Written on From the Outside

From Sam Keen:

“We are a generation bombarded with so many stories from so many authorities, none of which are our own. The parable of the postmodern mind is the person surrounded by a media center…we are saturated with stories; we’re saturated with points of view. But the effect of being bombarded with all of these points of view is that we don’t have a point of view and we don’t have a story. We lose the continuity of our experiences; we become people who are written on from the outside.”

A Letter of Gratitude

As the summer comes to a close it feels like an appropriate time to say “thank you”:

Thank you to our parents, who have supported us in a million ways for years, but especially during this pregnancy.

Thank you to our payer team who consistently remind us that we are not in this on our own.

Thank you to our financial supporters who make it possible for us to do collegiate ministry in Boston.

Thank you to those we have asked to join the team this summer. I know being asked for money isn’t fun, but we are humbled by your generosity and partnership.

Thank you to our students who were involved in DIG this summer, you helped rejuvenate me in so many ways.

Thank you to the BU leadership team for taking time out of your summer to Skype and chat and plan and dream. I am so excited to see how God will use you guys this semester.

Thank you to Stacey for taking the risk and moving out here to Boston. Thanks for throwing an awesome baby shower!

Thank you to our REUNION community (especially Jessica and the other ladies who helped with the shower), we are grateful for your friendship and support.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our baby!

Thank you to family and friends who helped provide supplies for this baby…we are so blessed in this area words don’t quite capture the awesomeness.

This list could go on and on…we are grateful and we are blessed.

Review: Thin Places

Today completes a three-week tour of books written by friends and acquaintances. We finish with Jon Huckins’ Thin Places. Here are four things I appreciated about this book:

  1. Jon and the Neiucommunities tribe pay careful attention to their context. They listen and respond, rather than impose.
  2. They believe that an integrated lifestyle is possible. This is probably my favorite part of the book. Sojourn sometimes takes some flack (externally and internally) for trying to do three things well (mission, church, justice)…some look at that and say, if you want to be a truly great non-profit only do one. It is important to have “integration heroes” and so this book was inspiring from that standpoint.
  3. They are all about leadership development. I love this emphasis and I will steal some of these ideas for my leadership development!
  4. The heartbeat of this book is for the neighborhood, and that is something I feel I need to recapture, so thanks for challenging me to more present in this place that I call home!