Who Said Good Music Was Dead?

Facebook: pay attention

Randall Stross wrote a piece in Sunday's NYT's about some significant growth within Facebook. Users in 2007 numbered 50 million. Today there are 400 million active users. More than 50% of Facebook users in the USA are 35 and up, with only 26.8% under 24. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. And Facebook's game FarmVille attracts 83 million users per/month! During the month of January 2010, users spent about 7 hours on Facebook (how many Sundays in that month?). Use time is growing at 10% per month, while Google fell by 14.3%, Yahoo by 27% and Microsoft by 26.%

Jesse Rice "gets it" in the book "The Church of Facebook". Rice observes Facebook offering connection in a way the church used to do and calling it "community" and "friends". It's not bad, but it is ...is. I'd love to see an online forum, Midwinter, Covenant Companion address and get up in front of this socio-technological trend.

Picture of the Missional Church

My friend Brad Boydston found this video that eloquently illustrates where we need to (and are) going.

Galatians 5:22,23: Faithfulness

The 7th of the 9 Fruits of the Spirit is Faithfulness. What could be more faithful than the bread and the cup at the table?

Kick-Back Church

"Why Go to Church?" was the title of the panel discussion I was invited to participate in at a dorm at Westmont College. The panel discussion began at 8pm and I was one of four participants. Two were distinguished professors of philosophy and church history, myself and then the leader of a new church called "Kick-Back" at UCSB.

We were invited to share our background (2 PhD's, one MDiv and one Bachelor's degree in process). We were erudite and he was a bit bewildered. The story of the Kick-BAck church was that none of his friends would go to a "regular" church, so he invited them to his apartment on Sunday mornings, opened the Bible and random and kicked back and talked about the Bible.

I felt sorry for him; no degree, no seminary, no sense of church history or theology, no denominational support system, no organizational chart, constitution. It is a melt-down waiting to happen. He did not contribute much to the conversation other than agreeing with the professors and me. He was really nice and I offered him my card in case he aver needed to talk with someone.

But I have not been able to get this "kid" out of my mind. What impresses me is how seriously he takes the Bible and his assumption that he can read and understand it without a trained professional. I am sure he will get into trouble, discover residual heresies, deal with community conflict, etc.

But when I look at his cohort that I see on Sunday mornings, I am impressed. He does not see himself as a consumer target group that is shopping for a church with the best music, preaching and programs (not to mention food!). He's not sleeping in on Sundays and attending church only when he feels like it. He is the church. He's doing church (rough as it appears) and he's full of the Spirit of God.

Martha's Nemesis!

I was walking through campus today and some motion caught my eye. A gopher was poking its head through its hole. I got very close to get this picture. These are the creatures that drive Martha simply crazy!

Wisteria at the gate

Oooops!

The view from 435 miles up!

Newest shots from NASA

Soup Supper Tonight!!

"Nice Screensaver"

Courtesy of my son Isaac

Loving Bin Laden

Few magazines I read are as spiritual provoking and challenging as is Mission Frontiers, that is published by the U. S Center for World Missions in Pasadena, California. I began reading it in the 1980's after meeting its founder, the late Dr. Ralph Winters. His opening editorials were deeply challenging and scripturally substantial. I grieved his death, not because I knew him well, but because I didn't think anyone could write and provocatively about world missions. His successor, Rick Wood, is consistently hitting home runs, especially in the current issue entitled "Loving Bin Laden: what does Jesus expect us to do?" Here are some quotes from Rick that grabbed my heart and mind:

"Jesus is welcome, but our Christianity is not."

"Muslims like Jesus but not our Christianity."

"It is time for us to stop calling ourselves 'Christians.'" (!)

"Bashing Islam and Muhammad is not an effective strategy."

It's worth taking the time to print out and read, or better yet, subscribe.

Good morning for coffee at the beach