Artist Community at The Journey

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A couple of weeks ago I was perusing the website of The Journey Church in St. Louis, where Darrin Patrick pastors.  They had a video up that was produced by their community of artists in the church.  Brilliant idea.  But I couldn't find an easy way to link it, until now.  Here's the link to "Sacrifice."  Check it out. 

If you go to the church website, a popup video is linked on the front page.  It's the same thing, a little smaller, and a little better quality.

SBC Greensboro Outcomes

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(I also posted this at Missional Baptist Blog.)

I was emailed recently by the Florida Baptist Witness for a comment on this question: "What do you hope will be the single, greatest outcome of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Greensboro?"

You can read the responses of Bobby Welch, Frank Page, Ronnie Floyd, Wade Burleson, Jerry Rankin, Al Mohler and other big names at the FBW website.

Here's my response at the end of the article.  Obviously they were saving the best for last. ;)

Steve McCoy, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ill., and owner of Missional Baptist Weblog: "My greatest hope for Greensboro is that I will continue to build a personal network of missional pastors and thinkers, and encourage others to do the same. My second greatest hope is that the shofar won't work."

What's Changing Steve's Life?

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Things that are changing my life right now...

1. Rereading (I think for the 3rd or 4th time) Jerry Bridges The Pursuit of Holiness.  It's such a simple/profound book.  I just need it.

2. Shearwater's Palo Santo.  Honkin' geez.  Wonderful.

3. I just finished and will soon blog on the new Ed Stetzer/David Putman book Breaking the Missional Code.  I read the last 6 or 7 chapters yesterday and they were really good.  The book wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but there were some very important things for me and my ministry inside.  And God put me in the right place at the right time to read the right chapters of that book. 

4. This video.  It cheers me up daily.

5. David Allen's Getting Things Done is going to get a HUGE thumbs up review from me soon.  Revolutionary and simple.  It's a very important book on practical productivity and organization issues.  Props to Kevin Cawley for preaching Allen's message to me before I read the book.

6. The Fisher Space Pen (Bullet).

Praying With The Church

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There is a blog tour (interesting idea) for Scot McKnight's new book Praying With The Church.  I hope to have a review up on the book in the not too distant future (I've been sent a copy), but I'm too bogged down with stuff right now to take part in the tour which begins Monday. 

Other books I'm reviewing soon...
Breaking the Missional Code by Stetzer and Putman (I hope by next week)
Pocket Guide to the Bible by Jason Boyett
Bonhoeffer Speaks Today by Mark Devine

Phriday is for Photos 6.2.06

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KaPOW!

As you noticed, this is also my new blog header.  But the whole picture is too cool to pass up.  I was out driving about a few nights back and I noticed a thunderstorm approaching.  So I drove out of Woodstock to a lonely place and took 600+ pictures over the next 1 1/2 hours.  Getting a picture of lightning is no easy task.  I also like this lightning picture, and this one.

My Photography  |||  My Photoblog

Other Friday photos: Joe Thorn

Webber & Story

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I really enjoyed Robert Webber's article in the Spring 2006 Criswell Theological Review: "Narrating the World Once Again: A Case for an Ancient-Future Faith."  If you get a chance and can find a copy of the CTR, read it.  My "tight" evangelical readers may shiver at all the uses of the word "story" or "narrative," but hey, our existence and ministry is rooted in, concerning, and continuing The Story.  So there. :) 

A couple of quotes...

I want to articulate three very specific paths for the Emerging church to follow in order to restore the ancient biblical and historical narrative from which to minister in a post Christian world: 1) deconstruct the current accommodation of ministry to the cultural narrative, 2) recover the story-formed nature of the good news, and 3) re-situate ministry in the divine narrative. (p 16)

Evangelicalism is so thoroughly conditioned by the culture in which it seeks to minister, that it has the appearance of the commonplace.  It has become what people want to hear, not what it is that God wants to say and do.  This indictment of evangelical Christianity--that it is culturally conditioned--is only the surface problem.  The deeper problem is that by allowing itself to become conditioned by the "surface culture," it missed the point of the deeper cultural crisis.  This crisis is that our world has become storyless.  There is no unified story that gives meaning to life and history.  Everything has been reduced to "my" story.  But there is no universal story in which my story is situated. (p 19)

The task of the next generation of leaders is to disassociate themselves from the culturally conditioned practices of the evangelical church, and recover the divine narrative in which all ministry is situated. (p 20)

Hendry, Dusty, and Stupidity

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Ugh.  The Cubs are themselves...again.  Sportsline has this for us from the Cubs GM, Jim Hendry...

Dusty is going to get every opportunity to manage the club and get us out of this hole, and he's going to get an opportunity to manage this club when we get healthy the next couple of weeks also.

An open letter to Jim Hendry...

Dear Jimmy,

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. (Will Rogers)

Love,

Steve

Phriday is for Photos 5.26.06

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Wet Path

We had a beautiful Spring day yesterday.  It was in the mid 70's with an every couple of hours heavy downpour.  I took this around dusk in our backyard.  It's obviously a path made from stones and it was just after a rainfall.  The temps are supposed to get in the mid 80's by Saturday, 90 by Sunday, and stay in the mid 80's early next week.  Very cool for Memorial Day weekend.

