Cross Creek Church Blog

PCA 50th Anniversary – Freddie Fritz

We are so thankful for the Kingdom of God, which extends across centuries and nations and languages, as well as denominations. But within that broader kingdom work, we give praise for the particular expression of churches united for gospel mission and biblical accountability, known as the Presbyterian Church in America. May this denomination ever fulfill her founding motto – Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith, and Obedient to the Great Commission

PCA 50th Freddie Fritz from Roundtree Agency on Vimeo.

PCA 50th Anniversary – Susan Hunt

We are so thankful for the Kingdom of God, which extends across centuries and nations and languages, as well as denominations. But within that broader kingdom work, we give praise for the particular expression of churches united for gospel mission and biblical accountability, known as the Presbyterian Church in America. May this denomination ever fulfill her founding motto – Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith, and Obedient to the Great Commission

PCA 50th Susan Hunt from Roundtree Agency on Vimeo.

Good Faith Debates – Public Schools

The following video is part of a helpful series on topics facing Christians in American life today. We will be posting one each week and hope they will stimulate godly consideration of these matters from a Biblical perspective as well as model for us how sincere believers can disagree over important topics with grace toward each other.

Christian parents are right to give significant thought to where and how they educate their children. For many, the decision involves not only faith convictions but also financial realities, among other factors. Why, or why not, should a Christian parent have their children attend public schools? And if not, what are the best arguments for investing in a nonpublic education option (e.g. Christian private, homeschool, private classical school, and so on)? Whatever a parent decides, how might they compensate for the downsides of their choice?

View the Good Faith Debates website

Good Faith Debates – The Evangelical Label

The following video is part of a helpful series on topics facing Christians in American life today. We will be posting one each week and hope they will stimulate godly consideration of these matters from a Biblical perspective as well as model for us how sincere believers can disagree over important topics with grace toward each other.

What is an “evangelical”? Whatever the term meant historically, what does it mean today? To some ears, the term brings to mind MAGA hats more than church pews. To others, the term connotes certain theological commitments and missional postures. Has the term outlived its usefulness by taking on a meaning far from its original usage? How should faithful Christians use or not use “evangelical” as an identifying term?

View the Good Faith Debates website

Good Faith Debates – Racial Injustice

The following video is part of a helpful series on topics facing Christians in American life today. We will be posting one each week and hope they will stimulate godly consideration of these matters from a Biblical perspective as well as model for us how sincere believers can disagree over important topics with grace toward each other.

Few issues have divided the church in recent years more than the topic of race and justice. Even if there is agreement that injustice and systemic racism still exist, approaches to address these issues sharply divide many Christians. For churches and Christians who believe silence and apathy are not biblical options on this topic, but who are confused and frustrated about the best way forward, what should they consider? What are the best things Christians and churches can do to help bring necessary change?

View the Good Faith Debates website

Good Faith Debates – The Pro-Life Movement

The following video is part of a helpful series on topics facing Christians in American life today. We will be posting one each week and hope they will stimulate godly consideration of these matters from a Biblical perspective as well as model for us how sincere believers can disagree over important topics with grace toward each other.

Sometimes pro-life activists are criticized for caring about vulnerable life in the womb but caring little about vulnerable lives outside the womb. Is this a fair critique, and are there ways the pro-life movement should be more expansive in its efforts to celebrate the sanctity of life? For Christians, do the theological and moral foundations of the pro-life argument (e.g., imago Dei) call us to align with other causes (e.g., fighting racism, social injustice, or climate change) that might break rank with political coalitions typically aligned with pro-life policy? Or is there an argument to be made that a narrowly focused pro-life movement is essential and that expanding its focus can be counterproductive?

View the Good Faith Debates website

Good Faith Debates – Woke Church

The following video is part of a helpful series on topics facing Christians in American life today. We will be posting one each week and hope they will stimulate godly consideration of these matters from a Biblical perspective as well as model for us how sincere believers can disagree over important topics with grace toward each other.

The “woke” debates have fractured the church like little else in recent years. On one side are Christians who believe Scripture demands the church lead the way in addressing topics like racism, injustice, gender inequality, poverty, and climate change. On the other are Christians who accuse the “woke” gospel of just being a new generation of the “social” gospel, which in previous iterations often meant gradual theological compromise. What are we talking about when we use the word “woke”? And which should be the bigger concern for the church today: caring too little about activism on the social issues of the day, or caring too much about the wrong issues?

View the Good Faith Debates website

Good Faith Debates – Gun Control

The following video is part of a helpful series on topics facing Christians in American life today. We will be posting one each week and hope they will stimulate godly consideration of these matters from a Biblical perspective as well as model for us how sincere believers can disagree over important topics with grace toward each other.

The issue of gun control and 2nd Amendment rights is one of the most intractable, polarizing topics in contemporary America. Because it is such a partisan issue, many Christians naturally view the topic through that lens. But is there a Christian lens through which to evaluate the debate? If Christian ethics are brought to bear on the issue, what is the more biblical position? More restrictive gun control or more individual freedom to bear arms?

View the Good Faith Debates website

Good Faith Debates – Immigration

The following video is part of a helpful series on topics facing Christians in American life today. We will be posting one each week and hope they will stimulate godly consideration of these matters from a Biblical perspective as well as model for us how sincere believers can disagree over important topics with grace toward each other.

The issue of immigration is perennially divisive in American politics, and also among American Christians (whose opinions about immigration are often more informed by politics than the Bible). What are the best biblical arguments for strong borders and enforcement of immigration law on one side, or more open borders on the other? For Christians, how does our faith inform the relationship between respecting the law and showing compassion to undocumented immigrants?

View the Good Faith Debates website

Community

[Written by William Monroe]

If you listened to my family’s conversations about church throughout the week you’d hear all sorts of things

“Are we going to church?” or “I accidentally left my bag at church.” Or often, “Is it church day?” We use the word “Church” as convenient shorthand for all sorts of things. 

Church is not a building. Church is not a place. Church is not a time of the week. 

The one thing we tend to not use the word “Church” for, is the one thing it definitely is. Church is a community. 

“Bear one another’s burdens,
    and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
– Galatians 6:2 

Communities are built upon connections. These connections aren’t built from nothing. 

“A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.“
– Proverbs 17:17

Our culture encourages us to isolate when we are having a tough time. What we learn from the Bible, and from experience in a loving, connected church community is that adversity is precisely when we need our community. It is through adversity that our connections, our community, turns into a family.

Sometimes family (or community) is frustrating. On this side of heaven, we won’t find a perfect community. Life won’t always be easier with a community, but in a loving, connected, church community, it can be richer.

The Monroe family has had a difficult year. I’m not going to go into all the details on here, I’m happy to tell you about it sometime if you want to grab some coffee and catch up. What I will say is that this year has been so much more bearable, and so much better with our connection to a loving, connected, church community.