Echoing Green, one of my favorite social enterprise groups, just let me know that they are looking for their 2012 crop of Fellows to support next year. They are hoping more women will apply this year, and also internationals, minorities. Check it out on their blog. They had 3000 applicants last year and only 20…
Read MoreThe Nines Conference.
Hey I just remembered that today is the Nines conference which is the best online conference I know of. Over 100 speakers. 5 minutes each. And this year its PERSONAL with many of the speakers sharing about their family and their time and other stuff. I am speaker number 13 and I thought I had…
Read MoreSouth of the Poverty Line: Eating Better
Are you a newbie to poverty? A recent migrant to redundancy? A casualty of the recession? Welcome to South of the Poverty Line! It might be a bummer that you’re here but its not the end of the world. In fact, it might be the beginning of a meaningful journey. It has been that for…
Read MoreHey children!
We are camped about 15kms from Ephesus, Turkey. So this morning, being Sunday, we passed the Bible around the family and each of us read a chapter of Ephesians. What stuck out to me was when Paul addresses the children directly: “Children, obey your parents.” 6:1 This letter would have been read out to family groups…
Read MoreEpoch2011 giving away $50,000
Big event tonight in Atlanta at the Fox Theatre. I received an invitation to be a part of Epoch 2011 but unfortunately, I am in the wrong part of the world tonight. From what I can see, the event is a celebration of Christian ministry and creativity. I like the idea of making the selection and…
Read MoreTheo Presents available as app
My kids give a HUGE thumbs up to the Theo Presents app for their ipods. It’s fun and interactive although it does take up a fair chunk of space. My family got a personal tour of the Whitestone studios in Burbank early this year (thanks Bruce) and they love watching Theo teach the Bible. Theo…
Read MoreAround the world with Global Challenge
At our campground in Turkey last night we met a group of South Africans who were traveling the world on a Global Challenge expedition. We invited them over to our truck for a Braai (South African style BBQ) and some Rooibos tea. I don’t think they had been eating very well and they were thrilled to see…
Read MoreAgainst the Tide, Towards the Kingdom
“We changed our language from a “simple lifestyle” to a “generous lifestyle.” We went with less in order that others could have more.” Jenny and Justin, Against the Tide New book that I highly recommend and just mentioned on my “Choosing to be homeless and poor” post. The book is called Against the Tide, Towards the…
Read MoreWWPD?
We are near Ephesus, Turkey. My wife forgot her bag in the shower at our campground this morning. I told her she should be glad she is not married to Pat Robertson. What would Pat do? Some thoughts on Pat Robertson and the horrible thought of trading in your mostly dead Alzheimers wife for a…
Read MoreChoosing to be homeless and poor
Last week was a wake up call for Americans on the subject of poverty when it was discovered that poverty had risen to 15.1%. The number of Americans in poverty is the highest since counting began in 1959. The USA poverty line is an income of US$22,113 a year for a family of 4. That…
Read MoreEuropean Church Planting Survey
Hey. If you are starting churches in Europe then we need your input. There is still time to get your information into a survey hosted by some friends of mine. Go here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/eurochurch IT’S ONLY 5 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME. COME ON!!! I noticed that most of the groups represented are European or American mission…
Read MoreEasy Divorce among Evangelicals
If easy divorce is the latest church growth strategy for evangelicals, then why don’t we just start giving altar calls for unhappy couples at the end of our services? I’m joking, of course. But the truth is not funny. Check this out . . . QUESTION: Why did 120 Coptic Christians in Egypt recently leave…
Read MoreRowan Williams on Fresh Expressions
“I believe very strongly that whether we’re talking about inherited models of church or fresh expressions, the real heart for the next generation is pretty well bound to be in those small groups of people working at their relationships, at their understanding, together, quietly, in the long term.” Dr Rowan Wlliams, Changing the Landscape It…
Read MoreIsland church reopens.
Church of the Holy Cross is a 10th century church on an island in Turkey. Yesterday, 3000 Armenians came to church, most of them standing outside to hear the mass on the loudspeakers because there was not room for their yearly service. Story here.
Read MoreRugby World Cup
Update: IT HAS BEGUN!! These sites will keep you up on the games: Sportal, Allblacks.com, Stuff, and NZ Herald Rugby World Cup. As a Kiwi its my duty to offer an apology to all my friends from England, South Africa and Australia for the solid beating you will receive at the World Cup which starts in a few days in…
Read MoreJacob in the Koran
It’s September 9 again. Welcome to the second Blog a Koran Day, an opportunity for non-Muslim bloggers to blog a short passage from the Koran. I am writing this from Turkey where I took my family to visit The Blue Mosque a few days ago in Istanbul. Here is my passage from the Koran: And…
Read MoreThe World’s First Megachurch
Istanbul: This morning I did a tour of the world’s first megachurch. The Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia in Turkish), opened in 537AD. The original name given to the first construction of this church (360 AD) was “Megalo Ecclesia”. Translation: MEGA CHURCH. Hagia Sophia is one of the Top 20 largest churches in the world if…
Read MoreHow does your church rank on the Informality Scale?
How much does your church resemble the community around it? Contextuality is a hot issue. Pyromaniacs have posted a lot on engaging the culture over the past year. Emerging church folk have popped up on the other side to defend it. Even I had some response to John McArthur’s “Contextualization is a curse” rant. More importantly, there…
Read MoreHanging out in Istanbul
We are taking a week’s holiday and we chose Turkey. We arrived in Istanbul yesterday. Amazing, wonderful, historical city. The people are REALLY REALLY friendly and I totally recommend all my friends to come to this country to visit and enjoy. Last night I went out with my son, Sam, who is with us for…
Read MoreFresh Expressions Gathering in UK
There was once a movement in the churches in UK back in the 1980’s and 90’s. It was called “alt. worship”. Then the movement discovered some colleagues on the other side of the pond and the movement was renamed “emerging church”. Then some bishops waved their hand and rechristened it “Fresh Expressions”. It was…
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