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The Life Long Cultivation of Soil (and People)

“Don’t treat your soil like dirt.

A field is like a reputation…it takes a lifetime to build a good one, and an instant to ruin it.”

 Pritchard, Gaining Ground

 

(HT: 1,001 Rules for My Unborn Son)

Chicago Bootcamp

Excited to be back in Chicago and serve church planters at the upcoming Acts 29 Chicago Bootcamp . The dates are September 15 - 16. Register here now

If you don't already have it, buy Darrin Patrick's book, Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

ChurchPlanting, A29

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

IX Marks e-Journal on Multi Site Churches

IX Marks e-Journal // Multi Site Churches

Matt Chandler asks my question in his reflection, Clouds on the Horizon

"And so after studying the issue, we decided to go multi-site. Yet we still have some serious concerns and questions about the multi-site idea even as we participate in it. The problem that haunts us is a simple one. Where does this idea lead? Where does this end? Twenty years from now are there fifteen preachers in the United States?"

Read the whole journal here

Ten Years of Cutting Edge

Though I have become increasingly disappointed with the content in recent years, I have found the Association of Vineyard Churches Cutting Edge magazine to be a great resource for church planters. Examples of helpful articles would be the Tim Keller interview in The Big City issue and David Allen's excellent contribution in The Effective Pastor

For this reason I wanted to link the recently published, Ten Years: A Collection.

Here is the product description from Vineyard Resources:

Vineyard’s own “Cutting Edge” church planting magazine has just published it’s 2nd Book! Featuring 136 beautiful large color pages, with 9 outstanding chapters titled: Foundations, Mission, Praise, Preaching, Praxis, Teams, Life, Stability, and World.

Jeff Bailey says in the Forward…

“Over the last few months, I have been reading scores of old issues of Cutting Edge. I have been amazed, to be honest, by the sheer volume of articles and interviews. The thick book you are now holding in your hands represents the barest fraction of the total number of pages in Cutting Edge over the past ten years…In what follows you’ll find a lot of old favorites, including interviews with Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Tim Keller, John and Carol Wimber, Eugene Peterson, Dallas Willard, Will Willimon, Jim Wallis, Henry Townsend, Rodney Clapp, Steve Nicholson, Rich Nathan, and a host of others. Topics range from mission to preaching to spirituality, and the sorts of models explored include everything from urban mega churches to rural community fellowships. A lot of ground was covered over the last decade…Perhaps what is most important about this retrospective, however, is that it reminds us of the most important thing that Cutting Edge has always been about: God’s mission being carried out by ordinary men and women captured by a vision of what church might be. That is what Cutting Edge was designed to celebrate and support. And in some small way, that is what this retrospective celebrates, as well.”

Those interested in the magazine but not sure about buying the book should check out the last several years of Cutting Edge that can be downloaded as free pdf here.

QUIT YOUR DAY JOB: The Welcome Wagon (Stereogum)

Stereogum posts a fascinating interview with Reverend Thomas Vito Aiuto-- pastor and planter of Resurrection Presbyterian Church and half of the duo, The Welcome Wagon. If you don't yet own Welcome To The Welcome Wagon, download it right now-- then read the interview while you listen.

Some of my highlights from the interview after the jump...

LEAD For The City: Free Live Streaming

Tomorrow morning, we are heading to St Louis to attend the LEAD Conference. This conference is hosted by our mother church, The Journey, and has an excellent lineup of speakers and breakout sessions focused on the theological and practical implications of ministry in an urban context.

I'm eager not only to be at the conference and benefit from the sessions, but also to benefit from interaction with people and making new connections (if you're planning on being there, please stop me and say hello-- I'll be the guy with largest cranium in the building)

For those unable to attend the conference, you can listen to the conference via Live Stream. All the main sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday will be streamed live on the Planting Channel. Check out the schedule below and tune in.

Tuesday, October 21
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM: Darrin Patrick on "Gospel Centered Repentance"
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM: Eric Mason on "Hybrid Leaders"
1:45 PM - 3:00 PM: Dr. Bryan Chapell on "Christ-Centered Preaching"

Wednesday, October 22
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM: Randy Nabors on "City Leaders"
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM: Matt Carter on "Broken Leaders"
4:45 PM - 5:30 PM: Jonathan McIntosh on "Missional Leaders"

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You Don't Create a Culture

Over the past year, I've become a pretty devoted user of BACKPACK, not only as a part of my implementation of GTD (see my GTD stuff here and here), but as a way to collect and organize information for our team environment at Redeemer Fellowship.

In addition to the multiple productivity benefits BACKPACK has given me, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the 37signals blog, Signal vs. Noise. They have consistently great stuff on a wide range of topics that interest me. What is most beneficial about the blog is the perspective that their team brings to whatever issue is at hand.

Take for example Jason Fried's thoughts on how leaders create culture within their organizations:

From time to time during conference Q&A sessions I’m asked “How did you create the culture at 37signals?” or “What do you recommend we do to set up an open, sharing company culture like yours?”

My answer: You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior. If you encourage people to share, and you give them the freedom to share, then sharing will be built into your culture. If you reward trust then trust will be built into your culture.

Artificial
Artificial cultures are instant. They’re big bangs made of mission statements, declarations, and rules. They are obvious, ugly, and plastic. Artificial culture is paint.

Real
Real cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth. They are nuanced, beautiful, and authentic. Real culture is patina.

Don’t think about how to create a culture, just do the right things for you, your customers, and your team and it’ll happen. (source)

Read the full post and comments for some great discussion, as well as George Ambler's reflections on the post.

Kansas City Church Plant Update

“Wait! I thought you were living in Canada”

“No, I finished my coursework at Regent and we are in the process of planting a church in Kansas City.”

“Oh...Wow! I had no idea. So, how do you like living in KC?”

“Well, we’ve actually been living in Little Rock since last summer...it’s kind of a long story”

This pretty much summarizes the opening segment of every conversation I’ve had for the past eighteen months. The good news is, we are finally in Kansas City!

(our  house in KC)

And, by God’s stunning grace, our plans to plant a new church in the urban core of KC are moving forward at a blinding pace and in ways much different and more beautiful than we ever could have conceived.

What follows is my attempt to provide a brief sketch of some of what has transpired in the past year and to update those who are interested on what we are currently doing in Kansas City.

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