CROSSING OVER - Paul Scanlon

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Introduction

“Crossing Over” is not about cosmeticchange; it is about an extreme makeover.

Crossing over is about radical change; theprize is commensurate with the pain, andthe problem is as big as the promise that fol-lows it.

This book carries a message for all Chris-tians even though it is directed at particularkinds of leaders and churches. There aremany churches that may have had a great pastbut have no future without a radical trans-formation. To you I want to say: your daydoesn’t have to be over; your time needn’t bepast. The present struggles in your churchmay not be announcing the end of your min-istry but the beginning of something new.Perhaps this book can help to explain andinterpret your present season of life. As youread our story of “crossing over,” it may helpyou make sense of where you and yourchurch are today.

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Every new move of God has a new lan-guage, a new vocabulary. In Isaiah 43:19,God declares, I will do a new thing. We mustallow time to pass and room to grow beforewe start trying to over-define any “newthing” God may be doing. Even God doesn’tattempt to name it; it’s just a new thing. How-ever, in the UK where I pastor, “crossingover” has become widely used to describethe journey thousands of churches mustmake. Without intending it, crossing over hasbecome new vocabulary to interpret the oth-erwise confusing language of what’s goingon in many churches. Though all thesechurches are different, they all share com-mon features of a crossing over scenario:

• A blessed past but a growingawareness that its future is notsecure.

• Leaders who have deepening con-cerns for the future of their move-ment, business, church, or ministry,and who know that without radicalchange, it’s over.

• Leaders for whom relevance to thelost has become a major issue, butwho don’t know how to move acomfortable church toward a lesscomfortable future.

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• Increasing awareness of a need for a“wineskin” change, but confusionabout what that actually looks like.

I want Crossing Over to be a kind of map,a signpost to help others navigate across theirpersonal or corporate Jordan because, Ipromise you, when you start going againstthe status quo in your church, all hell maybreak loose!

God’s Crash-Test Dummies

Crossing Over is my crash-test journal for allto read. I want to say to all my fellow pastorsand leaders on the planet, “If I survived—socan you!” If my survival helps you to attemptwhat’s in your heart, then my collisions, bat-tles, and sleepless nights were all worth it.The deep-seated and, at times, gut-wrenchingfear of attempting to escape a past thatnobody wants to escape and the relief of find-ing the strength and support to enter yourfuture can both be overwhelming. The apos-tle Paul said, I bear in my body the marks

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(Galatians 6:17), or, in other words, “I’m asurvivor; I’m a crash-test dummy; I’m livingproof that no amount of resistance can stopyou.”

My desire is to become a crash-testdummy for other “crossing over” pilgrims.What I survived doesn’t have to kill you, butin order for that to happen you must firstknow about the tests, crashes, and collisionsthat I walked away from.

I bear on my life the marks of our crossingover; they are in this book for all to see, andevery one of them is saying the same thing:crossing over—the reinvention of thechurch—can be survived! More than that, Iwant every mark, scar, and blemish to readlike the label on the leather couch I boughtrecently, which said: “This product is notfaulty or damaged. All the markings, scar-ring, and discolorations on this product arenormal and enhance its natural beauty.”

One day you will be the “product” otherswill examine; maybe a fearful pastor willlook to you for help and courage whileattempting what is in his heart. Show himyour label: “This person is not faulty or dam-aged. All the markings, scarring, and blem-ishes are normal and enhance the humanityand authenticity of a life lived in pursuit ofthe purpose of God.”

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Setting the Scene

Our church was about twenty-five years oldand dying. We had certainly grown over theyears from six people meeting together in ahome to around 450 now regularly attend-ing—a large church by UK standards. Dur-ing this time we had also started eight otherchurches in our region by sending groups offifty or more adults from our congregationinto the neighboring towns and cities. Wewere a good church; some may even say agreat church—the flagship church in our par-ticular group of churches. We were a deeplycommitted family, loving and nurturing,holding regular evangelistic events andenjoying vibrant church services. Our build-ing was virtually debt-free, we had money inthe bank, and the people were generousgivers.

