Inked – It Marked Us

We just completed our Christmas Series called Inked – and I honestly cannot think of a series that has done more in my life, and the life of our church to define who we are and what we are about. The things that we did in the services to communicate the truth of God’s word have probably never been seen in any church in Alabama – Ever. For Inked we:

  • Inked a dude live on stage during the sermon
  • Pierced my ears live on stage as a sermon illustration
  • Shaved two people’s heads during the teaching.

We didnt do this because it was cool.  We didnt do it because it was edgy.  We didnt do it as a gimmick (no one except staff and a couple volunteers knew what was going to happen).  We did it because it was THE VERY BEST WAY to communicate WHY Christ came to earth and show what our response should be.  When Christ came he left a permanent “mark” on this planet.  He left us here to continue that.

I have a LOT of thoughts about this series and could give you the reasons behind each thing we did and try and explain it so people who don’t “get it” would at least understand it.  But the truth is – you either “get it” or you don’t.  The bottom line: Jesus came to do one thing – seek and save the lost.  And He told us to go to the margins and fringes of our culture and get the people are the farthest from God and bring them to him.  This is NOT optional.  It was WHY the church exists.

There are a lot of churches and Christians that SAY they want to reach the Lost.  But when it comes to actually DOING WHAT IT TAKES; thats where people start to squirm.  People get uncomfortable. They even get angry.  We actually had people who got up and walked out of church one Sunday because of something I said.  Im pretty sure there are people who said at our New Members class “we get it, we want to be part of it, count me in” that said “im not sure I can take this, we wont be coming back!”

Church for the unchurched makes people nervous.  People aren’t sure what to do when a single teenager gets pregnant and the church embraces her and helps her instead of condemns her.  People aren’t sure what to do when they smell alcohol on someone’s breath during set up.  People aren’t sure what to do when a 5 year old asks her teacher “what they hell is that?” People arent sure what to make of things like tattoo’s for a sermon illustration.  Sure they understand “other people” get them – but they still think there is something “wrong” with it.  They can live with the idea that the drummer has a tattoo and an earring – but he’s a musician.  But the Pastor gets his ears pierced?  Thats just not right.  Sure, we get that people in the bible shaved their heads for ceremonial reasons – but doing it in church – to a woman?  You’ve gone too far.

Jesus went too far.  Because he died on a tree – no let me change that – he was MURDERED on a tree – and I put him there!  How’s that for going far.  He did something CRAZY to SHOW ME WITH A PICTURE how bad my sin really was.  And he showed me with a picture – rising from the dead – that I cannot deny how powerful God really is.  Jesus was inked – literally black and blue from a beating.  It left a permanent mark.  Dead is permanent (unless you are Jesus or a Christian).  Jesus was pierced.  Not in his ear like the Old Testament slave.  He was pierced in his hands, his feet, and eventually his HEART to make sure he was dead (But He came back to life).  That left a mark.  Showed it to Thomas to prove to him it was real.  Jesus wasn’t a Nazarite and didnt have his head shaved.  But they ripped out his hair and his beard WITH THEIR BARE HANDS.

Now, Pay Attention Class – RELIGIOUS PEOPLE DID THIS!  Religious people saw that Jesus would not conform to “The Law” (He was showing them what The Law really meant) and so they conspired to kill him.  When Jesus ate with sinners, when he went to their parties with tax collectors, whores, addicts, and thieves they murmured about it.  They talked behind his back.  They HATED HIM for it.  And they killed him.  I am convinced that if Jesus came to earth today He would not be welcome in most churches and most Christians would be disgusted by where he went and who he went there with.

Christmas cards are famous for the saying “Peace On Earth”  – there is Scripture for that.  But Jesus said something very interesting in the gospel of Matthew

34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

Jesus caused division.  And doing what Jesus tells us to do will divide people.  There are people in our city who hate our church.  There are people who hate me.  People think we are a cult.  People think we are unbiblical.  People wonder if Im saved.  Some people think what we did during Inked is wrong.  People think all kinds of things about us because of who comes to our church and what we are willing to do to get them there.  Even my own family doesn’t get what we do and some of them wont come to my church.

