Crossroads Celebration Church

I grew up in an era where t-shirts were just white and an undergarment. Then when I was a Boy Scout and we were heading out to Idaho for a Jamboree, we collected things from stores to take and trade with other scouts. I got my first t-shirt with an ad on it. It was a white t-shirt with Dutchman Paints logo on it. [it was blue ink with a dutch boy and dutch haircut sitting on a board with a can of paint] What a booming business t-shirts have been since the early 1970′s.

I have just been to the printer with our churches third t-shirt order. Not bad for a church that is celebrating it’s third anniversary tomorrow, July 1, 2009. I have designed our t-shirts for camp and am now handing over the process of design to my daughter who does design professionally.

What an impact when in a town parade a dozen or more people are coming at you with the same t-shirt design. You see unity and pride in who you are and what you represent. Or someone is in the check out line and reading the back of your shirt and they make a comment about your message on your t-shirt. Usually I find positive comments from Christian t-shirts I wear. I was in Florida one day at a convenience store and a guy was reading my orange tie-dye shirt and we broke racial barriers and became instant brothers because of the message. We talked about our churches we come from. Shared a blessing of peace for each other before we left.

My children both received for high school graduation a t-shirt quilt of their favorite 12 t-shirts they kept when growing up. School bands and camps and church t-shirts. The bordering fabric was something that represented them. That was one of their favorite graduation gifts.

What public message do you portray? I had a beer t-shirt once when I was in college. But will no longer wear one that doesn’t portray a positive message. So, again, what public message do you portray? You are a walking billboard for someone. Are you a message for Christ in your attire? Do you lift up God on your shirt or break a commandment?

I think if Jesus were walking the streets of my town today, He would be wearing a t-shirt. It would have a print at the bottom with an arrow that says, “Touch here, for a Holy experience”

I’m excited about our church camp shirt for this summer. Our theme is God-Created Identity or GCI and we are going off a CSI concept. So the shirt will have a handprint on it and a red thumb print in the middle of the palm to represent Thomas touching the hand of Jesus where the nail scar was.

May you be a visual image of God in your t-shirt, Bless Him and not Curse Him!

Crossroads Church in Ankeny Iowa invites you to wear your t-shirt to worship anytime!

Free Garage Sale. Really? Are you sure? Yes, I am. We started our Free Garage Sale this morning. I just got done telling a guy that everything was free. He turned around and asked how much this little garden tiller was. I said it’s free! I don’t think he knew what to say about it. I’ll take it.

Many people had puzzled looks on their faces and weird little “hmph” noises going on. I wish I could have been in their thoughts. But it was good for everybody.

We had a wife come by whose husband had been laid off several months ago and hadn’t found work yet. They have three little children. Grandma sent them to our garage [free] sale. A new couple from a block away drove off with a queen sized bed. They were happy. Another couple are going to have a baby this year and drive half an hour to church, they said they might check us out for worship since we are within five minutes of their home and they didn’t want to drive this winter with a newborn. One lady came because she heard about us on the Christian radio station. Another family of five are taking a tv and futon and other things, they were dealing with little business with a slower construction market. Others grabbed sheets because they donate to some kind of mission.

We did not know what to expect. We hoped to help someone in need and I believe we did that several times. We certainly wanted to be connected to the community, to let them know we are here and I believe that happened also. Some people who came and took stuff are going home and searching their closets to bring for tomorrows Garage [Free] Sale. Who knows what God has in mind for our church have a Free Garage Sale. We had a tip jar out for our mission support, Teen Challenge. We raised over $130 so far. Our Superintendent wrote a response to our reminder email about the sale and he was thrilled.

Keep us in your prayers that Crossroads Church in Ankeny Iowa will still make an impact on the community and together we are all making an impact for the Kingdom! That’s what it’s all about…Bringing Jesus!

My how times change. I know things are supposed to be better with safety and other health concerns, but the good ol’ days sound like fun.

Yesterday, Father’s Day, dad and I were sitting in the back yard talking. It was hot. The temperature was in the 90′s and humid and the air conditioning was out. So we sat in the back yard in the shade and reminisced. Dad remembers the 1940′s in a small town that had a simple swimming pool that kids loved to go to on hot summer days and cool off.

He remembers that the small town pool also had gold fish swimming in it. It brought up a bunch of questions for me, having been a swimmer and a lifeguard. The gold fish swam in only part of the pool. The shallow end so that people weren’t jumping off the diving board hitting fish. No there was a screen in the pool keeping the gold fish at the shallow end. I could only imagine that the screen caused some problems with kids crawling over it, or scraping themselves on it. And what about those little kids in the shallow end who don’t like fish bumping into them? What about the cleanliness of the water, don’t fish make messes also? And my biggest question, where do they keep the gold fish in the winter when the pool isn’t open? Dad, didn’t have the answer. But he remembered the good ol’ days and I enjoyed hearing about the swimming pool with gold fish. I don’t ever recall hearing that story.

Well, my blessings to you who enjoy swimming in town pools and in ponds and lakes. It is summer time and whatever way you can stay cool – do it. As for now, my air conditioning is still off and it’s another hot one. The repair people are busy, but our basement is cool and the fan helps. The dogs are hanging out with me, but I’m thinking we may have to find a pool with gold fish. Maybe I could get a kiddie pool for the back yard and get some gold fish, but the question remains, what do I do with them in the winter?

Enjoy your summer!

It was supposed to happen this coming August but it happened here in June over Father’s Day. My wife and I became empty nesters. Our daughter moved out to her own pad. OK so there is still plenty of stuff here and we can’t move into her old room yet. But she is out on her own. She got a full time job in January and a new car so it was bound to happen sooner or later. It just happened a little sooner than planned.

So there are some bitter sweet things about it. Even though we have been in this house only two years, her bedroom will be forever her bedroom, even if it becomes an office or a big closet or whatever. We can no longer pull the Cinderella on her and get her to clean the house or take out the dogs or…you know do the Cinderella.

But this is important to her and to her parents. It is independence for all of us and as we say life moves on. She will now deal with more bills to pay. She will have to take care of herself if she gets a cold. But from these things we learn and we grow. It’s no different than the independence of heading off to kindergarten or getting your driver’s license. And her mom and I will be learning and growing ourselves. What do we do now that we are just the two of us again? [Party, party party........till 9 pm at the latest.]

We are all going through such stages. I was talking with friends at church yesterday and they too are going to be seeing changes in their lives and growing with their kids through those monumental ages. Good luck to all of us in the process of life and change and all the Crossroads we go through in life. Just make sure that Christ is going with you in those Crossroads.

Good Luck Bekah in your new adventure. You will do well. You have been taught well to live and love and laugh. You have Christ on your journey and it is your blessing. Love you – Dad.

Mark Tuttle invites all you read this to join us at Crossroads Church in Ankeny. There are families who are adjusting to about every style of parenting possible and we are supporting each other in the best Christian examples we possible can live out. Join us in prayer and loving support of one another.

It’s amazing the people and places that you learn from. I have a punk rock guitar player in my ethics class. He plays guitar in two bands. Elliot told me that he chooses not to do drugs, drink alcohol, smoke or do casual sex via a code of some punk rockers. It’s called “straight edge”. He seems pretty legit about his profession of this practice. It is an inspiration for me. I usually think about christians who do this as a lifestyle and a commitment to God through Christ. Yet I know some christians who do not live this lifestyle. It puts me in a quandary of why people make such commitments.

So I applaud those who choose such a lifestyle, no matter where their influence comes from. Thanks Elliot for a lesson learned.

Maybe Elliot would bring his punk rock into worship at Crossroads church in Ankeny and bring with him a testimony on “straight edge”.

We are doing a study on Heroes of the Bible for the summer. There are some incredible feats of strength and wisdom from our biblical heroes. But the one thing common for all of theme is their faith in God. It was God who told Joshua to march around Jericho, blow your trumpets and shout and the walls will come tumbling down. It was God who whittled down Gideons army to 300 and the battle was won with rams horns and clay jars. Who would have thought such battle strategies would have worked. But again it is our relying on God for strength and wisdom to get us through our daily battles.

