Church Basement Roadshow

The Church Basement Roadshow is coming to Tulsa this Tuesday (July 15) at Braden Baptist Church at 7:00 pm.

The Roadshow appears to be a cross between a book tour and period theater for the three 'players' - Pagitt, Jones and Scandrette.

Everyone is welcome to join us to experience, share and connect. There's a $10 suggested donation.

Brandon Grissom

If you haven't heard of Brandon Grissom, it's time for you to pay attention. He's a good friend, musician, song writer, worship leader and pastor in Chicago. (On loan from Oklahoma.)

Check this video out and then go buy his album on iTunes.

Church Basement Roadshow: Tulsa

July 15, Tony Jones, National Coordinator of Emergent Village; Doug Pagitt, Lead Pastor of Solomon's Porch; and Mark Scandrette, Poet and co founder of ReImagine in San Fran will be coming town.

I will be there and I'd encourage you to bring your friends as well.

It's a book tour of sorts, but with the guys dressed up as 1908 revivalist preacher. Evidently they stay in character the whole time.

I'm looking forward to it.

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Trying to find rhythm again

I let Pam sleep in this morning as we recover from our vacation.
It was a great trip.
1 day travel to cali
1 day Sea World (10am - 10pm EST)
1 day at beach and out with friends
3 days at Disneyland and California Adventure
1 day at Legoland.
1 day travel to tulsa.
= a great time and tired feet.

Today I'm trying to find rhythm again. It will probably be a few days before I find it frankly. I was able to take a good solid vacation. I was more "off" than I thought I would be, which is good news. There was an emergency appendectomy within the Eikon community, but he's recovering very well, and the community seemed to take care of things well for the family. Also there I had a client with a need for advice on a bit of an emergency situation that had come to their attention. But this was solved in a phone call. So I really didn't work much while on the road.


I downloaded the new Alanis Morisette this week and am listening to it right now. I've loved Alanis' music for a long time. I'll let you know if I like it.

I'm sitting in Joe Mommas working. Free WiFi and good people around. (no pizza for me though, back on the diet i go.)

I've got a long list of things to do this week. Occassionally someone will ask me what it's like working for myself. They'll ask something like, how do you go to work, or get things done without deadlines from outside yourself, or sometimes they'll ask, "is there a temptation to be lazy and procrastinate?"

Of course the answer depends on the day. But today, there is a list of things that don't have to get done today, but actually do, if you know what I mean. Emails that need to be sent, that if I don't send them, few people will notice. Reading that needs to be done, that no one will notice if I do it or not.

This kind of thing isn't fun, or easy for me to do. I've got Eikon stuff, Riddle Group stuff, and a bit of "Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors" stuff to do in the next couple weeks.

so I'm off to see if I can find the beat....

Vacation Day Four

Disney.
We drove into garden grove late wednesday night, stayed at the Marriott Suites.
It was a nice hotel with a nice room, and a free buffet (thanks again to all the churches who I've traveled to see this year for marriott points)

We packed up and changed hotels. We are now staying in the Disneyland hotel. (which is great.) with Pam's parents.

We did a lot today.
In fact I'd say we attacked the park.
Highlights for Zach, California Adventure's California Screamin' his first roller coaster with a loop. and Tower of Terror.

Jaden liked Splash Mountain.
Mikayla liked Buzz Lightyear.

So tired. need sleep.

I did discover that I have wireless internet in the new hotel about 11:30 PST. which is cool

Chris Folmsbee gets it

Chris has an amazing post about youth ministry and parenting.
absolutely brilliant. short and sweet.

If you know a teen, or work with teens are have a teen in the house. His very short post is worth the read.

The title of his post is "5 Dangerous Things" go now and read it.

Link

Jimmy Freaking Doyle blogs again

After a two year hiatus, Jimmy Doyle of Liquidthinking.org fame is blogging again at jkdoyle.com

Add him to your blog roll. You will learn something.

Crossfit is spreading

Wade Hodges, Lead Minister of Garnett Church here in Tulsa is now doing it.
Maybe one day he'll blog about it.

Today for his first real workout he did 50 pullups (with rubber band), 50 pushups, 50 situps, and 50 squats. I think he did it under 18 minutes. pretty good...

anyone else want to join.

Links to Friends

My friend David in Tulsa on Myanmar. David and Jeff support pastors in southeast asia.

My friend Chris in Chicago/ KC writes a bit about expectations for youth pastors.

