Global Diaspora Network
Amazingly 1 billion people are living outside the country of their birth. There are only 7 billion on the planet. I don’t want to discuss the politics of this (right now ) but it is amazing what this means for starting churches and for helping people become followers of Jesus. In the video below notice … Read more
Brilliant! Evangelist types
This is just brilliant. I love how Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim describe the different types of evangelists out there. Here is the diagram they use: They go and define the four types pretty clearly. You’ve got to get the book (Permanent Revolution) to read the whole thing and honestly the book is really worth … Read more
Ruth and Boaz: a romantic comedy
I was watching an instructional video earlier this week and here’s a soundbite, “The past is like a foreign country, they do things differently there.” – Ben Witherington III I’ve been thinking about this for a while now that reading the Old Testament is kind of like watching a foreign film. It’s kind of the … Read more
Spinning TV heads
So I just started a fast. This time not around food but frameworks. Odd, but I’m talking about the story plots I carry around with me in my head. I thought I’d take some time to clean out some of the story lines. You know what I mean. Just ask what the story line for … Read more
Spreading a great idea
An idea is the most contagious thing. Jan Wessele and I talked to leaders at the Western Europe Call to All conference this month. Together we encouraged a personalized evaluation of ministry in Europe. We showed how ministry to the Last, Least, and Lost can be used to diagnose the ministries we do. It shows … Read more
New way to Diagnose European Spiritual Need
The European spiritual landscape is as diverse as its cities and populations. The gospel of Christ may be simple and straight forward but the context into which we want to bring the gospel is complex spiritually, physically and socially. The complexity of this landscape highlights the need for a robust framework for understanding it. The … Read more
Getting to the tipping point
I just read this great article by Michael Hyatt “The Difference a Little Extra Effort Makes” He introduces a new book that tells you about going the extra little bit. At 212 degrees water boils and can power machines. Get your life from 211 degrees to 212, make the extra effort. Super. But how do … Read more
Not the sanitized nostalgic nativity of suburbia
This Christmas season (2011) I’ve been reading in Matthew’s Gospel. As with my reading in John’s Gospel I have combined the reading of Scripture within an historical theological commentary. Sometimes it gets a bit cumbersome and I long to simply embrace Jesus but I recognize that it’s important to school my thinking about my Savior … Read more
surprising findings in the Nativity
I was surprised by what I read today in Matthew’s Gospel. It was it near the end of chapter 2. The five versus basically go like this, Herod, who wanted to kill Jesus for fear that Jesus would replace him as king, died. Joseph, who took the family to Egypt, is told the good news … Read more
Truthful society
I found something to be really quite interesting in a book called “Truth and Transformation: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations” by Vishal Mangalwadi. obviously the the book is trying to talk about nations and society. He makes his comments, that I find so interesting, on the heels of discussing knowledge and how knowledge and the … Read more
