Even after nearly three decades of following Christ, there are still entire books of the Bible I’ve never read.

The below post is an excerpt from Crosspoint Staff Member Kate Stevens' blog, Hem-ology. Clint and Kate's recent upending of their lives —and Kate's words on their decision— so well illustrate our message from this past Sunday and what it means "to live is Christ." -- "We are selling our house, moving into an RV, paying off debt, and homeschooling our kids. . . Disclaimer #1 : We believe the same biblical principles apply to everyone, but not the same methodologies. Meanings, we all have the same requirements per Scripture, but different callings of how we carry those out. This is just where God has the Stevens. Disclaimer #2 : It is because of #1 that I feel like I really need to reiterate that we do not think our methodological switcheroo here should be everyone’s. Here is my timeline. You can ask Clint about his. I started praying about our schooling options in September of 2021. Two of my closest friends homeschool their children, yet they constantly pray for my daughters in public school and consistently ask how they are doing. This speaks volumes to me—they aren’t the pretentious homeschool types who believe any other method is a sin. This drew me in to want to closely watch how they did life with their children and to pray about how we do with ours. In February of 2022 one of those same friends talked about moving onto land and even living in their RV while their house was being built if they had to. We’ve gone on a handful of RV trips as a family, and they are amongst my dearest memories, so this was admirable—and interesting. I noticed a different kind of restlessness in Clint. He was a worship pastor for 10 years that ended unfavorably. For the last two years, he’s been trying to figure out what God has for him now that he is no longer bi-vocational. There was a slow simmer of “there has to be more than just an 8:00-5:00 at this job in order to pay for all the things in our lives” that suddenly seemed to turn to a rolling boil. I made a comment that I would sell the house and live in the RV on land with either of our parents or even with friends. We both laughed at that. In the beginning of March, I began reading “Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church” by Paul Tripp. In chapter five he is discussing the principle of our character. He challenges us to ask the question “Is what’s important to God still important to us?” And he follows with, “We should always be looking for subtle shifts in values that have progressively changed us and the way we do our work.” This is so simple and basic, but it hit me at a time that was life changing. I wasn’t consistently viewing life through God’s values but my own. Together we started reading “Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer in mid-March. We were only reading a chapter at a time because we would have long conversations afterwards. When Comer asks the question, “What is this pace of life doing to our souls?” we both realized Comer had the words to express Clint’s restlessness and my desire for real rest and peace. This question paired with Tripp’s charge to value what God does made me do a hard, honest stop—I hurry through everything to get to the next thing because there are more things lined up after that. I rush discipleship with my students, I rarely read to my kids before bedtime anymore, I do my Bible reading only to check it off and move on to house-cleaning or finish up work on one of my three jobs. I can easily hurry through a meal so I can tear through all the dishes so I can throw my kids in bed so I could collapse in front of the TV or a book. I love everything I am a part of—but I don’t value (or truly enjoy) any of it the way God wants me to. We started praying before bed that God would direct us in what He has for us instead of this frenetic routine with very little gain and no end in sight. How can we value what He does? How can we live in an unhurried way? How can we operate in a way that we are not just paying the next bill in the queue? Somewhere along the way we accumulated so much stuff, and the responsibility and maintenance of all the stuff does absorb much physical and mental space. The crescendo of it all We had just read this chapter of “Ruthless…” called “Something is deeply wrong” and were de-briefing it all. There is a list of ten symptoms of hurry sickness. Workaholism/nonstop activity; hypersensitivity; and the kicker for me: slippage of spiritual disciplines— Comer says, “…quiet time in the morning, Scripture, prayer, Sabbath, worship on Sunday, a meal with your community, and so on. Because in an ironic catch-22, the things that make for rest actually take a bit of emotional energy and self-discipline. When we get overbusy, we get overtired, and when we get overtired, we don’t have the energy or discipline to do what we need most for our souls.” And he ends the chapter with this thought: “Because what you give your attention to is the person you become.” It hit us both at the same time—we were turning into what we didn’t want because of so many big and small choices all compiled into one whopping, tired, hurried blur. We found ourselves quickly talking logistics and finances, seemingly to be only dreaming of what it would look like to profoundly change our family setup. Within an hour we had it all figured out: sell the house, upgrade the RV, move onto my parents’ land, Clint would work from a local office, I could still work from home, pay off nearly all our debt with the earnings from the house, and the girls would. . . ? Oh yea, school. If we moved away from