It’s time again for one of my favorite events… our 5th annual CrossRoads Christmas Celebration. 

The date is Friday, December 18th, 7-10pm, at John and Rebecca Calhoun’s home.

There will be food, my sherbet punch, live christmas music, and, of course, our white elephant gift exchange.  Bring a wrapped gift under $5…  No childcare at this event.

Hope you can make it… invite a friend!

Hey Everybody,

We’ve got some great events planned out through the Christmas holiday.  I updated the happenings on the right sidebar to reflect the events coming up.  Here’s a description of some on the horizon:

CrossRoads Pumpkin Party

Friday, October 30, 7-9pm at the Calhoun House (Sorry, no kids)

1. Bring your favorite bag of candy to share
2. Dress in some type of a costume
3. Bring a pumpkin and pumpkin-carving tools if you want to participate in the pumpkin-carving contest
4. Bring a soda to share

We’ll have autumn/harvest/pumpkin-related activities, snacks, etc.

Worship and Bonfire Night

November 13, 7-9pm at Calhoun House (sorry, no kids)

It will be a night of worship over a bonfire together on a crisp, autumn evening.  Bring a snack to share

CrossRoads Thanksgiving is Monday, November 23rd!

Location TBA

When Godly People Do Ungodly Things
Female Small Group
When: Tuesdays, Beginning September 15, 7-8:30 p.m.
Where: Sarah Simmons home
What to bring: When Godly People Do Ungodly Things study guide by Beth Moore & Your Bible
Contact: Carissa Calhoun
Join us for seven weeks as we journey with Beth Moore and 1 Samuel 12:20–25 as our guide, to pursue how we as Christians can arm ourselves against temptation and learn how to help other fallen believers.

A Guide to Purpose and Fulfillment
Single Female Small Group
When: Tuesdays, Beginning September 15, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Where: Panera in Chester
What to Bring: Sacred Singleness: The Set Apart Girl’s Guide to Purpose and Fulfillment by Leslie Ludy & Your Bible
Contact: Holly Paulette
Sometimes it’s hard being a single young woman! Sacred Singleness gives every woman the inspiration to live counter to the culture and find amazing opportunity in this sacred season.

Wild Goose Chase
Guys Small Group
When: Tuesdays, Beginning September 15, 7-8:30 p.m.
Where: Patrick Edmunds’ Home
What to Bring: Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson
Contact: Mike Talley
The early Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit of God the ‘Wild Goose’. Why is that? We will talk about six cages that keep us from roaming free with the Wild Goose and living the spiritual adventure God destined us to.

Dave Ramsey Financial University
Coed Small Group
When: Tuesdays, Beginning September 8, 7-9 p.m.
Where: Ironbridge Baptist Church
How long: 13 weeks
Cost: $99, (some scholarships available)
This 91 day, life-changing program teaches you how to make the right decisions with your money. You’ll be empowered with the practical skills and confidence needed to achieve your financial goals and experience true financial peace! On average, participants pay off $5,300 in debt and save $2,700 in just 13 weeks.

The Dream Team: Married Couples Small Group
Couples Small Group
When: Thursdays, Beginning September 17, 7-8:30 p.m.
Where: John and Rebecca Calhoun’s Home
What to bring: Dream Team: The Power of Two by Tommy Nelson & Your Bible
Contact: Rebecca and John Calhoun
We marry with hopes and dreams and sometimes life gets so busy we forget or lose sight of those dreams. Join us as we look at our “dream team” and pursue not only God honoring relationships but God given dreams together.

I’ve been lazy about posting new events and sending timely e-mails…  I’m sorry about that.  Good news is we do have a lot of great activities planned for the rest of the summer and into the fall!  We are having a CrossRoads Guys Night and Girls Night Out (Guys and Gals meet separately) — each gender will plan their own activity.  We also have planned a Beach Day Trip to Virginia Beach for families.

Our Fall Small Groups will kickoff September 15th.  Small group leaders are planning out their groups now, and I will post more details after next week.

More events are posted on the left sidebar.  Also, John Calhoun’s message on community has been moved to a separate page (see “Community” tab at the top) so you don’t have to hear it every time you access the home page.

Cheers!
Mike

Four years ago today we had the first CrossRoads meeting.  It was a huge production then… music, a speaker, and an auditorium seating about 60 people (about 50% full).  John Calhoun was the speaker at the second night of CrossRoads four years ago.  Last week, John preached in front of about 800 people during the Sunday services at Ironbridge Church.  Amazing!  God has taken us all on an incredible journey… think about everybody that’s come and gone through CrossRoads and pray for them!

We are moving our Myster Dinner Playhouse to April so we have more time to plan out the event!  Thanks for understanding.  It is going to be a fun time!

So, THIS FRIDAY, we are having an impromptu FAMILY DINNER NIGHT at Gino’s Pizza in the Chesterfield Meadows Shopping Center.  We’re doing this because we don’t have many family-friendly events coming up in April.  Come out and have fun!

Also, we are meeting up on Saturday to watch our runners participating in the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10-K!  We’ll be having brunch/lunch afterwards to celebrate.

We’re going over to the Richmond Ice Zone this Saturday at 2pm for some family ice skating!  Should be a fun time.  I’ve never ice skated before and it has been a LONG time since I’ve been roller skating!

Here’s a sneak peek at our small group offerings for the spring starting the first week of March.  I’m excited to see that we have five small groups meeeting on two different nights of the week.  

