As a church staff person involved in planning weekend services, it’s always interesting to hear people talk about their church experiences. Sunday evening I was invited to a dinner party at a friend’s home with about 15-20 other people. I didn’t know everyone, and as the conversation turned to church, I discovered they were from… Continue reading words in worship
Q really is pretty unique as far as conferences go. It’s about 4 things: Culture, Future, Church, and Gospel. And it studies our culture’s seven channels of influence: Church, social sector, business, education, government, arts & entertainment, and media. Q’s wide range of speakers address how we as believers can proactively and positively influence our… Continue reading Thots on Q
A few soundbites from the speakers on Q Day 1: “The real definition of insanity is trying to achieve dramatically different results by doing the same thing better” ~ Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways “We aim at teaching beginners (new converts), but you can’t “program” spiritual growth. That only happens through suffering. So… Continue reading Q quoteables
I’m leaving today to attend the 2009 Q Conference, meeting this year in Austin, Texas. What is Q? “Q is a gathering where church leaders and cultural influencers from the fields of business, politics, media, education, entertainment and the arts are exposed to the future of culture and the church’s responsibility to advance the common… Continue reading headed to Q
One of the hottest buzzwords regarding the Church today is the term “missional.” Is your church missional? Should it be? Biola University recently produced an article, The Church in a Missional Age, which outlines much of the debate surrounding the term. Written in a simple 101, 201, 301 format, it clarifies meaning and views, both… Continue reading missional church – short course
In our new series, “Scars” which started this weekend, we talked about the scars each one of us carries – both visible and invisible. The message clearly explained the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and how His scars can heal our deepest wounds, “once and for all.” To create an interactive/participatory moment in the… Continue reading Easter @ South Hills
Last night I had the opportunity to hear Bill Lobdell speak, promoting his new book, Losing My Religion. Bill is a former reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a born-again Christian who lost his faith while covering the Religion beat. To understand his journey, you should first read his personal story, an eye-opening account written… Continue reading losing faith
Last week the Local Government Association in the U.K. published a list of 200 words which it says should no longer be used by local councils. LGA chairman Margaret Eaton said: “The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases.” A lot of these are clearly what you’d call industry “buzz” words. And… Continue reading banning jargon
About a month ago, we declared our church a “No-unemployment Zone.” We handed out cards across all our campuses and anyone who wanted to could fill one out and mark one of two boxes: I’m employed, but commit to pray for those in my church family who need work, and I’ve been laid off or… Continue reading a no-unemployment zone
A friend of mine who is pastor of a large student ministry here in southern California recently wrote about something unusual that happened to him in a meeting with the senior pastor. “Last pastoral staff meeting my pastor addressed the room saying, ‘We don’t hear enough from the student ministries about how they’d run the… Continue reading a courageous question
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