ChurchPlanters.com Conference Bloggers
Here is the list of the bloggers at the roundtable. Have at it.
www.shawnlovejoy.com
www.garylamb.org
www.jayganble.com
www.travisjohnson.net
www.genejennings.com
www.chriselrod.com
www.rogerblackmore.com
www.jonathaneverette.blogspot.com
www.brekonelmwood.com
www.jasonaldridge.blogspot.com/
www.greenhillscc.blogspot.com
www.fatguyinalittlecoat.blogspot.com
www.douggregg.blogspot.com
www.moviepastor.typepad.com
www.youcanknowGod.com
www.gregoraham.blogspot.com
www.joshuagregory.net
www.byron-harvey.com
www.launchachurch.com
www.thinkinginprogress.com (Jason Salumun)
www.theresurgence.com/es_blog (Ed Stetzer)
Jesus, Mary, and Their Son
During the conference today I caught a blurb on Drudge about Jesus, Mary (his wife LOL), and their son!? I come back to the cabin and it is dominating the news. Response? If Jesus was married, had a kid and was buried and died, I quit Christianity.
Keep an eye on the story to find out what I’ll be doing with the rest of my life. I can give you the spoiler though. It’s a joke. Baseless and comical. But, CNN and the rest of the gang will trot out these guys for a couple days to promote their book/movie. Unfortunately, there will also be some hyped up, insecure Christians running around hyperventilating. Pass the popcorn, please.
Related articles:
Churchplanters.com Conference Day One
Joe and I arrived at Mountain Lake Church this morning and were greeted by about 200 super friendly volunteers. They were great. Shawn Lovejoy opened the conference discussing "Mission Drift." From there, we went to Gary Lamb’s session on "Going All Out for the Disconnected." Gary is unique…a really decent guy with a focused heart.
Then, Ed Stetzer was on fire. He came off extremely on target discussing relevance and the priority of the Gospel. It was personally challenging. He used or coined the phrase "Seeker Comprehensible." I like that and find that incredibly appropriate.
My favorite part of the day was the time with other pastors/planters we got to hang out with. Chris and I have hooked up (which between he and Joe, gives me two body guards/bouncers). I linked up with this guy, Landon Reesor. He pastors Encounter Church in Stamford, CT. I really like this guy. I like how he thinks. We all ended up at Chili’s and got to shoot the breeze a bit more. Jason Salamun grabbed dinner with us as well. He is prepping to start a church in South Dakota. He works for a large insurance group with a massive office down the street from us. So, maybe we’ll be able to twist his arm into hanging out with us at Life Pointe sometime soon.
Other blogs following the Conference: Technorati
Churchplanters.com pre-conference
After stopping in Gainesville last night for dinner with Chris Elrod (a dainty little chap), we made it in to the Atlanta area around 2 am. I woke up this morning looking out over the valley in Elijay, GA before this morning’s Churchplanters.com Conference kickoff. Joe and I counted over a dozen deer coming up the mountain last night. Incredible. It seems like half of our church owns cabins up here. They call them vacation homes. I eye them suspiciously as an exit strategy from the buzz of life in Miami.
Anyway, I’m here. I didn’t get a speeding ticket while going through some backwoods Georgia village (I’m convinced that some of these towns finance city operations off of people going to and from Florida). I’m ready to hang out with guys like Chris, Tadd, Gary, Shawn, Dave, Michael, and enjoy a great conference. I’ll keep you updated.
Cracker Barrell Homestead
It has been open for a few days…been there twice. I dig it.
Lee University Representin’ on AI Tonight!
Phil Stacey (Lee U. alum) rocked it tonight. 1-866-IDOLS-12 to vote for the bald guy. Chris Sligh from Seacoast Church rocked as well (Seacoast talks about it on their blog here). The Blake guy with spiked hair was spot on.
ChurchPlanters.com Conference
I just got the final schedule
for the ChurchPlanters.com conference in Cumming, GA at Mountain Lake Church. IIt stars Monday and is totally sold out. I can’t wait. I’m also looking forward to the bloggers’ roundtable discussion they’ll be hosting.
Homestead Miracle Baby – youngest ever
Baby Amillia born here in Homestead to Eddie and Sonja Taylor at 22 weeks is the most premature baby (10 oz.) on record to survive. That is incredible. 25 weeks is the age of viability. Another cool thing is that we have a baby at Life Pointe born at 24 weeks and was 16 oz. I was in the hospital prepared to be pastoral. God had a different plan. Life is a beautiful thing.
Public School Vetoes Church Message
First, let me say that I have not spoken with Brian about this. My comments are totally mine. I only know the story about their series, "The Best Sex Ever" from his blog and the front page of the Tallahassee Democrat. I know big things are going to come out of this for Genesis Church. Brian is a quality leader. He is surrounded by strong leaders. They are going to come out of it very strong. Still this has me scratching my head.
Our schools are slammed by morally ambiguous sex-ed classes, teen pregnancies, scandals involving teachers having sex with kids, and Leon High School asks a church that is renting their auditorium to remove their billboards promoting a Biblical perspective on sex.
Brian handled himself with a ridiculous amount of respect for who he’s working with in the school. That says a lot about him and Genesis Church. I think it would be interesting to see if the school holds themselves to the same standard. A quick perusal of their sex-ed curriculum would most certainly point out their selective use of free speech squashing activities. Bummer for them.
Martin Luther King Jr. on Guts
"Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the
question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’
But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a
time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic,
nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one
that it is right."
— Martin Luther King Jr.
Considering Mac
It won’t be long and we’ll be upgrading our church computers. I can’t enough about Macs. I can conjure up a lot of reasons to make the change. But, I’d be a bit concerned about the learning curve and compatibility with Office docs. The new Macs and Office products alleviate some of those concerns. But, they are still there.
Admittedly, I am a sucker for good design. Mac has that in boat loads. Any advice from you tech junkies?!
Family is Most Important
Prior to ministry at Life Pointe, my outlook seemed to be dominated by my level of success or failure in ministry. I’m a driver. I like to win. I’m super competitive and hate losing. But, God did not call me to be a slave to momentary ups and downs. I’ve re-aimed myself and have done my dead-level best to live out the values I say I have: God, family, church family, work (also church), and community. Sometimes they conflict and overlap with one another. But, you get the point.
I was really happy that I was able to get away for a few days to enjoy my family. Nathan Griffis, spoke at LPC while I was out. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about him. I was totally disconnected (no phone, email, or books). It was the perfect time to celebrate the fact that we have a new baby on the way! That will be #3 for those of you that are counting.
We met up with friends Tara, Gabe, Kennedy, Chloe, Daniel, Terry, Jessica, and Reagan. We skied Vail and Beaver Creek, made snowmen, and went sledding. I’m getting older. My knees are sore but unbroken. I really enjoyed my girls. I’m also really glad to be back. Trekking across the country with a 20 month-old and a 3 year-old is a bit tiring!
Missionary Bloggers
Yesterday, I taught a session on Marketing the Mission at the Gold Coast Missions Conference in Cooper City. Some of the most unique, genuine, and decent people I’ve met were there. Some were pastors, educators, social workers and clinicians (like Evan and Charity), and pilots (like Richard Bechton). Others were national leaders of church planting movements. We discussed blogging as a tool to carry out mission. It was cool to see that while I was teaching, one of our leaders, Nick Park, our National Overseer of Churches in Ireland started his blog during the session.
You’ve got to check out his first post on Using the Irish Republican Army As an Example for Missionary Support Groups. I’m anticipating a great social network emerging from guys like Nick and others over the next few weeks.
Mere Mission- Give Me Some Stars
Mere Mission is a great open source blog community discussion the missional church. I gave my introductory post five stars. Check it out and give me some stars…seriously, I’d love to have a lot of stars. Oh yeah, you’ll find out some significant HUGE news about me here. Drop me a note there…seriously.
Brian Hunter Blogs
Brian Hunter and I go back to college and seminary. I was maybe a year or two ahead of him at Lee U. I didn’t know him well during our undergraduate. But, we ended up working together at North Cleveland doing the Master’s Commission program there. From there, I went to Chicago. He went to Toronto. We both ended up in Florida. I came to the promised land (Miami). He went to the den of the devil (Tallahassee, home of the Semi-noles).
Since arriving in Tallahassee about three years ago, he and his team have absolutely rocked taking Genesis Church from 9 to somewhere over 1,000 people. Brian is a thinker. He’s solid as a person. He’s a gifted speaker and leader. He’s a decent person. He’s the newest addition to my Blog Roll. I bet you anything, he’ll be a daily read for you.
Marketing the Mission
On Friday, I am speaking at a Missions Conference to about 70 missionaries on the topic of "Marketing the Mission." The bulk of traditional fund raising for missionaries is accomplished by speaking in church services. However, the way church is carried out today cuts the number of these opportunities by a third. In the past, there were typically 3 services per week. Today, there is typically one corporate gathering each week supplemented by small groups.
This shift has created a significant financial challenge for missionaries. Those who have make the shift have/will prosper(ed). Those who fail to leverage new venues for communicating their stories will atrophy and be ignored.
My undergraduate degree is in communication. My corporate background is in marketing. My passion is the mission of Christ. I absolutely look forward to opportunities like these. I still have fire in my belly. I love to close deals. I hate fishing. I love catching. I love to challenge people to try new things. I love to be around people who are totally sold out to Christ and who are putting their lives on the line for His cause. I hate to see people with a significant message being ignored. I am very much looking forward to Friday and the relationships that will emerge from the meetings.
