Getting Sticky With Larry Osborne
There are certain ministry leaders who really have pretty phenomenal insights and Larry Osborne is one of them. Osborne is the pastor of North Coast Church in Vista, CA and the author of several books, including Sticky Church and Sticky Teams.
Today I had the opportunity to spend some time at Larry’s house with him and several other ministry leaders from around the country to talk about the value and implementation of small groups.
Although there are many different perspectives on what it means to have effective small groups, Osborne truly seems to have his finger on the pulse of what effective groups look like.
If you are in ministry I definitely encourage you to look into his book Sticky Church.
What are you reading that is shaping your perspective on life, work, faith, etc.?
Posted on May 16th, 2011 by David | 16 Comments »
Are Christian Social Networking Sites Actually “Unsocial?”
Let me just start by asking the question, “is the very idea of a Christian social network, unsocial?”
Second let me say that I don’t necessarily know the answer to the question but I do have some thoughts on the matter and I am hoping that you will be willing to share your two cents and further the conversation…
With that being said, it was Friday when I first started wrestling with this question. I came across a site called “Sanctuary” which is essentially a Christian social media platform like Facebook, where you can create profiles, make groups, post comments, the works. And it is exclusively for Christians.
Now on one level, I get the idea of wanting to have a meeting place for like minded people. I personally enjoy getting together with like minded people and talking about things we have in common so the virtual Christian “piazza” makes sense on that level.
However, I begin to have trouble with the concept when I think of it in the context of the the great commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
What bothers me the most is this seems to be yet another way that the Christian community is trying to isolate itself from the rest of society, rather than going out to meet it. It seems to be another way to put up walls, draw a line in the sand and essentially give the impression that Christians are better than everyone else. Rather than being intentional about connecting with those who do not yet know God there is a desire to retreat from them. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on April 13th, 2011 by David | 19 Comments »
The Saga Continues: an interview with martin bashir about his interview with rob bell…
I truthfully thought I had wrapped up all my posts about the whole Rob Bell ordeal. However, this evening I got a comment on my previous post about Martin Bashir’s interview with Rob Bell, linking to a radio interview of Bashir on the Paul Edwards Program.
Although I had never heard of Paul Edwards before, I thought it would be worth a listen considering all of the discussion that the last post brought up. This is quite a long radio interview but it was very interesting.
So for the sake of following this story I thought I would pass along the link to all of you who are following the saga.
To listen to the interview simply click the link below.
Paul Edwards’ interview with Martin Bashir
image via Paul Edwards’ “God and Country” blog
Posted on March 22nd, 2011 by David | 7 Comments »
Rob Bell Responds: an interview with martin bashir
About a week ago I dove into the controversy surrounding Rob Bell and his new book, Love Wins. The point that I made and still very much stand by is that it is important to have all of the facts before making judgements about whether or not Rob Bell has strayed from true, Bible based Christian theology. The promo video for the book seems to indicate that he is veering into dangerous waters in terms of some of his beliefs but it is not 100% clear. For this reason I said that I think it is important to gather more facts ie. read the book, before making the type of harsh statements that have been made by many individuals.
Well Rob Bell helped us all out by subjecting himself to the questions of MSNBC’s Martin Bashir. Below is the interview and unfortunately it seems to confirm many of the concerns about his theological positions. While I still plan on reading the book for myself, hearing Rob attempt to answer direct questions about his beliefs leaves me disappointed…I had hoped that his answers would be different.
Watch the video and post your thoughts about Rob Bell’s responses.
Posted on March 15th, 2011 by David | 40 Comments »
The Controversial Mr. Bell
About five years ago I was introduced to Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids Michigan. Rob created a film series called ”Nooma”which in an artistic way walks people through a wide array of issues and topics that we deal with in everyday life. Truthfully I really love the series and have a good number of them in my own resource library.
Recently however Rob has come under fire for his new book, Love Wins (which is being release on March 15). A lot of the controversy has stemmed from a promo video for the book in which a number of statements are made that seem to run counter to Christian theology. Interestingly enough these judgements are being made in most cases without having even read the book.
While I too agree that some of his statements in the video are concerning, I’m going to reserve judgement until after I read the book. We live in a day and age where provocative advertisements are the norm even within many churches.
In the end I may agree with some of the statements of criticism that have been made in regards to the book and Rob Bell’s theology, but I strongly believe that it is unfair to write blog post, or send tweets that discredit the man without any concrete evidence that he has in fact taken a theological position that is not in alignment with the Bible.
Here is the promo video for Rob Bell’s book, and even if you find yourself in disagreement with comments he makes I would encourage you to read the book for yourself before making any final decisions about him and his theology. It’s important to have all of the facts before such determinations are made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ev4VdNbBPA
Posted on March 7th, 2011 by David | 6 Comments »
It’s Christmas Time
Just had to pass along a video made by New Life Church in Renton, WA. I had the privilege of serving on staff with these guys for several years and I saw a lot of great videos produced but this is definitely one of my favorites.
Posted on December 22nd, 2010 by David | 1 Comment »
Let It Be Christmas
I thought all of the creative Christmas production ideas had been taken until I came across this one the other day.
Props to Marion First Church of the Nazerene. If only I lived a little closer I would definitely attend.
Posted on November 24th, 2010 by David | No Comments »
The Value Of “Hip”…
I recently started reading a book called, Hipster Christianity by Brett McCracken (@brettmccracken). It’s a book that examines the question, “what happens to the church when our concern with appearances equals or outweighs our concern for sound doctrine or faithful practice?” This is not an easy question to answer and yet it’s a great question. A valuable question. A scary question. It’s a question that I have wrestled with on my own over the course of the last couple of years and I admit that at this point I still don’t have an answer. So let me pose some questions. These are questions that hopefully will spark some valuable dialogue on the subject and further our understanding of what it means to be a Christian. If you have thoughts on any of these questions please leave a comment.
- Is it important for the Church to be seen as “cool” or “hip” in order to attract people or should we let the Gospel speak for itself?
- Do we spend enough time living out our faith and engaging in dialogue with people about what we believe?
- How does focusing on being “cool” impact what a person focuses on when they attend a church service?
- Where is the balance between having a well programmed service and a show/production?
- Has the Church become consumeristic in nature? If so how and what are the ramifications of this?
- Should Christianity be “hip?”
Obviously this is a big conversation but it’s an important one to have.
As I read Hipster Christianity and engaging in this dialogue with you it is my hope that we will all gain a better understanding of how the be the Church that God intended us to be.
Posted on November 23rd, 2010 by David | 5 Comments »
Face Chasers
I work with some funny people. Check out this great video they produced while “working.”
Posted on June 2nd, 2010 by David | 1 Comment »
Assimilation
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately looking at how and why people come to a church and what makes them stick. It’s an interesting thing to evaluate because there are so many factors that come into play, things such as denominational affiliation, upbringing, music style, kids, website, whether or not they were greeted when they arrived, etc.
At New Life I think we do a pretty good job of getting people connected, but as with virtually everything there is room for improvement.
A couple days ago I posed a question on my Facebook page along the lines of, “what is the best way to make someone feel welcome at church?” I got a variety of answers but one of the things that stood out the most was the idea of a genuinely friendly welcome. Now that sounds like common sense but how often do we just go through the motions on Sunday morning of greeting people as they enter the building? Do we really see each person for who and what they are? Or are they simply a body coming to fill a seat.
As I spend some more time on this topic I hope to find some ways to remind myself and those on my team just how important each person is who walks through New Life’s doors. They’re not just numbers…they are lives…souls…people who God wants to have a relationship with.
Posted on March 8th, 2010 by David | 1 Comment »
