Transformation according to Bob Roberts

Brinner

Limping

This was pretty much what I looked like last night, minus the helmet and bike.  The YMCA basketball league has taken me out...my first ever knee injury happened last night.  Thought it might feel better in the morning...not so much.  Awoke to find my left knee swollen to about double it's normal size.  Fun times.  Trying to see the doctor tomorrow. 

As a related aside...we had our closest game yet...a one point loss...perhaps there is a correlation between team success and my being on the bench.

That's Quotable

Chan was preaching the second sermon in the series Epic Faith.  He talked very practically and boldly regarding money.  Tough topic for a preacher.  It was very Gospel centered.  The quote that stood out to me was...

It's effortless to spend money on that which is your god.

That's good.  That's convicting. 

For more on this series you should check out http://xpointe.com/epicfaith

Dad date @ Dunkies

Three Ways to Live

This past Sunday at our Bible Study/Community group (which if you are reading this, and live in close proximity, you should join us...love to have you)...I digress, anyway we examined why Paul tells the Philippians that all their religious activity is rubbish (i.e. big pile of steaming dog poo) by looking at the story Jesus told in Luke 15.  In this chapter we read of the familiar story of the Prodigal Son, which really should read Prodigal Sons.  The reason being that both of the sons--the irreligious younger brother--and the religious older brother are lost.  The question we wrestled through was how we are often like the older brother.  This was one of those times where we got to see the Gospel actually doing its work in people's hearts.  I was so thankful that I just got to be part of what was happening.  There really is power in the Gospel.  Go figure.  This distinction between the two brothers has been huge.  As someone who has been raised in and around the church, I have never really had an "irreligious" phase of life...however, that doesn't get me off the hook.  The point isn't to simply avoid irreligious activity, the point is to orient my life around Jesus.  Around the Gospel.  The default disposition of my heart can be to become the older brother.  The one who was religious and therefore had expectations about what he thinks he deserved.  Like the older brother, when I embrace this mindset, I miss the party that is going on amongst those who have embraced the Father's invitation.  Thankfully the Father pursues us...both the irreligious and the religious.  This is truly Good News.  This is the beauty of the Gospel.  This is what people need to hear...not that there are two ways to live...there are three, and only one will infuse your life with meaning. 

Listen to the guru explain it...

And then when you get done, you should probably consider pre-ordering this book.

New pics have been posted under "March 2008"

An unintentional fast

I think the logic board on my MacBook pro is dying. So the genius tells me. Looks like I am out of the computer world for this upcoming week. This should be interesting. It you're wondering, I am blogging from my phone.

Maybe this will be good for me. Not sure what to do without a computer. Certainly I can't do ministry ;)

Commuting, Community and Christianity

Though I had purchased this sometime ago (the addiction of buying books before I have time to read them), I started reading the past few days.  I particularly appreciated the chapter I read today.  It was an examination of the commuter culture and its effects on community and integrated lives.  This year, more than most, I can relate.  I am regularly commuting more than ever--due to the location of my church planting apprenticeship.  However, this is only for a season.  What about those who see no end in sight to their long commute?  The author comments saying,

Think of what happens to us when we live, work and worship in different communities.  If we live in suburb A but work half an hour away in suburb B and commute twenty minutes in the opposite direction to a church in suburb C, we find our sense of identity fragmented.  We are dis-integrated, and our loyalties and connections are diffused into three different geographic areas.  We especially feel tension and dissonance when driving from one area to another, say from a church function in one community to a school event in another.  There is little overlap between our disparate worlds. 

Though many don't have the luxury of living, working and worshipping in one community, the author encourages us to spend as much time within a 5 mile radius of your house as possible.  In essence, try and establish your own parish.  To the extent that you can, shop close by.  Eat out close by.  Be intentional about your area when it is within your means to do so.  Try and develop your Christian community within this area as well.  In doing so, perhaps some areas of your life will begin to overlap.  I think this is a good word and a way that we can hope to foster an authentic, counter-cultural community.  What if people put down roots and chose community over promotion?  What if Christians became truly invested in the civic concerns of their part of the city? 

As I read this chapter, I have to confess that I also felt very blessed.  Soon we will be getting to plant a church in the community where we live.  This means that living, working and worshipping will all happen in the same context.  I am looking forward to that kind of integration. 

Happy 4th Birthday Sydnie!