My friend Andy in Chicago can put 24 middle school students in a VW Beetle. I'm getting old, because as I watch the video all I can think about is how they might hurt the car.

My friend Rob in DC likes nature, but not this much. Read Rob's blog. He's a gifted story teller.

My friend Jim in San Deigo is not a Republican. But he's got a fun video about the new republican slogan.

My friend Dan from Santa Cruz is a loyal PC fan. Dan has good taste in music, but bad taste in electronics.

My friend Tony in Minneapolis filmed a series with Trucker Frank, from his new book. The series is worth watching.

My friend Wade in Tulsa, asks, "Is a good reading of scripture better than a right one?"

My friend John is quoted by Scot McKnight here.

Riddle Group church in the News

First Christian Church is located in Duncan, Oklahoma. The Riddle Group walked beside FCC, a church of 250 folks for a little over a year as they did the hard work of taking responsability for the spiritual nurture of their teens. After about 14 months they hired a youth pastor, Ryan. 3 months after Ryan started, Ryan and the youth leadership team decided to buy a local building to add youth space, and to add a contemporary worship service. Most of the folks on the youth leadership team (who are the people ultimately responsible for youth at FCC were looking for a new kind of experience in their church.)

This is a church where youth ministry is sustainable and it impacts the church as a whole.

They just made their local news with the opening of their new service. Pretty great stuff. The people have worked very hard and have great vision for youth ministry. Their youth ministry is not focused around a youth pastor, and Ryan is given permission to do what he's good at, while not needing to fake it in other areas.

Great Job my Friends!

Link

The Well, a ministry of First Christian Church, is the new name of what has, until now, been known as the church’s South Campus. The ministry is housed in what was once the J.C. Penney building at 913 W. Main. Shoppers who once frequented the store wouldn’t recognize the place now, though.

Since the church purchased the 20,000-square-foot building last summer, many yards of old carpeting have been ripped up, tile has been laboriously chipped from the floors, and walls and partitions have been knocked down. Once only a hollow shell was left, the restoration began, with many volunteers from the church and community working toward a common goal — that of turning the building into a large community outreach facility.

A stage and sound booth have been constructed, theater-type seats put into place, overhead video screens hung, bathrooms added, offices built ... the list of improvements is mind-boggling.

It goes on to say,

And change is important, especially for Duncan, the group agreed.

“So many parents have expressed joy that this facility will be available for all people, all denominations. We’re here as the family of Jesus — brothers and sisters in Christ. You can leave your baggage at the door. I’m inspired that our church had the vision, leadership and support to undertake this endeavor,” Hunt said.

“You could call The Well a sort of restoration or resurrection, and we’re hoping that God will resurrect some more,” Talley said.

Dan's Movie meme

My friend Dan's a pastor up in Iowa and invited me to a meme he created.

Here are the rules:
" a list of my top ten favorite films (in no particular order). The only rule, if you're tagged, you've got to post and tag 3-5 other people."

Mark's top 10 Movies of all time:
American Beauty
Tombstone
No Country for Old Men
Fight Club
Heat
Crash
Gladiator
Saving Private Ryan
Pulp Fiction
Good Will Hunting

Ok. I tag you.

Tomorrow: Deck of Cards.. who's in?

Ok. so tomorrow is one of my favorite workouts. anyone want to join me? I'm going tomorrow at 11am.
I've started doing crossfit 5 days a week. We'll see if my body can handle it. right now my shins and feet are killing me from jumping rope on monday and the "clean and jerk" today.

Here's what the deck of cards is:
"Deck of Cards"
Start with a fully shuffled deck of cards. Each card requires a set of pushups (red) or squats (black), depending on the color. Perform reps of the following:
Face cards (Jack, Queen, and King) have a value of 10. Aces will have a value of 11. Number cards will be face value (ex. 7 of spades = 7 squats).
Jokers are burpees, and are set to a value of 15.
Work through the entire deck as fast as possible and don't forget that card games are fun.

Unguarded Moments of Weariness

My friend muses on is relationship with his eldest daughter off at college for her birthday. Rob is a gifted writer and Scot McKnight once wrote me saying that Rob had insights into the people like few do. Here's my favorite part of Rob's reflection.

Today is my older daughter’s birthday. How I tell her that I love her is between the two of us; it is her choice to share those words if and as she chooses. But how would I tell you how much I love her?