Since we started our study on heroes, I have also taken a closer look at those common ordinary heroes that surround us today. People not in the spotlight, but in the shadows. People who don’t think of themselves as heroes, but just doing what any ordinary person would to to help another human being.

Some of those heroes of mine have been other Free Methodist pastor’s who at conference took a general interest in how life is going and how Crossroads is doing as a church plant. A young man who is stepping away from a comfortable job to start his own business (a christian business). A couple who are looking into adoption and expanding their lifestyle to include others and to give christian love and parenting away to a deserving child. A man in prison waiting for a second chance. A single mom raising two beautiful teens. A family living life to the fullest and representing Christ to kids that range in age from 18 to 3. A woman who is praying for the teenager that rear-ended her car. For a grandfather who loves his family and desires to stay close to them. A man unequally yoked in marriage, yet because of Christ he is doing everything possible to be a strong witness to keeping marriage alive and healthy. A woman who takes her work seriously and though in the secular world she maintains a witness for Christ to her co-workers. A man who builds a cabin at a christian camp for youth to find Christ. (This is a new friend that I met this week and the camp is the same place our youth go to and have stayed in his cabin and we are 4 hours apart.)

I could go on and on about people I see doing heroic things in their homes and places of work and elsewhere. I am sure that you know some of these people as well. Even though they are not in the spotlight, say a prayer of thanks to the good Lord for their affect in your life. Do it now. Don’t let a word of gratitude go by.

Mark Tuttle, pastor at Crossroads Church in Ankeny, Iowa. Come and meet some of our local heroes.

Crossroads Church through the assistance of Jeff and Jen Fleming were able to give away a car to a deserving young lady. Diana Burnell received a 1998 Grand Prix to get her to college this fall and to work and where ever she needs a ride.

Diana has practically raised herself these past 17 years and done a fine job of it too. This past year of being a senior at Woodward/Granger High School she has finished well with holding down two jobs and taking college classes as well. I know she was an A student in college because she has taken two classes from me. [I am the pastor of Crossroads and a professor of Ethics and Philosophy at DMACC] Diana has been a good candidate for this offering.

Crossroads not only gave Diana the car, but a Bible and a check for gas and insurance as well. This has been another outreach to impact the community. And Crossroads has made an impact on the community. Diana’s story with Crossroads has been published in the Ankeny Press Citizen. When I was garage sale shopping the other day, with my truck and Crossroads signs on the truck, someone asked, “Are you the church that gave away a car?” And of course it was a privilege to share an affirmative answer.

Crossroads Church meets every Sunday at SE Elemetary on Trilien in Ankeny

Join us for worship at 10:30 am and drive away happy knowing the Lord goes with us through all the crossroads of our life!

Crossroads has been challenged to make an impact on the community and the people of Crossroads have responded. Sunday, June 7 the women’s bible study planted flowers in a community park. Upon arrival the bed was a muddy mess, but the forecast didn’t look promising for a future date of planting so these women went ahead and dove in. Literally dove in. See the photos of mud on hands and feet, yet what a lovely flower bed they created.

Thanks for stepping up and making an impact on the community.

Crossroads Church meets at SE Elementary School on Trilien in Ankeny every Sunday at 10:30 am for worship come and join us. See what blooms in your life!

Having just written about a young boy that goes through my crossing intersection to school, I thought it only fair to write another one for the other gender.

Rachel is in fifth grade and goes to Crossroads Church here in Ankeny. She is a dynamo. I don’t know any other kid who is a great helper like she is. She helps clean up after church every Sunday. She is strong, pulling our large storage cupboard through the halls of the school all by herself. She is very respectful of her elders and enjoys younger children as well. She enjoys cleaning; like vacuuming and other chores that require some manual labor. And she does a great job of it, never complaining and taking her time doing it right.

I know she also has some parents that have taught her well. Rachel is truly a blessing to have around. I think our world is in good hands when I see our young people doing such tremendous things.

Thanks Rachel for being a wonderful young lady!