Everything about our church seemed to besaying, “All is well,” and there was nothingto be alarmed about. But in my heart alarmbells were ringing. The comfort, safety, andsecurity that a church like ours enjoyed andoffered was my greatest concern because itwas our greatest enemy.

During this period of growing concern, I

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began to look at my own church as a doctorwould examine a patient. In a detached, clin-

ical, and calculating way, Istarted to examine thebody of our church forsymptoms of the sickness Iknew we had and fearedcould be terminal. It’s noteasy to attend your ownchurch as a visitor or lookat your own body or life’swork objectively; but tosurvive, we must.

I remember one particular Sunday morn-ing so clearly. I was watching the churchassemble and observing what I’d been a partof for years but had never seen: peopleentered the sanctuary, put down their belong-ings on or under chairs, and walked away tochat with each other. Car keys, house keys,purses, cell phones, and so on, were all leftunguarded as we all just fellowshipped witheach other. This scene became a statementabout the condition of our church. That state-ment was simply, “We are not reaching thelost.” We were so comfortable and so confi-dent that strangers who might steal our stuffwere not present that we did something inchurch we wouldn’t dream of doing any-where else in our daily lives. Our abandoned

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It’s not easy to attendyour own church asa visitor or look atyour own body orlife’s work objectively;but to survive, wemust.

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valuables strewn on the floor were testamentto the safety and comfort levels we haddrifted into.

Now, years later, our floors are spotlessand we guard our stuff because there are somany visitors presentwhom we don’t know andcannot vouch for. I real-ized, as every senior pas-tor must, that our futurechurch was among lostpeople, and unless westarted reaching out tothem, we had no future.The prospect of growingold while looking at the same few faces inchurch was scary—too scary to live with!

In 1998, and several months into this sea-son of asking, “What’s wrong with ourchurch?” my own sense of destiny and visionwere forming strongly within me. I knewGod had called me to build a church of thou-sands, and I also knew some in our presentchurch would never embrace all the changesthat would require. Our six hundred-seatbuilding of nine years was already provinginadequate, and I knew in my heart that itcould never facilitate my vision for thou-sands. I decided, together with my team, tobuild a new two thousand-seat building for

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Our future churchwas among lostpeople, and unlesswe started reachingout to them, we hadno future.

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the growth I knew would come if I was obe-dient to God. By early 1999 the earth moverswere on site digging out the foundationswhen God so clearly spoke to me.

The new building was fifty yards acrossthe parking lot from our present building. AsI looked out of my office window at the foun-

dations being dug, Godsaid, “You are not buildinga new building; you arestarting a new church.”God emphasized to me thatin twelve months, when theproject was complete, weshouldn’t just change ouraddress. We should change

our church. At that moment, I first heard theterm “crossing over” in my spirit. God said tome, “In twelve months you will cross thischurch over into their promised land.”

I instantly recognized the terminology fromJoshua 1—3, which details how Joshua“crossed the people over” the Jordan River intotheir promised land. Instantly I could see thebigger picture, the master plan that I hadn’t yetseen but knew was there. To me the parkinglot became the Jordan River we were tocross, the new two thousand-seat auditoriumbecame Canaan, and our present buildingbecame the wilderness. All of this made me a

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God said to me, “Intwelve months youwill cross this churchover into theirpromised land.”

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kind of Joshua, and so I turned to his life forwisdom. In one year we would march intothat new building, but more importantly, wewould march into our future. I was to start anew church inside the old church, and thatwould be the church that would cross overwith me.

The rest of this book is about that journey.It is not our personal story as much as it is arecord of the principles and concepts we dis-covered along the way that will work any-where. I warn you that this journey is not forthe fainthearted; it will require great courage.Eight years and thousands of people later, Iknow I heard God. I wonder if deep in yourheart, you know God is also calling you toyour own crossing over. Whatever you do,don’t stop now. Keep going, for the best isyet to come.

