Quiet Rhythms

early evening...april 4...a shot rang out...

a communicators best friend (if you have a mac)

a few years ago, i took advantage of the demo version of onenote by microsoft. it was very useful, and the only thing that i had a hard time letting go of in the world of microsoft. i still have the old windows laptop laying around, and it does great for cruising around on the internet, but that is about it...

then, a year and a half ago, i stumbled upon a free (but accepting donations) website that offered a program called journler. if you have a mac, then you should consider checking this out. this organizational powerhouse integrates well with all of the mac programs that you would use on a day to day basis, and also allows you to record audio and video directly into your entries. with one click you can send an entry to mail...

the current version (2.5) is still free (but accepting donations), but the word on the street is that when 2.6 comes out, there will be a fee. i will be happy to pay the fee, but i would recommend that you give it a spin while its free and decide if you like it.

Good Friday

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed our message?
To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the LORD's presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows* that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God's paths to follow our own.
Yet the LORD laid on him
the sins of us all.

7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.*
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.*
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man's grave.

10 But it was the LORD's good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the LORD's good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

putting on a missional mindset

a great light house training put on by the north michigan district of the wesleyan church this past sunday.

A Missional Mindset – thinking about the outside to determine what we do inside.

Way too many times we think about the condition of things inside the church to determine what we should focus our ministry on.

Example: Church Planting

Why has Missional thinking become closely connected to Church Planting…Because there is never a reason ‘in the church’ (i.e. too many people coming, too many people serving, too many people in radical discipleship groups, too much money that you do no know what to do with…) to plant. The reason to plant is because of what is going on outside the church which is tens, hundreds, thousands and millions of lives that have not realized God’s grace and truth in their life.

Church planting creates a missional mentality because initially…A church doesn’t exist. Initially you only have a community to reach; and outside to think about.

Impact’s Story
Impact is a church plant that began public services in October 2003. With a vision to plant three churches in five years and ten in ten, God is doing incredible work and through the lives of an adventurous band of Christ followers. A coffee house culture emphasizing authentic relationships and true biblical community are at the heart of what God is using to make his impact known.

Three Right Motives
• Missio Dei – Joining God on His Mission
o Are we getting behind His where he is working?
o It was obvious in planting the God was way ahead of us.
• Incarnation – Becoming he Incarnational
o Are we ‘entering’ our community to bring goodness, release, recovery and freedom?
o Our job is to enter the community.
• The Kingdom of God – It’s more than the church.
o Are we aware of Kingdom activity in our community?
o Our job was to see where God was working and get on board with that.

Ed Stetzer in his book Breaking the Missional Code outlines this process as follows:
• Seek Calling from God.
• Exegete your Community.
• Examine ways God is working in your community and similar communities.
• Find God’s unique vision for your church.
• Adjust your visions as you learn and live out your collective calling.

murder in the big top

here is the final 10 minutes or so of act two of murder in the big top at the dogwood center in fremont. this comedy murder mystery dinner and auction is the third in an annual production. this was more than just a night of fun, it was also to raise funds for the PCA. The evening was sponsored by and proceeds given to the Newaygo County Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

it was a great evening and i made some horse-riding buddies.

now, i'll give you a hint: emily is one of the clowns that show up at the end. but it would be too easy to let you know who the other local celebrities are. so...see if you can guess. leave a comment with who you think these people are, and make a promise that you won't laugh at them if you see them around the county. ok...never mind that last part...enjoy...

lessons from the ugandans

we were treated to the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda on Sunday night. my daughter was very eager to connect with some of the children, so i got my girls out of school today to go and spend some time the Watoto children on their day off.

while the kids sat together and ate pizza, i watched them and spoke with one of their adults leaders about life on the road, what Uganda is like, and my trip to the dentist tomorrow.

i think what sticks out to me was their rootedness in the moment. i am sure if i were to follow them around for a week i would find moments of boredom that lead to discontentment; i'm not writing to address every specific moment. i am impressed by how second nature it seemed to be to them in our conversations to very quickly look for the silver lining in the situation. i say that this translates itself at a deeper level into a form of contentment that i don't see often enough in myself. you be the judge of how often your boredom leads to discontentment which leads to walmart.

even as they have been gone 6 months and will be heading home in one month, there was a moment of eagerness in their eyes to get home, but very quickly the conversation went to the beauty of the moment we were in.

i mentioned that i imagined that everywhere the kids went people wanted keep the them forever. the adult in the group laughed and said 'yes, but we want the kids to grow up ugandan.' thank God for His Church, not just here in america, but throughout the world. we have a lot to learn from each other.

the sex talk

thanks for sticking this up mikky.

here are the points for the guys who asked over in hodson (ps. see if you can do something about that smell.)

5. He needs you to be proud of him.
5. She needs you to be a good dad.
4. He needs peace and quiet.
4. She needs the bills to be paid.
3. He needs you to look good.
3. She needs to trust you (open and honest)
2. He needs a playmate.
2. She needs conversation.
1. He needs sex.
1. She needs affection.

i met this girl...

my friend mikky has a great suite-mate, laura. whenever i hit a creative block and need a break, i go over to mikky's youtube sight and watch the candid camera that goes on there. this is very random, but it was an honor to communicate with this victim of mikky's sense of humor.

talking about 'sex' at iwu

chris mikesell invited me in to do a coed-devo with the hodson and evans hall community to talk about sex. ok, it doesn't have much to do about sex, but it was a lot of fun to watch the hodson guys stand at the door to the room that we gathered in and yell out, 'sex in here, sex in here'. i'm not sure if the room filled up any more after that, but i think i saw a few extra guys slip in. mikky altman set up the macbook to record the talk and will have it on youtube soon, which will seem a bit strange, but i'll get it linked up here as soon as it is up.

the students have been spoiling me here by swiping me into unlimited coffee at mcconn and food.

it's time to go meet alyssa, jessie, krystal, nikki and trent for lunch, so i am out.