Monday, January 22, 2007

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thoughts on the world of sports...

1) i know i've made a couple of statements in this space about how i've become a two sport man at this point in my life (soccer and baseball), but last night's game between the colts and the patriots got my attention. i was only able to see the first and last five minutes of the game, but those last five minutes...wow!

a lot is going to be written and said about peyton manning getting to his first super bowl, and a lot is being made about the first two african-american coaches to lead teams to the super bowl. for years now i've been rooting for tony dungy to be the guy to do it first (he's the coach of the colts for those who don't know)...i don't know if there is a classier guy who carries himself with so much dignity in any sport. he's why i'm pulling for the colts in two weeks.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jeffri_chadiha/01/22/lovie/index.html?section=si_latest

2) everyone is talking about what an incredible finish in the colts/pats game, but across the pond another great rivalry went down the last minute as well. arsenal beat manchester united (think red sox vs. yankees) 2-1 on a last minute header by thiery henri. a truly stunning result after arsenal was down 1-0 at half.

3) many experts feel the giants are going to walk away from barry bonds. i don't know how i feel about this, but it will be truly amazing if they have the guts to do it, and it would be fascinating to see who, if anyone, picks him up at this point.

that's it for now,,,

Monday, January 15, 2007

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miscellaneous thoughts...

1) i enjoyed the comments about the most recent post. some good thoughts and even counseling taking place in cyberspace. so, thanks for participating.

2) we're swinging into a new small group season here to start off the new year. my group is studying ecclesiastes and i have been having a great time preparing for that. i have no idea if this is going to work in a small group (i think it will, but that doesn't always guarantee success), but still i am excited to see what happens and where it goes.

3) we continue to seek new ways to serve our community...in the next few weeks we'll start cooking dinner at a different shelter in durango.

4) i've recently been found on myspace by an old friend from college...he and his wife and friends are doing some pretty cool things in stockton, ca...i've added a link to a forum about what they're doing called "The Great Banquet"

5) donald miller has some excellent thoughts about the upcoming presidential campaign...you can read these thoughts at his blog www.donaldmillerwords.com/index

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

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"if CTK-Durango is an experiment in anything, it's an experiement in the power of relationships." i think this is true of CTK in general, but it's especially true of our community here...or at least that's the goal.

sometimes i feel like this is a new thing, that i am learning all this for the first time...and that may be true in practice, but defintely not in theory. in so many ways what i am doing, in helping to lead this community in durango in the way we are going, is a natural progession of everything that has come before.

most recently, my thinking in the relational dynamic of what God is up to in the world has been pushed by eugene peterson's book, "Eat this Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading."

chip and i have been talking about this relational dynamic for a while...but again, for me this is the culmination of things that began some time ago, most likely in college through intervarsity and learning about the importance of community, through being mentored by the likes of jay d, through ron demolor's (mount hermon) mantra "the kingdom of God is a kingdom of right relationships," through prof. korch at western, through the philosopher john macmurray (see: the self as agent and persons in relation), through donald miller's relentless pursuit of the relational dynamic of the gospel (see: Searching for God Knows What), through conversations and doing life with rmac, through dave browning (lead pastor of the CTK network), through studying John with the nexus, and now live and in technicolor here in durango. it is no surprise that i am here in terms of my theology, hermeneutics, and praxis. and i love it.

here's what eugene is speaking to me about this (he's talking about how we read and interpret Scripture): "here's the thing: every part of the revelation, every aspect, every form is personal--God is relational at the core--and so whatever is said, whatever is revealed, whatever is recieved is also personal and relational. there is nothing impersonal, nothing merely functional, everything from beginning to end and in between is personal. God is inherently and inclusively personal. the corollary to that is that i, because i am a person, am personally involved in the revelation. every word i hear, everything i see in my imagination as this story unfolds, involves me relationally, pulls me into participation, matters to my core identity, affects who i am and what i do."

thanks eugene...

Friday, January 05, 2007

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check it out...#22!!!

http://outreachmagazine.com/Library/features/JF07ftrMostInnovativeChurch.asp

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finally, a new post...the last two weeks have been filled with epic events: some glorious (such as spending time with friends and family...the giant's signing barry zito), some tragic (the canceling of flights and the losing of bags). there are many more things to say, books to recommend, amusing antecdotes to share...but for now, all i can say is i'm glad to be home and i am yearning for a "normal" week. here's yet another reason why i love durango...