Cross Point Podcast

The final podcast of our Vision series reminds us to always keep our focus on the Source of our vision- God alone! 

Episode 3: Visions bring about change. Visions have gaps. A Vision will bring out the critics.  So as leaders, what do you do?  How do you handle criticism?  Listen in as Mary Jane and Mark discuss when critics attack your vision. 

Are you struggling to have a clear vision?  Join us over the next few weeks and as we explore how Vision can bring your world into focus.  It can bring order to chaos.  A clear vision enables you to see everything differently.  Listen in as we see what God's Vision is for your life, business, organization and relationships.   

Are you struggling to have a clear vision?  Join us over the next few weeks and as we explore how Vision can bring your world into focus.  It can bring order to chaos.  A clear vision enables you to see everything differently.  Listen in as we see what God's Vision is for your life, business, organization and relationships.   

The CHOSEN MINISTRY is filled with individuals and families that are passionate about adoption and foster care who highlight the need for Christians to get involved and help take care of vulnerable children. In this episode, you'll hear from some of the men who are husbands and fathers involved in this ministry, Will Lambert, Lee Medley, and Michael Butz. Their stories will inspire you and give you a glimpse of how they each took a leap of faith and trusted God. Listen in! You'll be glad you did.

Adoption and Foster Care are close to the heart of God and, as the Book of James describes, acts of pure religion. Our Chosen Ministry at Cross Point is aimed at doing just that and is filled with passionate people working to change the lives of vulnerable children one adoption and one placement at a time. In this first episode of the Chosen Series, listen to Christi Lambert and Rebecca Burgess talk about things you should (and shouldn't) say to children and parents in adoptive and foster families.

This week on the podcast, Mark and Mary Jane finish up our series on the enneagram by discussing how to use what we have learned to best serve God and others.  Join us for one last discussion and learn a little more about your number! 

This week on the Cross Point podcast, Mark and Mary Jane dig into a new facet of our enneagram numbers—Wings! Join us as we discuss what wings are and characteristics of each combination. 

Our Enneagram Series continues this week with part 2 as Mark Killen, Mary Jane Threet, and special guest Ryan House, discuss the healthy and unhealthy aspects of the enneagram numbers, and how, by God's grace, we can learn to be our best selves every day. 

What is the Enneagram? Have you heard about it? This month, the podcast team, with special guests, will tackle the topic of “The Enneagram & You.” On Episode 1, we dig into the basics of the Enneagram, discuss the 9 different types, what relevance it has in our Christian life, and how we relate to others. Listen now! 

 Young moms have their hands full! Finding time to invest in their families, raise their little ones, work on their marriages, work inside or outside the home, serve in the church and grow spiritually, and make time for themselves and their relationships with friends is a lot to take on. It's hard to do it all and even harder to do it all well. But, relying on God, family, and friends will get you through. Listen in and enjoy the conversation between Courtney Hargett, Meredith Nicholson, Brandi Malone, and Tara Harper!

Recent statistics from the Barna Group tell us that 70% of Millennials don't believe that attending church is very important. When asked to rank their top priorities in life, Gen Z ranked “becoming more spiritually mature” 9th and Millennials 6th out of 12 possible choices. Those statistics are eye-popping! The reasons Millennials and Gen Z tell us that they feel the way they do about church are clear. Are we willing to listen and pivot to embrace and connect with future generations of the Christian faith? We dive into the statistics, responses of Millennials and Gen Z, and how churches can go about meeting younger generations where they are right now in this episode. Listen in and give us some feedback!

Join a few of our guys from the CREW Class (young married's) for a brand new episode.So many churches ask the questions: How do we reach Millennials and young people? How do we connect with the next generations of Christians? Well, who better to ask than the younger generations that we're trying to reach? The podcast team focuses on these questions and gives some practical advice for sharing Jesus in today's culture.Join Jordan Byrd, Hunter Nicholson, Derrick Sumerel, and Douglas Hargett and dive in with them as they talk through this topic.

“I am a cotton-headed ninny muggins!” Who says that? Buddy the elf, that's who! In 2003, Will Ferrell introduced the world to the 6'3” grown man, Buddy, who was one of Santa's elves in the movie Elf. It's a light-hearted, funny movie with plenty of one-liners, but it also provides us with lessons that we can apply to our lives as Christians, especially around the holiday season. Join in as the podcast team shares their favorite parts of the movie and what we can learn from it.

