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2006...the year of youtube and chuck norris...

...i offer my humble top 5 lists for 2006 in books, music, and movies. you know, the important stuff =)

...as one who claims integration as a high value it pains me to make the following confession: i've had to split the books lists into two groups, what i will call "required" and "non-required" reading...thre are two reasons for this: 1) i read too many books to have just one top 5 list and 2) as much as i like to integrate everything that i read there really are two categories...while all the books i've read, i believe, relate to life and ministry, some speak more directly to the later and therefore deserve their own list. so, here it goes

top 5 in "required" reading for 2006
1) The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (i know, big surprise here...i've said perhaps more than i should have about this book in this space, but for the sake of this list i need to say "thank you shane for giving us permission to be idealists and 'holy fools'")
2) The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch (what Claiborne's book has been to our "staff" discussion the last few months, this book was during the first half of the year...while not a blueprint for what we are doing here in durango, no other book has shaped my/our philosophy of ministry like this one)
3) Deliberate Simplicity by Dave Browning (hopefully he won't fire me for putting his book 3rd...ha ha...this is the blueprint)
4) Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus (at CTK we are about 3 things: worship, small groups, and service...mcmanus says there are three "cravings" of the soul that everyone needs satisfied to be fully human...they are meaning (worship), intimacy (small groups), and destiny (service)...fascinating)
5) Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven But Nobody Wants To Die: Or the Eschatology of Bluegrass by David Crowder and Mike Hogan (this makes the list, closely beating out The Myth of a Chrstian Nation, because of the section of the book called "columns"...i am a sucker for magical realism)

top 5 in "non-required" reading for 2006
1) The Tender Bar by JR Moehringer (best memoir i've read since Angela's Ashes)
2) Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball's Lunatic Fringe by Sam Walker (this book follow the travails of a baseball season through the lens of one of the most prestigious fantasy leagues in the country...he absolutely nails the highs and lows of fantasy baseball)
3) What is the What by Dave Eggers (i really expected this book to just rip away at the US for what it's done, or not done, for the Sudan crisis, but i have to say it wasn't like that at all...nonetheless it is a hard book to read, and i don't know what's harder to read: the atrocities of the civil war/refugee experience, or the inhumanity of the robbery of the main character's atlanta apartment and everything that follows from that)
4) Tempting Faith by David Kuo (a tale of how the political machine can grind down even the best intentioned people)
5) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (ok, i know this didn't come out this year, but i read it this year for the first time and i loved it)

top 5 songs for 2006
1) The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves [i unapologetically love this band...i haven't been this excited about a new band since a certain lead man for further seems forever started his little side project...the whole album "we don't need to whisper" is amazing, and in many ways parallels my own journey this year]
2) I've Had Enough by the David Crowder Band [a test of a great song is that it breaks your heart the first time you hear it and it can do the same thing months later after you've listened to it 100 times...this is such a song, and it's only 65 seconds long...genius]
3) When You Were Young by the Killers [i'm not a huge killers fan...i only like 4 or 5 of their songs...but, wow, the ones that i like, i really like...this was the most played song on my itunes]
4) Don't Wait by Dashboard Confessional (i keep thinking i'll grow out of this band one of these days...this last album was far from great, but this song, along with Stolen and Currents, is just too good to ignore...i'll continue to indulge a little while longer)
5) 9 Crimes by Damien Rice (i prefer the demo version with the guitars over the version that opens the cd...but both are perfectly damien rice: haunting and depressing)

top 5 movies for 2006
1) Stranger Than Fiction (i've already talked about this one...there's this great scene where will ferell's character is trying to figure out if the story he's in is a tragedy or a comedy so he keeps score in a notebook...at the end of the day he has 5 points for comedy and about 100 for tragedy...emo kids all over the country will posting that scene on their myspace pages as soon as it's available)
2) Little Miss Sunshine (it'll make you laugh, it'll make cringe, and then it will make you cry)
3) Goal! (it's about soccer, so maybe i'm biased, but i think it's one of the best sports movies ever)
4) Nacho Libre (no explanation is needed)
5) Accepted (if you know me at all, you'll know why i loved this movie)

so there you have it...the art and entertainment that enriched my 2006. feel free to send me (or post) your own top 5's!!

merry christmas...

