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.