Super Bowl of Preaching 2026 | Crossroads Church

Welcome to the 24th annual Super Bowl of Preaching. We are here with your exclusive pregame coverage to the big preach off and we say exclusive because nobody else wants to cover it, but we are here for it. My name is Andy Ryder, Community Pastor of Crossroads Anywhere. I want to introduce you to some of my esteemed colleagues. My name is Arturo Mineta and I'm part of the Reach Out team right here at Crossroads. I'm Jen Meen, I'm part of our Crossroads Anywhere team, so if you stream online, I get to help create some of the things that we do. That's right. D'Amico Coleman here, our National Prison Director. Shout out everybody across the country tuning in right now to the prisons, glad you're here with us. It's great. Hey, my name is Jason Hodder, the Director of Crossroads Students around here. Whether you're snowed in, sick at home, joining us from across the nation, or you're part of the Crossroads Anywhere community, we're going to have an amazing time today. I'm also going to introduce my good friend, Ross. I'm sure he's having a blast out there. Actually, you know what? I'm going to go join him right now. You guys hold it down. Yeah, go find him. Go find him. It's going to be a great day today. Crossroads is actually a church that meets all over the world, whether we're in buildings like this right now, coffee shops, living rooms, dorm rooms, and even bars. Today, we've got some meetups happening in bars. Why not? Amazing. We'd love to see your crew.

On the screen, there is a QR code. Scan that code. Take a picture of the people that you are partying with today. We'd love to meet you. While we're talking wash parties, shout out to my favorite people in Orlando. We love you. We've got our Batesville crew, Batesville, Indiana. Love you guys. We've got Heather in Pennsylvania. We've got folks in Sarasota, Indianapolis. Shout out to you guys. Hey, wherever you are, whether it's Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mexico City, La Paz, Bolivia, or hey, in Michigan, Dan, we love you guys. We're so thankful for you tuning in. Now, we're going to get to the what of the insanity that is the Super Bowl of preaching in a little bit, but I want to get us to the why. Arturo, talk to us. The why is quite simple, Andy, and to everyone watching, probably for the first time, look, we're a church for people that maybe have given up on church, but not on God. And so, we saw Super Bowl weekend being the lowest attended service across the country and decided, you know what? Bet. We're going to pull out all the stops and make it one of our most attended. And so, we're glad you're here, and that's the why. That's right. D'Amico, we got a message from the lawyers we got to get through loud and clear here. Yes. So, we are legally obligated to make it clear to everyone that we have absolutely no affiliation with the NFL or the Super Bowl. We're just here to have a good time.

That's right. Right now, I'm kind of feeling like Marshawn Lynch, but my role is I just want to make it smartfully clear. You got to keep us on track. Yeah. Well, hey, count on the prison director to keep us honest, so that's great. Absolutely. So, if you are tuning in, which you are, you can still text your friends. We are live today. So, you can text your friends Crossroads.net slash watch to tune in what is happening right now. But first happening, I'm going to throw to Ross and Jason at the games. We are live here at the games, and the energy is rising. It's chaos, Ross, out here. Totally chaos. But the good thing is we have a game before the game. Yes. We've got two contestants here. I've got Samari here. Samari, how are you feeling? I'm feeling great today. And I'm over here with Mirabelle. Hey, what's up? Oh, I'm doing great. How are you, Jason? I didn't realize you were a refs fan. Some people Seahawks, some people Patriots. You're a fan of the Zebras. Yes, 100%. Okay, I love that.

And we're going to play a game, and it's going to be a ton of fun. Here's what's going to happen. These two contestants are going to throw as many footballs as they can right in the gullet of this guy right here. If they make three, they automatically win, which is the most in one minute. Before we get to the action, we've got to show you one of the favorite parts of Super Bowl, which is the commercials. All right. Before the cheers of the crowd, before the spotlight, before the championship rings, it starts in the grind. Early mornings, extra reps. Sacrifice that no one sees. Because greatness isn't given. It's earned. Reusable by Band-Aid. With liquid activated adhesive. Just lick it and stick it. Available for purchase at your local pharmacy. Or get them totally free on the ground or in a trash can or really anywhere you find used Band-Aids. We're live back here with the game about to get begun. Not the real game, but the pregame. You guys ready? All right, count them off. On your mark, get set, don't miss, go! Oh, what an arm. Miss, miss. What an arm on Maribel. Miss, miss. We've got one.

We've got one. We've got one point for the ref. We've got two. We've got two points. Tied up. All tied up right here. We got two. Moving, Maribel's got three, we got a winner! We got a winner, come over here, post-game interview. How do you feel about your performance? I just think that God helped me through that. It was a very tough first few shots, but once I got in that rhythm, I was all in. I love it, God first. They're saying back here that you totally cheated and her inflatable fell down. What would you say to those allegations? Why did your inflatable fall down? Probably because you missed and hit the top. I can't hear a word you're saying, it sounds like you lost triple A's. We're gonna throw it back to Jen at the TV with all kinds of statistics that you viewers put in. Check it out. They have been shotgunning Alani since 8 a.m., can you tell? Hey, we've been polling our community at Crossroads with some pretty ridiculous questions. I wanna share some of the answers with you. One of the first ones is, have you pooped your pants in the last 12 months?

This is from adults. Here's what I have to say to you, is never trust a fart. Our next one is, movies or TV shows? Listen, I gotta say TV shows, every movie coming out right now is like three hours long. Let's make that a mini series, please. Do you prefer voice notes or text messages? Here's what this question doesn't ask. I wanna make very clear, voicemails. Dad, I love you so much. Stop with the voicemails. I'm not gonna listen, but I will call you back. Really? Are we still talking six or seven? The big question though for everybody today is Patriots or Seahawks? And it looks like our community is saying 70% to the Seahawks, which matches what the market is saying, which is 60% believe that Seahawks is gonna win over the Patriots. We'll find out later today, but to Ross at the games. We are live out in the atrium. It is electric. We're looking for people to check in with. Sir, come over here. I'm excited you came out today. What's your name? I'm Ross. My name is Kyle.

Ross, Ross, Ross. This is Kyle Rancic, lead pastor at Crossroads Church, hanging out in the atrium. Are you kidding me? This is the man, the myth, the legend. Hey, you're gonna compete today. How are you feeling today? I'm feeling confident, I'm feeling strong. Got lots of juice in the tank, so ready to go out there and get another win, honestly. Yeah. I gotta tell you, I don't know what juice in the tank means, but Kyle's feeling strong. I'm feeling great. Let's see how the community's doing, Kyle. Let's go. Let's come around, let's come around. Oh, right here, right here, right here. Hi, welcome. Welcome to Crossroads. How are you? Tell us a fit check today. What are you wearing today for the big game? Yeah. Oh, my lenses. Okay, this is from Zara. Okay. This is from my closet. I don't remember where I got it from. Yeah.

I'm not sure they have those stores in Kentucky where I'm from, but I know you look amazing. We love it, yeah, right here. Oh, she's feeling great. She's game day ready. It's amazing. Let's find somebody else. I think we gotta find somebody else up in here. Oh, right here. Sir, can I talk to you real quick? Are you Gandalf? You're Gandalf, aren't you? Oh my, is that a wizard staff? That is amazing. We've got hot dogs, we're ready to eat, right? We are, yeah. My dad taught me to whittle. Did you whittle this thing? Did you find it in the woods? What's the story? I bought this thing on eBay 15 years ago in place of a cane. Oh, that's awesome. Okay. He's going hiking right after this. Yeah, Jason, I think we're actually supposed to throw Kyle over to the desk, so throw him on the desk. Let's pick him up. Let's throw him on the desk.

I can't believe Gandalf is here. Hey. Hey. Wow. Kyle Rantzen, everybody. Great to have you. Great to be here, guys. Great to be here. Thanks for coming. Okay. So, this isn't your first rodeo. This isn't your first Super Bowl. Yeah. Talk to us about what you're most excited, what you love about the most. I mean, honestly, it's kind of three letters. It's W-I-N. I love to win. I don't even care what the game is. I'm happy that it's preaching because I love to preach too, but I'm just, I'm excited to win. That's it. It was bingo. You'd still be cracking skulls. Yeah, that's win. That's win. That's it, yeah. Okay. Great.

