CrossWalk Community Church Napa

Jesus said do not resist an evil person. Hmmm. Do we agree? What could he have meant? Get ready to be disturbed.

Enjoy this great teaching offered by CrossWalker Rev. Dr. Angie Barker-Jackson!

Jesus made it simple - "let your yes be yes and your no be no" - which is good, wise advice for living with integrity. Yet his wisdom leads to deeper principles that cause us to reflect on how we use our words. Very relevant for this time and all time. This teaching is part of a year-long series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, informed by excellent essays found in the book, "Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount" (Plough Publishing House: 2021).

Nerd out with theologians Andrew M. Davis (andrewmdavis.info) and Thomas Jay Oord (thomasjayoord.com) as Pastor Pete asks questions about God, The Force, The Dark Side, and more.

CrossWalk offers HARBOR for people seeking genuine, loving community.

More than we usually provide - hope you enjoy the bonus material!

This week, we look at how CrossWalk provides a haven for the mistreated, especially in faith circles where women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ are not always treated as equally created in the image of God.

Listen to the full, unedited interview with Robert Simmons which was partly featured during the teaching on April 13, 2025.  Great stories, insights, and helpful information for those wanting to grow their allyship with the LGBTQ+ community.

In this episode you will hear powerful stories about how CrossWalk offered refuge for those evacuated when Mother Nature call.

Enjoy Douglas Avilesbernal's fantastic talk on being sanctuary for immigrants. Doug is the Executive Minister of the Evergreen Baptist Association to which CrossWalk belongs. EBA is one of 33 regions that comprise the national work of the American Baptist Churches.

The first several minutes of this talk features Peta Schindler telling her story of why she came to CrossWalk, which had everything to do either the church's openness to new ideas. The teaching that follows walks through an incredible story of boundary stretching a paradigm busting as the Christian community developed.

How has CrossWalk been a provided of safe space for CrossWalkers? Hear for yourself!

Jesus said the the pure in heart are blessed, that they see God. What did he mean? What might it mean for us?

Enjoy Rev. Dr. Angie Barker-Jackson's teaching based on Jesus' Beatitude, "God blesses those who are merciful, of they will be shown mercy." So good!   "God has not called us to be warriors. God has called us to be wombs."

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for just. They will be satisfied. - Jesus. Really? Is this true? What about people who die for the cause of justice? What about Jesus - did he experience satisfaction as he addressed the social justice issues of his day? In this teaching, we look at one story in particular from Jesus' life that exemplifies his ability to be deeply grounded spiritually while addressing the plight of a woman caught in intersectional prejudice. Turns out that the experience left him genuinely satiated.

Enjoy Rev. Dr. Angie Barker Jackson's teaching on Jesus' provocative Beatitude, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." See below for the resources she referenced. (YouTube audience – find hyperlinks from this teaching at CrossWalkNapa.org/Teachings). Check out the covenant Angie referenced from The Poor People's Campaign (PoorPeoplesCampaign.org/covenant-of-nonviolence) – and why not say yes to its invitation? Check out the following books Angie noted as well: Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope Racial Ecologies Becoming Rooted: 100 Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage Check out these organizations: SoulFlowerFarm.org CanticleFarm.org TempleofEarthApothecary.com Check out these Voices: Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll Genesis Butler (2017 TEDxCSULB)

Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted. Maybe this simple a statement of fact - when we mourn, we find comfort. How well have you learned to mourn?

Jesus said that the poor in spirit are blessed. That sounds ridiculous. What was he talking about? What can we learn from what he was saying? What would the Spirit of God call us to do to help the plight of the poor?

Jesus didn't know what he was talking about. He got the word "blessed" all wrong. Maybe it was a brain fog moment - he meant to say "lousy" or "miserable" are the poor, mourning, humble, and persecuted. Or... Maybe he was speaking a truth we in the modern Western world know little about. Maybe we have much to learn about what he taught and modeled that will lead to a much deeper - and better - experience of "blessed."

Starting with the "Blessed are the" statements at the beginning Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and running all the way through, there are statements that simply don't jibe with conventional thinking. Was Jesus a little off? What do we do when it appears Jesus was so out of touch?

Jesus had a large vision he was pursuing that all of his teaching, healing, and living exemplified. As was the case for him, if we are paying attention and actually trying to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, there will always be a tension between the vision of the Kingdom of God's good news and the prevailing, alternative good news proclaimed by myriad cultural and systemic forces around us. Which "Kingdom" will we honor most? Which good news will be build our lives on and proclaim? You can read a summary of this teaching (and referenced resources) at CrossWalkNapa.org/Teachings. This post is informed by, and references noted are sourced from (unless otherwise noted) Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount Together, which will provide guidance to CrossWalkNapa teachings throughout 2025.

The context of Jesus' most celebrated teaching is a perfect prologue. Jesus climbed up the hill to teach his most devoted followers how to be like him. Those who desires, ascended. Will you?

Enjoy this brief overview of what's coming to CrossWalk in the coming weeks and months, as well as a brief teaching on the story of the Wise Men.

