Archive for March, 2014
This Week at Cross Church | We Need You, Cross Church Family
Cross Church Family, we need you. The next few weeks are critical for each of us personally and as a church family. I hope you will be “all in” with us in reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the World for Jesus Christ.
It Starts this Sunday
With spring break ending this weekend, I pray you will make it a priority to be at church this Sunday. Why is this Sunday morning so important?
This Sunday will be four weeks from Easter weekend. Let’s engage over these next four Sundays in order to build toward Easter weekend with focus, intensity, and commitment. I hope to see you Sunday as we preach and teach the powerful claims of God’s Word.
Passion Week, 7: The Final Words of Jesus on the Cross
On Sunday morning, April 13, we will launch the beginning of Passion Week, preaching on 7: The Final Words of Jesus on the Cross. We will continue this series through the remainder of Passion Week, April 14-18, at our luncheons, from 11:50 a.m. – 12:50 p.m. at our Pinnacle Hills Campus. Tickets are just $6 per day, or you can purchase all five days for $25. Find out more and purchase tickets here.
On Friday night, April 18, we will gather at our Pinnacle Hills Campus at 7:00 p.m. for Reflections on the Death of Jesus Christ. I will speak, and we will experience worship with our combined choirs and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas.
Easter Weekend, Hope for Heaven
Our theme for Easter weekend is Hope for Heaven. Be ready to attend one of our 15 services across our 5 campuses, and bring someone with you. Find a service time at your campus that works for you.
Let’s Undergird it all with Prayer
Pray that the Lord will draw people who may have never attended church before, and that many will be saved. Pray for our pastors and worship teams, as they will host 15 services throughout the weekend, and that each service would be what God wants it to be. And pray that God alone will receive all the glory from Passion Week and Easter weekend.
Who will You Bring Easter Weekend?
This is the question we must all answer between now and Easter weekend. Begin praying about who you should invite to join you and begin inviting them. Now is the time. Let’s pray and work toward it for the glory of God. Consider joining over 3,270 other members of Cross Church in the Cross Church Circle. You can find more info here.
Go with us to Israel March 16-25, 2015
In the near future, we will begin to share with you about our Israel Trip in 2015. The dates are March 16-25. We are working through details and will be sharing more as soon as possible. Until then, mark your calendars and consider going with us on a trip of a lifetime, walking where Jesus walked! Contact Gayla Oldham if you have any questions: gaylao@crosschurch.com
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Pastor, How Should You Respond when You do not Meet the Expectations of Others?
I have never been able to meet the expectations of every church member. I do not know of one pastor in America or around the world that does.
The expectations many people have for leaders and pastors are absolutely out of control, and simply put, unreasonable. I could refer to case after case, whether relating to ministry, education, politics, or business. However, let me go straight to the bottom line.
As a Pastor, how should you respond when you do not meet the expectations of others?
1. Evaluate everything, beginning with yourself.
When we do not meet the expectations of others, the easiest thing for us to do is to point fingers at others, situations, or even make excuses. We can even get into a combative situation. Regardless of the conduct toward you, you have to take the high road. While it may be true that others may have affected the outcome, and situations beyond your control that may have influenced the present condition, the wisest thing to do is push pause. When you do this, begin with evaluating everything, including yourself.
- Are the expectations reasonable?
- Are the expectations attainable?
- Could I have done anything to improve the outcome?
- Can I do anything now?
- Should I do anything now?
2. Elevate the process, not the end result.
National championship football coach, Nick Saban, stated on “60 Minutes” that he tells his team at the University of Alabama not to look at the scoreboard, but the process; perfect the process and the scoreboard will take care of itself. Nick Saban is exactly right. Far too many times in our culture, we are bent on focusing on the end result rather than the process itself.
Pastors, we can learn from this. We need to learn the importance of knowing the right process to follow and elevate biblically in leading the church daily.
Therefore, let’s remember these things:
- The process always precedes the product.
- If you want a better product, change the process.
- Elevate process even more than your expectation.
3. Expand yourself and the rest will take care of itself.
Expanding yourself is not about increasing yourself, but about growing personally. Pastors, we must never stop growing and evaluating ourselves personally.
One of the greatest blessings that can happen from not meeting the expectation of someone else is that you can grow toward maturity as you grow through it personally. God wants to use all things in our life and leadership to make us more like Him. Ministry can be a wonderful teacher if you are willing to learn from it.
Therefore, it might help to ask yourself these questions and answer honestly:
- Am I teachable?
- What did I learn?
- Where will I go from here?
- How will I change?
- What will I do differently?
- What does God want me to do in this situation?
- What does God want to teach me through this?
Pastor, if you are willing to grow through the unmet expectations others have of you, the rest will take care of itself. Therefore, do not treat these unmet expectations as enemies, but embrace them as friends and teachers in your life.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.