Christmas can bring chaos, and no Christmas movie shows that more than the 1990 classic, Home Alone. A young boy left behind while his family flies to Paris for vacation, Kevin learns the joys and sadness of being by himself. After overcoming obstacle after obstacle and fending off would be robbers, Harry and Marc a/k/a “The Wet Bandits”, with a master battle plan to protect his house, Kevin reunites with his family that just a few days before annoyed him and he wanted to disappear. And, along the way, he helps an older neighbor reconcile with his estranged son. Join in for this fun-filled episode as the team talks about how Home Alone teaches us many lessons about faith and the importance of family around the holidays.

Christmas movies help make the holiday season special and, for the next few weeks, we're going to embrace that on our podcast. We'll be talking about the Christmas season and the things that make it so special. And, we'll talk through some ways to make it even better as we look at some of our favorite, on-screen Christmas families. In this first episode, we'll see what we can learn from the Griswold family in the hilarious movie, Christmas Vacation.

Whether you keep church traditions or choose to change some of the “human rules” Jesus refers to in Mark 7, we must expect questions and be prepared to address them. Listen in to this final episode of the Traditions Podcast as we talk through some hurdles churches face and how to overcome.

Traditions are in most cases generational… they are handed down from past generations, held to in the present, and expected to be carried on in the future. For our churches, that means 5 or more generations of Christians with huge age gaps between the youngest and oldest have to find common ground when some traditions are continued and others are let go. That can be tricky. So, how do we make sure that every generation of Christians in our church families are seen and heard as we evaluate and change our methods to fulfill our God-given mission? Listen in as Mark, Mary Jane, and Douglas try to answer this question.

Episode 3 - Our Methods vs. Our Mission How do we continue to share the unchanging (Jesus) in a constantly changing world? Our culture never stops evolving, shifting, and moving. There is a new way to communicate and interact with friends and strangers alike developed every day in our fast-paced world. But, our God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit DO NOT CHANGE. We create a problem, as Christians, when we weld together an unchanging God with an always changing world. As everything around us changes, we must be willing to revisit our methods and — HOW we do things — and then take action and use all means available and necessary to fulfill our God-given mission — to reach the current and next generations of the Christian faith. Join Mary Jane, Mark, and Douglas as they spend time digging into this topic.

Traditions in the church are nothing new. Jesus talked about them. The apostles dealt with them. Some were good. Others had to go. We have to be able to distinguish between commands of God and traditions started by Christians that are not explicit commands. Once we do that, it is easier for us to make decisions about continuing or changing how we do things in our churches. Join in the discussion and comment after you have a chance to listen!

Traditions of all kinds are part of our everyday lives. Some traditions are generational and connect our past to the present and our present to the future. They benefit us and should continue on. But, we should always ask “why” we practice a tradition and not continue doing things because “we've always done it that way”. In the church, we need to take this a step further, and make sure that we don't hold on to traditions as though they are commands of God. In this episode, Mary Jane, Mark, and Douglas take a look at Mark 7 and Acts 15 to kick off the Traditions series.

This week, Jeanne, Mark, and Douglas wrap up the church Culture series. The team talks through the importance of having unwavering openness and candid conversations with each other, being interconnected and dependent on our church family, understanding and appreciating everyone's role, and creating focused processes designed to allow high-level collaboration and cooperation throughout every aspect of our church to make sure that we are connecting the dots.

We've talked about what Jesus made our top priorities as His disciples and how the Acts 2 church put those teachings into place in the early church to build a healthy, Jesus-centered culture. Now, it's time to talk about what exactly WE have to do to create and maintain the modern day version of that church.

This week we continue our discussion of culture, specifically culture in the church. Douglas, Mark, and Jeanne take a close look at the things Jesus made top priorities for His disciples, and how His example led the early church to a next level type of commitment to each other and unselfishness that shows us how to create and maintain a healthy church culture today.

In the first episode of this series, the team talks about culture and what that means in the church. We can learn what culture is from companies, teams, the military, and families. It's easy to identify healthy and toxic cultures. As Christians, creating a healthy culture focused on Christ where our church family can thrive in our efforts to achieve His mission is the goal.

