"Productive Friction"...

"PC Forum: Moving from friction-free to productive friction by ZDNet's Dan Farber -- Day three of PC Forum started with a discussion with John Seely Brown and John Hagel about productive friction, which is the subject of their forthcoming book The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends On Productive Friction and Dynamic Specialization.Seely Brown described differences between the way Toyota and Detroit car manufacturers work with suppliers as an example of how productive friction works. Detroit tells suppliers exactly what to do, and focuses on getting the lowest price. Toyota looks at how to build relationships where suppliers, who are encouraged to push back (friction) as a way to unleash innovation across a multi-tier supplier network. In another example, a major distributor of motorcycle in China was able to reduce the price of manufacturing..." [continued at ZDnet]

They call it 'productive friction'. I call it loving diversity. Jesus called it 'loving your neighbor as yourself'. It's the ideal model for change. I've enjoyed finding ministry cultures which have over time geared their real core values to create such an environment -- they'll be the leading organizations tomorrow... and making a difference. The core values & culture being taught (and modeled) at Crossroads Bible College exemplify such a culture.

The other day, Jim Weidmann cited an insightful African proverb:

"To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together."

Blogs become soul-searching sites...

[Given that the article below comes from the 'MSM', their back-handed compliment is better than sanctimonously ignoring the blogosphere. LOL. In any event, it's evidence they're 'catching on'.]

[Excerpted from "Blogs Become Sites for Soul-Searching on Life & Death Question"]

"Popular as the uncensored bastions of ideological chest-thumping, Web logs have emerged in the debate over Terri Schiavo's fate as something more mature: a place where people struggle to make sense of their complex and contradictory feelings."

"It really does fill in for what used to be water-cooler talk."

[continued at L.A. Times]

[hat-tip, Blews.net]

Creating 'Community' in a community...

I've enjoyed becoming increasingly aware of JollyBlogger and Adrian Warnock regarding their work at pulling together some of the solid constituencies among the body of (blogging) believers.

So I very much enjoyed seeing David's review yesterday of Andrew Careaga's book, "eMinistry"...



And for the sake of journaling a common tenet of my upcoming (someday, LOL) "95 Theses", I'll cut/paste my comment to David's review:

"Well said. In fact when it comes to 'community building', here in Indy we believe that the internet holds great promise when it comes to expediting real-world 'community' among Christ-followers in a geographic community, across the various divides that heretofore separated us.
And because of the increased transparency of (esp. blogging) believers, their spiritual gifts and passions, the internet serves as a digital 'coin-sorter'; thus when very-like-minded people connect and can get together in the real-world, they can forego superficial interplays that typically have taken years to get beyond. Thus the unity/harmony of the Kingdom is accelerated by the new 'city-gate'. "

Blog unto others...

[Excellent catch, Frank. I think we'll build these into our upcoming Editorial Policy at IndyChristian.com.]

"Blog unto others as you would have others blog unto you."

[continue with "Biblical advice for bloggers"]

[hat-tip, Strategic Digital Outreach]

Are Apple bloggers reporters? Dunno.

Update to one of the 'Bloggers v. Journalists' clashes:

Guess we won't know, from the Apple bloggers case. Judge Kleinberg instead "focused on the notion that the published information included trade secrets and was essentially stolen property". Apple's ability to maintain trade secrets prevailed over the public's right to information. And thus, there was no need to decide if bloggers could also be protected from suboenas, because even journalists would be required to disclose their sources.

Appeals are expected.



[Barry, you were right on target... once again.]

At a suit's core: Are bloggers reporters too?

Xinhua

[excerpted from New York Times...]

"In the physical world, being labeled a journalist may confer little prestige and may even evoke some contempt. But being a journalist can also confer certain privileges, like the right to keep sources confidential. And for that reason many bloggers, a scrappy legion of online commentators and pundits, would like to be considered reporters, too. "

"A lawsuit filed in California by Apple Computer is drawing the courts into that question: who should be considered a journalist? "

[continue at New York Times]

LovingChange.com: Given that a dozen bloggers were credentialed at the recent CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) in Washington, D.C., and they actively reported worldwide to a sizable (and growing) audience, it would seem foolhardy for a judge to try to distinguish between 'labels'. Even individuals, as 'whistleblowers', accrue certain specially-recognized rights under law. The test should clearly be one of 'function over form'. If a blogger reports, he or she is a reporter. Whether they editorialized yesterday about recipes or sports is virtually irrelevant. Sources need to be reasonably protected.

If you publish news, events, opinions online, you should be protected by the constitution's first amendment... freedom of the press. It's a basic American right that transcends publishing methodologies.

"Changing Internet, Changing Ethics"

Their conclusions are just wrong. At least as a broad brush-stroke over all of us.

"Quentin J. Schultze, professor of communication at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., says society’s love affair with the Internet reflects the “increasingly frenetic, chaotic and morally impoverished lives” of North Americans—lives that leave precious little time to consider ethical concerns about Internet use." [See full length article, starting at InternetForChristians.org]

Quentin and the article author are either failing to keep up with the pace of the lead pack, or they're choosing to disregard it. With the current stir being MSM v. Bloggers, I'd hate to think there's now a 3rd classification... "OI" (Old Internet).

Indeed, many 'old' (ministry especially) sites are static, poorly updated and thus only really contain self-pointing 'brochureware'. That alone seems pretty self-centered. I agree. But Internet II -- Blogging/RSS -- is very much about freshening information... VALUABLE information... discussion, learning, sharpening and importantly... pointing to each other... ie, networking... community-building... 'Preferring one another', if you will.

Not only is it not as self-serving as 'OI', it also quickly allows new leaders to surface and rise to the top. Falsehoods fail. Ask Dan Rather and Eason Jordan. Truth rises as more & more bloggers recognize and point to preferred news/blogs sites.

RSS feeds allow people to select who they intentionally want to read. Again, excellent sites rise. Some illustrations: Hugh Hewitt, WorldMag Blog, and La Shawn Barber.

And better yet, blog TEAMS form. Teams are likely to be more trusted even than individual blogsites. Teams collaborate.... for impact.

Quentin & devotees... let me point you (admittedly self-servingly to a degree, LOL) to IndyChristian.com... a Christian blog-team of pastors & other innovative leaders here that are city-focused about getting the Great Commission done! And we've only touched the tip of the iceberg re Christian blogteams. For instance, IC is laying (communication) tracks daily throughout the city, and hooking up with the statewide system (TransformIndiana.com) and nationally. (CityReaching.org).

This new-found ability to network at the speed of Light for the acceleration of the Great Commission... will prevail... over all the ills you've heretofore cited. Building any network takes a little time to develop, but soon this Christian network will become immensely productive as a set of communication tracks... and is quickly coming of age.

So Quentin, take hope. All is not lost. God is alive & well, and is using the capability of the internet, to pull the body of Christ together... and to deliver His Good News.

I hear the distant whistle of a high-speed 'engine of Truth' coming.

Gotta go. Got miles to lay before I sleep.



"Truth will prevail, and Truth at the speed of light will prevail at the speed of Light."

"Lucky...."

"Like the one-legged, blind cat that answers to the name of lucky, Neil Cox has had enough setbacks to be prepared for anything...." [continue]

[Had to laugh when I saw that -- but it's actually regarding the FAMOUS (not infamous) 'Neil Cox'.]

Why Blog?

"Top 50 Reasons To Blog"
by Neil Cox, Founder, IndyChristian.com

Before we start counting, perhaps you're wondering...

What is a 'BLOG' anyway?


Here's Google's definitive answer.

Now... onward... to the 50-bullet count-down... Why blog?

Some of you might only be persuaded after obtaining a thorough understanding of it by studying Google's entire "Top 23,000 Answers To: Why Blog?"

On the other extreme, others of you might simply jump right into it in the interest of developing a new capability 'on faith'... and obtain your understanding of blogging from the 'inside'. "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]

But for most of you who fall in between the extremes, I've started summarizing some quick answers for you below:

• Because you can.
• Because everybody else is doing it.
• [And in the future, twice that many will be doing it.]
• Because ABC News calls us 'People of the Year'.
• Because my pastor mentioned the 'B-word' from the pulpit!
• And this youth pastor blogs with all his teens. Says it's easy now to stay up with what's going on in their lives.
• Pew Internet & American Life Project reports... you're now a key part of online culture.
• Because it's Webster's 'Runaway Word of 2004".
• Hugh Hewitt's new book tells why. "Blog: Understand the Information Reformation".
• Because MarketingProfs are recommending that CEOs should blog.
• After all, even kindergarteners know: Click, Clack Moo... Cows That Type (succeed!).
• It's fun. And an incentive to get 'e-capable'.
• It's an alternate press. Just ask Monica Lewinsky or Dan Rather.
• Because bloggers invented Howard Dean.
• Because bloggers put away Howard Dean (and John Kerry).
• Innovators blog. While Google.com shows "George W. Bush" pages in the lead (12 million pages); SlashDot is a close 2nd with 10 million page references (well ahead of John Kerry at 7 million, Howard Dean at 2 million... and the ever-trailing Ralph Nader on a million pages).
• Wall Street recognizes the value of blogging. Just ask a $52 billion company ('Google', who bought Blogger.com before IPO'ing on Wall Street less than a year ago -- Btw, how long did it take Bill Gates to be worth a $billion?)
• Ask Fortune magazine... "Why There's No Escaping the Blog".
• It's a great concept for sharing information via a corporate intranet... and for organizing large quantities of information.
• Christians blog. Apparently way more than Muslims blog.
• Blogger La Shawn Barber, a self-professed 'nobody' has attained 'Ann Coulter hate status'.
• World Magazine and other leading evangelical magazines now blog in between magazine issues.
• Because Indy Church blogs.
• Josh Claybourn, a young Indiana (Christian) student now is able to reach more folks in a day, than most pastors do in a year.
• A grad student blogs to pan out his philosophical & theological concepts, while improving his writing... in hopes of someday becoming a great philosopher. In the meantime, he's enjoyed an added benefit of meeting new people who share similar interests.
• Colson 'centurion' blogger, Dawn Treader, is organizing Christian apologist bloggers.
• Pro-life bloggers now are a well-networked and impactful affinity group.
• If we've learned from "Divided by Faith" that we need to expand our Christian circles to be more racially heterogeneous, then blogging opens new opportunities for networking.
• Pastor Tod Bolinger implores us to "Blog, for Christ's Sake!"
• Because Seminary professors blog.
• Many of the Global Evangelism egroup successfully used their blogs to lobby-for and proliferate the concept of the new "Internet Evangelism Day" -- April 24, 2005.
• Liberty University media professor Dan Heinrich uses a blog to pull together the upcoming "Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century" conference.
• Oh my goodness... Jerry Falwell will be addressing that innovative group!
• How else could Orangejack's stock skyrocket, short of starting a Blogging University?
• Google currently lists 33 million sites re 'tsunami'... vs. 171 million sites re 'blog'.
• Google lists nearly 4 million 'blog' sites mentioning 'tsunami'. Affected bloggers posted videos.
• Tsunami blogging included Christianity Today's guest-blogger, Rudy Carrasco -- who has been doing an inner-city blog for years. [Oh, and he's been invited to the White House several times since starting his 'Urban Onramps' blog... not to mention launching the idea of CCDA convention blogs, thus connecting many like-minded Christians to each other.]
• It's a whole new platform to get your 'message' out, complete with automated RSS, perfectly suited to feed to the aggregators... not to mention trackbacks. [But watch out for the comment & trackback ping-spam. LOL]
• Free, easy, blog-sites can facilitate 'neighborhood networking'. A blogmap can display the real-world landscape of bloggers in a city. A meet-up can help pull 'em together for a live(ly) meeting.
• Urban pastors are suddenly empowered, if they can quickly and easily put up a website and start posting... without the need of a webmaster... Oh, and did I mention... for free.
• Unlike a newspaper editor's control over dissent, a blog's 'comment' capability provides for valuable feedback... both for the benefit of the blogger... and the surfing audience.
• Traditional journalists read blogs. Bloggers read traditional journalists. Journalists get good ideas. Bloggers challenge media accuracy. Bloggers challenge each other's ideas & accuracy. Truth prevails.
• Unlike the typical church-site, the 'blogosphere' culture encourages reciprocal linking.... and as a result, blogs get seen and read far more than typical church-sites. This is what I've called the 'Google Parable': Reciprocal linkage helps all the boats on the (search engine) river rise. Actually, Jesus said it first, "Love one another; prefer one another". But if we won't listen to Jesus, perhaps the new-paradigm giant will convince us. Networks of 'driven' Christians can impact society more than individuals or self-serving churches.
• While newspapers tend to limit additional reading or researching, blogs encourage additional reading by linking to other articles & related sites. Here's an example of a newspaper's front-page headline article leaving out an important fact... that could have been seen in a click or two, if they'd have provided their reference source's link. [Sorry that this major newspaper doesn't archive its articles with a 'permalink'... like blogs do.]
• Because the Digital Divide Network encourages it.
• The blogosphere is a unique learning system. As more & more people publish in their area of expertise -- and each can suddenly find & learn from others in that area -- everyone develops a greater, and finer, expertise. The blogosphere interacts daily. Learning is increased daily. And not just via information explosion, but rather through sharpening.
• Often, the writer learns even more than the reader. But it's amazing just how much you can quickly learn via a well-written topical blog... like say, "Effective Web-Ministry Notes".
• Conversely, high-quality blogs become touch-points through which innovative types are drawn to your ministry. E.g. your church, outreach, seminary or Christian college.
• In fact, potentially, blogs might be considered to BE innovative type outreaches.
• Or consider that possibly, a blog network could become part of a team-learning experience, or a 'community-building' exercise. When you learn what another person is truly passionate about, you've skipped over a whole bunch of the more superficial steps in relationship building.
• Btw, what's to be said of Blogs4God.com... the semi-definitive list of Christian bloggers?
• And finally, what might be the future of blogging? Ask that question at GodBlogCon 2005... a new conference that just grew up overnight. And what do you make of this... Prayer for GodBlogCon 2005? Indeed, Mr. Morse... "What hath God wrought?"

All this being said... Still we wonder: "BUT WHY???????"

• Because... It's a free & easy publishing/learning system which creates new networking opportunities and uniquely impacts the new culture in which we live!

Bottom line: "Blogging is not about a web-SITE; it's about a web-STRATEGY."

"Truth will prevail. And Truth at the speed of light will prevail at the speed of Light."

Addendum: "Why Team-Blog?"

• Diverse, collaborative blogging will tend to accelerate interaction, feedback and sharpening.
• How to team blog? Typically team members centrally post short 'blurbs' at the team-blog-site... that link to full-length pieces at their personal or ministry's site... thus creating win-win situations for everyone.
• As a team, it's easier to keep content hyper-fresh.... thus quickly drawing a critical mass audience... and creating 'raving fans'.
• ...which encourages the 'blog-team' toward REAL-world collaboration.
• And moves their real-world collaboration forward, say city-wide, toward their (blog-published) goals.

Next... "Why Feed RSS To The Aggregators?"

Subsequent Links: "Why Blogging Is Good For Your Career"

Power of the (Blog) Pen...

Much is now being written regarding the power of the internet's newest capability... the 'blog'. Even Christians are now beginning to imagine its application in daily life. At our church, we're even starting -- just starting -- to consider that the church web-team may not just be about expediting a web SITE, but rather, a web STRATEGY among all our people.

[Here's a local church -- IndyChurch.org (Pastor Bill Bean, "The Unnecessary Pastor") -- that's well ahead of the curve... and learning together. Here's an individual thought-provoking post from one of their bloggers... "Meeting Our Neighbors".]

That is, rather than simply having a singular site about our local church, what if it's more impactfully capable of being a whole tapestry of individual sites attempting to help ACCOMPLISH the mission of our church?

Certainly that thought then begs the question: "What is the mission of our church?" And one might hope that such a 'little-c' question begs the bigger question: "What is the mission of the Church?"

Eric Swanson was in Indy this past weekend doing a seminar -- sponsored by the Indianapolis Center for Congregations. [Some of us were able to share an informal breakfast-time with him at the U.B. Cafe.] And this morning, I've now started reading his book... "The Externally-focused Church". Simply the title gives away its message loud and clear: The local church should be internally-strong and externally-focused.... Be salt & light in your community.

How might this new 'power of the blog pen' be put to work in our community?

If a gaping hole in Christ's Church today is its lack of unity/harmony, then perhaps a city-network of Christian blogs -- all reciprocally pointing to each other -- could at least start to look like a model of what the Church could & should be on the ground.

Start a blog for your neighborhood, and link to other Christian-driven neighborhood sites? Here's a neighborhood blog about how to blog, even.

Transformation Includes Saving Lives...

From the beginning, God told Adam & Eve to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth... and Christ redemptively reiterated our command to be spiritually fruitful... "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you"... which included... "I have come that you may have LIFE and have it to the full". As a result, we easily recognize that true transformation inherently includes the protection of those who can little protect themselves... including the elderly... the disabled... and all children... including unborn children.

My wife & I personally know the pain of losing a full-term yet unborn child -- no amount of 'convenience' could offset that grief. An adult's voice arguing for a pro-choice convenience-centered 'privacy' still pales against the non-voice of an unborn child.

And we grieve not only for the unborn, but for the young mothers (and fathers) that bear this weight for a lifetime. Jesus was ultimate compassion, and we, the Christian community, must be also. Here's a link to my friends at the Central Indiana Crisis Pregnancy Center... who similarly express their faith in love & actions of true compassion.

Community 'transformers' ask... "What would a transformed Indiana look like?" The answer clearly includes an Indiana that honors God-designed families... and protecting the unborn.

Every ounce of my vision for exploiting this new tool we call the internet, to weave the Christian community ever more tightly together in purpose & principle, to promote the (whole) Great Commission, includes supporting the pro-life cause.

Time To Change... For Economic Sake?

Governor Daniels is calling for anecdotal feedback about economic reasoning to support one position or the other, regarding the proposed time-change.

Perhaps it's time for the Church to weigh in. Hmmm. How MIGHT we land on the issue of changing our clocks twice a year?

Fundamentalists:
"No mention of DST in the Bible = No. "

Presbyterians:
"Que sera, sera. "

Mainline:
"We already have some pastors up on charges of change."

Baptists:
"We referred the matter to our 'No Change' Committee."

Pentecostals:
"We voted by a show of hands. Both sides won. "


But are there ECONOMIC reasons for taking a position?

Absolutely!

Just do the math: 6.2 million residents of Indiana x appx 60% who normally attend church in any given week = 3.72 million people... times the high percentage of those who would use it as an easy "Oh-my-gosh-the-clocks-changed" excuse twice a year to miss church. Now multiply that by how much money such people would have put into the offering plate... and we quickly see that the churches in Indiana would lose a grand total of.... about $2 a year.


Seriously, Governor...

How about the OBVIOUS reasons, economically, to change time?

Whether or not we're personally supportive of changing our clocks or not, is there anyone among us who believes that Indiana will not eventually... maybe not this time but eventually... enact Daylight Savings Time into law? Anyone? Please, step up. Anyone?

Seeing none, we can quickly start projecting the costs involved with state senators & representatives, governors, and all the rest of us who spend time debating it.... times minimum wage $rate... for X number of years (til it finally gets passed anyway) ...

...adds up to a ton of wasted money by a state that can little afford it.

So let's stop wasting precious time and money debating the inevitable, pass it into law, and do what every other state has done... learned to live with it... and get on with our REAL job here.

Changents...


[Here's a significant step in the progress of the Christian Scorecard approach to helping ministry leaders accomplish their mission... by measuring their mission... and its prioritized working components.]

As we're preparing for Saturday's "Building Blocks for Church Growth" seminar, we had to finally lock down our 'collaborative identity'... and this is it. What do you think? Still better than "The Three Magi", wouldn't you say? LOL.

The 3 founders of "Changents" are Jim Peters (Peterspective), Jeff Hancock (Affinity Portals) and myself. .. all Christians... all change-agents geared to accelerating ministry.

This first seminar should be fun. Now let's see just how much help the American church believes it needs, when it comes to changing into what Jesus called us to be in our 21st-Century culture.

Click, Clack, Moo... Cows That Type...

My wife had this children's book out yesterday and it caught my (kindergarten-level, LOL) attention. It'll someday be considered a classic among new-paradigm children... subtly but humorously learning about the power of publishing.

Here's the same theme, "The Blogging Phenomenon: Who? How? Why?"... expressed by the Digital Divide Network. [hat-tip, Bill Bean, "The Unnecessary Pastor"]

And finally, from the monied perspective... here's Fortune magazine's "Why You Can't Ignore Bloggers".

Now, for those of you who might be urban pastors & leaders -- I'm offering private help, over a cup of coffee, to help you start a personal or ministry website such as these articles describe that will be free & easy to post to... without having to rely on your webmaster. The suggested donation of $25 will go toward urban technology. It's win-win. Call 317-490-1255 or email for an appt.

"Click, Clack, Amen -- Pastors That Type".

Rudy Carrasco, our good friend at UrbanOnramps.com (Harambee Center, L.A.) has been pressed into service for Christianity Today magazine, to run their new Tsunami Blog.

[hat-tip to EmergencyBlog.com]

Internet Blog Quiz....

Take this short quiz to help us with the upcoming January 17th "Innovation Forum" on blogging & RSS feeds.

Net proceeds from the special forum on MLK holiday will specially benefit urban technology. What pastors/leaders take home that day may start benefitting their ministry for years to come.

So thank in advance for your help. And if you send other surfers our way, so much the better.

Blogging Bandwagon...

Admittedly because of year-end reflections here and elsewhere around the internet, I've recently devoted an extra (did I admit to excessive?) attention to 'blogging'. So the following may seem like 'piling-on'... but here goes anyway...

Pew Internet & American Life Project reports :
"By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture. Two surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in November established new contours for the blogosphere: 8 million American adults say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users; 5% of internet users say they use RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online; and 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs. Still, 62% of internet users do not know what a blog is."


...thus supporting my belief that it's important to hold TWO symposium/training session for pastors, leaders and other 'driven Christians' on coping/excelling in the new paradigm... January 15th, "Change, Risk, Availability: Building Blocks for Growth"... and the January 17, Innovation Forum specifically re: Blogs/RSS

Websites of Clay...

Paul described us as 'jars of clay'. Perhaps the analogy carries over to our Christian websites as well.

In the new paradigm, our critics now believe they can generalize about our hearts by reviewing our websites:

"Christian right's compassion deficit:
More than 100,000 dead in south Asia,
but it's business as usual at the web sites of America's
Christian right organizations." (Berkowitz)

Obviously Berkowitz has overlooked 'the elephant in the room'. Nonetheless, Christians... after we get done being among the first & most effective on the tsunami scene, and most generous from our pocketbooks, let's learn what we can from his criticism and take another look at our web capabilities... so as to more adequately 'preach what we practice'.

Perhaps we could at least start with a world-wide call to Christian webmasters everywhere to include a simple display-capability into (all?) their webpages -- a clickable dynamic-alert-gif, say like this one...


Normally it would simply be an invisible 'pixel.gif' (coming from a centralized site, say at CEN)... until replaced during an emergency with an informational warning image like the one above.

Or for that matter, perhaps we should implement a thin, standardized (invisible) top-bar as a potential emergency dashboard, complete with clickable Christian & governmental warning lights & RSS-fed announcements, 'soundable' at both national and community levels.

These clickable icons could readily focus our web-attention toward coordinating information and relief efforts.

[Btw, also see related CEN article at CCNews.org.]

And let's also continue working together locally -- community by community -- to build-out something like the

WhenYouNeedSomeone.com
localized needs-driven Christian resource network system... with life's most valuable resource always only a click away.

Admittedly, these sites are immature at best, but with the Christian blogosphere growing daily, and with the buzz regarding the coming of a special "Internet Evangelism Day" -- drawing attention to how Christians can and should use this new God-given tool -- the standardized alert-bar concept could easily start asap, and be somewhat perfected by IE Day, April 24, 2005.

Btw, here in Indy on the campus of Crossroads Bible College, a special Innovation Forum on MLK holiday (Jan.17, 2005) will be devoted to helping pastors & leaders cope (and excel) in the new (blog/RSS) communication world we live in. Then, April 1st & 2nd, Liberty University is hosting a special Internet Conference, leading toward IE Day. Any or all of these gatherings could be useful in prospering such a concept.


And as always, remember to pray for your communities regularly. If you're fortunate enough to have the government **smile** sound a 'Community Prayer Siren' each week, so much the better. Btw, this might not be a bad idea for a test mechanism of the system proposed above... And frankly, it may also help many of us remember to pray regularly for our communities, neighbors, leaders & other heroes.

Please leave your thoughts here as comments, or email me.

Tsunami Blog...
As I attempt to journal significant developments of the paradigm-change, surely this may be one such development. Much as the Iraqi war bloggers brought us first-hand compelling updates & stories that moved us, now the tsunami disaster has initiated a number of ground-zero blogs to aid in information exchange to expedite disaster relief, this is a major one.

[See Christian network of distaster-resources listed at TransformIndiana.org.]

[hat-tip, Bill Bean Blog: "The Unnecessary Pastor"]

Earthquake/Tsunami Relief...

Wish you knew how best to provide urgent relief in this situation? The 'Transform Indiana' network offers this wise counsel.

Top 5 blog-posts of 2004...

[Hat-tip to InternetforChristians.org]

Bob Carlton (The Corner) is collecting Top-5's around the blogosphere. Makes for best-in-class reading here at year-end.

And maybe it's a good exercise for all of us -- whether it's a family newsletter at Christmas or blog-posts -- what were some of this year's items worth reconsidering?

Given it was an election year, not surprisingly several of my 'Top 5' here at LovingChange.com were reflections on cultural issues in an election year:

#5 "Most Pro-Gay Presidential Candidate Ever"
His campaign's words, not mine.

#4 "Who Are His Wise-Counselors Anyway?"
Are Muslims going to heaven? Bush: "Yes".

#3 "Intolerant Indy"
Blog challenges Indianapolis Star glaring omission... and implication.

#2 "What More Could A (White) Evangelical Ask For?"
Post-election call for a clear-cut choice for ALL Bible-believing Christ-followers.

#1 "We Can Do Something About All This."
The Bible's clear prescription for change.

President Bush Encourages Cross-hating Group?

(WorldNetDaily.com)
Oops!
Interesting article; we'll no doubt hear more from this episode. Stay tuned.

"Decoding Da Kid"... A Parent's Guide To Internet Lingo

(click pic)
Sounds great! Maybe Stephen & Sybil will be at our Innovation Forum, Jan. 17 ???

[Sybil & Stephen carry on several ministries to our area, including Heart Communications and FishersWorship.com, to name a few.]

[Hat-tip, IndyStar.com]

"City Impact"...

Perfect gift to your city for Christmas!

[I'll try to soon update this with a much more adequate review of the book, but I'm half way through it and can't keep it quiet -- Buy one for your favorite pastor in your favorite city.]

Transform Indiana takes networking up a notch...

...by adding a team of "Blue Heelers Bloggers".

Building Blocks For Growth...


Here's a seminar I've been asked to help with... for pastors, administrators and board-members. It should be interesting... grappling with the issues of how to implement 'change' and still do things in a 'fitting & orderly manner'.

IBM to send PCs packing...

For those of you who thought yesterday's runaway word ('blog') was hard...

Today try "Vic20, Trash-80, Commodore, Kaypro, 2e, Wang or Visicalc". Were those easier? If so, you're probably as sad to see 'Charlie' go, as I am.

But Forbes has it pegged.

The Runaway Word of the Year is....



"Blog".

Having discovered 'blogs' in the new dictionary this morning, Bill Gates announced blog software for MSN, instead calling them "Spaces", and will be re-inventing RSS feeds by his name... "Gleams". The concepts are being beta-tested at his home this morning, and are due to roll out to the marketplace... approximately... well... um... before Google moves on to their next winning venture. [Google purchased Blogger.com in 2003 -- prior to its IPO on Wall Street.]

Patches for Spaces & Gleams are already downloadable at Microsoft.com... and are called 'NewImprovedTide'.

Forbes Magazine intimates that the software giant may be a bit tardy to the blog banquet.

_________

In late breaking news, Microsoft announces a hasty move of their corporate headquarters to Indianapolis purportedly to accelerate their R&D learning-curve. Unreliable sources report that board chairman Gates has registered (under the alias 'Rev. William Gates', First Church version1.03) for the upcoming "Innovation Forum" there on January 17th.

"Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century"...

The "Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century" conference will be held at Liberty University Apiril 1-2, 2005. This conference expects to draw attendees from the 8,000 member residential student body as well as pastors and leaders from Central Virginia and beyond. LU's state of the art wireless campus is an ideal venue for IE-21st Century. For more information visit http://ie-21stCentury.com and/or email Professor Daniel Henrich at mediastrategy@readmail.biz.

Journal Note: The "B-word"...

CNN.com carried a story last week. The Indianapolis Star carried a story the week before. And this morning my pastor actually said it from the pulpit...

...the B-word .

There's no retreating. Life as we know it, will never be the same.

[Mark your calendar for January 17. We're going to help pastors and leaders here in Indy learn to cope with it. Stay tuned.]

Internet E-Day...

Patricia's Story... pretty much says it all. So I've marked my calendar for April 24, 2005. See you online.

If You Had Your Rathers...

If you were Dan Rather announcing your retirement from CBS, wouldn't you rather that CBS/Viacom stock hadn't jumped $1 Billion (market capitalization) today?

Varvel's View...

Hope In Taiwan... Little Hope In Artest (or Detroit)...

One is among Indianapolis' finest. The other,'most fined'?
One's underpaid and a great representative as she ministers overseas.
The other... well, hmmm.... what an embarrassment to our city & state.

Nonetheless, this is not at all to exonerate the owners of the tinderbox in Detroit. This isn't Iraq. It's the U.S., where civility is a core value and where 'Love Thy Neighbor' is taught. So if the NBA commissioner is going to hand out heavy penalties on Ron Artest and the Pacer boys, then let justice prevail: Hand down heavy penalties on the Detroit club for gross negligence in brewing such a fan base... and failing to secure them. And Ben Wallace, who clearly started it all, should be culpable for the results. How does he walk with only a 6-game suspension?

And as for the NBA in general... Physician, suspend thyself. You've loosened every rule in the book in order to make the game more 'exciting'... to sell more tickets and commercials... and the cost is a loss of dignity.

Ron... while we might all have the inclination to retaliate, you're getting paid bigtime to take the abuse... all the way to the bank. You've made your Rodman reputation, so live with it... perhaps elsewhere.

Go spend your time off learning from someone like Hope.

"Conservatives Capture Whitehouse... Liberals Overrun Pentagon"...

"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."

Such ideals were routed early today as the ACLU overran positions at the Pentagon. American Legion moves to retake lost ground. Story at eleven.

Barna's Election Analysis...


George Barna
Barna Research

"The difference was in the rates of turnout of each segment. Although the born again population constitutes just 38% of the national population, it represented 53% of the vote cast in the election. If the born again public had shown up proportional to its population size, Senator Kerry would have won the election..."

[If you've followed my blog post below: "What more could a (white) evangelical ask for?", you'll understand why I also found the following very interesting...]

"However, a key comparison is the shift over the past four years among born again blacks. In 2000, this segment rallied behind Mr. Gore by a 92% to 7% margin. In the current election, the margin of preference was reduced to 85% to 15%. That reflects a doubling of the percentage of the black born again vote delivered to Mr. Bush."

Access To The 'Exit-Polls'...

[click here to see Exit-Poll results, state by state]

[Click here for Barna Research analysis.]

Besides all the other post-election analysis we've all heard, one number that jumped off the Indiana page was... the low number of white Catholics who voted for Kerry, a white Catholic...
35% (vs. 63% who voted for Bush).

I think I'll cheer for Notre Dame this weekend.

Who Are His Wise Counselors, Anyway?

Interviewer: "Do Christians and non-Christians and Muslims go to heaven, in your mind?"

President Bush: "Yes they do."

Makes me wonder where he's getting his advice. Presumably not from Jeb. Perhaps 'George Bush 41'?

Thankfully many Christians pray regularly for President Bush. And many Christians pray for you & I too -- that we may know God exactly as He desires to be known. Apparently none of us are entirely there yet. So it begs the question: Where do we get our understanding?

May we first & foremost look to & through the authority of God's Word. And how will we gain such an understanding if not by reading it extensively (and obtaining all the wise counsel we can find)?

We need not struggle with the interviewer's question -- it's an easy one. At least President Bush got the ground rules correct: "I don't get to decide who goes to heaven. The Almighty God decides who goes to heaven."

So if Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)... then the answer is simple enough -- it's through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ that we can someday stand justified before God.

Jesus was asked point-blank: "What must we do to do the works God requires?" He answered, "The work of God is this, to believe in the One He sent." That's pretty straightforward for anyone who has heard the Good News... trust in God's redemptive promise... ie, His own personal sacrifice on our behalf, paying the penalty for our sins if we'll but receive that promise by faith.

Perhaps the question arises: "What about those who do not know Jesus by name?" Abraham didn't. But he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. (Gen.15:6). The same standard applies, trust in God's redemptive promise.

Do Muslims know of Jesus? Sure, and call him a prophet, but vehemently deny He is God... not to mention their denial of His sacrifice on their behalf.

Any questions? Wish you knew more about how to relate to your Muslim friends & neighbors?

What More Could A (White) Evangelical Ask For?

It's hard to imagine how an evangelical Christian could hope to improve on yesterday's election results. After all, God seems to have directly answered our prayers... did He not... that winners would be those who aspire to govern with biblical insights & character. Bush won, while the most pro-gay presidential candidate ever... lost. In a related bad bet, pro-choice John Edwards ended up giving his Senate seat to a pro-life Republican. Indiana's Baron Hill is leaving the hill. No tears for Tom Daschle either. Pro-life Mitch Daniels won the governorship of Indiana by always trying to take the 'high road'. On the other hand, his opponent gave 'dirty politics' a bad name... not to mention flying in the face of his own church's position on the sanctity of life. Indiana statehouse Republicans who couldn't even get a motion onto the floor last spring under Speaker Bauer's dictatorship... will now soon be in control of the microphone.

So let me take that challenge. How could we improve on a night like that?

By making the choice clear-cut for ALL Bible-believing Christ-followers... not just white ones like myself. Let's stop being oblivious to the very real problems of vital Christians on the other side of the aisle... and town. Let's humbly walk a mile in our brothers' shoes to find & eliminate the reasons that our Christian brothers & sisters of other races end up with the hard choice between being neglected by one party and taken for granted by the other. Let's include 'Christ-like compassion' as one of those key 'moral values' that differentiate the good guys from the rest. Let's do more than just pray 'thy will be done on earth' -- let's do what Jesus also did... heal problems as we come across them. Let's be generous. Let's go to war on poverty. Let's be overcomers. Let's give grace as it's been given to us. Take seriously our obligation: "to whom much is given much is required". Let's re-engineer the social networks that perpetuate inequities from one generation to the next. Let's stop building 'self-driven churches" -- i.e., favorite flavor (or color!) homogenous churches catering to our particular whims. Instead, let's get over ourselves and start building heterogeneous churches around the pillar of Christ-like love .

Let's get to work now... and see to it that next time, Christ-followers need not split our votes at all.

CCDA -- "Stand For Africa"...

"AIDS in Africa is an issue so big that it will take the entire Body of Christ working together to change the course of the plague. The civil rights movement and apartheid are the last social movements which required people regardless of color, class or gender to unify into action. We must do this for Africa!" -- Dr. John Perkins, Founder, Christian Community Development Association (CCDA)


Herb Lusk

In a specially-called session at the conference, Dr. Perkins introduced Herb Lusk, Founder of "Stand For Africa" -- Philadelphia Eagles running back turned pastor -- using a Bill Hybels phrase: "A leader is someone who turns vision into passion. Herb Lusk is such a man."

Pastor Lusk then challenged us, alluding to the rattling of the 'dry bones', to come together and come alive.

"I'm not so fearful for Africa, as I am for us, if we don't hear and respond."

[Also see "President Bush Discusses HIV/AIDS Initiatives in Philadelphia".]

CCDA & TechMission...

Boy, it is so hard to choose between great workshops here in Atlanta this week. But when push comes to shove, new paradigm technology for the Church is what wins the day for me. So given my love for technology in the hood, I elected to attend a couple of great workshops re technology. Here is one of the TechMission.org presenters...

Ron McConico... who talked about starting a community tech center. He's started 4 of them in urban Minneapolis. And rather than try to reiterate all he said, let me just toss out some phrases. If anything picques further questions, contact him.

"consider walking your 501(c)3 app through a regional IRS office,Beaumont grants, make disciples (start 'em as assistants), do job descriptions (even for volunteers), do background checks if working with children, fire volunteers... if you need to..., get a vol coordinator, corporations sometimes match $$$ as well as encouraging their people to volunteer hours, TechSoup.com -- MS Office for $15/ea., QB$52, etc. XP$5, freecolorprinters.com, throwing away monitors costs $15/ea to trash, how about a computer center that ONLY plays games... but voucher for it ONLY comes from schools, unemployment offices will (may) pay you to train folks, schools sometimes will let you have their kids on detention... or sent 'home' from school. (in-school suspension) and suddenly you're the hero of the school principal -- and he's glad to have you then bring in a Bible-study, etc., and last but not least...

The govt loves those who can turn tax recipients into tax payers!"

CCDA Atlanta 2004 -- Dr. Samuel Chan:

The CCDA national conference opening night plenary speaker was Dr. Samuel Chan. He was, in a word... awesome'.


"The illiterate of tomorrow won't be those who can't read or write, they'll be those who can't learn, unlearn and relearn."

His message... "7 Things To Unlearn"...