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(1:oo pm) i had this amazing picture i was going to post...it was going to be the center-piece of this particular post, but unfortunately i lost the cable that connects my camera to the computer...so no picture, no wonderful post. now what am i supposed to do? (christmas present idea: usb cable for an hp photosmart r717 digital camera...hint hint).

well, now i just have to wing it...some random thoughts...not excited about the giants 2007 squad...excited about catching up with a lot of people next week...very excited about christmas with the fam...not excited about losing camera cables...loving the fact that the cable has been shut off for a couple of weeks now, it's like a new world without tv...this means tv shows on dvd (i.e. season one of how i met your mother...awesome)...

no book recommendations today (however, check out the new issue of the burnside writer's collective...link is to the right, right over there)...more than enough to keep interested and entertained...later this week will likely be my last post for '06 which means...top 5 lists!

(8:05 pm) the cord has been found! never mind all that at the beginning...here's a totally different, but amazing picture for to you look at anyway!

03259

whew! that last post really generated some interesting feedback...thanks to everyone who i got to engage in a bit of dialogue with, that was fun! (next time i quote shane i'll make sure i have a little more free time in the schedule...and perhaps next time i'll pick a really controversial quote)

- for those of you who have itunes and are into podcasts, check out the mosaic podcast from 12/3 "new under the sun"...mcmanus has some great things to say to those of us who are idealistically bent...there was so much illumination coming from my computer that i had to leave the room.

- tomorrow i'm teaching out of john 1 and i'm pretty excited about it...(i know what you are thinking...especially if you were involved with the nexus when i was there: can this guy do anything outside the book of John?)

- stephen colbert was voted 2006 media person of the year...awesome! http://www.iwantmedia.com/personoftheyear/06.html

- the david crowder band has been nominated for MSN's artist of the year...along with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, Prince, and INXS (http://music.msn.com/music/artistofthemonth) i have a couple of thoughts about this...

1) he's winning by a land slide which is a testament to Crowder's ability to mobilize his fan base (although i wonder if the other artists even know they are nominated...i don't think Christina is too worried about MSN)
2) more importantly, it demonstrates once again (as if we needed more evidence) that Crowder is clearly operating on a different level than anyone else in the christian music industry (especially in that bizarre genre know as "worship")...Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall...insert your favorite worship leader here...are good (please don't take this as a tomlin bashing..wink, wink...) but they are not even in the same league...

one of these days i'll post something about the chapter on crowder from the book "body piercing saved my life"...there's some fascinating stuff in there.

that's it for now...christmas parties abound!

ps. for those of you who are tracking with some of the poverty stuff i've been writing about, here's a book recommendation for you: "the new friars: the emerging movement serving the world's poor," by scott bessenecker...it's a worthy follow up to shane's book.

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here are a few quotes that have been pushing my thinking lately...

1) this is from an interview with kieran kelly, a music producer who's worked with the likes of sufjan stevens and others in the indie rock scene...he's talking about how his faith informs his work and how easy it is for him to turn conversations to the spiritual.

"That is one of the great things that music does to people; it tends to be a much more open environment to be able to have discussions. As opposed to working in an office where if someone was a drug addict or had some sort of extreme lifestyle, it'd be hidden from public view, in a rock 'n' roll setting, everything goes."

i love this quote and it's implications for our church...i hope ctk-durango will always be more rock 'n' roll than stuffy office.

2) if i could i would probably quote shane claiborne's entire book (the irresistible revolution), but here's something i've definitely been experiencing...shane writes: "it is a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions project but become genuine friends with whom we laugh, cry, dream, and struggle."

this really hit home for me last week. we've been serving at the manna house (the local soup kitchen) and making a lot of friends with some of the "regulars." last tuesday there was a going away party for one of the employees, and i was invited, but couldn't come until about half an hour into the festivities. when i walked in i was immediately confronted with an interesting scenario. the party had naturally organized itself into four groups. one group was comprised of well dressed older gentlemen (i learned that this was the board of directors)...another was a group of older retired couples, sweet people who serve regularly at the kitchen...the third group was made up of a few middle aged folks, again faithful volunteers...

