Q Day 2

It has been a long day. We begin our morning with worship by Eddie Kirkland and ended the evening with a beautiful acoustic set and some very honest words about faith and the church from Isaac Slade and Joe King from the Fray. Along the way:

Louie Giglio reminded me that in a world that is constantly changing there remains one who is unchanging, Jesus. And as Jesus is both inside and outside of time those who are in Him are inside and outside of time as well. Jamie Tworkowski told us Renee’s story and how important it is “to write love on her arms.” Jim Wallis shared that politicians are people who are good at knowing which way the wind is blowing; social movements change the wind. Dave Gibbons cast vision for a third culture: a mindset and will to love, live and serve in any culture even in the midst of pain and suffering. Eric Reynolds asked the question, “are we being good ancestors?” Owen Leimbach wondered out loud “are we becoming consumers of causes?” Makato Fujimura artfully expressed a new deeper understanding of beauty and warned us that anytime we isolate beauty from Christ we are at risk of creating an idol. And perhaps the most poignant moment of the day: James, a former inmate from the Bronx, sharing the power of love and acceptance.

What a rich, deep day.

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Grace in the City

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC presented a compelling biblical, theological and practical vision for the city. He was direct: people who want to be culture makers should be living in the city. This presentation helped me put some things together personally and clarified why I feel so strongly about the place in which I live. I am looking to flesh that our more fully with my leadership team in the days ahead.

What is a city? Typically we think of a high population center. While that may be true, the number of people is not the defining mark of a city. I loved how Keller defined the city as “a mixed use, walkable settlement that is both dense and diverse” (does anyone know where this came from – is this Tim’s definition or someone else’s work?) Tim message was all about grace (love the take-off from the HBO series with a similar title) and he spoke about grace OF the city, grace IN the city and grace FOR the city.

The Grace OF the City
The city of a gift from God for humanity.

Both the Greeks and the Romans thought highly of the city. It was the place where the cultured, polished, polite and civilized people dwelt. God has a high regard for the city as well. Psalm 107, Jeremiah 29, Paul’s missional strategy in the book of Acts and the closing vision of the Scriptures in Revelation makes it clear – God is all about building the city to bring blessing to humankind.

The Grace IN the City
Keller talked about human settlements having four orders - economic, cultural, residential, political/legal. A city is all about structure and organization of these orders. And because the city is a walkable settlement that is both dense and diverse, these orders are organically connected. He used a great pizza illustration: in the city you have a pizza in its wholeness: the crust, sauce, cheese and all the extras working together. Not so much in the suburbs – while you might have all the essential ingredients the suburban ethos separates them from each other. Because of the density and diversity factors being at play, the city has typically been the incubator for culture and culture connects people.

Keller described the work of culture making as gardening. I was all over this. I love to look at leadership and community in environmental terms and this resonated with me bigtime. When someone gardens they take the raw materials and use them to create something that helps humans flourish like fruit for food or flowers for beauty. In the same way people take sounds and work the raw materials into music or take colors and create beautiful art or leverage words in prose or poetry to tell powerful stories. Love this.

Grace FOR the City
Often people use the city to make a name for themselves; consider the story of Babel. People come to the city to build their reputation or resume and then they leave. Keller said if you want to live in the city as God’s person you will need the grace of God to stay. It’s challenging, it’s expensive, it’s competitive, it’s hostile.

Jesus was killed outside the city – this is a significant cultural and theological statement. Jesus, in His death, lost the city that was in order that we might become citizens of the city that is to come.

Keller’s final words: "I want to confront people on these things. Consider it done."

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Q

Day One of the "Q". Modern technology continues to amaze me. I slept in my own bed last night and was in Manhattan for an 8:30 AM cup of coffee (it was an early flight).

This day was filled with some inspiring, challenging, brain stretching and heart touching presentations. Here was the line-up so far today (worship and Tim Keller this evening):

Jon Tyson
Gabe Lyons
Bill McKibben
Francis Collins
Chuck Colson
Leroy Barber
Eboo Patel
Andy Crouch

Here are a couple of quick thoughts. Jon Tyson challenged us to "go beyond seeking to rescue people from the systems of evil and instead unleash new systems of good in the world." Gabe Lyons said, the church is the only entity that can bring together people from the seven channels of cultural influence. Bill McKibben stated that instead of acting like stewards over the creation we have behaved like arsonists. Francis Collins presented signs of God from both the good book (Scripture) and the beautiful book (creation) and argued that as followers of Jesus we might need to develop a theology of evolution. Chuck Colson reminded me that Christianity is the best explanation for reality. Leroy Barber called us to be the beloved community. Eboo Patel asked us if he as a Muslim was welcome in the beloved community. And Andy Crouch reminded us that we can't change the world - but God already has.

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Spring

It is a glorious spring day in Pittsburgh. I am loving it and trying my best to take it all in. One of the things I am doing to celebrate the day is listening to some great "spring" music. Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot, has released a series of EP's based upon the four seasons and today I downloaded, "Spring." These EP's are unlike anything you have heard from Switchfoot. They are acoustically based and formated songs with simple instrumentation and vocals.

Spring includes these six tracks:

• March
• Love Isn't Made
• In My Arms
• Baptize My Mind
• Your Love Is Strong
• Revenge

My favorite is "Your Love is Strong" which is Jon's take on the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 62:11-12 ("One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong and that you, O Lord, are loving..."):

Heavenly Father
You always amaze me
Let your kingdom come
In my world and in my life
You give me the food I need
To live through the day
And forgive me as I forgive
The people that wronged me
Lead me far from temptation
Deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window
The birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune
Or out of place
I look at the meadow
And stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl
On her wedding day

So why do I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need

Your love is
Your love is
Your love is strong.

So, what are you dong on this spring day?

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MLK

For Dr King...

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Let it rain
Rain on him

Watch MLK.

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Hanging at the "A"

I am spending the day hanging out at the "A." For those of you unfamiliar with the "A," please allow me to introduce you. The "A" is actually Affogata Coffee Bar, located in Bellevue, PA just outside Pittsburgh. It is a funky, eclectic old/school/new school coffee house. The “A” has a real coffee bar that seats about dozen people and features an array of tables and chairs that look like they were collected from the curbside. While the coffee served up is great, my favorite treat is the daily special muffin, buttered and grilled (if I lived any closer to the “A,” I would weigh about 300 pounds). Today it was blueberry – amazing! As an extra bonus, parking is only a quarter for 60 minutes – the parking authority in Mt Lebanon should learn a lesson from Bellevue.

Here’s the deal: I spent quite a bit of time working in coffee shops like Aldo, Uptown Coffee, and Mojo. I love these places and am thankful we have some great coffee spots right in my own backyard. But the operative word here is work; the majority of my time spent in these places is doing stuff. My relationship with the "A" is different. Once a month or so, I escape to the "A" simply to be. To be refreshed and renewed - to be opened to God's presence and activity in my life in a fresh way. To clear my head and to dream. To be still and to know.

Recently, I came across a formula coined by Mark Batterson of National Community Church. He says:

change of place + change of pace = change in perspective

The change of place and pace today has been energizing. My perspective perhaps hasn’t so much been changed but enhanced, shifted, expanded, and enlivened (and it’s only 1:30 PM – who knows what else might happened). Today I read a chapter from Margaret Feinberg’s book, Organic God, reflected deeply upon John 10:1-6, viewed a talk by Chris Seay on consumerism, had my heart touched by a song from Eddi Reader and another one from Brooke Fraser. My soul has been enlarged and I have been renewed.

It’s been a great Monday at the “A.” You should stop by someday. Perhaps God will meet you here as well. Tell Vicki I sent you.

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A Great Question

Margaret Feinberg asked me a great question the other day (no, I don't personally know Margaret, but she did ask me the question as I was reading her wonderful book, The Organic God. She also went as far to say that she wanted me to email her my response. That will come a bit later today.) Here's the question: "what do you love about Jesus?"

One of the things I love most about Jesus is His heart toward people. I love His commitment and desire to do whatever it might take so that everyone He encountered would know that they were deeply loved and valued by God. No matter where people came from, no matter what their background, gender, socio-economic status, or religious preference was - Jesus, through His deeds and words, demonstrated the amazing love of God. Sometimes he reached out and touched people, other times it was the right word at the right moment. For some it was a challenging teaching or even a strong rebuke; for some it was a meal of bread and fish. For all, it was the in-break of God upon their lives.

Today's my birthday - leave me a gift if you would. What do you love about Jesus?

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