whatever you do.

Me and my buddy Mike are about to set off to Grand Rapids to check out the second to last stop on the Church Basement Roadshow tour. We are looking forward to having a grand ol’ time wading in the revival waters of this hope-filled, alive-and-well, future-invading-the-present message of Christianity that Tony, Mark and Doug have been proclaiming across America this summer. We are also probably going to drop in at Mars Hill Church tomorrow morning. The church that I am a part of has a regular group of about 50, so Mars Hill will definitely be something I am not currently accustomed too. I’ve been following along a bit with their summer teaching series in preparation.

Mike and I aren’t really sure where else to go while in the GR area. If anyone could suggest a good pub or coffeehouse or something else entirely that would be appreciated.

Tags: revival, church basement roadshow, tony jones, doug pagitt, mark scandrette, grand rapids, emergent

Part Four of Doug Pagitt’s promo videos for his new book, which I am reading right now.

…. and .. the video that we showed at the beginning of Chris and Em’s wedding ceremony. The couple are known for their love of all things tardy, so they each filmed their adventures in trying to get to the church on time which we debuted to those in attendance. It was good. And, yes, they did both actually get there on time.. we made sure of that.

A quick post to say congratulations to two incredible people. Chris, my life-long friend married an absolutely amazing person in Emily. I’m so excited to be able to call both of these great people my friends and I’m super pumped that they will both be living here in town. I’m looking forward to visiting you guys more often in the next months and years.

The wedding was simply great. A lot of fun, full of love and tenderness, and fantastic food! Chris and Em, you two along with your families and friends stressed so much about the day and I just want you both to know that it was a great success. No doubt you can both name a hundred things that went wrong, but rest assured that it was a great great day. Hot and sweaty, but great.

Love you both, and thanks for letting me be a part of the day and your lives.

After I down this pizza I am off for a weekend celebration of my friend Chris’s life up to this juncture. See, the guy is getting married in a couple weeks. So we are packing a bunch of seriously stinky guys into a Muskoka cottage as we hang out with our friend at this moment before the next chapter begins. So here’s to you, Chris. Unplugged weekend… I can’t wait!

Ever have a thought that you thought was your thought but then you read or hear someone else thinking that thought and you realize that there are very few good thoughts that are held by just one person? Yesterday morning I was pondering the difference between being a friend and just being friendly. Really it is the difference between truly loving and simply tolerating.

So, I was thinking this thought and then Amy and I walked in to a bookstore to find some reading material for the second leg of the vacation. I purchased the Emergent Manifesto of Hope and, lo and behold, in the very first pages the authors used the same exact phrasing to explain the atmosphere of friendship and mutual affection that is the very blood of emerging Christianity.

And I want to go so far as to say that it is not just a perceived or desired position, but it is the very real posture. It is the thing that allows the Baptists and the Episcopalians and the Anabaptists and the Wesleyans to all claim their place in this emerging Christianity. We want this posture of friendship. In our own lives and in those with whom we interact. And when we find it it is infectious!

A couple days before we had the opportunity to share a meal with Doug Pagitt. His own posture of friendship probably spurred me on to the thoughts that I would later learn had actually been penned by the very fellow that inspired them in me. This was a conversation that has truly inspired me to carry on conversations with my local neighbors and co-conspirators. I have an further-increasing excitement about where we are headed as friends in Ontario.

I am more convinced than ever that we are moving in a very worthy direction. A Holy direction.

Adam, Yoani and Mike are off to Nicaragua this weekend!

From Adam:

Hi Everyone!

Yoani, Mike (our cameraman), and I will leave with the Innerkip Mission of Hope group early Monday morning from Pearson Int’l in Toronto, lay over in Atlanta and then head on to Nicaragua! Although we’re still a few hundred dollars short of our full needs for funding for this trip, through some creative thinking and some steps of faith, we’ve managed to come up with some arrangements so that this trip will go forward! Thank you to everyone who has given toward the trip - without your generosity this would not be happening.

We’ve got a blog/informational site up which we’ll try our best to update while we’re on the road. We’ll also put updates there after the trip as we work to get the Christian Trade Mission project up and running. You can also now sign up for our bonafide newsletter. Please sign up for our newsletter using that page if you’d like to get continual updates.

We’d appreciate your prayers, and if you could remember especially my wife Autumn and little baby Ebony who I’m leaving back here in Canada, for their peace of mind and safety while I’m gone. Please forward this to whoever you might think would be interested (or to whoever you forwarded previous emails, if you did.) Thanks! I’ll talk to you guys again in two weeks!

Tags: missional, mission, coffee, fair trade

Merry Christmas!

First as a married. It was a lovely morning. Now we are off to the families and the turkeys.

Tags: Christmas

I just got a twitter account. I guess this is really only useful if you have a cellphone or some other way to send text messages… which i don’t have.. other than with this here computer. When I go to school I should probably get a cell phone. Since I’ll be out much more often.

oh ya… twitter….
http://www.twitter.com/diecast

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Today is a day of horray!

Just returned from partying with Dave and Chelsea at their wedding. And in an hour or so will be off to celebrate my sister-in-law’s graduation from highschool. She had her grad ceremony today and we will eat and say, “good for you” tonight. It is a wonderful thing that celebration almost always incorporates food. It is so weird that we are able to take such pleasure in putting stuff inside us. The senses are an incredible gift. Tremendous!

But right now I’m going to go to work answering this question… “What would you classify as essential elements of your faith?” I’m completing a questionaire on my beliefs about God and Religion for a friend. I’ll post all my answers when I’m done.

Later dudes.

LISTENING TO…
“Pages” by Shane Barnard & Shane Everett