Google Maps helps Beautiful Day

Check this out!!! i know a bunch of you guys see these Google streetview cars capturing pics in and around town.

Well... we just happened to be at the right place AND we had our Beautiful Day banners. So in just a few weeks, you can go to google maps (streetview)... and go down Campbell Ave (Campbell CA) in front of the Sonoma Chicken Coup.... and see us holding a HUGE Beautiful Day banner.



Thank you Google... for promoting Beautiful Day this year!!!

Beautiful Day partners with The Living Center to host an amazing Day Spa for women living with HIV and AIDS.

In collaboration with the NeilA. ChristieLiving Center,a resource center for those in Santa Clara Countyliving with AIDS or HIV, Beautiful Day hosted a spa day with a lunch for thewomen clients of the Center. Most of these women never receive this kindof service and we were thrilled to be able to bless them in this way.

Here’s an eye-witness summary of the events of that day fromMitzi Macon (director of the Living Well Council, which is Beautiful Day’sextension of compassion to people living with HIV/AIDS)…

I'm home after spending the day atThe Living Center...It was ladies with HIV/AIDS SpaDay for Beautiful Day!

I'm still a bit emotional, butwanted to share with you what a great day it was today. The WestGate 'youngladies', worked tirelessly on hair, nails/toes, massage and make up for 25-30clients. Many came from outside San Jose just for this event. Marianne (the director ofthe Living Center)'got the word out', to many contacts, which in turn brought women to The Living Centerfor the first time. Marianne has never seen such participation...I trulybelieve it started with the amazing invitation created by Charlie (BeautifulDay’s Art Director)...

It was an incredible blessing to seethe women come in the door, a little unsure of what was to come. A fabulouslunch was offered (funded by The Living Well Council) and then each womanpicked the treatment they wanted to experience.

The WG women just worked and worked,as each client was thrilled to have their hair/makeup/nails/toes and bodiesattended to with such love.

I wanted you to know, that thesewomen will never forget their experience today, and think that WG women rock!

Posted by email from Jon Talbert's posterous

Beautiful Day visits the Pediatric Cancer Ward at Stanford. Here's an eyewitness account of all the fun.

by Jon Talbert

Over 9000 children under the age of 15 will be diagnosedwith cancer this year in the United States. In light of that statistic BeautifulDay formed a partnership with Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital to arrangeda fun day for kids in the pediatric cancer ward. On Nov 18^th BeautifulDay team members set up a “faire” at the hospital where familiescame and joined their kids to participate in games, entertainment, and tons oflove.

Due to privacy laws we could not include pictures of thekids… so we’ve only add a picture of some of the team

Here’s an eye-witness detail of how the event unfolded:

The Beautiful Day project forStanford Lucile Packard Children's Hospital was held last night, and, based onthe immediate feedback received from the hospital's Children's EventCoordinator, was a success.

Our group began arriving at 5:45 to set up and get ready to entertain/play with/instructthe kids. Until about three hours before the event started, we still hadno idea how many kids would be there (if any). But, around 3:30yesterday, I got a call stating they expected approximately 15 kids to show. In the end, we counted 25, plus parents, health care workers & staff.

LPCH has a "playroom" set aside for these events called the"Forever Young Zone". At 6:15 some kids were already startingto poke their heads in the door, wanting to know if the event was starting yet. Vanessa Lopez, the Children's Event Coordinator, said that was a verygood sign. By 6:30 (the time the event started), a lot of kids and theirparents were lined up waiting to come in.

Kids, their parents and health care workers started coming through the door. Severalwere hooked up to IVs that they had to pull along side of them. Some were inwagons lined with blankets and pillows, with tubes sticking out of their arms,or in one case, their nose. Some walked along on their own, glad to besomewhere other than their room. Siblings of the patients were includedas well, much more rambunctious than the patients, creating a high energy buzzin the room. You could tell they were familiar with the place, many ofthem knew exactly where favorite toys were kept or went immediately to coloringbooks on the table. Glenda sat down and began playing with colored ricewith one girl; Bob, Pete & Monica were walking around, saying hi to thekids, trying to make them comfortable with these new strangers in their midst.

