Unplugged Europe

Amped about a conference Eikon is hosting August 21-22 here in Edinburgh. Unplugged Europe is in collaboration with National Community Church in Washington DC, with their lead pastor Mark Batterson. Though they don't like to talk about it, NCC was recognized as one of the most innovative churches in the states this past year (Check out the list). Mark is also the author of a best-selling book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.

It's going to be a blast to have the conference smack dab int he middle of the Culture Festival, timely given we're focusing on decoding culture in a post-christian society.

Been working hard with Mark and the NCC team, though our all-star has been Liz who's over here from Chicago.

If you're checking this out and are on this side of the pond, check out the site and sign up, space is limited to keep it less of a conference and more of a conversation.

bag of goodies

I'd like to have a "bag of goodies" to take away from these 2 years helping start a church in the middle of a post-christian society. Here is one of 'em:

In order to reach those nobody is reaching, we need to do things nobody is doing. I really do believe that mantra. Edinburgh has hundreds of churches, yet there is such a high percentage of those that simply do not feel like they have a place in the church. I feel like Eikon has caught on to something in reaching the arts and music community, as well as the twenty-something.

If we had the money, or the time to dream these wild and creative ideas, then we could do some of these cool things and reach nobody is reaching. I've heard that and thought that so many times.

However, we have everything we need to reach the people God wants us to reach in Edinburgh. We are not missing anything. When you don't have everything that someone else has, it will drive you to innovate.

Great formula: limited resources + increasing passion = exponential innovation.

If we will stop wining about what we don't have, see what we do have, and become more passionate (not) about getting people in church, but getting church out into the community, all of a sudden we will have exponential innovation and create a culture of change.

5 greatest struggles for this generation

The five greatest struggles that our generation has with Christian faith and the church, at least that I've read and observed is:

Trust
Tolerance
Truth
Brokenness
Aloneness

Think about it.

cultural farmers

I've read a few books on the subject as it's become a popular theme, creating culture, but have really learned the importance of this concept on an empirical level the past few years here in Edinburgh.

As Christ-followers in a post-Christian society, our job is to become cultural farmers. The task is the create the right soil, a rich healthy environment, in which people can grow up in faith until the invisible God is made visible through his Body, the church.

Make no mistake, God is responsible for the growth, the changed hearts, but the soil is the responsibility of the leaders who make up that church.

This explains why several churches may be trying to reach the same group with the same methods, but one just "feels" completely different than the other. That intangible "feel" is the culture. The culture is what seekers pick up on immediately, though it may be imperceptible to regular members. But the culture makes all the difference in the world in a post-Christian society. It really does.

This is why creating culture is one of the most difficult and equally important processes in effective next-generation leadership.

The challenge is so much greater than implementing "postmodern" services with indie music, art, use of video and cool sermon branding. There is way too much copying going on. I remember hearing a story of some pastors going into Willow Creek in Chicago-area and actually measuring the auditorium.

That's one of the things I pray for often: God giving us fresh eyes to see what type of culture is being fostered in our areas of ministry.

smile

Although it's nice to see some financial reward in my photography, it's more of a joy to be able to photograph as a gateway to serve.

I was able to spend an afternoon with a Christian non-profit group here in the city that needed photographs for a national magazine their trying to put out.

Several years ago when I started to seriously get into photography, it was part of my vision to not only enjoy the creative aspect, but use it to bless others.

Good to shoot, it's been several weeks.

Dr. Sabella

What a night! Had the opportunity to spend the evening with Dr. Sabella, his wife and son. Dr. Sabella is a member of the Fatah party in Palestine and is one of the most sincere and intelligent persons I've ever met. His stories of his daily experiences would blow your mind. He spent a few moments with Prime Minister Brown earlier in the week.

His son is finishing his Master's in Glasgow and will be a major contributor to the peace process in the coming years in the middle east.

Definitely consider them friends and a relationship I believe will last for many years.

