I preached my first sermon there and several more in high school and college.

Over at the Movement Church blog I share some of the reasons why they shouldn’t ask me back, with plenty of links to old posts here. In doing so I realize that I have a lot of people to thank for those undeserved chances.

Knowing what I know now and realizing what it means to open up your pulpit/stage/platform to an arrogant teenager/college student is a risk I would balk at.

But they did so I want to say thank you and I want to encourage you to think about those that you need to thank in your life.

So thank you:

Mike Crosley

Shawn Case

Ellen Sheets

Mike Killebrew

Vickie Nelson

Jim Clark

And so many others that weren’t gatekeepers but were encouragers and supporters.

Encouraged that the death toll was reduced and that so many were pulled from rubble. Such encouragement doesn’t do much for those grieving.

The time lapsed helicopter footage:

How you can help the victims and prepare to help in the future.

Here’s the truth, being unemployed is depressing.

Never will it be harder to efficiently use so much free time.

Never will it be harder to stay positive and not descend into apathy, depression, etc.

But you have to Get Over Yourself. 

For me I can pinpoint an exact moment when it happened for me. I was reading about missionaries from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries that would literally pack their possessions as they traveled to Africa, China and elsewhere in the coffins they planned to bury themselves in. The chances of premature death was so strong that did without traditional luggage.

The missionaries left their homes with a certainty that they wouldn’t return.

I think I can handle living with my parents for a few months, selling a vehicle, and asking for help.

You and I aren’t our jobs at churches. We aren’t our titles. Worth does not come by comparing ourselves to those we went to school with.

We all know this, unemployment makes us come face to face with the truth.

• Very interesting take on calling particularly in the romanticized notions vs reality.
• One of the reasons I’ve slowed down the number of email newsletters.
• So what do you do when only one student shows up?
• I do miss some of the things on this list, but not all of them.
• Been a big proponent of Evernote, but it really paid off when I took note of my wife’s favorite coffee and could access the note when I was shopping for Mother’s Day.
• The introverted pastor. A topic that is growing in terms of dialog, thankfully.
• The Rookie Pastor Gospel, according to Seth Godin.
• That extra mortgage payment really does add up.
• Make Google Drive more awesome.
• WordPress and your church.
• N.T. Wright interview on ecclesia.
• Dallas Willard with a word of encouragement for Rookie Pastors.
• Speaking of Willard, Tony Jones shares a story.
• Signs of hope for a declining church.
• Ways to screw up a church plant.

Just the other day I recommended The Divine Conspiracy to a former student.

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Also in full fledged fundraising mode for the church plant. Looking to fill some Sundays this summer and would love to talk to you about coming out if you need a Sunday off. More than willing to come in and tell your congregation the hard truth that you know would be better received from an outsider . Shoot me an email if interested.

Now for some links:

• The scientist behind the Human Genome project talks about his faith.
• Rick Warren on demographics and cultural Christianity.
• Feeling discouraged? Anonymously leave this on your boss’s desk.
• (Good) Video is important, how to do it on a budget.
• Pastors need to be supported, practical ways how here.
• What pastors and lay people would do with an increased church budget. Incredibly interesting the differences, particularly from a sending/staying perspective.
• Egotistical vision statements. A short, must read.
• Are you satisfied in your job?
• Interview with Jennifer Knapp.
• Well played Greg Boyd, well played.
• Small group survival tips for the summer.
• Free ebook from Wayne Cordeiro.
• Don’t be a sucky pastor.
• Rookie pastors! read this before you leave.
• A progressive Christian on abortion.
• Ask the right questions when developing vision.

Well of course this is where I ended up. And you can make all the fun you want, but I really was more productive at Starbucks or at coffee shop than anywhere else.

See I need(ed) a routine.

If I were to wake up in the morning without a plan, I’m not going to be productive. So even if I didn’t have anything pressing to do when I sat down with a tall coffee (I’m on a budget) it was helpful for me to get out and get to work.

It also begins to connect you with people outside of the church bubble.

Now sure you still have to talk to them, but a little community forms among the coffee shop workers. We’ll watch your stuff while you take a call outside or run to the bathroom and we will open up an outlet if our battery’s full; it is this weird work space community that forms.

Seeing as how I often have a Bible or church book out on the table conversations are started that I probably wouldn’t otherwise have with these strangers.

It’s also a place with some built in accountability. When someone can see your screen do you really want them to see you spending hours on Facebook?

So if you are an unemployed pastor, don’t let that stop you from going to work and finding people to minister to.

INTERVIEW WITH NT WRIGHT from Evangelical Alliance on Vimeo.

• Great to (re)connect with people I have only met online. Incredible to think of how RP has impacted my life and church planting in general. Thanks.
• Francis Chan was honest, we need more of that as preachers.
• Jen Hatmaker, whoa! talk about prophetic.
• Same goes for Mike Breen
• NewThing Network just has more fun.
• During the Stadia banquet two international churches were fully funded to plant.
• There is no getting around the fact that to be a follower of Jesus you have to disciple people. Good to be reminded of this simple yet profound truth.

It was also great to take a few days and not post here and cool it on the Twitter feed. It wasn’t that I didn’t have something to say or ideas I wanted to act on, I had plenty, it was a refreshing time to force myself to stop. Doesn’t mean I didn’t read and stay up on things though, the positive and the horrific. So for the last couple of weeks here is what I thought you should check out:

• A great long read from The Boston Globe chronicling the riveting 102 hours from bombing to arrest.
• Hopefully I am not an obnoxious Tweeter.
• Good design communicates on multiple levels. #BostonStrong
• If Duck Dynasty has a standing desk, should you? Here’s a DIY design.
• Love this post from Ron on introverts. Amen brother.
• More manifesto than mission statement. Godin on church leadership.
• Coffee shop tips and a great take on no wi-fi locales.
• I think I have settled on my new Google Reader alternative: Feedly Reader.
• Science behind procrastination.
• A church planter in the middle of the shootout in Watertown.
• Justin and Trisha Davis with some great advice for young couples.
• Methods over tools for productivity.
• Are evangelicals evolving on SSM?
• A great, free, minimal Word Press Theme.
• Do you believe in global warming?
• How Post-Christian is America. New infographic from Kinnaman and Barna.
• Great free resources from the Mancini and the Church Unique folks.