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do we (i) get it?

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The Gospel that is. Do we? Do I get it? This section from Keller’s study on Galatians have floored me this weekend. I couldn’t help but brokenly ask myself, “Do you get it Zach?”

Another way is to bring classist, nationalistic, or racist attitudes from the world into the church. Many Christians belong to classes, groups, or personality types that we had always disdained in our lives outside the church. Working class Christians may have a distaste for Christians from wealthier or more socially “refined” backgrounds and vice versa. Christians from one political persuasion may be upset by the presence of those from the other end of the spectrum. Very talented Christians may feel unhappy that people they have always considered mediocre are part of the church. Socially polished Christians feel uncomfortable around believers who are socially awkward or marginal (and again vice versa). If we have fairly strong ties to an ethnic group (e.g. WASP, Hispanic, Chinese, African American), we may feel uncomfortable around people whose cultural emphases are different. We may respond to all this as Peter did. We will sit by “those other people” in church, but we won’t “eat” with them. In other words, we won’t really become friends with them. We won’t socialize with them, sharing our lives and homes and things with them. We will keep relationships formal and see them at official church meetings only. This, of course, is a serious lapse. It stems from a general feeling of superiority. Our hearts, without the gospel, have to manufacture self-esteem by comparing our group with other groups. But the gospel tells us we are all unclean without Christ and all clean in him. [emphasis me]

Oh it burns… It should. Sit in it with me and allow God to do His thing. Thanks for stopping by today…

winter…

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first snow 2008 c

It snowed here yesterday, which was beautiful, but with the snow and the cold comes longing for the warmth. I thought I’d share this picture and the lyrics to a song that I listened to yesterday, that brought encouragement to my soul. May your heart, and my heart, be melted today by the only one who can truly warm it, Jesus.

Winter by Shawn McDonald
Sometimes I feel like winter, cold I feel
Icicles are forming; It’s hard to tell what is real
Cold winter, cold winter day
Frost is on the windshield and it’s hard to see
The air is like slivers and it’s hard to breathe
It’s a cold winter, cold winter day

Warm me up inside
And let Your face from me not hide
‘Cause You are what I long to find
To melt this cold heart of mine
‘Cause when You are around
I am found

Sometimes I feel like the prodigal, a wandering weary son
Gone in search of something beautiful,
something to make me one
It’s a cold winter, cold winter day
The world is full of lies that will only rob you blind
Hit ya’ when you are not looking, and steal away your time
It’s a cold winter, cold winter day

Warm me up inside
And let Your face from me not hide
‘Cause You are what I long to find
To melt this cold heart of mine
‘Cause when You are around
I am found

Warm me up inside
And let Your face from me not hide
‘Cause You are what I long to find
To melt this cold heart of mine
‘Cause when You are around
‘Cause when You are around
When You are around
I am found

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hip hop and christianity…

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I found this very, very interesting. I find it interesting, because the hip hop culture is so far reaching. I’ve seen how far reaching it is, as I’ve watched and observed it within the Czech youth culture. It has made me think a lot about ministry here among the youth. Warning, he might make you squirm at one point, but this is good stuff. What is interesting is that it’s much more far reaching than “a nation” (America), but the globe! So what is this language of hip hop doing here? I’m not sure, but I’m paying attention to it. After all, it’s a language that exists within and above normal ‘languages’. Okay, I’ve got to get back to some commentaries and notes…

inspiration in my ears…

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So write now I’m sitting here enjoying one of these:


Yummy… They just switched to the Christmas cups and I was compelled to enjoy one! I guess… So I’m in between my Czech class and doing some prep for a sermon I’m doing at church this weekend, and I thought I would blog some inspiration that has been in my ears over the last few days. I’m not procrastinating, I’m trying to catch my breath between things. It’s especially hard for me to transition to anything worthwhile after Czech class. In other words, Czech class kicks my butt, even when I have, the rare, good day like today! So here I am blogging wanting to share some inspiration with you. This inspiration comes in the form of 3 songs, here you go:

[Read more…]

not another blog…

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Okay, I’ve posted on what robs me of my time, productivity and staying on mission, and it would seem that in our day and age of immediate information this will be a battle I fight for the rest of my life. Well, this weekend I got to catch up with a friend who told me about marketing guru, Seth Godin, his blog and his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us; and in doing that, some of my time has been robbed. However, I think it was for the good. As I’ve read his blog and etc., I’ve had many “hmmm” moments and “what does that mean for me here” moments. Check it out! He also just put his ebook, The Tribes Q&A, up and I’ve been looking through it a bit. Here is his answer to the first question, Why do people join tribes?:

We all have a basic need to connect with other human beings. Making friends, connecting with others, sharing experiences, keeping up with popular culture, and keeping up with current trends and developments in your community all are ways and reasons for connecting with other people. When you connect with others in a fashion that allows you to develop a relationship that is especially useful, these long-term connections can be very helpful in guiding you through your life, as well as aid you in feeling happy.
The following are some of the types of more specific motivations for joining tribes:

    Purely Social: To feel less alone and to connect with people (near or far) to pursue shared interests.
    Values + Social: To connect with others who share the same values in a social setting.
    Cultural + Social: To share experiences with natives of the same country, to speak the shared language and observe cultural traditions together.
    Business + Social: To develop relationships with others in the same industry or expand network into other industries/markets.

Really, his thoughts are very intriguing to me. Why? Because I think this stuff applies to marketing, ministry, life and more. It’s interesting and has me thinking about things a lot. I really want to get my hands on his book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, for many reasons, but this quote from From Publishers Weekly, had me at hello!

The book’s helpful nuggets are buried beneath esoteric case studies and multiple reiterations: we can be leaders if we want, tribes are the way of the future and change is good. On that last note, the advice found in this book should be used with caution. Change isn’t made by asking permission, Godin says. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later. That may be true, but in this economy and in certain corporations, it may also be a good way to lose a job.

Okay, I need to get rolling and get some stuff taken care of, since “I find peace in productivity.”

a day that changed everything…

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Today, my dear Czech friends, and the whole of the country, celebrate the 19th anniversary of the fall of communism, with the Velvet Revolution that took place 19 years ago! It was truly a day that has changed everything in this country and I don’t think it can be said clearly how big of a day that was! So I wanted to give you some links to educate yourself. Here is Wikipedia on the Velvet Revolution and here is the official website of the Czech Republic’s thoughts on it. Take a quick look and while you take a quick look at these sites and these pictures…




…please pray for this country on the anniversary of this very, very big event! Pray that the freedom they have known for the last 19 years, that is largely political, would come up wanting to them and they would long for a deeper freedom. With these thoughts and prayers of/for freedom, I was reading parts of Vaclav Havel’s (for another good little link check this out: Vaclav Havel in his own words) New Year’s Address to the Nation in 1991, and was taken back by several parts of freedom:

* It has become clear that the legacy of the past decades we have to cope with is even worse than we anticipated or could anticipate in the joyful atmosphere of those first weeks of freedom. New problems are emerging day by day, and we can see how interconnected they are, how long it takes to solve them, and how difficult it is to establish priorities.

* A year ago, we all were united in the joy over having broken free of totalitarianism. Today we all are made somewhat nervous by the burden of freedom. Our society is still in a state of shock. This shock could have been expected, but none of us expected it to be so profound. The old system collapsed, and a new one so far has not been built. Our social life is marked by a subliminal uncertainty over what kind of system we are going to build, how to build it, and whether we are able to build it at all. {emphasis added}

Interesting indeed. I know that Havel is far from perfect, but his quotes from that cold night so long ago, to me, still linger in the cold of air of tonight. Has the state of shock faded or has it just been drowned by the West and Capitalism, the whole time still being there, but never really being addressed? I’m not sure. I do know that I’m committed to Czechs experiencing a deeper freedom than they have ever imagined, and I guess I deeper freedom that I could have every imagined as well. So here’s a big, “Na Zdravi” to the 19th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and Freedom!

sign up! {slightly updated}

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That sexy logo you see above is a little magic from my stud of a graphic designer friend, Mike Gorter, (Mike did a sweet skyline of Prague for me, thanks again Mike!) and a bit of tweaking on my part. I like how it came out. I wanted to blend the old, classiness of Prague with a very contemporary, urban font and after trying some 20 variations our staff team sided on the first one, which you see above. So you can head over to the AIA site to read more about the project, and if you are a college athlete pray and consider joining our wonderful staff team, in this wonderful city, for a wonderful month next summer, and then tell your friends to do the same! Be a Revolution today!