the house then they would switch schools—that would be Harper’s 4th school in 6 years. The girl is resilient, but dang. This is when I confessed that I had been silently praying for months about homeschooling and if it was for us or not. Clint said he knew it—I suppose it was in the company I keep. Ha! Watching those two families, I realized they have a closeness with their children that is admirable and lovely. They are learning so much from one another, both actively and passively. My two big girls learned poetry this year in school, and I realized how jealous I was of their teachers. There are so many other aspects to this like teaching them femininity in organic ways, letting them have the free play they desire and need, not serving the clock or calendar, exploring the subjects that interest them individually, walking in a biblical worldview with them daily and hourly—but the bottom line is that I wanted to keep my kids. And my dear husband heard me and agreed. Carrying on After a three-hour discussion of all the possible pitfalls and landmines, Clint kept saying “If we can pull this off, then _____ could be the benefit” and “If we can pull this off then think of all the ______ that would come from it.” That’s when I labeled this The Heist. It’s as if we have created a self-imposed robbery all these years of our money, emotions, energy, affections—so we are stealing it back. (Yes, cue the trite music here, but it’s a fitting analogy!) We decided to pray again about The Heist and sleep on it. The next night we asked my parents if we could move onto their 36-acre farm in Kaufman, and they instantly said yes. The next three weeks went fast—our house underwent purging, a listing, inspecting, appraising, more and more purging. We are closing on the girls’ last day of school, headed to fulltime RV living. One major detail—we are not fulltime RV traveling. Although we now can drive our home to wherever has a 50amp hookup (and we will take full advantage of that at times), we are called weekly to the local church in the flesh and blood where we know others and we ourselves are known. What God values that I need to value We are only two months into this heart change, and as of writing this we have yet to move into the RV. That happens at the end of this week. But there are a few things God is already drawing me towards. His glory over my comfort Oof, this is a hard one. And as this new season unfolds I suspect another post about how God is undoing my sense of comfort. You see, I have always deeply valued a plan with as many details in place as possible: a fully-stocked refrigerator and pantry, a tidy home, a schedule with a timeline, a list of what to pack, an attendance sheet of who is coming, clearly defined roles and responsibilities—all these things have brought me much comfort in my life because then there are no surprises, and I can be fully prepared to handle whatever is next. And when I say comfort, I really mean transient security because no one can ever be fully prepared for everything. And it has been so foolish of me to operate in that way. But the Lord is stripping this from me, and it started in February of 2021 when I went on staff at Crosspoint Community Church. We have faithful leadership that laughs at that type of faux sense of security. I’m grateful the Lord had me under their leadership then because that’s when the Lord started preparing me for this journey. Ministry work is N-E-V-E-R predictable, especially when you work with students. If I only ever chase everyone around with a clipboard (which is sometimes necessary) all day then what am I saying about our God? That I must handle all the details because He can’t? You may think that’s a leap, but I know my heart and it’s not that big of a step. I have always managed my home much in the same way—constantly tidying up after the girls, stressing over meal plans and preparation, bringing order more than gentleness. My comfort of having a plan so everything can stay on schedule has hijacked the joy behind homemaking. God does not value our attempts at clairvoyance so we can juke the schemes of the devil or natural upsets that interrupt our days. He values order and trust so that He will be glorified, not an over-planning, stressed out admin. A proper work to rest ratio I’ve been known to suffer from mania in seasons—high bouts of productivity with no rest, just work, work, work. And then low periods of straight laziness. It is a form of depression, and whereas it’s been a few years since it has been full-blown, I see glimpses of it from time to time—always when I am not walking in spiritual discipline. This, again, is another form of not trusting the Lord. God showed us how His economy works before man was able to mess it all up: Genesis 2:1–3, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” That’s our ratio 6:1. We work 6 days, and we rest 1. Yes, our Sabbath rest looks differently from the Jews of the OT because they didn’t have Jesus as their final rest the way we do now on this side of the cross. Nevertheless, we are still very finite and limited—honestly, it’s absurd when we think of how fragile we are. Surrendering our workload for the sake of rest is trusting the Lord and not ourselves. It’s not about the logistics of which day and for how long—it’s a heart posture of turning out the lights to get good rest instead of frantically staying up to finish a project. It’s rising early to meditate on the Lord and His Word. It’s fasting so we can remember to pray for a specific need or simply be grateful for our lives. It’s turning off the TV to connect with our spouse or to stay up and read an extra book to our kids or stay