Writing a story with your life.

I loved the book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It was such a great reminder that our lives can mean so much more if we take the time to pay attention to the Story we're writing with them.

Here's a promo video about a conference on a similar theme. The main idea of a story is in the video, so enjoy.

What is Storyline? from Donald Miller on Vimeo.

Top 10 Christmas Gifts (ALTERNATIVE)

Christmas is so frantic. Malls are packed. People drive crazy. No one's happy until they sit down to eat. HOHOHO

Here's an easy way to make a lasting impact and get the PERFECT gift for those you love - or through those you love :)

OK, I tricked you!!

These gifts are for people you don't know, but would need them so much more. In fact, maybe who ever you're exchanging gifts with will agree to do the same - win win. Even shaving off 30% of your total budget and redirecting it would make a huge impact.

AdventConspiracy.org is a great inspiration on this.

Jesus came into the world to bring justice, and perhaps the best way to celebrate him is to do justice along side him.

Here's my Top 10 gift alternatives for Christmas 2011:

Soccer balls for boys and girls overseas.
Not bad for a kid who probably never played X-box
30$

Greenhouse for a farmer in Ukraine.
Lengthens their growing season and produces better crop.
100$

That pig they always wanted
Pigs actually help families fertilize their gardens, yum.
75$

Police Chase.
Sponsor a 1 day investigation with International Justice Mission
45$

Put a School Kit together
Help kids overseas with needed tools for education
Drop Off Locations

My favorite, and something everyone should own - yes that Water Buffalo on the top of your list!!
Water Buffalo's help with transport and more... and they're kind of cute
460$ (less than your average espresso machine)

The rest are some organizations you might not know about, but should...

Big Brothers and Sisters
Matching adult mentors with kids that need it

Welcome Hall Mission
One of Montreal's largest resources for the poor

PAX- Communauté de la Rue
Building relationships with and serving the homeless in Montreal

Bearers of Love
Providing funds and resources for homeless, orphans, and rehabilitating addicts in Ukraine

BONUS GIFT:
Westside is doing a FOOD DRIVE for West Island Mission on Sunday, December 18 and 23. Pop into our gathering and drop off some groceries OR connect with WIM directly!!!

What are your gift options this year?
Are you considering going alternative this year?
How much do you spend on gifts, average?

NEXT POST: my theory on why you should completely reconsider what you give to your toddler (ages 0-5) this Christmas and why?

Success vs. Greatness (Cornell West)

What a great, inspiring interview.
Love his articulation and vocabulary.



Do you sense the struggle he highlights? (the difficulty of being YOU in a culture that strives to make you THEM)
Do you agree that the measure of your living is in your giving?
Other observations?

New Year's Links

Here's some posts about New Years by some of the blogs I follow - I'll keep updating as I find:

Chuck Swindol - love this b/c he references Jonah - READ HERE

Ben Arment on why posture is more important than resolutions - READ HERE

Don Miller on why some goals should be kept quiet - READ HERE

Don Miller on why Parade watching should be banned - really on why 2011 should be a year we participate and not just watch - READ HERE

Michael Hyatt with some reflection questions about last year - READ HERE

A SPIRITUAL CHECK UP from the CS Lewis Institute - a must read - READ HERE

Westside Gathering listed some Bible Reading Plans you should consider for 2011 - READ HERE

A Radical New Year by David Platt (options for individuals, groups, church leaders) - READ HEAR

Planning Ahead by John Maxwell - good for anyone with some detailed goals or projects or involved in leadership - READ HERE

Don Miller really challenges me with this thought on TV - more importantly, on the capacity of our minds when we feed them well, and the potentially lost opportunities when we don't - READ HERE

John Ortberg gives a great reason why a resolution is good - b/c it's choosing to do something. READ HERE

Send me something you've found, maybe I'll add to the list.

Stuff on my Radar

- good news and bad news when it comes to financial health in our country
- I remember reading Soul Tsunami in 1999, Len Sweet predicting the gap b/w rich and poor - seems like this is becoming a stark reality in Toronto sooner than later
- participated in some honest conversation and prayer with a few guys last night, needed that, thanks guys
- excited about our Christmas Celebration this week, trying to creatively communicate how EVERYTHING CHANGED that 1st Christmas
- do you post quotes, they make so much sense to you, but your readers see it differently b/c it's not in context... ya, sucks, learning how to either contextualize or keep quiet
- signed a lease yesterday for a new Community Space for our church - dreaming and believing it will be a significant step forward in 2011-12... but only time will tell - I don't think we can completely predict anything, but we must try and move forward in mission and trust God

View Larger Map
- there's a foundation of a snow fort in my front lawn, I think i owe my kids a 2nd level tonight after school

faking conversion for a better understanding of american evangelicals

This is interesting. GINA WELCH, writer, faked her conversion and baptism so she could get a first hand look at American Evangelicalism. From what I understand she's an atheist, secular Jew (not confirmed).

