Interesting stats

40% of age 16-29 are outside the Christian faith.

thing 1 and thing 2

actually there are 5 things...

5 THINGS WE GOT RIGHT IN THE EMERGING MISSIONAL CHURCH

A Commitment To Reality

A Commitment To An Honest Theology

A Commitment To Love

A Commitment To The Footsteps Of Jesus

A Commitment To Change

- Jonathan Brink

good stuff.

What's that...Batman you say?

Thanks Bobbie Jo. Find more of her beautiful art at
majorimages.com

... Is that all you got?

excerpt from an article on Human Trafficking in the e-newsletter A Glimpse of Glory

"What has the BGCT done in response to this issue?
The BGCT has responded in several ways, from forming a resolution condemning human trafficking to holding conferences to raise awareness on the subject"

*now to be fair there are additional resources.

Our Only Hope

Somewhere between 6pm and 8pm, Central Time, on November 4th, 2008, the eschatology of American evangelicals will become clear.

If John McCain wins and the evangelical becomes delirious or confident that the Golden Days are about to arrive...

Or, alternatively, if Barack Obama wins and the evangelical becomes delirious or confident that the Golden Days are about to arrive...

...if a more Democrat oriented evangelical becomes depressed and hopeless because McCain wins, or if a Republican oriented evangelical becomes depressed or hopeless because Obama wins, those evangelicals are caught in an empire-shaped eschatology of politics.

Where is our hope? ...where does my hope turn when I think of war or poverty or education or racism? Does it focus on November 4? Does it gain its energy from thinking that if we get the right candidate elected our problems will be dissolved? ...participation in the federal election dare not be seen as the lever that turns the eschatological designs God has for this world.

Where is our hope?

Our hope is in God...the church’s mission is not in fact the “church’s” mission but God’s mission...

Our hope is in the gospel of God...the gospel as God’s good news for our world...

Our hope is in the gospel of God that creates God’s people...God’s gospel-shaped work always and forever creates a gospel people...We are tempted to divide the USA into the good and the bad and to forget that the gospel has folks on both sides of political lines. Even more: we are tempted to think that the winners of the election are those who are blessed by God when the blessing of God is on God’s people...

Our hope is in the gospel of God that creates a kind of people that extends God’s gospel to the world...

Our hope is in God’s mission in this world, and that mission transcends what happens November 4th.

- Scot McKnight

Scot McKnight is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University, author, and blogger.

Catch the full article on the October 2008 issue of NEXT-WAVE or read the original article from the September 26, 2008 issue of ChristianityToday.

Service and Worship

What if He did away with the praise and worship band and all the external stimulants?  Would you still find ways to worship?  What if there were no more children's programs or church ministries to kids?  Would you still find ways to lead your children (or any children) to be disciples of Jesus?  If God eliminated all the missions programs and "outreach" initiatives, would you still find ways for the Gospel to be advanced through your life?  If there was no more church to receive your tithe, would you still be a fountain of giving and generosity?

What if God really is finished with our systems of service and worship? ...Are we ready to leave it behind and find other ways to serve His purpose of intimacy and relationship?

- Scott Bane

If this quote offends you, you probably won't read the article.

Great Emergence

oozing out of politics and back into the church

...With a change of political climate, and the diminished platform and voice of religious fundamentalists has within the political arena, we may see an influx of people coming back from the political dialogue into the ecclesiological one. Perhaps with the same passion they lobbied the political system, those in the religious fundamentalist movement might come into the Church with a renewed sense of recapturing the "nostalgic" vision of what the "Church" is ...

-Spencer Burke

...ooze on over for the full article.

Leadership

Jesus was a failed leader though it’s critical to point out that Jesus did not aspire to leadership.

-Ruth Tucker

...read the rest of the post

…it's just the name of the book.  It's not a "How to" guide.

 

I wish I could record the looks I'm getting from church goers as I tote this book around with me.  Maybe I should print business cards with an explanation to hand out.

Best solution for now...

Well it looks like email is going to win. There might be occasions when I need mms.

testing

Get rid of crap

Mobile blogging

Well. The email option could be used to save the effort and time of logging in, but there's that nasty privacy notice (document!) that just looks tacky. I'd spend more time editing the post to remove it than I think it will be worth.

The text message looks cleaner, but I can't figure out how to add a title. Not that it's critical.

...stay tuned, both of you.

Now I need to figure out how to add a title...

Now i'm trying the text message instead....

Message from Bob

Just testing the email functionality. Maybe it will help with frequency.

This e-mail (including any attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient or an authorized representative of an intended recipient, you are prohibited from using, copying or distributing the information in this e-mail or its attachments. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies of this message and any attachments.
Thank you.

postcard from the land of lost socks

Yup.       I've been living C.O.D. for quite a while. For me that means "Conflicting Objectives Disorder." Though time spent at work has slowed down, it's because too many plates are spinning. I really need some serious single-tasking time. My fear is that at the end of the day, something major is going to be left undone.

In addition to work stress, I'm back sharing the teaching responsibilities for an adult Bible Study class and I picked up some child-supervision-in-church opportunities with Sam (my just barely five year old grandson). Plus I have a friend who wants me to start a house church and I've thought about starting an off-campus Bible Study group during the week.

I find the house/cell church idea interesting, but the other individuals involved seem to have different needs or they seem to be at different places in the journey.

For me... I just want to hang out and have some conversations with those who are not "Institutionalized". Make some new friends and see where God takes those relationships. I feel like that's my calling. It just seems clear and natural to me.