I told Maxwell at the end of the evening this is exactly why I love living abroad and being on such an adventure. You never know what relationships will develop. There is nothing wasted in God's economy.

Thorns Musical Journey

Darrin is one of my closest mates over here in Edinburgh and a great musician.

He stumbled upon Eikon back in May of last year and brought his family a few weeks later. He's a part of YWAM in Edinburgh which is a Christian non-profit that in this particular case, connects with the arts community. He's been my partner-in-crime with the Eikon Open Mic and he's kept me sane at times while living abroad.

He's leaving in July with his family to raise more support and thought I'd encourage you to check out his music on his myspace. he also has cds available for purchase. He's trying to raise support to come back and continue his effective ministry.

Listen and order a cd on mp3 or disc HERE

I took his family out the other day and got some great shots!

game for the ages

Was reading earlier in the day about being present in the now. Not looking in the past, not looking forward but soaking up NOW. Definitely did that tonight. What a joy to be a part of an historic match in what is the super bowl of European soccer. Manchester United beat Chelsea in penalty kicks. So much fun to watch it with a bunch of roudy European soccer fanatics outside in a packed pub.

I feel like I just got a workout, I didn't care who won and I was nervous!

pass the peas

When you're living abroad long-term, you do your best to maintain contact with those you love.

My parents picked up a mac a while back and tonight we, well, had dinner together 2000 miles away from one another.

My Life

Went through our video gallery late tonight and had a few laughs and some good memories. It was such a blast to get into professional studios and do some filming. We're heading back in shortly.

If you keep the video playing, it'll play right through the videos that are up on the site.



Check out some more videos at: Eikon's Video Gallery

Rule #6

I read a lot these days, but I think my retention is quite poor. That's why I love catch phrases. In a recent book I picked up, a title of a chapter was "Rule #6" and began with a story:

"Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly a man bursts in, shouting and stamping his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him: 'Peter,' he says, 'kindly remember Rule #6,' whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes and withdraws. The politicians go back to their conversation, only to be interrupted again several minutes later by another person in an outburst. Again, the prime minister kindly says, "Rule #6 Marie." She withdraws with an apology. After the third time, the visiting prime minister is astonished and asks if he would be willing to share Rule #6.

'Very simple, don't take yourself so damn seriously.'"

We live inside our heads more than any other time in history. That causes a tremendous amount of myopia.

I can't tell you how many times repeating to myself Rule #6 has helped regain perspective.

Try it sometime.

Big Move

Another big move for Eikon.

Really excited for Tony and the team for working hard on finding this new location. ANYWHERE is ludicrously expensive in Edinburgh, but God provided a great building and location.

It's called the Dominion Theater, in a popular suburb of Edinburgh (Morningside), about 10 minutes from the city centre.

The theater holds up to 150, and the owner is allowing Eikon to use the surround sound and projector.

The move is going to be June 1st. This is a really good next step in the growth stages of Eikon. I think it needed a clean break from the current location because Eikon wasn't going to stay long-term.

normacly is splendid

It's extraordinary what the norm is considered to be in Europe. Cobblestone streets, odd telephone booths, people enjoying their food and beverages in the beautiful weather, and 360 degrees of ancient buildings is the normalcy of life.

This isn't a great picture, but it's so common.

All it takes is a 2-week trip to come back and see the cityscape with fresh eyes again.

I like normal.

E/I NTP

I've been caught up in my personality test I took a while back. I got into a few conversations over it on my trip. I think it's a productive conversation to have with others. Put it this way, it certainly couldn't hurt to know about someone's personality map. For me, the very test itself goes against my personality I guess because I don't like being defined or boxed into a category.

Here is what mine said:

"Quick, ingenious, stimulating, alert and outspoken. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical. Resourceful in solving new and challenging problems. Adept at generating conceptual possibilities and then analyzing them strategically. Good at reading other people. Bored by routine, will seldom do the same thing the same way. Apt to turn to one new interest after another."

