But let me give you some context first before I unload my disappointment. I currently own a 15" MacBook Pro (which I have warm fuzzies for) and an iPhone (which is like the twin brother I never had . . . wait . . . never mind) I also got a Kindle as a gift last year, which I used all the time until I realized that the Kindle app on the iPhone worked even better for my lifestyle. Anywho, I really dig my Apple stuff. Which is part of why the iPad may be such a bummer for me.
A couple of days ago I was invited to a meeting for Kansas City area church planters. It was really encouraging to look around the group of 30+ and see so many church planters of different ethnic backgrounds. There were guys from Mexico, Kenya, San Juan, South Korea and even from Halstead. Great stuff.
The thing that really discouraged me, however, was the almost complete lack of women present. (there was only one woman, and she was more there with her husband) And this gathering was not put on by an organization hostile to women in Christian leadership. Just the opposite actually - women would have been welcome with open arms. There just weren't any there. So where are all of the female apostles?
Here’s the thing - If you get up at the beginning of the worship experience and tell everyone everything that’s about to happen, you’re essentially doing the same thing – spoiling the experience.
So why has Avatar, in four short weeks, become the second-biggest movie of all time? What is it that has people coming back, often dragging friends and family along in the process?
As most of you who read this page are already of aware of, over the past year I’ve been exploring church planting. A part of that process has been reading about others who have planted and what they’ve discovered along the way. Some of it stuck, some of it didn’t, and some of it is still rattling around uncomfortably.
One thing that hit home, hard, came from Doug Padgett’s book “Church Re-Imagined.” (before anyone starts lighting me up, I’m not down with where Padgett is heading, but that doesn’t change the truth of some of things he and his team discovered)
The way he tells the story, as he and his team we in the early stages their new church plant a number of different Christian leaders in their community challenged them as to why they would start a new church when so many of the existing churches were half-empty.
"Here's the most startling thing of all: McKenzie, healthy but frustratingly unemployed, called Saints coach Sean Payton 12 days ago, desperate for a job.
"When I saw a few guys go down with injuries, I just picked up the phone and called Coach Payton,'' McKenzie said. "When I left last March, he was real good about it. He said, 'Stay ready. And make sure you come around. Don't be a stranger.' So I called, and I told him I was in good shape and ready to play, and he said they were going to bring me in next Monday to look at me.'"
I don't know what's going on in your world, but when you read a story like this you have to ask yourself the question - "Am I ready? If opportunity came knocking tomorrow would I be ready?" The next question would have to be "Am I actively looking and praying for opportunities."
What a great story . . .
This isn't going to be an objective review. I tried writing that, but I just can't do it. To write a critique of Donald Miller's writing would sort of be like critiquing myself, my life and my generation. Not that I, or anyone else in my generation for that matter, can write as well as Donald Miller. We can't. But Miller is doing more than simply writing books or collections of essays. In many ways Miller is writing the story of my generation, and every time I read a new book of his I'm reminded just how much he's writing about me.
There are a few artists who come along every decade or so who do more than make pretty pictures, entertaining blockbusters or top 40 hits. They are artists compelled to create work that will tell the world something about who we are as human beings, that will explain for future generations what it was like to be alive and engaged in this unique moment in time. They are the voices of their generation. John Mayer is one such artist. Donal Miller is another.
Continue reading "a million miles in a thousand years review" »
So this blog is supposed to be about life, art and God, and I'm realizing I haven't been writing much about the journey lately. The past year has been difficult for me in some ways. Any time you step back from something you love (in my case being a worship arts pastor) there are bound to be some echos of longing for your old life. The great thing is that God never stops growing us right in the hear and now.
I am more than what I do for for a living. Finding the living, breathing reality of that truth has been extraordinary.