At 6:40, Rich came back carrying 12 pizzas from California Pizza Kitchen, half of which weredonated by CPK for the event. Pizza is, of course, food that almost everychild loves and soon most were eating while they played, the adults having afew slices themselves, in between watching their kids and waiting for the"show" to begin.

Pete Anderson then began what was probably the most fun anyone has ever had notcatching something, or rather, catching something some of the time,
but not most of the time. The kids were enthralled by his jugglingclinic, and the enthusiasm and optimism in the room was evident. Vanessa(the event coordinator) by this point was visibly excited about how well thekids were responding. Pete has a natural flair for being in front ofgroups of kids (and adults), and the entire room was laughing and "gettinginto it" as he led them through the introductory steps of catchingjuggling scarves (they float so your reflexes don't have to be as fast),starting with just one and throwing it into the air, then two, then three,teaching them patterns of juggling (such as "Criss-Cross Applesauce). For 20 minutes or more, the visibility in the room was limited by dozensof colorful scarves being thrown in the air, which were then either snatchedback or would fall gently to the floor. By the time he moved on tojuggling balls some kids were really getting the hang of it, doing far betterthan some coordination-deficient adults. Soon red, yellow and green ballswere also flying in the air, most of these ending up on the floor rather thanin small hands, but it didn't stop the enthusiasm of the kids as they scooped themback up and sent them skyward again.

Around 7:30, Bob McFarlane herded most of the smaller children out into the hallwaywhere he led them in several games that had them laughing and giggling. The first one he set up two lines of kids and had them race each other byrolling soft nerf balls on the floor through their legs to each other. Then they would pass it to each other by keeping their feet in place andturning only their body, then by using only one hand, then by bouncing, thenpassing two balls around in a circle, trying to catch the second ball up to thefirst. I lost count of the different games he led, but the grins on thefaces never ebbed. It was great for us to have something to offer thesmaller kids as well as the older kids. Glenda and Rich were playing alongwith them as well. Monica had "adopted" a small girl, for whom Vanessasaid needed extra attention, and was acting as her own personal playmate.

One of the last kids to arrive (around 7:45) was a young boy who had not lefthis bed for 15 days, and had not eaten anything for the last five. He had heardthe "fun" coming from the event in his room, and decided he wanted tocome join it. He was brought out by his family, still in his bed and watchedthe games being played in the hall. Pete took several scarves and wentover and gave him and his family (including a young brother) a personal jugglinglesson. Before he had to leave to return to his room, someone gave him apiece of pizza and he began to eat it.

One mother, after she brought in her child and sat down, was heard to say quietlyto herself "This is great".

At 8:00 PM we had to wrap it up, despite the fact that children were still playingBob's games in the hallway. We cleaned up the room, packed our gear andheaded home.

It was truly a great experience for all of us. To those who couldn't be therein person, I know you were praying for us. There's no way thiscame togetheras well as it did without God's hand being involved.

Posted by email from Jon Talbert's posterous

Emerging Models and Culture Shaping

by Jon Talbert

The rising tide of an emerging cultural shift has caught many in the faith community off guard and has laid to waste the forms of evangelicalism that proved successful to previous generations. Popular culture with its postmodern mindset no longer sees church playing a significant role in the social order, and for many, church has become completely irrelevant. “Many church leaders” one writer notes, “are losing touch with our emerging culture, and the result is the drastic dropout rate of younger people in their churches, as well as the lack of people from emerging generations coming in.” (Kimball/They Like Jesus not the Church p14)

