A video from IHOP sharing about what happened during the attacks:
Blatant Attack on Christians in San Fransisco
November 20, 2008Imagine a group of Christians, praying and worshipping peacefully on a street corner who are suddenly surrounded by a mob who curse them, begin to assault them, even going as far as attempting to molest them, and finally having to be rescued by police in riot gear.
This is probably happening in some foreign nation know for it’s intolerance and persecution of Christians right? No, it happened last week in San Fransisco, USA! The group was a prayer ministry connected with IHOP and they were in a known ‘gay district’ of the city peacefully praying and worshiping.
I’m not sure what is more appalling to me - the attacks themselves or the fact that by-in-large the news media basically ignored this. Are you kidding me? Talk about an incredible bias! Can you imagine if the roles were reversed? There would be a national outcry! It seems though, that there is an open season on Christians and churches.
Christians (and really people of all faiths), while keeping an attitude of love, need to be very aware of what is going on and speaking out against these injustices. We need to pray and really discern the times. I will be following this a little more over the next couple weeks.
Check out a LifeSiteNews.com report on it here.
Sticky Church
November 17, 2008One of our servant-leaders at CWL (thanks Em!) passed on an article to me about a new book coming out called Sticky Church.
It looks like a good book. Check it out here.
Remember Hoop Dreams?
November 17, 2008Remember Hoop Dreams? The hit 1994 documentary that followed two young basketball stars from Chicago as they tired to ‘make it’?
This past weekend I read an update on the two young men - one is actually a pastor now.
Quick Personality Test
November 14, 2008For our Office Team Development yesterday at CWL we did quick personality surveys to discuss and compare our approaches, weaknesses and strengths. I’m most familiar with the DISC system but I tracked down a survey from Gary Smalley that divided personality types into the four groups of Captain, Social Coordinator, Steward and Navigator.
It was a little simplistic and therefore probably not as scientific but it was great for a quick introduction to the concept and discussion among our team.
Check it out here.
Slide Show: Bishop Johnson’s 60th Birthday Celebration
November 13, 2008A couple weeks back my wife and I had the opportunity to attend the 60th birthday celebration for our pastor Bishop Flynn Johnson. For the entire weekend they had a professional photographer, Shawna Herring, capturing the festivities and she put together a beautiful slide show of the weekend.
Check it out here. (You may recognize a familiar face or two)
Kaka stands for Christ
November 13, 20082007 World Footballer (Soccer) of the Year Kaka is a bold, outspoken Christian. He recently was part of a BGEA Outreach in Brazil.
I love seeing men/women of God rising up in the different spheres/realms of culture.
Check it out here.
Missional Mandate [Church Unique Notes]
November 12, 2008One of the books I’m currently studying is Church Unique by Will Mancini. I have not read a lot of books on Vision/Mission but this one is definitely the best that I have seen. It is really helping to me to clarify what we are doing and why.
Here is a couple good quotes from my reading today:
“Focus is the ability to eliminate everything that falls outside of the simple ministry process… it is the most difficult element to implement” (pg. 105)
“Christ is our foundation. The Holy Spirit is our power source. The Word contains our blueprints. Our people are the living stones… Guided by a stunningly unique, movement-oriented vision, saints collide with the Savior, the Spirit and the Sacred Text. Jesus had a movement oriented vision; with compelling and beautiful simplicity…” (pg. 119)
“Leaders in today’s church carry holy orders from Jesus. As his body, we must champion the cause of the kingdom, ruthlessly avoiding what Reggie McNeal has described as “mission amnesia.” The clarity and vitality of hte saints that God has entrusted to your care depend on it” (pg. 120)
“We can’t slip into seeing our commission as a “Great Suggestion”" (pg. 121)
DeMar DeRozan: You gotta check this guy out!
November 12, 2008ESPN’s TrueHoop passed on this video of DeMar DeRozan, a freshman at USC.
He is unreal - check out the highlights
Dwayne Wade Buys Church for His Mom
November 11, 2008Interesting feature on Dwayne Wade buying a church for his Mom…