I’d tell you about worshipping with my little girl (who is now neither little or a girl) yesterday. She’s a kid who burns the candle at both ends, and does so long into the night. Between her studies, her activities, her friendships, and now a boyfriend as well, she pretty much always has something going. She is tired, and in unguarded moments the weariness shows for those who know how to look for it—and sometimes even to those who don’t. But she makes time for her old man, and for the Old Man (to use an ageist and sexist reference to our Creator that I hope you will grant me the grace to pardon), and both are gifts I do not take lightly.

She is also old enough now to have learned the hard way at least a little bit of something about life’s disappointments, heartache, sorrow, and loss. She has learned these things because she has cultivated the ability to care deeply; to be mindful of others, of what is important in the world, and of how the two intersect in her relationships. Ours is one of those relationships, and though our relationship could easily take a back seat at this stage in her life, she is careful (care full) to do more than conveniently work me in as she can, making the effort and sacrifice necessary to share her life with mine and allowing me to share mine with her. Is there any greater privilege one human being can give another than that?

The line, "She is tired, and in unguarded moments the weariness shows for those who know how to look for it" made my eyes swell. I can picture this for my kids. Can you? A busy room might not notice the fragile subtleness of our children, but a caring father does. Here is a father who knows his daughter because he's watched her for years and has insight only a father can have. In a world where kids are ignored, or abandoned because of over involved and over committed parents, this is a nice change of pace.

Here's Rob's whole post.

What did you learn today?

All of us are on a journey.
What did you learn today?
Post a comment.

Congrats to Tony Jones

This is very cool. I'm very excited for Tony. I read the book last week and recommended it to several folks already. "The New Christians" is the book to read when it comes to learning about Emergent Village and what it is hoping to accomplish.

thanks to Doug for the pic.

San Diego - NPC

San Diego was a good trip. I met with about 15 Pastors from all over the country for an hour each on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm humbled to meet with these folks. It's good for me. I was telling Scott Kail, the other consultant onsite and general rockstar, that I hope that I have the thirst for insight and direction that these folks have when I get into my 50's and 60's.

I ate off diet twice. Uno deep dish pizza was soo good. So was California Pizza Kitchen. Hanging out in John Raymond's suite I grabbed a handfull of M n M's but was immediately spotted by Tony Jones who called me out and then Doug Pagitt (sitting next to me on the couch) reached out his long arms and demanded them. It was good accountability. Doug ate them for me.

I'm looking forward to being at NPC next year.

Twas the Day before the Diet

Twas the day before I started eating better
Superbowl Sunday to be exact,
when Mike brought over the 10 lb snack.
Custom baked bun.
Smoke and grilled to perfection
A larger burger than I could ever imagine.
And it was tasty.

A New Kind of Memory

This past October my friend Bill Wiseman died in a plane crash. He was apart of a local cohort and he was a local priest. I have memories of Bill serving us the Eucharist and always giving us his take on scripture. He loved the mystery of the Q source. I several good memories of Bill. But more than memories in my head, Bill lives on in another kind of memory. Bill was not only my friend in real life, but also my friend on Facebook and Bill's name also appears in my Entourage (outlook) address book. So when I send an email to my friends named Bob, or Bill, or Brandon, or Brian, it has a feature where it suggests each of their names. Bill Wiseman's name appears as a suggestion too. It gives me pause. I think about him. This has happened a few times and I've not yet removed him from my address book. After a while, I began to wonder if I sent Bill and email who would get it. On facebook his image and profile still exist. I assume this is because his family doesn't know his password and can't take it down. Or maybe they don't even know that he had such a thing. Or that the family and friends he had aren't technologically inclined. Regardless, Bill is remembered on facebook and in my email account. I also assume that Facebook has considered that a member might pass away and how they might handle this. Perhaps there are policies in place to handle this kind of thing. I wonder who decides if and when a profile is erased... and what does that mean for people who knew Bill. In the case of my email account, I haven't erased him yet.

Here's Bill's profile.
I'm not certain you can actually view it... but I'll give it a shot.
It creates an interesting situation. Has this happened to you?
What does it bring to you mind and cause you to wrestle with?

A Subversive Blogger

Matt Cleaver nominated me as a subversive blogger.
Thanks Matt.

I'll suggest 5 bloggers you should be reading, but probably aren't.