My Photography  |||  My Photoblog

Other Friday photos: Joe Thorn, Alex, Joe K

Living in Woodstock, IL

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I've started a new blog.  Yeah I know, but it's not what you think.  I've started this blog to bless and encourage the blessing of my city.  It's called Living in Woodstock, IL and it's all about life in Woodstock (go figure).  Actually, it's a non-political, non-advertisement, and completely pro-Woodstock, IL site that intends to spark conversation about and enjoyment of our city.

It's really just about my experiences (personal and family).  I'm not really sure how it will work, IF it will work, or what exactly it will become in the days ahead.  But I figured it was worth a try.

So check it out and let me know what you think.  But please, don't comment there.  That's for locals and Woodstock lovers only.  Thanks.

Music to My Ears

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I have some great CD's that are burning up my iPod right now.  But first let me update you on my hardware.  I now have a black 30GB iPod and Sony headphones.  Both rock hard.  Yeah buddy.

Okay, 4 CD's...

Page_france Page France (myspace): Hello, Dear Wind

Reviews: Pitchfork, Pop Matters

Must Hear: "Chariot," "Jesus"

I picked this up thanks to a recommendation by Rick Bennett (who also recommended Band of Horses, below).  It's an ear-pleasing blend of comforting acoustic sounds, lyrics that feel what they say, and a ton of biblical imagery and lyrics.  It's one of the most thought-provoking CD's I own, and that's because there is a ton of Jesus (in a way you wouldn't expect, trust me) and no CCM involved.  It's what Christocentric art should sound like.  Fantastic.  From Pitchfork...

Nau is a true prodigy-- at age 21, he's writing songs with uncommon theological complexity. Let's spell it out in no uncertain terms-- in 21st century America, Christianity has been hijacked by some evil men. Jesus said that it's easier to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. But in an age of mega-churches that lavish money on high-end AV equipment and contributions to PACs that would undo every social program designed to counteract uneven wealth distribution, Jesus' central teachings of compassion, forgiveness, and charity have been forsaken. His national face has become that of a cruel tyrant, peering down upon humankind with the miser's disdainful grimace.

Hello, Dear Wind accentuates the common traits of Christian music that is able to penetrate the secular world, with an unfettered joy that would scan to conservative Christians as almost pagan. It deploys Christian tropes poetically and not pedantically, brimming with reiterative Biblical imagery -- angels and burning bushes and trumpets, but also circuses, kings and crowns, wind, trees, and fruit.

Cloud_cult_1 Cloud Cult (myspace): Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus

Reviews: Pitchfork, Pop Matters

Must Hear: "Living on the Outside of Your Skin," "Transistor Radio"

I found this because the cover intrigued me at Borders (although my cover is different than the one pictured).  I listened to it for a minute on the in-store CD scanner thing, and it was fantastic.  After googling it on my Treo phone and finding out it has received good reviews, I picked it up.  It is getting more listens on the iPod than anything else, though Danielson (below) is close.

It's eclectic.  One of the most ear pleasing yet creative CD's I've heard.  A mix of acoustic, computer work, heavy beats, some rock flavor, and more.  I love this CD, and am listening to it as I write this.  Plus, it's recorded on a CD made from recycled materials.

Band_of_horses Band of Horses (myspace): Everything All The Time

Reviews: Pitchfork, TinyMixTapes

Must Hear: "The First Song," "Monsters"

This has received a lot of play on my iPod in the last two months.  A bit like My Morning Jacket, but more enjoyable in many ways.  Not so quirky.  A little Neil Youngish.  Shinnish.  The music is filling, atmospheric.  Truly delightful.

From Tiny Mix Tapes...

It's as stunning a debut as I've heard in a long time, and it signals that we'll be hearing a lot from these folks for years to come.

Danielson Danielson (myspace): Ships

Reviews: Pitchfork, Dusted

Must Hear: "Cast it at the Setting Sail," "Did I Step On Your Trumpet"

Honestly, this music can be kinda weird.  Very weird, actually.  And I don't know what to say other than it's by far the best weird music I've ever heard.  It's really incredible.  This dude is a Christian, and again, he probably makes the CCM folks shudder.  From Pitchfork...

None of Smith's previous records-- and in fact, very few indie releases this year-- have flat-out rocked like this one, with blaring trumpets signaling snares to exact their force beneath sweeping multitracked vocal choruses that simply won't stop crescendoing. On standouts like "Ship the Majestic Suffix" and "Bloodbook on the Half Shell", the music builds to such immense heights, and increases tension so far past the expected breaking point, that the inevitable release is nearly dizzying. But Smith also grasps the inherent malleability of such a sizable ensemble, and though he most often uses it to breathe life into the album's darkly apocalyptic overtures, he also wisely crafts shimmering psychedelic passages that prevent it from becoming too claustrophobic.

Thanks to Kevin Cawley for pleading with me to check out Danielson.  Well worth it.