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Chapter 1

Preparing to Cross Over

“Crossing over” can describe your journeyfrom one level of life to another; your jour-ney from one season to another; your journeyfrom what was to what is. For me it describesthe journey from being yesterday’s church tobecoming the church of today and tomorrow.It is a process that every living, growing,healthy ministry or church will go through atsome point. Such “crossings” nearly alwaysrequire major change, which can be unset-tling at best and traumatic—even devastat-ing—at worst. The opportunity to “cross

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over” comes to every generation, and while itcan be refused, it cannot be denied or

avoided. Everything thatwants to grow and have arelevant future has tochange, and change isGod’s gift to humanity.“Crossing over” is mylanguage for and descrip-tion of the change whichthousands of churchesmust embrace, or theywill face extinction.

In this chapter, I wantto share with you sixsteps of preparation forcrossing over. These arefundamental to the suc-cess of what comes next,

so don’t be tempted to skim over this initialchapter. I know that preparation is the part ofany process we least enjoy, but without it,whatever we do will not be a thing of quality.In the next chapter we will begin to explorethe practical dynamics of crossing over inmore detail.

Throughout this book we will draw widelyfrom Joshua’s experience of leading God’speople, Israel, across the river Jordan, asrecorded in the Book of Joshua 1—3. Their

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Everything that wantsto grow and have arelevant future has tochange, and changeis God’s gift tohumanity. “Crossingover” is my languagefor and description ofthe change whichthousands ofchurches mustembrace, or they willface extinction.


“crossing over” was the final act that closedthe door on their slavery in Egypt and theforty years of wilderness wandering. So, forour illustrative purposes,the Jordan represents thefinal barrier that God wantsyou to cross over. Crossingover your “Jordan” willtake you from a past youmust leave and project youforward to take possessionof the promise-filled futureGod has for you. It is whatthe real you instinctively wants; you want tobreak through, go up, press in, cross over,and possess.

Crossing the Jordan therefore representsthe transition between where you are nowand where God wants you to be. It might bea personal crossing over to achieve yourGod-given destiny. Alternatively, it may be acorporate crossing over that is needed. As achurch, business, or ministry, it may meanmaking radical changes to the culture andstructure of your organization in order tocross over into the future you see.

Whether personal or corporate, crossingover will involve great upheaval and personalpain in your life. It will require a great dealof courage and the ability to hold firm to your

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It is what the real youinstinctively wants;you want to breakthrough, go up, pressin, cross over, andpossess.


convictions. Crossing over will not be easy,and those who call for it will not be popular.

A “Crossing Over”Perspective

The principles which helped us to cross overour church successfully were discoveredthrough our own experiences. They arerooted in our own painful reality. They cometo you having been lived out in us, and forthat reason, I am confident about theirauthenticity. At some point we must answerthe challenge both history and destiny haveput before us—the challenge God has led usto face. Every year, thousands of churchesclose, and while some should close, many doso because of a failure to reinvent themselvesand cross over into their new day.

Although many would aspire to and appre-ciate the benefits of Canaan, few are willingto surrender and separate from past mentali-ties, practices, and relationships. Every gar-dener understands the difference betweenannual and perennial plants. Annuals comeonce and then die whereas perennials stay in

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the ground and regenerate every year. In life,and particularly church life, we fail to discernthis same differencebetween what was goodbut must die, and what isstill good and must stay.Crossing over is as muchabout discovering whatwe must leave behind as itis about embracing whatwe can keep.

Six Stages of Preparation

During our journey, we identified six stagesof preparation that are essential to crossingover. If you follow these six things, you willbe left with no other option than to go for-ward because the first stage is so final that itimmediately places you at the point of noreturn. So, if you are not yet prepared to fol-low through, stop here! Whatever you do,don’t experiment and then abandon theprocess. Think through each stage carefully,and then take them in sequence. These arethe stages:

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Crossing over is asmuch aboutdiscovering what wemust leave behind asit is about embracingwhat we can keep.