• It's no longer 'global' missions or 'local' missions. It's 'glocal' missions.
• Form then function? No longer. Now, just do it... do what you're passionate about... and clean up the form as you go along.
• Old models don't work like they used to. Now nobody's in charge -- but things get done.
• Independent ministry is out. Interdependence is in. We're collaborating now... and we need each other.
• Philanthropists no longer just write the check. They 'bring' the check.... and sometimes their corporate ways. Some good, some not so good. But often, the ministry changes.
• Unlearn that ministry is 'simple' any longer -- it has become hard... sometimes laden with institutional considerations.
• Ministry makes 'sense'? Nowadays, Ministry too often makes 'cents'. So we need to pipe in a refreshing new sense of humility and listening to the Spirit. He'll provide for what He's called you to do.

Like I said. Awesome.

Innovation Forum... VoIP discussion...

[See Wireless Coffee Blog.]

Been called worse...

... just not lately.

Here's a Planned Parenthood newsletter article characterizing Indiana Right To Life PAC (and I guess by association, many of us)...

"these single-issue extremists have a lot of money to spend getting their twisted views and nasty rhetoric out to the voting public."


Wow. Did she really say that out loud?

Maybe one's viewpoint depends on which end of the forceps you're coming from.

Target Missed?

I can hardly believe for the sake of a 'new corporate policy' that they'd effectively abandon $9 million dollars-worth of needy families at Christmas, when it's no skin off their (corporate) hides. ... I'm not sure if bloggers can make up the $$$ difference but we can try. ... Can Christian bloggers make a difference? I'm willing to pray ... and try. Join us.

Target Missed .com

Contact Target

Article Links

Donate to S.A.

'Most Pro-Gay Presidential Candidate Ever'...

His campaign's words, not mine.

Unbelievable.

[And I'm not picking on any particular sin vs. another... or one political party or the other. It's simply a matter of overtly flying in the face of God's direct communication to us via His Word. And if we admit it, we've all flown in His face at one time or another or in one way or another. Did it ever turn out well?]

If indeed we really love our neighbors as ourselves, we'll help reasonable folks see the lunacy of backing any candidate who openly defies the Almighty God... and even boasts about it.


YBIC,
Neil

Mitch Daniels...

[In his address last evening, accepting the nomination to run for governor of Indiana...]

"My friends, listen closely. A freight train of change is coming in our state."

Free to Choose...

Our soldiers are dying in the defense of freedoms around the world. But what 'freedoms' are they defending?

Freedom of speech... the legal freedom to be heard... even a prayer?
Does the 'majority' have any freedom simply to be heard?
Or only the freedom of the 'minority'... to squelch, via threats of suit?

Have our soldiers historically defended some kind of 'Freedom from being offended'?

Personally, I fought for everyone's freedom to be legally heard. And I'm offended that anyone would then simply give those rights away, for fear of reprisal.

It's dishonoring to anyone who has ever risked their life for you.


[Further info at IndyChristian.com]

We can do something about all this...

The barbaric decapitation of Nick Berg, the shameful abuse of Iraqi prisoners, the deterioration of marriage, the Florida Senate apology for a pastor praying in Jesus' name, the removal of Ten Commandments from a priority status... and so on. We, the Christian community, can do something about all this. Turn up the war heat? Civil uprising in the U.S.? At least go vote? No, none of that was what I really had in mind today.

The Bible simply says at one point... "If MY people, who are called by MY name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from THEIR wicked ways... then will I hear from heaven and will forgive THEIR sin and will heal THEIR land."

And Jesus said "...and the gates of hell will not prevail against it... my church". As Dr. Roy Blackwood effectively put it... "Perhaps to the degree that we indeed are HIS church... and not Roy's church or Bob's church, etc... the gates will not prevail -- but as long as we're Roy's church and Bob's church... we are not making much of a dent in those gates."

We can do something about all this. And it starts right here... with each of us... humbling ourselves before God and each other... pulling some stones from the walls that divide us, in order to build the Church itself.

"God, how does that apply to me today?"

If You're Reading This...

You're among the internet elite 3% !!! [LOL. Or maybe you're just weird.]

Today's released "Pew Internet & American Life Project Report" includes the following...

"Evangelicals are among the most fervent Internet users for religious and spiritual purposes. Online Evangelicals are a significant subgroup of the American religious landscape. This study found them to resemble other Protestants in terms of their Internet behaviors in some ways, but to be unique in other ways. They are slightly less experienced in Internet use than other categories of religious affiliation. Conversely, they are more likely than others to engage in all categories of online religious activity. For instance, 69% report going online for personal religious or spiritual purposes. "

[Btw, the 3% elite... are those who read blogs on a daily basis. LOL]

"Intolerant Indy"...

Here was the headline story in the Indianapolis Star this week... "Image of Intolerance May Cool Job Climate". I only wish I could also show you the juxtapositions on the front page, showing Curt Smith's pic next to the headline... and across from the ayatollah's pic involved in another story. I had to laugh at their not-too-subtle sense of humor. LOL.

[Subsequent note: While the Star has deleted their article online, you can still read it as republished by America's largest Gay/Lesbian organization.]

Beyond its humor though, I do wish the Star had been more careful to include a key stat missing from the Brookings study in question -- that despite our poor ranking on their 'diversity' index, Indianapolis finished 17th on the tech scale cited.... seemingly contradicting the headline's implication and the study's metro correlation. It might have begged the obvious question: How did Indianapolis do so well? But I guess that point of view will never get aired.

We cannot know the hearts of the staff involved; it would be unfortunate to accuse them of intellectual dishonesty, if it truly was an oversight. On the other hand, having contacted the Star about it, they have not chosen to correct their story... so they leave us to our own wonderments about the omission, I guess.]

But the ability of Christians to impact our local communities is not at all dependent on our coverage in the press. Just among ourselves, kids, we're sometimes our own worst enemies, are we not? I am. So I suspect we all are, at times. So let me go on to say...

If as Barna suggests, Christians with a mature Bible-believing worldview constitute only 4% of the American adult population... and if those 4% are as fractured as we appear to be... then perhaps there's good reason for our limited impact. To our shame, it seems likely that our fracturedness contributes to the minimal percentage. The devil's obvious scheme of 'pride and divide' is enjoying great success these days.

But devil take warning...

"If MY PEOPLE... will humble themselves and pray... and seek my face..."

And that's much of the goal of Transform Indiana ministry coalition... Truth & harmony.

The Passion of The Christ:

Last night we went to see Mel Gibson's controversial new film on its opening night. So much has been written elsewhere, I would't begin to expand on it; just journal my reaction:

For 2 hours my eyes were glued to the big screen and my thoughts to a singular verse:

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

The 'endured' part was stark. But through it we glimpse the 'joy' part... our compelling hope.

Jesus the Christ loved us that much... and for no apparent reason. How awesome this 'joy', for those who put their trust in Him.

I cannot wait to see my Savior face to face.

So much going on now in Indy -- so little time to type...

Our "Crossroads Connection" -- COLLABORATIVE e-newsweekly tells tons of it, so I won't repeat it here.

An interesting side note though -- I got two quick responses as the e-newsweekly went out. One from an office-guy in the national office of a significant ministry... taking me to task for emailing it to them without 'permission'. It's a ministry we've helped a ton over the years, and I'm awaiting his reconsideration before telling you which ministry it is.

But the second ministry is a mega-ministry here in Indy, writing me to tell us how great they think the collaborative e-newsletter is and what how important it is to help build connections like that.

Thanks God, for providing an encouragement like that at just the right time. And in the future, may I somehow figure out how to encourage many, without alienating any.

Governor's Prayer Breakfast:

No mention of the God-man, Jesus: no prayers in His name... no mention in Lloyd Ogilvie's talk, no direct mentions in the songs sung... just miniature hints at him... at best.

Our self-sacrificing God is incompetently referenced without mention of His transforming sacrifice at history's pivot point. Anything less is only 'god'. And no amount of obligatory references to 'god' is sufficient to overcome the insult to His name.... "I AM".