Emerging culture has its presuppositions about meaning and purpose, as well as truth and faith that have been formed by various channels of culture and the collective voices of society. Francis Shaffer writes that, “An individual is not just the product of the forces around him. He has a mind, and inner world. Then having thought, a person can bring forth actions into the external world and thus influence it.” (Shaffer/ How should we then live pg 19)While many in the church argue the validity of a global paradigm shift, others, especially the business sector, have embraced it out of necessity. Businesses like Google, eBay, and Apple have not only benefitted financially from emerging culture on the marketplace, but, in fact have actually played a significant role in shaping some of the sectors of this culture shift. In his best seller The World is Flat, Thomas Freidman qualifies a cultural shift as “Flattening” He puts it this way,
“I am convinced that the flattening of the world, if it continues, will be seen in time as one of those fundamental shifts or inflection points, like Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, the rise of the nation-state, or the Industrial Revolution – each of which, in its day… produced changes in the role of individuals, the role and form of governments, the ways business was done and wars were fought, the role of women, the forms religion and art took, and the way science and research were conducted, not to mention the political labels that we as a civilization have assigned to ourselves and to our enemies.” (Freidman/The World is Flat pg 48)

It is in this very shift that fresh expressions of spirituality have emerged and organic communities of faith are sprouting across a landscape that still bears the shadows of empty churches that once thrived in another era. New language and forms of faith gatherings have adapted to cultural needs, and many leaders have returned to ancient ideas and rituals that are rooted deep in the life and mission of Jesus and the early church. Along with these new forms of church comes the idea of culture shaping. Creating, shaping, and redeeming culture as followers of Jesus who function and excel within the channels of culture.

Willow Creek Leadership Summit

I’m at the Summit Leadership Conference at a Satellite site in San Jose. Bill Hybels was the opening speaker with a model that he sets for Descion making. Bill lays out the ground work for making sound decisions within a four-fold principle.

Does the Bible have anything to say about it?.
What do councilors say about it?
What are the P/G/E’s? Pains, Gains, and Experiences that help you?
Is the Spirit prompting you?


He laid out these four principles that get him to making leadership “Axioms”. Short little personal leadership principles that guide you in life. He went on to list a few of his leadership Axioms… here are a few that I found helpful.

-Vision Leaks – this means that people need to hear again and again your vision. If you picture a bucket with holes on the bottom and see that you need to constantly fill it up.
-Facts are your Friends – It’s always helpful to see the raw data about the project your are working with.
-Leaders call Fouls – Leaders sometimes need to stop the meeting and call a figurative foul… something that was said with the wrong tone, or hurtful way, and afford the speaker a mulligan (and opportunity to say/do it over again)… sometimes the leader needs to call a foul on himself.
-When things feel Funky… engage – Sometimes there are rumbles or confusion or a funky tone in the group you are leading…. If that is the case, jump in and engage.
-Take a Flier – this is a word that means to envision and undertake something that is so way beyond the ability for your group to do. Something that would require God to be involved and would be insanely great, Rock their world.
- This is Church - This is a principle that reminds us that what we do at the church is not the only form of church there is. Some times, sitting with a grieving father, or a confused student, the joy of a special ed day at the park. You can look at it and say… “This is Church”

As a side note… I will say that Bill Hybels is really tan! He reminds me of George Hamilton from the Loveboat.

The Detoxification of the Church

The Detoxification of the Church

by Jon Talbert

Like any person exposed to the collective poisons that have affected the body there is a need to detoxify and even enter a season of rehabilitation to heal the body and bring about wholeness. The church to, must set out on a detoxification/rehabilitation plan that will allow it to flourish in its intended design. The church is primed for what Barna calls a Revolution. He writes, “Millions of devout followers of Jesus Christ are repudiating tepid systems and practices of the Christian faith and introducing a wholesale shift in how faith is understood, integrated, and influencing the world.” (Barna p. 11) For many churches who wish to join in this Revolution it will require some Detox/Rehab-steps that will cleanse the system and hopefully reset a new pattern for ministry.

