My friend, Ben Arment, has created another STORY Conference here in Chicago. The STORY website is the dreamiest ever. How can you see this and not want to go? STORY purposefully has limited seating for maximized experience, so you want to get your tickets now.
Here's more info...
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STORY Sept 23-24 Chicago, IL
STORY is a conference for the creative class in ministry on September 23-24, 2010 at Park Community Church in downtown Chicago. The purpose is to fuel the church's artists, writers and producers in communicating the greatest story ever told. You’ll hear from some of the best creative practitioners in both ministry and the marketplace, from filmmakers and authors to actors and musicians. Presenters include:
# Dan Allender - best-selling author, professor at Mars Hill Graduate School # Charlie Todd - creator of Improv Everywhere in New York City # Princess Zulu - AIDS victim from infancy, advocate for the oppressed # Jason Fried - founder of 37Signals, creator of Basecamp, author of Rework # John Sowers - president of Donald Miller's The Mentoring Project # Shauna Niequist - former creative director at Mars Hill, author of Bittersweet # David Hodges - formerly of the band Evanescence, award-winning songwriter # Leonard Sweet - futurist, author of 40 books, professor at Drew University # David McFadzean - creator of Home Improvement, producer of Roseanne # Richard Walter - accomplished screenwriter and professor of film at UCLA # Sean Gladding - member of Communality, a new monastic community # Andrew Klavan - author of True Crime (Clint Eastwood) and numerous novels # Gary Dorsey - founder of Pixel Peach Studio in Austin, TX # Music by Vicky Beeching, Kari Jobe and Carlos Whittaker
Seating is limited to just 500 attendees, and the event is scheduled on a Thursday and Friday so you can enjoy the weekend in the city. Following its inaugural event in 2009, STORY is now a two-day, main-stage event with no breakouts or workshops; just an intimate audience with the top creative minds. You’ll be able to ask questions during the event and continue the conversation after it's over. Visit www.storychicago.com.
Thanks to Lifeway and Jared Wilson for the opportunity to review the Threads by Lifeway study Abide: Practicing Kingdom Rhythms in a Consumer Culture. I've seen a couple of Threads products and it's a sharp-looking line of materials for young adults and college students. It seems like a nice step-up for Lifeway products. Here's a video teaser for Abide that I think is well-done...
There's no shortage of books on spiritual disciplines as a whole or certain disciplines on their own. I have dozens of them. What I love, just love, about Abide is that it uses the word/idea of "rhythms." Disciplines seem like work to me. Rhythms feel like life. There's just something freeing, at least to me, about that simple shift. If want to live Kingdom life, I don't want to live Kingdom discipline.
Maybe that's just a generational thing. To be "disciplined" seems honorable and even heroic. But maybe that's the problem. Maybe when I try to be more involved in disciplines I want to be seen as spiritually honorable. Sounds like the Pharisees, who prayed and fasted to be seen by others and not God. I long to be seen by God, and to have rhythms in my life that develop a knowledge and relationship with Him.
There is no biblical language that has been more helpful in this longing for me than the language of abiding in Christ (John 15). My pastor in Denver used to talk from the pulpit about how in his early ministry he was working in his own energy and crashed hard physically and ended up in the hospital. The passage that saved him was John 15, and learning that if we don't abide in Christ we can do nothing. That story stuck with me, and 6+ years into my first pastorate I've myself in numerous struggles both personally and ministerially. Along comes an opportunity to review Abide. I needed it. I hope some who read this review will realize they need it too.
Abide is 5 studies: feeling Scripture, intentional prayer, purposeful fasting, joyful service and genuine community. The format is new to me. It reads much like a book. Often in "Bible study" books you get leading questions, a lot of going to read Scripture, and a lot of questions to answer. Wilson gives us a lot of content with helpful questions occasionally breaking it up. I like the content-focused approach better than most studies I've seen. Especially for younger folks who could use a bit more pastor-leadership.
I really like the questions in the chapters. They are truly thought-provoking and require creative thinking that is both personal and theological. No one is phoning-in the questions. They are well constructed. For example...
Take some time to write out what some beatitudes of suburbia might sound like. What or who is considered blessed in a consumerist culture? p17
Jared uses plenty of humor along the way that fits right in with the crowd he is writing to. I think the format and approach will work well with the intended crowd.
I don't if I've seen it before, but the illustration of how being filled with the spirit is like sailing was just great. Rhythms hoist sails to catch the blowing of the Ghost. Without sails up, the wind won't take us far. This picture colors Wilson's approach to every rhythm.
Abide is Gospel-centered. If you have young adults around, this is a solid resource that doesn't just say to do things to please God. Wilson draws from many sources including some new, solid ones (like Skye Jethani, John Piper) and very old, good ones (like Bonhoeffer, Calvin).
My only criticism is I occasionally felt chapters were meandering. I like when things are point-point-point, and in a logical and obvious flow. I'm not saying Wilson was illogical or had no flow to his arguments. Not at all. But for me it seemed more woven together than systematically argued. I think some of the style elements may have distracted from the flow too. So maybe it's just my age showing. It is, after all, written for someone about 1/2 my age. (Wow, just realized that I'm old.) I say all that to say that this really isn't much of a criticism. Just an observation. And it's meant for further discussion among friends and not just individual consumption, which is what I did.
