I attended a breakfast meeting of several San Diego-based church planters. We're a bunch of guys in our 20s and 30s (and maybe 40s) who've planted churches within the past two or three years. We meet on a semi-regular basis to catch up and fine-tune each other.Like myself, each of these guys have chosen to plant in urban areas rather than in suburban subdivisions. There obviously needs to be healthy, missional churches in the suburbs but we also need healthy, missional churches in our urban areas. Our urban areas of today are not the urban areas of the 1970s. They are increasingly populated with young, educated, passionate, artistic people. Here in San Diego we are experiencing a renaissance in our urban areas. The church must be a part of that.From a purely pragmatic standpoint, it may be a bit tougher to plant in urban areas because you don't have the…

If you're a news junkie like me, and I know there's at least two others, you'll like this link: http://www.marumushi.com/apps/newsmap/newsmap.cfm. It's courtesy of Will Edwards and it's fascinating. It takes news stories and ranks them according to what people are paying attention.Yes, Will might seem to be a mild-mannered musician but he's a news junkie, too!

As a self-admitted baseball fan, I must confess to being a die-hard Cub fan. Along the way I've cheered on the Padres and Giants, and went to a few Oakland A's games as well. But I've never been a big fan of the Chicago White Sox. For people from in and around Chicago, it's rare that someone cheers for both teams. This is in spite of the fact that they are in different leagues. You just don't do it.Most of my lack of affection for the White Sox has to do with my lack of affection for the American League. In my mind, real baseball is when the pitcher bats. That's just the way I am.So ... for that reason, I've never really followed the White Sox. But here's where the Illinois in me comes out. The White Sox are in the ALCS and I'm cheering them on. Well, not…

I'm actually not real grouchy but I assume I should have some sort of feelings about getting a speeding ticket. A motorcycle cop pulled me over less than a block away from Twiggs and said he paced me going 50 in a 25. Impossible!

When was the last time you woke up and thought to yourself, “I have the opportunity to make an eternal difference in someone’s life today”?Perhaps each of us should have those word printed on little cards and stuck to our bathroom mirror. It wouldn’t hurt. In fact, it might help us to see our daily interactions as divine opportunities to bless someone else.Too often we see a situation through a temporary set of eyes. It’s an interruption. It’s a chance meeting. We miss the clues that allow us glimpses into people’s real needs – the needs for love, forgiveness, and purpose.Tomorrow morning take a look around. See people not as a certain age or gender but as people who have eternal destinies. Not as a waitress or clerk but as a person destined to spend eternity with or without God.It may be your smile or word of encouragement that helps…