SBC Opportunities in Chicago

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HelpI recently received an email (edited for content below) from a Southern Baptist pastor in downtown Chicago about some very cool opportunities to be a strategic leader in SBC work in downtown Chicago...

Last year we basically wiped the slate clean with staff [at the Chicago Metro Baptist Association] and designed three new full-time roles that we think will help our churches BRING GOOD NEWS to Chicago.

Director of Missional Leadership and Mobilization:  This position will help to “develop ministers of the gospel” by equipping current and future pastors.

Director of Evangelism and Church Growth:  This position will help to “strengthen local churches” by assisting them in bringing the Good News.

Director of Church Planting:  This position will help to “expand the Kingdom of God” by planting new churches.

We advertised and tried to spread the word and got around 150 applications, but none of them have turned out.  We really believe that these positions are so strategic that we want to make sure we get the right people here and have no false starts.

Chicago is an alpha class, major global city.  Yet as far as a real movement of the gospel goes it’s pretty pathetic here.  I really think these positions could potentially play a huge role in reaching our strategic city.  Exciting stuff is happening in New York and Seattle and other major cities around the world.  Why not Chicago?

I was wondering if you knew anyone for any of these positions that would be good for Chicago and getting a movement started here.  They’re full time positions, partly funded by NAMB.  But we want to take more initiative in going out and finding the right people.  We’re praying like crazy and super excited about the potential.

I know I have some readers out there who would be well equipped for this sort of work.  Chicago is a great city with far too few good churches.  If you are interested and feel you fit as SBC/missional, email apply@chicagobaptist.com.  If you feel your blog readers might be interested, please point them to this post.  Thanks.

Lots-o-Links 3.18.08

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Said at Southern blog has an NCAA style (sorta) tournament where you go vote for your favorite student or alumni blogger.  They put me up in the Midwest Division.  [sarcasm]As my readers probably know already, these sorts of things are very important to me.[/sarcasm]  Here's what I want you to do.  Don't go here, don't find the midwest division, and don't vote for me.  Thanks.

Though I never saw it before, Love, Chicago: Welcome to the Indie City is back online.  We locals hope for good things, which should be easy in such a great city.

Drew Goodmanson keeps putting out things I can't ignore like "Multiplying Missional Communities" and

Bill Walsh at the Desiring God Blog on the 9 reasons he is a photographer.

The mortgage crisis is creating a new "slumburbs." (Thanks JB)

Ben Witherington briefly reviews Bart Ehrman's God's Problem.

The Guardian: "The Atheist Delusion."

Scroll down and listen to Sproul on "Who is the Comforter?"  I needed it last week.

Gary Rohrmayer on "The Principle of Sowing and Reaping."

Guy Kawasaki on "The Myth of A Listers and Influencers."

Music Monday 3.17.08

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Modest Mouse has a new video out for "Fly Trapped in a Jar."  It's just weird...

My current favorite CD right now is Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago.  The always helpful Stereogum has an interview with Justin Vernon, who is Bon Iver.  Nice.  I finally found For Emma at Kiss the Sky in Batavia, IL, my favorite, almost local indie music store.  Well actually I didn't find it.  After I couldn't find it I asked the owner if they heard of it.  They said they had a copy, but we couldn't find it under the "B's."  It was under the "I's" listed under "Bob Iver."  Satan tried to keep this beautiful music from me, but he was defeated!  You need this CD.  Trust me.  Or at least trust the many great reviews it's getting.

The New Pornographers have a live album out that I don't own yet.  One of the songs is a cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down."  They have performed it live on French TV.  When you get there click on "videos" and then click the correct video on the right.  Well worth your time.  These guys rock and this song is very well done.

Pitchfork reports that Blitzen Trapper, a band I have mentioned a couple of times before, has a new iTunes exclusive live EP out.  I got it. 

The Twilight Sad: "And She Would Darken the Memory"...

New Spoon: "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb"...

Music Monday 3.10.08

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It's Music Monday and I'm here to take you to Better Music Land.  So put away your Ray Boltz CD's and cut your poodle mullet...

Ahh, this is better.  New Shearwater.  Go download their new song "Rooks."

New Bon Iver video for "The Wolves (Act I and II)."  What a beautiful and haunting song...

I'm listening to American Music Club's The Golden Age lately and really enjoying it.  It's getting good reviews.  From Pitchfork...

