Dr. Matt Powell

Crossings Community – Planting a church in Katy, TX (Part 1)

November 3, 2012 by Matt 27 Comments

Lori and I thought God was calling us to plant a church for a long time before there was any action taken. It began with conversations here and there all surrounded by much prayer. We had come to a pretty definite conclusion about three years before the first home meetings began. We knew God was equipping us through great relationships and ministry experiences in that season, and we were waiting on him to give us the green light.

My way of coping with this passion while being engaged in other areas of ministry was frequent prayer trips. I would drive down into the neighborhoods around Cinco Blvd and pray over the homes that were being built. I would sit in the school parking lots and pray scriptures like Acts 2 over the homes that were being constructed. Although I had no idea where this church would meet, I would sit in the Kilpatrick Elementary parking lot and pray…. other days and times I would drive over to the construction site of Seven Lakes High School and sit in that parking lot with my Bible open, praying for the community and the people God would bring from all over the world to call this place home.

Crossings Community. A church in Katy, TX.

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The Season of the Avengers!

November 2, 2012 by Matt 7 Comments

My son has gone through a few different phases. All three of our children have, but the older ones are slowing down a little as they mature and find their stride. My son, on the other hand, is all that you would expect a little boy to be… he went through a season where all he talked about was trains (Thomas to be specific), then dinosaurs, and now superheroes. For me, each phase gets a little more fun. I mean, come on….. I get to go to Target and look at Captain America and The Hulk action figures with my son. Pretty great!

Our church is in an ‘Avengers’ season

Lori and I have have moved through a lot of different seasons within the life of our church, and each season could be named. Maybe there is a ‘Little Engine That Could’ season and a ‘Velociraptor’ season…. and… well… ‘Wonder Woman’ has been a constant (I have the best wife a pastor could ever dream of having). Right now, in our current season and as the father of a 4 year-old boy, I would say we are in an ‘Avengers’ season. [Read more…]

The Process

December 10, 2011 by Matt Leave a Comment

The process is always the same: prayer, exegesis, exposition. What comes out at the end always looks different. It is always exciting seeing how God chooses to work.

Matt Powell serves as teaching pastor at Crossings Community Church, a body of believers whose mission is to engage, equip, and empower homes for gospel transformation in Katy, TX.

Redefining Christianity in Suburbia

July 16, 2011 by Matt Leave a Comment

I remember in college, being in my last year of study, and being thrown a huge curve ball. In all of our music classes everything had revolved around a baseline system. That system was called “Movable Do.” It is that aged old system you are at least remotely familiar with – Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do. I know how you feel… you are suppressing the urge to sing the song from the Sound of Music. Anyway, we reached a point where they removed that system and altered the foundation that everything else had been based. This new system was like walking into a class finding a teacher who was suddenly speaking an entirely new language. Everything we had thought previously… our entire frame of reference was now pulled out from under us completely. It was a shocking and overwhelming moment.

Many people who grow up around our western church, and maybe most specifically our suburban church, have been raised with a definition of Christianity. This definition has been imposed and formed by the culture at large. Often we are raised equating the idea of Christianity with either being a good person or, for those of us who grew up inside the church, we have defined it by a prayer that is repeated in a sacramental fashion.

There is a passage in Matthew’s gospel that is particular hard for me to think about –

“Not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

This means it is very important how we approach this idea of being a Christian. We have to fight against the cultural definitions and see a journey that begins with putting authentic faith in Jesus. This authentic faith is authentic because it touches every nook and cranny of who we are as individuals. This means that where we go to church, how often we attend, or whether our name is on a membership list isn’t the crux of the conversation. This cannot be overstated because the #1 answer I get during any spiritual conversation with someone in the community is a reference to what denomination they belong to or what church they attend. Too many times ‘attend’ just refers to walking in the doors of a building once a year, twice a year, or at best once per month.

We are called to follow Jesus, abide in Jesus, and trust in Jesus. This journey (the ups, downs, struggles, and victories) is what it means to be a Christian. It is a daily adventure which forever changes the story of our life. We are individuals who are called to follow, abide, and trust. Then, the church is called to navigate this journey as an authentic community being transformed by the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Not only is correctly defining Christianity hugely important to you and me but it radically changes the conversation we have with others. Have you ever experienced a spiritual conversation that was quickly met by the credentials of someone’s denominational affiliation? Have you ever heard the, “we go to *name-a-local-church* and we really enjoy it”? How can you participate in reclaiming the biblical definition of Christianity amidst your everyday conversations?

Matt Powell serves as teaching pastor at Crossings Community Church, a body of believers whose mission is to engage, equip, and empower homes for gospel transformation in Katy, TX.