Hungry Souls | Girls Small Group
When: Tuesdays, 7-8:30pm starting March 3rd
Where: Amy Talley’s Home
What to Bring: ”Hungry Souls” by Catherine Boyle
Contact: Amy Talley

Cathy Boyle will be leading our study through her book Hungry Souls.  What a cool opportunity to have the author of a book lead us on the journey to God’s Healing.  The topic deals with God’s Word about eating disorder, but can be used to defeat any addiction or idol.

“Faith and Doubt” | Guys Small Group
When: Tuesdays, 7-8:30pm starting March 3rd
Where: TBD
What to Bring: “Faith & Doubt” by John Ortberg, Your Bible, Your questions
Contact: John Calhoun

“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.”  Life is not always easy and every season of life brings up more questions we are forced to deal with.  Join us as we explore faith and take an honest look at how God uses doubt to change us and teach us how to trust him.

Lion Chasers | Guys Small Group 
When: Tuesdays, 7-8:30pm starting March 3rd
Where: TBD
What to Bring: “In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day” by Mark Batterson
Contact: Mike Talley

Inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in the Bible, this small group will challenge you to grab life by the mane when opportunity roars.  Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn’t chase.  Join us as we unleash the Lion Chaser within.

Discovering our Purpose as Confident Daughters of Christ | Girls Small Group
When: Thursdays, 7-8:30pm starting March 5th
Where: Panera Bread, Chester
What to Bring: Your Bible and copy of the study pack given
Contact: Regina Amos

The women in the Bible were all capable people with talents, abilities, and were often natural leaders.  Take a journey through their stories as they submit to His way of doing things and find YOUR unique calling as a daughter of the Most High.

Young Adult Marriage Study | Married Couples Small Group
When: Thursdays, 7-9pm starting March 5th
Where: Ben and Chrissy Fukushima’s Home
What to Bring: Your Bible and your spouse
Contact: Ben and Chrissy Fukushima

Our goal is to explore our marriages and mold them into the relationship that God wants for us in order to be a testimony to others. 

To sign up for any of these small groups, or for more information, you can e-mail crossroads616@gmail.com and I will forward your info to the small group leaders.  We will be having sign up sessions during our kickoff Sunday February 1st, 8th, and 15th, at Ironbridge Church during the morning services.

Hey Everybody and Happy New Year!

I hope you were able to take some time and reflect where God has taken you over the past year.  2008 was crazy, stressful, and incredible at the same time, as Amy and I stepped out at God’s calling and took over a small business.  Some of us had loved ones go through sickness or pass on; and some welcomed a newborn in 2008!  One thing’s for sure–we’re all in this together, with God in control!  I’m grateful for all of the new friends I have met over the past year, and thank God for the community he is building with CrossRoads.

We’ve planned out some events for early 2009 to get the year going.  Small groups will be starting the first week of March.  More to come on that.  On the left sidebar should be an updated list of upcoming events.

Our next activity will be Friday, January 23 at John and Rebecca’s house.  We’ll be having a Nintendo Wii tournament in the main living room, with other board games going on in the other rooms.  We’ll also be serving chili — bring tortilla chips, and your favorite chili topping (cheese, sour cream, etc., etc) or a soda.  Please find childcare for this event!

We’ll also be holding a Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, January 25, at Ironbridge Church.  The time is 12:30, and the room is to be announced.  We’re hoping that childcare will be available during this time.  The purpose of this meeting is to get everyone’s input on the ministry and set some goals for the new year.  We’ll also be casting a vision for partnering with the Angel Food Ministries as a missions project.

As far as community-building activities, other events include a Superbowl party, Large Group dinner, Snowtubing or iceskating, a mystery dinner playhouse (I am intrigued), karaoke night, kickball cookout, and a CrossRoads Retreat at Pocahontas State Park.  We’re desigining some events to be welcoming for children, and some for adults only.

I’m excited about what lies ahead! 

We are having our 4th annual CrossRoads Christmas Party on Friday, December 19th.  The main event every year is our white elephant gift exchange.  Everybody coming is asked to bring an inexpensive gift (under $5), it can be something silly, a “re-gift”, or something nice.  It usually winds up being an uproarious time of fun.  We’ve had some great gifts over the years.  If you’ve never participated in such an event, here’s a background on the White Elephant Gift Exhcange (also known as Dirty Santa, Yankee Swap, or Chinese gift exchange) from the wonderful Wikipedia:

Gifts are wrapped, but are not labeled to reflect a specific sender or recipient. Gifts are typically inexpensive, humorous items or used items from home; the term white elephant refers to a gift whose cost exceeds its usefulness.  All participants draw a number (from a hat, perhaps) to determine their order.  The participant with #1 unwraps any gift from the pile and then shows it to everyone. Each successive participant, in the order determined from the drawing, can either 1) “steal” an already opened gift (if there’s one they really like) or 2) be adventurous and go for a wrapped gift from the pile. If the participant chooses to steal, the person whose gift is stolen now repeats their turn and either 1) steals another person’s gift (they cannot immediately steal back the gift that was just stolen from them) or 2) unwraps a new gift.  This cycle of stealing can sometimes continue for a long time, until a new gift is chosen, at which point the turn is passed to the participant with the next number from the drawing. (An alternative to the drawing is to sit in a circle and take turns in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.) 

Since items can be stolen, the item in your possession is not yours until the game is over. However, this is often amended with a rule declaring a gift “dead” or “safe” after it has been stolen a certain number of times (usually two or three). This helps the process go more smoothly (avoiding, for example, the hypothetical scenario of the same gift being stolen by every successive participant) and limits the disadvantage of being among the first to choose gifts.  The person who picked first also has the option of picking last or keeping the gift already in hand. After they exchange or decide to keep their gift, the turn ends and there is no additional swapping.

So come, and bring a friend.  We’ll have live music, some goodies to eat, and other fun activities.  See you there!