around the dining room table with friends, recounting the deeds of the Lord. It's living life with joy and gratitude with eternity in view, trusting the Lord with our work and our rest. People are immortal souls God values people’s souls and eternity—I often do not. My comfort and to do list have left me with no margin to have eyes for people’s real needs. In Tripp’s book I mentioned earlier he has his readers meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:16–21. The first part says, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Goodness, this has so many implications. But let me just punch one out—people are more than flesh. They are immortal souls. If they are a new creation or if I am to be Christ’s ambassador to them, this fleeting life will surely vanish from them. And then what? Eternity with God or forever separated from Him—it’s sobering and should tether all our thoughts and affections to the Gospel. This distracted life we created around us has caused us to lose sight of it. And yes, that is even working and steadily serving in ministry for years. And there are more of God’s values impressing on us that I see on the horizon: simplicity, self-control, sober-mindedness, humility, gentleness. . . How our kids are doing with this One of our daughters is struggling with leaving behind so much of her stuff. One is struggling with leaving behind neighbors and classmates. One is struggling with leaving behind the house herself (everything gets personified when you have daughters). However, we have had excellent conversations about the temporary vs the eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17–18, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” We are directing them the way the Lord is directing us—we are to be more thoughtful and prayerful of the unseen. It will take much time, patience, and maturity for that to take root. But for now, they are genuinely eager to homeschool. They are ready for more traveling adventures. For the most part, they are ready for us all to be together more. No pretenses If I’ve made this all sound very romantic then just know that we are confident in the Lord and not ourselves. This will be very hard at times. Right now, it feels as if we are running on adrenaline, emotions, and blessings from our closest people. The honeymoon will wane, and we will be in a 43 ft. trailer with our three daughters, two dogs, and what possessions we have left. But we trust in our very good God and His promises. 1 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence…” 1 Timothy 6:6-7, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” And all of Psalm 64 for when the enemy is shooting lies at us like an archer does with his bow. Remember us in your prayers and tell us how we can pray for you. Invite us over to your home, and we will cook for you while we all recount God’s deeds in our lives. If I ever look frantic and rushed, remind me to chill and slow down. Let me take you to coffee or out for drinks and we can discuss how to abandon our values for the Lord’s. "

When I met Clint, we were on opposite ends of the spectrum. I was debt free, had no credit cards, and lived using a spending plan. Clint had 12 credit cards and $80,000 in debt. Growing up, the only time I recall seeing my parents argue or fight was around financial issues. When I was in high school, they took a financial class that followed biblical principles and I saw their lives completely change. Their marriage improved significantly, there were no more fights, they were on the same side, working as a team to plan and save and steward well. Watching my parents in high school and college, I learned the principles and took the same class as them. I followed the principles and desired to honor God with what he had given me. After college I was able to pay off my student loans which allowed me to continue to work at the non-profit ministry I loved as well as support friends, tithe, and give to missions. In contrast, Clint grew up in a home where money was not well managed and often faced not having basic needs met due to his parents mismanagement. He did not have anyone to guide or teach him how to manage money God's way. Once we were engaged and started discussing finances in more detail, we struggled to understand the other's way of living. However, a prerequisite for us getting married (per my parents) was to take a biblical finance class. We agreed, and along with premarital counseling, we completed Financial Peace University. Through taking the class, we were able to learn about our past experiences and how we were raised. We learned God's way to steward what he has given us. God unified our hearts and helped us get on the same page financially. Once married, Clint and I spent the next 14 months paying off all debt (not including the house). Mathematically, with our incomes, it made no sense for us to be able to pay off $80,000 in debt, BUT GOD! He made a way! And when we walked in obedience and followed His way of stewarding HIS money, mountains were moved and we were able to yell "we're debt free!!" In April of 2014, after 14 months, God helped us pay off all debt!! We have been living that way every since (...again, minus the house, still working on that). We have been able to save and give in ways we could have never imagined! God has been so faithful to provide and we are thankful for all he has done! In our 8 years of marriage, Clint and I have not had one fight or argument around finances. God has been faithful to keep us united, ultimately knowing that it is not our own, it is His, and that has helped us steward well as well as counsel others throughout the years.