The Leader's Guide kit has a number of helpful materials including articles for preparation, questions, etc through an enhanced CD. Articles and audio devotions are emailable to the group, video shorts are provided to spark discussion. I have yet to encounter a study with so much material! It's well done. There are even songs to coincide with the study. Everything is very user friendly and they make it clear what to do and when. I printed out some stuff just to see how it looks and it looked beautiful with color and artwork. As with any leader material for any study, you will likely find some stuff more helpful than others and be able to tweak the study as you find it helpful.
I've found Abide helpful to the point I've built my current sermon series around some of the ideas, points and illustrations. Last Sunday was on Scripture and the Abide chapter was quite useful during prep. I highly recommend this study for the young adults it's intended for. I think it will also be helpful for any adult who needs solid teaching on kingdom rhythms. I'm considering going through it with my daughter (13) next. It might still be a little beyond her, but I think she'll dig it. I think you will too.
Bonnaroo Free Audio: All at NPR including Gaslight Anthem, Dead Weather, The XX, Avett Brothers, and many more
One of my favorite new albums is Damien Jurado: Saint Bartlett ($5 right now!). I highly recommend it, including the great song "Arkansas." The video is quite interesting...
The Gaslight Anthem plays "The Backseat" at Bonnaroo. It's from their excellent album, The '59 Sound. Their new album, American Slang, is out tomorrow. Both albums are $7.99. Crank it up!
My Most Played: Damien Jurado: Saint Bartlett - truly great songwriting. Delta Spirit: Ode To Sunshine - can't stop listening! Coram Deo Church: Doxology - favorite in my house for worship right now.
Mumford & Sons video for Roll Away Your Stone. You need their album, Sigh No More (only $7.99). It's really wonderful. I'm so glad that bands like this exist...
Broken Bells (album only $7.99) + Christina Hendricks (Joan from Mad Men) = Great video. Enjoy!
Books change us in different ways. Some help confirm what we already know. Some teach us something new. Some challenge our thinking or theology. Some help us grow in our faith. And so on.
Few books really change me deeply. Directly. Powerfully. Never to look back. I didn't expect it, but this one had me spinning for days and still eager to consider the implications more and more. I'll be honest. I was in a rut. I still am trying to turn my way out. I need refreshment. I need recharging. I need renewal. And God has used Introverts in the Church by Adam McHugh to show me how I put myself in the rut and how to get out. And that was just after the first 2 chapters.
What is realized is that I've been working hard for years at being more extroverted. After all, the more extroverted I could be the better I could function in ministry. I'd be a better evangelist and preacher and counselor and networker and so on. Imagine the hunger to be in constant interaction with the people around you in pastoral ministry. I romanticized that idea, but struggled to follow through. I have been streaky at best. And the more I felt guilty about it, the more drained I became and harder I worked to be something that didn't *click*. McHugh explained a picture of me in the book that opened my eyes.
McHugh helped explain my introversion in super-helpful recognizable attributes (p 42). I recharge best alone or with close friends or family. I need rest after outside activities and interaction with people. I'm territorial with private & family space and treat my home like a sanctuary. Small talk drives me batty. My brain is bubbling with activity no matter what else is going on around me. And so on. I think while reading this chapter I giggled with delight at the things I learned about myself that I knew but didn't know, if you know what I mean. Ok, I didn't "giggle." I'm a dude, after all. But I grinned big and in a giggle-y way.
Introverts in the Church gave me glasses to see myself more clearly as well as the introverts around me. And, by the way, it ends up being very helpful to understand extroverts since comparisons are so often made. Then McHugh weaves them together to show how we individually a mixture of the two since none of us are pure introvert or extrovert, and the church is also a mixture of the two having people of all variations. In many ways this book is really about the varied gifts in the body of Christ and how we need them all.
I think I've been duped into believing that the best gift I could give my church is to become more like someone else. I knew better than to want to be John Piper. But I overlooked the problem of not wanting to be an introvert. Books and blogs and Twitter and the rest are perfect places to develop extroversion envy. Through a number of things over the past year, culminating with this book, God has put me in my place. And for the first time in a while being an introvert the place I want to be. Now I'm working to relearn the rhythms that make sense for me to be me when I pray, work, rest, serve and enjoy the life and calling God gave me. For that work McHugh gives helpful chapters on introverted spirituality, community & relationship. leadership, evangelism and more. These chapters will be helpful friends to revisit along that pathway.
I think what I learned most as I reflected onIntroverts in the Church, and what is changing most about me because of it, is that my best work for the church as a pastor is deep work. It's reading deep. Praying. Contemplating. Being silent. Enjoying the refreshing presence of God.
Introverts in the Church is one of the most important books I've read in years. It's not perfect. I may have written things a bit differently here and there. I might have used different examples and stories in places. And my journey is different than yours, so you may not have the same experience as me. But I believe it will help free people in similar situations as me to be who God made them to be. For that reason it's highly recommended for introverts and church leaders. I can't help but to think this will also be helpful for parents, coaches, teachers and to people working with people in numerous avenues of life.