What was Mary saying yes to, beyond the obvious? What is the Spirit of God always inviting everyone toward? What does "yes" mean? And what does star dust and dark energy have to do with any of it?

It turns out the first Baptist preacher ever may have sounded like the judgmental, fear-mongering, tent revival caricature, but that would be wrong. His message was actually incredibly inclusive, redemptive, and hopeful, and fully aligned with joyful birth narrative of the one he was preparing his audience for. Joy to the world!

The Christmas story imagining Jesus' birth is one that depicts the very human experience of conflict, tension, angst, hurt, fear, ego, and also bears witness to the ongoing potential for all of us: peace. The stars above may help us in our pursuit...

Perhaps the vision of the Second Coming of Christ in the traditional sense can no longer be taken literally or seriously. There may be a better version hidden in plain sight that squares better with the Jewish Jesus, history, and our collective experience. Caution: heresy ahead!

Gratitude alone is a tremendous force for good. Add faith to the mix, and it's power increases exponentially.

We welcome Brian Henderson to the stage.  He is the Executive Director of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, a global organization supporting churches who are or are becoming welcoming and affirming especially of the LGBTQ+ community.

Enjoy the last segment of this great series offered by Angie Barker-Jackson!

Enjoy this teaching from Angie Barker Jackson as she takes us deeper in to the transformational power of community!

Enjoy Rev. Dr. Angie Barker Jackson's kickoff to the three-week series!

In this series finale informed by Mark Feldmeir's book, Life After God, we take a look at stages of faith development and what motivates us to embrace faith in the first place. We also consider what happens after we die and what hope we have related to our faith.

What do we do with mystical experiences? How do they fit with our tradition, with reason?

Despite what you have ben told, while God does love you, God does not have a plan for your life. God does love you, but has more of a vision or a dream of what life can be. Not one way, but a broad range of ways that are guided by the shalom of God. And, great news! God supports you and I toward this vision even if we veer off course.

This teaching, informed by Mark Feldmeir's book, Life After God, has us take a look at how we view God's power, which affects how we engage God. Is God an all-powerful being who commands or more relationally-oriented, inviting all creation forward?

Enjoy the first week of the Life After God series, where we wonder what the role of doubt plays in the experience of faith. This series is informed by Mark Feldmeir's book by the same name.

Enjoy this scholarly presentation by Eric Seibert as he helps us figure out how to understand and "handle" some of the ugliest parts of the Bible - where God appears to be the origin of apparent evil.

Enjoy this powerful teaching by CrossWalker Rev. Dr. Angela Barker-Jackson.

In the conclusion of this series, we look at what living the faith looks like in one frame. We are invited to follow Jesus, whereby saying yes means we will actually try to follow Jesus in order to experience the life and faith he enjoyed. This involves stretching our minds (lifelong learning), kneeling in service to others, standing for grace and justice, communing with God via personal and corporate spiritual disciplines, and connecting with each other in genuine, compassionate community. This teaching offers a lot of practical tips on how to pull this off. Check out the related blog for hyperlinked resources: https://www.crosswalknapa.org/blog/2024/9/1/faith-in-process-putting-it-all-together.

This teaching is all about the components of being connected to community and its' benefits, filled with lots of stories from CrossWalkers.

Jesus modeled and taught "life in God" - the epitome of faith. A key component of his practice was standing with and for grace in his time. What did he do? What did he instruct? What will we do in our time?

Want a faith that is vibrant like Jesus'? Try modeling your life and faith after his.  This week, we talk about kneeling in service to others, taking time to think about motivations and what to do when serving no longer produces joy.

If you desire a faith that enhances your life by bringing everything together and also brings more shalom into the world, lifeline learning is required. This teaching offers a range of biblical stories offering insights on the learning process so that we might have a clue how to do it!

Associate Professor Jenny Matheny, Ph.D., Truett Seminary (Baylor) hits a home run with this teaching based on 1 Samuel 25:1-35 NRSVUE.  Enjoy!

If you are a human being, you live with regrets. We will hold them our full lives. How much they hold us is in part up to us. Hopefully this practical teaching will help you live your human life, with regrets and all.

Jesus went back to his hometown and was rendered essentially powerless by the unbelief of people who were not willing to see him for more than he had been. This passage offers us a moment to learn about the process of transformation, so that we continue to grow in faith and not be the ones limiting the flow of the Spirit of God. This story also invites us to consider when it's time to cut bait, as Jesus did, when he realized shalom wasn't going to flow in Nazareth due to the obstinance of the townspeople.

Enjoy this incredibly rich, relevant story remembered from Jesus' life. May you reach for the tzitzit on the kanaph in pursuit of the sozo you want and the sozo you need!

The tales of David and Goliath and Jesus calming the storm offer some wisdom for how we face our own giant storms.

Jesus shared two provocative parables - one about sowing seeds and the other about mustard. How do these relate to our lives today? How do they inform our actions in a world that needs more shalom?

We are prone to repeating and repeating and repeating behavior that keeps us in cycles that at least hold us back and sometimes cause enormous pain and suffering in ourselves, relationships, and world. There is a way forward that leads to freedom, health and growth for one and all.