22259 Day 30

amos

we are studying amos in our dorchester based community group. i'm really excited about this as it has been about 5 years since i've seriously studied this text. in our context this should ignite some fun debates, conversations, and hopefully more than a few ideas and next steps as well!

also, i've made it through the first month of project 365. only 11 to go...

22159 Day 29

flickering_pixels

here's another interesting book i'm reading. quick summary...using mcluhan's communication theory (the medium is the message) he (shane hipps) makes the compelling point that truth and reality are not merely communicated through technology they are shaped and framed by technology...which has obvious implications for how we view our faith. (as an aside, this book is pretty similar to stuff that eugene peterson and, especially, wendell berry have written. in fact, i find it somewhat amazing that he doesn't make mention of this at all).

he says that human's started out as an oral culture (tribal), transitioned to a print culture (individualistic), and are now in an electronic culture (a tribe of individuals). he argues that each phase has positives and negatives, but our current situation creates some interesting paradoxes, and one of them i have been contemplating quite a bit. in this electronic world the "near have become far, and the far have become near...our electronic experience creates a kind of empathy at a distance...[which], if unchecked leads to numbness and undermines our ability to extend compassion to those in our own city, neighborhood, or even homes."

he then says: "prioritizing those who are physically present can have a transforming effect on us when so many are digitally absent...the task of recalibrating our psyche and reigniting compassion must being with local relationships."

there are numerous thoughts i have in response to this, but i'll just share this one angle. as a campus minister who lives in the inner-city, i am struck deeply by these words. college students right now are more "wired" (or "wirelessed") than ever before. they are also as interested in serving and engaging compassion as any previous generation (maybe more).

furthermore, i sense that a lot of times people (young people) are drawn to the inner city because they are bored...or restless...or are searching for a better story (to borrow donald miller's words). none of those reason are bad, per se. believe me, i want to connect students with opportunities to serve, and i will definitely be recruiting students to live with us in our new house.

but, hipps points out that: "ninety percent of communal living experiments fail." whoa! "people so thoroughly shaped by individualism are simply not prepared to withstand the emotionally invasive experience of tribal living."

i won't tell you what his conclusion is...nor will i tell you mine (still working on that one), but i think that this has some large implications for the why and the how when it comes to inviting people in to our home(s) and our neighborhood(s).

22059 Day 28

where's_waldo?

jon graduated from Boston University last year. he thought about joining the peace corps. he thought about going to africa. these are noble thoughts. but tim and bobby talked him in to sticking around and interning with sojourn. what a big win for us! jon has been a big supremely helpful in getting sojourn registered as a student organization. he knows the university well. he understands the culture of the school. and he is crafting a cool vision for what the expression of sojourn on the BU campus could look like. i appreciate jon very much...keep up the good work, bud!

21959 Day 27

women's_retreat

hello! this is amy, today's guest blogger.

i had the privilege of spending this weekend at a beach house in gloucester, with some cool women from our church. we had a great time resting, connecting, and sharing stories. it took some encouraging from my husband to go on this retreat at first, and i'm glad i eventually heeded his good advice. kait came too, which was great!

21859 Day 26

life_as_a_house

sometime i really freak out and think that what we are doing is way too preposterous. changing jobs and careers while one spouse is still in school...raising and living off of financial support...moving at the beginning and the middle of an important and busy semester...buying a house...all in year two of marriage. i can't wait until five or so years from now when i can look back and decide if what we did was really stupid or a really big step of faith.

in particular, i've been concerned about the house over the last 24 hours. we got some news yesterday from the mortgage company that was not bad, but not exciting either. some numbers have changed a little and not in our favor. in moments like that i waver between seeing it as another challenge to over come or a way to back out before we get too far over our heads. so, feeling discouraged i decided to go to the house today.

i prayed. i wrote a friend a letter. i read psalms 68 which says in verse 6, God sets the lonely in families, which is a verse that seems to keep coming up all the time and has become the "mission statement" for what amy and i hope this house will be. then i rode my bike home.

we got a note today in the mail from amy's mom that just happened to talk about the house and the "daunting" mortgage progress (even in the best of times...i like that line). funny how that happens, eh. most of what she said had to do with maintaining a vision for our home...for the people who will live there with us, the memories we will make, and the stories we will tell. what an encouragement...thanks!

21759 Day 25

c_nelson001

today caleb and i delivered the newspaper (mass-media) to all parts of the UMASS campus. we explored some of the more interesting and secluded areas far off the beaten path. like this place. we also collaborated a little on vision for the sojourn-UMASS group and even started the student organization process on-line. which is all fine and good but hanging out in places you probably shouldn't be is always kind of cool!

