09959

final post of 2007 which means...

...top 5 lists!

Songs

1a) This Too Shall Be Made Right Derek Webb

1b) Ten Thousand Angels Caedmon's Call (performed by Derek Webb)

the best of both sides of the derek webb theologian/prophet coin...a cry for justice now and the longing for heaven

2) Keep the Car Running Arcade Fire

most listened to song of the year...you can't not enjoy this song

3) O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing David* Crowder Band

i don't normally like it went songwriters add a hook/chorus to old hymns (just do the hymn, it's fine the way it is!...see the "wonderful cross" remake by chris tomlin)...however, crowder does it just right with one...the line "there are so few words that ever grow old" is one of my all time favorites now

4) If You Find Her Future of Forestry

i had never heard of these guys until this year...i like their quieter numbers better and this is the best of those numbers!

5) Lifeline Angels & Airwaves

this band continues to impress and this is my favorite track off the new album

Books (required reading)

1) The Jesus Way Eugene Peterson

the newest of peterson's "conversations in" series...they are all excellent but this is the best of the three (in my opinion)

2) Soul Graffiti Mark Scandrette

a good follow up to last year's number one The Irresistible Revolution

3) The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser

an excellent book on christian spirituality written by a catholic priest...this book was a major source in rob bell's Sex God (#4 on this list).  the holy longing is a book i will probably revisit every couple years

4) Sex God Rob Bell

at this point the lack of good books i read this year in this category really starts to show up...we read this as a small group and it was a good experience...mostly i put it on here because people seem to have strong reactions to bell's premise, which usually means that the author is on to something...however, i would recommend reading #3 

5) The Multi-Site Church Revolution

again, not a great book in and of itself, but it was fun to read about the ctk story from an "outsider" perspective.  also, more symbolic than anything since we have started to experiment with the multi-site approach

Books (non-required)

1) The Book of Lost Things John Connolly

i feel like i've said this before here, but i am a sucker for magical realism (see Everything is Illuminated and Life of Pi...two of my favorite novels)...a wonderful story about coming of age and the importance of stories in making sense of our reality

2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling

i was not into harry potter until about two years ago (whenever book 6 came out)...i thought the first couple were interesting but not well written...it felt like novels-by-numbers...by about book 4, though, i was hooked and the last two of the series are extremely well written...the story aside, reading the series is interesting just to see Rowlings development as an author.  anyway, this, the final installment, is excellent

3) A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini

the female version of the Kite Runner? yes, but while familiar, it is also an extremely well-written and moving story on its own.  this guy is a great writer

4) The Starfish and the Spider

not a novel!  but it does tell the story of napster, craigslist, wikipedia, ebay, and other "leaderless" organizations...the best non-theory book i've read on emergence

5) A Perfect Mess

a fun and interesting read...also, some sense of justification for enjoying lower levels of order!

Movies 

*author's note: i watched a lot of 24 this year...a lot!  as a result i have not watched very many movies making this a very incomplete list.  i may change it after i watch the following films (if i ever get around to them): The Darjeeling Limited, Juno, The Great Debaters, No Country for Old Men, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Gone Baby Gone

1) Saint Ralph

my friend seth introduced me to this fun film about the most unlikely of saints. inspiration for runners!

2) Amazing Grace

chip's view

3) Chalk

an "Office" type look at teaching...i laughed a lot!

4) Angel Rodriguez

also titled "Angel", it's actually an HBO feature that got put on dvd.  i enjoyed it more for the way it was shot than the story (although the story is really good too)...the whole time i watched it i kept thinking "i could do something like this."

5) I am Legend

as i was watching this movie, i could imagine pastors and youth pastors around the country scrambling for sermon illustrations (Will Smith = Jesus!!!)...the light/dark theme was much more interesting to me (especially if you read anything in the New Testament written by John)

- there you go!  feel free to comment/leave your own top fives/rip mine apart...

...happy new year!

09859

we did  a lectio divina exercise tonight at church as part of our advent series.  we read Psalm 146 together.  as a part of the exercise you are supposed to read, or listen, and pay attention to what stands out to you.  what stood out to me was a phrase that seems to be in every advent reading we've had so far: (v. 7, NLT) "[the Lord] gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry."

i can't seem to get away from this theme this Christmas...