and then the fourth group was jim, james, randall, and two other "clients" sitting by themselves in the corner. i went and sat with them and was simultaneously welcomed and chastised..."what are you doing hanging out with us?" "don't you realize this isn't the happening social scene." they gave me a hard time, but also expressed genuine gratefulness that someone came and sat and ate with them.

i couldn't help thinking that these guys were the only people in the room i would call friends...what other circle of people was i really going to sit down with.

i share this story not to pat myself on the back, or to say that everyone else there was lame, but to show the reality i see behind shane's quote. it really is a beautiful thing. i didn't sit with those guys because i felt sorry for them, because i am such a great guy, or even because of some holy/guilty compulsion. plain and simple, they were the people in the room i know and who know me. beautiful.

i know a lot of church planting manuals will tell you about how to be strategic and find all these successful people to join your church and tithe big and be your elders, but somehow that seems wierd when Jesus says stuff like: "those who are last will be first...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled...when you give a banquet invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." (see Luke 12-19).

my two deep thoughts for the week. here's to a rock 'n' roll church and jim, james, and randall.

peace

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items of the utmost importance and extreme significance for the week of november 26-december 2nd.

- today is the last day in november which means i have been in durango for four months...part of me wants to say "four months...that's all," the other part realizes that this constitutes one third of a year, amazing.

- i love the exchange between sarah and ryan in the comments...good stuff...

- i am currently reading "what is the what" by dave eggers (number two on the all time favorite authors list). this book is very different from the other stuff he has written (including, but not limited to, "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius," "how we are hungry," and "you shall know our velocity") what is the what is to do with the story of a Sudanese refugee and in many ways this book is actually the heartbreaking work of staggering genius. (here is a plug for www.savedarfur.org)

- now that the hockey fiasco is winding down, things are pretty slow at the soccer shop...until january when indoor starts. arsenal is also disappointing us as well. they'll have a great game (see their 3-1 win over hamburg in the champions league), then stink it up with a inexplicable 3-1 loss to bolton (in the EPL). way too inconsistent.

- CTK-durango's momentum continues to build...we will be multiplying our small groups in january, moving into the bigger room in pickles on christmas eve, and looking for more ways to expand our service in the community. personally, i am enjoying this season very much, but i can't wait for the calendar to flip over to january because i think many exciting things are going to start happening once the holidays are over.

- i'll be in salinas and available to hang out the last week of december...let me know if you'll be around.

- lastly, this man is a genius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BcT4MXcNwY

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hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving. the first major holiday in durango was a ton of fun!

in the spirit of thanksgiving, i want to do just that (give thanks) for everyone who has interacted with the ID...some of the feedback i've received indicates that people seem to love the comments almost as much as the blog itself, which is a lot of fun to hear.

lastly, i would like to highly recommend the film: "stranger than fiction." it's the best movie i've seen this year, and a definite top 10 of all time. anyone who loves stories and literature will enjoy the film. the acting and writing are superb (i especially loved dustin hoffman's character....and in a moment of vulnerability i will say that maggie gyllenhaal's character is my ideal woman). it's the kind of movie that leaves you with a melancholy smile on your face as you walk out of the theater (and that, of course, is the best kind of movie).

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some weekend ponderings...

1) the fort went down in the DII championship, 1-0, to dowling (some school from NY). we listened to it on the radio in the shop today and they fought hard, but just couldn't finish a goal. i also hear that there are going to be some big changes this offseason...we'll see what happens next.

2) i got my ears pierced...been wanting to do this for a while and it finally happened. i had a great conversation with my piercer. when he found out i was a pastor he couldn't believe it, and not for the reason one might suspect. i thought he would say something to the effect of "pastor's don't get their ears pierced." this didn't seem to be weird to him at all. what he couldn't get over was how young i was. a direct quote: "i thought pastors were just a bunch of old guys who voted republican." i assured him that i know some young pastors who lean more towards a blue state perspective. it was a fun conversation and another moment where i left assured that i am in the right place at the right time.

3) i encountered my most angry customer in my time at the soccer shop. words cannot convey how angry this lady was (not at me specifically, although i got to bear a good deal of it). i wonder what message that sends to her kids, and i pray for anyone who can get so bent (i've never seen anyone this angry, even in a movie) over something like a jersey.

4) i am listening to the new damien rice cd on my ipod and loving it. (it happens to be titled "9", which is very much approved of here at the ID).

5) i can't wait for tomorrow. i love our little community, and the morale is so high right now on our team...this is a really fun time for us...the giddiness level at our staff meeting on wednesday was off the charts.

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they did it!

http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=sports&article_path=/sports/06/sports061117_1.htm

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alright, boutry, enough of this silly soccer stuff. tell us something of substance...something important...something about your church, for crying out loud!

ok, here it is...i'm the small groups pastor, so i must tell you that my small group is amazing. it is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites. we have all kinds of interesting people, people who are quite open about their brokenness, and they have all jumped in and gotten real with each other very quickly. this is encouraging to me because this is our church! more than anything else we want people who take relationship and mission seriously and i am really starting to see that take shape.

i can't help myself...the fort plays on thursday...

i've been playing a lot of cribbage lately. i am still a master!

finished reading"tempting faith" by david kuo...fascinating tale of the seduction of power (and a lot of other things as well).

last but not least: it's cold and starting to snow!

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you know it's going to be a good day and you're in the right place for a soccer match when the last song they play before kickoff is dave matthew's "two step." and it was a good day for the fort lewis men's soccer team. they took out all their frustations from last week and put five in the back of the net...four of them off beautiful set pieces. it was a clinical (if anti-climactic) showing by a confident team. next weekend they go to pensacola florida to defend their championship. good luck boys!














the hooligans!

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some things that have been shaping my thoughts recently...

1) the irresistible revolution...
2) crowder and his concept of a rescue that has happened and will happen...
3) a book (i know, another book...where does he get the time) titled "body piercing saved my life: inside the phenomenon of christian rock"...
4) a quote from this book, where the author describes evangelical culture as "constructing an ever more-impregnable fortress in which Christians can amuse themselves while waiting out the apocalypse." (Ouch!)
5) my fear that the election results will exacerbate this reality and evangelicals will continue to retreat instead of engaging in mission...
6) relational conflict (how it seems to always lack a perspective of the bigger picture)...
7) bonfires with homeless friends...
8) trailer parks and run down apartment complexes...
9) a sermon on what you have to know vs. what you can know (see Mt. 22:37-39, Mk. 12:28-31)...
10) joy and soccer and worship...

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when you see or experience unbridled joy it can be a disarming experience. today i witnessed one of the most amazing sporting events of my life. the fort lewis men's team is ranked #2 in the nation, won the national championship last year, and in the last two years has only lost once. that loss was earlier this season to midwestern state (from witchita falls, tx). the two faced off today in the "sweet sixteen" round of the div. II playoffs.

2000 people packed into Dirks Field. It was one of the most intense environments i've ever seen...it was easy to forget that the crowd was so small (compared to say 60,000 at an nfl game). the fort controlled the ball most of the first half. i was standing with the fort lewis "hooligans" and the goons were getting restless as chance after chance presented itself with no results. then about 30 min in midwestern got a breakaway and put away their only shot of the half.

the second half began with the fort in all out attack. as the half wore on the crowd grew more nervous and boisterous. again and again the fort had great opportunities to score and just couldn't put it away. but you could see midwestern wilting in the altitude. finally, in the 88th minute (with 2:30 left on the clock)...david barden (a freshmen nonetheless) found the back of the net. pandemonium ensued. i was hugging people i'd never met...fort players were jumping into our arms along the sideline.

two overtime periods came and went with no goals, which meant a dreaded shootout. i've been impressed with the fort's goalie (tom donelly) all season and he did not disappoint with three great saves. when he knocked away the last one the place went absolutely ballistic...no one could believe what they had seen and no one wanted to leave.

what strikes me is that i went from there to church just an hour later. worship tonight was awesome and chip taught on the great commandment and i think we all felt a similar joy. the question i have is how to bridge these worlds. most of the people at the game went in to town to drink and celebrate (not a bad way to spend the evening really), but i wish people could see that joy can come on a soccer pitch and in a small room in the back of pickles worshipping God. this is what is driving us...this is our mission...

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weekend thoughts...

1) baseball season is over...the world won't be quite right again until april.

2) (not that this was the most significant part about last night, buy)...preaching out of I John while wearing my project 86 t-shirt was fun!