• Separation• Confirmation• Courage• Commitment• Secrecy• Favor in the city

1. Separation—“Moses is dead!”

Joshua 1:1 tells us of Moses’ death. When Godtold Joshua that Moses was dead, it wasn’t justinformation, it was also separation. Joshuaalready knew that Moses was dead, but ini-tially he didn’t realize that Moses’ death wasa physical separation requiring conceptualand generational separation too. For God’speople to complete the next phase of theirjourney, there had to be a “separation”—asevering of the things of the past in order to

grasp the future. Separa-tion is always the first actof possession. If you reallywant to receive somethingnew, you must let go ofsomething old first. It is alife principle. Historicallythe church has not beengood at letting go; we wantto possess the new but stillkeep the old. Jesus said

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Separation is alwaysthe first act ofpossession. If youreally want to receivesomething new, youmust let go ofsomething old first. Itis a life principle.


that unless a kernel of wheat goes into theground and dies, it cannot release a harvest(John 12:24). Something always has to die inorder for the life within it to live.

The first thing we must do in order to crossover is separate ourselves from everythingwe cannot take forward with us. You can’thave Joshua and keep Moses. You can’t havethe wilderness and Canaan. You can’t alwayskeep the people you have and reach the onesyou want. Consider the “Moses mentalities”in your past. What things were valid parts ofyour yesterday but have no place in yourtomorrow? Anything, from dead and irrele-vant traditions to ministries, church depart-ments, staff, and leaders, which either cannotor will not transition to the next level, mustbe separated. This is the hardest part—sepa-rating from people with whom you thoughtyou would grow old.

If you attempt to change things, some peo-ple will not stick around; they won’t go qui-etly, and they will probably take others withthem. That’s a sad truth, but it is pointless tohold on to people who don’t want to go onthe journey with you. People don’t likechange, and some actually have a vestedinterest in things not changing.

God wanted Joshua to understand he couldnot lead the people the way Moses had. God

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knew that most of the people had not graspedthis fact, but Joshua, their new leader, must.They could no longer function under the oldregime with its old wilderness mind-set, andneither can we. God did not want Joshua orthe people to live under the shadow of Moses.His death announced a separation from theprevious way of doing things that had workedfor his generation but now needed to change.This is the challenge that faces us all if we arecommitted to crossing over and possessing allGod has in store for us. Moses is dead! Hewas awesome in his time, but this isn’t histime; it’s yours and your generation’s. You arethe Joshuas of today.

2. Confirmation—“You are my choice.”

The second stage of preparation was confir-mation. After God established the separationfrom the old way of doing things throughMoses’ death, He confirmed Joshua’s posi-tion as leader. God wanted Joshua to knowthat he was “the man” and could do anything.In preparation for crossing over, God hasalready identified those who are able to goforward and lead others. Somebody muststep up and be the leader because nobody hasbeen where you are going next. These leadersare the people who can smell Canaan

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already; they can taste it now, even see it,though they are not there yet. They are drunkwith the promise of a new day and the possi-bility of another chance to enter their prom-ised future.

God said to Joshua, As I was with Moses,I will be with you. I will not leave you norforsake you (Joshua 1:5). With these wordsGod confirmed Joshua’s leadership. Hegave Joshua the stamp of approval. Godmade it clear He was with Joshua—not lessthan He was with Moses, not almost asmuch as He was with Moses, but withJoshua just like He was with Moses. Wemust know that God is with us because therewill be times in the transition period when itwill feel like no one else is.

There were times in the early stages of ourcrossing over when I felt very alone as thesenior leader. I knew that others were withme, but many of them would not find thecourage or confidence to express it untilmuch later. The willingness to stand alone fora season, if necessary, was an important dis-covery for me. You need to know what it islike to stick with Jesus and, if necessary, goon alone. Up to that point I thought my lead-ership had approval and support from thoseover and around me. To go forward withoutthose approvals or endorsements was new

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and frightening. However, staying where wewere as a church was even more frighteningto me. I was determined to reach our “prom-ised land.”

Some of you reading this are addicted topeople’s approval, especially people yourespect and admire. But some of these goodpeople—even inadvertently—will resist yourprogress down what seems to be a recklesspath. You must know, deep down, that youhave heard from God; He is with you, and ifyou will only keep moving, you will meet

others who are also withyou. God wants to confirmus in what we are doing,because, No one who putshis hand to the plow andlooks back is fit for servicein the kingdom of God(Luke 9:62 NIV). If all thissounds divisive to you, itis! Revelation both unites

and divides, and the revelation of the futurethat you can’t let go of will be no different.