Church Plant Timeline
If you are a planter or prospective planter, it is a must read. It comes from Church Planting Resources, a tremendous resource of information for planters and pastors. Thanks to Drew Goodmanson for the heads up.
I Just got off the phone with Chester Taylor
Chester Taylor (RB Minnesota Vikings) just called me from Pro Player stadium. My lil bro, Phillip passed him a phone and we chatted from a couple minutes. I can’t tell you what was said. It was of a confidential nature. What I didn’t tell him was that I traded him in week 2 for Kellen Winslow and Larry Fitzgerald…wish I could have had that trade back.
Dancin’ Fools
My girls have moves…at least McKenna does!
02.03.07
A date to remember.
Path to Maturity
We have a new batch of people finishing up the Bible Class (membership
gateway). They’ll have an opportunity to dig deeper in the courses below. The Bible Class is a prerequisite to all other Bible and doctrine classes. If you are not in Bible Class on Sunday mornings, it isn’t too late. The Bible Class is cyclical. So, you can pick it up on any Sunday at 9 AM. Register here.
Course
Name: A Journey Through the Old Testament
Description:
A review of the great themes of the Old Testament, including the life of Israel,
the kings, the prophets and the development of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament. This course includes a study of the origin of man as well
as the origin and decline of the Jewish nation. Consideration is also given to
the poetry, wisdom literature and prophecy of the Old Testament.
Course
Name: A Journey Through the New Testament
Description:
An overview of the New Testament with consideration of the Great themes of the
Scripture, including the life and ministry of Christ, grace, the origin of the
church and the missionary life of the church. This panoramic
view of the New Testament dicusses the uniqueness of each New Testament writer, while it shows the
unity of their contributions to this section of the Bible.
Course
Name: Walking in the Truth: Christian Ethics and Practical Theology
Description: A study of core Christian values which should impact
social and individual behavior, with consideration of the issues of practical
theology and ethics theory. Christian values based on the teachings of Christ
are at the center of this study. On the practical side, application of these
values to everyday living is stressed.
Course
Name: Rightly Dividing the Word: Biblical Interpretation
Description: A study of the methodology of Scriptural
interpretation. Special emphasis will be given to the role of context in the
study and interpretation of Biblical content. Knowing what a passage meant to
the person or persons to whom it was written is essential to understanding how
the same passage may be applied today.
Course Name: Introducing the Great Themes of
Scripture: Biblical Theology
Description: An introduction to the
principal streams of Biblical theology. Emphasis is placed on the relationship
of the major themes in theology as they relate to ministry in today’s church.
My Best Friend Got Owned
My old college roomie and now Miami neighbor, Matt Robinett got owned during a Kansas City Star news segment called "My First Kiss." It was actually on the front page…must have been a slow news day in the bustling KC metropolis. I have to say, the picture and especially the video makes Matt look like he’s biting Danielle’s head off.
My favorite quote from the article is:
Was it a good kiss?
Matt: Yeah, it was really good. I’ll never forget it.
Danielle: It was a little wanting.
Anyway, after 33 years of being an eligible bachelor, it looks like things may be changing for Matt. Of course, Danielle gets a big thumbs up. Matt on the other hand looks like a love smitten kitty cat. He’s 100% OWNED. Hilarious!
If you happen to have any advice for old Mattimo, please share. If you have any words of encouragement for the lovely Danielle, please share. I’ve known Matt for about 16 years. She’ll need definitely need it.
Parties on the Horizon
When the weather cools down, the redneck comes out in the Johnson house. We go into the backyard of our gated suburban house and stoke up a good fire. For the last couple nights we’ve been heating up the pit. It has been awesome getting to know our neighbors while burning stuff and roasting marshmallows, hot dogs, steaks, apples, bananas, potato wedges, and anything else we can get on a skewer.
I’m praying for no rain on Super Bowl Sunday so we can take our party outside to enjoy a little smoke and fire, guitar, and good stories. We’re frying up dolphin, snapper, and grouper. You are bringing sides and snacks. It should actually be quite the bash. Our party is one of four being hosted for Life Pointe. The idea is to have a heck of a lot of fun and to bring friends. Directions to all the parties will be available in the lobby at the info desk.
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twitter feed- pastortrav: @daveferguson that's really good stuff.
- pastortrav: I'm going to teach my girls how to snorkel tomorrow. I know Kourtney is ready...she's a fearless 5 year old little fish.
- pastortrav: Drinking coffee from my Beijing Starbucks mug. Zeke, the LPC Jack Bauer gave it 2 me-miss that guy. His 1st Sunday, he tried 2 nerf my car.
- pastortrav: @bibliata you should read Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, especially the second half re: why Korean pilots were having issues landing in NYC
- pastortrav: Is there anyone out there that doubts now that tax cuts work to stimulate the economy, especially by comparison? BIG govt is the problem.
