behalf, we would face eternal separation from God.

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect (v. 33)? No accusation against us can stand, since at the moment of salvation, the Lord justified us. This means we were legally declared righteous, while still in our sinning condition. No one can reverse this transaction and make us guilty again. To doubt our blameless standing in Christ is to declare His atonement insufficient to cover our sin.

Who is the one who condemns (v. 34)? Although Satan rails against us, Jesus’ death and resurrection are proof that we are right with God. Christ took our condemnation and gave us His righteousness in return. Now He sits at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us.

When doubts about the Lord’s love and faithfulness arise, focus on truth. If we judge His loyalty to us by our circumstances or feelings, we will never get an accurate view of God. True security lies not in our good performance, but in our relationship with Christ, and no one can take that from us.

How to Experience Christ’s Peace

John 14:27-31

“My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Jesus spoke these amazing words just hours before His crucifixion. His peace isn’t dependent upon external circumstances, but rather, it transcends them. Although He gives His peace to every believer as a gift, our experience of it is related to our faith in the following truths:

• God is in control of everything. Without this assurance, the world is a scary place.
• He loves me and will see me through every circumstance, no matter how difficult or painful it may be.
• To have Christ’s peace, I must surrender my life to Him. When I hold onto my ways and plans, I’ll experience turmoil.
• I have a limited perspective and understanding of my circumstances and God’s purposes for allowing them. His goals for me are greater than my immediate comfort.
• The Lord promises to work all things out for my good. He is continually working to transform my character into Christ’s image.
• I must live in sync with God, walking in the Spirit and promptly confessing and repenting of sin.
• Scripture is my foundation for peace. It increases my trust in the Lord’s goodness, assures me that He keeps His promises, and reminds me of His sovereignty over every situation.

Sadly, many Christians live their whole lives without consistently experiencing this incomprehensible peace. Perhaps faith and submission are the most challenging issues. But only as we surrender control of our lives to Christ and trust in His plans for us will we discover tranquil rest for our souls.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers,”  So if I want to live a blessed life I have to learn that being a PEACEMAKER is part of it!

What’s interesting to me is this is the only time in all the New Testament that the Greek term translated “peacemakers” appears. So I think it will help us to first point out what it doesn’t mean.

It doesn’t mean, “Blessed are those who avoid all conflict and confrontations.”
It doesn’t mean, “Blessed are those who are laidback, easygoing, and relaxed.”
It doesn’t mean “Blessed are those who defend a ‘peace at any price’ philosophy.”
It doesn’t mean, “Blessed are the passive, those who compromise their convictions when surrounded by those who would disagree.”

None of those ideas are God’s characteristic’s of the “peacemaker” in this verse.
The overall direction of this Scripture is to “Make peace!” (Check out Romans 12:18; 14:19; and James 3:16–4:2.)

FIRST; A “peacemaker” describes those who at  peace with themselves—internally, at ease . . . not agitated, ill-tempered, in turmoil . . . and therefore not abrasive.
SECOND; They work hard to settle quarrels, not to start them; they are accepting, tolerant, and find no pleasure in being negative. In the words of Ephesians 4:3, peacemakers “preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” but listen, not at the cost of your relationship with God being harmed through being tolerant and accepting to SIN!

Ever been around Christians who are not peacemakers? Of course. Was it pleasant? Did you sense a servant’s heart? Were you built up and encouraged . . . was the body of Christ strengthened and supported? You know the answers. Absolutely not!!!

Solomon gives us wise counsel about what peacemakers do:

1. They BUILDUP . “The wise woman builds her house” (Proverbs 14:1).
2. They WATCH THEIR TONGUES and heal rather than hurt. “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (15:1). “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (16:24).
3. They are SLOW TO ANGER. “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger calms a dispute” (15:18). “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city” (16:32).
4. They are HUMBLE AND TRUSTING. “An arrogant man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper” (28:25).

