broken//stained//glass

Bored meetings? No way...

Last night we had a Renew board meeting.
I've written before on past board meetings we've had.
I know it sounds twisted, but I actually look forward to these board meetings.

Last night was no exception.

Before we jumped into decisions that needed to be made and tasks that needed to get ticked off the agenda I started our time by asking the question, "How are we doing - really?"

One of us shared the deep sense of woundedness over feelings of betrayal in a relationship.
One of us shared the difficulty of extending forgiveness to someone who has hurt them badly.
One of us shared that life feels like a rollercoaster - so many highs and lows in a short amount of time.
One of us shared that life seems so difficult right now.
One of us shared the feeling of purposelessness in their job (thankfully that wasn't me...)

What I thought would be a ten minute conversation ended up being an hour and a half of sharing from the depths.
It was difficult to hear.
Messy stuff.
Tough stuff.
Tears.
Listening.
Honest sharing.
Silence.

As hard as it was to hear all the junk that's going on in each of our lives I found myself thanking God for the privilege of walking authentically through life with these guys.
I found myself thinking Man, I wouldn't want it any other way!
I am thankful that it isn't a board that is all business - that it's much bigger than that.

It's sharing who we are with each other in the context of attempting to lead Renew faithfully and humbly and courageous and wisely. What an honor.

Then we finally jumped into the to-do list.
We reflected on all the many ways God has shown himself faithful at Renew in the last six months.
And we bagged on each other, laughing so hard our sides were splitting and we were crying.
And we ended the evening on our knees in prayer spending time solely thanking God for all that he had done, is doing and will continue to do in our lives and through this newly forming faith community of Renew.

What a privilege that we can cry in the midst of deep heartbreak and cry in the midst of such incredible laughter all in the same board meeting as we deal with kingdom issues.

I am so grateful for these guys!

Denise: an adventure of hope with brain cancer

Megan and I are friends with Jim and Denise Castle.
Jim and Denise were a part of our ministry in Colorado and financially support us now with Renew.
Denise, an older, compassionate, progressively-thinking follower of Jesus, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer on the last day of 2008.

In the midst of the shock of it all, she's courageously facing this battle in 2009.
Denise will be chronicling her journey with brain cancer on her newly created blog, appropriately titled Adventures in Hope.

Follow along with me on Denise's blog.
Jim and Denise: we're behind you both on this hopeful adventure!

Nintendo Wii: the icon of consumerism at its worst

I love the Wii, but this video is just plain unsettling.
Prepare to be disturbed.

After watching the video I found myself asking...
-why am I repulsed by this video? Is it just me? Am I a scrooge?
-what would children in other continents of the world think if they saw this video?
-how will these kids think about their Wii in a month? six months? next Christmas?
-how, as followers of Jesus, are we to help provide an appropriate balance between being generous and enjoying things - like a Wii - without allowing it to become unhealthy?

Watch it here.

Give Me a Story

I've mentioned this poem before, but its worth posting again at the start of this new year.
Uber-blogger Andrew Jones wrote this poem at a conference in 2001.
Each time I read it I am challenged by the implications of the Story of God and Man and the weighty responsibility to not only be missionaries in our context, but also effective storytellers of the gospel in our culture.

Give Me A Story
you want a statement to sum up the mission of God
go ahead
find your statement
make one up to help you
feel secure inside your safety cage of words
belted in by cords of cliches
locked up by logos lifted from sunday school memories

but give me a story
give my friends a story
so that they are not sentenced to meaningless lives

dont give me a story that I can easily believe in
give me a script that I struggle to understand
that stretches my faith,
that demands life insurance
give me a story that will rip me from my career
and pummel me into a quest beyond my capabilities
i need something worth dying for
i have most of my life left to give
but I need a story worthy of my investment

give me a story that I can touch
and smell
a story with real people
a story with a face.
a story with my face
my role
my place
my script
because I am
preselected to be a player
in this story that rolls its plot out in front of me
likearunawaycarpetunravellingfasterthanicanrun
in more directions than I can predict
in more colors than I can comprehend
a story that woos out my potential
and calls me
out of myself
to be who I really am

give me A story
give me THE story
give me MY story

tell me that God is bigger than you
BIGGER than your statements of ink
BIGGER than your powerpoint animations
than your projections of numbers
that make you impressed
but that make God stoop

give me a story that
makes me gloriously
a l i v e
to the purpose of God
makes me run without breath to keep up with His spirit
and at the same time
inviting me to
dance slowly
erotically
with
God
in an
end
les
s

m
o
m
e
n
t

of warm passion
nesting me in peace
and safety

tell me the story in new words
so that I dont trip over lame phrases of impotence
so that my mind does not vanillarize
over trivial expressions
used mindlessly by millions
who use words to steal mystery
from a transcendent God
who speaks freshly
with new mercies every morning
!surprises!
that awaken me from sleep mode
that spark in me new thoughts
dreams of impossible feats
daring adventures
miracles of the Almighty
performed by the hands
and prayers
of backstreet
backstage
people
in goodwill rags

you want a statement?

go ahead
i dare ya
double-dare ya
to box up The Omnipotent
to catch the Spirit of God
to nail the Son
on a cross-word puzzle

go ahead and try
but I wont hold my breath
and you wont hold the mission of God on a bumper sticker

House Churches in this morning's Intelligencer

There is a short article on Renew's house churches in this morning's (Doylestown) Intelligencer.