AMC's The Golden Age is appropriately obsessed with the hemorrhaging of time; many songs here find Eitzel grasping at the stuff even as it spurts through his fingers. "It's hard to love when you only see the dust," he mopes amid the wistful acoustic arpeggios of "All My Love". Eitzel's view of life as something one snatches from death's clutches, bit by bit, is the motif that drives the album. "Time is a current that only flows from warm hands to warm heart," he asserts on the darkly rushing "Decibels and Little Pills", after observing that "names are only good for grave stones."

Patrick Park has a new video out, "Here We Are".  I hope you can get past the incredible technological breakthroughs in this video and just enjoy the music...

Keller @ Veritas and Google

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Google_keller_5As Tim Keller continues his book tour and college campus talks (in Chicago last night and tonight), Veritas has put up his Columbia University talk, "Exclusive Religion in a Pluralistic Society: What are the Tensions and How Do We Move Forward?" 

I'm sure many of you have seen that Keller spoke at Google.  How awesome is that?  Justin Buzzard was there and gave us plenty to chew on.  Thanks Justin.

I did not make it to Keller's talk last night because I was at the Doctor trying to figure out what is wrong with me.  He thinks I may have a touch of pneumonia.  Exciting.  I'm not going tonight either, unfortunately.  If anyone makes it to a Chicago event, I'd love to hear/read how things go.

Plans, Strategies & Fasting

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A real quick post tonight to update on some blogging plans and church plans. 

I'm pastoring a church that is nearly 50 years old.  Some original members are still here.  And I just spent two months preaching about some really big changes that are going to start happening very soon.  I'm going to share those changes with you in a future post.  They are very significant and exciting.

One of the new things I'm working on is an evangelism strategy to reach out to our whole county.  It's something that I'm looking forward to explaining here when I get the chance. 

Because of those changes I have called our church to fast and pray on Wednesdays for the next 6 weeks.  We are fasting from dinner Tuesday to dinner Wednesday.  We are having a prayer meeting on Wednesday nights at 6:30pm and then breaking our fast together with a quick meal.  We are pumped to see what God does as we seek Him together.  Because I've been so sick I'm not going to fast from food tomorrow.  I'm fasting from my laptop/internet instead, starting after this post goes up. 

Why Hillary MUST Lose!

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This is a must see.  Remember the 1991 song by Sophie B. Hawkins, "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover?"  Go refresh yourself if you need to.  I remember the cool beat, and I remember thinking "Are you allowed to say 'damn' on the radio?"  I guess so. 

Do you ever wish people could just leave those memories alone?  Well, Sophie B. Hawkins had to go and jack it all up by putting together this tragic remake for Hillary's campaign, "Damn, I Wish You Were President."  True story.  Honestly, if I were Hillary and this is the kind of things people did to support me, I would cry after every primary too.  Don't miss the chance to buy your "Damn, I Wish You Were President" T-shirt.  Ugh.

Music Monday 3.3.08

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Cddanielrenstrom_adoreandtrembleI've been listening a lot lately to Daniel Renstrom's (MySpace) Adore and Tremble EP.  He emailed me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I might review it.  I almost said no, because I knew it would be Christian music.  Then I figured I would just tell him that I really don't listen to much Christian music and he wouldn't send it.  So I told him.  He sent it anyway.  What a great surprise this worship EP is!

This 6 song EP includes four original songs by Renstrom and two updated hymns, "Adore and Tremble" by Isaac Watts and "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" by John Newton.  All good.  And all lyrics and chords are online for all.  I should also add that the production quality is top notch, not what you always get from early recordings.  I highly recommend this EP for your own devotions or to find some new worship stuff for your church.  I had it playing last Sunday before and after worship.  Get it at iTunes or on CD.

Spoon (well, Britt) in a Black Cab singing the great song, "I Summon You"...

Justice, "DVNO".  Geez, this stuff is cool...

I want me some Bon Iver (MySpace ).  Some of it sounds like a gentler, acoustic TV on the Radio.  I will pick up For Emma, Forever Ago as soon as I can find it.  "Flume"...

"Lump Sum"...

If you are anything like me you occasionally go back and find a song you used to like and find out it's still a great song.  Here's one I searched out recently.  Who doesn't want to be in a band and play a song like this live?

Lots-o-Links 3.2.08

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The_ghost_with_black_fingers_by_raiQuick God Story: My family is still sick, sick, sick.  Unbelievable virus we are dealing with.  We were all feeling better and now most of us are getting symptoms back.  Our youngest now has 103+ temp again.  Ugh.  But all praise to God for this story.  Saturday afternoon my debilitating fever and aches stopped and I had tons of energy Saturday night and plenty for the task this morning.  I mean I went from the worst day so far on Saturday morning, and then full of energy and vigor Saturday evening.  Then soon after gathered worship today my fever came back as did my aches and terrible cough (I didn't cough once during the sermon).  There may be some medical explanation for why I had such a dramatic health hiccup, but I know WHO is getting the credit.  I was truly singing this morning, "How Great is Our God."

