a slice of what?

well, it is not secret that i am the lead pastor at connection church in hickory, nc - and i might add that i love it :) i got a email from a bud, bob hyatt over at evergreen at the other side of the world [in portland] letting me know that "ingrid" was dogging connection church again - because we have a picture of a girl sitting between two guys on the front page - she thinks it has "sexual over tones." well, i did post a comment on her blog, and i guess we will see if she posts it [she approves all "first time comments" to her blog]

but now here is the dilemma i find myself in. with a new lead guy [me] and a new building, we are developing a new site - and that picture is not in the mix - but if we keep it off the mix, will she then claim it was her voice that changed our minds? do you see what i mean? do we do as we were doing, and just be who we are? for us, the picture expresses community and relationship - nothing sexual at all. then, if we do not use that picture do we look at every picture we then desire to use and think "could this be sexual?" - man, this can be a mind-blowing and weird experience. what is a off centered, connective, relational, loving, accepting, forgiving community of faith to do?

i know, while we encourage her to have her own thought, we accept the fact that her thoughts do not drive us as a community of faith. we will design the site as we desire, and use the pictures we believe best express our community. if we worry about what every person will or will not like we will be placed in fear and never move forward. we encourage her to continue to express her voice, but we also stand that we do not have to agree with her - or allow her to determine the path of connection church -

moving can shake the crap out of you

it seems the best way to get a new look at life is to move cross country. now, i am not sure if it because i spent the better part of the day team driving with my wife; or that we had to deal with three kids and a dog; or if it was the fact that we were not connected for over a month - we did not have lap tops at the time of the move; or if it was just that i got to see some amazing things on the drive and spent a great deal of time talking with the women i love - who knows, all i can say is moving sure does shake the crap out of a person.

on the trip i came toa realization that living on the edge is f fun, but rather hard to deal with at time. but more, i even think that what we see as the "edge" is simply a bad spot to be in. so, one says, 'welcome to the edge.' keep in mind, being on the edge means you have people behind you wanting to push and people in front of you wanting to pull - and it takes all you have to simply hold onto the ropes and find a place to stand.

i think the idea is to just be the one God called, and let the others be the others, and let them flap all the gums they desire. for awhile there i was concerned with what cason and others say - and i found myself "picking sides" - and soemtimes i did not agree with the side i picked, but i picked it because it was against the side i did not want to belong too; or felt i should not belong too. then, i drove cross country and took a new position - i think it was all the time away from the "in your face emerging" that changed me and mellowed my thoughts - but for me, the "edge" is not the radicals on either side; they are simply voices that hold no meaning to me, so i let them go; they are the ones with the rope. for me, the edge is a place where God moves us to be and see the vast open spaces before us - and share his vision with us. it is a place where we come to the realization that who we are is based more on our standing with God, then with what someone else thinks. i have come to the conclusion that in that stance i need not defend, define, or explain my views - they are what they are. some will agree, some will not- but all in all i am the one God made and called to this path - and God is the only person i am accountable to.

man, moving can truly shake the crap out of a guy :)

lunch with vintage21

i got a letter fron tyler jones over at vintage21 telling me about a "gathering/luncheon" on october 5th - it runs from 12:00 noon to 2:00pm and sounds like a great start to a connection we all should be taking. the idea is to pull people from the area and help make connections and develop community. i am going to go, and i will try to bring others from 247connection with me - it should prove very cool.

date: october 5th
time: 12-2pm
location: raleigh, nc
phone number: 919.696.9615

are you looking to pastor a church?

i got an email from a church looking for a lead pastor, and i know some of you are looking so i figured i would pass on the info.

the church is "dogwood community church" located in "decatur, alabama" - the "contact" person is elaine gill. here is how it was sent to me:

"We need a lead pastor and have an ad that needs to be placed everywhere possible. Can you help?

If you're a leader . . . really a leader, looking for an opportunity. . . a real opportunity to join a core group of people serious about reaching the unchurched . . . really serious, contact us at egill@charterinternet.com

All others, don't bother."

if you are interested check out their site, and email to see if you are a "fit" and if not, pass it along to others in the emerging world and see if it is something they would like to hook into.

made it home :)

well, we made it to hickory - and all is so very cool. the community of faith that has formed is just great and creative - we feel blessed being here. i will be posting more over time - and if others desire to join this little community just email me and i will send out the invite - peace