...on that note i was able to hang out with my friend on James on thursday.  we haven't been able to connect since i got engaged...he'd heard about it somehow, but i got to fill him in the whole story.

here's a sample of the conversation (keep in mind that james does not have the best hearing):

james: "so you gonna be moving?"

"yeah," i said, " to boston."

james: "oh, man...i got some rowdy friends down there"

me: "down there?"

james: "yeah, you know it gets pretty hot in texas."

me: "texas?"

james:" yeah, austin."

me: "no, not austin...boston...like massachusetts."

james: "oh, hell, i never been there."

i took advantage of the opportunity  to ask james about his future and aspirations (since we were on the topic of futures).  here are his two visions for his future:

1) buy 5-6 llamas to use as pack animals and spend the rest of his life exploring the Yukon

2) run for the durango city council on the platform of low environmental impact jobs and affordable housing.

what i loved is that james was not just "bs"ing me.  he was being quite serious and has clearly thought about both of these paths.  i felt bad because at first i thought he was joking and i didn't take him seriously...but he was being very honest with me.  

this was another one of those moments where i didn't really do anything strategic...i don't know how much "justice was brought to the oppressed"...i bought james a cup of coffee but this wasn't about meeting a "need."  i do wonder, though, if anyone else in his life asks him about his hopes and dreams for the future, and then doesn't laugh at him when he does share them.  conversation over a meal can bring a sense of dignity that few other moments can.  

i think i am still learning a lot about what it means to bring hope and justice to people who are in desperate need of it, but for some reason i cannot escape it this Christmas season.

09759

finally, something i've been saying for years

this is also a good point

09659

- Check out our new office! we've moved down the street (from 11th and main to 8th and main)...and in doing so have we have become office neighbors with two ministries allies, Patrick's Crossing and Matthew's House...i think this will be a strategic and healthy move for us: we have more space, less rent, and cool people to talk to and walk through the ups and downs of ministry with...here are a few pictures!

09559 christmas_tree

very nice!

09459

- to everyone who has offered their congratulations over the last week: a big thank you!!!

- we're starting an advent series this week...going liturgical for a few weeks...already it's begun to affect my thinking.  a couple of early thoughts: a lot of Christmas is built around familiar and long standing traditions (many of which are great) but the original Christmas is about God doing something new.  

a question i've been wrestling with is: what is something new God is calling me to do this Christmas season?  

which leads me into the next thought...approaching Christmas as a season and not an event or a day.  it seems so much of my own thinking centers around this big event or day that i feel stressed out about or rushed (with traveling, shopping, etc) by the time i actually get to it.  i feel this season that i might actually be "ready" in the sense of anticipating what God might do.

-the podcast is back for those of you listen to it.  the link is to the right.  

peace! 

09359 engage(ment)

on tuesday afternoon i asked amy to marry me and she said yes! the asking included all of the following items: a journal, marsh chapel (the roped off, balcony area), a story, flowers, the element of surprise, the 52nd floor of a tall building, love, and, of course, a ring. i'll let you figure out how all of that works =) or you can just ask me and i'll tell you the story...here are a few pictures...

09259

Food Night is Awesome!





































- Book Recommendation: i recently finished an excellent book, The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser. he's a catholic priest, so about 2 percent of the theology is a little wierd, but that's good for us too! thought provoking, deep, challenging, and affirming, i think he has a lot to say in the conversation about christian spirituality.

- Music Review: i love the new angels and airwaves album, "I-Empire". what little music snob is still left in me says i should hate this music (the sound is huge and relatively one-dimensional, the lyrics are overwhelmingly positive, and the melodies are relentlessly catchy), but i can't help it...i love everything about it.

that's it for now...peace!

09159

old guys skating =)

- other updates: no podcast for a few weeks because we're doing some different things teaching-wise that don't translate well on the podcast fomat. it will return in december!

- the durango herald soccer team met it's demise in the playoffs yesterday...3-2 overtime loss...bummer, but a fun season!

- that's it for now...keep checking the link from last weeks post to see updates concerning the niece!

