Designer and blogger
@ryanimel: Just tweeted that silliness for a couple of free apps. I feel dirty.
There will be a lot of letters of resignation turned in after that conference. Pastors, worship leaders, and even children’s ministers will leave churches they have poured themselves into for years. They will leave to follow their true passions, their true calling – something which has been nipping at their heels without a name for as long as they can remember.
Rob Bell brought that nipping into question last weekend. He gave it a name and a face. He said “turn around and chase that down.”
I asked for questions the other night. I had a couple humorous replies. I laughed. But this is what was actually asked and (paraphrased) what was answered.
Is the purpose of all of this God business strictly to get to heaven? Most churches will use this language when preaching the gospel, this reasoning for having faith.
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Tonight I looked at my friends, the ones who came with me, and we all said the same thing. We didn’t even have to speak it. We are simply euphoric.
Bell was giving us gold tonight. Pure gold.
Oh, and I have 25 pages of notes. 25.
Bell opened his 9:00 session briskly – I think this is the best way to describe it – efficiently saying “open your Bibles to Colossians 2.” He’s very direct and challenging – I love it. Oh, and Bibles are handed out while scripture verses are referred to on the screens (see right) and it’s up to you to turn to the verse. It’s awesome – don’t go to Mars Hill if you want to be lazy.
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Tonight I sit on a hotel room couch in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two friends are in the room nearby – one likewise on his laptop, the other one crashed in bed already. I can’t really blame him though, it has been a great day already – one full of lots of driving in the snow (yuck) and free-dinner-eating (yum).
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My lovely RSS picked up an interesting feed from ChurchRelevance.com tonight. They have listed their Top 25 Most Innovative Churches in America and I found a couple things noteworthy. There are certain listings which I am not all too familiar with – such as LifeChurch.tv, the number one spot – but I am aware of many of the other listings.
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This was originally published in Issue 3 of The Huntingtonian on November 9, 2006.
What is the purpose of church, and how important is it to bring people in and keep them around?
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At a recent group discussion of the topic “Should Women Serve in Ministry” I was struck by something (which I consider to be) odd. When the question was proposed, near the end of the discussion, ”Who of you would be comfortable listening to a woman preacher/pastor/whatever at your church?” My hand went up, as did many others. More of the men raised their hands than anyone else.
“Who would feel uncomfortable?” All but a few women raised their hands.
Interesting.
Don’t worry – he was gentle.
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Interesting philosophical idea presented to me (and others) today by a very smart man: institutions, no matter what goal(s) they are founded on, will ultimately turn and make self preservation their primary goal.
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Over the summer I discovered I would have the opportunity to work at Aboite Lutheran Church with my main focus being in marketing. I took this opportunity (as an excuse, really) to visit larger churces in the area – most of whom I have admired in some way or another for some time.