1. Letters from Kamp Krusty - He's on a blogging Hiatus, but look around. Then add him to your RSS feed.

2. Wade Hodges - Wade is a good friend, a great thinker, an average Guitar Hero player, and very good teacher. When he speaks I'm listening. But then again, he like Qdoba more than Chipotle. How smart can a guy really be?

3. Rob Merola - An Episcopal priest, an avid fisherman, a true missionary to Northern Virginia and DC area. Rob's a better writer than he knows. When he reflects on life, fatherhood, work and... well anything else... pay attention... because it's touching and often humorous. He could kick my butt in halo too.

4. Paul Littleton - A friend and pastor in the Tulsa area. Paul is an OU season ticket holder, deep thinker, great writer and he and his wife are foster parents for at risk kids as well as parents of their own kiddos! Also, you may have heard about the Emerging thinkers in the Southern Baptist Church who are ruffling more than a few feathers in the SBC. There isn't a better guy, with amazing integrity to do the ruffling.

5. Jim Hancock - I can't say enough good things about Jim. Writer, Filmmaker, owner of "The Tiny Little Company Called Me"

That's my list of folks you probably aren't ready, but should.

NYWC - Atlanta

Had a great time in Atlanta this weekend. It was busy.
Thursday night I arrived really really late at the Westin on Peachtree.
Friday I woke up and wrote and went to lunch with David Welch of YS.
I met some new folks and then went go give my seminar (with marko) on expectations. It went great.
Grabbed some dinner and changed my shoes, because my feet were killing me.

Then it was off to the omni to hang out with Chris Folmsbee, Mike King, Ginny Olson, and Jim Hancock. This was our third get together (one in each city). I other cities Kara Powell, Steve, Argue, and Damien O'Farrell all came together to talk about what the future of youth ministry in North America. Pretty great conversation in each city. more to come on this.

Then off to Marko's where I got to talk briefly with Scott Rubin. then to bed.

Saturday
Woke up around 8:00am.
Started consulting at 9:30am and continued until 12:30. Met some great folks.
12:30 I had lunch with Rick Heltne of People Management.
2:00pm I stopped by Chris Folmsbee's Sacred Stories seminar and listened to him for a bit.
Hung out a bit with Brock Morgan who is doing some great stuff in Salem Oregon.
3:00pm - Did more consulting.
Dinner- Went to Fire of Brazil with Folsmbee, Len Evans, Doug Jones and a few other friends. Man dinner was good.

Then we popped up to Scott Kail's suite (and were joined by Rick Heltne again) in the Westin and watch the first half of OU getting crushed by Texas Tech. This is the part of the evening when everyone enjoyed giving me a hard time about being from Oklahoma and my football team.

Then we all walked over the Marko's again and met some great people.

Sunday
8:00 - I woke up and walked a the long road to convention HQ.
9:30 started consulting
12:30 Met Andy Jack for lunch. This was my first time to meet Andy, who I've heard a lot about and was excited to meet. I look forward to future conversations with him.
2:00 - I was consulting again.
4:00 - I had a break. I found a corner to sit in and not talk for a while.
5:00pm I went to dinner with Charley, Bryan, Mark Matlock and several other great folks from IBC and other Irving Texas churches. They were great and are dreaming big, God sized dreams. They bought Folmsbee and I dinner (we both had the Cashew crusted Tilapia with the Jamaican butter sauce!!! wow!)

then Mark Matlock and I went to the 4th Floor of the the Omni that overlooks the park and talked for about 3 hours.

Monday
7: 30 - Woke up
9:30 - Consulting
11:00 - Met up with Matlock, caught a cab and went to the airport.
While we ate, I saw my buddy John Gilstrap having lunch at the On the Border.
Then met up with Charley from IBC, and the Skit guys for a bit.
Then Matlock and I (who were sitting next to each other in the exit row) had an exciting conversation about the future of the world, creative innovation, and halloween.

Got home around 7:00 and grabbed some pizza with the kids.
Put the kids to bed and then I crashed.

It was an amazing weekend. I met some great people that I can't mention, or failed to mention here. It's amazing how each conversation teaches me something. I"m greatful for being a part of what God is doing through his church at NYWC.


See ya next year!

This is just plain cool.

I wasn't there. but this sounds really cool.
My friend Bobby over and life church and his team developed an interactive element to worship for the catalyst conference.

The cool factor for this is about a 10.

Link

Here's Bobby's description of what they did:

"Here is a quick post to describe who/what we used and explain a little bit about the technology involved, and also get ideas/feedback from all of you.