Absolutely. This is something I've heard you talk about. Seriously. Heard you talk about how Christians shouldn't be like the sad, depressed, serious, like Jesus was a good hang. Yes. Talk to us a little bit about that. Jesus was the most fun guy to be around of all time. There's a reason that his movement is still going on. Do you love to hang out with people who suck? No. No. Guess what? He didn't suck. He was fun to be around. Fruits of the spirit. Second one, joy. Yes. Joy. God is joyful. And so, there's a reason we do this and it's to highlight that part of God's character that unfortunately churches don't tend to shed much light on. So, that's why we do it. Well said. Okay. Let's change it up a little bit. Okay. If you could say one thing to the audience

about what you're gonna do to the opposing team, what would it be? Keep it PG kind of thing, or? We can probably edit. I mean, this is live. We're live. Oh, we're live? Okay, well. That's probably. I could try to bleep you. Yeah. Bleep. Kids, you know when your tummy hurts? You ever had a tummy ache? Yeah. You know what I mean? And sometimes, you just gotta hit it out. You just gotta, ah! It's a regular conversation at my home. They're gonna feel like that. The other team will feel like they just got, blah! Kind of, they won't know what hit them. They'll be kind of a mess a little bit. Someone will have to come clean them up. And if that one's, you guys could do that. Some sawdust. Maybe I don't just kind of sweep it all up vacuum it wet back shot back. Yeah, that's we're gonna do okay on that note Let's go back into like pastor mode. So trash talk like let's dial that down We got a few minutes here. Can let Arturo borrow that mic for a second What do we want to highlight some of the good things that are going on in our community?

So yeah, what was over 2,000 people baptized over the last 12 months? Yeah for the third year in a row That's I did not know that actually that's three years in a row We like to have a good time, but God's also doing good things in and amongst our church in our community Yeah, absolutely Arturo talk to him about some of the reach-out stats. One of my favorite personal favorites is crosses in Espanol I know that's not reach out, but you know, I have a heart for that and Yeah, when it comes to reach out Kyle 14,000 Thanksgiving food drive boxes distributed this past year That's a record number and then when it comes to Christmas gift drive gifts nearly 13,000 men and that's including kids while I have parents within their parents our prison ministry. Yeah, it's wild. Is this incredible? It's so good. I mean you're gonna hear Brian later on talk about collisions and as a church I think that's what we see There's this thing that God does if he smashes things together that shouldn't exist Like Jesus is fully man and fully God at the same time. There's power when that smashes together I think this is an example of our church and we're having this crazy ridiculous fun over the top Just laugh out loud and at the same time We're not ignoring getting in the dirt with people who are hurting and being Jesus to them I think those stats speak to that and it's just I mean, it's an honor to be part of this church, right? That's that's how I feel. Anyway, it's just a joy and an honor. Well said well said well Hey, I know you guys got to get out of here. You got to go get ready. Yeah. Yeah, I gotta go All right. Okay. Thank you guys for joining us. Appreciate it All right, y'all we're gonna jump in here in just a few minutes We are moments away from the biggest preaching competition and probably the only one of the year. We cannot wait for it We're gonna throw back to Jason and Ross down on the field right now We are almost there. If you're just tuning in there's still time to get on board So share that link make sure somebody doesn't miss this wherever you are on your couch laying in your bed on your patio I don't know wherever we got hot dogs. Hope you have something at home, but you don't want to miss this grab it We're actually gonna walk you into the auditorium right now where the game is actually gonna happen The Super Bowl of preaching is gonna be live and it is gonna happen right here And so what I'm gonna walk you into is insane crazy jokes stupid commercials insane halftime show. The Bible's not boring

We don't think church should be either That's I'm gonna do everything that we can right where you are in your living room in the coffee shop to give you the best Experience you could possibly can so here's the thing about crosses that I love dude Grab a friend. We're in a giant community of all the things. You don't want to actually hear the music going right now So let's send you right into a bus. Let's grab a seat, baby To die You walk the line like instead of to me But just forget the wind is the best There's only one God on these streets in the heart of the jungle Into the jungle There's only one God on these streets in the heart of the jungle To be on line Oh Won't you follow me into the jungle There's only one God on these streets in the heart of the jungle Won't you follow me into the jungle God on these streets Into the jungle Welcome to the 2026 Super Bowl of Preaching. So great to have you guys wherever you're tuning in from around the world. Thanks for joining us for what will almost certainly be the weirdest and hopefully most fun church experience you have all year long. My name is Andy Ryder. I'm the community pastor of what we call Crossroads Anywhere, and that is the part of our church that meets online or in homes, bars, dorms, cafes, wherever, all over the map. So great to have you tune in with us. If you're brand new, you picked a great weekend to tune in. This is going to be an amazing snapshot about who we are as a church and about what we believe it means to live that full, joy-filled life that Jesus calls us to and that he has on offer for us.

Now, we're going to have a lot of fun, and the whole thing is packaged around the idea of Super Bowl and what it looks like if a church service and the Super Bowl got together, had a baby, and made this craziness that you're about to watch. Now, we're going to go down to the field in just a moment to not just talk about the Super Bowl, but actually get into the experience. We had our media team interview some of the teams and hear from them about what their strategy is going into the game and some of the team dynamics at play. All right, what kind of strategy on the field can you share? Yeah, you know, they call me the people's pastor for a reason. So when I think about this weekend, I'm thinking about, yeah, you know, I'm thinking about who are the people I'm speaking to, what's going on in their world, what's going on in their lives, and I want my message to connect to where they are. Jack clearly has the amen corner in the audience because he gets more amens per passage than anybody I know, and I'm just honored to be on the same team with him. I just think, hey, there's a time for flash and show, and there's a time for a firm foundation. We have a firm foundation, and it's going to show up on the field. It's the basic blocking and tackling. We've been knocking people around, knocking down the devil for a long time. We're all on it. That's right. Chuck, can you name all the Spice Girls? Yeah. Oh, man, absolutely. So, salt, pepper, oregano, Italian blend. I love smoked paprika. Did I say that already? Got some ginger, some turmeric, and there's cinnamon, right? You got your nutmeg. I definitely have lots of spices in the head. Let's focus on your opponents.

What would you say are their biggest weaknesses? Ones that come to my mind, weaknesses is, one, clearly size. Do not have the size to handle the slam factor that we're going to be bringing. No question. Number two, don't have the maturity. Compared to those of us who are living successful lives, they're unbelievably young and untested and untried. Here's another one, fashion choices. Fashion choices are questionable. I feel like I want to see more from them on the fashion side of things. You might say, well, who am I to speak? That's a good question, but I'm still speaking anyway. Brian, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. What do you think that Libby really wants this year? I think DeWalt, that's a 12-volt battery, done, got it. And then I would say the other thing is, number three, snap-on Phillips head screwdriver. All right, Chuck, what would you say is probably the X factor for the Super Bowl of Preaching that's going to get you that trophy at the end of the day? You know, here's the thing. It's like every Super Bowl of Preaching we've ever done, it's going to come down on the fourth quarter. And you know who wins the fourth quarter? The person who wins the fourth quarter is the person who's poised. So at the end of the day, there's going to be a turnover. Who knows what the referee is going to throw? We never know that. But there's going to be a team that has to be poised in the fourth quarter, positioned to win. And I'm telling you, at the end of the day, that's going to be me and Brian. Amen.

Amen. See, he just gets it going, amen corner every time. The man speaks, you have to say amen. Brian, if they were making a movie about your life, who's on the short list of people you prefer to play you? I would go, uh, Nice Rabbit. What's the guy's name? Bad Bunny. Oh, Bad Bunny. I would say Bad Bunny's got to be up there. Taylor Swift always has to be up there, for sure. I'd probably go, uh, Timothee Chalet. Gosh, help me out here. I wonder how good I am on that stuff. No, I think you're probably right. I am thinking, like, world leaders, like, you know, Putin's probably on that list. No. You think, Putin? What is it about the two of you guys together that works so well? Well, it's just like my spice rack only needs two things, salt and pepper. Come on. Salt and pepper. Come on. Salt and pepper. We got that going. I love it. I mean, you actually have that going on yourself. I do. You got some white there. I do.

But like, this salt and pepper, forget it. It's the standard. Come on. The only thing you need to get through a day, and the only thing we're going to need to get through to another victory is this combo. We're right here. That's right. That's right. What are you doing to just prepare yourself for Super Bowl of preaching? You know, it's like a good, good sleep, exercise, hydration. Yep. Well, this is actually really good prep for us because as you can see, we dressed alike. Didn't talk about it. We didn't talk about it. We trained separately. But in this time of year, when we get the chance to do stuff like this, we realize, oh, this works. This has always worked. So going to Super Bowl of preaching, what's your strategy? I mean, I'm thinking clarity of thought, clear thinking from beginning to end. It's a secret weapon that we have that the other team, maybe half of them do. When we talk, you can understand what we're saying. And that carries through the whole message.

And at the end, you're like, wow, I get it. I got the point. And I think that's probably an advantage we have in this matchup. So we'll lean on that strength for sure, yeah. Allie, say you're looking for some extra cash. What are some things you try to sell on Facebook Marketplace in a pinch? My purse, my phone, my passport, my social security card, and then the same for all my family members. Bill's phone, his passport, his wallet, his social security card. Andrew's phone, wallet, passport, social security card. Zoe's phone, wallet, passport, social security card. All of those. That's great. Kyle, let's say you get shipwrecked and you're stranded on a desert island. What are some items you really hope to be stranded with? Table saw, I would say my miter saw. I gotta go band saw. I'm probably gonna be reciprocating saw. I'm gonna go Japanese hand saw, both the kind with the spine in the back and kind of goes all the way through. I would say my dovetail saw is also a good one. My coping saw, I mean, you can't live without a coping saw. Drill, not press, but if it's attached and it goes on my drill, it's pretty good.

Drill for sure, driver. Those are a few of them, yeah. That's a lot of saws. Oh yeah, well, that's like, I probably need more. When you look at your opponents, what are some things that you're seeing that it's gonna be their downfall? What are you seeing? How much time do we have? Just go for it. Okay, I can't comment specifically on that issue, but yeah, I know what we do, okay? I know what we do. I see it day in, I see it day out. I know we put in the practice. I know we're doing it. And honestly, I don't know that we feel the respect from them that we probably deserve. I think there might be a little bit of a discounting of us. All right, at the end of the day, what's gonna be the X factor that gives you guys the trophy? I'm gonna say the Holy Spirit deep in our hearts. I was gonna say choreography. I just, I have something in mind. That's a possibility. I have something. There's no, in a brainstorm, there's no bad ideas. If you put together the Holy Spirit and choreography, it's done. It's over.

Well, the whole season's been leading up to this. If you're just joining us, welcome to the 24th Annual Super Bowl of Preaching. Greg McElfresh alongside my esteemed colleague, Hannah Shep Driscoe. I sense a little toot in the presser. I mean, we got more than toot. We had spicy spices in there. Everything was happening, and I'll tell you what. I think the editor had just quite a little bit of fun with that one. We saw that these teammates, they're poised. They're ready to take on the field. They're ready to take it to the next level, and it's anybody's game today. That's right. It's time to meet them in real life. Let's throw it down to the field for today's starting lineups. And now, your 2026 Super Bowl of Preaching teams. First up, give it up for Team Tome! Tome! ♪ Y'all gon' make me lose my mind ♪ Up in here, up in here ♪ Y'all gon' make me go wild ♪ Up in here, up in here ♪ Y'all gon' make me act a fool ♪ Up in here, up in here ♪ Y'all gon' make me lose my groove ♪ Up in here, up in here

Up next, their opponents. Let's hear it for Team Red Sox! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Well, the teams are out on the field. What a display of something. I've been calling this game over a decade. I still can't keep it straight.

If somebody's new around here, lay the rules on us. This is how it works. Well, you're going to see each pastor preach an eight-minute quarter. They have to use a scripture and a random object chosen strategically by, not that pose, but by the opposing team. Here's how the points break down. You got six points for a compelling message, three points for use of the prop, one point as an extra point option, and as any game. I hate to interrupt you. I'm not sure if that's against the rules, but it should be. It really should be. It really should be. And in fact, you have options for a negative three points, which is a penalty that can be assessed by the referee, Matt Castleman. Well, speaking of, he moved up from the Foot Locker all the way to the Old Sears and the Crossroads Dayton facility. Let's head down to the field for today's coin toss, Matt Castleman. All right. Let's bring it in for the coin toss. I want a good, clean game. Oh, shoot. I don't actually have a coin on me. Ever since we moved into our Dayton location at the mall, Crossroads has been paying me in gift cards from the mall. This one's an Auntie Anne's gift card. I think I've got a Hot Topic and Wet Seal in here. Wet Seal. I don't know what that is. Brian, as senior pastor, you'll call it. This is heads.

This is tails. Tails! What I be kickin'. It is tails. Yes! All right. You'll maintain possession of the Bible for the first quarter. And Team Ransom, would you like to pick a random prop for them? Oh, it's perfect. Yeah. Obviously. Chuck, your random prop is an actual hot dog stapler. It is. Okay. All right. It's good that it's not for Brian. All right, M.I.N.G.O. Let's go. Let's go. It's your time. Your time. Your time. Your house. Come on. Come on. Let's go. All right. All right. Hey, bring it in, everybody. Bring it in.

If there's more for your life, you're up for it. Am I right? You want more. You could be anywhere today, but you chose to be here. You answered an invitation. And I think it's because if there is something here that can transform your life, you're leaning in. You're leaning in. I want to tell you something that's probably going to sound strange coming from a pastor. I believe there's something that can transform your life we're talking about today, and it's not telling you to come to church more often. Although, great. Come to church more often. Even today, it's not telling you you should pray more often. Although, absolutely, if you want transformation, you should pray more often. But today, we're talking about something that I think can literally transform your life, and it has everything to do with the people you have around you. So there's going to be two teams playing in the game today, but we want to talk about a team that literally makes or breaks your life. The Bible talks about this in many places. One of them is in Hebrews chapter 10, where the writer is encouraging followers of Jesus about community. And he says this, Big idea today is this, everyone needs a huddle. Everybody say huddle. Huddle. We all need a huddle. And Brian, Kyle, and Allie are going to be talking about the kind of people you need in your huddle. But I want to talk about why a huddle is so important for a strong life.

You know, when I think back on the hardest moments of my life, there are many that come to mind. And what I can tell you is some of them made me better, and some of them almost broke me. I think about a moment when I made a one-time decision that literally almost tanked my life. I think about a time when I almost died on the highway. I was actually in Columbus right near Polaris Parkway. I think about another opportunity or a moment that was hard for me when I first moved to Cincinnati and I was isolating and I was in trouble. I was really, really at a low point. Literally, my default spiritual gift is I got this. That's actually not a spiritual gift, it's a spiritual deficit. Y'all, I don't got this. Amen. I need help. I need help. Amen. I also think about some other hard moments in my life, low moments, you might say, like when I was at my dad's deathbed. But I was surrounded by dudes that really covered me in that time. I think about when my wife and I were facing the loss of our first child in pregnancy. I'm telling you, we were supported and surrounded by people. And when I look back, the pattern is very clear. It didn't mean that isolation was only bad for me. Isolation is what made things dangerous for me. There are times in my life when I was going through hard things, but when I had close community, even though I didn't escape the pain, I didn't have to face it. by myself because I had a huddle. The quality of your huddle, the quality of people around you, determines the quality of your life.

I want you to lock that in. The quality of your huddle determines the quality and the direction of your life. There's gonna be a lot of plays in the game today. None of them go like this. Why don't we all just do our own thing and vibe and see what happens? That never happens. There's a huddle. Relationship is so important. I don't know if I have a rooting interest in today's game, but if I do, it's probably the Seattle Seahawks. And not just because I'm wearing the Seahawks jersey, but it's really because of the story of relationship playing out on that team. And honestly, in some ways, the worst of first story of their quarterback, Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold actually started out the best. He was the third draft pick the year he came into the league. But Sam Darnold's career just tanked. First of all, he's with the Jets, so that's not helpful at all. But it tanked for him. He was less Sam Darnold and more Sam Darnit. Why did you mess up again? Like, it was not going well for Sam. And yet last year he had the game and the career and the season of his life, 14 wins, only to have the Minnesota Vikings say,

you know what, we're going to drop you and go a new direction at quarterback. So this is a guy who didn't feel like he had people in his corner, but he comes to Seattle and within one year, Sam Darnold was playing for a Super Bowl. I think that's a pretty cool story. It's a pretty cool turnaround for him. And one of the things I love about his story is one of the people he credits with being a confidence booster for him is this guy Ernest Jones, who he never shares the field with. He doesn't share the field with Ernest Jones because Ernest Jones is on defense. But when he came to Seattle, all the haters and doubters, Ernest Jones wanted to make it very clear. Sam Darnold is my quarterback. He had some other words in there that I'm not going to use, but he had some other words. You know, maybe it would have helped if Ernest had his mouth stapled shut with this stapler, but he didn't. So he went ahead and said what he wanted to say. Might have helped him, I don't know. That's very good. Pastoral foul. Unnecessary excellence. Chuck, you're just too good. That's so, I just, I'm trying to help them out. So I'm going to take three points just off of that. Okay, okay, okay, guys, good call. I want to object, but I'm not going to. I think, I think the need for a huddle is why Hebrews 10 was written.

What does it say? It says, let us consider this. We need to lock in and realize lone wolves die. You were not meant to live alone. We need people, as it says, to stir us up. That word means to provoke, to stimulate, to push. You know why? Because we're better together. I'm a better preacher, communicator, leader, pastor, because of the ways that Brian stirs me up, because of the ways that Kyle stirs me up, because of the ways that Allie stirs me up and helps me to be better together. We need people like that in our lives. Why? So that we can pursue love and good deeds. These are the marks of a life of following Jesus. The quality of your huddle determines the quality and direction of your life. Translation for me is if I'm going to have a life that looks like Jesus, I need people who won't let me drift, because it's so easy to drift. But let me tell you the power of a huddle. You're going to see this all day long in the game. Two things happen in a huddle. Number one, the huddle is where you get reset. Because guess what? Dudes are going to take hard hits in this game today. And when you see those hard hits, you know what they're going to do? They're going to get up and they're going to go back into their huddle. We need people in our lives that we can go to when life hits us hard. And that's what you get in a huddle. And then the beautiful thing is then you're going to get re-sent in a huddle. Because when they come to the huddle, you know what they get?

They get the next play. They get the next play. One of the teams that's going to win today, I bet you they're going to have a next play mentality. They're going to have a mentality that says, you know what? Forget what happened in the past. What's the next play? And I think some of us need to have a next play mentality. Some of you need to have a next play mentality when it comes to your marriage. You need to have a next play mentality when it comes to your job, to school. You need to have a next play mentality when it comes to your relationship with God. Believing that when you get around a huddle that makes you better, God has a next play for you. You were not meant to sit on the sidelines. You are meant to be in the game. You're meant to be in the game. So I want to say this next part with love, but also with clarity. Because some of us are not in a huddle, not because people don't want us. It's because we're choosing isolation. We say we're too busy. We say we'll get to it someday. We say we've been burned in groups before. But underneath that is a decision to keep people at arm's length. To think that you can carry the weight of your life on your own. To think that you can follow Jesus on your own. And I love you enough to tell you, my friends, that decision is slowly killing you. We need a huddle because we don't fall apart on the field. We fall apart when we stop huddling. Even Jesus had a huddle. There are parts of Jesus's life that were available to the 12. There are parts of Jesus's life, especially his highest highs and his lowest lows,

that were only available to three people, Peter, James, and John. Jesus needed a huddle. And if Jesus... This needs a huddle. I need a huddle. I need a huddle. You need a huddle. We need a huddle. Some of you don't even need this sermon. You don't need another message. You don't need more willpower. You need people. You need people. You need to know that there are people in your life who will help you get reset and will help you get resent. You need a huddle. And so today, as you listen to all of us talk, I want you to just lean in and ask yourself the question, what is pinging me today and what am I going to do about it tomorrow? So I want you to huddle up right now with me. Don't just lean in, just do something physical that represents a posture I want you to have. Because this is what it means to be in a huddle. It means we lean in to relationship. We don't lean out to isolation. It means we lean in and take the risk of vulnerability. That's the power of a huddle. The quality of the huddle determines the quality of your life. It can change your life. Now, if you've ever played any sport, you know you got to break the huddle. So we're going to do that right now. Everybody put your hands in, put your hands in. We're going to be a big huddle.

If you're at home, if you're at a site, we're going to be a big huddle right now. And the way that you break a huddle is there's a word we're going to use to break the huddle on three. Our words are going to be huddle up. Okay. So huddle up on me. Huddle up on three. One, two, three. Huddle up. Let's huddle up. Touchdown, Team Tome. Chuck, you're so good. I really hope you win. All right. Six points for a great message. Three points for the excellent use of the stapler. You did have the three-point awesome penalty. So your extra bonus point question is, according to ChatGPT, within, ChatGPT knows us more than we know ourselves. Within 10 percent, how many people speak more than one language fluently? Within 10 percent. I know. Unbelievable. Now, we had this question last service, you know. Yeah, it is the same question. It is the same question we had. They're all supposed to be you, and you need one of us to pretend like we didn't hear it. Oh. Just so we can hear it. Oh, that's my bad. Yeah. Okay.

All right. All right. All right. We're kind of all impressed by that. I want to win. I'm trying to help you. Right. We don't need the help. You got another one for us? Within 10 percent. Forget that. That's silly. All right. Within 10 percent, how many people's jobs call for them to work remotely? Call for them? Yes. I don't know. Twenty five. Half. Thirty five. Take a half. Thirty. I hear 30 in the crowd. Forty. Ninety five. I got forty. Forty takes us. Forty comes from 30 to 50. So, yeah. Forty percent.

It's forty five percent. Oh, come on. For the epic point. Wow. Resulting in an end of first quarter score. Team Tome nine. Team Ransom zero. That's the end of the first. Mingo draws first blood for Team Tome. I'll tell you what. Today, you spell the word Super M-I-N-G-O. Absolutely. This is classic veteran moves right here. Using that random prop as if he planned it in his message. He might have a few of those staplers on his desk. I'll tell you that right now. Well, there's only one way to find out what happens next. We throw it back down to the field rally. Patterson in the start of the second quarter. Come on, Allie. Hold on, hold on, hold on. All right. Please choose the random prop here. Chuck. Oh, thank you. You don't want that. Allie, your random prop is a Bigfoot bucket hat. I'll trade you. Bigfoot bucket hat. All right.

Bigfoot bucket hat. Well, this year's NFL season actually highlighted for us one specific player that everybody needs to have in their huddle. This season in the NFL was the year of the unk. The old guys are back, baby. They're everywhere in the NFL this year. And I just started watching that thinking sooner or later, every team has a situation where they need to call on an unk and you're going to have one too. When Burrow went out with Turf Toe, who did the Bengals call? 40-year-old Joe Flacco. When Jones went down with an Achilles injury and the Colts backups were hurt too, they called on Phillip Rivers at 44 years old. And the Steelers, man, still no viable starter after Roethlisberger. They signed Aaron Rodgers for a one-year contract at 41 years old this year. The old guys are everywhere. And all those situations had one thing in common. The game plan wasn't working. There was a gap. There was a gap because of injury or a gap because of experience or a gap because something was missing, but there's a gap in the game plan. And that's when you call in the unk. And your life, your life is going to hit a gap. It's going to hit a rough patch. It's going to hit a point where what you need isn't fresh legs and future potential. It's the weight of experience. You need an unk. Unks are the people who keep us standing when life hits a rough patch. They've been there.

An unk is. the seasoned vet, a sage, you know, somebody who can walk in wearing this hat and still have your respect because of all the things they've been through. Yeah. All right, that's so good. Unc step in and they stabilize a locker room, a team, a life because they've faced the opponent down before and they're still on their feet. A good unc knows their job, knows their job. A good unc knows that they're probably not the long-term future of that situation. Their job is to step in and hold the line. Don't let it fall apart. Keep this team together. And their experience has made them really tough. Philip Rivers got asked by the press when he was gonna face actual hits on the field again and the press was questioning him, do you think you can handle it? You know, at 44 years old. And he was like, handle it? I'm looking forward to it. I've actually missed getting hit. That is the guy that you wanna call. That's the unc you need in your huddle, the one when your life takes some hits that can step in that gap and actually willing to take them for you.

There's an unc in scripture that I love, an unc in the Bible. You may not know this guy. His name is Jethro, but I'll bet you recognize the name of his son-in-law, Moses. So Moses was the man in Israel at the most important time. He was like the starting QB and he was doing everything. He was settling all the disputes, teaching the word of God, the chosen single point leader for the nation of Israel, but his system was breaking down. He was exhausted. The people were waiting all day for things. It just wasn't working right. He had hit a rough patch and in walks his father-in-law for a visit. Jethro comes on the scene and he pulls some classic unc moves. Jethro names the problem, sees through the situation and gives Moses a new game plan. Even Moses needed an unc. Listen to what he tells him to do in Exodus 18. He says, select capable men from all the people, men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain and appoint them as officials over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties and tens. Do you hear the game plan? Do you hear the wisdom? How did Jethro know?

He stepped into the gap and he gave Moses a specific game plan based on the weight of his own experience. He wasn't trying to take over for Moses. He was trying to sustain the team so they could get to the future. That's what uncs do. A great unc keeps you on your feet. Excessive use of slang. You said unc like 40 times. Pandering to the youth for a point. That was a lot. Okay, Boomer, a three point penalty is gonna be assessed. Wow, wow. First of all. That's a good call, ref, that's a good call. I love you, Boomers. I'm not one. I'm offended by you. I believe that God is equipping some of you in here, Boomers, Xers, even some of you millennials. I believe he's equipping you, calling you to be an unc in someone's life. You don't have to be 70 to do this. You're 10 years older than somebody. God can ask you to step in the gap of somebody else's life and help them through a rough patch. I have an unc, an unc. She is about 11 years older than me. And I call her for some very specific times in my life.

So I call her, for instance, maybe about six months ago, I was feeling super disconnected from God and I called her. I really respect her faith. She's been following Jesus much longer than I have. And I said, what do you do in these moments? I need your experience to get me through. I call her for questions about my kids. Sometimes I have like semi-adult kids and hers are 30-ish and they like her. And I want to know how she did it, right? I also call her when I find a wrinkle in a weird place for real. I need a product direct though. I found a wrinkle on my earlobe. I didn't know your earlobe could get wrinkles. Apparently it can't. So I call her for all kinds of different things. And guess what? She likes it. She wants to be called on. She wants to step in the gaps of my life and you can do that for someone else. Friends, we are just starved for somebody to see the places that life isn't working for us and to step into that gap and help us get through. I want to talk to you men for a second because I read a survey question as I was doing some research for this message. And did you know that 66% of young men ages 18 to 23 agree with the statement, no one really knows me.