3) we had another new face last night, which is awesome. people are coming.

4) don't read books by shane claiborne in the laundromat unless you want to look like a blubbering idiot. (fyi. shane's book "The Irresistible Revolution" is probably the best book on Christian Spirituality i've read since Blue Like Jazz. if you've ever heard anyone from willow creek speak, you've probably heard them talk about the guy who made everyone pile up their shoes in the back of the auditorium after he was done speaking....this is the guy. read his book!)

5) yesterday fort lewis won the RMAC championship in soccer, 2-0, in front of a packed house at dirks field...it was awesome! (actually both the men and the women won this year). not only that, but the colorado rapids advanced to the western conference finals in the MLS. colorado just might be the best soccer state in the union!

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some midweek thoughts...

1) hanging out with grandpa is fun

2) i have to "preach" this week...it's slowly coming together

3) all apologies to will ferrell, jack black, dave chappelle, etc...stephen colbert is the funniest man in the world.

4) i am currently reading "Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation." (my favorite line so far...'they (as in the disillusioned/twentysomething generation) chaff at the pragmatist/programmatic approach to ministry.') (my second favorite line...'we can't all be articulate, middle-class, college-educated, Gap-wearing, small group leaders...and if we were, who would be in relationship with all the world citizens who will never shop at the Gap?')

5) my favorite song of the moment is "have you forgotten" by the red house painters

6) this is the greatest picture of all time (look closely and you'll see what i mean).

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it's for real! CTK Durango at pickles restaraunt...it felt so good to finally be meeting in our "place."

aside from the excitement of actually being somewhere for the first time, we also had three visitors tonight. there's a good feeling right now as people are getting to see some of the things we've been talking about actually happen.

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in what will likely be an ongoing theme of the ID i offer my first installment of "apartment adventures." last night the roommate walks in and proclaims: "dude, i think we have a problem." he leads me to the bathroom and sure enough our toilet is burping water all over the floor. i made a strategic phone call and myself and the landlords got to spend some quality time together moping and snaking and doing other plumbing chores. turns out some major sludge got backed up and a few other apartments experienced the burping toilet phenomenon. all is well this morning, but something tells me this is not the first and the last adventure! now if only i could get the kitchen light to turn on....

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tonight was pretty much my favorite night of church so far. 25 people packed into the johnson home to celebrate our last week in the living room and to commemorate our move to pickles! we had a blast...eating bratwurst, listening to chip talk about where we've come from and where we are going, and then singing our lungs out!

i think my favorite story so far also happened tonight. this dude named joe came with one of the daniels kids. he just moved here to durango two weeks ago. he said he had been to church before but hated the singing. he kept telling people afterwards about how when we started he just really "felt it" and started singing too and couldn't stop! it blew his mind that he could actually sing at church. this week we also continue serving at the local soup kitchen as well as starting up two small groups. this thing is really happening!



i have included a few pictures from tonight in this post...next week i'll have some pictures from the first night at pickles.

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lot's of cool things happening here in durango these days....at CTK we are all about three things: central worship, small groups, and outreach. as far as central worship goes we finally have a place to meet that is not chip's living room. we'll be starting at "pickles" restaurant on october 22nd. we tried several other spots and it never worked out...somehow, pickles, the least likely place, turned out to be the right fit. we already have two small groups going right now, but in two weeks we'll be starting two more groups. this is very exciting as we hope these new groups will be "birthing" groups...groups that will give way to even more groups in a relatively short amount of time. finally, this week well be starting to serve our community on a regular basis at the "manna house", the local soup kitchen.

some soccer news to report. i went to the fort lewis match today and it was awesome. ft. lewis (ranked 5th) was playing the 8th ranked team (who also had a lot of fans in the crowd). it was a "chippy", physical match....the fort jumped out to a 2-0 lead, gave away a goal early in the second half and then played tightly contested game until the final ten minutes when they put it away for a 3-1 victory.

arsenal is back in the world power rankings top ten, which is a good sign for my adopted EPL team.

finally, i saw the movie "Goal" this weekend. awesome movie...kind of a classic underdog, over come the odds, rocky story, but from a different perspective than normal (also great themes of family, cross cultural differences, father/son relationships). probably the best movie i've seen this year.