-Dismantle ordinary customs … Reassemble organic systems
One of the issues that came with the shift in postmodern thinking was the idea of Deconstructionism. Deconstruction by definition signifies “a project of critical thought whose task is to locate and 'take apart' those concepts which serve as the axioms or rules for a period of thought.” (wiki) The modernist Church and its structures were to not exempt of the dismantling affects of Deconstructionism. However, if the church in the modernist era needed to undergo some type of structural disassembly in order to
re-engage the postmodern mind, then the shift in our form and function was worth it.
The apostle Paul used the same logic to re-engage communities and people groups who needed truth contextualized.
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
I Corinthians 9:22

In the process of deconstruction, the church needs to create a Research & Development atmosphere with in its culture. To dissect the church without the intention to organically reassemble is more of the role of savaging than it is salvaging. Creating an environment of innovation and creativity not only empowers your free-thinkers, but it also sets a new course that is organic and contextually fresh for the local church. McNeal says it this way, “Much of the incrementalism that plagues the North American church results from a failure to learn. Without the will to learn the church defaults to methodologies and mental maps that keep it anchored to the old world and tether to outmoded paradigms.” (McNeal p. 116)

Many churches in the emerging culture that refuse to release the “sacred cows” of the past will fade and die with them firmly in their grasp.


-Retrofit Leadership Structures
Along side of dismantling of ordinary customs and reassemble of organic systems comes the task of retrofitting leadership structure. Many pastors and leaders are using outdated models of leadership that prohibit churches from becoming making some sort of impact within their particular community. There are many elder/governing church boards that need to take the bold step in moving their pastor on for the sake of a leadership retrofit.
Gone are the days of the celebrity pastor who often radiated from his leadership style. In Bennis’ book the opening chapter is appropriately entitled “The end of the Great Man,” in it he writes, “we have to recognize a new paradigm: not great leaders alone, but great leaders who exist in a fertile relationship with a Great Group. In these creative alliances, the leader and the team are able to achieve something together that neither could achieve alone. The leader finds greatness in the group. And he or she helps the members find it in themselves.” (Bennis p. 3)


Church leadership structures must adapt to the rhythms of the emergent thinking or they will lose the potential dynamic that exists within its congregational context.
Each gathering of Gods people brings about a diverse symphony of unique gifting-variables that is organically synchronized, harmonized, and utilized to impact the ethos of a particular community with a song so sweet they can’t help but see Jesus. \

In his book An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus calls this type of leader the spiritual artisan. He writes, “The spiritual leader as artist carefully paints a picture of an ideal world – the leader’s concept of what the emerging culture should look like. Such leaders use many tools to create this image. They craft images through words. They provoke the imagination through compelling vision. They inspire hearts to believe that, together, a new world can be created.” (McManus p.137)

Retrofitting leadership is also addressing the personal character and resilience of one leading the church. In Jim Collins leadership and strategic planning best seller Good to Great he chronicles the stories of break out companies that make the leap of greatness within their particular sector. One chapter he devotes to the idea of what he calls “Level 5 Leadership.” A Level 5 leader builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humilty and professional will.” (Collins p. 20)


-Messy & Made-to-Order
Detoxification and rehabilitation for the church is never pretty, its never sexy, and its never glamorous. It usually involves pain, struggle, and messiness in a effort to modify something that was… into something that can be. The church that makes the foundational shift to be influential within the emerging culture must recognize that while it gets its heart missional it will get its hands messy. Many churches who respond well to rehab will likely cross a few lines, take a few stands, and draw the last straw(s) in what may be the churches last resort. Conder writes that, “transition to emerging culture ministries will be much easier, more natural, and far more necessary in some communities than others. And some methods and practices will not translate to every community. But along with the opportunities, there will be unexpected costs and casualties in every situation.” (Conder p 33) However through the mess comes a church that begins to see its unique fit as the missing ingredient in a flat and tasteless community. Churches in the past decade have followed a cookie-cutter model of mega-church networks that make the church experience taste more like a super-sized fast-food meal than spirit-sized home-cooked meal. The nature and the beauty of this organism called church is its ability to morph into any size, shape, color, or context. Church can and should be made-to-order in any fashion the Spirit of God chooses it to be.