1. What is SMS?

SMS or “Short Message Service” (wiki) allows you to send short (160 character) messages to and from mobile phones. SMS is often referred to as “texting”.

2. What did you do with texting at Catalyst (for those of you who were not there)?

• Thursday morning we introduced YouVersion.com and asked that people text Bible verses (ex. Hebrews 13:17) about leadership to a 5 digit number (it’s called a “shortcode”). We then displayed in real-time the full verses that were submitted on the screens in the arena.
• Thursday afternoon we had people text (a,b,c or d) to the shortcode to vote on which song was their favorite “reverb” song. We displayed the results and the band played that song.
• Friday morning we asked people to text words that they felt described Craig’s session. It could be a word that described how it made them feel, or a words that were “take away” words from the session. We then displayed a tag cloud of the words people submitted at the end of the session.
• Late Friday morning we asked people to text their names or email addresses if they were committing to pursue radical integrity and grace. It was in association with the Deadly Viper book that was launched at the conference."

Tim Keel's Intuitive Leadership

I'm really digging Tim's book on leadership. I'm not done. But I like it so far.
It reads like a familiar voice.
It feels like someone is writing the words I've felt for sometime.
Some of the things he's writing I've put words to.
Some I haven't.

There are some chunks of the book that are rich. Think the quadruple cholocalate cake rich. Think intensity of flavor.

It's a book on leadership that a lot of folks won't read unfortunately. The reason they won't read it?

Because the first two chapters are simply Tim's Story. This breaks the mold of traditional leadership books. Hearing the author's story to some will feel as if the author is self-indulgent. they will be looking for principles. 21 irrefutable principles. or 7 habits or maybe a purple cow.

Leadership is always subjective. It's always contextual. principles are fine. but today's pastor's need to learn to listen to their lives and their context.

Tim doesn't come out with principles blazing.
He starts with his story. Then he talks about being a leader out of your story.

I'm going to keep reading.
Go buy it.

Mindi's Online Dating Tips

My friend Mindi has some dating tips listed on her website.

Link

Here's my favorite part:

"every so often, i get my nerve up and dive into the online dating pool. obviously, it hasn't been successful yet. but it has been a learning experience. here are a few things i've learned:

on photos:

1. glamour shots/commercial headshots shouldn't be used. anyone with sense knows those have been retouched. and in most cases, that look is not what you'll be seeing when you meet up at the coffee shop.
2. if it looks like there's any possibility, the pic could show up in a mug shots book or be on a post office wall, don't use it.
3. please make sure your photo is from this decade. that also goes for your hairstyle.
4. if you're going to have an animal in the pic with you, it should be cute and alive. no dead fish, no dead deer, no insects of enormous size. and no pics of your dog (cute) with a dead bird in its mouth (yech!)."

Wink

Dino's See You @ the Pole Alternative - I dig it!

Dino has written about his frustration with what SY@TP has become. So he's proposing an alternative.

Here's his suggestion:

I still find it odd and perplexing that many still insist that Jesus’ diatribe on prayer in Matt 6 is out of context when applied to SYATP.

So I have come up with a challenge for youth pastors (including myself), youth workers and volunteers, parents, and students especially. The challenge is this (in the spirit of Matthew 6) to ask students NOT to attend SYATP this year. But rather get up early and find a closet to go into and pray specifically for your school, your communities, teachers, friends, national leaders, world leaders, nations, world peace, ect. They can go by themselves or they can ask one or two friends to pray with them. No more than three though. They can meet at someone’s house or in a room at school, or a quiet remote place with no one else around. They are to tell nobody what they are doing or where they are at. Then they continue to meet and pray in the same place once a week for a month or more.

So who is up for the challenge?

Here's the Link.

A Priest walks into a Bar

My friend Father Rob wrote this on his blog today. Being with people makes a difference. This is a powerful story to me on many levels. It's power for what it doesn't say as much as what it does. We need more stories like this.

"Last night I sat at a bar for a couple hours, nursing a drink.

I realized it is the first time I’ve ever done that.

It’s not that I haven’t been in bars before, but that I don’t think I’ve actually sat at the bar, where the hormones of the men and women gathered there flow like the alcohol they are drinking, and where the air is opaque with smoke. I don’t consider myself a particularly sheltered soul, so the realization was rather startling.

I sat there with a person who had a very difficult week; who had seen a good friend die, and who indeed had pulled a blanket over his head so that the dead man’s wife and kids who were also present (it was their wedding anniversary) wouldn’t see what had just happened.

