Future Design February 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Adaptive Reuse, Church Construction , add a commentIn the city of Chicago, it is very hard to own your own building but after 18 years, Park COmmunity Church is renovating a warehouse into the coolest church in the land. As we glean ideas from other architectural creations, I came across this Helios futuristic gas station in California and thought I would share it with you. Also check out photo2 and photo3. I call it “Exxon meets the Jetsons”.
Standing Room Only! - Gospel of John February 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The Cultural Conversation, Provision Theater , add a commentAs one of the most dramatic figures to mark the history of our world, Jesus is the perfect subject for the stage. Provision Theater, (where I am privileged to serve on the Board) just concluded a fabulous 5-week run at the Royal George Theater of this critically acclaimed off-Broadway production to mostly sold out shows. Brad Sherrill, (from the original New York production) assumed more than a dozen characters from this fourth book of the New Testament — from the Samaritan woman at the well to Pontius Pilate. His script was the 20,000-word book of John, verbatim. Check out the reviews from the Trib here and here and the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED review from the Chicago Reader here.
This is an excellent theater company with highly professional actors and a compelling vision. Provision Theater Company was founded in September 2003 by Chicago-based actor/director Timothy Gregory, who goes to Park Community Church. At that time, Tim felt there was a need for a theater company (more…)
2007 versus 1907….Wow! February 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , 2commentsAs the years roll by and we get firmly planted in 2007, it’s good to reflect on what has transpired in the last 100 years. Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1907: What a difference a century makes!
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47.6 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
California had an estimated popluation of 2.2 million people, and the United States had 8.7 million.
Oh, How Generations Have Changed — Generation Next February 21, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Methods & Strategies, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentAs we continually think about reaching new generations at Park with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the city, it is interesting to read this national survey of 18-25 year olds and their views on life, liberty, religion, politics and the pursuit of happiness. Take a read, let me know what you think of the report.
The Pew Research Center, in their report “Generation Next: How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics“, examines the lifestyles and views of 18-25 year olds, a generation raised amidst an unprecedented revolution in technology and dramatic events both at home and abroad. This report takes stock of this new generation, and explores their outlook, their lifestyle and their politics. Pew calls them Generation Next, the cohort of young adults who have grown up with personal computers, cell phones and the internet and are now taking their place in a world where the only constant is rapid change.
Key findings include that they are generally happy with their lives and optimistic about their futures. Moreover, Gen Nexters feel that (more…)
Park’s 1st Leader Zone Meeting a Success! February 18, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Volunteers, Family, Church, Inside Park, Leader Zone , add a comment
In 2007, we are striving to be more intentional about growing and developing our leadership community at Park Community Church. One of the ways we are going to invest in our leaders is through quarterly meetings, where we will bring the entire leadership community together for a dinner, here about what God is doing through us and amongst us, provide in-depth communication about what is happening at Park and where we are going, and hear from Jackson.
We had our first Quarterly “Leader Zone” leader meeting last Thursday night and it got good reviews. More than 150 of our leaders met at the Kitsch’n restaurant and got a chance to have dinner together, hear some great testimonies from folks at Park, and hear Jackson talk about our 2007 goal of having every leader reproduce themselves as we grow. We got a chance to get an update on the building construction (check out our ParkCAM), the Imagine More campaign, and leadership updates.
Leaders, thanks for your commitment to coming alongside the work that God is doing here in Chicago - we have lots more to do but there is a strong energy and enthusiasm among the leadership core and it contagious! The elder and staff love doing ministry with you folks!
Be sure to mark your calendars for the next meeting on May 10th! A mp3 of the message will be posted here next week for those who missed it!
It’s Coming - 150th Anniversary of Fulton Street Revival February 17, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, The City, Church, Urban Church , add a commentIn 1857 there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York. Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by slavery. God raised up a praying businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier. On September 23, 1857 he began a noontime prayer meeting on Fulton Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. Out of a city of 1 million people, six people showed up a half hour late. The group decided to meet the next week and there were 14. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. Within weeks there were thousands of business leaders meeting daily.
September 2007 marks the 150th Anniversary of the Fulton Street Revival in lower Manhattan, an event through which God moved so powerfully that the prayer meetings spread across the nation. It is estimated that nearly 1 million people were converted out of a national population of 35 million, including 10,000 weekly conversions in New York City for a season. The revival was a key part of Third Great Awakening. This year, Christian leaders and New York churches are creating a three day extravaganza in September 2007 to commemorate this unbelievable work of His spirit.
Check out our Park WebCam! February 4, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Church, Inside Park, Church Construction , add a commentAs we progress on the renovation of Park Community Church’s warehouse into a ministry center at 1001 N Crosby, we now have the ability to see it happen live and in color with our ParkCAM, courtesy of Michael and Melissa Howard, who have graciously allowed us to install a webcam on their balcony. You can check out the new picture that is generated each minute 24/7 here at our Imagine More website.
NFL: Super Bowl Fumble February 3, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, The Cultural Conversation , add a comment
“And there’s a fumble on the play” — The rich and powerful NFL, had a big miss this week as it gets ready for the most popular annual sporting event in the world.
Its lawyers sent a letter to pastor John D. Newland of Indianapolis’ Fall Creek Baptist Church demanding that the congregation cancel its Super Bowl party. What did the church do that caused such swift action by the NFL? The Church had organized a showing of Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the Colts and Bears on a 12-foot projection screen, and asked attendees to kick in a couple of bucks for snacks. Its “Super Bowl Party” was to include an evangelistic element: a video of Colts coach Tony Dungy and several of his players talking about Jesus.
NFL lawyers found the announcement on the church’s website and FedEx’ed a cease-and -desist order. The church’s large screen (only screens 55 inches and smaller are allowed), use of the words “Super Bowl,” and other plans violated copyright laws, the lawyers said. So does the evangelistic video. NFL assistant counsel Rachel L. Margolies wrote to the congregation, according to The Indianapolis Star: “While this may be a noble message, we are consistent in refusing the use of our game broadcasts in connection with events that promote a message, no matter the content.” There’s no word on how many other churches have been contacted by the NFL, or whether Lovie Smith’s own church, which was planning to show the game on a projection screen to up to 1,000 people, has special dispensation.
