Church

One of the interviews at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit was with Jessica Jackley, the c0-founder of Kiva.org.  What is Kiva?  "Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe."  In other words, it allows individual, ordinary donors to lend as little as $25 directly to an entrepreneur in Uganda or another developing country.  The site is easy to explore and the concept is truly revolutionary.  In many cases, third-world entrepreneurs do not need thousands or millions of start-up dollars.  For the cost of a dinner and movie, we can provide a person with the means to start a life-changing business. Check it out.  Kiva.org.

I'm re-reading Jim Cymbala's book "Fresh Faith" and came across this quote this morning: "Unbelief is talking to yourself instead of God."

I had the chance to attend the Willow Creek Leadership Summit this past Thursday and Friday with about 30 of my fellow teammates from Mountainview.  Over the years, I've had the chance to hear several of the speakers in person (It's been said and Tim Keller) and was introduced to several new thinkers and leaders.  I always enjoy Hybels when he gets teary-eyed speaking about the purpose of the church -- the passion he has for reaching new people for Jesus is obvious and inspiring.  Keller gave a great talk based on the story of the Prodigal Son, only looking at it from the perspective of the older brother.  The warning was to not become an older brother, obsessed with "doing things right" and missing God as we do. Dave Gibbons spoke on "Third Culture Leadership" and raised some challenging points about obedience.  Dave pastors a church up in Irvine,…

We're kicking off a new teaching series at Mountainview called "Hope Lives."  Here's a quick blurb about it: "The sheer enormity of the problem pins Christians to their couches. What can we do? Where should we start? And didn’t Jesus himself say the poor would always be with us? Beginning August 1 and 2, Mountainview is embarking on a one month journey in weekend services, LifeGroups, youth, childrens ministries, and in our personal lives to nudge us beyond the horizons of our 401ks. Not just to save the world… but also to restore our souls." (read more). This is a church-wide emphasis on how we can better engage the poor and disadvantaged.  I'll be starting the series this weekend by talking about how God has designed every believer to be an impact-player.  As Christ-followers, we all have the ability to make a difference.  I'll be sharing one of my favorite…