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Beautiful city...  Beautiful Music...  Beautiful Call.

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Orlando...Austin...Atlanta.....and next, Uganda.

Ok, I'm diving back in to the blog.  It's been way too long.  My lame excuse: I've been running 200MPH since a few weeks before Easter with writing, travel, etc... and blogging just hasn't been that high on my priority list.  Sorry faithful folks.

So anyway...  Rather than try to knock out a bunch of amazing blog posts, I thought I'd throw out a few random thoughts of what's been happening over these past few weeks.  Here we go:

• Easter.  This year's Easter weekend The Orchard was a record-breaking weekend!  Our teams did an amazing job and I think my head is still spinning after a HUGELY successful Helicopter Easter Egg Drop.  All I can say is WOW.  If you missed the video review, click here.
  
  
• Orlando.  Had a great time at Exponential in Orlando.  Exponential is sort of a like a big family reunion (but without the weird uncle and the funky potato salad).  This is actually the largest church planting conference in North America and one that I would definitely encourage all church planters to attend in 2010.  Had fun teaching a session with Gary Lamb (did he really say "wanker"??) and then participating in some great conversations in the Exponential Lounge with guys like Erwin McManus, Francis Chan, Dave Ferguson, Craig Groeschel, Matt Chandler, and others. 
  
  
• Austin. After a couple of days home I found myself in the amazing city of Austin, TX to be a part of Q.  Q is one of my favorite gatherings of the year.  It's small and all about influencing and changing culture.  Think TED format.  Loved connecting with a bunch of friends - both new and old.  People like Kem Meyer, Mike Foster, Jeff Shinabarger, Tim Stevens, Alan Hirsch, Kyle Zimmerman, John Burke, Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, Gabe Lyons, Mel McGowan, Charles Lee, and a bunch of other amazing people. Next year, Q will be here - in Chicago!
  
  
• Austin II.  All I can say is - what a cool city.  And with a slogan that's all about keeping it "weird" what do you expect??  Check out a few photos I posted in Facebook.
  
  
• Jackie Huba.  Writer, Author, Speaker, Blogger, Marketing Guru-ess, co-founder of the Society for Word of Mouth.  Forbes calls her work "the word of mouth gospel."  Anyway....  Had a chance to grab lunch with Jackie while in Austin.  That was worth the trip alone.  If you don't follow her twitter you need to. 
  
  
• Atlanta.  Orange.  It's THE premier and the BEST family ministry conference in the flippin' universe.  Loved being a part of this and having the opportunity to share The Orchard's story and some thoughts/ideas on the topic of navigating change with a room full of Lead Pastors and Senior Leaders.  Just wish I could have stuck around for more than a few hours, but was glad to be able to hang with a few of our staff who were attending and introduce them to some killer Korean BBQ. 
  
  
• Uganda.  In a couple of weeks.  More on this later, but looking forward to getting my heart messed up by this trip. 
  
  
• Study.  It's what I should be doing right now.  So I'm done.  Hopefully back in the groove of blogging.  We'll see.  Thanks for the encouragement folks.

Meet Dave Gibbons!

I’ve gotta be honest... I am blown away at the caliber of people God has surrounded my life with.  I'm serious.  The leaders, pastors, entrepreneurs, creatives, artists, etc... who I've had the opportunity to get to know and become friends with over the years is something that I am so grateful for!

One of those people is a very new friend of mine by the name of Dave Gibbons.  Dave is....umm...let's  see.  Well let me just paste in what Zondervan says about him:

Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet and spend some time with Dave while at The Idea Camp in  Irvine, CA.  In fact, not only did I have the privilege of spending some time learning from Dave, but  SOMEHOW......I also found myself sitting between him and Eugene Cho during a Leadership Q&A  session at Idea Camp!  That was quite an honor... (even though he made me eat this.)

SO ANYWAY....with all that said, there’s two things I want to tell you about:

First...

DAVE'S BOOK.  The Monkey and the Fish.  I read a lot of books, but seldom do I read one twice.  I'm already half way through my second reading...

It’s hard to describe how much I have found myself resonating with Dave’s heart through his book.  Plus, watching how God is using him, not just in SoCal, but also in places like Bangkok, India, London, Mexico City, and multiple other cities, is stretching and challenging me in some unbelievable ways.  (You can read about my visit to NewSong Bangkok here.)

