This video is poignant, beautiful and packed with truth. Wisely invest 8 minutes of your life and watch it. And if you're a Jesus follower, grab a couple close friends and spend some time wrestling with the questions this modern day parable brings up and its implications on our lives and ministries.
I love this short film. It beautifully portrays our human
tendency to resist that which is mysterious and unpredictable. Only in
worshiping religion do we attempt to reduce the great narrative of God and humanity
to a static, symmetrical cupboard of do’s and don’ts. Why are so many of us
afraid to embrace and celebrate the God-given uniqueness of each person? How
can we possibly think that God’s ultimate goal for us is to look, act, feel,
believe and behave in exactly the same way? Like the young boy portrayed in
this film, we will discover entirely new colors, shapes and dreams for our
lives if only we are courageous enough to step outside the demands and confines
of religious dogma and consider what the book really says about us and its author.
If only we will do this, perhaps we will find ourselves more gracious and loving with those who disagree with us. Perhaps we will find entirely new designs and colors and shapes along
the way, ones that inspire, guide and empower those who don’t know where to
start or who find themselves stuck in a world of black and white. Perhaps we
will find ourselves drawn to the author who believes in us enough to leave so
many pages blank, yet to be written by us, and us alone. Perhaps we all need to rethink the cupboards we have built for ourselves.
Welp, I just landed in good 'ol Denver, Colorado to spend a few days in beautiful Estes Park. (There is nothing quite like flying over the Rockies - so beautiful!) I am here to take part in an event called Rhythm In Twenty. It is a ministry of Harbor Ministries - a non profit started by my good friend and mentor Tim Bohlke last year. This particular event is all about helping twentysomething leaders clarify their God given gifts, passions and calling while finding a sustainable rhythm for life and ministry. I don't know about you, but I have seen way too many friends and friends of friends burn out from the demands of ministry; or worse, they pour themselves into ministry to the neglect of their first ministry: their families. So this is something I really believe in and am excited to be a part of. I am getting ready just now to hop a shuttle from DIA, but for anyone interested, here is a video of my good friend and mentor, Tim, talking about the vision behind this thing. See you on the flip side!
Last month, Penn (famous magician from the duo Penn & Teller and outspoken atheist) posted an intriguing video on youtube about an interaction he had with a Christian after one of his live shows in Vegas. Shaken up, Penn recounts the story and shares some extraordinary insight for Christians everywhere.
Sunday we launched into our new Wide Awake series at Mosaic - based on Erwin's new book. I gotta say that I am proud to be a part of a church that puts so much effort and energy into creative strategic missionality. Sunday really was a culmination of everything that is the heartbeat of Mosaic - creatively engaging humanity in order to introduce them to Christ and call them to live the life that they were created for. I realize that few people have the awesome opportunity of being a part of a church like Mosaic, so I thought I would shoot a little video and share some specifics for anyone who might be curious as to what we're doing.
This video was shot just before we opened the doors Sunday morning at the Pasadena campus. The guy doing spoken word was off the hook! (You can check him out at www.myspace.com/propagee):
This is a short walking tour of Mosaic's Pasadena campus that I shot on Sunday. Ever wonder what it looks like to walk in late to a Mosaic gathering? Not anymore...
Book Clubs. As part of the series, Mosaic is launching book clubs all over L.A. as a way to help those that are a part of Mosaic build relationships with those outside of Mosaic - more specifically, those who do not yet know Christ. Although the book contains scripture and will certainly catalyze spiritual conversations, it is not overtly Christian. Instead, it focuses an issue that many who come to L.A. hold dear: dreams. The hope is that the book clubs will be a starting point for meaningful relationships to develop, where meaningful conversations can take place.
People
hosting book clubs sport a blue wrist band to eliminate the middle man.
Free Books. All of Mosaic's volunteer staff were given two tickets for free copies of the book that are to be given to people who do not yet know Christ. The free book can be redeemed at the resource tent of any Mosaic gathering where they will also fill out a guest card. This encourages our people to invite friends, gives those friends an extra incentive to visit Mosaic, gets a book in their hands, and gives us their contact information. It is a win-win-win-win!
Free Songs. All of the books in the first printing come with a coupon for ten free songs from itunes! All the person has to do is submit a short piece telling of how they are living their life Wide Awake. The cool thing about this is that it not only gives us contact information for people completely removed from Mosaic, but it also encourages readers to further interact with the material on a more personal level. (And I'm sure Erwin will love all of the free stories.)
Creative Blitz. One of Mosaic's greatest assets is the amount of creative talent we have and in turn, attract. Mosaic gladly embraces people that do not yet know Christ and puts their gifts to work. Many of Mosaic's finest came to Christ after serving with Mosaic for some time - pretty cool, if you ask me! We strive to help people belong regardless of their beliefs. That is one of the reasons we don't have membership. We tell people, "You want to be a member? Great, you're a member!"
All hands are on deck for the Wide Awake series - painters, dancers, sculptors, graphic designers, actors, producers - you name it. Various film teams are busy making bumpers and shorts for each week. That is not to mention the hosting of an entire film festival. We have already received a number of submissions from all over the world! The dance teams also will likely be performing each week and they, too, are launching free dance classes that are open to anyone. These classes also serve as a great way for dancers to build relationships with other dancers, independent of Mosaic.