Borrowing from Cornelius Van Til: "The God of Christianity cannot meet these requirements of the autonomous man. "

Yet... reflecting inwardly... how many days go by that I fail to adequately tell others of this God-man, Jesus?

Weekly COLLABORATIVE Ministries e-Newsletter:

Having developed a significant network of Bible-believing ministries throughout our metro area (& state), we're now starting to facilitate more interaction among them regarding significant matters of prayer, care and 'share'. And it serves somewhat as a 'journal' (& archive) of significant Christian news & events in our area.

Here's an example.

CCDA Indy 2005...

The kickoff planning meeting was today -- very exciting to get started this early, but this is a 'driven' group of Christians here in Indy who care about community development.

Scott Truex has been highly instrumental in lighting the fire and fanning the flame. Good job, Scott.

And btw, blogger Rudy Carrasco, Urban Onramps, was the guy who hooked me up with Scott... right here in our own metro area -- but introduced to me by a Californian. [That's as bad as going all the way to New Orleans recently to CCDA 2003, and all the Hoosiers ended up meeting together during one segment... and lots of us met lots of others for the very first time. Point is... we need to work on better ways for 'driven' Christians to meet, right here in the racing capital of the world.

Howard Dean's Christian Position on Homosexuality...

From the Washington Post:
"From a religious point of view, if God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would not have created gay people."

LOL. And they used to assail Dan Quayle for saying goofy things. Go figure.

Ok, so what's next? Pete Rose weighing in theologically? "From my religious point of view, if God had thought gambling on baseball is a sin for a baseball manager, he would not have created compulsive gamblers."

When we read the good book, Howard, we find we have ALL been born with a propensity to lie, cheat, steal, fornicate and any other number of things that offend a perfect God. So shall we ALL be granted a free pass at the pearly gates?

If so, why did Jesus have to come do anything for us?

I'm sorry; I think I have to agree with Matt Grills. 'You've got the wrong Jesus, Howard."

P.S..... Matt just posted an update after receiving a lot of hate mail... interesting reading. And the cool part -- Matt's from right here in Indy.

2nd Annual New Year's Eve "Reunion"...

Appx 40 of us enjoyed getting to know new "driven Christians in the Racing Capital of the World", as we mixed, listened to a great new Christian band ('Slingstone'), enjoyed the comedy of Scott Gregory, praised God for the many extraordinary blessings of 2003, and prayed toward the citywide/statewide goals of 2004.

Here's a link to the page, complete with a slide show if you missed being there.

MONON.net....

Monon.net just went live... as we start to build a "Friendly Network of Monon Neighborhoods".

The site is sponsored by... WhenYouNeedSomeone.com -- the Search Engine for Help & Friendship (geo-mapping in process).

Targeting Monon Trail Neighborhoods...

This week Ministry Support Services, the company I started to come alongside of pastors and "make their pastors job a joy", has started putting out proposals to some key churches along the Monon Trail corridor. It didn't hurt that the Indianapolis Star ran this story recently. Personally, I believe the 'Monon' serves as an interesting metaphor for illustrating growing linkage of suburbia to the inner city neighborhoods... cutting through various cultures along the way... upscale Carmel, post-modern young thinkers of Broadripple, and leading to where the real needs are in the inner city.

We're looking for churches within earshot of the trail who have vision for neighborhoods and might be willing to 'Adopt A Neighborhood'.

Dr. John Rogers At Crossroads...

What a blessing this guy is. He's truly one of God's servants to Indianapolis and beyond, and has been a joy to get to know this year.

Yesterday he spoke twice at Crossroads Bible College chapel services. Sang at one of them. And had us roaring at his parrot joke. And crying when we heard his heart.

Looking forward to just how God will be using him, and Crossover Indiana in 2004.

If Every Conventioneer Brought a Gift?

Great article today re one of our "Transform Indiana" affiliates... Jeanne Huiett, surprisingly blessed by Women Aglow bringing their national conference to Indy.

Jeanne: "Could you imagine if every group that held a convention in Indianapolis did the same thing?" she says. "Think of how much our needy population would benefit."

Hmmmmm.

"Loving Change"...

As I zeroed in yet further on what God might be pointing out to me these days -- perhaps for republishing here online -- I purchased a new domain name for this blog called LovingChange.com . It's a God thing; no one really loves change (entirely, that is -- we prefer to pick & choose, and usually change in other people, not ourselves). But change is exactly what God desires in all of us as He lovingly conforms us to the image of His son... and calls us to love Him and the people He loves. [Funny thing Reid Carpenter said yesterday: "Christians are terrible lovers... of each other."] More later.

Carpenter & Oster Stir Indy...

Thinking back to New Year's Eve '02 and praying that God would extraordinarily act in Indy this year, it didn't escape my notice that yesterday's meetings were part of His answering.

As if it wasn't enough that He would do all the other things He's done this year, and most recently incite a busload of Hoosiers to/from/at CCDA (New Orleans)... yesterday we had the opportunity on short notice to hear Reid Carpenter (Leadership Foundations of America) talk of 'care-ism' and 'spiritual capital' within a city.

Coincidence perhaps? I'd become familiar with Leadership Foundation only a couple of months ago. Later, Jeff Koenig, my innovative friend now in Columbus OH wrote me that I should get to know a guy named Reid Carpenter, whose message is 'right on' with what we've been advocating via Transform Indiana ministry network. Then I ran into it again in New Orleans at the CCDA conference, as some city leaders from across the nation spoke highly of its ability to impact. And upon return to Indy, I got an email from a local friend here, inviting me on short notice to come to a presentation of a thing called Leadership Foundation. [Reid Carpenter perhaps? Of course. God -- you're so funny and amazing.]

It is his belief that we're on the precipice of major re-invention of 'church', especially as we mine these spiritual gifts for the good of our city.

I had to leave early to make the next meeting across town... Merrill Oster (Pinnacle Forum) had also come to Indy, inciting 'influencers' to grow spiritually, network and reach cultural gatekeepers... and transform America's culture.

It was hard to sleep last night.

How Now Shall We Live?
Yesterday was our return-trip home from New Orleans via Lightrider. Excellent choice. The time spent on this 'mobile retreat' was a great portion of the value of CCDA 2003. It was my first trip via a chartered 'sleeper' and totally comfortable, and best of all... totally set up for making friends and conversation.

So we all enjoyed getting to know one another better... but not just 'anyone'... these were certainly some of the "driven Christians" in the Racing Capital (state) of the World. CCDA'rs care about their communities and care about sharing the gospel (and their lives) with them.

So here are just a few of the many great comments during our Sunday morning debrief time together:

Cornelius: "If you come back the same way you left Indy, you wasted your time and resources. My wife's going to ask me 'what happened to you?' Folks, maintain your New Orleans energy. It's time to be about your father's business. If you have to get angry, ok. I'm angry. I see drop-outs, pregnant teens, kids in juv'y, locked & barricaded doors. I'm tired of going to young funerals. Question is, are we angry enough to go make a difference? If it happens to the 'least of these' it happens to me. If we're to love our neighbors as ourselves, then we need to take it personally. If it happens to the least of these, it happens to you.

O: Even though I think I'm doing all I can, I'm not doing enough pouring of myself into the lives of others. I've felt like a 'caged bird' in the church. It breaks my heart. [tears start to run] Single moms need us -- I know, my daughter is a single mom. Thankfully I can help her. But what about the others? They desperately need our help.

Paul: I'm coming back even more concerned about raising up young black Christian leaders for tomorrow.

Chris: I attended an 'After School Workshop' that was a dialog without a leader. We not only learned a lot from each other; one person got on the phone and launched a website to help facilitate an ongoing brainstorming & resource center.

N: What now is my responsbility & accountability? CCDA 'laid it all out' -- I don't have any excuse now. I don't necessarily like the challenge before me, but I needed that seed planted.