What I was drinking was water, but after hearing his story, I was sorely tempted to switch to whiskey instead."

Thanks for telling us this story Rob.

Adoption

I've lost count. Pam and I have so many friends who have adopted children, or are in the process of adopting kids into their families. Friends in Michigan, friends in Colorado, friends in Oklahoma. Kids originally from Michigan, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Korea.

An example of this is Jay and Jen's site which tells the amazing story of their journey to parenthood.

I read somewhere (maybe Shane Claiborne?) who said, if you are really PRO-Life then you need to be about all that that means. And that's going to mean that somebody's going to be adopting some kiddos along the way, not just voting conservative republican.

I'm really proud to be on the journey with these friends, several of which Pam and I would consider family. Amazing stories and amazing people. People who are uniquely living into the restoration of all things and the establishing of the kingdom of God.

For the readers of the blog, who are yet to be friends, we are all proud of God's redemptive work in you and your great love for your kids.

For those of us who are not presently adopting kids, it is upon us to come along them and support these folks and walk with them as they raise all their kids in the way of Christ.

Let us be a people who live with an awareness of our responsiblity here.

Prayer my friend Jimmy, his dad and his family

My good friend Jimmy got news last night about his dad. Please Pray.
Here's what Jimmy wrote today:

"Tonight my family received the news that my dad has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Sometime soon he will go in to see if it has spread to his bones and other parts of his body.

I don't know what to say about this. It's hard for me to feel hopeful right now. Many of you know that my mom died of breast cancer two years ago and it was a devastating experience. I was hoping that the news would be better this time around, but with the news I feel like I'm experiencing the worst kind of deja vu. Saying the same prayers, "God...please don't let the cancer have spread", and finding it hard to be in the presence of my children without crying-- knowing how much they love and are loved by their Papa. And their asking, "what's wrong?" with no words to tell them, especially since for them cancer means what happened to Nana. It was all the same routine before, and it didn't turn out good.

It's also crazy the thoughts that run through your head like, "Why him? Why not someone else? He's a good man and takes care of himself..."

This is one of those things that is too overwhelming to deal with right now. Amy asked me not long ago who my heroes were and without even a hesitation I answered, "My dad." The thoughts that moments like these bring...thoughts of the possibility of loss and suffering for someone you love...is a emotion that you feel physically; and it's all around, suffocating and paralyzing. You can't run from it or make it go away.

But in the midst of it I'm trying to have hope...even little pockets of it. That's why I'm writing this, I guess. I'm hoping for good news from the scans that will be taking place in the next few days. Generally speaking, prostate cancer has a high 5-year survival rate if it hasn't spread to other parts of the body (94%). So I'm asking you to please pray for my dad and for my family. Pray that it hasn't spread. Pray for a miracle that it just goes away. Pray for us to have strength."

Did I loan this to you?

Did I loan this book to you?
I really want to read it but I loaned it out.
If I let you borrow this book, please let me know.
If you have grown attached to it, I'm sorry it's mine and I really want to read it again.
hmmm

A Great Post from John Frye

"Imagine that the 5000 "men" and the 4000 "men" that Jesus fed with bread and fish each had a wife and, let's say, two children. That would mean that Jesus fed to complete satisfaction some 36,000 people. The disciples picked up a total of 19 basketfuls of leftovers (I know there are two different words for "baskets" in Mark 6 and Mark 8).

Soon after these two startling miracles the disciples fuss about not having any bread in the boat. In an exasperated, classic understatement Jesus asks the Twelve, "Why are you talking about having no bread?"

Jesus goes on, "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear" (Mark 8:18)?

These questions are bracketed between two miracles: Jesus heals a deaf (and speech-impaired) man and Jesus heals a blind man (see Mark 7:31-35 and 8:22-26)."


Link

A New Journey begins for the Howvers

The is Chloe & Noelle Howver - their mom & dad are going on a plane early today, a long distance, to bring them to their new home.

This has been a long road for Jay & Jen - may they be protected in this exciting leg:

O God, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we
find wherever we go: Preserve those Jen, Jay, Chloe, Noelle
and all those who travel, surround them with your loving care;
protect them from every danger;
and bring them in safety to their journey's end;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(thanks to Bob C. who wrote this post)

Links to some Friends

Heather asks Where are the Women?