At two months of age, Cole Kelley was diagnosed with an incredibly rare disease. Life quickly morphed into a steady stream of doctors, tests, hospitals, and uncertainty. In 2018, Cole was sent to NIH (National Institute of Health) in Maryland where he would stay for 460 days. Listen in to Cole’s mom, Caroline, discuss finding faith while watching her child fight for life. Follow Cole’s story on Facebook: Pray for Cole Kelley

The MORE Podcast: Women’s SeriesSo, What Happens Tomorrow?Uncertain and trying times have been in big supply in 2020. How do we move forward in such a turbulent climate? Sometimes being reminded of God’s promises and faithfulness in the past can propel us to trust Him again with our tomorrows.

Women’s Series:Has your Christian walk ever felt flat? Have you ever thought there must be more?Eavesdrop on this conversation between friends who believe there is more to be had from the awesome power that lives in You.

Psalm 34:11-22We all have a choice about how we are going to live and look atlife! “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted...”Psalm 34:18Regardless of the intensity and frequency of our trials, ourGod...• Will not forsake us!• Is close to us!• Will keep blessing us.• Will lead us through.• Will use our experiences.• Will lead us home.

Mark & Douglas lead an interactive study about the grace of Jesus and the woman at the well. Also, discover why we should never write anyone off or think there is no hope when it comes to becoming a disciple of Christ. 1. What are some reasons or excuses that keep us from sharing Jesus with “certain” people? 2. The John 4 story of the Samaritan woman at the well is familiar to all of us. What is your favorite part of the story? Your favorite takeaway or most meaningful moment?3. What are some ways we can show our gratitude for the amazing grace God has shown to us?

Psalm 34:1-10Taste and SeeSo many of us let worry and fear cripple us as we live in the mental land of “if only” or “what if.” God is so much bigger than my worries and my fears!There are times when praising God is easy and there are times when it is an act of faith.VII. When we praise Jehovah God, it shifts our focus from ourselves, and the situation that we are in, to the God who can do anything! Praising God comforts, strengthens, and empowers us to fulfill the purpose that our God has for us. Everybody has a story to share and reasons to praise Jehovah God.What is your story?

James 5:7-11In the final part of this series we look at what James has to say about patience and waiting.

James 4:13-17“Time can be used or wasted, it can be invested or squandered, but either way, once used, it can never be regained. “ Copied 3 Things we can work on during this time. 1) Be calm, be a non anxious presence.2) Be crystal clear as to where our hope is rooted and where our identity is found. 3) Stay connected with God in prayer and study. Also to stay connected with each other.

James 4: 1-10What causes fights and arguments among you? What is the solution to fighting and arguments?What are some ways to enhance your spiritual life during this quarantine? “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10

Mark & Douglas bring us Part 2 of the REAL Mission—and this week we get more specific...• We know what the mission is, but are we living it? • In what areas of our lives can we make a pivot and become a greater impact for the kingdom? • If Jesus was doing his ministry today, in Florence, AL, what methods would He use to reach people?

James 1:19-27James tells his listeners to put their faith into action even when things are tough. We are going to face many trials in this life but God is good and faithful always. How can we put our faith into action during our recent trials?

The Real Mission: The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the church to change its methods, yet the mission remains the same - Love God, Love Others.

James 2:1-13“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless” impacts our Conversations, our Compassion, ourConduct, and our Character. How we treat and minister to others is evidence of how close we are to our Heavenly Father and to Christ. God does not want us to show partiality, favoritism, or discrimination.

This message comes from the third part of our series “Redeem the Time.” Frank shares with us how we can gain wisdom when we go through trials. Where does wisdom come from? What does wisdom look like?How do we acquire more wisdom?What wisdom have you gained during this pandemic?

As we continue the series “Redeem the Time” we look to the book of James again. This time we look at chapter 1 and dive into what James says about trials and how we can use them to draw closer to God. Are you facing trials? During this Pandemic/quarantine, many have faced trials such as job loss, sickness, depression, and loneliness, just to name a few. How can we use those and other trials to draw closer to God? Let’s not miss opportunities during this season to grow closer to God and our main mission to point people to Jesus and the story of the Cross!

In this episode, one of our members, Ben Alexander shares some words of wisdom. Ben talks about how we should not keep the blessings we have been given to ourselves.

In this sermon, Frank Mills encourages us to Redeem the Time and not waste this quarantine. What can we do during this quarantine to grow closer to God?James 5:13-18