hope for the hokies

so the teaching team went down earlier this week to VT to film this week's message as part of the series in the big church on the real f***** words. this week its on forgiveness...and some how i know that common thread of faith will find its way into the conversation. louie and the folks at passion have come up with some musical encouragement and i wanted to pass it along. go here for the free downloads.

its not supposed to be like this...

tonite, 4.22.07 we walked through some things regarding the events of last week. spur by some great resources at ys i used a series of clips from the matrix to point to the reality that things are not as they seem. that we live in a world that has "pulled darkness" over our minds. we've been taught a lie about what each has to offer a disconnected and broken world. it was a pretty good discussion. there's a point right after neo meets morpheous for the first time (and before he chooses between the red and blue pill) where morpheous talks about how things are not right and we know it...we sense that there is a massive “splinter” running through all of reality ... and it is in the form of evil. we spent time praying and talking. we put on bandages to remind us of the wounding in our lives and especially those around us. we made posters to show our support to the students at VT. we will send them with the lead team as the visit the campus of VT this week, we prayed some more and thought about those that are outcast in our midst. and finally we realized how much brokeness there is in the world with the wars and unrest that covers the globe. it was good to go here.

can we be moved?

much to think about...so this weekend we'll take some time and work through the messyness of living in a world that is broken and disconnected. peggy noonan wrote in todays wsj and asked the big question through this closing observation:

The most common-sensical thing I heard said came Thursday morning, in a hospital
interview with a student who'd been shot and was recovering. Garrett Evans
said of the man who'd shot him, "An evil spirit was going through that boy, I could feel it." It was one of the few things I heard the past few days that sounded completely true. Whatever else Cho was, he was also a walking infestation of evil. Too bad nobody stopped him. Too bad nobody moved.

battlecry - detroit:there and back again

battlecry

so we're back. left @ 3:45 pm on friday from l-town stopped twice to add to our numbers...a total of 21 students and 8 adults. got to ford field just in time to walk in and sit down. the final count in the house was 32, 500+. impressive. the bands were great. worship was sweet. great time of connection for all of us. had a chance to taste some great food from the greektown area. haggman had his first taste of baklava. some tried feta cheese. had dinner on saturday at wendy's on the north side (in the hood) where the counter folks were behind bulletproof glass. there's plenty of stories. so for our first serious road trip this year i think it went well. if you missed it....we missed you. stay tuned for our next adventure. click on the image above to see more pixs...if you went....leave a comment about your time there.

to write love on her arms

found this website this morning.
interesting place.
interesting story.

its worth your time...a story about renee

a powerful understanding as we continue to celebrate Easter...

We often ask God to show up. We pray prayers of rescue. Perhaps God would ask us to be that rescue, to be His body, to move for things that matter. He is not invisible when we come alive. I might be simple but more and more, I believe God works in love, speaks in love, is revealed in our love. I have seen that this week and honestly, it has been simple: Take a broken girl, treat her like a famous princess, give her the best seats in the house. Buy her coffee and cigarettes for the coming down, books and bathroom things for the days ahead.

Tell her something true when all she's known are lies. Tell her God loves her.
Tell her about forgiveness, the possibility of freedom, tell her she was made to dance in white dresses. All these things are true. We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don't get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won't solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home.

foreverandeverandeverandever...

i'm so glad i found the video...it explains so much more...that david crowder...way too crazy...

He is risen...enjoy easter

a simple reminder from our friensds at www.simplyyouthminstry.com .
also... the.evolution isn't meeting this week enjoy the rest of your spring break.