What is most interesting is that since I've been in Scotland, my introvert side has been the dominant. When I'm home or around people from the past my extrovert side becomes the dominant. I'm so in between, I shift back and forth so much.

I'm not sure about the ingenious part, but was pretty spot on actually.

Take it yourself: CLICK HERE

35,000 ft

I LOVE long flights, especially when they are in business class:) I LOVE that warm towel they bring around. I don't want to get off the plane when we arrive!

I love it because I feel like I can think from a 35,000 ft. perspective. I love thinking big picture. I read and "daydreamed" the entire flight.

Change of pace + Change of place = Change of perspective

I was injected with fresh vision and passion for the future on this trip. So excited about the possibilities, they seem endless. God is preparing a new season for our lives and to put it lightly, we're all in:)


Looking forward to being home in Edinburgh and seeing my wife before she takes off for Africa for 2 weeks.

there is voltage in my seat

Loving the capacity to plug into an outlet in my seat and have free wireless on a bus ride to Washington. Leather seats too, never thought I'd feel classy in a bus.

Just said bye to the fam. It's always so hard to say farewell knowing you're heading back overseas for who knows how long. I was blessed to have my sister give me airplane tickets, my brother take a few days off work, and my parents flying in from Chicago.

Wicked

What a night in NYC! My parents flew out and joined my brother and I for an evening. We signed up for the lottery for the Broadway show "Wicked". A typical show runs $250/person and I ended up winning front row seats to the sold out show for $25, so my mom and I went to the show for mother's day! They do it right on Broadway, I remember a distinct moment half-way through the show thinking I was checking off a life-goal list of a Broadway show in NYC. The front-row cheap tickets were an added bonus.

We sat next to some really cool women who were from Texas and made an instant connection when they found out I was helping start a church in Scotland. We found a lot of similarities in doing church. I've made so many random touch-points this trip on the work we're doing overseas. So encouraging to meet so many like-minded people and many genuinely interested in what we're involved in.

8 days and counting!

We are now only 8 days away from our service project in Zambia!!

The outpouring of support from local friends and family has been SO touching and encouraging! Zaheer, a local business owner, has sponsored our t-shirts. Two other local businesses are sponsoring us as well.

One of my teammates on the Raith club team brought me a WHOLE BAG of footballs to donate to the programs in Zambia!

Heather, one of the players going on the trip, has received TWO FULL SETS of team strips (uniforms) to donate!

Our pub quiz fundraiser was a great success; with the help of supportive friends we raised nearly double our goal for that event!

AND, our application to the University for a small project grant was successful--to the tune of £1750!

Tonight we're hosting a 5-a-side tournament and hoping to get loads of friends/teammates along to that...still plenty more to fundraise!

But everything is coming together and we are stoked, to say the least. :)

Princeton

Continuing on my east coast tour, I took the bus up to Philadelphia and met up with my brother who lives just outside Princeton.

Walked around the old town for a bit, then headed up and took a tour of Princeton University at night. AMAZING! I've never seen anything like it. My brother is taking a course there and just the grounds are inspiring.

The facilities are so intimate and inspiring. Makes me wish I'd applied myself more in high school. Oh well. It's nice to remind myself I'm blessed to be able to study at a great university in the UK. There is a shirt I want to get that says: "University of Edinburgh, established in 1579".

So good to spend a few days with my brother, whom I rarely get to see or actually have a few days together. I definitely owe my sister for hooking me up with tickets back to Europe for cheap.

We're heading to NYC tomorrow for a few days, I'm pumped.

one to another

Went from one capital to another, setting down in last week in Washington DC.

I had the honor of being best man in one of my great friend's wedding down in North Carolina.

Great welcome into the US: a friend picked me up and went straight to a Nationals baseball game in their new stadium.

Probably sticking around another few days to be with Mark and Joel at National Community Church.