05059

- baseball season has begun!

- well, the pickles era is officially over...i’ll definitely miss that place...it was fun and worked well for this early chapter of our story. but, on to new things!!

- i’ve been able to read two books this week, and this is a good thing. i read The Road by Cormac McCarthy (I started reading it before Oprah named it her book of the month...just so you know). i don’t want to give too much away for those who want to read it, but it took me about 100 pages to figure out what was going on and then it ripped me apart at the end. stick with it and it will be worth the effort.

- i also read Dan Kimball’s new book: They Like Jesus But Not the Church. i’m always interested to see what Dan has to say as i’ve been influenced directly by his ministry. the impact of many books is often determined by the timing and context of the reading of the book. there was not a lot of new information in this book (especially if you’ve been reading any of the emerging church stuff over the last five years), but it was good for me to read right now. i found it inspiring and also affirming of what we are doing here in durango.

the point of the book is really to look at the culture and examine why so many young people (the 18-35 demographic) are not coming to church. however, there is an interesting (but minor) section of the book where he looks at a disturbing trend with young leaders. dan mentions research and conversations he’s had with young leaders who have become frustrated by being relegated to “generational ministries” and feel like they have little or no influence in the church setting and therefore have left church ministry for para-church ministries, non-profit organizations, and other careers where they feel they can use their gifts and have influence on a larger scale. i’ve read a lot of books that say “young leaders need a voice,” but then leave it at that. dan, though, examines historical trends (showing how significant movements have been started by young people from the disciples, to john wesley, to bill hybels) and current cultural trends (showing how businesses are tapping into young people for hot “ideas” and how much of the cutting edge work being done in film, music, and fiction is being done by the young demographic) to put some weight behind his statement. his conclusion is that not only is the church losing future leaders it is falling way behind in terms of the “economy of ideas.”


certainly every generation feels slighted and has desired more influence, but the fact remains that many young leaders don’t see the church as appealing an option for influencing and utilizing gifting as they do alternative careers and organizations. and i know this is true because i’ve experienced it and seen many of my peers experience it as well. it is really kind of a bummer. so thank you dan, for putting something behind your “give young leaders a voice” plea.

- last, but by no means least, check out the new podcast episode (there’s a guest star appearance you won’t want to miss) =)