But you know what?  Im OK with that.  Because they are going to heaven and they have already been forgiven.  People saw what Jesus was doing and they started talking about it (buzz is always a good thing) and Jesus said:

17…It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Crosspoint exists for one reason.  To reach people who are far from God.  If Christians like what we do – thats a bonus.  But Crosspoint isn’t here for Christians.  The dad I talked to this morning who fell off the wagon for the umpteenth time – He needs Jesus.  The teenager who slept with her boyfriend last month and pee’d on a stick this morning and prayed for it to be blue and not red; the one who wont go to another church but sits in the front row at Crosspoint – She needs Jesus.  The guy who was late for church this morning because he was up late watching porn but he came anyway because he knew something different was going to happen this week that might help him stop – He needs Jesus.  Even the religious guy who is not quite sure about what we are doing – but he knows in his heart that there is a reason his friends dont want to go to church – He needs Jesus – and so do his friends.

Thats why we do what we do.  Inked wasnt about “Wow, it would be cool to watch a guy get a tattoo in church”  If that’s all it was – there are lots of Tattoo Parlors and we can close up shop.  Inked was about reaching one more person for Christ.  And that happened.  Do I know exactly how many lives were changed?  No.  I didn’t have altar calls and we didnt have people stand or raise their hand “if they trusted Christ as Savior today”.  Im pretty sure that never happened in the bible either.   What I have seen is people on the fringe, people in the margins, people who religion has left behind, forgotten about and even condemned come to Crosspoint and find acceptance, forgiveness, kindness, and most importantly that they are loved by God himself. I have seen people on who gave up on Jesus and the church find a renewed passion for God and His mission to redeem the world because something at Crosspoint “marked” them.

Inked Marked Us.  It defined who we are and what we are trying to do.  If that made you uncomfortable – good.  God can use that.  If it made you angry, maybe thats good too.  At Crosspoint we will do ANYTHING short of sin to see one more sinner in heaven – and even one more saint take another step toward being like Jesus.  We are not running a country club for the frozen chosen to sit on their blessed assurance while people around them die and go to hell!  We are running a rescue mission at the very gate of hell for the worst kind of sinner.  Jude said it like this:

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them

Some people can’t handle that.  Thats OK.  I forget who I stole this from but We are a church for ANYBODY – We just may not be the church for EVERYBODY.  Go find a place to serve and serve God well.  This is a HUGE mission field and it will take ALL of our churches to reach everybody for Christ.

Inked left its mark on our church and on your pastor in more ways than two new places to put jewelry.  How about you?  If Crosspoint has somehow marked you for Christ, why dont you leave your story.  Let people know how Jesus has changed your life and how your church has played a role in that.

20 Responses to “Inked – It Marked Us”

  1. Robert Pooley  on December 21st, 2008

    Awesome post… If I lived there I lived there I could hang out with you guys… i love your heart… it reminds me of… well, it reminds me of Jesus. How stinking refreshing is that?

  2. Scott  on December 21st, 2008

    Dave – amazing post! I love what you all are doing back in my old stomping grounds… Lord knows that area needs a church willing to reach out to everyone with the love, mercy , and grace of God. Rock on!

  3. Chris Wilhelm  on December 21st, 2008

    I’ve never missed going to church before coming to Crosspoint. I went nuts not being there today. I love serving and seeing people who are far from God finally meet him. This Inked series has been powerful and I can’t agree with you more!

  4. Jonathan Clifton  on December 21st, 2008

    Sundays take a toll on me! I go to the chiropractor every week just to keep my back it good health so I can do this! I am ready to do it another 365 days a week ;-) I love Jesus – My church – My Pastor and Staff !! Bring IT. I have dusted my uniform off – retrieved it from the locker room. I was done with church 4 years ago – I have a mark now, and I am ready!

  5. An Inked Christmas « iWORSHIP  on December 21st, 2008

    [...] battery might be dead.”  I can’t say anything about this series better than Dave does here on his [...]

