One of the books I’ve come across as I’ve been reading about launching a church in a post-Christian culture is I Once Was Lost by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp. They do a great job telling the stories of a number of postmodern skeptics who have become Christ-followers. They map out five thresholds that most […]
Archives for 2009
Month One
It’s hard to believe we’ve been in Austin almost a month. The time has flown by as we’ve established our residence, registered our cars, and waited in line to get our drivers licenses. Actually, the time hasn’t flown by while we’ve done any of these things, but the rest of the time it has. I’ve […]
June 29, 2009 by 2 Comments
Want to Change the World?
Want to change the world? I’ll can tell you how. But first, a story. . . In the beginning, God created a good world that very quickly fell into chaos because of our rebellion against God. Full of grace, God initiated a plan to redeem, repair, and restore his broken world. It started with his […]
May 12, 2009 by 4 Comments
Pics from the Crossfit Games
Here are a few pics of my experience at the SW Regionals Crossfit games. This version of “Grace” was not so amazing. Nothing like doing burpees in the rain.
May 10, 2009 by 2 Comments
Crossfit Games Day 2
Here is WOD #3: 3 Rounds, 21, 15, and 9 reps of Box Jumps (24 inches) KB Swings (1.5 pood) Sumo-Deadlift Highpull (95lbs) I’m a little stiff the morning. I’ll let you know how it goes. Update: Did WOD #3 in 5:48. I was able to do the box jumps and kettlebell swings unbroken. Had […]
May 3, 2009 by 1 Comment
Crossfit Games Day 1
Here are the WOD’s for the day: WOD1: 10 Squat Clean & Jerk (155lbs) Row 500m 10 Squat Clean & Jerk Row 500m 10 Squat Clean & Jerk Row 500m WOD2: 50 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups 50 Burpees The 155lb squat cleans are going to be rough. So are the 50 chest to bar pullups. […]
May 2, 2009 by 3 Comments
Crossfit Games
We’re headed to Ft. Worth for the Southwest Crossfit Games Qualifier. I’ve been training for this event for several months. I’ve got three goals: 1. Do each workout as Rx’d. 2. Finish each workout. 3. Beat one of my training partners who at this time shall remain nameless. At this point, we still don’t know […]
May 1, 2009 by 1 Comment
Following Christ in a Pluralist Society
Thanks for all the many great responses to the question in my previous post. Really good stuff. Here is my first pass at it. I’m thinking out loud here so don’t hold me to these in a gunfight. My thought process here is that ultimately a church’s “programming” should be designed to facilitate these outcomes. […]
April 28, 2009 by 8 Comments
Defining Christlikeness
In my last post I made it clear that I don’t really care whether our new church will be labeled “missional” or “attractional” as long as we’re making disciples. This begs the question: what does it mean to make disciples? If we’re going to judge the success or failure of a church based upon the […]
April 27, 2009 by 14 Comments
The $50,000 Question
If you were planting a church and were given $50,000 in start-up funds to spend as you see fit, how would you spend it? I’ve kicked this hypothetical question around with several friends and I’ve found that nothing gets to the heart of our theology and philosophy of church and ministry as quickly as the […]
April 9, 2009 by 20 Comments
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons