Monthly Archives: September 2011
Free online conference today: “The Nines”
A boat load of influential pastors, thinkers, writers, and otherwise interesting church leaders will be participating in a free online video conference today called The Nines. This is an annual conference that’s organized by our friends at Leadership Network. For more information go here. The whole thing is completely free.
I encourage you to make some time to watch some of these videos. If you’re busy today, maybe just watch a little on your lunch break. The twitter tag is #thenines. It’s essentially free access to some of today’s most influential church leaders. A great opportunity!
Links worth Clicking: 2011 AND Conference round-up
Since attending the 2011 AND Conference last week I’ve been searching the net for various other links to find out what others are thinking. If you missed the conference you might find these helpful. There was a lot of discussion there about the “missional” movement. To me, it was fascinating – how can we be both “gathered and scattered” as a church? (…as Hugh Halter would say…) Here’s what I’ve found so far:
Pastor Dave Online reviews a book that released exclusively at the conference, Barefoot Church. A second review of the book is also available on the “In the Lead” blog.
Hugh Halter blogged about the release of his new book and Brandon Hatmaker’s Barefoot Church
Mark Meyer blogged through the whole conference. Here’s his link to notes from a session led by Alan Hirsch. Check out his site for lots of others.
Tim Schraeder also blogged through the conference. Here’s a link to his post on capital campaigns.
Josh Jones is another blogger who made it to quite a few sessions. Here’s his link to notes from Wegner and Magruder’s talk on “Glorious Failures.”
Here’s a link back to my own thoughts on the conference, in case you missed it.
New outreach resource by Kevin Harney: “Organic Outreach for Churches”
There was a new book waiting for me in my mailbox at work this morning…Organic Outreach for Churches: Infusing Evangelistic Passion into Your Congregation by Kevin Harney. I was excited to see it as I know it truly captures Kevin’s heartbeat for evangelism.
For the City Blog Tour
Today we are excited to announce the For the City blog tour!
In For the City Matt Carter and Darrin Patrick explain the biblical, theological, and historical foundations of ministry within the urban core and how to plant churches where the gospel is not only faithfully preached and shared but also brings substantial benefits to those living in the community.
For the City relates the wisdom gleaned from years of serving cities for the sake of God’s kingdom. Carter and Patrick practically equip church leaders and Christians to look at their city as a mission field where individuals and churches can faithfully proclaim the gospel and live out the reality of a community changed and transformed by its message.
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Details:
The tour will run October 24th – 28th, and there is a cap of 50 bloggers.
To sign up you must be willing to post a review of For the City on your own blog and a online bookseller of your choice (Amazon, CBD, B&N, etc.) during the week of the tour.
If you are interested in participating you can sign up using this form. (sorry, this tour is full)
The AND Conference, Brandon Hatmaker, and Granger Community Church
Today I’m hanging out at day 2 of the AND Conference. A couple of great things have happened today:
1) Barefoot Church was exclusively released! By that, I mean, we begged, pleaded, cajoled, and bribed our printer to ship us advanced copies of the book. Though they didn’t arrive on day 1 of the conference (a serious bummer) they did arrive at 8:30am on day 2 (a serious bonus!). There was a group of people hanging out at the booth as soon as we opened to get copies. Here’s a quick pic of Brandon Hatmaker with his new book – an incredible moment for any author!
2) I got to hear Rob Wegner and Jack MacGruder discuss “Glorious Failures: Risk, Experimentation and Victory in Community Development Through Transformational Partnerships.” It was a great talk detailing how they have effectively served their local community, Monroe Center, with a missional mindset. The talk brought a lot of clarity for me to the “missional” conversation. You’ll be hearing more about these two on this blog in the future…(I don’t have a pic of this talk because I thought the flash photography would be rude…so, please enjoy the church sign.)
3) I got hang out with a lot of Zondervan readers and a few bloggers. I love when I’m at a conference and someone walks up to me and says “Hey, we’ve emailed each other, I’m ________.” There’s nothing like putting a face to a name and getting to connect with real people. Sometimes life feels like nothing but a flurry of emails. I’ve really enjoyed chatting with different folks today.
The Zondervan booth at the AND Conference
What Does It Mean To Be A Xealot?
Failure is the Key to Success | Obedience Trumps Passion | Pain is a Gift
Strength, success, and pleasure; every day we are sold on these ideas of the good life. We attend lectures that teach us how to leverage our talents to become something more. We read self-help books which promise to deliver the key to financial, relational, or even spiritual success.
But what if the message of Jesus turns all of that upside down?
In Xealots, Dave Gibbons explains how our pains and failures can actually be a gift, and are part of what it means to follow Christ.
Instead of affirming the wisdom of the world, but with a Christian twist, Gibbons challenges us to live counter-culturally – embracing our weakness and in the process embracing so much more. For in our weakness we meet God, find common ground with others, and own up to the realities of our own suffering.
The result? A life of authenticity and obedience that is sold out to the way of Jesus.
Drawing on his own story of going from being the child of a broken home to an international church planter and leadership developer, as well as the stories of others who have used their pain for the kingdom of God, Xealots offers a radically new way of looking at the life of faith.
It is a call to embrace the extraordinary, and reject a “normal” Christian life in favor of the revolutionary way of the cross.
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You can learn more about Dave and his ministry at his webpage, Xealot.net
What People Are Saying About: The King Jesus Gospel
The King Jesus Gospel has been causing a stir on the interwebs recently, with a host of reviews and social media mentions. Here are some recent Tweets that comment on KJG.
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Every preacher & every Christian who cares about the Gospel needs to read “The King Jesus Gospel” by @scotmcknight. Simple & revolutionary. – @gpackiam Executive Pastor at New Life
Just finished reading “The King Jesus Gospel” by @scotmcknight - a fantastic & thought provoking read. – @BillCahusac at Holy Trinity
On chapter 3 and luh-luh-loving @scotmcknight ‘s new book: The King Jesus Gospel – @mafeinberg Author and Speaker
Read Scot McKnight’s new book yesterday, “The King Jesus Gospel”. Thank God someone noted is saying this. Been a burden of mine for years. – @mgastin
Both @scotmcknight & The King Jesus Gospel are a gift. Go read the book, now… – @joe_skillen
Half-way through @ScotMcKnight ‘s new book. Excellent so far – @FrankViola Author and Speaker
I have long thought the difference between Jesus and Paul on the gospel is way overstated See @scotmcknight on this – @fitchest Professor at Northern Seminary
Exponential 2012
After braving the approaching Michigan winter, Z will be heading down to Florida to thaw out and attend Exponential 2012. Check out the announcement below for more details. Hope we see you there!
Calling all Church Planting Leaders!
Mark your calendar for April 23 – 26, 2012 and commit to attend Exponential 2012. Here are just a few reasons why…
- Over 4,500 Church Planting Leaders
- Over 100 National Speakers (including Bill Hybels and Wayne Cordeiro)
- 15 Pre-Conference Intensives
- Over 100 Workshops
- Special Discounts for Spouses
- Inspiring, Encouraging, Equipping & Challenging leaders
- Group options to Customize your Experience
- Over 50 National Sponsors help make it Affordable
- Sunny Orlando, Florida
Exponential 2012’s “Sifted” theme highlights the vital importance of the spiritual, physical and emotional health of the church planter as a vital component in catalyzing leaders who reproduce. Where most resources focus on the “doing” of models, approaches and innovations, “Sifted” focuses on the “being” and health of church planting leaders. Through the “Sifted” theme, Exponential seeks to create a national conversation around what it looks like to improve the support of church planting leaders, especially in the post-launch phase, and develop healthier and more productive church planters.
Mark your calendar now and plan to attend! The super duper early bird rate of $99 for the planter and $29 for the spouse is good until September 15, 2011. Visit www.exponentialconference.com to learn more and to register.
