Thanks Darcy! I hope to be a more involved part of CV this year if my health allows.

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I don't know much but I've heard pancreatic cancer is a terrible one. I wish I had something better or more meaningful to say...but there isn't much that can be said. I hope your friends family is finding their space to grieve and work through their loss.
peace.

Cheryl we'd love to have y'all over! Lets message on facebook and make it happen.

Yeah it was pretty neat to be a part of. Even today as I was writing this in a cafe I overheard two people who were strangers to each other talking about the event because they had both volunteered. Naturally I chimed in and we all swapped stories for a while. Good times.

I'm trying really hard not to swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction, but I am absolutely positive that we need a shift from where we've been. We have so idolized logic and reason that we have ignored right living as an actual experience of grace.

In preparation for planting a church I spent a lot of time talking to smart people in order to decide if I should go to grad school. One experienced church planter flatly said "If you grew up in the church, going to Sunday school, being in a youth group, etc. the last thing you need is more education. You know all the Bible stories, you know how to study the Bible...what you don't know how to do is to throw a party. You don't know how to be with people, how to engage a neighborhood, how to actually communicate gospel in your world!" The idea was that we keep pumping our head full of knowledge, but what the world needs is love. Love and knowledge are in no way opposed unless the pursuit of knowledge keeps us from a deeper pursuit of loving our neighbor.

I love that. "because I know God. I was asked this question today in an interview...I wish I had come up with such a beautiful and simple answer.

To my defense, I think Toby Mac and SCC are making fun of themselves too for that song! And I already had to back peddle a bit concerning Abundant Life in the facebook comments. Because in reality I know nothing about Abundant Life Church...but...since they have that website I couldn't help but include them.
But you know how I feel about MWS!

Wow, not sure what happened here...but I like it.

Ben I like that. That's a great comment and deserves a whole post to itself: Evangelism and how it is informed by our consumer mentality.
Even the basic assumption for how we present the simple gospel message reads like advertising 101. In advertising you tell people that they're unhappy/incomplete, that some certain item will bring them happiness, and that I happen to have what you need. Isn't that what we do with Jesus? Your life sucks/you've got a god shaped hole, Jesus is what you need, and I happen to know Jesus.
Honestly though, my second thought (as noted in the blog) was more coming out of the idea that at least this church is doing something! Geez, if even churches did misguided racist evangelism at least they'd be doing more than what most churches/Christians currently do. I mean the church (from an evangelism stand point) can't get too much worse than what it is except to accelerate what is already happening (shrinkage). So even crappy evangelism is an effort in the right direction.
Anyway, I'm really glad you said that. good point.