Maybe my friend Rob isn't as smart as I thought he was? This is funny. Link

Will Samson find the old Hank Hill visits a MegaChurch video.. I love this one.

Rick has a excellent list of the Deadly Sins of Kid Culture. Something every parent should read.

Praying for you

How can I pray for you? Is there anything going on in your life that you'd like prayer about? I'd love to pray for you over the next few days.

If you'd prefer to email me go ahead mark@theriddlegroup.com or simply leave a comment.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Rick's Observations on Changes in Middle Schoolers

Rick's has listed a few things that have changed in the 8 years since he's been on a youth ministry trip.

His Observations:
1. Christian T-shirts, while still "Christian t-shirts" are less offensive and some are borderline cool.
2. Text messaging
3. Parents wanting kids in constant contact
4. Energy Drinks
5. Trading myspace accounts instead of addresses and phone numbers
6. Energy Drink slushies
7. Christian "cock rock"
8. iPods
9. Worship music as radio friendly genre
10. Digital Cameras
11. Sophistication of middle school students

Congrats to Dan Mayes

Dan Mayes has a new son!
Congrats Dan and family!

Emergent Village Tulsa Cohort on Facebook

Hi Gang, if you are in the Tulsa area and are interested in conversation about being a missional people in Tulsa, join the facebook group.

Here's the Link.

YouVersion

A week or so ago I had coffee with Bobby Gruenwald of Lifechurch.tv and he told me about what is now named "YouVersion"

This is the Bible with Web 2.0 capabilities.

He explains more here

Here's some of what he says:

"Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450. Four years later, he printed the first copy of the Bible using this new moveable type system. This accomplishment began what is known as “The Age of the Printed Book.” Over the following centuries, this technological advancement revolutionized the surrounding culture by making it possible for the Bible to be accessible to nearly everyone.

Currently, we are in the beginning of another revolution that is defined by the ability for almost anyone to publish content and quickly distribute it worldwide using the Internet. This revolution is at the center of what is called “Web 2.0.”

At LifeChurch.tv, we are working on several initiatives to leverage this revolution in our effort to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Today, we are revealing one of the most significant and far reaching of those projects:

We’d like to introduce you to YouVersion.

YouVersion is a free online Bible that allows users to associate video, audio, images, text, tags, and links to other websites with any verse or series of verses in the Bible. Each piece of contributed content can be labeled as public or private, so the application can be used both as a personal study tool and a public expression of user-generated commentary. In addition to contributing content, Scripture can be organized by assigning user-defined “tags” to any verse of the Bible.

For users who are skeptical about whether the Bible has application for their lives, YouVersion provides a platform to learn from the experiences and perspectives of others from around the world in a non-threatening and easily navigated environment."


My thoughts in the next post

Today's Links while I'm at Scout Camp today

If you've never heard of the Simple Way, you need to visit their site. It's community of people who live simply among the poor to minister to them in philly. Yesterday there was a 7 alarm fire that destroyed most of their spaces for ministry and homes. visit their Website for Details


Do you know someone who is Always Late?

A great site for technology for educators and the rest of us.

A Youth Pastor's Story

One year ago today Jeff's wife and kids were in a car accident.
Here are pictures of the car. Everyone lived, but it was a long recovery. Here's the story. Say a prayer for Jeff and his family.

5 things I dig about Jesus

Doug tagged me for a meme.

I'll start by saying, that Doug is borderline cheesy, but I'll do it for you bro.

1. I dig that if you made a list of things I dig about Jesus it would be an impossibly long list. Something akin to a list not being contained in all the books in the world.

2. Facial hair - I've been sporting the goat for about 15 years now.

3. Obedience to the Father - Jesus always did what God wanted which is pretty dang hard and very diggable.

4. Jesus enjoyed a good glass of wine with his meal. I personally don't drink wine because I think it tastes bad, but I've always been a bit jealous of folks who get to broaden their palette during a meal with an appropriate glass of wine.

5. Jesus was wicked smart and super quick with a response to folks. While I'm not sure where to draw the line between his human DNA contributing to his brainpower and his divinity, he was quick minded.

I'm not tagging anyone for this one though. sorry Doug.
Feel free to tag yourself in the comments and I'll add you here to the post.

Links to Friends

Rick Bennett posts about the Bead for Life Party

Mike Homan posts about Expectations

Dan Kimball worries about wearing black converse allstars on stage at Willow. I hope he did.

Michael Novelli