Emptying Churches Filling Needs

I cannot stand another church FAD. There have been numerous fads and trends that have over promised and under-delivered. The church Growth-movement that started in the 70's... gained momentum in the 80's... and peaked out in the 90's... has residue left over on Christendom in our post-modern culture. We have been duped into believing that "filling the church" is the answer. I will admit that a growing church has some vital signs that display some level of health... however, if a growing church, or a full church is the measure of vitality, we are gravely mistaken.

Filling churches is no longer the goal... emptying churches into the streets is!! I cannot over emphasize the paradigm shift from "church growth" to "church mission". The mission of the church starts with a HUGE goal in mind... that is, to empty the seats and to engage our people in the wilds of popular culture. To live Christ in our schools and workplaces, to re:engage Christ in out conversations at coffee houses, pubs, and resturants. To host BBQ's and bon fires in our community and neighborhoods... to re:imagine the expression of Christ in our artisitic venues of music, theater, and comedy. To be foolish enough to think that we could collaborate with other entities in popular culture... like businesses, organizations, and government... to actually serve those in need around us.

The Church must do this! This is not a fad... its a model, given to us by Jesus years and years ago. We just some how messed it up.

The church has entered a new day in Christendom... and we need to look to Christ for our model and our mission.

Common Grace v. Intentional Incarnational Compassion

by Jon Talbert

Each and every day thousands of needy and marginalized people around the world are served and cared for with little to no participation from the church. With the growing tide of social activism and volunteerism that reaches both local and global issues, the church has struggled to find its groove[1] that is, defining the theology of compassion and justice, and the equally important implementation of it. While emerging service oriented non-profits rise to new levels of local and global impact, many churches are either replicating social services or neglecting this issue all together.

With these growing services it becomes increasingly important to better understand what’s happening in popular culture and how the work of common grace is different from that of the work of the church.



-Pop Culture, the Image of God, and the work of Common Grace
Popular Culture has found its moral high ground in what theologians call Justitia Civilis,[2] that is, doing that which is right in civil or natural affairs. We see Angelina Jolie is the UN Ambassador and mother of three 3rd world adoptions, Starbucks led all fundraising efforts in the Santa Clara County Walk for AIDS, Condoleessa Rice lends support for the Human Trafficking “Not For Sale” Campaign, and Bono who continues to lead the fight against extreme poverty, debt relief, and AIDS, just to name a few. Yet, this recent wave of Justitia Civilis is merely a current echo of the ancient scriptures resounding the common grace characteristic found in the image of God. "The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made....The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing."[3]
While there may be historical nuances or variables that contribute to this fresh trend of compassion and justice in western culture, the imputed DNA of God-like characteristics upon mankind remains the same, in that we are made in the image of God, and God is inherently good. Francis Schaffer writes, “Since God has made man in his own image… that he can influence history for himself and for others, for this life and the life to come.”[4]
Strangely enough, with this rise in social services and volunteerism some would argue that the growing trend of compassion in a consumerism culture requires the endorsement power of celebrities connected to a cause to rouse the deadened common grace that has grown callous within western society. As one writer puts is "The fact that it takes movie stars to make people care about pressing human rights struggles reflects a self-absorbed culture where compassion and empathy is awakened through glamour rather than human conscience and duty."[5] The strong influence of pop culture on the expression of common grace only lends to the argument of fads and trends. This influence also illustrates the growing need of a clear theological basis for compassion and justice in a church that has a tendency to lean towards cultural trends. Reggie McNeal writes that “consultants, parachurch ministries, denominational headquarters, and publishing houses prod and push the church towards whatever the current fad is. A spate of program fixes have consistently overpromised and underdelivered.”[6] The growing awareness of compassion and justice in the church cannot afford to fade away like the latest hairstyle or fashion statement in Hollywood, it must have clear theological motivations that ensure its survival.

-Theological motivations of Compassion & Justice
A deeper understanding of the theological motivations of Compassion and Justice is intertwined and rooted in the missio Dei. The underpinnings of these motivations are inseparable from the work of God, through Jesus, and empowered through the Spirit of God. The clear picture of missio Dei has either been lacking in the church or reinterpreted in light of church viability, either way, its lack of clarity has left compassion and justice susceptible to the wash of trends that run through the church.