Second...

THE VIDEO.  The other thing I want you to know about is this video interview recorded last weekend by Eugune Cho (who you also need to get to know...).

On a side note, Dave will be speaking at this year’s Leadership Summit at Willowcreek. 

Lastly, here’s some linkage.

Dave’s Blog

Dave’s Twitter
NewSong Church
Buy the Book

Get to know Dave Gibbons folks.

This, that, and the other....

Anthony Bourdain is hangin' in South Asia right now.  Kinda jealous.  Especially after what I just saw outside on my driveway.  Several inches.

Apple Insider's review of the new Apple iPod In-Ear Headphones.  I hate the standard headphones that they give with the iPhone and iPod.  C'mon, whose ears are shaped for those things???

Ben Arment has some good conversation happening on "mission statements" VS. "mantras." 

Found this new site.  If you're into design it's worth checking out.

Just downloaded a Christmas album called Advent Songs.  It's a nice, eclectic mix from the folks at Sojourn Music.  And it's free if you tell five people!

Have you seen this great new site?  It's called I Am Second.  Thanks to Jason Boucher for the link.

My foot is asleep right now.  Hate that...

Watch & hear Sol Sender talk about how they designed President Elect Obama's campaign logo.  Fellow Chicago folks btw.

I have no idea why I thought of this, but did you know they have Shakey's Pizza in Tokyo?  I remember walking through the Takeshita-dori district (I think...) and seeing one.  For some reason that blew my mind.  Apparently, they're all over there.  Anywho.

Lastly, I've linked to this guy before, but holy smokes.....his amazing food photos make me miss Thailand like crazy!

To bed I go.  G'nite.

Sunday Morning......A.D.D. post

I'm sitting in my office getting ready to go out and speak at our 10:45am service, so I thought I'd throw out a bunch of stuff that's spinnin' in my head.  It's been a while....  Plus, I noticed that I received the hatchet on Ben's blogroll.  So I figured I better blog again SOON.  :)

• Very, very convicting talk this weekend...  Teaching on the subject of "expectations" in our relationships - week #3 in our series, "Inked." 
  
  
• Had a great time at the Related Leaders event in Peoria, Illinois this past week.  Talked a lot about change and expounded on three important questions for pastors: 1) Who has God best positioned us to reach?  2) What is it going to take to reach them? and 3) Am I willing to pay the price? 
  
  
• REALLY enjoyed touring the Dream Center Peoria while I was there with Aaron Escamilla and a few guys from The Orchard team.  Riverside's work in Peoria blows my mind!  Definitely inspired the daylights out of me!
  
  
• Our Christmas Eve Candlelight service planning is well underway!  This is one of our largest attended events of the year.  Last year we had four services.  This year we are planning five spread out over two days.  It's a ton of work, but we see it as quite a privilege and an AWESOME opportunity to reach TONS of people who don't normally attend church. 
  
  
• Barack Obama is our next President.  Wow...  What a historic election!  And let me just say...  Christians who are freaking out about this election are getting on my nerves - BAD.  Grow up and trust God!  I don't remember seeing fear, anxiety, and worry listed as "fruits of the Spirit."  Let's pray for President-Elect Obama and ask God to guide and direct him as our new leader.  I think God can bless that a heck of a lot more than He can bless all the badmouthing and disrespectful attitudes. 

Ok, with all that said....it's time to go teach!  Have a great Sunday!

Benched!

My buddy, Jeff Shinabarger, continues to inspire.... 

Check out what he's been up to in his East Atlanta Village neighborhood. 

Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

Side note: Jeff spoke at The Orchard last month.  You can download and listen here.

"The Gospel in All its Forms" by Tim Keller

A great article by Tim Keller, The Gospel in All its Forms, is now available online at LeadershipJournal.net. 

I recently heard Keller teach this at a conference and it was probably one of the most helpful explanations of the Gospel that I've heard in a long time. 

Read it here.

keeping a pulse on culture

Received this email last week.  Thought I'd post my reply in case it might be helpful to anyone else.

