Isaiah 58
“Shout! A full-throated shout!
Hold nothing back–a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives,
face my family Jacob with their sins!
They’re busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people–law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, “What’s the right thing to do?’
and love having me on their [...]

The Phoenix Project Blog
Again . . . spread the word. Anyone who needs a forum . . . a community . . . a chance . . . to engage in conversation about God, meaning, and life.

An Introduction To Communion
(service done in the round with all chairs in a circle facing a suspended cross)
We want to welcome you to our communion service. As you can see, things look a little different today. And we did that for a reason. Today, we are going to shift all of our attention towards the [...]

Spread the word.

Reading: Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf, and rereading A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren for our version of Oprah’s Book Club
Listening: The Bravery, Damien Rice, Ella Fitzgerald, Sufjan Stevens, The Cobalt Season, and the band that just can’t seem to get off my playlist . . . [...]

Joel Vestal, who started this incredible missional organization called ServLife, said that he and his wife joke around about their job. As missionaries, its their calling to go to the third world and comfort the afflicted and then to come back to the States and afflict the comforted. I like that. Kind of sounds like [...]

We Will Watch The Universe Die
by Joshua Blankenship
We were born in a time beyond time.
We were born in the mind of God, so
we were born in a time before time.
Previous to the dust of stars
we were made before Mars was a twinkle in God’s eye;
before million-mile rings went twirling by
only to be caught in the [...]

I started thinking yesterday about what the difference was between churches that look the same as other churches, and yet are drastically different. These faith communities, which may have the same type of buildings, budgets, and bodies (the Baptist way of determining if a church is healthy is to notice the size of these 3 [...]

Its beginning to shift from it “should be” to it “could be” . . .
Safe Environment
Connective Environment
Authentic Environment
Relevant Environment
Encouraging Environment
Giving Environment
Conversational Environment
Relational Environment
Learning Environment
Artistic Environment
Hopeful Environment
Inspiring Environment
See the best in things & people Environment
Relaxed Environment
- Not worried or anal
Creative Environment
Holistic Environment
Engaging Environment
- active in culture
- move towards and out, not closer in, in fear
- culture [...]

reading: velvet elvis by rob bell
listening: regina spektor (really interesting sound, if norah jones put beatnik verse to song and jumped on a trampoline while singing it), the who, nick drake, coldplay, wolf parade, nada surf
viewing: harry potter, arrested development season 1, and :::cough:::cough:::: home on the range