new map

I love these maps. The map I've been using has been fun to watch where people are checking out the blog. There are some obscure locations, and somehow they've stumbled upon the site. The new one is a bit more advanced, enjoy. The old one is at the bottom of the sidebar if you've never checked it out. Click on the map.

golf

Finally went out and hit the driving range. Check out that swing....so smooth. You learn to play golf here in Scotland just by osmosis, it's in people's genes here. Been spending time with students in my program a lot lately. Many of them are planning to stay here in Edinburgh following the program (related to both work and pursuing PhD's). They are a bright group, which is a wonder how I managed to get into this crew.
Each expresses a genuine interest in why Kate and I are here to help start a church. They carry such unique perspectives on faith, whether believers or not. I met with one of them the other night for coffee and the person shared how bruised they were from what they've grown up seeing in the church in their country. He was really connecting with Eikon's vision, but just is not quite ready to try it again. I sense that in many young people. I assured him our relationship wasn't based on whether he'd end up at church or not, but encouraged to continue to seek and be open to dialogue and for the Lord to awaken something fresh in his life.

car? yes please

A prayer has been answered, and it's certainly an added blessing because we're not in desperate need of having a car in this city. We have been using public transportation since arriving this past August.

However, with potential work on the side that would require travel, and the ability to get out and go, we've dreamed of having a vehicle while living here.

Obviously, finances do not allow for this, but James and Inca, a couple in Eikon have graciously offered their second car to us....for free! How cool is that? They're such a giving couple.

It has been a season of joy, excitement and blessings. We love who we do Church with, this city continues to enlighten us, The Forest gets more fun by the day, where we live is amazing, and the constant support from you in finances and prayer has been clearly felt.

Love you guys, and wholeheartedly love what we've been called to do.

what else

Kate and I don't normally like to talk about too many other things besides the events and thoughts we can publicly talk about. Kate and I are happily involved in various fields, many of which constantly overlap: Kate continues to do web design for a number of clients as well as working for an events company here in Edinburgh, called The Fringe where she designs some of their annual magazine. She's been able to meet so many people through her talents.

Besides studying to get a Master's degree in public policy (which has done wonders with creating dialogue and contextualizing the culture of this city), I continue to explore ways of using my photographic and video passions as well.

I recently went to Sir Maxwell's home to begin shooting a documentary on his eco-friendly sanctuary he's developing and wanting to begin educating and promoting as a facility people can come within a 15 minute bus-ride of the city-centre to learn about the environment and sustainability. This place is amazing, and potentially looking at ways that Eikon can be environmentally conscious...after all, it's His world, Christians need to continue to be most active in this area. (Great article by Tom Friedman in NYTimes called "The Green Planet")

Kate is working on a brochure that does a gallery event on different paintings that depict Christ laughing....somewhat odd but pretty cool if you think about it. Christ has often been (visually) depicted in this stoic, monoemotional state. If he was incarnational, surely he expressed all the human emotions available.

I am also going to be promoting my wedding photography. I just have to shoot some weddings over here. Kate did an awesome job redesigning the website, including the name. You can check it out: davidchristianphoto.com

All this to say that we love seeing our passions used within and outside Eikon, complementing each other so well.

24 parts 2-4

Finished a series on "24" a few weeks ago, but haven't shared the 3 remaining videos. "24" is popular over here, as well as many other american hit television programming. If you try to make too much sense out of these, you'll come up empty. If you look for errors, you'll find plenty. They are incredibly cheesy, but had a fun time with them and went over well in gatherings. Each week had a very loose connection, but emphasized by the title of each week.
The thesis of the series was "things are getting worse". It's the run-up to the final days of Christ before the trial. Everything is going great, people are being healed and saved, but Christ's demeanor changes and leaves His disciples in utter confusion. Why was that? Tony did a great job in the series, brought some fresh perspectives on scripture I haven't heard.
They should be up shortly on our website, eikonedinburgh.com.
24 week 2

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24 part 3

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24 part 4

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By the way, the quality in all these "myspace" videos are really compressed, so they look much better in its original format. It's the fastest way to get it online though.

$2

It's official, after the Bank of England's release of the new inflation figures, a lofty 3.1% after an estimated typical 2% rise, the US dollar is officially the highest it's ever been to the pound sterling since 1992.

Good news for Brits looking to travel to the US, bad for Americans living in the UK and the export industry.

Big Idea

Reading a book called "The Big Idea", by Dave Ferguson, and surprisingly enjoying it. I say surprisingly because I'm often skeptical of "how-to" books on church organization or starting new churches. That said, it's a great book for church-planters or established churches looking for a fresh take on organization and being on-message.

I'm writing this not for my pleasure, but to let you know what we're talking about when discussing the most effective ways of communicating the message of Christ.