  6. Battlescarred1  on December 21st, 2008

    I am kinda new at Crosspoint , however i know a few of the guys . I have been searching for a place to be for a few years now . i grew cold of whitewashed Christianity and was looking for a place that wanted to to reach the lost and to be real in the way they went about doing it ! My God led me to a place that is what i have been praying for for a long time! I was ready to quit . I was just tired of the legalistic way of doing things the way church folk do it ! I am once again reporting for duty . Whatever it takes to bring the lost to christ is what i am willing to do ! Thank God for a pastor that gets it ! I have a fire in me that cant be quenched and my lord led me to a place where i can actually do the work for Christ the way i was made to get it done ! LETS DO THIS THANG !!

  7. ann  on December 21st, 2008

    In spite of your Twitter warning, I have read, and am unbelievably BLESSED by your blog post, and your mission!

    Sign me “Tired of a lifetime of ineffective churches, focused primarily on themselves,”

    annNow

  8. Tina  on December 22nd, 2008

    I will say that it was no accident that we found Crosspoint! It was laid out in GOD’s plans!! Our lives have forever been changed and to GOD be all the glory!! Thank you Dave for allowing GOD to work through you the way he does,it is truly awesome. For the first time in my adult life I am going to Church with my husband… and when I say go, I mean we are fired up and we are in line to do whatever it takes to reach the lost! WE are here and we are ready to battle for the kingdom!! Thank you GOD and thank you Crosspoint!!

  9. GRACE ALLEN :)  on December 23rd, 2008

    thank you so much for being there for me during this time of, how do i say, pregnancy!!! it’s nice to know that there is a church out here that dosnt care if im ninteen and pregnant, or what drugs iv done, or how many times i’v been in “trouble”!!! there are a few people that have a problem with the “kind” of people that im bringing to church these days, so you better tell them so i dont have too. :) i have the oppertunity to bring people to know god, and that’s exactly what i intend to do. no matter what the cost. but is our church ready? or should i even care? these arnt the people that you would want to leave your child with. but that dosn’t mean that they dont need god too. this is my family, and i intend to do what ever it takes to get them where they need to be. i just hope our church is ready! love gracey loo!!!
    p.s…. hope everything is spelled ok, i’ve never bloged before!!! :)

  10. Rogredford  on December 23rd, 2008

    Gracie. I do not live in Alabama, but I do go to a church in SC that is a lot like the one you’re in. I am so glad you’ve found that Jesus loves you and a church willing to tell you that instead of telling you the bad stuff.

    Keep growing in Jesus…He loves you very much.

  11. Joe Case  on December 23rd, 2008

    AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

  12. charles hill  on December 23rd, 2008

    nuff said. that’s why Jesus came. and now may they grow in their faith and learn to love and live the mission.

    may GOD continue to bless all ya’ll.

  13. Elizabeth Lack  on December 23rd, 2008

    After almost 7 years at Crosspoint I am still amazed at the work God is doing in, and through, His church! Since that time God has rocked my world and tested, tried, and blessed me. Each day the mark of Christ upon my life challenges me in all aspects of my day-to-day! Through Crosspoint I have come to understand the true meaning of service, sacrifice, friendship, and love! For that I am humbled and so very thankful.

  14. Paige  on December 23rd, 2008

    This year has been probably the hardest of my family’s life. So much has changed in such a short amount of time. We went from a comfortableness to feeling like the Israelites out in the desert wondering where in the world we were headed next. In crying out to my hubbs about this recently he told me this year has been so hard because we’ve been obedient. Woah. Wasn’t expecting that tidbit of wisdom in response to my cry (well, probably whine). He then reminded me that it took Noah something like over 100 years to build the ark and he didn’t even know if it would rain. Let me say that we still don’t where this leg of the journey will lead us, but the two constants we have in our life are our precious Savior…and Crosspoint. The people and presence at Crosspoint have changed us for the better. For sure we are marked…forever. And I say to Him, bring it on in 2009! Thank you, Dave, for everything you allow God to do through you.