How to Find a Church in Suburbia

June 24, 2011 by Matt 3 Comments

I’m sure this is going to ruffle some feathers… well, maybe if I had been blogging here for more than a month and had established any readers it would ruffle some feathers. So, perfect timing! First, although I am the pastor of a church in our local suburban community of Katy, Tx this is not written in a way that necessitates people attending our church. We have some really great churches in our community as I am sure there are in your community as well. There are various options and rarely ever only one “good” church a community.

We have a fantastic athletic club here that is called Lifetime Fitness. It is a large company with locations all over the place and it is definitely the spot with the most amenities in our community. When someone moves to our community they will eventually look for an athletic club to join. They probably will not go with any regularity but you have to join… that is just what you do here in suburbia. These new homeowners will look around and try some of the options in the community but they will not doubt choose Lifetime. The people are nice, the trainers are knowledgeable, the amenities and plenty, and the place is beautiful. All the comforts and services they could possibly desire are found there and eventually our new couple will realize this is true and they will pledge their allegiance to this suburban mecca of fitness services.

This is all fine and dandy… Lifetime has done a phenomenal job of establishing themselves in our community. The problem is when that same new couple moved in they also needed to find a church. It just so happens that they looked for a church the exact same way they looked for a local fitness center. As a matter of fact, we could probably re-write that story replace church for fitness center and it would be a valid description.

When families move to suburbia, one of the items on their list is to find a church. Church could be a Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal, or Baptist church, but there is a social pressure present which necessitates them having a church. Just like the fitness center, they will not likely attend regularly but they will have their membership card available when the topic come up in conversation. Everyone in suburbia “has a church.” Here is an easy test you can deploy… you have probably noticed the activities of your neighbors on Sunday. They might be letting the kids play outside, walking the dog, washing the cars, or maybe stretching for a weekly golf outing… either way you know that they aren’t loading the family up for church each Sunday. Yet, when you talk with them and church comes up in conversation they seem to “have” a church. You often hear phrases like “our church” or “my church” from them when things like that come up. It is just part of being a suburban family – “having” a church.

If we have established we are all going to look for a church, then I would like to offer some guides as to what the suburban family should look for in that church. A church is so very different than a fitness club. Matter of fact, church is different than anything else in which we might participate. For church to be for us what it is really supposed to be, what do we look for in a church? As much as I hate the idea of “church shopping”, it is a reality. People search or “shop” around for churches. You can think of these ideas as Church Shopping 101. You should demand that all 5 of these things be present in church…

Bible Teaching – Yes, sadly they all are not that way. If we believe that the Bible is the book of truth or God’s word, then we want it to be the source of what is talked about at church. Also, it can be a little tough sometimes to figure out if a church is a Bible Teaching church. I would suggest you listen to the pastor and ask yourself if he is sharing his thoughts and supporting those thoughts with various pieces of the Bible or if he is sharing the Bible and letting his thoughts support or apply what it is already plainly saying?
Participant Oriented – This one is often the hardest to understand because it is one of the characteristics that make it different than all the other things we would look to find in suburbia – such as a fitness club. A Participant Oriented church is a church that is deeply concerned with how you can participate in seeing the mission accomplished. This church is more about how you can participate than how many services you can consume. By definition the church is a group of people working together to accomplish a mission or goal.
Life Changing – This one is a little more obvious but maybe harder to swallow. This type of church doesn’t want you to just find a level of comfort in where your life is today. This church wants to see a constant change in your life including your family, career, finances, and everything. If you can see being exactly the same person you are today after attending a church for years than it is definitely NOT a Life Changing church.
Externally Focused – We’re talking about a church here that is compassionate towards the local community as well as the global community. Whether on their website or on a Sunday (or even through talking to the pastor) listen for way in which they are leveraging their people resources and financial resources in local and global ways.
Jesus Talking – If you can attend a Sunday meeting and not hear the word “Jesus” then you are at the wrong place. Through song and spoken word you most definitely should hear about Jesus. If a group can gather together on Sunday and not mention Jesus then you should be very afraid… or maybe you just walked into Lifetime Fitness by mistake.

Obviously there is so much more that can be added and nuanced here, but this is a good foundation. The really great thing is that if these five items are present then so many other important things will be a by-product of these five. So, how does your church fit into this list of thoughts? Remember, this is just the basics, the introductory class. I don’t want to hear from all of you banner waiving contemporary worship evangelists or choir robe gospel devotees. That is not what this is about! Oh, and I love Lifetime Fitness. I’m a member and I go anywhere from 3-5 times per week. It is just not a church.