Couple quick thoughts we're looking to be aware of at Eikon:
We have bombarded people with too many competing ideas, and the result is a church with more information and less clairty than perhaps ever before. Often, people young and old walk away from church and have to really think of what they learned for that day, I know I do. How is that possible? The average churchgoer is overloaded every week with scores of competing little ideas. Here's a simple list:

Little idea from the clever message on the church sign as you pull into the parking lot. Little idea from all the announcements in the church bulletin you are handed at the door. Little idea from the prelude music that is playing in the background as you take your seat. Little idea from the welcome by the worship leader. LIttle idea from the opening prayer. Little idea from the first song in worship. Little idea from first point of sermon. Little idea from second point in sermon, and the list can go on and on.

In the book, Biblical Preaching, people are complaining unanimously that the sermons often contain too many ideas. The complaining tells us that people in the pew want clarity, direction, and guidance in how to live out the mission of Christ.

How about using Presidential elections: $20 million was spent on a campaign for the very first time under JFK. The money spiked that election because candidates could deliver their political ideas to the people in a compelling new way through the medium of television. In real terms, that amount has increased by 400% to $880 million in 2004. One would think that with all that money spent and all those ideas being communicated in every imaginable way, people would be better informed and more convinced to take action and cast their vote.

However, there has been a 40-year trend of declining voter participation in national elections. Why? After the 2000 election, despite almost a billion dollars spent to communicate lots of ideas, when surveyed on election day, a majority of people flunked a series of twelve questions seeking to ascertain whether they knew the candidates' positions on prime issues such as gun control, foreign policy, tax cuts, education, healthcare, and affirmative action. I don't think voters are more apathetic than they were 40 years ago, they are more confused. For most, the main feelings in connection with voting is confusioin, and confusioin does not produce positive action.

What about deeper teaching? That is what the rich young ruler wanted. He knew all the commandments and had obyed them since he was a boy. He wanted more. (I can relate to this) Christ responded with clarity and one big idea to go and sell everything giving all to the poor. The message was clear, it was a call to action. It sounded simple, but it wasn't.

His thesis is that in your church, you can walk away and here one Big Idea for that sunday, and focus on applying it throughout the week. The Big Idea is applied to every facet of the church: sunday school, main service, biblical teaching, small groups during the week. It all centers on a single overarching theme. That sounds very attractive to me as someone assisting in a church-plant and as a churchgoer myself.

views from our flat

I stuck my camera on a tripod around 9pm tonight and caught some shots of the Mile and Old College with the Scottish flag.
I have to constantly remind myself of how amazing this location is. We're putting it to good use: I'm having my program over tomorrow evening for a potluck and movie with the projector, roughly 30 grad students from all over the world.

We're also having a bunch of people over thursday night for a grill out! How cool is that, kebabs and burgers while overlooking the Mile!

the genuine article

maxwell

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Sir Maxwell MacLoud (yes he is knighted heretically and his lineage dates back to Robert the Bruce) is the man who has allowed this entire flat to be available to us. The more I get to know this man, the more I'm convinced his story could be made into a movie. I've told him I'd like to make a documentary of his story before I leave. He's been wonderful getting to know, he'll stop by randomly and join us for dinner, or take us out in his car and show us around the city giving us beautifully painted stories. He recently took us to his house, privately nestled on a hill that's been converted into several different levels of various plants with an adorable stone house from the 18th century overlooking this serene river. His goal is to make the place entirely self-sufficient, living off the many vegitables he grows and electricty powered by the river. He's a journalist for a well-known newspaper in town and is currenty writing a book. He's a man about town, seems like he knows everyone.

The second time I met him, he called me up on the phone. He told me to meet him at the "New Club" and dress in a suit and tie. I had no idea what to expect. I went through a few security checks before arriving into this lounge full of CEOs and politicians drinking expensive wine and overlooking Edinburgh Castle. We sat for a few hours and talked about some of his life stories, some of mine and met in the middle somewhere. Amazing experience!

Sir Maxwell is truly the genuine article. He thinks we're partially nuts being missionaries, though sincerely respects it and I think he's crazy and eccentric but a fascinating character: two peas in a pod.

new flat

I haven't told the story of moving into our new flat yet, partially because I wanted to make sure it would all go through.
About a month ago, I was sitting in starbucks with Tony and we overlooked a flat across the way that was for rent. It had this beautiful circular/corner window that had amazing views of the Royal Mile, so I thought why not. It was a tough number to read, so Tony took a guess at the last few numbers and I left a message for this man named Maxwell. Maxwell didn't call for another week, at which I had entirely forgotten about this place. We set up a time the next day to go through the flat.
This flat is really nice. It has a porter at the front desk, 2 entrances to the flat along with an upstairs/downstairs. Though shotty in some parts, it really is a large, comfortable space. The kitchen is really large, has 2 bedrooms and impressive views.

Without talking details, we not only moved into a larger space, we're paying significantly less than what we had prior to. Maxwell, the owner and one of the more interesting Scots I've met and will talk about him in the future appreciated what Kate and I were doing over here. He was entirely fascinated with the idea of "starting" a new church. Money wasn't an issue to him and thought he'd do what he could to help a young couple out.

The Lord has really really blessed us with this place. It's 20 yards from where Eikon meets and we'll be able to have friends over and small groups in the future.