In the missio Dei, God chose to redeem all creation.[7] In Genesis 12, God choose Abraham to the channel of blessing “through you I will bless many nations”[8]. It is through this covenant that the eventual redemption blessing in the form of Christ would come to mankind. Through the incarnation of Jesus, the world would not only experience the ultimate redemption and reconciliation but also the concept of kingdom of God extended on earth. Through out the entire redemption narrative God manifests his character and the coming overture of Christ’s kingdom ministry which is rooted in compassion and justice.

Compassion, Justice, mercy, et al, are an irrefutable subset of the nature and quality of love found in the character of God. This love is whispered in common grace and screamed in redeeming grace. Love becomes the foundation of missio Dei featured in the attitude and action of Christ’s life, and set as the modeled mindset for his disciples, and the ministry of the church. As David Bosch writes, “The classical doctrine of the missio Dei as God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit [is] expanded to include yet another “movement”: Father, Son, and Holy Sprit sending the church into the world.”[9]
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:8-9

“I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in I delight” Jeremiah 9:24

The Spirit of the Lord is on me to… preach good news to the poor… freedom for the prisoners… sight for the blind… release for the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luke 4:18-19

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” John 20:21

“By this all men will know you are my disciples if you have love for one another”
John 13:35
The mode of love that is found in God, formed in Christ, and empowered through His Spirit, is the missio Dei that must be displayed in the church as an extension of the kingdom. This love expressed in compassion, justice, mercy, kindness, and becomes the foundational expression of our theology, or as one writer puts it, “everything in our Christian theology should be missional.”[10] Understanding the theological motivations sets the stage for the actions and attitudes of intentional incarnational compassion and justice that should be reflected in the church and may differ from that of culture.

-Actions and Attitudes of Intentional Incarnational Compassion
The earthly ministry of Jesus was so shockingly distinct from the religious system of the day that it set a mark for his disciples and the church to follow. Jesus even said that loving others the same way he loved would actually mark those as followers. “Love one another, just as I have loved you… by this all will know you are my disciples if you love one another.”[11] In his book Conformed to His Image Kenneth Boa writes that “our faith… and our hope… are demonstrated in the present through the choices and works of love.”[12]
Many of these “love” distinctions are found in the actions and attitudes of intentional incarnational compassion and justice that are distinctly different than the cultural “common grace” driven compassion seen in everyday life. Will and Lisa Samson highlight this difference in their book Justice in the Burbs, they write, “humankind seems to have some general sense of the need for mercy, compassion, being fair, and living by the golden rule. We see hopeful glimpses of this from time to time, such as scores of people reaching out to help victims of the 2004 tsunami or Hurricane Katrina. But apart from some future hope, these brief looks are merely distractions from the awful state we find ourselves in.”[13]
Intentional incarnational compassion finds identity with the fatherless, the oppressed, the widow, and the poor. While common grace initiates a great work in meeting needs for those in the margins, incarnational compassion is named among the margins it descends into. The main idea of “identity with” is to become the personification of Jesus, removed from the comforts of familiarity, and embracing what Scott Bessenecker, author of The New Friars would call “the messiness of community.”[14]
This idea of identity with those in the margins follows the model of God incarnate, who identifies with mankind in all things.

“Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.”[15]

“[Jesus] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”[16]


Intentional incarnational compassion finds intimacy in its connection with Jesus. While common grace meets a need and often times the general serving public find a deeper purpose, they are not looking for intimacy with Christ. Jesus binds himself alongside the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned by caring for “the least of these”[17] is caring for Jesus himself. This connection with the poor contains some mysterious intimate bond with Jesus that brings about fulfillment and purpose to the Christ follower. Mother Teresa, in all her work with the poorest of the poor would include that “in the poor we find Jesus in a distressing disguise”[18]. Bessenecker concurs with this transcendent connection and adds that and says “in serving the poor, they find a level of devotion and intimacy with Christ that is hard to obtain in any other way. And sometimes the most profound way to serve the poor is simply to walk alongside them.”[19]