last but not least...check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuECatf6qaw

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"hunting the hunters: how to reach specific people groups." that was the assigned topic for my session this weekend at the CTK conference i attended. it was a lot of fun...i talked about durango and how it is so subculture driven, and then brought up paul in acts 17...how he integrated his knowledge of jewish culture when he was in a jewish context and how he infiltrated greek culture and used their language, poets, and symbols to communicate christ to them.

people were digging it! i've never had 15-20 furiously writing down words that were coming out of my mouth (certainly never happened when i was teaching geometry)...i concluded that we need to integrate groups that we are already a part (ie soccer players) and share jesus with those people, but there are also groups we need to infiltrate and learn their ways and customs before we start sharing jesus with them.

then i opened it up for feedback and questions and discussions and i got more strokes! a lot of people were resonating with what i had to say and asking good follow up questions...then, right at the end as i am about to wrap things up, this one dude speaks up: "i'm sorry but i have to totally disagree with everything you are saying...we don't need to infiltrate or integrate anything....we have the truth, the gospel....and the gospel is confrontational, there's no way around it...we need to be getting in people's faces...going door to door...passing out tracts! in fact your title it perfect...these people are hunting for souls and we need to HUNT THEM DOWN!"

after his little speech everyone was stunned...i started to respond but the frazzled host quickly dismissed everyone to the next session. i had a short but good conversation with the guy afterward...it was good to have a little tension in what was an overwhelmingly positive experience....but definitely not going to forget that for a while!

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when i was in college an involved with intervarsity we used to do testimony times with the leadership team...after a person talked about what was going on in their life the rest of the team would ask them questions. without fail this one guy would ask everyone the same question: "do you have a heart for a specific people group." it always got a laugh, and after a while people got creative with their answers. i used to think it was kind of a dumb question.

now, here i am, about to speak at pastor's conference on how to reach specific groups of people (evangelizing the subcultures). suddenly that's not such a bad question.

other than that, this weekend should be a good time for chip and i to connect with some key CTK people...put some faces with some emails and phone calls.

i recently read david crowder's new book: "everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." the guy continues to put out stuff that is not only quality work in the christian world, but good art period. there is a section of the book called "columns" that really makes the book in my opinion. it is a bit of fiction in the magical-realism genre (ala jonathan safran foer) and it is awesome. i'm still waiting for crowder to do something that does not impress me.

if you haven't watched the video in the link from the last blog, you need to!

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my first summer at mount hermon, rmac introduced me to the concept of the density of time...time is much more than a measure of the passing of moments. there is mass and volume to it...this weekend was a good example of dense time.

congrats to bruce and connie on becoming one...you have marked my life figuratively and literally =)

it was also fun to be with the old crew again...a shout out to mdh, h squared, vivie, b_lum, LG, glee, kdub, big al, drewyap, peter the great, and all the other fabulous people i got to spend time with.

major thanks to mdh for the suggestion of brett dennen...this guy is going to be huge soon we both believe. check him out...it will change your life.

finally, if you haven't seen this, you must:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ovJ5nWwF5k

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have i mentioned that i love living in colorado? i do...i have to go back to california this weekend for a wedding. i'm stoked about the wedding and sharing a huge moment with my friends and seeing a lot of people i haven't seen for a while, but i am going to miss my mountains!

in two weeks chip and i get to go to the annual CTK pastor's conference...where we have been asked to present some stuff about our story and what we are doing here in durango. it seems a little weird to be "teaching" people stuff when i've only been doing this for six weeks, but i think this will be a great opportunity for chip and i to pause and really think about what it is we are doing (and then talk about it too). so i am excited about that, but again i'll have to leave my mountains!

the final big news is that we have found a meeting place for sunday mornings...park elementary (a school we hoped to be investing a lot in anyway) appears to be our landing place. i've loved meeting in chip's living room but this is another one of those threshold steps for our church and i'm exciting to get in there and start worshipping with more people!

