2008 In Review

Well it's the last day of the year. It seems appropriate to take a few minutes and remember and reflect upon 2008. it was an election year, an olympic year, a "green" year. For me it marks the year that I pretty much fully embraced the internet and technology as a means of communicating ideas and staying connected with people. From Facebook to Twitter to blogging - and all of it happening from my iphone. I guess when I decide to do something, I jump in with both feet. It has been a life changing year for me and my family. In fact, it's probably been the most significant year of my life so far in that regard. I know some people hate these kinds of things - looking back and all of that. But I think there's real value in it. Over and over in the Scriptures we are told to "remember" and "don't...

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Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas today. It was our first here in Durham, the first Christmas on the east coast - though you couldn't tell it by the weather. It was a beautiful day today, reminded me a lot of a southern California Christmas. A beautiful 65 degrees. We are starting a few new traditions now that Kimi's whole family is here together. We did Christmas breakfast together (really an early lunch), cooking pancakes, eggs, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, and cinnamon rolls. We spent the rest of the day together opening gifts, playing games, jumping on the trampoline, and doing more eating. It was very nice, very relaxing. That's what we did. My friend Dan and his family thought it would be fun to spend most of the night in the ER. How about you? What did you ...

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Who's your Vivian?

Back in Yucaipa I had an amazing administrative assistant. It was one of the coolest things about my job there. I got to focus completely on ministry - while my assistant did all the really hard work of planning events, taking care of details, payments, transportation, promotion, etc. I knew I had it good, but it became incredibly clear this morning just how good things were.One of the cool things about Story Church and the group that is beginning to form, is that there is a real heart for putting into practice the kingdom of God and the things we discuss. So in light of that I planned for us to volunteer at the Durham Rescue Mission for their Christmas community event. I went down to the mission, met with the volunteer coordinator, signed up to volunteer, got my packet in the mail with all...

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Story Church

So I suppose it's time to put an official post on here about our church plant here in Durham. We've made some progress in the last week or two making things official. We've been incorporated with the state, we have a bank account opened in the church name, an IRS tax number - you know, all the fun stuff. So anyway, the church name is Story Church. You can view the website by clicking on the name, or go to www.storychurch.org. So far, there are around 20+ of us including kids who are meeting together each week in my home for dinner, some hang out time, and a bible study centered on Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. It's been really exciting to see this thing take on a life of its own as it grows in such an authentic, organic way. If you are in the triangle area and looking...

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A busy week

It's been a great week so far. Monday night I got to do a ride-along with the Durham PD. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. We responded to calls about shots fired, hit and run, and a home invasion robbery. The officer was very helpful to me as he took me on a tour of some of the worst areas of Durham. He introduced me to some people who are seeking to make a difference there as well, and I look forward to how that relationship might grow. I had a lot of fun though, and I hope to do it again sometime.On Tuesday I had lunch with a pastor in Cary who is leading a really cool church over there. We had a lot in common, and it was an encouraging time for me. Then Wednesday I had coffee at a cool little place in Raleigh with Bill Cummings of Lemonade International. I encourage you...

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Surprised by Hope Part 2

A while back I did a post about N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope and promised a second post later. Well, I almost forgot but some things I've been thinking about lately have brought it back to mind. So here goes.What is God's purpose for the world as a whole? Think about it, that question is probably what drives the way you live. It's a question that Wright brings up as well. There are two common responses to this question. The first is what Wright calls the "myth of progress." This is the idea that the purpose of humanity is to continue to grow, develop, and improve our current state until we arrive at some sort of utopian existence. You can see that this idea is quite attractive. We are constantly changing. We are learning new things as a culture. Technology is advancing and learning to deal...

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"Missional"

A while back I read Frost and Hirsch's book "The Shaping of Things to Come." If you are in to dialogue about the church and it's mission, I can't recommend this book any higher. I came across this video today over at the "Out of Ur" blog (there's a link on the side of my blog) from one of the book's authors discussing what it means to be "missional." It's about a three minute video, well worth your time if you think about these kinds of things. I'd love to hear your thoughts....

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Baby Lauren

Some of you have heard about baby Lauren. She is the daughter of our friends Dan and Rebecca Browne. Today was a long day for the family as Lauren had yet another surgery. Please keep them in your prayers. To read more about Lauren's story you can check out my friend Dan's blog by clicking over on the right side of my bl...

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