3. Courage—“Be very courageous.”

Be strong and of good courage . . . be strongand very courageous . . . do not be afraid norbe dismayed (Joshua 1:6-9). Why did God

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Revelation bothunites and divides,and the revelation ofthe future that youcan’t let go of will beno different.


need to tell Joshua so many times? BecauseHe knew how important courage would be tothe success of Joshua’s mission—and howdestructive discouragement could be. Some-one has said that discouragement is theleukemia of the soul. As leukemia attacks thelife-giving power of blood, so discourage-ment tries to attack the life of our God-givenpassions.

Perhaps more believers have been takenout by discouragement than anything else.Courage is the greatest among manyadmirable virtues. Once courage is present, itacts like an anchor for all the rest. Commit-ment, wisdom, planning, and decision-making all come easier with courage. Joshuacouldn’t afford the luxury of fear and dis-couragement, and neither can we.

The level of anger, upset, and resistancefrom some people in my church was shock-ing. Those who resisted our reinvention mostvigorously were pastors, elders, deacons, anddepartment heads. They were my first intro-duction to what I call the “church mafia”!They were church bullies trying to intimidateand control a leadership set on a new direc-tion—a direction which might well dispos-sess their positions. Don’t get me wrong;these were good people, and many of themwere our friends. But you must never let

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good people keep you out of your best life.They tried to intimidate me with the threat ofremoving financial support, reporting me tothose who were over me, and even leavingthe church and taking others with them. Mywife and I came under huge personal attack,as did the few other leaders who had dared toalign with us. We had many long, lonely, anddiscouraging days—days when it looked likethey were right and we were wrong. But Iwould live every one of those miserable daysagain for what we have now.

Be strong and courageous! God is drawnto courage; He loves courage. Hebrews 11

lists the heroes of the faith.It is certainly not a list ofpeople who were living aperfect life or, in somecases, a holy life. Rather, itis a list of courageous peo-

ple, many of whom would not be welcome inmost churches today—a prostitute, a mur-derer, a deceiver, and so on. I’ve met peoplewith apparently perfect lives who lackedcourage and people whose lives were farfrom perfect who had lots of courage. And Iknow which ones I’d rather have alongsideme in a tough situation!

Whatever happened to courage in thechurch? Where are God’s bravehearts?

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God is drawn tocourage.


4. Commitment—“We are with you.”

God chose Joshua as Moses’ successor; Heaffirmed him and set him apart as the nextleader (see Deuteronomy 34:9; Joshua 1:1).Shortly after, the people came to Joshua andsaid, All that you command us we will do,and wherever you send us we will go (Joshua1:16). God’s affirmation of Joshua was fol-lowed by a confirmation in the hearts of thepeople. The people showed their commit-ment to Joshua by pledging to follow himacross the Jordan.

Once some people realize that you havebeen willing to separate from the past andhave the courage to keepgoing for the future, theywill support you. What’s inyour heart is in other peo-ple’s hearts too, but someneed to see strength to findstrength. It won’t be every-body; it probably won’t bethe majority and almostnever includes some you most want it to be.People don’t commit to weakness or instabil-ity, they commit to strength and courage.Once you believe that God is with you andstart to live like He is, you will draw support,courage, and commitment from others.

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What’s in your heartis in other people’shearts too, but someneed to see strengthto find strength.


Please understand, particularly the leaderswho are reading this, people’s support andencouragement follow your separation andcourage. You have to move first, without evenknowing if anyone will follow. That’s whyyou are called a leader!

When our church crossed over, I had todecide that if only a handful of people camewith me, I would still continue. I had to findthe strength to appear to be a failure before Icould succeed. In reality, hundreds stuckwith me, but I didn’t know that until I wasway past the point of no return.

5. Secrecy—“Be careful who you tell.”

Joshua recognized the need for secrecy. Thefirst spying mission to the Promised Landended in failure, costing millions their destiny.Joshua had been a key player in that eventforty years earlier, and he had learned from hisexperiences in the wilderness. Imagine hisfrustration and resentment at having to call offentering the Promised Land because of theunbelief of others. I imagine that he must havesaid to himself, “If I get my chance, I will def-initely do this a bit differently.”

