Doug and Sarah Davies

Doug and Sarah Davies Testimony from The Crossing on Vimeo.

New building sneak peek nights teaser from The Crossing on Vimeo.

Brent & Kerri Bordelon's Testimony from The Crossing on Vimeo.

What "Really" Matters?

I used to scoff at, or at the very least, dismiss someone who would say, "When I was young, I thought I knew what was most important, but over time what used to matter doesn't matter as much anymore…" Even as their sentence was finishing, I was already rolling my eyes and ready to move on with the conversation.


Have you ever given much thought to what matters, I mean what really matters in this life?

If you're like me, maybe you’ve had to change positions or opinions a time or two. Maybe you're more politician in your approach, that is you've held a public viewpoint, the kind that plays well before an audience, one that's highly altruistic and heavenly focused. However, behind closed doors and private pursuits, you find yourself engaged in an all out, egocentric approach to life.

It's oddly humorous to me how quickly, usually in the span of less than 7 days, we divorce ourselves from the sentimentality of the Christmas season. Why do the "Scrooges" and the "Grinches" only get airplay for two weeks in the middle of December? These two had to learn the "Hollywood" way concerning what really matters. Unfortunately, many of us don't have that luxury. We learn the real way, meaning the hard way.

I'm excited because we kick off a new series at The Crossing beginning this weekend, January 8 & 9. The series is titled, "What Matters!" I urge you to attend. Make sure you invite someone else to come with you. Our service times are Saturday at 5:30 p.m. & Sunday at 8:30, 9:30, 10, 11, 11:30 a.m.

See you this weekend!

Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing

Giving & Receiving

I've been asked two primary questions over the last couple of days. First, "Did you have a good Christmas?" Second, "What did you get? What did Santa bring you? Was Santa good to you this year?"
Most people don't seem to pay much attention to the response to the first question. We just expect to hear, "Yes, it was great." And even if it wasn't all that great, we don't tell anyone, right? However the answer to the second question brings the liveliest of discussions.
We like sharing with others about what we received. And it's quite interesting to hear about what others might have gotten during their Christmas exchanges. Great joy and exuberance displays itself in the body language and facial communication, not to mention the words of those who are excited over what they received.

As we're about to close the year out at The Crossing, I wish you could see the great excitement and joy I'm experiencing over what we, The Crossing, have been given over this past year. In particular, the giving of your financial resources! Your dollars, given generously, make a HUGE difference in the lives of SO many. The stories of impact of people in our church, community and world many times go unheard and unseen, but believe me, it's BIG!
As we close out the year, I want to remind you that if you are planning to give a year end financial gift and have it "count" for the 2010 tax year, you must either give online (use this link) or send in your contribution so that it's postmarked on or before December 31. Thanks so much.
I'm looking forward to the new year. As a church we will be experiencing so many new opportunities. It promises to be another big year to make the name of Jesus famous!

Happy New Year,
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing

Let it Rain, Let it Rain, Let it Rain!

As a youngster growing up in Northwest Ohio, I looked forward to seeing loads of snow leading up to our Christmas school break. Some of you So. Cal. natives may not be able to relate, but I LOVED to play in the snow, the more the merrier! We didn't always have it, but when we did, particularly on our Christmas break, my friends and I would build snow hut villages connected by a series of massive tunnels. Hours upon hours of creativity and ingenuity would flow. We hated it when our parents would whistle or call us to come in for dinner.
Those days are long gone. Southern California is now my home. My kids never got to experience such thrills. In fact, this entire week for us in So. Cal., instead of singing, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…", our chorus could be, "Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!"
I'm here to tell you rain isn't as fun as snow. The other thing I want to tell you, don't let a little rain keep you away from celebrating the Christ of Christmas.
We have 8 Christmas services this week to serve you. The Christmas week services start on Wednesday, December 22 at 7 p.m. They continue on Thursday night, December 23 at 6:30 & 7 p.m. Last, on Christmas Eve, December 24, there are 5 services; 3, 3:30, 4:30, 5, 6 p.m. All the services are identical. We have children's programming for nursery and preschool. All elementary children and teens will take part in the services.
I look forward to seeing you, as well as someone you've invited this Christmas season. I can't guarantee you won't get a little wet, but I can say for the most part that a little rain never hurt anyone.
Merry Christmas,

Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing