Catalyst
This site, which is associated with North Point Community Church in Atlanta, has a monthly podcast featuring interviews with people such as Eugene Petersen, Andy Stanley, Rob Bell, etc.
I think I've listened to just about all of them. The last two interviews were with Louie Giglio and Chris Seay. They're defiinitely worth listening to.
Enjoy!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Bay Area Housing Bubble
Here's an interesting article on the housing market in the bay area.
Read more
Why?
- Prices disconnected from fundamentals. House prices are far beyond any historically known relationship to rents or salaries. Rents are less than half of mortgage payments. Salaries cannot cover mortgages except in the very short term, by using adjustable interest-only loans.
- Interest rates going back up. When rates go from 5% to 7%, that's a 40% increase in the amount of interest a buyer has to pay. House prices must drop proportionately to compensate.
82% of recent Bay Area loans are adjustable, not fixed. This means a big hit to the finances of many owners every time interest rates go up, and this will only get worse as more adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) get adjusted upward. Nationally, about $2 trillion of ARMS will adjust their rates to much higher levels this year and next.
- A flood of risky adjustable rate "home equity loans". Just like the bad primary ARM loans, these loans do not have fixed interest rates. When the interest rate adjusts upward, it can double monthly payments, forcing owners to sell.
- Massive job loss. More than 300,000 jobs are gone from Bay Area since the dot-com bubble popped. This is the worst percentage job loss in the last 60 years. It's worse than Detroit car problems or Houston's oil bust. People without jobs do not buy houses and owners without jobs may lose the house they are in. Even the threat of losing a job inhibits house purchases. Santa Clara County posted its fourth straight year of job losses in 2005, so it's not over yet.
Read more
Facing the World's Five Giants
The following is an article from Rick Warren.
Facing the world's five giants!
by Rick and Kay Warren
The world is full of problems. Some are small and some are huge. As Kay and I considered the problems facing the world today, we concluded there are five giants -- five pervasive problems that affect billions of people.
These are the ones we want to tackle, believing God gets the most glory when we attack the biggest giants. These problems are so huge that they can only be addressed with total dependence on God and with all of us -- your congregation and mine, Christians all around the world -- working together to confront them.
Here are the giant problems, as we see them:
1. The first global giant is spiritual darkness.
Here’s a startling truth: Billions of people have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ. Three thousand distinct people groups around our world wouldn’t even know the name of Jesus if they heard it.
“Who is that?” they’d ask. “What’s so significant about that name?”
These people know nothing about Jesus or about God. If you were one of those who had never heard the name of Jesus, wouldn’t you want somebody to come tell you about our Savior, our Lord? The Bible says in Romans 10:14 (NCV), “Before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them.”
The greatest giant in our world today is the fact that billions of people do not know Jesus Christ.
2. The second giant we want to tackle is the lack of servant leaders around the world.
Around the world, there are plenty of people in leadership who abuse their power. Many refuse to use their power for the good of their people -- instead they choose to use it for themselves. This has created chaos in the world.
Leaders must have moral basis. They must have wisdom. Proverbs 11:14 (NLT) says, “Without wise leadership, a nation falls.” Proverbs 16:12b (Msg) says, “Sound leadership has a moral foundation.” And Zechariah 10:2 (TEV) says, “People wander around like lost sheep. They are in trouble because they have no leader.”
In the developing world there are 2.1 million pastors and church leaders. Of those, 1.9 million have never had any training at all. Not only have these leaders not gone to seminary or Bible school, they haven’t even gone to high school or primary school. They have no training whatsoever -- and yet they lead the church. This must be remedied.
3. The third giant we’re going after is poverty.
More than half of the world -- that’s three billion people -- live on less than two dollars a day. One-sixth of the world’s population lives in slums. Those are heart-breaking statistics. Proverbs 28:7 (NIV) says, “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.”
It’s easy to live in a bubble and think the rest of the world lives like we do. When we go about our daily lives forgetting how most of the world lives, we tend to judge people for being poor. Job 12:5 (GW) says, “A person who has an easy life [that would be you and me] has no appreciation for misfortune. He thinks it is the fate of those who slip up.”
Tell that to the parents of 10 million little girls who’ve been sold into prostitution in Southeast Asia. Their families exist in such grinding poverty they see no other way to feed their families than to sell their little girls into prostitution. It’s a horrible existence.
4. The fourth giant we want to attack is disease.
Billions suffer the effects of famine and drought. They are homeless, hungry, and helpless. They’re ill. We can do something about that.
Psalm 38:6-11 (GW) says, “I am bent over and bowed down very low. ... My insides are filled with burning pain, and no healthy spot is left on my body. I am numb and completely devastated. ... I’ve lost my strength. Even the light of my eyes has left me. My loved ones and my friends keep their distance and my relatives stand far away because of my sickness.”
We have seen the effects of poverty as we've traveled. We’ve seen the effects of people with HIV/AIDS. The stigma is enormous. People are abandoned by their own families. Their bodies slowly waste away from opportunistic infections. As Christians we cannot ignore these people.
Ezekiel 34:4 (TEV) says, “You have not taken care of the weak ones, healed the ones that are sick, bandaged the ones that are hurt, brought back the ones that wandered off, or looked for the ones that were lost. Instead, you treated them cruelly.”
5. The fifth giant we want to tackle is ignorance.
Over half the world is still illiterate. How can a country grow and be strong economically when its citizens can’t read, can’t write, and don’t know the fundamentals of math and science that we take for granted? It’s no wonder these countries aren’t strong. Hosea 4:6 (NIV) says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” There’s a desperate need for teachers and schools and materials to help people grow.
These five giants can be toppled. We can make a difference. In a future issue, we'll talk about why the church is the perfect tool for toppling giants.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Seminary via IPOD
Many Christians wish that they could go to seminary, but just can't afford either the time it takes or the money. Covenant Seminary offers twenty-one of their MA classes for free. You can download pdf's of the notes and study guides, and download mp3's of the lectures. Or, you can subscibe to them as podcasts.
Here's the link.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: Here's another link like this one.
Biblical Training
Here's the link.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: Here's another link like this one.
Biblical Training
Friday, September 15, 2006
Robert's Top Ten (actually 11) church planting books
These are the books that have most influenced me when it comes to church planting.
Missional Church, edited by Darrel Guder
I read this a week or so after I finished seminary. I had actually been trying to make my way through it during the three years I was attending seminary, but I never made it. I guess it was a timing issue. The premise is that we in North America need to begin looking at North America as a mission field.
The Shaping of Things to Come, by Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch
I read this one in a couple of days. It is one of the most refreshing books I've read in a long time. The subtitle says it all: "Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century." Here is chapter one if you'd like to read it.
Resident Aliens, by Stanley Hauerwas & William H. Willimon
We Christians here in North America no longer have some of the cultural sway that we once had. We are no longer the majority. Instead, as "aliens and strangers," we as the church discover a new kind of power that only Jesus can give.
Call to Commitment, by Elizabeth O'Connor
This book tells the story of The Church of the Saviour, which started in Washington, DC shortly after World War II. All of the books about this church are worth reading. We talk a lot about the Upward, Inward, and Outward Journeys. I first heard about these from this church.
Planting Missional Churches, by Ed Stetzer
This book covers some theory, but also gets into a lot of the nuts and bolts of church planting. If you can only get one book that covers a little bit of everything, this might be your best bet.
Confessions of a Reformission Rev, by Mark Driscoll
This is the story of Mars Hill, a great church out of Seattle. They started with just a handful of people a little over a decade ago, and now have over 4000 people, and the amazing thing is that they have seen this happen in one of the most post-modern and post-christian cities in the country. He's a funny man, but he'll make you blush at times as well - so be warned.
The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, by Roland Allen
I first read this book in a church planting class in seminary. This was another book that I read in a couple of days; and, yes, another very refreshing book at the time I read it. He was a missionary to China in the early 1900's. One of the things that most impacted me about this book was his insistence that getting out of the way and allowing God to do what He wants to do is often one of the hardest things to do for a pastor or missionary.
The Celtic Way of Evangelism, by George Hunter
In this book Hunter compares the Celtic way of evangelism with the Roman way of evangelism, which has often resembled some of our methods. He describes the Celtic way as a very organic, holistic and missional approach.
More Ready Than You Realize, by Brian McLaren
I grew up being very afraid of evangelism. This was one of the first books I ever read that made me rethink evangelism. It caused me to go to the gospels to see how Jesus evangelized, and I came to understand that many of his "methods" would have caused a great deal of controversy for us today. This was very freeing to me.
A Theology as Big as the City, by Ray Bakke
I'm actually only about a quarter of the way through this book. I feel called to the city, and feel like I need to understand more before I am able to minister effectively. Bakke takes the reader through the entire Bible, starting with the Genesis account and ending with Revelation, and through that process extracts God's heart and plans for cities.
Church Planting Manual, by Timothy Keller & J. Allen Thompson
I haven't started this yet, but I've been told that it's one of the best resources for a church planter. I've just become aware of Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC), and have pretty much been blown away by everything I've heard.
Missional Church, edited by Darrel Guder
I read this a week or so after I finished seminary. I had actually been trying to make my way through it during the three years I was attending seminary, but I never made it. I guess it was a timing issue. The premise is that we in North America need to begin looking at North America as a mission field.
The Shaping of Things to Come, by Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch
I read this one in a couple of days. It is one of the most refreshing books I've read in a long time. The subtitle says it all: "Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century." Here is chapter one if you'd like to read it.
Resident Aliens, by Stanley Hauerwas & William H. Willimon
We Christians here in North America no longer have some of the cultural sway that we once had. We are no longer the majority. Instead, as "aliens and strangers," we as the church discover a new kind of power that only Jesus can give.
Call to Commitment, by Elizabeth O'Connor
This book tells the story of The Church of the Saviour, which started in Washington, DC shortly after World War II. All of the books about this church are worth reading. We talk a lot about the Upward, Inward, and Outward Journeys. I first heard about these from this church.
Planting Missional Churches, by Ed Stetzer
This book covers some theory, but also gets into a lot of the nuts and bolts of church planting. If you can only get one book that covers a little bit of everything, this might be your best bet.
Confessions of a Reformission Rev, by Mark Driscoll
This is the story of Mars Hill, a great church out of Seattle. They started with just a handful of people a little over a decade ago, and now have over 4000 people, and the amazing thing is that they have seen this happen in one of the most post-modern and post-christian cities in the country. He's a funny man, but he'll make you blush at times as well - so be warned.
The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, by Roland Allen
I first read this book in a church planting class in seminary. This was another book that I read in a couple of days; and, yes, another very refreshing book at the time I read it. He was a missionary to China in the early 1900's. One of the things that most impacted me about this book was his insistence that getting out of the way and allowing God to do what He wants to do is often one of the hardest things to do for a pastor or missionary.
The Celtic Way of Evangelism, by George Hunter
In this book Hunter compares the Celtic way of evangelism with the Roman way of evangelism, which has often resembled some of our methods. He describes the Celtic way as a very organic, holistic and missional approach.
More Ready Than You Realize, by Brian McLaren
I grew up being very afraid of evangelism. This was one of the first books I ever read that made me rethink evangelism. It caused me to go to the gospels to see how Jesus evangelized, and I came to understand that many of his "methods" would have caused a great deal of controversy for us today. This was very freeing to me.
A Theology as Big as the City, by Ray Bakke
I'm actually only about a quarter of the way through this book. I feel called to the city, and feel like I need to understand more before I am able to minister effectively. Bakke takes the reader through the entire Bible, starting with the Genesis account and ending with Revelation, and through that process extracts God's heart and plans for cities.
Church Planting Manual, by Timothy Keller & J. Allen Thompson
I haven't started this yet, but I've been told that it's one of the best resources for a church planter. I've just become aware of Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC), and have pretty much been blown away by everything I've heard.
Recommended books for church planters
Resonate has compiled a list of several people's favorite books on the subject of church planting. I've read many of them, but I also added several to my amazon wish list.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Labor Day weekend
We had a very busy Labor Day weekend. Perhaps it has something to do with being in California the past six years, but we had four different invitations from people for this weekend. We spent Friday night at my dad's cabin on Pickwick Lake. There were twelve of us in all. We were there for less than 24 hours, then drove to the Nashville airport to meet Adam's new cousin, Addie Mae. Mandy's aunt and uncle spent the past two weeks in China in order to adopt Addie Mae, and they wanted the whole family at the airport when they arrived. It was awesome to see how so many people's lives have been changed by this little girl. I'll try to write more about Addie Mae sometime soon.
That night we went to see Mandy's college roommate, Samantha. Emily, one of Mandy's other roommates, and her husband Matt, were there as well. It was a quick visit. Sunday morning we were back at Leslie's, but Addie Mae, still on China time, was asleep. We ended our time at Shane and Steve's house. Shane and Steve were friends of ours from the Church@Hickory Hollow. They now have three kids. Bryan and Liesl Dunlap were there with their two kids, as was Michelle Mattox. It was so good to be with all of them. I'm grateful that we will be able to see them more frequently now.
We got home around 7:30, put Adam to bed, and were asleep by 9:00. We were all drained, and Mandy and I were both fighting colds, or allegies, or a little of both. Adam was a trooper through it all. He's such a great little kid.
It was great seeing so many people, but I think we'll try to spread our trips out a little more from now on.
That night we went to see Mandy's college roommate, Samantha. Emily, one of Mandy's other roommates, and her husband Matt, were there as well. It was a quick visit. Sunday morning we were back at Leslie's, but Addie Mae, still on China time, was asleep. We ended our time at Shane and Steve's house. Shane and Steve were friends of ours from the Church@Hickory Hollow. They now have three kids. Bryan and Liesl Dunlap were there with their two kids, as was Michelle Mattox. It was so good to be with all of them. I'm grateful that we will be able to see them more frequently now.
We got home around 7:30, put Adam to bed, and were asleep by 9:00. We were all drained, and Mandy and I were both fighting colds, or allegies, or a little of both. Adam was a trooper through it all. He's such a great little kid.
It was great seeing so many people, but I think we'll try to spread our trips out a little more from now on.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
A new favorite
Tonight I was coming home from Munford and was listening to Frank's Place on XM radio. I heard Bill Evans for the first time. I've been listening to him for the past thirty minutes on Rhapsody, and I have to say that it's some of the best jazz piano that I've ever heard. Check him out!
Reviews of free PC Utilities
I just got a new laptop and was looking for some good freeware to install. I ran across this site (The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities). It's a good site if you need some advice in this area.
Update: More freeware
Update: More freeware
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
The youngest megachurch pastor ever
28-year old David Platt is the new pastor of Brookhills Church in Birmingham, AL. The following is an excerpt from Christianity Today's article on him.
With a Matt Damon smile, short-sleeve button-up shirts — no tie — and an aw-shucks demeanor, Platt seems to put an audience at ease, then stuns them with his apparent near-memorization of the New Testament.
"He has such a command of the Word of God and love for it," Herndon said. "You forget how old he is; he's not speaking from experience, he's speaking from the Word of God. He disarms the audience with his youthful presence and casual manner, sets people at ease, then he starts teaching, and you get engaged. When he speaks, he's confident of what he's saying."
Platt can recite long Scripture passages from memory and moves from one precise biblical reference to another to back up his points, which focus heavily on evangelism and world missions.