21659 Day 24

generosity

amy and i have been blown away by the response to our fund raising requests. it's a weird thing asking for money. but it's also an amazing process to watch God provide. as we've made these asks we've also created a team called the "resource" or "advocate" team. we wanted to do something that would allow for a bigger circle of potential partners and also give people the liberty to be creative. yesterday we got a $100 gift card to Stop and Shop (boston's Safeway). last week someone got a new battery for the laptop. we've been provided with red sox tickets and date money. we got treated to a weekend at a new hampshire bed and breakfast. i found out today that some one is taking our support letter to their church's prayer meeting...who knows what that might lead to. i could go on, but this is, i think, a picture of the Kingdom of God at work. i quoted from donald miller a few days ago and i keep thinking about this concept of crafting beautiful stories with our lives. one of the "under the radar" blessings of fund raising is that we get to invite other people in to our stories, and, at the same time, provide an opportunity for them to create their own beautiful story. pretty cool, eh!

21559 Day 23

BU_student_organization

sorry for using a repeat picture, but today was a huge day for sojourn. we attained student organization status today at Boston University! this is big for a couple of reasons...one, there is some history at BU with evangelical groups (too long of a back story for this post so ask me about it if you want), so to be approved (and to be approved this smoothly) is significant...two, this means that we as an organization will have more access on campus and i, individually, will have some fun doors open up once i complete the "campus minister" paperwork. this is really exciting stuff and a major answer to prayer!

21459 Day 22

a_million_miles

i'm reading way too many books right now. but the one that has most captured my attention is donald miller's a million miles in a thousand years: what i learned while i edited my life. i was starting to wonder if maybe donald miller was a one-trick pony, crushed under the weight of the success of blue like jazz. turns out that is almost what happened. this effort, though, is mature, beautiful, and heartbreaking. i can't stop thinking about it. there are numerous quotes i'd love to pull, but here's a taste...if i learned anything from thinking about my father, it's that there is a force in the world that doesn't want us to live good stories. it doesn't want us to face our issues, to face our fear and bring something beautiful into the world. i guess what i am saying is, i believe God wants us to create beautiful stories, and whatever it is that isn't God wants us to create meaningless stories, teaching the people around us that life isn't worth living.

i hope that's what amy and i are doing with this little adventure we're on...creating a beautiful story...something with meaning...

21359 Day 21

BU_and_the_glorious_fall

we continue to have incredible, wonderful fall weather. most of my time at BU today was spent outdoors. in this first picture we have a shot of the "BU beach" where students flock when the weather is nice. in the second shot we see the charles river in all its afternoon glory. in a few months it will be nice to look back on these pics and reminisce about 78 degree afternoons and shorts and flip flops. yeah, i think i'm just going to enjoy this and not worry about the winter yet.

21259 Day 20

elements_of_a_great_sunday

waking up at 8 am. reading a good book. drinking great coffee. riding the T. connecting with people. tasty guitar solos. the other side cafe for lunch. nice weather. eating outdoors. twice. down time. writing letters. listening to music. playing tetherball. sucking at tetherball. laughing a lot. hamburgers. good conversation. wise married people. prayer. old tv shows. sleep.

21159 Day 19

exploring

something amy and i like to do on our day off is to go exploring things around the city. somehow in our year plus here we have not yet been to the arnold arboretum. today we took our bikes over and went for a ride! it was a crisp, fall day, perfect for exploration and we had a great time. we are still not good at sabbath (mostly me) but these kinds of moments are helping us get better.

21059 Day 18

drops_like_stars

sojourn took us all out to see rob bell on his "drops like stars" tour. it was excellent. i read the book about a month ago and i really enjoyed the concept and the way they put the book together. however, i wasn't super excited about hearing him talk about it...until about ten minutes in. he had me completely after that.

i think the best part was not the content (which was great) but watching a master teacher do his thing. having read the book i knew what he was going to say all night, but he still had me at the edge of my seat. a brilliant communicator to say the least.

20959 Day 17

summer_reflections

today i attended a meeting debriefing the summer with all the directors from the summer camps who go to hale reservation. we had a rough summer in some respects and so i was a little apprehensive that this meeting might turn in to an "all the ways that bird street sucks" kind of event. it wasn't that at all. in fact, it was kind of affirming to hear some of the trials and tribulations that other camps had and to hear some similar complaints and feedback from other directors.

i think it will be a long time before i am able to fully process all that went on this summer. sometimes it feels like the most colossal waste of my time, and other times, like when i look back at pics like this one, it seems so fun and i get very nostalgic. i suppose the truth is somewhere in the middle of that.