The ancient scriptures speaks of a similar transcendent connection in its wisdom literature. “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full.”[20]

Intentional incarnational compassion finds interdependency essential to community. While common grace extends service primarily in one direction, interdependency within community requires an exchange of compassion that blesses and is blessed. The early church illustrated forms of interdependency in its infancy as “all the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”[21] In the context of any community there are numerous variables that require collaborations of interdependency. The effects of individualism and consumerism has closed off people groups from one another and created classes that sub-divide into mini-cultures. Interdependency works differently, as Don Tapscott notes in his work Wikinomics. He writes that collaboration is “the creation of attributes, structures, and capabilities that are not inherent to any single node in the network.”[22] While interdependency does not require mutual blessing, it thrives in community where relationship are impacted through incarnational living.

Intentional incarnational compassion finds indiscriminate grace irresistible. While common grace embraces the unsuspecting, indiscriminate grace reaches compassion and justice even to its enemies. As Deiterich Bonhoffer describes it, “it is unreserved love for our enemies, for the unloving, and the unloved, love for our religious, political and personal adversaries. In every case it is the love which was fulfilled in the cross of Christ.”[23] Even modern psychology confirms the complications of tackling moral behavior outside the norm of a community. In a recent article in Time magazine entitled “What Makes Us Moral” it states that “we face our biggest challenges not when we’re called on to behave ourselves within out family, community or workplace but when we have to apply the same more care to people out side our tribe. The notion of the “other” is a tough one for Homo sapiens.”[24] The heart of indiscriminate grace makes incarnation difficult to ignore.

(This is an excerp from an article I wrote entitled "Fads & Trends"... if you want the entire article, email me and I will send it to you)

[1] “Groove” refers to the rhythmic feel.
[2] Berkhof, Louis. (1941). Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich., W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. p. 443.
[3] Psalm 145:9, 15-16, NIV.
[4] Schaeffer, Francis. A. (1969). Death in the City. Chicago, Inter-Varsity Press. P. 80.
[5] Washington Post.com “Hollywood Stars Find an Audience For Social Causes” Sunday, June 10, 2007.
[6] McNeal, Reggie. (2003). The Present Future : Six Tough Questions for the Church, Jossey-Bass. p. 11.
[7] “For God so loved the world” John 3:16, NIV.
[8] Genesis 12:1-2, NIV.
[9] Bosch, David. J. (1991). Transforming Mission : Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, N.Y., Orbis Books. p. 390.
[10] Vestal, Joel. (2007). Dangerous Faith : Growing in God and Service to the World, NavPress. p. 60.
[11] John 13:34-35, NIV.
[12] Boa, Kenneth. (2001). Conformed to His Image : Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, Zondervan. p. 43.
[13] Samson, Will, Lisa. (2007). Justice in the Burbs : Being the Hands of Jesus Wherever You Live, Baker Books. p. 29.
[14] Bessenecker, Scott. (2006). The New Friars : The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor, IVP Books. p. 105.
[15] Exodus 29:45, NIV.
[16] Philippians 2:7, NIV.
[17] Matthew 25:40, NIV.
[18] Bessenecker, p. 89.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Proverbs 19:17, NIV.
[21] Acts 2:44-45, NIV.
[22] Tapscott, Donald. (2006). Wikinomics : How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. New York, Portfolio. p. 44.
[23] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich (1995). The Cost of Discipleship. Touchstone. p. 170.
[24] Jeffery Kluger, Time, December 3, 2007. “What Makes Us Moral” p. 60.

Serve the City and Beautiful Day Combo

The first week of November I had the opportunity to meet with the leads of the European equivelent of Beautiful Day called Serve the City. This is a group of churches that are bringing service, compassion, and justice into the margins of Brussels and different cities world-wide.

One of the key leads is Carlton Deal... a visionary who sees the idea of compassion extending through out the city by those willing to extend themselves and the kingdom.

