62759

summer_projects

I helped Reunion write our community groups curriculum this summer (which will be used in groups this year: September through June). We got them yesterday from the printer and they look pretty sweet. Can't wait to hear feedback as people immerse themselves in the story of Jesus.

In other big news, we've spent the summer revamping our web page and it's up and running now! Please go check out Sojourn's page and let us know what you think. The great Bobby VB put in a TON of work and it looks great.

61859

community_groups


some pics from the board after last night's training. getting read to talk a lot about Jesus this year. (primarily from John and a little Luke for good measure).

58559

more_NEU!


northeastern's weekly gathering is back in the flow. good group this week...three new people with more on the way! i can't stop saying how excited i am about this semester...it is going to be the best ever.

54759 Day 360

community


42 leaders together tonight for community group leader training. excited for the ways these people will be making missional disciples this year!

52059 Day 333

community_groups


this is how excited people are about our new community group model (which is based on storying our way through the Bible).  i am stoked to see how this pushes discipleship forward for both sojourn and reunion.

47259 Day 282

community_group


pics from last year...but i/we really appreciate these people.  it's also been cool to see how we've gotten to know and been served by caleb, kaitlin, and jenna's families.  each of them have taken care of us in different ways but all have done it well.  thanks guys!

44059 Day 247

dinner


i love community group right now...especially our dinners.  i am really enjoying preparing the meals too.  never thought this would be something i enjoyed doing on a regular basis, but it is!

41959 Day 226

mark


community group continues to be a highlight of the week.  our study of mark is fun and is keeping the conversation fresh...i feel rejuvenated by our discussion.  if you want to keep up with us as we read through it you can check out our summaries on the umass blog.

40559 Day 212

2_things


great meeting this morning with eric, mac, and nathan regarding a potential partnership between sojourn at umass and eric and mac's church.  we're trying to help them start an SAT tutoring class for students in the upham's corner (dorchester) area.  very exciting!


our newly multiplied community group is going really well.  i feel like we've found our rhythm now and i am so pleased with our 5 minutes/5 questions approach to the text that is helping us approach the text in a fresh way.  good stuff!

39859 Day 205

good_stuff


community group tonight was awesome...no pictures though and i am needing to go to bed (despite being somewhat energized by our time together).  so i'm sharing our (amy and I) favorite song of the moment...enjoy =)

36159 Day 168

the_relational_way


i finished this book today (The Relational Way: From Small Group Structures to Holistic Life Connections).  Terrible cover, excellent content.  More of a philosophy of small group life than a how to book on small group programming.  here's one of my favorite quotes: 

"The American church has to learn not only how to do small groups but also how to do relationships...we do not need more groups that function within the cultural operating system....we need a way to help people connect with one another in meaningful ways so that they create a contrasting way of life to the environment in which society lives."

34959 Day 156

new_community


last week we multiplied our original dorchester community group and so this week began a new chapter for us.  the intention here is to create a group for UMASS students.  so far it looks like we could add two people as soon as next week.  also, our application to be a registered student organization comes up soon and the outlook is pretty positive.  i feel like we are starting to build a little moment at UMASS.  good stuff! 

34059 Day 147

restructure

my role with sojourn is taking more form and structure this semester. i am going to be able to focus more of my time towards to UMASS, which i am super excited about, while also leading us forward in our approach to community groups. i am excited about this because it encompasses a lot of things i like to do such as: think about community...get people excited about community...make sure communities are missional...continue to work towards holistic discipleship...dream about teaching arcs and catechisms...hang out with students on the best campus in town. pretty great, right?! plus i "have" to read a bunch of books like the one here.

33559 Day 142

maps

we continue to to work on defining what we do at sojourn through mapping. our "missional map" is actually a bit more complex than even this picture gives credit to, but i think you can get the idea. it's been particularly helpful for me to think about my role and how i fit in to the sojourn story. as you can see, my area of the map is now including community groups, something that i have always enjoyed thinking about and creating vision for. so, i am really excited to start exercising that muscle again as i help move us forward with groups and developing missional disciples.

29959 Day 107

party!

tonight we hosted an all-encompassing party of awesomeness. we called it community-group-christmas/end-of-the-semester/house-warming/middle-of-the-week-why-not-have-another-party party. the best part was having different groups of our friends together: community group/neighborhood friends...sojourn staff friends...PT friends...nice!

we also welcomed the addition of a new couch (thank you diana) and the hanging of some more pictures, and so the apartment feels a whole bunch more homey. my picture does not do the room justice at all.

finally, for your enjoyment...a picture of ben =)

29259 Day 100

community_group

for the past year and a half amy and i have had the opportunity and privilege to lead a reunion community group in our neighborhood. i kind of proudly enjoy the fact that people were excited about this group starting but not sure how it would fly. not only did we survive but this group has thrived...from the point of being the odd man out (when we started they had to create a new area on the map =), to now being an extremely viable group. pretty cool. on top of that, this group allowed me to make a very smooth transition from ctk-durango to boston. just a bunch of notorious sinners trying to participate in God's resurrection in our neighborhood in Boston.

thanks for being a great group to lead, for being wonderful friends, and we look forward to a lot of great times to come!

25059 Day 58

dreaming...

what could a broader involvement in the dorchester community look like?

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).

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.