Prague: Nice gathering at Sir Toby’s pub yesterday for church. We brought our dog along and he wasn’t the only dog. I really DO admire a church where someone can bring their dog, order a beer, and sit on a comfortable seat. Next week this church moves to Prague’s newest and greenest hostel/hotel called Mosaic…
Read MoreEmerging Church Jello Begins its Wobbly Descent
Soooooo the emerging church jello plastered on the walls of historical memory by uninformed critics finally begins its slow, wobbly descent, revealing that not all that was said about emerging church leaders was accurate . . . as I have been saying for a LONG TIME. Here's some quotes you might appreciate: "I don’t attend…
Read MoreLunch with Christian Entreprenuer Mathias Schwender
Today I am in Prague and I just had lunch with Christian social entrepreneur and businessman Mathias Schwender, who joined up with New Yorker Chris Syvertsen to open up Prague's newest and most environmentally friendly hotel/hostel called Mosaic House. You may have read about it recently on the New York Times article "Green Hotel and…
Read MoreKiwis are UNBEATABLE and UNDEFEATABLE!
OK – you have been expecting me to say something about the New Zealand's spectacular undefeated appearance at the FIFA 2010 World Cup . . and here it is. Paraguay could not beat the Kiwis. Slovakia???? Nope!! Not even Italy, the defending world champions, could beat the Kiwis. That's because the KIWIS ARE UNBEATABLE! And…
Read More“Out of the Doldrums”
I just posted a new banner and called it "Out of the Doldrums". Its from a photo we took last month while driving through Tirana, Albania. These old communist apartments were all grey and horribly depressing, as they still are in many countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. But a new generation of post-communist…
Read MoreEmerging Church Retreat?
Kester asked me to read his post yesterday called Has What Emerged Retreated? Returning to the Institutions, and give some comment.
Read MoreScary Facebook Friend Requests
Some of my recent friend requests on Facebook have been quite SCARY: I accepted this one . . . and even this one . . . but not this one! UPDATE: Ok I just looked this last guy up and apparently he does a stage production of Charles Spurgeon and does NOT actually look like…
Read MoreJarrod McKenna, a voice downunder
Jarrod McKenna, my mate from Western Australia, gets interviewed by Mark Tronson. Worth a read. Snippet: "Christians have an under pinning belief in justice, this is at the core of Jesus' teachings. Christians from the 'generic gospel devotional books' know instinctively about justice issues, whether that be climate justice, human trafficking, peace or whatever, they…
Read MoreNew Zealand Draws 1-1 with Italy in World Cup
Now things get interesting at FIFA World Cup. Need I say more? More details on why they should have won at NZ Herald.
Read More35 Things About Moishe Rosen
I found out recently that Moishe Rosen died on 19th May at the age of 78. He was the founder of Jews for Jesus and someone who made new ground in the idea of contextual evangelism, especially in the area of Jews who follow Y’shua. Last time I saw Moishe was a J4J event in…
Read MorePage vs Screen
“We are reading more text, writing far more often, than we were in the heyday of television.” from Steven Johnson, Yes, People Still Read , But Now Its Social”, NY Times. Johnson’s earlier book “Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software” was superb and I highly recommended reading it to understand emergent…
Read MoreRedefining Success
“What happens when our churches define success — not by how many people are coming into a building — but how many people are leaving a building to take on the nations with the Gospel?”David Platt, SBC annual meeting
Read MoreHow to Survive a Christian Bookstore: #2 FINDING YOUR HAPPY PLACE
So, you still want to buy a Bible from a Christian bookstore but don’t want to drown in a sea of mozzarella? I get it. Welcome to Part 2 of my series “How to Survive a Christian Bookstore”. You have read How to Survive a Christian Bookstore: #1 EMBRACING THE FEAR and so you already…
Read MoreKindergartens: Impact AND Sustainability?
Observation: Running a kindergarten (a little school for little kids aged 3-5) might be a new way for new [emerging] churches to impact their community and become more sustainable at the same time. Last week in Macedonia, we listened to leaders from the Glasnost community in Skopje talked about their kindergarten for Romany children. They…
Read MoreTransform 2010 and the law of preferential attraction
Why do missionaries always go to the same places? The same reason why most of mission funding goes to the same organizations (something discussed at the SBC Annual Meeting today in the GCRTF report). The answer? It happens because of what someone called the “law of preferential attraction”. He who has gets more. Big web…
Read MoreThe Skinny on the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Report
Today is the BIG day! At the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Florida, The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Report [read it here] is presented and voted on. Quite historic, actually. Big Al Mohler wrote some thoughts last week on how important this document might be for the future of the Southern…
Read MoreA new blog editor for me
I finally gave up on ecto blog editor after it constantly crashed on me and I was losing posts. I hope they get ecto stabilized in the near future so that I can return to it. I have been a huge Ecto fan and a user of its predecessor Kung-Log. I have even had the…
Read MoreGlasnost, Balkans and some reflections from our gathering.
Balkan Connect was a really good experience. One of the questions running through my mind was "What is God doing in the Balkans?" and I feel like I got a few answers. Here are some moments from the gathering you might appreciate. On Sunday about 25 young people come over to our campground for crepes,…
Read MoreSmelly people in church
Here's a great story from last weeks mission meetings in Edinburgh about the beginnings of the world's biggest church. "Once a woman missionary asked Cho, ‘Reverend, why are there only sick people in this church? I can’t stand the smell. How can our holy Lord come to this smelly place? Try not to gather these…
Read MoreRocking the Cradle: Historical Adventures in Deep Ecclesiology
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia. Its really beautiful here and I am looking forward to the Balkan Connect gathering that has just started. I get to flap my lips tomorrow with a look at some of the movements that have shaped the church and brought us up to this moment, in particular the emerging church movement that…
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