Moses had sent his spies out very publicly.They were all high-profile community lead-ers, and whatever they came back with would

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determine everyone else’s response. Joshua,however, opted for secrecy, and it is easy tosee why. The whole nation had waited withbated breath for Moses’ spies to return withtheir report. Imagine the speculation thatmust have been going on while the spieswere away. In the same way, there can beneedless speculation in the church, if yourplans to cross over your “Jordan” are airedprematurely. Joshua must have said to him-self, “I will never make that mistake; I willtell no one until the time is right,” and that iswhat he did. When the time came, he sent hisspies over the Jordan into Jericho in secret.They were anonymous, it was a low-keyoperation, no one knew they had left, andthey reported back privately to Joshua.

At the beginning of our crossing over, thefirst steps were made privately. Saying toomuch too soon would have created problems,started too many rumors, and caused toomuch instability. Announcements from thepulpit or unguarded conversations will notalways win the commitment of the people;they can become nervous and uncertain aboutimplied changes with what they’ve alwaysbeen comfortable. You have to be able to keepa secret and work quietly, confidentially.

Such privacy, especially about the work-ings of the church, may be difficult for you.

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It certainly was not easy for me because, his-torically, I had built close, covenant relation-ships based on openness and accountability.When I kept quiet, I felt like I was beingdeceitful. I had to get past that feeling, andyou will, too.

I realize that secrecy and privacy are notthe church’s best strengths. Because of thecommunity and openness in a fellowship of

faith, people feel as if theycan share anything they’veheard. Therefore, some-times the less we tell peo-ple, the better it is. Themoment the wrong peoplehave your information, itbecomes subject to theircontamination by unin-vited and unwanted opin-ions. It is better to saynothing than to say some-thing and then spend yourtime trying to play it downand explain it away.

Secrecy was certainly a huge key to the suc-cess of Joshua’s crossing over, and it will befor you too.

As your plan develops, choose carefullywith whom you share information. Initially,only involve people who see what you are

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Therefore, sometimesthe less we tellpeople, the better itis. The moment thewrong people haveyour information, itbecomes subject totheir contaminationby uninvited andunwanted opinions.


seeing—regardless of who they were underthe previous administration. If you can dothis, then when the time is right to reveal theplans for crossing over, you will already havedeveloped a strong immunity against the neg-ativity, criticism, and unbelief of others.

The bottom line is: Guard your heart; becareful whom you speak to and what you say.Don’t allow yourself to be hijacked by theopinions of others. Don’t talk openly aboutthings you are not ready to disclose. Keepyour own counsel.

6. Favor in the city—“Friends in low places.”

God gave Joshua a way into the city of Jeri-cho through Rahab the prostitute. Once thespies had entered the city, the king of Jerichosomehow found out and went on a house-to-house search for them. Rahab risked her lifeand not only hid them but sent their pursuersaway in the wrong direction. Then we read:

Before the spies lay down for thenight, she went up on the roof andsaid to them, “I know that the LORD hasgiven this land to you and that a greatfear of you has fallen on us, so that allwho live in this country are melting infear because of you. We have heard

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how the LORD dried up the water of theRed Sea for you when you came outof Egypt, and what you did to Sihonand Og, the two kings of the Amoriteseast of the Jordan, whom you com-pletely destroyed. When we heard ofit, our hearts melted and everyone’scourage failed because of you, for theLORD your God is God in heavenabove and on the earth below. Nowthen, please swear to me by the LORD

that you will show kindness to myfamily, because I have shown kind-ness to you. Give me a sure sign thatyou will spare the lives of my fatherand mother, my brothers and sisters,and all who belong to them, and thatyou will save us from death.”

“Our lives for your lives!” the menassured her. “If you don’t tell what weare doing, we will treat you kindly andfaithfully when the LORD gives us theland.”

So she let them down by a ropethrough the window, for the houseshe lived in was part of the city wall.Now she had said to them, “Go to thehills so the pursuers will not find you.Hide yourselves there three days untilthey return, and then go on your way”(Joshua 2:8-16 NIV).