More. There is more, of course. With Mosaic, there is always more going on than any one person knows about. It is highly decentralized and I think that is one of the things that makes it work so well. Everything is about creative collaboration and people are really given permission to run. I am thankful to be able to be a part of such a beautiful and unique community during this season life.
(A brief disclaimer: Everything that Mosaic does is done with the person furthest from Christ in mind. The first core value of Mosaic is: "Mission is why the church exists."
This shapes everything that Mosaic does. That being said, Christians
that are accustomed to being catered to or who are steeped in tradition
generally have a really tough time with Mosaic because it fundamentally
challenges many of the things that they hold dear. If you are one of
those people, feel free to ask questions and disagree with us, but
don't hate on your westcoast brother of another mother. Remember, we're on the same team!)
I'm not generally big on the Christian music scene as a whole, so this has probably been out for ages, but it is such a great song that I just had to post it. (You'll just have to try to ignore the v-neck undershirt, pleather jacket and lamish intro - "its about Jesus...and Jesus and stuff...and Jesus")
This last weekend I had the privilege of heading out to L.A. to check out Mosaic and interview for their protege program. It was a great trip. I got to connect with my old friend Julia the night I flew in, hit up three Mosaic worship gatherings and tackled three interviews the next day, and then enjoyed that night bonfiring on Huntington Beach with my buddy Kurtis before flying out early the next morning. It was packed couple days, but it was great! After following Erwin and Mosaic for the last five years or so, it was a huge blessing to be able to be out there and experience the community first hand. I love their heartbeat and the culture of creativity, love and passion that has been nurtured there. If God would see fit to make it possible, I would love to be able to serve, train and grow alongside Mosaic
for the next couple years. Megan and I continue to pray about where God will have us this fall. And we hope to FINALLY make a decision really soon!
Here's a look at Mosaic's downtown campus which meets at the night club pictured above:
While I was there, I managed to get some video of a crazy thirty minute performance done at Mosaic. They are currently going through their core values. This last week was: "Love is the Context for all Mission." The performance was pretty unreal in scope and content - check it out. (Also, if you get a chance once the message gets posted, the message Erwin preached was powerful!) Enjoy!
What a satisfying finish to a great season of American Idol! I can't tell you how happy I was to see teenage heartthrob (and total cheeseball) David Archuletta fall to my-pick-to-win-since-the-week-of-his-audition, David Cook. What can I say? The kid is a stud! I have a feeling his rookie album will be my first ever Idol cd purchase. I'm not much of a tv watcher, but I was really impressed with the talent and performances this season. So in its honor, I give you the best of season 7!
When it comes down to it, wealth and poverty are about justice. And this song speaks more deeply to the issue and our response to it than a thousand essays ever could.
"40 million babies lost to Gods great orphanage, It's a modern day genocide and a modern day disgrace
If this is a human right then why aren't we free?
The only freedom we have is in a man nailed to a tree.
100 million faces, staring at the sky,
Wondering if this HIV will ever pass us by.
The devil stole the rain and hope trickles down the plug,
But still my Chinese take away could pay for someone's drugs.
Our God reigns, Our God reigns,
Forever your kingdom reigns.
The west has found a gun and it's loaded with unsure
Nip and tuck if you have the bucks in a race to find a cure.
Psalm one hundred and thirty nine is the conscience to our selfish crime,
God didn't screw up when he made you,
He's a father who loves to parade you.
Yes he reigns, yes you reign, yes you reign,
For there is only one true God,
But we've lost the reins on this world,
Forgive us all, forgive us please,
As we fight for this broken world on our knees" - Delirious, Our God Reigns
Unfortunately, I couldn't embed the video so you'll have to go here to view it.
It is so encouraging to me to see how far Sally has come since Worship Evangelism. (That's not to imply that it was a bad book or juvenile in some way - in her defense, the book is good & had tremendous missional implications way ahead of its time - but sadly, many mainstream churches misinterpreted it to mean that we should focus the majority of our time and resources on creating grand productions on sunday mornings.) But back to what I was saying, it is so refreshing to see where Sally's journey has taken her. I think she is courageously asking some very tough questions of herself and the church. The interview starts out a little slow, but really gets good as the conversation develops. It's well worth your time.
From my heart to Sally's mouth:
"I cannot be soulful with you because I cannot get in touch with my own soul."
My wife and I watched this video this morning and were both wiping tears by the end.
It is to one of my favorites songs of all time - "Everything" by Lifehouse. I had always liked the song (the album is one of my favorites of all time) that is, until I heard it while serving down in New Orleans doing post-Katrina work. A group of college kids were huddled up around an acoustic guitar one night after a long day of working in the heat and they were singing it as a worship song. After that night, the song took on an entirely new meaning for me. It has remained one of my favorites ever since.
On top of that, this video reminds me of why I am so passionate about the arts. They are so intimately connected to our souls and speak to our hearts in such a way that they simply cannot be separated from our spirituality. Personally, I think this is probably one of the most powerful artistic interpretations of the gospel that I have ever seen. (Just listen to the crowd!) And it communicates visually what I could never communicate with mere words. Enjoy...
These are the scattered thoughts of Aaron Loy - lover, learner and daydreamer extraordinaire. I live in L.A. with my two girls, where I serve with Mosaic and study at Bethel Seminary. I am just an ordinary guy serving an extraordinary God dreaming of an extraordinary church.
