What is Crossings?


The Crossings Community, Inc. is an open worldwide network of Christians dedicated to connecting the Word of God and daily life under the motto, “Crossing Life with the Promise of Christ.”  What makes our approach distinctive is our commitment to a theological outlook called the proper distinction of law and gospel.

We regard the Gospel as a problem-solving message — genuine good news for sinners — and the Holy Scriptures as problem-solving literature. In a nutshell, we believe that the Gospel and the Scriptures address a festering God-problem that is in, with and under all our other problems, and for which only the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the corresponding God-solution.

The word “crossings” has a double meaning for us: one theological and one pastoral. Theologically, it reminds us that the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s solution to our God-problem. Through Christ, God establishes the bridge for us to cross over from one degree of glory to another:  from life under Law to life in Christ, from sin to righteousness, from death to life. Pastorally, it reminds us that God’s solution needs to be personally connected to our lives. Through the Word and the Holy Spirit, God takes what is Christ’s and applies it to us.   Through Word and the Spirit, we crossover from fear of judgment to faith in Christ, confident that our sin is covered by Christ’s forgiveness and convinced that love is established as our way of life.

The mission of the Crossings Community is to serve people in “crossing” their lived experiences with the promise of Christ to see how their stories fit within the gospel story. To this end, the Crossings Community has developed a three-fold method of study called the Crossings Method.

+ We read the Bible to hear, first, how the Law of God evaluates (diagnosis) life’s ills, ultimately as they relate to God, and, second, how the Good News of Jesus Christ provides healing (prognosis).  This we call the “Grounding.”

+ We examine daily life in a way that keeps us honest to the facts and mindful of the Grounding. This we call the “Tracking.”

+ We relate the two so that, by the power of the Word and the Spirit, faith in God flourishes and service to the world abounds. This we call the “Crossing.”

Central to the Crossings Method is the art of distinguishing law and gospel, God’s two contrasting ways of addressing the human condition. Through the word of law, God exposes all that is wrong with us in the give and take of daily life, especially our relationship with God; through the word of gospel, God promises to make all things right for us by joining us to the death and resurrection of Christ.

The Crossings Template is a conceptual tool we use to aid us in the practice of distinguishing law and gospel. It reminds us that there are three levels of the “problem” that plagues us as sinners and three corresponding levels of “solution” that mark us as saints. The Template visually illustrates the gospel’s very own logic for reading Holy Scripture and envisioning the life of discipleship.

We invite you to join us in the Christian art of “crossing life with the promise of Christ.” Browse our Resources and use them as you like. Participate in an upcoming conference and meet kindred spirits. Host a workshop in your congregation, group or organization and imagine the new thing the Spirit might do for you.