01259

first off, thanks to everyone who has been praying for us and also thank you to those who have been posting comments on the blog!

the last few days have been interesting and amazing. we had our first information meeting on friday and one person showed up! this could have been a huge bummer for our team, but the conversation that emerged answered so many of our questions (where can we serve, who is being overlooked by the churches, etc) that everyone was pretty stoked when it was all said and done.

then, last night we had our first (4) durango people come. what a huge moment for our team to finally welcome new people into our community. i was really proud of the way everyone interacted with our visitors and really made them feel welcome. i'm pretty sure we'll be seeing more of them in the future.

finally, this weekend was also a great time to hang out with dave browning the founding pastor of the Christ the King movement. (hopefully, most of you know that we are not just here doing this thing on our own, but are a part of the Christ the King network or churches). dave was really encouraging to us and also very excited by what he sees happening here.

dave has a book out now, titled Deliberate Simplicity, which outlines what CTK is all about. it can be purchased from amazon or barnes and noble. i highly recommend in general, but especially if you are interested in finding out more about what we are attempting to do here in durango.

thanks again everyone!

01159

check this out...

http://web.mac.com/ryanmcrae/iWeb/Colorado/Durango.html

01059

there are moments or phases of life that sometimes have to pass before you can say "yeah, that was a real good time." usually i need some time to pass to have the proper perspective.

then there are times when you know, during every single moment, that this is about as good as it gets. this weekend was one of those moments.

rmac and i packed about as much into one weekend as is possible. we cleaned up at the sky ute casino, we got kicked out of the telluride film festival (where we met many cool people, award winning directors, scored free stuff, and even had time to ride the gondola), participated in an ultimate frisbee tournament (which nearly killed me), ate some of joe's amazing barbecue, and pretty much dominated the entire southwest. lives were changed, ladies swooned, and legends were born. it was that kind of a weekend.

now it is back to work...the next 14 days being important days in the life of CTK Durango. these are exciting times...

00959

the roommate is in...i have survived a month in colorado...a good friend is coming to spend the weekend...life is good!

00859

today i registered my car, received my colorado drivers license, and registered to vote. this seems to be the final steps of the relocation process. i am officially a coloradian. mostly though i am just glad to be rid of the california dl picture (if you ever saw it, you know what i mean).

we have hit a bit of a snag as far as finding a place for our central worship service. we had hoped to get this cool little downtown theater and the owner was willing to talk about it at first and then decided to nix the whole deal. i'm sure we'll find a great place, but that was kind of a bummer. we would have at least like to sit down and talked with the guy. (oh and thank you ryan for your wonderful suggestion on a meeting place...brilliant).

i mentioned earlier that i had made a new life commitment, to follow a professional soccer league with the same passion that i had once dedicated to other sports. i chose the english premier league and the team Arsenal (sort of the red sox of the EPL). anyway, three matches in and arsenal is grossly underperforming and already 8 points out of first. is it my fate to root for underachieving teams or does my support of teams guarantee underachievement? my deep thought for the day.

00759

time for a music and reading update...thanks to anonymous (rmac?) for requesting the really important stuff.

favorite song of the moment: when you were young by the killers

i know i'm late to get on this bandwagon, but i love this dude Matisyahu. he's this hasidic jew who plays reggae music. it's great stuff...deep and spiritual and the music is killer. highly recommended for those looking for something a little different.

i'm currently reading ken wilber's "a theory of everything" and boyd's "myth of a christian nation."

00659

ctk-durango is only three weeks away from "going public." we are blown away right now with the way things are unfolding and coming together. the last three weeks have been one of those integration/illumination moments where you can actually see things happening right in front of you. september is going to be a big month for us...pray for our information meetings, small group leaders training, and our first central worship experiences.

last night after our meeting the "cadre" was reconvened. we ended up in a big long awesome theological/philosophical discussion, much of it stemming from a book chip and i are reading called "The Myth of A Christian Nation" by greg boyd. this book has been very challenging and thought-provoking. it goes way beyond an indictment of evangelicalism selling out to a political party and is really about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. a lot of it is his exegesis of the sermon on the mount. really interesting stuff and great fodder for great conversation.

i also have a confirmed roommate...he started moving in today. exciting stuff.