Speaking of how sick I am, it would really help me turn this frown upside-down if someone would present me something this awesome with Joe Thorn's likeness on it.  It would make my year! (HT)

When was the last time you wondered how Michael Foster would approach church planting differently?  Exactly.  And he promises to elaborate.  I'm demanding he gets on it asap.

You need to make your way to the Vintage Jesus Newsroom, where Steve Camp goes for his devotional time.

Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses, online free.

PastorHacks is into Jott (and Pinger).  I've been using Jott for a while now with great success and productivity.  I think Joe Thorn told me about Jott (I had to say that because he will speak harshly to me this week if I don't mention it.  I don't like it when Hobbits get mean, especially when I'm sick.).

I may have mentioned this before, but Piper/Bethlehem's accountability stuff is worth checking out. 

You should check out Abraham Piper's crazy little experiment of a blog.  Alas, he is his father's son.  (Only four more words.)

Speaking of numbers, Baptist Reformed types will probably not like Scot McKnight's new article, "The 8 Marks of a Robust Gospel."  Why?  It's one short.  I actually haven't read it yet, but McKnight is always worth reading (even when tragically wrong!).  No heckling me please.  I'm sick.

Here's Eugene Peterson at the 2007 Writer's Symposium by the Sea (isn't that where George McFly first kissed that chick from Howard the Duck?).  The story he tells about Bono is worth the whole thing.  (HT)

Spiritual Combustion Cycle

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Repentance and faith have been called the two dynamics of a “spiritual combustion cycle” that God means to be at work in our hearts at all times, changing us into the image of his Son. In order for us to experience the transforming power of the gospel in our lives, we must continually be repenting and believing in the gospel.

When this “spiritual combustion cycle” of ongoing repentance and faith is at work in the heart, there will be change. The reverse is also true. When there is no true change in the heart and life, it is certain that this cycle of ongoing repentance and faith is not taking place.

Steven Childers, "True Spirituality: The Transforming Power of the Gospel," p 4.

Spiritual Warfare Isn't Real

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WarfareNo question about it.  After two of the most important Sundays of my life and in the life of our church, I have found myself without internet 98% of the time at the house.  Something is terribly wrong with our phone line and they can't figure it out yet.  So no phone or internet until they figure it out.  They promised last night to be here to fix it, now they are promising early today.  At this point they are giving us refunds on phone stuff until it's fixed, but I want the DSL not the money!

And you might say I should get off my duff and get out to a free wifi place.  Oh really!  Everyone in my house is sick, including me.  Fevers for three of the kids.  My youngest was the last well one and he woke up hurling last night.  The pharmacy is calling us for antibiotics since we have stockpiled most of it here.  I haven't felt right for two days and feel very achy today, as does my wife.  And even if I chose to get out of the house and go to Starbucks to get online, I cancelled my wifi there a couple of weeks ago and would have to pay.  Ugh.

I'm only writing this after my internet popped on for a minute, not even knowing when I press the "Post" button if it will work.  So if you are reading this somewhere near 9:46am central time on Thursday, consider this the moment you witnessed the victory of Jesus over the powers of the Devil.  Yes, laying hands on your laptop does work!

Reason4GodSpotting

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I've been taking camera phone photos of The Reason for God as I find it out and about.  I'm encouraging you to find Keller in your context so when you recommend the book you know who has it on the shelf.
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Music Monday 2.25.08

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A big congratulations to Glen Hansard and Maketa Irglova for their Oscar for best original song, "Falling Slowly."  Here's their live performance from the Oscars and the award and speeches...

A really great performance by Mark Ronson and friends at the Brit Awards...

The Village Voice offers high praise (in an odd way) that should make you consider checking out the new Drive-By Truckers album, Brighter Than Creation's Dark.

Creation's Dark came out last month, and though past DBT discs have left me enthralled, I initially ignored this one. Took it for granted, disregarded it as more of the same. Dependably great, sure, but there were bigger, more exotic fish to fry. The Truckers had made it look so easy for so long, but [the song] "Bob" forcefully proves that it's not, and it's never been. It keeps you honest, and it scares you straight.

A last word: There Will Be Blood, the soundtrack, is awesome.  Watch the movie, drink the milkshake.