“When I was 17 years old, a fellow student at HCA came to chapel and shared about his recent mission trip to the Amazon in Brazil. I went home that evening and told my parents that I wanted to go on the same trip the following summer. Since I was young and had never really travelled further than south Texas, my parents thought one of them needed to go with me. My dad drew the short straw, and a few months later we hopped on a plane and flew to Brazil with a group of people we hardly knew. It was during this trip that my dad’s eyes were opened to the world water crisis and the desperate need people have for the Gospel. After this trip in 2012, my dad did some research into the water crisis and water filtration as a way to share the Gospel, and from this, The Bucket Ministry was created. (...Watch Chris’ story, here .)

Church planting is in Justin Broady’s blood. He spent his childhood in the church. His grandfather was a pastor and church planter, and his parents were always deeply involved. Justin’s story takes a turn when he was 10 years old and his whole world turned upside-down. After his parents divorced, the always-good-church-kid rebelled and became consumed with things of the world—popularity, hedonism, sports, parties. While attending Texas A&M in Galveston, it grew to a climax as his alcohol addiction led to drugs and other addictions. At 22, he spiraled into a deep depression and felt like he had nothing left. At that very low place of being, God intervened. A friend of Justin’s shared the Gospel with him and invited him to pray. For the first time in his life, Justin realized he needed God’s help and was overwhelmed by the weight of his sin. At that same moment, he was even more overwhelmed by God’s grace and how much he loved Justin. God saved Justin that day and completely changed the trajectory of his life. With help from his grandparents, he quickly got plugged into a church and jumped into leading a recovery ministry. In a relatively short time, Justin went from a place of addiction and despair to preaching the Gospel and praying with others the same way his friend had prayed with him. It was during this season that Justin was reading through the Bible for the first time in his life. He got to the place in 2 Timothy where Paul talks about how Timothy’s faith was given down to him by his grandmother. God spoke to Justin through this and revealed how he had gotten his faith from his grandfather. In that moment, Justin felt a very clear call from the Lord to do what his grandfather did — plant churches. But… he wasn’t ready to hear that quite yet. He rebelled and pushed the message aside. He thought “that’s not for me, I’m not qualified enough.” So, Justin carried on with his life. He got married and started a family. He went into business and launched a successful recruiting company… all the while knowing, in the bottom of his heart, what God had really called him to. In 2018, Justin and his wife Cherish had a strong sense that the Lord was about to do something big. This “something big” turned out to be his business collapsing out of nowhere. He lost clients. He lost employees. He lost a big part of his identity. Wrecked and desperate, Justin called out to the Lord for help. The answer to his plea came in the form of an invitation to speak at a Lakepointe event in Mesquite. At the event, a friend and pastor from Casa View Baptist Church in Garland approached Justin and invited him to join their staff as an associate pastor. After much prayer. Justin took the leap of faith and jumped from the corporate world to the world of full-time ministry. During his two years at Casa View, Justin felt the Lord reminding him what He had originally called Justin to all those years ago. The call intensified, growing stronger and stronger, until one night the Lord woke him up in the middle of the night, asking, “What’s the one thing I asked you to do?” At that point, Justin knew he couldn’t run from it anymore. He felt that, “I need to obey this or I might as well die.” The call was overwhelming and even a little terrifying. Both he and Cherish didn’t know what the next step was, but they trusted in the Lord and made themselves available to His direction. Justin got in touch with his gym buddy, Crosspoint Pastor Ryan Lewis, who he knew had planted a church and was connected with Acts 29. Pastor Ryan invited Justin and his family to come visit