We continue to be amazed at the stories and clear signals that we're called and meant to be here. This is yet another example of God's continuing faithfulness to the development of this ministry.

we're married

Got an email today that I got a kick out of:

"Kate says that you two are married on Facebook. We need you to confirm that you are, in fact, married to Kate.

To confirm this relationship request, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com

Thanks,
The Facebook Team"

Apparently I had to confirm we were married. Just a friendly reminder.

easter

Our Easter gathering was a great morning with a lot of new faces and spending time with the Lord. I met a girl from Washington DC on vacation to visit a friend who is studying at the University who happened to read Mark Batterson's Blog (http://www.evotional.com) and wanted to check us out when she came over.Following our gathering, we went over to our new flat for a potluck and enjoyed laughing, sharing, games, and good food. We really focused on the celebration of this event today. Great gathering and a day of bringing this event to reality.

roses

A team of us went out to the main drag of Edinburgh (princes street) to hand out 500 roses for Easter. We immediately got screamed at for doing it for reasons honestly too long to explain. We got rejected much more than my naive self expected. Even free roses are hard to giveaway in Edinburgh, that's how turned off they are to giveaways.
After a while though, people started catching on that we really were giving them away for free, no strings added and people began to really love it. "Why would you give away free roses?" was the most common response. "Happy Easter from Eikon" was all we shared. It was brief, enjoyable for all us and sparked a few good conversations for some of the guys and we put smiles on people's faces.

We won't do a lot of street tracks or giveaways, but thought the free roses went over really well with people. We included a card that said, "church is a verb: who are you doing it with", along with our website. Prayin it sparked some curiosity in people, but importantly, glad it startled people and wiped away their grins.

Dunnottar

Beautiful day at Dunnottar Castle, known for several dramatic events in Scottish History.
Originally built in the 12th century, this heavily fortified castle was laid siege to the likes of William Cromwell for 8 months as he tried to get the Scottish Royal Jewels. William Wallace trapped British Soldiers in the Chapel and burned it down in 1276, and an earthquake cut off the rock entrance so it was practically impossible to attack.
It's just been a nice day of relaxing and sight-seeing, something we don't do very often. We haven't even been in the north of Scotland yet (the Highlands). We're planning to get out there shortly.

16:10 - Edinburgh to Aberdeen

After missing the 15:03 train by about three seconds, we boarded the train to Aberdeen this afternoon following a beautiful day in Edinburgh. Since this past weekend, the weather has been nearly perfect, and the city has transformed practically overnight.
Kate and I are on our way up to Aberdeen to spend a few days with Joe Zickafoos and his wife, Jane. We love train rides, minus the screaming kids across the way from us. The train runs all the way up the east coast of Scotland, so the views were serene.
We haven't had internet for a few days because we're moving flats, a story I haven't shared yet but is worth telling. Should be a nice weekend with Joe. We're going to heading up there a number of times the next few months to begin discussions about campus ministry potential in Edinburgh. There is a huge need for a campus ministry presence in Edinburgh. The Christian Union does a good job reaching Christian's on campus, but there lacks a relevant ministry for dechurched or a campus ministry for people who don't like campus ministry.

Rhea

Received an email this afternoon from a girl named Rhea. She found the blog randomly and here's what she said:

"Hi Dave:

My name is Rhea. You don't know me, but I randomly came across your blog today while Googling different things. My mother was born and raised in Edinburgh, and I just wanted to let you know that I think it's awesome what you and your wife are doing there. My mother was a Christian, and her faith really laid the foundation for my faith, which gives me a real affinity for Edinburgh....though at the same time it leaves me with a broken heart to see "not-Christian" Edinburgh has become. I spent two weeks in January in Edinburgh visiting family, and it was so astonishing to see how post-modern it really is.
Anyway....just wanted to let you know that a random girl from Kentucky is praying for you, your wife, and the work that you all are doing in Scotland :-)"

I emailed her back and let her know how much I appreciated the randomness of our connection and how wonderful technology is to bring these type of situations about. I love that, "a random girl from Kentucky is praying for you, your wife, and the work in Scotlannd." That really lifted my spirits today. I've received a few of these emails of people somehow finding the blog and offering encouraging words.

Thanks again Rhea from the bluegrass state, your email was timely.

Scottish Bible Society

Had the opportunity to put my photography to good use and team up with Scottish Bible Society. James, whom I've mentioned in the past goes to Eikon and works with this great organization. They purchased and designed a mobile classroom to teach kids about Christianity in really creative ways. It's essentially a "field trip" for students, and they love, as well as teachers. I took a lovely train ride along the east coast of Scotland with the Program Director, Sandy and another employee who was a really nice guy, Robert.
It's basically a semi-truck that uses its space very efficiently. There are different stations where students can interactively learn: an "aeroplane" with seats and screens in front for each student. There, they get to see what other students around the world are doing with other Bible societies. There's a library, which takes them through the books of the bible. All in all, 5 separate stations that can hold up to 30 students is used for 70 minute-periods.




The program is in high-demand all over the country. It was interesting to hear that school systems have no problems with different religious groups coming into share or do programs. James does such a great job with these young students.