09059

for this week's post i'll refer you to my sister sarah's blog because this makes me so happy

=)

http://sarahstep.blogspot.com

08959

- world series update...red sox up 2 games to none...how is my model holding up? the red sox have walked 15 times, the rockies 3 times...hmmm. people will try to point out that game two was so much closer than game 1 (2-1 as opposed to 13-1), but the red sox walked almost as many times in game 2 (7) as in the game 1 thrashing (8). they were one hit away from breaking the close game wide open, and created many more dangerous opportunities than the rockies (for example Ortiz missed a home run, following two walks, by about three feet). anyway, there's a long way to go and the series will change dramatically in colorado (that ballpark + no DH = anything can happen), but so far the model is holding...watch who wins the battle for walks!

08859

- i have had an interesting journey this last week...the theme sems to be opportunities...here’s a snapshot...

...monday through thursday was spent, in part, preparing for and helping to pull off the annual fall fundraiser for the manna house. i’ve had the opportunity to serve on the board for six months now and i’ve struggled with my participation there for the following reasons:

a) i’m two decades younger than anyone else on the board
b) i have had a short term of service
c) i’ve never served on a board before and i’ve struggled with board “culture”
d) serving on the board seems to be a distraction from what is really important to me, namely building relationships with the clients

...but on thursday we raised over $9,000 and put on a great event...i got to show my promo video and meet a lot of the volunteers that make manna happen. new ideas are starting to surface...in a forrest gump moment i became the chairman of the planning committee and i’m starting to see how that influence can be leveraged. a month ago i saw little purpose for board membership but now i’m seeing how hanging in there with this opportunity could lead to some really cool things...

...friday i found out that a seemingly promising job opportunity fell through. by my count, this is the third serious job opportunity that hasn’t worked out here in durango. each opportunity would have altered (i.e. diminished) my role with the church. on friday and saturday i was pretty bummed, wondering why this opportunity had even come up and if i’d ever “get my chance.”

...back to thursday: chip and i met to do our yearly ctk staff evaluations...i’ve always struggled with feeling underutilized in my various ministry opportunities, but i left that meeting realizing that i’ve grossly underestimated my role in what is happening with our church community.

...sunday: rick snodgrass (head of ctk-usa) was in town last night to hang out with us and strengthen our connection with “headquarters.” rick is a super-encouraging man with an amazing story of his own. it was awesome to hear about how the ctk story continues to unfold in colorado (new mexico!), washington, and around the world. rick continually used the word “movement” to describe the ctk story.

...the thought i’m left with after all of this is that it is a privilege to play a role in this story...to be, in some small way, a part of a movement...and that this is my opportunity and i couldn’t be any more grateful for it.

08759

- so rocks and sox it is...one final comment about the patient approaches of both teams...in seven games the rockies walked 29 times (4+ per game), their opponents walked 20 times (about 3 per game). in 10 games the red sox walked 47 times (4.7 times a game) and their opponents walked 24 times (2.4 times per game). if my walks model holds up the red sox will win.

- more important/deeper thoughts tomorrow...

08659

- a couple years ago Don Cheadle did some promos for the NFL playoffs...they were amazing...they'd give me chills and i don't really like football that much. somehow, major league baseball thought it would be a good idea to do something similar...for reasons that are beyond my understanding they chose Dane Cook to do the spots. they're terrible and were asking to be spoofed. thank you SNL for coming though...if you've seen one of the real ones, then you know how aweome these are:

08559

- we've been doing this thing at church once a month that we've creatively titled "food night." that's pretty much what it's all about...a night of food...people sitting at tables, eating great food, talking, hanging out, getting to know each other better. even in a small church these moments are so important even if there isn't a secific "program" going on...just people getting to know each other a little better and enjoying excellent food.

- post-season baseball thoughts...i know if my hope for a rockies/red sox takes place you are going to hear a lot of stuff like this: "red sox huge payroll pays off," "red-hot rockies roll into the world series." (in fact, i should send those headlines into si.com). but while many may write off their successes as payroll driven (sox) or lucky/hot streak (rocks), and while there are a million factors that make a good team (pitching, especially starting pitching cannot be understimated), the ability of both of their lineups to make pitchers work is the element that stands out to me. if anyone does watch these teams play you will see a ton of patient at-bats, lots of full counts, lots of good pitches spoiled by foul balls, and lots of walks. from top to bottom both line-ups are relentless in their patient approach...something i hope the giants take into consideration this offseason.

- new jimmy eat world on tuesday...the good music keeps rolling out this year!

08459

thoughts and set list from the crowder show in albuquerque (10-9)

- opening band thouhgts...
the myriad: lame...radiohead wannabes
phil wickham: amazing...i've enjoyed some of his songs which were recorded with a full band, but last night he came out with just his guitar and blew the place away. his voice was amazing and i think he won over a lot of new fans.