"I’m in the process of reading through tons of blogs, which incidentally, is how I happened on yours.  I’m a 45-year-old white guy who is the “minister of music” at a 50-year-old church.  Our church is in the beginnings of what is going to be a painful change in terms of trying to become more “relevant.”  My question for you is how do I “catch up” culturally on a personal level?  I have a 19-year-old son who has done a pretty good job of keeping me from fossilizing (I have a Facebook, do Twitter, and I’m about to be blogging myself) but I was wondering if there are some books you could suggest, some activities to engage in, or some other magical pill that would aid me in the process.  Any thoughts you can give me would be most appreciated."

MY RESPONSE:

Great question man...  How do you "catch up" on a personal level.  I'm not sure I have a real black and white answer for that, but I guess if anything, I'd suggest that keeping yourself fresh on a cultural level can happen a number of ways....  Here are a few off the top of my head:

1. Read blogs!  Subscribe to a number of blogs that seem in touch with culture (and not just ministry blogs...): Ragamuffin Soul, Eric Bryant, Ethur Blog, Joe Thorn, Steve McCoy, Arts & Letters Daily, Boing Boing, Jordon Cooper, Seth Godin, Tim Stevens, Church Marketing Sucks, Tony Morgan, Dave Ferguson, Kem Meyer, Tallskinnykiwi, Johnny Baker, Catalyst Leader Feeder.  (Gosh, there are so many more....but there's a start.)
   
   
2. Subscribe to some magazines that are in touch with current culture.  Here are a few I subscribe to: Fast Company, Wired Magazine, Relevant Magazine, Collide Magazine
   
   
3. Subscribe to some podcasts.  Here are a few of my favorites: This American Life, VH1 Best Week Ever, The Relevant Podcast, TED.
   
   
4. Get rid of the PC and buy a Mac.  :)  Ok, I'm sort of kidding.  (keyword: sort of...)
   
   
5. Twitter and Facebook.  Everyone's doing it and it's a great way to keep a pulse on a lot of different cultural conversations.
   
   
6. Read a lot of books.  A few recommendations:
   
   Pop Goes The Church by Tim Stevens
   The Reason for God by Tim Keller
   Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren
   A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren
   Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
   Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
   Prophetic Untimeliness by Oz Guinness
   The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
   unChristian by Gabe Lyons
   They Like Jesus, But Not The Church by Dan Kimball
   
   
7. Browse new and most popular music in iTunes.  This is a great way to hear what's happening musically in our culture.  The 30-second snippets are great!
   
   
8. Go to some conferences that will stretch and challenge you.  A few recommendations:
   
   Catalyst Conference - it's BIG, but you'll get a good feel for what's happening among young leaders.
   Innovate - none will be as good as last year's (that's when I spoke, ha, ha...), but this is a great conference put on by my friends from Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana.
   Q - Expensive, but DEFINITELY a unique conference that asks the question, "How can the church begin INFLUENCING culture?"
   
   
9. Visit some churches who are DOING IT.  A few that I have my eye on:
   
   Imago Dei - A beautiful missional church in Portland.
   Community Christian Church - Naperville, IL (The best at reproducing I've ever seen)
   Granger Community Church - Granger, IN - Using pop culture to their advantage in a HUGE way.
   Mosaic Church - LA - Creating culture.
   NewSong Church - LA - Love the global thinking at NewSong.  The more I learn about Dave Gibbons, the more I want to crawl inside his brain.
   
   Dang, there are so many...  I can't even begin to list out all the ones who are making it happen. These are just a few.
   
   
10. Listen to your son.  Like you mentioned, he will keep you up on what's happening.  Since teens CRANK at technology and media, they are up on what's going on culturally better than anyone.
    
    
11. Be yourself.  No matter what, be yourself.  Don't TRY to be like anybody else.  Our culture can sniff that a million miles away. Doesn't mean there won't be room for improvement or opportunity to have a better grasp on culture, but you will be at your best when you are being who God made you to be. 

The question I'm asking right now is how do we move BEYOND imitating culture and into CREATING culture?  That's my dream.  To create, impact and move culture in a way that makes our churches irreplaceable. 

BUT....before we can do that, we have to make sure we are in tune with where culture is at right now.  The church hasn't always done a great job at that - proven by the fact that MOST churches are CHASING culture (because MOST are years BEHIND it.)  But the church's best days are when we are no longer chasing or imitating culture, but actually shaping it!

Q: Jud Wilhite | Expression

Jud Wilhite
Pastor, Central Christian Church, Las Vegas

Spending time in NY...  Felt really small.  In LV, feels the same way....

