[4 1/2 weeks till russia...]

If you haven’t heard through the grapevine, I’m heading back to Russia in a few short weeks to spend time with my favorite Yurievets orphans. Yurievets is a small, dying village on the Volga River about nine hours outside of Moscow. It’s a gorgeous little place nestled in the pine forests of Mother Russia. The kiddos here are awesome… full of life and eagar to kick our butts in soccer (they don’t like playing American football… they says it’s for sissys)! At any rate, here’s a blog dedicated to the trip, complete with photos of the orphans and my team of friends.

Yurievets Blog

[hip hop jesus...]

Wanna know what the cutting edge of the American church is? How about a DJ scratching a record on stage, street thugs rapping lyrics about gang violence and Christ, pool tables in the lobby, garage doors on the front of the church… and more bling bling than Mr. T in a diamond mine. Enter the new church Street Life Worldwide in Houston (website God Aint Mad At You). Pastor Levi is a hip hop, passionate leader with a vision to reach the gangs and tough boys of his city… check him out and give him some props.

doing nothing…

My wife and I have been having an ongoing conversation concerning the Sabbath. What does it really entail? Do we really slow down, rest, take a load off, or are we just as busy as we are every other day of the week? Most people consider their Sabbath to be either Saturday or Sunday. However, that’s not our reality. Most Saturdays I’m busy preparing a talk to give at K2 the next day. On Sunday I normally arrive at church at 7:30am and take off around 2pm. The rest of the day is filled with additional work or meetings with K2 people. When do I Sabbath? Monday. That’s my day to decompress and let my hair down… all 1/4 inch of it. But here’s the challenge. Do I work around the house? Do I labor on the lawn, detail the car, reroof the house? Or do I REALLY rest. And what does that look like?

Enter Gordon Atkinson’s article on doing nothing. He took an hour one day and simply stared at the sky. Here are his thoughts on what he saw…

This is what sustainability in life is all about.

[expotential conference...]

Today I’m in Orlando with several thousand people for a great emerging church conference called Expotential. Simply amazing.

Exponential is a cross-denominal gathering designed to connect, inspire, equip and challenge church planting leaders. And by the way, Kensington and K2 are getting some airtime for the church planting technique we’re using. How fun!

[rob bell spoof...]

[jesus inspirational sports figures...]

Jesus Sports Figurines – a quote from their website:

“Handpainted resin statues on a solid wood base are the perfect gift for every young Catholic athlete. These statues portray Jesus actively participating with boys and girls in a variety of sports. A wonderful way to reinforce Jesus “as friend” in everyday activities.”

Humm… I don’t even know what to say.

[mother russia...]

I’m heading out to Russia in June to hang with some rocking orphans in Yuryvets (9 hours outside of Moscow). In preparation for the trip, I often scour the web for fun sites depicting Russian life and culture. Here’s one of my most favorite sites: EnglishRussia. It’s a really unique site that gives a hilarious and sometimes sober look at life in a country that represents 1/6th of the planet.

[note the date on this quote...]

“It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity.”

Frederic D. Huntington
Forum magazine, 1890

[the jesus of suburbia...]

I’m reading a new book I picked up a couple days ago by Mike Erre entitled “The Jesus of Suburbia – Have We Tamed the Son of God to Fit Our Lifestyle?” Initially I was suckered into picking up the book by the cover (insert old adage here)…. I’m totally graphic/design hound. At any rate, turns out this is going to be a great read. I tackled about 40 pages yesterday and hope to devour the book by the end of the week.

Here’s a sound byte: “What if everything you’ve grown up knowing about Jesus is wrong? Mike believes that we have lost the real Jesus right in the middle of Christian prayer meetings, Bible studies, and worship services. ‘We have never really embraced the messages and movement of Jesus Christ as a call to revolution, ‘ he writes. ‘Instead, we have gotten comfortable with a watered-down, white-washed, religiously safe version of him.’

The Jesus of Suburbia paints a disturbing picture of an imitation Jesus many have been taught to worship, on that little resembles the revolutionary, life-transforming Jesus of Nazareth. It ask whether we want to be swept up by the real Jesus into a culture-impacting movement of God, or are we satisfied with merely living for comfort and financial success in the status quo? But take notice: Jesus’ real revolution is not of the faint of heart or the middle of the road. It is not safe and it is certainly not comfortable.”

[the most critical issue...]

…facing Christians is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, drugs, racism, sexuality, or school prayer. The critical issue today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn’t change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore; He changes them into “nice people.” (maggidawn.typepad.com)