00559

there are several thresholds, or important markers, in a church planting endeavor (probably more that i even realize). for us, one was just getting us all here...and this has been an exciting process to watch everyone start to get settled and make some initial discoveries about where the will "fit" in our new community. the next big one is going to be september 8th when ctk durango goes "public." in the meantime we are meeting tons of people who seem to be interested in what we are doing. a big moment will be when a "local" joins us for worship. once that happens i think a lot of things are going to start taking off.

in other news it looks like i should have a roommate by the end of the month which is going to be huge.

finally, i've been reading through some of the "classic" (lots of quotes in this post) books that have shaped my thinking and are in some ways responsible for this adventure! last night i was reading some Velvet Elvis by rob bell...so here's my deep thought for the day, courtesy of rob bell (paraphrased by me): "i knew it was time [to start the church] when i no longer cared if it was 'successful.' better to try and fail, because at least you are being true to yourself."

00459

blogger.com asked me for my occupation when i signed up to do this...how is one supposed to answer that? am i only what i do or what i produce? is my occupation only a title? is my occupation only what i do when i am on the clock?

i don't like these kinds of questions. so i went for something deeper than just a title or a role because i am occupied even when i am not "working." so i told blogger.com that my occupation(s) are illumination and integration...because i am on a quest for both no matter what i am doing at the moment.

so, on the topic of integration...world cup 2006 really was a life changing event for me. about a month ago i made a major life decision: to give up the following of all sports with two exceptions, soccer and baseball (although my fantasy baseball league might say i've given up on that).

a major part of this move for me is about integrating things that i am passionate about into a greater whole...the eradication of dichotomies, to quote John MacMurray.

all of this randomness to say: i took a job at the soccer shop...i am the pastor who sells soccer balls! i also get to hang out with the ncaa division II coach of the year, the dII national championship team, not to mention the outfitting of the high school teams and the local youth soccer league.

it's not glamorous or lucrative, but this is what integration looks like (it is all starting to come together).

00359

i should talk about our church a little bit...after all that is what this move is all about! sunday was my first time to worship with our team since landing in durango. it was really sweet to be together, worship, and talk about what kind of church we are trying to be. also, some of the women have started our first small group, which is awesome! pray for them.

also, if you want to know a little more about what we are doing check out this site: www.ctkonline.com

last thing, this is a big week for me...i should be hearing something from three job leads i am pursuing at the moment. i hope it becomes obvious where i should land...but it probably won't!

00259

i have a place to live...not the classiest joint in town but it will do for now. it feels to finally have a sense of home even if there is still a lot left to do to be settled. i also opened a bank account, did the change of address thing...so some things are finally getting checked off the list.

the next major thing is the job...one of our goals (for chip and i) is to be bi-vocational for as long as we can. right now, though, i'm just vocational.

i'd like to end this posting by promoting the book and bands that i am enjoying very much at the moment. i'm reading this book by george hunter called "the celtic way of evangelism," and it is pretty good. the book is part history, part missiology, and part critique of the modern church's evangelistic approach. i hate summing a book with so many great thoughts in one statement but i guess the best way to describe the celtic approach without giving you the whole book is this: "helping people to belong so that they can believe." that should be enough to pique your curiosity.

then the band of the moment (or the last two months) is "angels and airwaves." i didn't think i'd like this band at first, but the music is very enjoyable and all the more so after visiting their website (www.angelsandairwaves.com). anyone who interested in "exegeting the culture" should check their page out.

that's it for now.

00159

so, i'm here...made it to durango safe and sound, thanks in great part to the man, my new hero, JP. thanks bro for all your help.

i have three applications completed and in the system for job opportunities, i seriously pursued buying a condo but it didn't work out in the end so i am still looking for housing. i got a cell phone. i took the penske to grand junction. i saw Ouray, CO for the first time and someday when i write my bestseller i will buy my vacation home there.

i still have a ton of things to do: find a place to live, find a roommate, learn more about real estate, get a new bank, get a job, register my car, blah blah blah blah blah.

i am very tired!

but i am stoked to be here.

00059

26 years to come up with something clever to say and this morning i don't really have anything great to share.

i'm leaving for durango today.

i am not the greatest at writing or calling and keeping in touch with people so maybe this blog will help.

i can already feel the questions pouring in about the name. at this time i will make the following statement:
"most of the time we just go along living our lives and only after a good deal of time has
passed are we able to look back and say 'oh, that's what that was all about...i get it now.' the
dilemma i suppose is that illumination can be so fleeting."

here i go...