Standing in front of huge casino......realized.....the culture war is over.  WE LOST! 

It was so liberating because began to envision new ways of engaging culture...impacting people.

Culture war - as defined in 80’s and 90’s by religious conseravtives was a posture towards/against our culture.  That bred moral superiority....  “We’re right - you're wrong” attitude.

The posture we take towards culture:

A posture of grace over judgment. 

Religious leaders were the ones that ultimately put boundaries and walls up...

To be spiritual and mature is to be approachable.  And to the level I am approachable to those outside the faith defines the level of my maturity.

Jesus was MOVED w/ compassion.  Posture yourself......in all channels of influence....grace over judgment as you interact w/ other people.

Began seeing himself as a dream champion.  Finding entrepreneurs, artists, etc... And releasing them!  To GO into the culture where they work and live in and transform it from the inside out....

It’s relational....life on life.

Do you know the dreams of the people in your church?

A posture of love over inaction.

1 Cor 13 - love, defined not so much as a feeling, but as an action.

Not so much love against hate, but love against inaction.

Are you empowering people to love?

Incredible stories of business leaders in his church who are having powerful impact on local culture.  It took a church community that would release and empower him.

A posture of truth over inauthenticity.

Bible talks about being TRUE.  “in the truth”  “Living in the truth”  “being FILLED with truth”

If you give people GRACE and then show them love, they begin to trust you and once they trust you, you can tell them the truth.  And once you give them truth, they trust you more and more.

The world is looking for people who will be authentic in a COMPLETE way and make a difference with their actions.

Biblical truth over inauthenticity.

The Bible is clear that there is such a thing as truth.  We can wrestle w/ how we apply it, wrestle w/ it, etc...  But at the end of the day, my goal is to lead people to the truth - Jesus Christ.

Conversation doesn’t end here.  Keep it going....  Let’s find new ways to help people experience that door and be changed from the inside out.

Q: Shane Hipps | Downside of the Digital Age

Shane Hipps
Downside of Digital Age
Pastor of Trinity Mennonite Church, Author of The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture

Student of media and culture...Worked w/ Porsche...

"Gospel of Porsche"

“The medium is the message.”

“The content or message of any particular medium has about as much importance as the stenciling on the casing of an atomic bomb.”  Marshall McLuhan

The medium IS the message.

Christianity is FUNDAMENTALLY a communication event....God revealing himself to the world.

How you understand communication is how you understand God.

Printing Press - assembly line....from how we make cookies to build cars.

Affected everything that followed - including architecture.  Why pews were invented after printing press....

Didn’t just affect our physical space, radically altered our imagination.  Changed to a very simple linear sequential formula. 

Apologies for sin + Believe in Jesus = Go to heaven.

What is the impact of the DIGITAL AGE?  HUGE question....

Between 1840-1890 - slew of uninterrupted inventions that changed the communication structure of the west.  They all harnessed power of electricity.  Electronic age. 

Chief invention - photograph. Gave birth to image based culture in the west.

Image reduces our capacity for abstract thought.

“The boy is sad” - words on screen.  What is the affect?  Not much....

Image of little boy crying - what is the affect?  If you’re human, you’d say it makes me sad.

Same content - 2 different media.  Radically different influence.

Pictures worth a thousand words - problem w/ statement assumes that these two mediums are interchangeable.  They’re not - fundamentally different forms of discourse. 

“The boy is sad” - a sequential statement., rational, abstract, left-brain

Image - intuitive, concrete, right-brain

What happens if we move to image mode of communicating?  It begins to reshape consciousness of our civilization.  We become right-brained.  From left brain linear sequence to holistic intuitive experience.

CT asking...  “Is our gospel too small?”

That question would have been unthinkable in print age.  Is it too compressed?  Too small?  Now, we start using words like “holistic” “concrete incarnation”.....  All of this is a consequence of image based culture.

None of this is a surprise to God.

Reason God used so many creative medium to convey his revelation - Burning bush, donkey, etc...  Ultimate medium for God’s revelation found in the person of Jesus Christ.

In Jesus Christ, the medium and message are perfectly united.  If Christ is perfect medium and we are the body of Christ, what does that say about us?

It says that YOU are the message.  Not what you say, but who you are.

We are the gospel message.

This gospel, this message can reach through the darkest suffering to bring about infinite reconciliation and redemption.