- crowder...
first of all, it's been a while since i've seen crowder, and most of those times were at graceland or other "churchy" experiences, not so much a concert. this was easily the biggest venue/production i've seen him in. so, it was a totally different experience...less personal, but cool nonetheless.

the set:
- The Lark Ascending or (Perhaps, more accurately, I'm trying to make you sing)
- Glory of it All (soaring chorus and big sound...trademark crowder that is so much fun to sing in a big crowd)
- Can You Feel It (not one of my favorite songs, but it was awesome to watch them play with all the gadgetry and gizmos)
- Everything Glorious
- ...Neverending...(at this point i thought he might be playing through the new record song for song...for this song he brought out a modified "Guitar Hero" controller to play the main riff...pretty cool)
- Here is Our King (also a big chorus/fun to sing with a lot of people, song)
- My Joy (see above)
- We Won't Be Quiet (i was kind of hoping ted nugent would pop out for this one, but alas, it was not to be...if you are wondering what i am talking about, check out the liner notes in the new cd)
- Foreverandever, Etc ("Albuquerque, Behold the Keytar")
- Mario Brothers Theme Song
- A Beautiful Collision (as you can see, the set was pretty much about the last two albums...no "make a joyful noise," "our love is loud," etc)
- Never Let Go (Crowder plays the piano on this hauntingly beautiful song...one of my favorite from the new record)
- Remedy (this should be CTK-Durango's theme song)
- I Saw the Light (some bluegrass fun...called amy in the middle of this one to share)
- There Is No One Like You (finally, something from the Pre-Collision days)
- O Praise Him (All this for a King) (still one of the best corporate worship songs of all time...this is also just so much fun to sing at the top of your lungs with a thousand other people)
- Surely We Can Change (after a "wall of sound" night, he closed with this quiet number)

Conclusion: bottom line is that this was a totally different Crowder experience for me...no post-show hugs or literature discussions...always you want more and I would have loved older material as well, but when it comes to the Crowder Band there is still nothing like them in the Christian music world.

08359

- i'm going to see crowder tomorrow, so i'll have more to say after that

until then, check this out (#8)

http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/love_the_outdoors.html

08259

i want to see a colorado/boston world series...rocks vs. sox!

08159

- yesterday was the last day of major league baseball's regular season, which means that fantasy baseball is over. the final tally: rmps 110, enraged echidnas 79, tex boy's 78.5. not even close! i'm still trying to figure this out because, while i knew my team was good, i have no idea how i won by this much. it's not like the other teams in the league were not trying...there were 8 teams that made more moves than i did. and if you think it was a fluke i also played in a second league this season. i didn't really make this public knowledge in this space, but i played with some old college buddies. it was much closer but i won that league by four points as well! overall, a pretty great year for fantasy baseball!

- the new crodwer is very good...i haven't listened to it enough to really do a thorough review, but i'm enjoying it so far. not as epic as the last effort, but solid. what really bothers me, though, about a release like this (and i know i may be too biased to make this judgment) is this: worship pastors all over the country have spent the last week analyzing this album, not for it's artistic worth or what it might have to say to our spiritual condition, but rather wondering "will this song work in our church," or "is it too wordy," or "how will this play in our congregation." i could say a lot more about this, but how frustrating, from an artist's perspective, to pour yourself into something and then have it rejected or accepted on whether it "usable" by worship pastors.

- anyway, hope everyone's week is off to a good start...peace!

08059

yesterday i was supposed to run 6.6 miles, many of them working upwards against the forces of gravity, but my final trail run was postponed due to a torrential rain that has raised our beloved animas river to near record levels. i can live with that...another two weeks to prepare will be greatly appreciated...

...i am so excited to watch our farmington campus develop and grow over the next several months! one thing that was fun about this week was realizing how far we actually have come in durango...sometimes you can get so caught up in the moment that you don't realize what's been accomplished...but as i was sitting in our first farmington service i was simultaneously overwhelmed with how much needs to happen to get that group going but also how much has happened already just in durango. that experience made me appreciate both of our "core" groups of people so much for what they have done for our community...

...new crowder out wednesday!!!

my parents are here this week, so i finally get to show some boutry's what durango is all about!

peace