Here's an interview with Southern Baptist (writer/blogger) Trevin Wax (Wax is a conservative Christian)

Here's 2 sections that stand out to me from the interview.

In the evangelism class I took at Thomas Road, we learned that the precondition for talking to someone about the Gospel was the question, “Do you believe in God and the Bible?” The script assumed the answer would be yes. If the answer was no, you simply walked away. We were armed with arguments for Christianity, but not for God.

This last line is striking - an interesting look at a Christian's approach to evangelism. We presume people must believe our framework first in order to start searching for God. I.E. we're leading them to Christianity, not to Jesus/God. Of course, if led to Jesus, they will be led to Christianity. Her critique causes much reflection on how we approach sharing our faith - which Jesus called us to do (Matthew 28:18-20)

Here's a section about marriage:

Half of marriages end in divorce, and the average marriage lasts around seven years. Yes, the institution is in deep trouble. But I’d argue this has much to do with our casual attitude about marriage–the emphasis on being a beautiful bride with toned arms and having a perfect wedding with vows and flowers and food that everyone will remember, and the comparatively low interest in the content of sustained married life.

This is a true assessment. Even among Christians, there's so much attention paid to the marriage day, the home, the furniture, the honeymoon, the pictures, and more. If this much detail was given to prayer, discussion, marriage counseling, and a deep biblical and relational understanding of marriage I wonder how much better marriages would be within the church - not to mention an amazing witness for the culture of what marriage can be like.

Definitely an interesting read, a bold move from Welch (which she now has faced much negative feed back about), and an honest interview with Wax.

this has to make you think

I wonder what else we can apply this message to?

As a pastor (although I admit I rarely, if ever, get calls like this) I wonder how often we move the responsibility of our spiritual growth onto others. Or the spiritual growth of our children.

Putting Jesus in the Center

This is from an interview with Len Sweet and Frank Viola on their new book, Jesus Manifesto.

...when you replace the “kingdom of justice” as the “framing story” rather than Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as the framing story, there ends up everything “social” and nothing “gospel.” In the Scriptures the kingdom is never something you build or create; the kingdom is something you receive as a gift and enter with your whole being, because the kingdom is the presence of Christ.

Enjoyed the interview, believe the emphasis of the book (though I haven't read it yet) is a needed one, especially in a day when the church is re-asking the question - what is the gospel and what kind of life is Jesus leading us towards. In the end, it comes back to Jesus - so we better understand him, and more importantly, worship him - rightly.

What would Jesus Tweet? (Ortberg)

From John Ortberg:

Is Facebook good for the soul, or bad? Is our capacity to be electronically tethered 24/7 a spiritual boon or bust? Is a cell-phone, I-Pad, web-world, text-obsessed existence faith-building or faith-toxic?
And the answer is yes.
Technology is always a doubled-edged sword, because it reflects the wonder of the imago dei and the wickedness of the fall. The printing press which brought the Bible to the masses did the same for pornography.
I know that the speed of e-communication can lend itself to shortened attention spans and superficial conversations. I am grateful the gospel of John didn’t start, “In the beginning was the tweet…and the tweet became flesh and twittered awhile among us.”

Read the rest here - it's worth it.

My wife just challenged me to a summer without Facebook or Twitter.
I.E. don't use it for any personal use, only ministry when needed for news releases.
Hmmm.... I'm thinking.

Measuring Success in Ministry

This caught my attention today:

In God's eyes success is people loving each other deeply, caring for one another, digging deep in each others' lives, sharing their possessions, and sharing the gospel in their communities. Are they fully devoted followers of Jesus? Is there transformation happening? Do they see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves—a body with a mission larger than the individual?