"I want my preaching to be saturated with the Word of God," Platt said. "We have to know Christ, know him well and know his word."
In sermons, Platt draws on his travels to Indonesia, where he has led pastors' conferences, taught seminary courses and visited earthquake survivors. He's also visited Sudan, China and India. He and his wife plan to go to Kazakhstan to adopt a child this year.
"The Christian life is not to be lived in seclusion from the rest of the world, it's to be lived in the middle of the world," Platt said. "My mission is to make disciples of all nations and mobilize other people to do the same."
Herndon, 55, said older ministers on the staff have embraced Platt's leadership, which often takes off in unexpected directions.
In concluding a recent sermon, Platt made what seemed to be a spontaneous call for donations to build houses for earthquake victims in Indonesia. He asked those who would give over their usual offerings to step forward at the two morning services in the 2,100-seat sanctuary.
The congregation gave $110,000 to build bamboo huts with tin roofs for Indonesian villagers ravaged by a massive earthquake.
"We did not expect this kind of response," Herndon said. "We can almost build a village now."
The boy is loose
Adam started walking this weekend. He's been walking while holding on to something (the couch, Mom or Dad, the dog, etc) for awhile now, but he actually let go and took off a few days ago. He can go from sitting on the floor to standing up to walking like a drunk man. Genius, huh?
Friday, August 11, 2006
Reimagining Evangelism
Scot McKnight writes a good review of Rick Richardson's new book, Reimagining Evangelism. Looks like a good book.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Monday, July 31, 2006
A good day
Today was a good day. God was very good to me. Here's how.
Jason and I had thought about going to the Willow Creek Leadership Summit next week. It's pretty expensive, and you're really just watching a video. We thought it would make more sense to get the DVD's when they came out. However, today I got an email from the Church Planter's Network that Hope Pres sponsors. They had ten tickets to give away. I got us two tickets.
A week or so ago I signed up for a new phone service - SunRocket. It's like Vonage, only a MUCH better deal. The promotion was, sign up for a year for $199, get three months free. (You get two lines with this deal). So I signed up. Yesterday I hooked everything up. So far I've been very pleased. Today I was at work. I was telling my friend Camille about SunRocket, and went to the website to show her a few things. They had a new promotion - 2 years for $199. You can imagine that I was a little frustrated. I decided to call. I was on hold for close to ten minutes, but I used that time to get my ammunition ready. Fortunately for them, I didn't have to use that ammunition. They gave me the new promotion price!
Today was a good day.
Oh yeah...if you want to get SunRocket, please give them my info. I get free stuff.
Phone Number: 901-881-7724
Email address: robgrish@hotmail.com
Jason and I had thought about going to the Willow Creek Leadership Summit next week. It's pretty expensive, and you're really just watching a video. We thought it would make more sense to get the DVD's when they came out. However, today I got an email from the Church Planter's Network that Hope Pres sponsors. They had ten tickets to give away. I got us two tickets.
A week or so ago I signed up for a new phone service - SunRocket. It's like Vonage, only a MUCH better deal. The promotion was, sign up for a year for $199, get three months free. (You get two lines with this deal). So I signed up. Yesterday I hooked everything up. So far I've been very pleased. Today I was at work. I was telling my friend Camille about SunRocket, and went to the website to show her a few things. They had a new promotion - 2 years for $199. You can imagine that I was a little frustrated. I decided to call. I was on hold for close to ten minutes, but I used that time to get my ammunition ready. Fortunately for them, I didn't have to use that ammunition. They gave me the new promotion price!
Today was a good day.
Oh yeah...if you want to get SunRocket, please give them my info. I get free stuff.
Phone Number: 901-881-7724
Email address: robgrish@hotmail.com
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Minimum Wage
I just finished watching the first episode of a documentary series called 30 Days. Morgan Spurlock is the creator of this series. He also created Super-Size Me. The first episode was called "Minimum Wage." He and his fiance, Alex, move to Columbus, OH, with around no car, no credit cards, no place to live, and around $300 cash. They have to find a place to live, then find jobs. The experiment lasts thirty days. It was a pretty amazing experience for them.
My first thought is that I'm extremely grateful that I have always had everything I need. My last minimum wage job was when I first moved to Nashville, right out of college. I lived with three other guys in a church-owned home, so rent wasn't much. I also had my parents helping me a little. It wasn't a stressful situation. I don't know what it's like to not have what I need. The sad thing is that here in the U.S., many people know exactly what this is like. One out of every eight children under the age of twelve goes to bed hungry every night. But that's nothing compared to children in other parts of the world. Every year 15 million children die of hunger. (These statistics can be found here).
One of the most touching parts of the episode was when they heard about a church-sponsored store called "The Free Store." They were able to get blankets, furniture, dishes, etc. - all for free. They were blown away by the goodness and generosity they experienced. Alex later commented that it made her realize that humanity can be so good, and that the world isn't that bad of a place.
I continue to be faced with the question, "So what is my role in all of this?" Or, as a community of Christ-followers, "What is our role in this?" Over the next few weeks my goal is to put to paper (or to blog) some of my questions and thoughts relating to this issue.
My first thought is that I'm extremely grateful that I have always had everything I need. My last minimum wage job was when I first moved to Nashville, right out of college. I lived with three other guys in a church-owned home, so rent wasn't much. I also had my parents helping me a little. It wasn't a stressful situation. I don't know what it's like to not have what I need. The sad thing is that here in the U.S., many people know exactly what this is like. One out of every eight children under the age of twelve goes to bed hungry every night. But that's nothing compared to children in other parts of the world. Every year 15 million children die of hunger. (These statistics can be found here).
One of the most touching parts of the episode was when they heard about a church-sponsored store called "The Free Store." They were able to get blankets, furniture, dishes, etc. - all for free. They were blown away by the goodness and generosity they experienced. Alex later commented that it made her realize that humanity can be so good, and that the world isn't that bad of a place.
I continue to be faced with the question, "So what is my role in all of this?" Or, as a community of Christ-followers, "What is our role in this?" Over the next few weeks my goal is to put to paper (or to blog) some of my questions and thoughts relating to this issue.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Catching Up
I've been really busy lately. It's not that I've given up on blogging. It's just very difficult, once I've procrastinated this long, to get "caught up." So...I'm just going to write a little bit, just to get back in the swing of things.
As I said, things have been pretty hectic. Jason and Barb arrived in Memphis a few weeks ago. It's GREAT to have them here. I'll write more on that later. I have about two more months at my accounting job. The corporate office is relocating to Des Moines, so we're being laid off. A severance package is involved, so it's not that bad. My plan is to stay through the transition, but it's getting more complicated now that others are leaving.
I applied for the executive director position for the Cooper-Young Association around a month ago. I had no idea if I was qualified for the job. I didn't get it, but I was the runner-up, for whatever that's worth. Actually, it's worth a lot. I had two interviews with the board officers, which was great. I also got an invitation to join the board soon.
Adam is doing great. I'll post pictures soon! He is such a fun little boy. I love spending time with him. He is truly a gift from God.
Mandy just landed a great part-time job in a Memphis City school. She is going to be co-teaching with a lady who could be a great mentor for her. She also just found out that she's eligible for benefits!
I've been reading a lot lately. I think part of the reason I've been frustrated with not blogging is that I've been doing a lot of intaking, but haven't taken the time to reflect (which often comes through writing). I just finished up Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis. Great read! I've also gotten into Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. I heard a sermon from a conference at Mars Hill, and, though it was the first time I had ever heard or read anything by him, I felt like I had been reading him for a long time. I finally realized the reason: many of the people who have influenced me have been influenced by him. Mandy and I are reading Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller. It's very refreshing.
I think I'll stop now. More to come soon - I promise.
As I said, things have been pretty hectic. Jason and Barb arrived in Memphis a few weeks ago. It's GREAT to have them here. I'll write more on that later. I have about two more months at my accounting job. The corporate office is relocating to Des Moines, so we're being laid off. A severance package is involved, so it's not that bad. My plan is to stay through the transition, but it's getting more complicated now that others are leaving.
I applied for the executive director position for the Cooper-Young Association around a month ago. I had no idea if I was qualified for the job. I didn't get it, but I was the runner-up, for whatever that's worth. Actually, it's worth a lot. I had two interviews with the board officers, which was great. I also got an invitation to join the board soon.
Adam is doing great. I'll post pictures soon! He is such a fun little boy. I love spending time with him. He is truly a gift from God.
Mandy just landed a great part-time job in a Memphis City school. She is going to be co-teaching with a lady who could be a great mentor for her. She also just found out that she's eligible for benefits!
I've been reading a lot lately. I think part of the reason I've been frustrated with not blogging is that I've been doing a lot of intaking, but haven't taken the time to reflect (which often comes through writing). I just finished up Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis. Great read! I've also gotten into Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. I heard a sermon from a conference at Mars Hill, and, though it was the first time I had ever heard or read anything by him, I felt like I had been reading him for a long time. I finally realized the reason: many of the people who have influenced me have been influenced by him. Mandy and I are reading Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller. It's very refreshing.
I think I'll stop now. More to come soon - I promise.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
So what do I believe about that?
Lately my blogging has been relegated to posting other people's opinions. It's not that I don't have opinions. I've just been more in a pattern of reading than writing. However, I realize that if someone happened to stumble onto this blog, they might really have a lot of questions as to what I believe.
So here's where I've been lately...
First a little background...
After I finished seminary Mandy and I moved to San Leandro, CA. A few months after we moved there, we had the opportunity to go to a meeting of young nonprofit leaders. I was deeply encouraged by what I saw there. The passions and visions I heard about were just awesome. I left that night feeling like much of what God wanted me to do was somehow connected with this "people group." As you can imagine, there are many like this in the bay area. In fact, most know that the bay area has fewer churches than almost anywhere in the U.S. What they don't know, however, is that the bay area also has more nonprofits than just about anywhere in the U.S. At least I was shocked by that. The more I listened to this group's passions and visions, the more I realized that I had so much to learn. Specifically, I began to be convicted that I knew little about the world. My heart would not begin to hurt for the things that hurt God until I first educated myself. At the same time, I felt bad for many of these young nonprofit leaders. Last October Jason and I went to the Craigslist Nonprofit Bootcamp in S.F. Again, there was a great deal of activism and passion. However, I also saw a lack of power and authority. There was so much activisim and desire to see change, but where was the power to see true change? Here's the frustrating part. The church, through Jesus, has this power. However, we often don't use this power, in part because we lack the passion and activism.
This is why I've been drawn to Christians and churches who are not content to simply be blessed, middle-class, white American Christians. They are like Rick Warren and Saddleback, who are tackling the AIDS epidemic both here and in places like Rwanda. Or they are like Blood Water Mission. I first learned about them through Donald Miller. They are working to build 1000 wells in 1000 African communities, believing that clean water will go very far in helping to bring about an end to AIDS.
This journey has now led us to Cooper-Young. We continue to be drawn to people whose desire is to see our world changed for the better. On Tuesday night we went to the neighborhood association meeting. The topic for the evening was safety, and Inspector Mark Collins of the Memphis Police Department was the guest speaker. Some people wanted the police to do more. However, others wanted to step up and be part of the solution. They wanted to do something to help.
Let me bring some of this to a conclusion, since it's beginning to be a long post. I believe that Jesus is concerned about the world. He is concerned about the poor, the dying, the neglected, and the marginalized. His Church is his method for doing something about these problems. As his Father sent him, so he has sent us. Many of these young nonprofit leaders have never seen the Jesus who is concerned with the things that they are concerned about. The sad thing is that we're often what is keeping them from seeing this Jesus. We at times haven't done a very good job in representing him. But what would happen if people began to see this Jesus? What if they saw him through us? For that to happen, we have to educate ourselves. We have to ask God to break our hearts over the things that break his. We have to get our hands dirty. Then we simply get to watch God do what only he can do.
I just heard a message by Ed Stetzer. He made a statement that I thought was very key, and that I'll attempt to sumarize (and add to a little) as best as I can.
People in your culture are asking questions that the Gospel has answers for. The task of the missional church is to discover what these questions are, and then to proclaim those answers through both word and deed.
In my culture/community one of the major questions is, "how do we make this neighborhood a safer and better place?" Does the Gospel of Jesus have an answer for this question? I believe it does. How would a new community of Christ-followers here in Cooper-Young respond to this?
So here's where I've been lately...
First a little background...
After I finished seminary Mandy and I moved to San Leandro, CA. A few months after we moved there, we had the opportunity to go to a meeting of young nonprofit leaders. I was deeply encouraged by what I saw there. The passions and visions I heard about were just awesome. I left that night feeling like much of what God wanted me to do was somehow connected with this "people group." As you can imagine, there are many like this in the bay area. In fact, most know that the bay area has fewer churches than almost anywhere in the U.S. What they don't know, however, is that the bay area also has more nonprofits than just about anywhere in the U.S. At least I was shocked by that. The more I listened to this group's passions and visions, the more I realized that I had so much to learn. Specifically, I began to be convicted that I knew little about the world. My heart would not begin to hurt for the things that hurt God until I first educated myself. At the same time, I felt bad for many of these young nonprofit leaders. Last October Jason and I went to the Craigslist Nonprofit Bootcamp in S.F. Again, there was a great deal of activism and passion. However, I also saw a lack of power and authority. There was so much activisim and desire to see change, but where was the power to see true change? Here's the frustrating part. The church, through Jesus, has this power. However, we often don't use this power, in part because we lack the passion and activism.
This is why I've been drawn to Christians and churches who are not content to simply be blessed, middle-class, white American Christians. They are like Rick Warren and Saddleback, who are tackling the AIDS epidemic both here and in places like Rwanda. Or they are like Blood Water Mission. I first learned about them through Donald Miller. They are working to build 1000 wells in 1000 African communities, believing that clean water will go very far in helping to bring about an end to AIDS.
This journey has now led us to Cooper-Young. We continue to be drawn to people whose desire is to see our world changed for the better. On Tuesday night we went to the neighborhood association meeting. The topic for the evening was safety, and Inspector Mark Collins of the Memphis Police Department was the guest speaker. Some people wanted the police to do more. However, others wanted to step up and be part of the solution. They wanted to do something to help.
Let me bring some of this to a conclusion, since it's beginning to be a long post. I believe that Jesus is concerned about the world. He is concerned about the poor, the dying, the neglected, and the marginalized. His Church is his method for doing something about these problems. As his Father sent him, so he has sent us. Many of these young nonprofit leaders have never seen the Jesus who is concerned with the things that they are concerned about. The sad thing is that we're often what is keeping them from seeing this Jesus. We at times haven't done a very good job in representing him. But what would happen if people began to see this Jesus? What if they saw him through us? For that to happen, we have to educate ourselves. We have to ask God to break our hearts over the things that break his. We have to get our hands dirty. Then we simply get to watch God do what only he can do.
I just heard a message by Ed Stetzer. He made a statement that I thought was very key, and that I'll attempt to sumarize (and add to a little) as best as I can.
People in your culture are asking questions that the Gospel has answers for. The task of the missional church is to discover what these questions are, and then to proclaim those answers through both word and deed.
In my culture/community one of the major questions is, "how do we make this neighborhood a safer and better place?" Does the Gospel of Jesus have an answer for this question? I believe it does. How would a new community of Christ-followers here in Cooper-Young respond to this?
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