Reformissionary

Lots-o-Links 5.14.08

Good to hang for a couple of hours with Darryl Dash of DashHouse last night.  He is in a city just north of me for a conference and decided to look me up, so we found some time for coffee.  Great guy.

Care to buy Scott Lamb's 6,000 book library? 

Jonathan Dodson isn't starting new ministries.

Learn how worship teams practice at Sojourn Church in Louisville, KY.  They use The Planning Center.

Scott Hodge describes The Orchard's critiquing culture.

Joe Thorn pointed me to this video: "From Russia With Hate."  Wow.  Awful.

JD Greear is describing the missions strategy of Summit Church: Part 1, Part 2.

Resurgence interviews Matt Chandler.

Important values for Christian artists as summarized by Justin Taylor.  The whole PDF.

Jeremy Pryor continues his explanation of The Story-Formed Life discipleship class...

Music Monday 5.12.08

Molly and I saw The Avett Brothers on Saturday night.  What an amazing show!  High energy.  We were bouncing and dancing and screaming and singing.  I was fortunate to have a voice on Sunday morning.  And though we were in Milwaukee for the concert we were still in bed by 12:30am, which is a typical time for me to get to sleep before preaching. 

If you don't know The Avett Brothers, shame on you.  Seriously.  I've worked hard to introduce them to you on this blog.  For all you who are slow to catch on, here...

By the way, the opening act was Jessica Lea Mayfield (MySpace).  Outstanding.  Blew us away.  (That was her in an above Avett video.) Her only recording is her White Lies EP that seems impossible to find apart from going to the concert or ordering from her website.  It's not on iTunes.  I picked it up at the concert.  Her stuff is alt/country, her recordings are very acoustic, her concert added a deep level of power and mystery.  Holy cow.  Also check out David Mayfield's stuff, Jessica's brother, who was her bassist and a fun stage presence.

This is the best video I could find of Jessica.  It's cluttered at the beginning with crap, but get through it and you will be rewarded.  By the way, this is the song from the second Avett video above.  They covered her song.

WARNING: Some unbaptistlike content to come.  Some of you won't like this.

Jessica sings a song called "Bible Days" which was outstanding in concert.  Here is a stripped down version and a pretty good recording.  I love when the world helps me know how they think.  Listening is such a great tool.

Mother's Day

My wife is a more than just a totally hot babe, she is also an amazing Mother.  We spent time driving in the van today and I had the kids take turns saying why they think their Mom is so great.  Their answers were great, but they barely scratched the surface explaining the many ways my wife is a Mother worthy of admiration and honor.  I love you Molly.

Phriday is for Photos 5.9.08

Our kids were really wanting a donut, so we obliged. I really don't like sweets very much, but that Chocolate Kreme really hit the spot. The second photo is of Elijah at his Little League "Pitch, Hit, and Run" competition. Yeah, that's the "Run" part. See all my photography.

Lots-o-Links 5.6.08

I'm really sick at the moment (102 temp) and I thought a lots-o-links post would be therapeutic.  And away we go.

A Cubs website: Just One Bad Century.

Really appreciate Jeremy Pryor making some videos about a discipleship strategy called The Story-Formed Life.  First video.  Second video.  More to come.

JD Greear: Multi-Site = Multi-Opportunity.

From The Economist: Nomads at Last: Wireless communication is changing the way people work, live, love and relate to places—and each other.

Multi-site Exposed Media.

Top 10 Memory Hacks.

The Empire Strikes Barack...

Music Monday 5.5.08

Gavin DeGraw's new album comes out tomorrow, I think.  I thought Chariot was really fun pop music with a fairly unique sound.  Watch the first video from In Love With a Girl.

Portishead's "Machine Gun" = very wow.  I know some of you won't like it, but that's your problem.  I'm looking forward to picking up their first new album since 1997, Third.  You can hear more at Last.fm.

There are several clips of Portishead's new stuff, but none are great quality video.  So to introduce you to Portishead's trip-hoppy goodness, here's "Roads" from a live 2006 show...

"Go Cubs Go!" is the song played at Wrigley Field after a win.  My kids and I sing along.  Here's a fan video...

McDonalds is Chick-fil-A North

You heard me.  McDonalds is Chick-fil-A for notherners who can't get Chick-fil-A's delectable chicken sandwich up here.  You should try the new Southern Style Chicken Sandwich at Micky D's, or the chicken biscuit in the morning.  It's not Chick-fil-A, but it's the closest thing we've got.   And it's pretty doggone good.

NPM '08: One of the Most Beloved Poems...Ever

The 23rd Psalm
(KJV)
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Jonathan Dodson on Buy-Downs

As I do a lot of thinking on evangelism this year, Jonathan Dodson has put up a post on gas buy-downs (etc) that I find very thought-provoking and helpful.  Go read it.

NPM '08: Taylor Mali

Can't neglect introducing (or reintroducing) you to Taylor Mali this National Poetry Month.