20859 Day 16

a_million_little_churches

there are at least 10-15 churches on our "temporary home" street. (this picture is actually a bad picture because this is not one of those churches, it is a school that's associated with one of the churches, but i do like it because its architecture captures the essence of these buildings). if you continue northwest from norfolk on to washington street you'll see another 15 or so churches. all on in about a one mile span.

i have completely mixed emotions and thoughts concerning this reality. on the one hand i understand why there are so many: they meet the specific needs of "niche" groups...you'll have your pentecostal-french-speaking-haitian church, and one block over your baptist-spanish-speaking-dominican church, and a million more examples. i also love the idea of small communities meeting all over the city (sounds familiar)...smallness has many advantages. and yet, everyday as i walk home from the train station i can't help but feel like something is not quite right about this.

thoughts?

20759 Day 15

bike_ride

i made a deal with myself today. we are experiencing some beautiful late summer/early fall weather here in boston. the best weather we've had in a long time actually. a "must be outside" kind of day. so i said, "self, get your work done quick and then go for a bike ride." amy and i recently invested some money in fixing up some bikes and i used mine almost every day during camp, but haven't had much of a rhythm with it since that ended. it felt really good to get back on this today...

...i discovered via a handy "bike map of boston" amy acquired at some free event on campus that it is very easy to get from the Nelson's to the infamous dorchester bike path that i've heard so much about but never biked on before...

what a cool trail! not hard in any sense, but it kind of reminded me of durango...

...ok, so it only reminded me of durango in this one spot, but, still, quite the oasis of beauty on a path that runs around and through some of the rougher areas of boston. i love it. plus you end up in a place like this...

which is pretty cool. needless to say, i had a great experiencing a little beauty in the middle of busy week and a crazy town.

20659 Day 14

nate

this is nathan and he is a good man. he chooses his words well and he dresses sharply. he also loves Jesus very much and cares deeply about the ways that God's Kingdom are discovered and expressed, especially in a place like dorchester. he's been a major leader (THE major leader, in fact) in the Quincy Street partnership that Sojourn has (the partnership that led amy and i to move to dorchester).

nathan and i were able to hang out today and talk a little bit about the future...in particular we are starting to think of ways that we can link our houses and ministries together in a way that is healthy and makes sense in our particular neighborhoods. these are fun and very encouraging conversations! thanks nate

20559 Day 13

king_bowl

today was a big day for sojourn as we jump into a new semester (and year). we had our annual kickoff event at king bowl (free bowling and pizza). this is a pretty important event for us since we don't do much in terms of large group gatherings. in fact, other than our sunday morning gatherings at reunion this is the only time we get "everyone" in the same room. so, it is a good opportunity for connection and for people to see the faces that go along with our community groups. we had a great time and a good turn out (about 80 people) and lots of new sign ups for community groups. amy and i are launching a brand new, BU specific group that starts this week, so if you get a chance to pray that follow up goes well over the next few days that would be great! this is going to be a big week.

20459 Day 12

usc_at_mcgreevy's

little picture today. after a morning meeting and a restful afternoon, amy, myself, and our fun canadian friend, luke, went to mcreevy's to watch the USC/Ohio St game with the new england USC alumni. it was really fun. and it was more fun to watch the game (with its epic fourth quarter drive) in a room full of 'scers.

big day tomorrow as we officially kick off the fall semester sojourn style!

20359 Day 11

on_campus

i spent my first significant time on the campus of UMASS-Boston today. amy and i signed up for the athletic center a couple of weeks ago (free for the clergy, nice!) but i have not been around when school was actually in session. lots of activity today, though. i like the vibe of UMASS a lot, although hard to quantify, it is different from, say, Boston University.

i sat for a while in the campus center and had a great view of the bay while i was doing some work. i mean, the view's are incredible. i find it hard to believe that no other schools got their hands on this property. did i mention the views are amazing. they are, and i, of course, forgot my camera. awesome.

20259 Day 10

a_big_thick_book

required reading we are wading our way though this semester. reminds me of seminary, which is always fun.

i also made my first google doc. it was a pretty exciting day.

now, time to hang out with amy =)

20159 Day 9 (project_365)

video_conference

we had a staff meeting via tokbox today. because we are awesome.

=)

20059 Day 8 (project_365)

BU_community_groups

amy and i are going to be leading/facilitating a BU specific community group starting this semester. this is cool for several reasons. one, this has been amy's campus for the past 2+ years and i am excited for her to be invested in there in this way. two, i am trying to integrate myself into the life of the BU campus and this will be the first group "exclusive" (loosely defined) to BU, so that is a cool opportunity for me. third, i am really excited to do anything with Amy and i know that we are both super stoked to have a group of college kids to love on. so please be praying that students, many of whom are wandering the gigantic buildings of this downtown campus, feeling a little lost and lonely, will be drawn to our community in the next weeks and months.

19959 Day 7 (project_365)

new_semester

today we had our sojourn leadership team together to talk about the new year, dream a little, plan out a few details, and basically just get excited for what God is going to do. it was a good time and a very tangible reminder for me that this is really happening...and i couldn't be happier about that...i feel like i'm actually "doing" something! i totally forgot to take a picture of the team, though, so i thought i'd just use another pic from our weekend. here's a view of the white mountains. seemed appropriate, you know, mountains, reaching the summit, overcoming obstacles, all that motivational stuff =)

19859 Day 6 (project_365)

gratitude

our ability to get up to new hampshire this weekend is due completely to the generosity of my parents. there was a point, a couple of months ago, where we weren't sure if this plan was going to work...not knowing what our schedules/life would look like made getting out of town an uncertainty. but, as it turns out, we needed this weekend away badly and so the last couple of days have been a HUGE blessing to us. and, just as important, it was great to hang out and connect with family, which is always a challenge when you live 3000 miles away and in a time zone that makes phone calls difficult. so, thank you mom and dad for this great gift!

19759 Day 5 (project_365)

weekend_away

we were able to get up to new hampshire this weekend for some time away and some much needed relaxation before the semester really gets going. we were in an area of NH known for its lakes and the white mountains. this is a view of squam lake. pretty cool.

19659 Day 4 (project_365)

desk_job

i spend a lot of time sitting in front of this pile these days. as a Sojourn staff member i am responsible to raise my own salary. in a strange way i kind of enjoy this. maybe i am learning patience or something. whatever it is, i enjoy the process of sitting down, thinking about the people we've known in our lives, how they've influenced us, and the experiences we've shared. then i pray about and for them and then write them a personal letter. i've chosen to make each letter unique and as personal as possible, since i don't have the capacity to meet with everyone face to face. i think this is a good way to do it. some would argue that i shouldn't write any letters, i should do it all face to face. others argue that to be more efficient you need fancier slogans and slick mass mailings to get the word out quickly and to as many people as possible. but i like this way better. i like thinking about people and what we've done together and how this can be a continuation of relationship and partnership. but it is hard and slow too. i guess, what i really want to say is that if you get a letter like this from me please know that i am not thinking of you as a dollar figure but as a friend, and i am so grateful for the ways that you have influenced me and been a part of my life.

enjoy your holiday weekend everyone!

19559 Day 3 (project_365)

new_home

- for the next two months, or so, while our house is in the process of closing and being transformed into livable space, we will be living with the Nelson family on Norfolk St. some early observations: if we're not going to be in our "own" space, then it's nice to be with a family (especially when they pray for you in their kitchen)...this part of town is different than where we were (perhaps a little "rougher")...we're extremely grateful for gracious hosts!!!

and last, but not least, before we left 48 Granger we had sort of adopted a neighborhood kitten. it's was cute and stuff, but with the nelsons we have access to a dog, Misty, who is hanging out with me as i type this! pretty cool =)

19459 Day 2 (project_365)

boston university

- i spent a little time at BU today. a couple of significant things:

1) today is the first day of Amy's last academic semester on campus!

2) this is the one of the campuses i will be focused on this year...in particular, one of our big goals for this semester is to get registered as a student group on campus.

3) we also got engaged here =)

lot's of energy on campus today with classes starting...it was fun to see some freshman (so little!), all cute and nervous on their first day. it all got me excited to see what happens this semester.

19359 project_365: day 1

a couple of months ago my good friend, nathan, initiated a new practice in his life and blogging called Project 365. the idea is do a picture and post a day for a whole year.

this seems like a great idea, especially since the next year is going to be so full of adventures and exciting new things. a preview: starting my new career in ministry with sojourn collegiate minsitry...the rehab and move in to our new home in dorchester...amy's final year of school and new job...possible pets...the giants in the world series...wait, what...and those are just the things we can count on happening.

so, hold me accountable to this...everyday, starting today, for the next year, i will have a picture and post and you'll be able to follow our adventures in new, cool ways.

Day 1

here's our first apartment we lived in as a married couple. not my favorite residence of all time, but special because it is the first place we lived. everyone always says the first year is the hardest...the jury is still out on that one, but a lot of major conversations and life decisions took place in this house. plus we hosted a community group here for exactly a year...and some wonderful relationships, our first real boston friends in fact, came out of that group (which continues on, i case you were wondering). today, then marks, the first day out of 48 granger and so day 1 is about commemorating our first abode.