  15. Lynn Pittman  on December 25th, 2008

    Our family went through a trial at the beginning of this year 2008 that I thought would never end. It has been the most difficult year in our families life. If it had not been for that trial we probably would not have found Crosspoint. The trial changed everything in our lives and kids lives except for our love for Christ. We had been at our last church for a total of 13 years, in between, there were 3 years we were in Huntsville. But a total of 13 years at one church! During a time of trial is when you need your church the most but it was quite the opposite when we talked to the Pastor! What the crap was I thinking…how could a church turn there back on us, we were no different than their families. The last time I checked most families probably all families are screwed up with some kind of problem and are surely not pefect. We were out of church for 6 months having church every Sunday in our home and a Wednesday night Bible study with our kids. We began to visit churches in June. The 3rd church visited was Crosspoint, I remember the first visit Dave saying “We are a church that wants people other churches doesn’t want”, I truly connected with that statement! Our church didn’t want us but there was one that did! We invited my neice(Tina)the next week who attended church some and her husband (Eric) who didn’t want to step foot in a church. That first Sunday they attended God was dealing with Eric…he was beside me and I could kind of tell. Because the church Crosspoint is and what they stand for (truth) and who they stand for (Christ) Eric was saved. We continued to invite family that have not been in church in several years, they are now attending reguarly and Nancey’s husband Jackie has accepted Christ…and will be baptized at the next appointed time. Crosspoint has left a mark on our family and some of our extended. Our family is being marked in Christ by what Crosspoint is doing and I am forever thankful for that. I thank you Dave and the way God is using you. We have more family members that are not saved and hopefully like Dave says we will “drag” them to church. This is a church that our family and extended family members have never stopped talking about everyday since the first day attending. Thank you Crosspoint for the vision that you have for reaching us and those that are going to be reached because of your love. Sorry this is so long!

  16. Pttyann  on December 26th, 2008

    Wow! I mean that’s what it’s all about reaching hurting people,especially your Brother’s & Sister’s in Christ,because how can we help others unless we are made whole.Tell your Pastor I said hello & keep up the good work,let him know he is reaching others through his members Praise God.Loe Ya Lynn

  17. Pttyann  on December 26th, 2008

    Way to go I am overwhelmed at the lenghts you go to Reach the lost for Jesus!Please keep me on your mind during prayer.That’s the kind of stand I want to take for my Saviour radical and doing God’s way.Because Jesus did upset the religious in the way He did things.You go Pastor!! Hallelujah

  18. Pastor T  on December 27th, 2008

    Awesome post bro!! This is my first of what I expect to be many trips to your blog. Great stuff here. I’m gonna share this post over on my blog, if you don’t mind. Of course, I’ll tell them where it came from :-) .

  19. Megan Smith  on January 5th, 2009

    Wow! What an awesome post! What you have said in this post is the epitome of why I attend Crosspoint. I was a member of my previous church for fourteen years, a very traditional Methodist church (that I am not bashing), but when I left, I had no friends, and did not feel loved. I’ve made some mistakes in life, and instead of embracing me, I felt like the church hated me. Crosspoint was the first church I visited, and the last. From my first five minutes in the theatre lobby, I knew I had found some wonderful people. After one month of visiting Crosspoint, I knew I had found a new church home. I have never felt so accepted. My daughter and I were welcomed with open arms, just as Christ welcomes those who believe in Him. God is using Crosspoint, not only to make a mark on Decatur, but on all of North Alabama, maybe all of the United States, one soul at a time.

  20. Pastor Gary  on January 8th, 2009

    I am well north of y’all, over the Mason-Dixon line in PA (mostly frozen today, glazed in crystalline ice). I was running around the internet and discovered this site/blog! Man, Father stirred my heart with the INKED version of Advent! I also am an inked pastor; shaved headed and kilt-wearing, too. There is a segment of our culture that can relate to this and often feel judged before entering the stained-glass doors of most churches. I am glad that my Jesus hung around with ALL of His culture in His three years of ministry! Today, He might walk into a western culture church to worship on Sunday morning, but He would invest all the other hours of the week with us on the outside. Sad how His command to GO TO THE WORLD has been interpreted as COME TO THE CHURCH BUILDING. I will be listening to Father to hear if He wants me to approach my tattoo artist about doing a Bible study in his shop–that idea really intrigues me!


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