The Lord Jesus states a marvelous promise that peacemakers can claim: “they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). God’s children. Few things are more godlike than peace.
When we promote PEACE, pursue it, model it, we are showing the world we really have a relationship with JESUS, but When you live opposite of these characteristics the question that I have is; Do you really have a relationship with God through JESUS CHRIST?!

A FEW SUGGESTIONS AS WE PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES AT CrossView

1.Get Here Early! Service starts at 5 and 7pm but Not only will this help with the parking but we have an awesome start to the service that you don’t want to miss! Music will start on time!

2.Bring A Friend! It’s not too late to invite a friend or family member to one of our 2 Christmas Eve services. You never know how God might use that to encourage them! And don’t worry about a ticket… we will accommodate everyone that comes.

3.Stop by the Café for a free cookie/ bring your favorite if you would like to share with others

4.Pray – Spend some time in prayer before the service starts and ask God to speak to you and to move in the hearts and lives of those that attend. Also pray that God’s words will flow through me as I speak.

I’m really pumped about our services this year.  And I am so blessed to be your pastor. See you tonight 5 or 7pm :)

I’ve never traveled alone…

EVER…

Not even when the church met in a living room!

A part of it is accountability for sure…

However, another part of it is investing in people.

One of the questions I’ve been asked in the past few years is why, when I travel, do I “roll with an entourage?”

Honestly, I’ve never fully understood that question because…

#1 – The people who travel with me on trips are my friends, I actually like being around them.

#2 – Like I said, I have ALWAYS traveled with groups of people.

It’s not about rolling with an entourage but rather investing into the lives of a group of people that you actually care about. A group of people who you want to see and experience some of the things that you are seeing and experiencing.

Honestly, I learned this from Jesus!

Seriously, as I read the Gospels I have NEVER found a place that He did anything alone (except to pray, Luke 5:16!) Anytime He did ministry, anytime He was teaching, anytime He was going somewhere that his disciples had never been He was always taking them with Him.

If you want to do life and ministry like Jesus you can’t do it alone.

Unfortunately some pastors and ministry leaders are selfish. Stingy! They want to travel. They want to experience new things. They want to see new places. They want it for themselves…they just don’t want it for the people who are serving Jesus with them…

So they go at it alone, and when someone else comes in with a group of people they automatically play the self righteous “entourage” card. They see taking people with them on trips and such as an “expense;” however, leaders who care about the people who they serve with actually see taking people with them as an investment.

Every time I have a chance to travel to a new church and see a new ministry I take a crew of people with me!

The first time I traveled to Fellowship Church in 2002 to attend the C3 conference I took five people with me.

The next year I took 12 people!!!

The first time I was invited to speak at the Dream Center in LA I took five people with me!

I’ve taken a crew of people every time since!!!

When I was invited to Hillsong back in 2009 I took five people with me.

I could go on and on…but the reality is that…

#1 – I was able to invest time and energy in the people I traveled with, we were able to have great conversations and learn from one another.

#2 – They felt valued and invested in!

#3 – We were able to learn things, have some great experiences and I didn’t have to experience it all alone.

My advice, anytime you get to go somewhere new and see/hear something that you think is going to be life changing…DO NOT GO ALONE, take as many people as possible with you…

And when someone accuses you of “rolling with an entourage,” OWN IT…I would much rather be accused of investing in people that being a self righteous selfish leader who wants great things for himself but not for the people He is called to love and lead!

One of the things that really troubles me about the church today is the phenomenon of church hopping and church shopping. It’s a consumeristic mindset towards the body of Christ that grieves the heart of God.

It’s time for us to stop the hop. This isn’t Christianity. Jesus didn’t die so we could sample different churches like varieties of meat on a party platter. Jesus died to establish His church as the most powerful entity on the planet.

We are alive at the greatest time in history for the advance of the gospel. We have so much going for us.

We have the ability.
We have the resources.
We have the people.

What we don’t have is them committed to a place where they can actually be used for their God-ordained purpose.