The article gives a pretty good picture of what we're striving to do with house churches.
When the reporter and I talked, we discussed house churches, but I also mentioned that house churches are part of our "dual expression of church," mentioning that we would be holding public gatherings on Sunday mornings some time in 2009. Wish that would have made it in there as well...

But nonetheless, its a good piece.
Here's the link if you care to read about it.

Ten Questions for Ministry Leaders: self-reflection

Ten great questions to process as we begin a new year, especially for ministry leaders (ht: Bob Roberts).

1. What is it that God has called me to do?
2. What is unique that I bring to the table?
3. What is my single greatest strength?
4. How am I organized to see the vision fulfilled?
5. How is my team organized and who is my team?
6. What three things would I do to give me a 50% increase in me area of work/ministry?
7. Do I know why I do what I do?
8. What am I most excited about?
9. What is my biggest obstacle?
10. What three changes in me would be most pleasing to God?

I think I am going to take some time over the next days to process these for 2009.
You should, too.

I'm (finally) on Facebook

I finally caved.
I gave in.
I joined the cult known as Facebook.

I may be the last 20something on Planet Earth to join (I'm as uncool as they come).
But, for what its worth, come find me and be my friend while I try to figure out this social networking thing...

The Most Significant Moments in 2008

In the last few posts I shared the Best of 2008, but in this post I want to reflect on the best personal moments of 2008. I'm incredibly grateful for all that has happened in the past year.
What I remember more than events are moments - moments that were diverse, but extremely significant. Full of life. Rich. Precious. Monumental. Unforgettable. Joyful. Moments that leave indelible marks on our lives.
Here are a few of the highlights from 2008:

• My first book was translated, published and released in Spanish and Korean.
• reaching the goal to raise funds for Joni and Friends Camp scholarships - which meant me and my friend Jerry had to have our heads shaved bald. 
• speaking at Philadelphia Biblical University's chapel services during Spiritual Emphasis Week on silence and solitude.
• attending the [Q] Conference in New York City with a good friend, which ignited many new passions, ideas and thoughts and rekindled old passions I had let smolder.
• participating in the Chelsea Art District Gallery Tour and critiquing art with Ben Stiller.
• Leading a week-long training in Maui with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and getting to bring my sweet wife along.
• being asked by Scot McKnight to read an early draft of his manuscript The Blue Parakeet. [But the brilliance of the book has nothing to do my feedback, I can assure you!]
• stepping out to begin the early stages of this crazy, exciting adventure of a new faith community called Renew.
• participating in boot camp, training and assessment for the Ecclesia Network Church Planting Training in Richmond, VA.
• conducting our first official meetings with our launch team in a bar for the first two months of Renew's existence.
• spending a week with the entire Briggs clan at the family cabin in central Florida (a tradition that has continued for five generations)
• watching some great major league baseball games at Shea Stadium (Mets) and Citizens Bank Park (Phillies) - and a dramatic walk-off home run at Comerica Park (Tigers).
• spending a sunny August day sailing across the Tampa Bay with my uncle, Megan, my brother and sister-in-law on my uncle's sailboat. 
• watching friends, former classmates and former ministry partners represent the United States in the Beijing Olympics - and medal!
• screaming my lungs out with 20 other friends as Brad Lidge clinched the Phillies' World Series, the first championship for the city of Philadelphia in over twenty years!
• spending the weekend with our launch team in Annapolis, MD (along with three other newly forming church plants) for training and team bonding and a night out on the town (what a blast!)
• experiencing an emotional and meaningful rock-dropping ceremony with my friend Brian after he made a decision to be a follower of Jesus.
• developing a relationship with Mohammed, the Imam of the mosque in our community, and continuing to learn a lot from him.
• joining Twitter
• being invited to share Carter's story and preaching at Franconia Mennonite Church for their annual Adoption Sunday.
• watching the Macy's Parade on Thanksgiving morning in New York City with Carter on my shoulders!Attending Motor City Bowl game at Ford Field with extended family. Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan isn't the most intriguing of matchups, but nonethless we had a great time in the cheap seats fulfilling a desire of mine: see a bowl game over the Christmas break.

I wait in excited anticipation for all the things that God has in store for us in 2009.

The year in photographs

Check out the 2008 Year in Review in photographs here, here and here.
It'll take you 10-15 minutes, but well worth your time.
Amazing photography.

By Faith...in 2008

Each year, the week between Christmas and New Years means I do a lot of Year-in-Review thinking.
I'm so grateful for all that God has done in my personal life as well as through The Renew Community.

I'll post some personal highlights in a little while (stay tuned), but check out this post on the Renew site as we look back on 2008 with gratitude before we look ahead to 2009 with great excitement.

God has been so good.
soli deo gloria.