(Francis Chan)

from this article at Leadership Today

revised blog links

It's been a while since I updated my blog links.

some I haven't read some in a while
some have closed down (aka joe manafo)
some rarely or never post (aka dom ruso & christina parrillo - but are still my close friends and will surprise once and a while)
some are boring (aka, I won't mention them)

so check out the revised side panel

you'll notice some newbies I tend to read alot these days: don miller, michael hyatt, and I still follow jesus creed quite a bit, and a few more

hope you enjoy them - and of course filter - none of them are jesus, or pretend to be - but some are very honest and thought provoking.

what are some blogs you follow that I should take a look at?

Historical Jesus?

If you've been in the Historical discussion in the last 10-20 years, you must read this prediction from Scot McKnight.

YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T BEEN IN THAT DISCUSSION, but you have been influenced or heard of "DaVinci Code" or "Gospel of Judas" or some crazy book called the "Jesus Papers"

If so, and you're up to a little easy academic reading, give it a try, it's a short read.

(if you read the article and want a little more, try this, McKnight responds to responses to the original article)

Act now... (thoughts from 'Rework')

Haven't read the book REWORK (it's on my amazon wish list). Want to, but I love when people fill us in the details - maybe I don't have to read it now.

Here are some great quotes from the book. Not all are keepers, but there's a few that will challenge you. The first one challenged me:

“Decide what you’re going to do this week, not this year. Figure out the next most important thing and do that.”

READ THE REST HERE

Multiplying our reach

Just read this at this blog.

Love the appreciation and emphasis on the 'small' (I hope I'm not saying this b/c I'm involved in a church plant that is less than 1000 people, actually hovering closer to 100). Still, it's inspiring and I believe truer to our experience.

* “In reality a church grows bigger by doing small better.”
* “Simple, small replicable units are how the kingdom is best advanced.”
* ‘”Big” produces more consumers in church, but small produces more contributors.’
* “Small is often the place of the kingdom’s agenda, the place to plant the mustard seed and permeate the yeast.”
* “Movements occur through small units that are readily reproducible.”

(Quotes from Viral Churches)

10 Values of the Early Church

Read through this list about what the early church valued and lived out.

You'll notice:

...they were not liberal or conservative... kind of both.
...they were a peculiar - unique - alternative within their culture - i.e. different
...they were courageous

What do you think?

Good Friday Links

Tonight is our church's Good Friday gathering - always a favorite gathering of mine b/c it's focus is solely on the cross.

Instead of writing my own reflection here's some things I've read this morning:

Mark 15

CRM's Reading for Lent (my favorite one, and most impacting)

Jesus Creed Good Friday Prayer

Don Miller's attempt at what Peter might have written following Jesus' death

Mark Driscoll's thoughts on the Cross

John Stackhouse's look at atonement (this one's good too)

productive procrastination

For all the procrastinators out there - who are reading this instead of getting their work done. Just like I posted this instead of getting my work done. Now we can all learn something from OUR procrastination.



From Fast Company Mag.
BTW, I've read more than one article that had 2 forms: written and video - pretty good communication.

church, a context for growth

Here's a post - a series you should follow - a series on Eugene Peterson's newest book.

I love Peterson's definition of the church here:

"Church is the textured context in which we grow up in Christ to maturity."

This strikes a chord for me this week as my church just reflected last week-end on what it means to Speak the Truth in Love to one another in community. The purpose of speaking truth in love to one another is maturity.

I love Peterson's affirmation that part of what it means to be part of the church is to be involved participants in a community that will shape you into the kind of person God designed you to be.

I love my church, not just b/c they are a great bunch of people and we get to do mission together, but b/c they shape me and remind me and support me in my process towards maturity.

standing your ground

Love this pic from a young boy who was told by 2 mean boys that they didn't want him to come over to their house.

He made sure they understood what he was thinking about them too.

(HT: Ben Arment)

was God supplying the water??

From Ben Arment

28 year old man was pulled from out of the rubble in Haiti today, four weeks after the earthquake. It is humanly impossible to stay alive for this long without water.

From CNN:

"The man told doctors that someone was bringing him water while he was trapped, but doctors told CNN that he sounded confused and at times appeared to believe he was still under the rubble.

Connelly said the man must have had some water during the past month to have survived, but Connelly wasn't sure how he would have had access to it."

"Reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta said the 28-year-old man was severely dehydrated but that he survived because a man in a white coat brought him water time to time. Officials are checking the veracity of the man's story.

Gupta said the man "must have had water" to survive for nearly four weeks pinned in the rubble."

[source]