66%. That might be the most isolated, lonely generational statistic I have ever read. So men in the room, it's time to step up. You are the unk that 18 to 23 year old men need. It is time to answer the call. This is not over. Maybe you were the man or the woman for a season. God has so much more to offer you if you are willing to step in the gaps of somebody else's life. Joe Flacco had his career high, career high passing game this season with the Bengals. Did you know that? That's crazy. There is so much more left for you to give. Let God use you as the wisdom, the experience, the love, the support that somebody around you needs. And be tough enough to take some hits for them, right. Because you have an unk that took them for you. There is the ultimate big brother, the ultimate sage, the ultimate wisdom and it comes from somebody named Jesus. And he doesn't just have what it takes to fix up your life on the outside. He actually steps in the gaps that you and I have on the inside. And he begins to bring that stability, that wisdom, that character to our life from the inside out. The Bible says we have an enemy that is trying to take us down. And if Jesus isn't in those places, it's going to work. He's trying to mess with you.

He's trying to mess with your identity, your family, your body, your mental health, your job, whatever. And he will take you down. But Jesus is the one that will step in the gap and pull you back on your feet again. He is the unk that will keep you standing. He proved to us on the cross. This is one of my favorite, most simple verses of what happened on the cross. 1 John 3 says that the son of God, the reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. That's the reason he came. He came so that you can get back on your feet again. He came so that the tactics don't work, that you won't be flattened. That you will end up standing again. A lot of us are going to leave here today and we're going to walk out of this house of some kind. I know that. Because I've got one. And if I've got one, I know we all have one. We're going to walk out this door and we need something. We need two people. For whatever that situation is that you are facing. You need somebody who has been there and is back on their feet again. And you need Jesus. You need the God who says, I will never walk away from you. Never forsake you. I will never leave you.

That's the kind of God that we get to face these gaps in our life with. He has a new game plan for you. And you know you can just ask him to run it. You can just say, Jesus, I'm ready to leave behind how I was doing life. I want you to forgive me and come into my huddle. Lead. Call the plays. I'm ready to follow you to my new game plan. He'll do it. And it will be the best decision that you have ever made. Because he's been there. He's looked the enemy in the face. And he ended up back on his feet again. And he keeps you standing. Touchdown team Ransom! I thought for a second, I was like, where's my prop? I used it so long ago, I crushed it. But I thought for a second, I forgot it. You crushed the message. You crushed the prop usage. However, there was the three-point penalty. Hey! Targeting! That's targeting! You be quiet. Targeting! She thought your head was warm. Targeting!

Targeting! Targeting! Targeting! Targeting! Targeting! Targeting! Targeting! Targeting! Targeting! She thought your head was warm. She's roughing the ref. You're going to have to talk to my mom about that. She's going to be furious. Actually, she told me you need a hard time. She sent me in here to give you a hard time. All right, here's your extra point question. Your extra point question. Within 10%, how many people's favorite movie is in black and white? What? I'm going to say black and white. What year is it? I guess how many people like It's a Wonderful Life? That's the only one I can think of. What do you think? It's got to be low, right? Like the beginning of Wicked. That was good. That was black and white. That can't count.

30? You want to say 45? Five? 40%. Let's get a range. If we said 10, we'd have zero to 20? Or 12? Let's do 12. All right, 12. 42%. I'm not making this up. It's 3%. So wait. Oh, yeah! Yes! Oh! You're struggling with the math. You guys, math is so hard. It's the only thing harder than sports. One, two, three. Hold on. OK. You did get, hold on. I honestly can't remember. I stopped scoring long ago. So let's just call it 6-7. That's the end of the half. Oh, boy. 6-7. Castleman making up numbers as he goes.

I thought Patterson's message was heartwarming. Some students out in the atrium fist-bumped me. They said, what's up, Unc? I loved it. They did. That's so wonderful. I do hate to break it to you, buddy, because unc has multiple meanings. One of them is uncool. So that's a bummer for you. That's what they were saying to you, buddy. I tell you what, though, the ref doesn't know math, he doesn't know sports, he just doesn't know reffing, so it's really just anybody's game here, and we got a whole lot more for us today. So excited. Including a halftime show coming up right on the other side of this commercial break. ♪ Mingo's mangoes, mingo's mangoes, mingo's mangoes. ♪ Hey, I'm Chuck Mingo, and these are my mangoes. These are my mangoes. After years of eating disappointing mangoes, I decided to launch Mingo's Mangoes. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. I heard all the kids like this ASMR stuff now. Weirdos. We cultivate and grow my little babies on the warm, humid, sunny streets of Philadelphia. Like Proverbs says, we're a mango's. The flavor of the Lord follows. Immaculate.

Mangoes, mangoes. Trust the mingo, taste the mango. Chug. You want the dream house without the nightmare price tag? That's where Property Cousins Realty comes in. We'll do anything to get this house into your budget. Is there a crack in the foundation? There's mold and fungus in this basement. Oh, this place stinks. This living room has water damage. Does the neighbor just have one too many lawn gnomes? We got you. And if you don't believe us, just ask my mom, one of our satisfied clients. I told my son, I want a new house. Next thing I know, I have a mansion for 900,000 under asking. I live next to Joe Burrow. If we can't get you your dream house under your budget, then you can move in with her. Property Cousins, we close hard. Now accepting new clients pending outcome of current civil litigations. Introducing Bed MGM and DraftKings' new digital sports book, DraftKings. The first app that allows you to bet on your kids anytime, anywhere. $20 on your kid gives you a whole new reason to cheer. Over under, Billy plays at least five minutes today. I take the under.

That kid is trash. Think Aisha can land a front handspring? Put your money where your mouth is. Do you know your kid's gonna lose? Bet the sure thing. So what if they cry a little bit? Just take them out to get some ice cream. With your winnings. And now, new users who bet $5 on any game can win $200 free to exploit your children on future bets. DraftKings, making lame kid stuff fun again. We won, we won! No, we didn't! No, no, no! Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to present your 2026 Super Bowl of Preaching Halftime show. If you would stand on your feet and make some noise for your Crossroads Band. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Intergalactic, galactic, galactic, intergalactic Intergalactic, galactic, galactic, intergalactic Intergalactic, galactic, itaritan, itaritan, itaritan Itaretan

Yeah, so they moved, they sat in I step into the pod, if that's all they will see When it comes to peace where I will feed I'll like my sugar and coffee and clean High FO22 Low watt Also known for the best old clock Dam ED getting biz on the clock Beastie Boys known to let them eat Mmm, drunk I said I like it like that I said I like it like that Chumpea, chumpea, pero no jalan Tu compras todas las Jordans, vos a mi me las regalas I spend in the club, while you have in the bank This is the new red in Japan I said I like it like that Come on everybody Hey, ho, let's go Hey, ho, let's go All the way up top Let's go, let's go Hey, ho, let's go Hey, ho, let's go Before we need a straight line We're going through a tight line The kids are losing their mind From the pitch being bumped Hey, ho, let's go Hey, ho, let's go Hey, ho, let's go

Hey, ho, let's go Looks like I'm making up for lost time Need you to spell it out for me Rising over all night It's like a dark cloud caught me all at night I can't leave it alone You're all in my heart So come be the man I need Tell me you got something to give I want that I kinda like it when you call me wonderful Wherever the time is on me It's not all there I gotta know you meant it Be the man I need Talk to me Talk to me Talk to me, talk to me Talk to me, talk to me Oh my my, you're taking me out of the ordinary I want you laying me down to a dead end I'm on the edge of your mind Standing drunk on your mind The angels up in the clouds Are jealous, know we found Something somehow of the ordinary You've got me kissing the ground And you're saying to it Side of me with your touch For every turn that it does

The angels up in the clouds Are jealous, know we found All right, make some noise for Crossroads students! Put those hands together And if you know it Let us see it, come, come Let me hear you touch that Let me hear you touch that Let me hear you touch that Let me hear you touch that Let me hear you touch that Come on Let me see your hands, come on I don't see them She says she's gotta hold on To what we've got Doesn't make a difference If we make it or not We've got each other And that's a lot for one We'll give it a shot Oh, we're halfway there Oh, living on a prayer Took my hand, we'll make it, I swear Oh, living on a prayer Living on a prayer Whoo! We're going up, up, up Up, up, up, up, up, up Get on the other, we're going

Get on the other, we're going Oh, up, up, up, with your voice You wanna get, you don't want it Get on the other, we're going Oh, I'm done hiding Now I'm shining like a Barnaby Oh, I was trying to reach The place that's true Barnaby You know I'm gonna be, gonna be, gonna be Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be It's the time now There's no, no, it's not You can't fall in love with me! Yes! What a halftime show! What a halftime show. You gotta love hearing Bon Jovi and K-Pop Demon Hunters in the same, same show. Hey, man, thank you guys so much for joining us. I feel like they hacked my Spotify playlist there. But the reality is, we like to have fun around here because we believe Jesus created us to live full, abundant lives. And I'd love to connect with you. Like, there's a thing to watching a community, but there's another thing when you take a step and actually get to connect with them. We'd love to get to know you. If you just text ANYWHERE to 301 301, just text the word ANYWHERE to 301 301, it'll be like myself or Jen, who you saw earlier, or a couple other members on our team that would love to reach out, connect with you, and help you figure out what it looks like to take your next step with God and growing with community. If you heard what Chuck said, talking about the importance of a huddle,

hey, we have an incredible opportunity that could help form that for you and help you grow and take the next step with God. I want to give you a glimpse into what the upcoming RUN journey is going to look like right now. Ever dream of a life that feels like more than just the grind of wake up, go to work or school, drive the kids to so many games, scroll a bit, pay the bills, scroll a bit more, fall asleep in front of a screen, and repeat? If you listen, there's a voice that can cut through the noise of your busy life. It doesn't shout. It speaks like a spark. Awake, oh sleeper. An invitation to raise your eyes from the endless tasks and look up. Because there is more. More than the grind, more than just making it to Friday. You weren't made to coast through life on autopilot or chase someone else's dream. You were designed to run a race that only you can run. And you can win. No matter the life you're currently living, you can run with purpose and level up. Join us as we follow the journeys of the Apostle Paul and learn from the radical race he ran to change the world. It's time to wipe the sleep from your soul. Wake up, run your race, and win. Real Encounters with God, The RUN Journey. Man, that video gives you a great glimpse into what's coming. The RUN Journey is going to be an incredible opportunity. If anything in that video resonated with you, any of that sense of being stressed out or being numbed out, or feel like you're constantly running but not sure that you're actually getting anywhere, the RUN Journey could be incredible for you. It could be the perfect thing to help you start to get traction and go to a new place with God. Now, this experience brings together two of our most impactful and popular things that we've ever done around here. The first is called Real Encounters. We actually go to places around the globe and film on location to capture the truth of the Bible. And that'll be Turkey and Greece this year. It's incredible stuff. And the second thing is actually the journey.

This is something we've done for 15 years. I actually met my wife at Crossroads 15 years ago as part of a journey. It's this thing where all of our teaching, our entire community from kids and students all the way up to adults, where they focus in on one topic where they want to see God grow them. And this year, it's actually around the race that God has created you to run. There's three components to the journey. The first is just the weekly service, watching the weekly teaching. That's like what you're doing right now at a site or online. Perfect. The second thing is actually doing this. This is your individual RUN Journey guide. It's like a customized book for you that you can process and figure out how you're going to apply and run more hard after the race that you feel like God has put in front of you. And then the third is actually meeting with a group. We've got online groups and in-person groups. You need to have a huddle, as Chuck said. You need to have people that you're growing around and growing alongside of, and the journey can help you do that. Five weeks. Again, all the details at crossroads.net slash journey. And you can actually check that all out and get started right now. I want to give you a sense of how to jump into the journey right now. What's a journey, you ask? No, not that one. It's not rocket science. It's just something life-changing we've been doing as a community for 20 years. Will it work for you? We're betting on it. Thousands of people have made incredible progress leveling up and getting off the sidelines of their lives, and you can too. Too busy? We get it, but this is so worth it if you're into finding your purpose and winning at life. Who doesn't need a win? I thought so. So we've made it simple. There are just three steps to the journey.

Step one, attend the weekend at a site or online. See the Bible come alive from here, or here, or even here. Step two, do your individual work in this specially designed personal reflection folder. Step three, meet with a group online or in person. We've created original content just for groups that includes this sweet original game that is both fun and deep. Heads up, Mattel. And our lead pastor Kyle has something encouraging, challenging, and inspiring just for your group via video each week as you discover the race you were made to run. Now all you have to do is show up and experience five incredible weeks that just might change your life. Go here to learn more. So you're 45, time to screen for colon cancer. Let go of my butt. Introducing Cologuard, a non-invasive way to... That's right. Insurance won't cover it. Which is why we're introducing Cologuard Express. You just find a number 10 envelope, toss five bucks in, take a dump on the five bucks, and we'll take it from there. So I just brew it, drop it, lick it, and stick it in the mail. That's right, and we'll do the rest. That's perfect. I know, right? Ask your doctor if Cologuard Express is right for you. If you never go to the doctor, I guarantee it's right for you. Cologuard Express isn't recommended for patients with a strong gag reflex. Cologuard Express, it's gross, but it's cheap. Nope. That mailman said nope, no thank you. I tell you what, we are having a good time today, and it's not just the commercials, it's not just the laughs, it's the teaching, it's everything. And you only get it here at the Super Bowl of preaching.

You got a Beyonce fan that just blows on you. That's amazing. Everybody needs that. So good. Everyone deserves that. I want that wig when they're done with it. Yeah, you do. You need it. Hey, we got a second half coming up for you. Send it down to the field for Brian Tone. We're going up, up, up. It's our moment. You know we're gonna be golden. Sorry guys, I was preoccupied with something. Sorry. That's my bad. You know what, Matt? You would be great for the halftime show. Oh, come on. Don't you think? I mean, I think you'd be great at the halftime show. Why don't I want to be in it? What would I even do? I mean, would I do like, you know, a jazz square or like this? Maybe next year, maybe next year. All right, so Brian, you have possession of the Bible. And it hurts me every time to watch you. Ow, that hurts. Me too. All right, choose a random prop.

Oh, it even smells bad. Yeah. You have leftover Chinese food. It's leftover. Been there for a while. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Okay. All right. Boy, the smell. I'm gonna keep it right there. All right. There's a profound thing that happens when there are collisions. Jesus comes and the Bible speaks clearly that the right understanding of Jesus is He's fully God and fully man at the same time. Wait a minute. God and man together? That collision is really potent and powerful. When you do have those things, it's really intense. We would do camps. Our man camp, we'll have a whole bunch of kegs of beers at trailers. And right beside that is the prayer tent. And having those things together, it seems like they shouldn't be, but because they are, it's an amazing, beautiful collision. Last week, if you came to Crossroads, we had 60 minutes straight of prayer. It was prayer. We prayed for 60 minutes. It was great. It was creative. And then today, we're just having fun.

Wait a minute, a church that prays for an hour straight and just has fun and has stupid junior high humor? Yeah, the collision there is a potency. Allie Cat talked a couple quarters ago about unks. Unks that we have to value the older people in our life and bring older people in our life. So I'm going to spend the rest of my time talking about how we need younger people in our life. You must have young people. people in your huddle. Yeah. Drake May, 23 years old, for the New England Patriots. Sam Darnold is 28. Half the division quarterbacks were 26 years or younger. If you Google the average age of an NFL starting quarterback in the Super Bowl, it's going to be a number, I think, by 30, 31. But that's not the whole story, because what overweights those numbers is someone like a Tom Brady who weights the numbers as a 42-year-old who won, but his very first Super Bowl was 24. The quarterbacks make their mark when they are young. Those of you who are young, yes, you do have a lot of runway. But I'm telling you, right now is really critical. You don't just have a great future. You have a critical now. You're present now. Terry Bradshaw was 26 his first Super Bowl. Montana was 25. Marino and Roethlisberger, they had their first at 23. And if you're here today, which we all are, you're a part, even if it's just for one day, your first time,

you're a part of the greatest movement the world has ever known. There's not even a close second place. And that's the movement of Jesus Christ, who started a church that's been ever expanding across the entire world. And how did He choose to do that? Through young people. The Apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament, more than anybody else did anyway. He has a young pastor he builds into, Timothy. Two books to him, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. Timothy's in his late 20s. Here's what he says to him. So, hey, don't let people look down on you just because you're young. Young folks, just because you're young doesn't mean you don't understand how God works. Just because you're young doesn't mean you can't hear from God in a significantly profound way. Our culture is disproportionately weighted old. You might say, I don't understand. How could you say that? Well, let me give some examples. First of all, when you've ever seen a movie in the World War II era, you see that the main figures or characters are like a John Wayne or a Clint Eastwood or even if you took a look at what's the name? What's the Stephen Spielberg one, the most recent one? Saving Private Ryan, right. Those guys are pretty old. You know, the tank commanders in World War II. What? Tank, Saving Private Ryan.

Well, OK, a more recent movie, a more recent movie. Hey, I'm going to admit, I am getting, I am old. I'm going to admit, yes, I am old. I'm going to get into my age in just a moment. But nonetheless, no movie shows how young those GIs were. Tank commanders who ran tanks in World War II, they were 19 years old, 18 years old. Fighter pilots in World War II, they were 18, 19 years old. By the time they were 29, too old. It was young people through and through. And this even affects the way we are today. We can't even design movies that are historically accurate with young people having significant, important roles in the adult world. And today we still have those of us who are older having a culture that's wired to support us and not necessarily younger people. Now, these are some stats you might have already been aware of. Might be brand new to you, but it is what it is. A lot of people have talked about how our stock market is inflated. It's inflated because people in power are older and we do all that we can to keep the stocks propped up, which I'm very thankful for that because I'm six years old. I need that 403B, that my retirement account to be just fine and stable. But because we're not having massive corrections, price isn't coming down and young people can't buy into the market, which is why young people are so drawn to Bitcoin. Things that don't make any sense at all. Yeah, that's good. You dropped your flag, ma'am. No, no. This is a challenge, Mike.

OK, I'll get this one of these years. We would like to challenge Brian to explain Bitcoin to everyone. Oh. Right? Wouldn't you like to know? All right. All right. Here it is. Tell us about it. What is something worth? What somebody is willing to pay for it. Yeah, that's all it's worth. Your house, your car, whatever. So apparently some people worth paying for the idea that there's digital money out there that has no value. That's what it is. Amen. I overturned because I think he explained it as well as any of us understand it. But young people are drawn to it because they go, I can get in on this. I can afford this. The average first time home builder. I was 28 when I owned my first house, got my first mortgage. Kyle was 24, you said, 24. Average first time home buyer today is 40 years old. Wow. 40. Here's a graph that shows that. That has massive ramifications. Variety of reasons for it.

Houses more expensive, hard time to save for a house when rent is escalated, elevated. I had to put 5% down on my house. They had to put 10% down, whatever it is. I'm just saying the signs show that when you're younger, it is hard right now, really, really hard. We're making it harder for young people. And the truth is, Jesus made it easier for young people. He brought people into his inner circle. We get it wrong with World War II movies and we get it wrong with every movie about Jesus and his 12 disciples. Every single one is dead wrong, including The Chosen, which is really good, but it's wrong. It's wrong. Well, because the disciples are always too old, way too old. How do I know that? Well, if we took a look at Matthew 17, verse 26 to 27, Jesus is getting grief from the temple professional hierarchy that him and his disciples have to pay the temple tax. They're in Jerusalem. You're going to come here. You've got to pay the temple tax. And so Jesus, there's a lot of stuff happens in the story. I'd love to give a whole sermon on it, but I only have one quarter for you. But let's take a look at what happens, how he raises the money for this temple tax. He says to Peter, In other words, here's the money we need to pay for you and pay for me, nobody else. Well, why is that? It's because you had to be 20 years old to pay the temple tax or older.

And only him and Peter were 20 years and older. Jesus is about 32, 33 at this point. We don't know how old Peter was. He was at least 20. And really, every single other disciple is younger than that. 14, 15, 19. Oh, this is basic Bible stuff. And yet you can't find a single piece of art that reflects young kids with acne. Who are disciples. Why would this be? Is it young people have more energy? Young people have more flexibility? Young people are more gung-ho? Young people are more teachable? Young people are less prideful? Young people are, I don't know. I don't know. I do know this. Every wave starts the student section, which is why here at Crossroads, we pour massive resources into younger generation. And we restructure our organizational structure for younger people to rise. And a lot of stuff that happens at Crossroads, I don't even like. Because I'm 60. Like the halftime show, glad you liked it. I didn't like it. There was only one song that was worth anything, the whole thing. You know what that was? Bon Jovi living on a prayer. I'm like, oh, Bon Jovi, God bless America. Holding on to the past.

Love it. Good call. The Bon Jovi reference. Saving Private Ryan. I admit it. I admit it. Now, just one last thing about Super Bowl halftimes. And some of you will be surprised about this. There's a lot of hubbub about Bad Bunny and the actual Super Bowl going. I'm like, it's a great decision. I don't even know who he is. I've never listened to him. All the young people are like, why is that? Because the young people like Bad Bunny. It's a business decision. It's not an American decision. It's a business decision for the NFL going, we need to keep attracting younger fans. And those of us who are older will never get it. We won't. And in our church, I'm saying to all of us who are older, we need to keep leaning to the next generation. We need to keep pushing young because that's what Jesus did. So if you are young, now is your time. Do things that are going to set you up for your future. You have a long runway, but I tell you what, this moment, the runway is your most important time. Do things that are building your skills. Do things that are building your networking. Do things that are building your mind.

Don't just mindlessly do what everybody else does your age. A higher percentage of those people are going nowhere. If you want to go someplace, you'll make different decisions to get yourself ahead. And then finally, for those of us who are older, it's time for you and I to be building into the next generation. We dumb things down too much for the next generation. We need to have high standards. Allow them to rise to the level of our expectations. All of us. You must have young people in your huddle. Touchdown, Team Tombs! Brian, you're awarded six points for a great message. However, you did have the penalty and you didn't reference the random bra. Why aren't you helping me? Why aren't you helping me? What are you doing? You're my teammate. Gosh, you did. You did, fool. Well, the Holy Spirit was flowing and, you know, the Holy Spirit's flowing, just don't quench the Spirit. Yeah, don't quench the Chinese. All right. For the extra point, which you need, within 10%, how many people have played in a marching band? What do you mean, percentage of American population, or what does that mean, how many people? What percentage of the American population have played in a marching band? Percentage of the American population. It's got to be low again. I think it's low. Yeah. In a marching band?

I think we're probably talking about— People just like to wear weird things. Hey, this is our question, not your question. Shut your yapper. Shut your small mouth over there. Do you pull the crowd? How many people were in a marching band? It's got to be small. Yeah, how many people were in a— That many? All right. It's got to be— All right, we need an answer. It's got to be 10%. I think if we do— I would say 14. That's what I would say. 13. 13%. 13%? 13%. It is 10%! Yes! Which gives you the extra point. All right! Giving you an end of third quarter score, Team Tome 11 and Team Ranson 6. Okay, let's do that. All right, there's only one quarter left to go. Interesting stat, Brian Tome bought his first house at 28. 28 is also the number of years since Saving Private Ryan was released.

That makes total sense. He thought it was just yesterday. He thought it was just yesterday. The mind must be going. That's okay. It's the first time. Exactly right. Look at the replay here. So we've got unbelievable backflip by Kassaman, just hoping to be invited into the halftime show. And then, unfortunately, he remembers he didn't use the prop, but he does what every great teammate does. He blames Chuck Mingo immediately. That's right. That's right. Great teammate. Great showmanship there. Let's head back down to the field. Kyle Ranson in the fourth quarter. All right. Ranson, you have the Bible for this quarter, and your random prop is an arm sling. Okay. All right. Good luck with that. Great. An arm sling. Perfect. We've been talking about the people that you need in your huddle, but why does a huddle ever come to exist in the first place?

It's because there's a galvanizer who goes to the people sitting on the sidelines, gets in their face, and says, the time is now. And God is looking at you and wanting you to be that galvanizer for somebody else in your life. Now, what makes the galvanizer? Two things. First, the galvanizer has seen the game clock and knows that it's the fourth quarter. You ever notice in the NFL game, everything changes in the fourth quarter? Sometimes it's frustrating because all of a sudden the offense that couldn't complete a two-yard pass is making 50-yard bombs. The defense that couldn't get a stop is like the 85 Bears. It's crazy. Why does that happen? It happens because all the players, all the coaches, look at the clock and they go, it's now or never. You can't just keep waiting on your life. Eventually, at some point, if you keep waiting to eat the Chinese food, it's going to go bad. So you guys might want to dig into that a little bit right there. That's my teammate right there. Yeah. He used our prop. We should get those points. No, that's my prop! Yes, he did! That's true. The prop was supposed to be used.

No one in this room, especially me, knows what a turnover is. So, yeah, I agree. The prop was used. You get the points. Well done. That's great. Thank you. Hey! Hey, my hat! Can you hand me my hat, please? No! Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. God bless you. God bless. Sorry about that, honey. Everyone else thinks we are, like, planning this stuff. We're not planning this. We're not planning this. Galvanizers know that it's the fourth quarter. In fact, do you know that God says that you and I were born in the fourth quarter? See, according to God, time is like me and Allie. Short. It says this in Psalm 14. They are like a breath. Their days are like a fleeting shadow. See, the clock is ticking, and time is short. But most people live as if the game will last forever. That's why when you go to a graveyard, it's full of buried treasure. And I don't mean gold bars in there, like King Tut's tomb or something. I mean energy that never got spent. I mean chips that never got pushed in. I mean relational capital that never got invested

for the sake of seeing someone else's life go forward. And I'll just tell you, none of us up here want that to happen in your life. We don't want that. It's why we're pushing this thing called the run journey on you. And yes, we're pushing it on you. Why? Because you weren't made to live a hamster wheel life that leads to nowhere. God says he has a gift for you, a race to run, purpose-filled, critical race to run for his kingdom. Do you know what it is? And do you know how to win? He says this in 1 Corinthians 9, 24. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. See, God doesn't want you to have a participation trophy for life. He wants you to aim for the prize. In the NFL, that's the Lombardi trophy. You're supposed to play to win. I don't know if the Ohio teams know that. You're trying to win the trophy, not go 6-11, not finish 5-12. And so I have a proposal for my home state of Ohio. What if we took Cleveland's defense, Cincinnati's offense, and smash it into one winning team? Come on, let's make it happen. Let's make it happen. God wants you to win, but it will not happen unless a galvanizer gets in your face and says the time is now. Galvanizers not only recognize that it's the fourth quarter, galvanizers don't wait for someone else to make the call. I'm a dad. I have three kids. And for the record, I like kids. I do. I like kids, mostly because they're gullible. I mean, they'll believe anything. Just ask a nine-year-old to defend the Tooth Fairy's business model. They will do it confidently.

You're like, really? You think there's someone that wants to pay cash for your teeth? The same yellow molars I have to beg you to brush every night. Really? They're like, yeah, absolutely. It's wild. Now, adults, we also believe in crazy stuff. We do. We believe in someone else. We believe that someone else will come along and they'll make the call. We believe that someone else will step in and they'll extend the invite. We believe that somebody else will come along and they'll take on the battle. They'll do the fight. I'll just remind you, in the Bible, there was an army sitting around doing nothing about the giants, shouting at God's people, until a little boy came along with a sling and shot a rock at Goliath. Someone else doesn't exist. And the galvanizers get this. The galvanizers get it. Mike Vrabel, he's a galvanizer. He doesn't sit around and wait for somebody else to pull the coaches together and make the game plan. He doesn't do that. In fact, I read an article that said he got on his players for waiting for someone else to pick up their socks. He said, I'll wait for somebody else. It's your job. Drake May, he's a galvanizer. He doesn't wait for somebody else to pull his receivers together to put in some work. And God says, He's tired of you waiting for someone else. He's looking at you to be the galvanizer. Jesus says this very clearly in Luke 10, verse 2.

He says the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Too many of God's people hear those words and they're like, Amen, God, that's right. Send out a worker, someone else into the field. Well, you stop reading too early. Because in the next sentence, Jesus says, Go, I am sending you, you. God's looking at you. He says, I put you in the circles I put you in intentionally so that you would make the call, so that you would send the text, so that you would make the invite, so you would form the group, so that you would do it, you. And man, I have good news for you, by the way. You don't have to be a good, perfect person in order for God to entrust you with that work. You don't have to have straight A's on your spiritual report card. Like, I don't have that. Me neither. It's okay. God wants to use you. He will use you. He's got a race for you to run. And we want you to know what it is. We want you to start running. And when? Man, if you've heard nothing else today, I hope you've heard about a God who loves you. A God who wants to be the veteran in your life, the uncle, the older brother who has your back and can walk you through whatever you're going through in your life. I hope you know there's a God who has the energy and the vision and the vigor of youth, who still believes, yes, still, that anything is possible in your life. There's a team captain who wants you in his huddle. That's the God who exists. Do you know him?

Do you want him? Will you step in? That's the call. That's the decision. I think you've heard enough of us talking. It's time for you to talk to God. Maybe you're like, I don't talk to God. I don't care. Try it. What do you got to lose? I want everybody to close your eyes right now. And I'll walk you through a couple conversations you might want to have with him. First, maybe you're somebody who you walked in here and you don't really know what you believe about God. But maybe something sparked in you. There was something said in a message that lit up something inside of you. And you thought, man, I wish that was true. If that's you, you can pray this simple prayer to God right now. You can say, God, If you're real, I want to know you. And maybe you want to make a commitment to him to come back and see. Maybe you're somebody who God's already got a hold of you, God's already changed your life, that's awesome. I want you right now to ask God to put a picture in your mind of the person or the people he wants you to run after. He wants you to be the galvanizer to. With those pictures in your mind, why don't you commit to God right now? Commit to be the galvanizer.

Do not commit lightly, but commit. Still with your eyes closed, one last thing. I want you to put your hands out like someone's putting a present into your lap. Is that weird? Yeah, get over it, it's okay, it's okay. Put your hands out. I want to invite Brian to pray a blessing over your life. All right, so God, I'm praying as our hands are extended that you put something into us that we don't have right now. Maybe you give us some more grace. Maybe you give us a fresh touch of your spirit. God, you give us the awareness that we are forgiven. God, you put into us an appreciation for the people you put in our huddle. God, all I'm praying you put into our lives people who you love, people who you care for, people who we don't have that we need. Thank you for being God of generosity and we pray that you would do this in our lives. In all of our lives, we pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Touchdown team Ransom! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! All right, now before we get to your points, we're gonna get to their points because you got points for them, which I thought was super nice. Oh, yeah. They need help, so I'm happy to help. Favorite part of sports is one team helping the other team and that's how I love it. So they have now a score of 14. Yep, good. And then you had six points for a great message and additional three points for the excellent use of your prop. No need for the extra point because you have 15 points resulting in an end of game. Team Ransom is the Super Bowl III winner! We are the champions, my friends. That's right, come on! And we'll keep on fighting till the end. We are the champions, we are the champions. No time for losers, cause we are the champions. You got that one fair and square. Yes, you did, fair and square. I don't like it. Next service coming around. We'll see what happens. So, hey, you know what I thought? This has been really good for all of us, at least for me.

I'm curious, we've got something coming up really important next week. We haven't done a journey for a while, actually, where a whole church gets united about something. We do a multi-pronged spiritual growth strategy to grow in our lives a certain area. And a group huddle experience is really critical. I'm just curious, what are you guys doing for your huddle? Kind of for the small group, yeah. So I'm gonna be helping out with an online group, and then there's a group of guys getting together on Monday night. And so I'm inviting a couple others to join us, but we're gonna be doing that on Monday nights together. I haven't thought about it at all until this weekend. So now I am thinking about it. Fortunately, I have about two weeks to get it together. So Lib and I will probably do some stuff with a couple friends, and I'm probably gonna do some guy stuff too. So, but it's important for me. We're gonna do that. How about you, Alicat? Yeah, we've done the last few journeys whenever those were separately. Like, Bill's done it with guys, and I've done it with women. And this time we wanna do it together. So we're gonna do some couples and invite them into our home and we'll host.

Me, I'm gonna help host some online groups. And then I texted my guys' text thread and just said, hey, who's in? And surprisingly, a lot of guys are in. Yeah, pretty awesome. Good job galvanizing. There you go. Yeah, yeah. All right, so, hey, it has been fantastic. Let's just take it right back to all of our sites where your community pastors will tell you what they're doing. Hey, thank you so much for tuning in today. Now, Crossroads is not always like this, but it's always, always good. It's a chance for you to grow with God and take a new step in your relationship with Him. Now, we got some good stuff happening next week as we kick off the Run journey. I'm curious, wanna hear from y'all. What are you most excited about the Run journey? Yeah, like I said, it's an opportunity to grow with God. And one of my favorite things about, I think, Crossroads is I'm ready to grow with God. I don't have to do it alone. So I love the journey because everybody's in a group. Everybody has individual work, and we're all showing up every single week online or in person. Yeah, Arturo.

You know what? I've never done a group journey kind of thing here, so I'm excited to do that with my wife. And we just recently became a band of board games, so I'm excited to be able to do that. Double whammy. Yeah, double whammy. World's colliding, I love it. Jen. I get to host online groups for the journey, which I'm pretty pumped about. So myself, you're doing one. Chuck Mingo, Hannah Driscoll, Justin Mosteller, just to name drop a few. Yeah, why not? You can join our groups. We'd love to have you. I didn't get invited though, so oh well. No, sorry. So I'm excited about that. It's going to be great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Actually, so since we're actually going to have the journey available to everyone in prisons across the country. For the first time, yeah. Absolutely, yeah, on the Pando app. I'm excited to see the response. That's good. That's honest.

OK, cool. Ross. Yeah, and being a part of Crossroads Anywhere, I'm from Tampa. And what we saw today on the field, the big thing is no excuses. There's no excuse for you not to get involved in this journey. There's so many awesome ways. As a church, wherever you are, jump on board. Let's play some games. Wait, so you don't work here, and you're still going to do it? Yeah, I don't even go here. So I'm not sure. You found him on Craigslist. Yeah, exactly. Along with that jacket. That's a really nice jacket. That's my Sunday best, thank you. That's right. You killed that leopard. All right, hey, here's the real question. We're done with the Super Bowl of preaching. Who do you guys think is going to win tonight? Who's got Patriots? Aw, dude, I'm a huge Patriots fan. Give me Legacy, Drake, and Vayne for the win. Who thinks Seahawks? Seahawks. Who wants to see a different game?

Yes, love it. I'm rooting for Cedar, San, and Hootie. That's right. All about that halftime. I'm all about those Camaro. Hey, guys, thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you next week for the kickoff of the run journey. Let's get some hot dogs. Let's go. Let's go.