lessons from a ‘failed church plant’

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While reading one of Steve McCoy’s lots-o-links I was taken to a great post, on lessons from a ‘failed church plant’, over at Mike Edwards’ blog, Part of the Story. I know, i know I just posted a post about how blogs rob me, but this blog did no robbing, it actually led to praying and pondering. He, obviously, talked about lessons learned from a “failed church plant” and they were challenging to me, as I always have an eye, or at least a glance out of the corner of my eye, on the future and and hopes/dreams/prayers that I have. These are simple and it would seem that one, who is planting a church, should acknowledge them before hand, but all too often it isn’t until after these things happen, which makes sense, I’m grateful that he had the courage, to help others learn from what God has taught him thus far. Here is the simplified version, but click HERE to read the full post.

  1. Plant GOSPEL identities, not programs or services.
  2. Plant TOGETHER, not alone.
  3. Be faithful, not cool.
  4. Be humbled, not overconfident.
  5. Live it as a family FIRST, don’t use your church as a crutch.
  6. Don’t go after people, pursue the God who will raise them up.

inspirations & robbers

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A few weeks ago, I read an entry, from Matt Chandler (pastor of the Village Church) and I’ve returned to it several times, because it has made me think much about my life. I recently, posted a link where I mentioned being an expert procrastinator (which sadly I think is an epidemic of my generation, because we have grown up with too much information. Which makes me wonder about future generations!), and I’ve been thinking about things that lead to that and adversely things that lead away from that. Chandler’s post that has made me think often was entitled Inspiration. He shared his inspirations and then a list of things which “robbed me [him] of zeal for Christ and His mission,” which for me was a list that leads to idleness and procrastination. Here are Chandler’s two lists:

Inspirations

  1. Early mornings and hot coffee
  2. The writings of John Owen (at the time it was The Mortification of Sin)
  3. Listening to Lauren sing
  4. Walks through graveyards (I know this is weird but it reminded me of mortality)
  5. The book of Hebrews
  6. Robust dialogue on ecclesiology or missiology
  7. Sermons by John Piper
  8. Angst-filled music

Robbers

  1. Watching too much TV and spending too much time online
  2. Staying up late for no reason
  3. Following sports too closely
  4. Being physically lazy
  5. Empty conversations (talking for hours about nothing)
  6. Idleness

Here are mine, after thinking and praying about this for quite some time (you’ll see some parallels):

Inspirations

  1. A strong cup(s) of coffee
  2. Preaching and teaching from John Piper and Mark Driscoll
  3. The Psalms – especially Psalms like 13
  4. Walking through Prague with good music cranking into my ears, while praying and laying down life, mission, work, relationships and more at my Savior’s feet.
  5. Big, sweeping epics, that is films
  6. A dude and his guitar type music
  7. Good, deep theological convo, that makes me want to read, study and pray more
  8. Good convos with people that challenge and inspire me, but also who like to listen to me. (is that possible? ;-))

Robbers

  1. Too much time on chicagobears.com, nfl.com and the endless list of blogs I want to follow
  2. Relationships lacking depth
  3. Facebook
  4. Late nights, that are late for no reason, as opposed to late nights that have great reason!
  5. Not being productive and getting things off the lists (I find peace in productivity)
  6. Not finishing things I’ve started (i.e. blog posts, I have so many half written posts)
  7. “Trying” to relax, instead of just being

I’m sure there are more that I could add to either of those lists, but that is what I’ve been thinking about. What are yours?
(HT – Reid)

beautiful creativity!

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A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo

Oh my…. This is unreal! Thanks for posting this on facebook Christy! What is even cooler is you can head over to A Short Love Story in Stop Motion to see pics and read notes about how it was made. I watched it several times. Yes because I’m a hopeless romantic at heart, but also because it is so beautifully creative! It makes me want to go and create! Ah… The tension. I love what I do, but I wish I could dig into something this beautiful. We shall see. I hope you enjoy it as well! I want to watch it again, but I have to do my homework for Czech class. Tak, na shledanou…

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