NC: Did anyone notice the great contrast in our purpose in New Orleans, and the normal reason go to New Orleans? [Oh yeah.]

#22: Desire Street ministry tour was cool. What a difference they're making. And it all started with a volunteer coach at Carver High.

A: I realize I'm not alone on campus now. There are others that feel the way I do. I'm encouraged and stimulated; empowered and confident that 'its the right thing' to devote my life to. When I graduate I have opportunities and an ability to be a life-long learner -- and that's what I desire. This conference has raised questions, not just provided answers.

B: We'ren not going to help people much by just 'showing' them (what we think are) the answers; rather, by 'being there' with them... showing we care.

K: Just training is worthless unless we put it to work and make a difference in a long-term turnaround via personal relationships. I think the conference was also very meaningful as perhaps an encouragement to those who are already involved for the long haul and may wonder about incremental progress; but when they come to CCDA annually they can look back and see their progress and be encouraged.

[The intergenerational exchange taking place on the bus was enlightening to all of us. Here's an example...]
C: It was great seeing young people involved in CCDA 2003, and we should shoot for even more of their involvement in CCDA Indy 2005.

Scott: I'm concerned that we intentionally mentor young leaders for greater involvement in CCDA for the future.

Meghan: Yeah, intergenerational dialog will help us do away with some of the traditions so we can 'step outside the box' more often. Remember, in the book of Timothy it says 'don't let them look down on you because you're young; set an example.'

Paul: But not arrogantly. Young folks... Never forget, what you're seeing and hearing from these established speakers is rooted in 'brokenness'. They've 'been there' and have been broken in one way or another before God. And that's not something you're likely to acquire at a young age. I know. When I first got involved in ministry, I was arrogant as heck. Don't make that mistake. Brokenness is what God desires and uses.

K: You're right. Brokenness breeds a more relational approach to ministry.

Cornelius: Right. There's a cost of leadership. Remember when Jesus was with James & John and they like asked him if they could be Vice-President and Secretary of State? Same as. Jesus rebuked 'em saying they didn't know what they were asking. They had no idea yet what lay ahead... his suffering and their suffering. My point? Y'all don't know what ya got y'selves into this week.

Ed.Note: My point in writing this journal note today? "Indy... Y'all don't know what ya got y'selves into this week!"

More From CCDA 2003 Blog...

[Again, thanks Rudy for setting up this site for added & continued value.]

Dr. Ware Speaks in New Orleans...

What a message. We're so fortunate to have this messenger so close-by in Indy. Right on-target.

Dr. Amy Sherman, Measuring Ministry...

Excellent workshop. Faith In Communities.

Devotions this morning with John Perkins...

Ps.11: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

Dr. P: "The foundations are family and neighborhood. Community. The church is create a family environment. Christianity is a relationship religion."

"But we have a problem in America that is larger than just family -- it's a breakdown of community; of neighborhood. It's no accident that Jesus says 'love your neighbor'. But as Christians, we haven't decided that we want to build 'neighborhood'."

"Who are 'the righteous' - people who have come to see their own sin as truly sinful, have confessed it, and been clothed in Jesus righteousness -- not ours -- and now, as a result the righteousness we have is God's."

What CAN the righteous do?

#1 break the hip hop culture - go after Truth. Focus on the Bible as the inspired word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God... not only as our personal devotional, but as a textbook for living... together."

#2. De-hijack prayer. It's been hijacked by a 'name it, claim it' methodology for personal use only. That is, a 'Jabez' mindset - praying only to expand MY border.
Prayer is this... Lord what would you have ME to do. Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. It's not a substitute for my own action -- it's the start of my own action. preparation for me to act.

#3. De-colonize the gospel. You can't be a Christian and be a bigot. We need to preach a gospel that saves all types of people the same... and not patronizing one group or another. Reconcilation is the absolute act of God. And he's made us ambassadors of reconciliation. So we need to redeem the gospel from European colonization. Everyone needs their identity to be sure -- but not to focus on preserving it, but rather to exploit our 'identity' to be the people to reach out to broken people of the world.

#4. Understand the place of the church. Sure parachurch has its place, but we also need to focus people back into the church... the local church, where they can be nurtured and developed. I don't believe you can be a good whole Christian without being a member of a local church.... accountable and relational. We need to have a correct philosophy of ministry. We need to put that into our overall development. In a church, people need to have their dignity affirmed... loving them, identifying our worth that God assigned. How to implement in the local neighborhood? 3 R's. Relocation... Living among the poor enriches you. Reconciliation... that's obvious. Redistribution... ('When I mention this R, the place gets real quiet real quick'). But I'm not talking about money -- because even if we re-distributed the money to the poor areas, the rich would have it back the next morning. LOL. The poor would have gone and given it back, for a mercedes." Neighborhood development is about bringing back ownership to the neigborhood. Ownership of many types of resources.

"For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice; upright men will see His face."

Dr. P: "Success can be our enemy. CCDA should not be rooted in a 'triumphant' attitude about our successes -- it needs to be rooted in humility & hardship... and preparing today's youth, tomorrow's leadership, in perseverance in trial."

CCDA 2003 -- New Orleans...

Great opportunity. Thank you Scott Truex and sponsors who made it possible for a chartered busload to come here from Indiana. Well done.

CCDA's 'message' can't typically be heard in content, homogeneous (euphemism for 'segregated') churches. So it's a welcome wake-up call to somehow listen differently, non-traditionally, to Jesus' message of reconciling love for those who need Him most.

And it's a message that goes beyond the individualistic, western mindset that stops once it accepts personal salvation -- rather than marching onward to seek God and His kingdom plan for us as the communal body Jesus calls us to be, The Church, to impact the world as salt & light.

Wish you were here. Looking forward to bringing CCDA to Indy in 2005.

"Transform Indiana" ministry network meeting yesterday...

Here's our "LIVE Agenda" we used during the meeting. Really enjoyed seeing hands-on application of collaboration by our hosts -- Child Evangelism, whose state hqtrs are in Wheeler Mission's Care Center... and how they interact with each other for the glory of God... and to get more of the work done that Jesus set out for us to do.

And it was great hearing some testimonies of how even in its infancy, Transform Indiana's intentional networking has already helped people better find their niche in the local sector of the kingdom. One testimony was about a guy who hooked up with a new friend to go work in a soup kitchen for the homeless, and as a result is now actively visiting 'homes' of the homeless, seeking the lost, seeing how he can help... and getting his church involved in such things. So does our mission of intentionally networking 'driven Christians' get more of the job done?

What was not so great to hear, was one pastor's description of the uphill objective of hoping pastors would invest any time in coming together to sharpen each other via Bible-study together and serve as a biblical steadying force for Transform Indiana. They might be willing to come together to pray though. Or they might later join in re significant citywide events.

"Chuck Colson: 100 Centurions"...

The first person to mention the name "Chuck Colson" to me, was laid to rest today... a former employer/mentor of mine.

Coincidentally, tonight I was invited to a dinner here in Indianapolis, to hear Chuck Colson share his strategic plan for finishing his life strong and impacting future generations. It's called "100 Centurions". (II Tim. 2:2) Awesome vision.

[more tomorrow.]

"The Light Went On For Me, When...."

This guy 'gets it'.... really gets it! Look, we've even turned his light on to blogging!

And btw, here's what he attributes as the spark for suddenly 'getting it'.... ie, the value of ministries collaborating in the name of Christ.

[But we all know it is really "God who works in us, to will and to act according to His good purpose", do we not?]

"Too Many Opportunities, Too Little Time"...

Good problem: If with change come new opportunities, and if we're seeking opportunities to change, does that lead to a great accelerating cycle of life? Abundant life to the full. Or as a new friend calls it... Life(Nth).

(Perhaps an explanation is due... another day. Stay tuned.)