Crosspoint and see what the Lord had to say. Justin recalled, “The very first time we came to visit Crosspoint, the scripture reading that day was the exact passage that my wife and I had been praying over our future plans. We had this immediate sense that the Lord was guiding us here and to this church.” Under counsel from our elders and a strong leading from the Lord, the Broadys made the decision to leave Casa View (pastoral position and all) and come to Crosspoint to sit under leadership at our church. Pastor Ryan encouraged Justin to meet with the director of the Church Planting Residency Program at The Village Church in Flower Mound to discuss plans and vision for a future church plant. Though the program is small and selective, Justin was invited into this 18-month program and is currently a full-time resident at The Village. God made a way. With their future church plant, the Broadys are partnering with both The Village and Crosspoint to make it happen. Justin’s residency at The Village consists of being equipped in biblical exposition; church planting; and pastoral leadership and competencies. He gets to see first-hand how staff meetings are led; how vision is cast; how employees are developed; how the congregation is shepherded. As part of the program, his family is visiting a lot of different churches in different contexts. At Crosspoint, the Broadys jumped in as full-fledged members of our body. They are currently leading a community group, serving on Sundays, and learning as much as they can from the leadership at our church. When the time comes, we will send them out. Justin said, “Crosspoint seems to us a healthy, well-led, well-nourished church… and that is something to be celebrated! We want to learn as much as we can while we’re here — to take advice, take correction, take encouragement — so that we’re well-equipped to be sent in 18 to 24 months to wherever God calls us to go.” As far as what their vision looks like for a future church, Justin said that they are seeking a place with a recovery need. Both he and Cherish have a background in recovery ministry as well as hearts to connect in an area with a lot of unchurched or de-churched people. God has placed a desire to create a space where it’s okay to not be okay; a safe place to ask questions and have hard, honest conversations. The Broadys are hoping to identify a church plant location soon. Justin said the Lord placed three areas on their hearts (Florida, Vancouver, and Colorado Springs) — since then, they’ve felt clear guidance away from two of those locations (Florida and Vancouver) and are heading to Colorado Springs this week (October 7 - 9) to see if maybe that’s the place the Lord has for them. While they are there, they will meet with several people and pastors and cover the city in prayer. Rapidly growing, Colorado Springs is one of the most de-churched areas in the country (83-percent of the population does not go to church). While there are two Acts29 churches in the city, there are none in the north, where people have been suggesting that they plant, and both churches are Presbyterian with very different DNA than the church the Broadys would be planting (more similar to Crosspoint/The Village). As partners with the Broady family, we ask our body to commit to lifting them up in prayer throughout the next two years as they prepare to plant. There are a few specific ways you can pray and help right now... Pray over Justin and Cherish’s trip to Colorado Springs. They will be there tomorrow through Saturday (Oct. 7 - 9). Pray for Spirit’s guidance as they meet with leaders there and as they engage with the city. Pray for the Lord’s blessing over Colorado Springs and that His name be known there! Pray for a clear “yes” or “no” for both Justin and Cherish as to whether CO Springs is the place for them. Pray for and consider supporting the Broady family financially. During his residency, Justin is not bringing in any sort of income and will need to fundraise the entirety of the church plant. Pray for the Lord’s continued provision over their family during this season and for Him to provide in abundance toward the church plant! If you feel led to support the Lord’s work through the Broady family, Justin has a donation page set up at reliant.org/justin.broady . There, you can make a one-time donation or set up recurring donations that go directly toward the church plant.