If this generation doesn’t make the impact it should, it won’t be because it didn’t have the resources. Or even the passion. It will be because it was too busy hopping to different churches to stop and commit to one where its resources and passion could actually find an outlet.

The church is the change the world is waiting for. God help us if we keep the world waiting for us while we try to find the perfect church for us.

If you’ve fallen into the trap of church hopping, let me encourage you: embrace your place somewhere where God can use you. At the end of your life, God’s not going to be impressed or pleased that you saw what He was doing at ten different churches. He’s going be more pleased that you were a part of what He was doing at one church. And you’re never going to find the perfect one, so give up looking. If the church you’re visiting doesn’t have what you’re looking for, it might be because God wants you to provide it.

Let’s all commit together to begin a campaign to stop the hop.
Find a place to get planted. Embrace it. And start changing the world.

The question of our day isn’t if God wants to do incredible things through the church. The question is will we be in place to experience it?

Rockmart Christmas Eve Service this year is going to be off the chain! So be a bringer and bring someone with you!!! We’re going all out to present the Gospel this Christmas Eve. The opportunity is great! The need is urgent! And although public worship gatherings aren’t the only way someone can come to Christ, we’ve seen hundreds  respond to Jesus in this environment at CrossView. We believe God moves in a special way when His Church comes together. Not just in our church, but anywhere the Gospel is preached. So this Christmas Eve don’t keep Real HOPE to yourself but be a bringer and bring someone to hear the Gospel!!!

I may need to come back one day and read this myself…but I really feel like I am supposed to tell someone, “DON’T GIVE UP!!!”
Standing up for JESUS can be the most frustrating thing on the planet to deal with…but don’t stop now! What you are seeing as an obstacle God is using as an opportunity! Don’t give up!!! (Galatians 6:9)
People will hate you just because of what you do…and if you begin to experience any sort of success they will despise you even more. Don’t give up…your walk is not to please them!!! (Galatians 1:10)
You feel like you are not successful because your church hasn’t exploded with growth. BUT…you’ve seen 10 people receive Christ in the past year! REJOICE IN THAT…THE ANGELS DID!!! Don’t give up because your church isn’t getting attention from men…it has the attention of the Almighty…and in the end THAT is all that will matter!
You feel like you aren’t a good leader… a good speaker….or a good friend and you want to walk away and do something else because you just don’t feel qualified. Remember…Jesus took some very unqualified men and CHANGED THE WORLD!!! Lead like JESUS with truth, Grace and Accountability (Acts 4:13)
Someone doesn’t like something you did recently… Remember…they didn’t like Jesus healing on the Sabbath either…but He kept on doing it because He knew He was pleasing His Father!!!
Your past haunts you…the enemy constantly throws it in your face. You want to walk away when you focus on who you WERE…STOP IT and see who YOU ARE in Christ! You are a new person! (I Corinthians 6:9-11 – REALLY focus on verse 11!) Don’t give up!
People close to you have abandoned you…and you are hearing the things they said about you. You feel betrayed…hurt…and wonder if it is all worth it. Demas betrayed Paul…Judas betrayed Jesus…yet they hung in there and refused to allow that type of betrayal to take their eyes off of the goal.
Don’t give up! Don’t quit! Stay in the fight!!! God called you to be a warrior…and sometimes warriors get wounded. BUT…wounds should not take the desire to fight out of us…but rather cause us to want to fight even more.
I heard about a guy who was going through a rough time once and asked Bill Hybels, “With all of this stuff I am going through…why shouldn’t I just quit right now?’
Bill replied, “because one day you and I will stand in front of One who had an assignment much tougher than ours and He didn’t quit…that’s why!” BAM!
Don’t quit…don’t give up…fight the good fight! (Galatians 6:9) Pray, fast, preach, witness, memorize Scripture…and give Satan a swift kick in the cookies as often as possible!!
But whatever you do…DON’T GIVE UP! He called you–He gifted you–He empowered you and He will sustain you!
(II Corinthians 4) – DO NOT LOSE HEART, DO WORK!!!