To have favor in the city—in your owngeographical area—is critical for churches

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who desire to cross over because the city isyour future church. We must realize thatmost of the people who areyet to join our “church”aren’t even saved! Yourfuture church is among thethousands of people whodon’t yet know you exist.God gave Joshua a sign,showing him there wereGod-fearing people in thecity of Jericho who were more willing to risktheir lives to help him cross over into Canaanthan some of his own people. God hadunusual allies in the city. A woman known asRahab the prostitute became Joshua’s great-est helper. Not the governor, mayor, or cityleaders, but a prostitute.

Maybe we need to reverse our thinkingabout how we influence a city. Communi-ties are changed from the grass roots up, notfrom the top down. We all need friends inlow places to influence a community. Everypolitician understands this. If a politiciancan get the support of the grass roots of acountry in sufficient numbers, he will win.You may think you need to curry favor withthe rich, famous, and influential to win acity, and while that can help, it is alwaysinsufficient.

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Your future church isamong thethousands of peoplewho don’t yet knowyou exist.


No doubt many in the city thought ofRahab as the dregs of society, yet this womanmust have told the spies things they couldnever have otherwise known. She knew theword on the street better than anyone. Shetold them what the government of the citywas saying; she told them what the word wason the political and military grapevine. Let’sface it, she had probably slept with some ofthose in authority and knew all the stuff thateven people in positions of authority didn’tknow. She told the spies what she knew, andthe spies reported back to Joshua. That musthave done something very affirming to hisheart. Joshua must have felt that there was“favor in this city” and that God had givenhim allies in strategic places. What this doesin a leader’s heart is priceless.

Rahab represents the thousands of peoplewho are open to God in our communities, butwho don’t feel that they would ever be wel-

come in a church. None ofus in church life will evermeet our “Rahabs” as longas we try only to keepthose already in the churchhappy and try to maintainour church’s status quo.Rahab is on your side, butshe won’t come to you;

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Rahab is on yourside, but she won’tcome to you; youmust go to herhouse, her streets,her world.


you must go to her house, her streets, herworld.

The deepest concern I had for our churchwas that we were not growing. We were notreaching lost people. Our church was twenty-five years old, with a weekly attendance ofabout four hundred people, and was success-ful by UK church standards. But we weredying a slow death that no one seemed tohave noticed or be alarmed about. Thisdescribes thousands of churches, filled withgood people who love God but have forgot-ten why they exist. I had forgotten why weexisted. I was so busy servicing the needs ofoverfed and under-exercised Christians that Ihad stopped mobilizing them to address alost world.

I knew what we needed to do but wasn’tsure how to start. I needed an idea. That ideacame in the form of a bus ministry. In April1999, just a few months into our crossingover journey, someone handed me a book byPastor Tommy Barnett called, There’s a Mir-acle in Your House. In his book, Tommyexplained how he had used a bus ministry togrow his church. Although the bus ministrywas only mentioned in passing, the ideastuck with me. Within days we had found amini-bus rental company and the followingSunday had a family of five ride our very first

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bus to church. The following week theybrought others, until we were bringing hun-dreds of “Rahabs” to our Sunday servicesincluding some from the most deprived areasof the city.

Well, as you can imagine, not everyone inthe church liked this and they began to lineup to let me know just how much they didn’t!The best thing for me, as mentioned in myintroduction, was seeing the floor and chairsspotless on Sunday morning. People satholding their stuff for fear that one of those“bus people”—as some called them—wouldsteal their valuables. Suddenly our churchwasn’t safe anymore, and I had my sign of“favor in the city” from those grassroots peo-ple who by the hundreds were giving theirlives to God.

Prior to 1999, despite our having been inthe city for twenty-five years, virtually noone knew we existed. Now, just a few yearslater, we are known throughout the city as“the church that helps people”—the kind ofpeople most churches would not welcome.

Consider these six stages of preparationcarefully:

• Separation• Confirmation• Courage

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CROSSING OVER


• Commitment • Secrecy• Favor in the city

Think about these stages carefully as youprepare for your own crossing over journey,and in the next chapter we will look at six addi-tional principles of crossing over, once againbased on Joshua’s example and experience.

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Documents

CROSSING OVER - Paul Scanlon