Carlton and I met on line... and shared a common vision, then we both co-spoke at a conference break out in some small Belgian city named Carlsbourg. While we spoke and bounced back and forth in our session, it became clear to us and to the students who were there that this was some sort of divine appointment and we were to collaborate somehow.

Here are a few things we're considering...

-Sending people from the Bay Area to partner in Serve the City Brussels June/July 08.

-Speaking at the Compassion Unleashed Conference May 08

-Developing a US and a Euro conference on Compassion and Justice issues called "Unleashed" where we join forces and invite similar organizations to partner with Serve the City and Beautiful Day to bring Christ to the margins of any community on the planet.

For more information on Beautiful Day go to http://www.ourbeautifulday.org/

For more information on Serve the City go to http://www.servethecity.be/

Expired Prescriptions of the 21st Century Church

Most households have expired prescriptions in a bathroom medicine cabinet or the kitchen. These medications are prescribed by a doctor or specialist to heal or aid the body in one form or another. All medications have a shelf life with a date printed on the container indicating its expiration. In the cycle of ones sickness and health, prescriptions are made, used, and stored for another day. Many times one might draw from that same medication for recurring symptoms, but after a period of time that prescription expires. The problem arises when prescriptions are used for something long after the expiration date. When it comes to health there are some who do not read labels, follow instructions, or care all that much. Some expired prescriptions have the potential to turn toxic while most just lose their potency and are ineffective. Strangely enough, when a church goes through a cycle of sickness and health, many will draw upon prescriptions that have lost their shelf-life and have long since expired. Often times a church leader will go back and rummage through useless remedies that served their purpose in days long gone, rendering the effort useless (and sometimes toxic!).

Problems that arise in the church is nothing new. Churches have faced numerous difficulties through out the ages, (footnote the first centuries church problems Acts, Corinth… et al.) and have worked through active remedies to address these issues. However with the rise of the church-growth movement in the 70’s-80’s new measurements of church health required new prescriptions to be filled. (footnote from Hartford) Robert Logan’s book Beyond Church Growth typifies the church-growth mentality. He writes, “Beyond Church Growth will help your church become more effective in ministry. Effective churches are healthy churches; healthy churches are growing churches – they make more and better disciples. This is precisely the focus of the church-growth movement.” (Logan p. 17)

One of the main prescriptions that was essential for this church-growth movement was something called “needs based” ministry. Needs based ministry is the assessment of the essential needs of your demographic target audience and the development of ministry based around those identified needs. In his classic work entitled Life-Style Evangelism, Joseph Aldrich touches on this essential prescription for the church leader to address; “The responsible church leader must examine the programming of his church in light of his people’s need for vital fellowship.” (Aldrich p. 120) While this movement gave a fresh perspective to churches identifying with the needs of their cultural context, it also offered church-growth prescriptions that have expired for the emerging church. In hindsight, church leaders were enamored with what Hirsch calls “gather and amuse” church growth theory. He argues that “we grew in numbers – but something primal and indispensable was lost in the bargain. We got more transfers from other churches, but the flow of conversion slowed down to a trickle and then ran completely dry.” (Hirsch p. 220)


Pastor Brian Kay of Trinity Presbyterian Church in San Luis Obispo comments on some of these prescriptions. “Since the 1970’s, many American pastors began to turn to the experts of the church-growth movement who told them the best way to reach people who thought the Church was irrelevant was to appeal to something that is undeniably relevant to the mass culture: being entertained.” He goes on to comment on how these remedies have expired, he writes, “In a way the church-growth movement worked, because a lot more people started coming on Sunday. But, as its music and preaching became more trivial, many other sensible people stopped taking the Church seriously… The church life they had witnessed, even in cases where the doctrine was solid, was pure mayonnaise.” (Relevant p.5-6)

In the 21st century some churches are drawing on old prescriptions, remedies, and potions to face the challenge of desired ministry impact in an emerging culture, while many other churches are making desperate attempts to address the health issues of declining membership and possible extinction.