Just got back from the National New Church Conference and got a chance to hear Bill Hybels speak. I like Bill Hybels and think he had made unbelieveable contributions with Willow Creek Church and then the WCA, especially the Leadership Summits. Bill Hybels was the final speaker and followed the Mark Driscoll video where Mark called out church planters to be men of integrity, to be men on a mission and to bring the clear message of the Gospel to our patch of the Kingdom.

The 1,800 church planters in the crowd reacted warmly to Jon Ferguson’s introduction and gave Bill a standing ovation out of reverence for the trail that Bill had blazed over the last 30 years in reaching out to lost people who matter to God. Obviously annoyed by Driscoll’s comments, Hybels first words after the standing ovation was to say, something like“there are women in this world and many of them are used by God in church building and they have spiritual gifts useful in church planting too. Just to set the record straight.”. He clearly wanted to make a point at Mark Driscoll’s expense and clearly knew that his words would imply a position for Driscoll that Driscoll does not hold.

I found this to be distasteful on several fronts –

1. It was disrespectful to the hosts of the conference who had worked hard to make this conference about unity of cause, unity of the Gospel and unity of the planting movement. It was an awkward moment for the conference leaders, who had seen momentum gaining through the three days. I’m sure Dave Ferguson was cringing in the back.

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Floyd Landis wants to prove his innocence. So he has a rep at the lab in France to watch as all the samples are retested. However, they tested without letting Landis’ rep in the testing area. We believe in fairness — is fairness not a worldwide, mainstream value? Come on — give the guy access!

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PARIS, Apr 23 (Cycling Post) – According to the French sports paper L’Equipe, the sports paper stated that the Châtenay-Malabry lab [LNDD] did the analysis in presence of expert witnesses; one of them was appointed by Landis, the two others by the USADA. However, Landis’ spokesman Michael Henson claims that the American’s expert witness, former UCLA antidoping laboratory director of clients, Paul Scott, was not allowed to enter the lab.

“According to Scott, LNDD lab director Jacques de Ceaurriz did not allow him to enter the facility Sunday morning. Ceaurriz cited direct orders from USADA to prohibit any further observation of the ongoing retesting,” says the statement, released by Henson. “As such, the analysis of two samples was conducted without a Landis representative as witness. [Read more...]

Having spent 7 years as a banker and having a huge love for all things Chicago, I am quite interested to learn that BofA, (my former employer) is going to buy LaSalle Bank and become the largest bank in Chicago.

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(AP) — Dutch bank ABN Amro NV has reached an agreement to sell its U.S. bank, LaSalle, to Bank of America Corp. for $21 billion, according to a published report. ABN’s spin-off of Chicago-based LaSalle Bank Corp. is part of negotiations for a separate transaction in which Britain’s Barclays PLC would buy ABN for more than $80 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday on its Web site, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation.

Buying LaSalle, which has more than 400 branches in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, would help Bank of America fill in a gap in its U.S. operations. Bank of America, the nation’s second-largest bank by assets, operates more than 5,700 branches coast to coast but hasn’t expanded significantly in the Midwest and holds less than 2 percent of the Chicago market. Bank of America and LaSalle’s combined operation would surpass longtime market leader, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which has more than 15 percent of Chicago deposits.

Our church, Park Commmunity Church, is in the middle of a key series called “Missional Living in the City” and we are learning what it means to be ‘salt and light’ in the city. Here’s another take on it from Tim Keller, Senior Pastor of Reedeemer Presebyterian Church, who gives a 5 minute summary of being salt and light in today’s culture

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I saw this editorial cartoon this week that really touched home. It shows the mascots of many of Tech’s collegiate rivals, and the caption simply reads: “Today we are all Hokies.”. I agree — all of us are united in prayer behind the Hokie nation and our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected by these senseless killings.

Virginia Tech family members across the country have united to declare this Friday, April 20th, an “Orange and Maroon Effect” day to honor those killed in the tragic events on campus Monday, and to show support for Virginia Tech students, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and friends. “Orange and Maroon Effect” was born several years ago as an invitation to Tech fans to wear orange and maroon to Virginia Tech athletic events. They invite everyone from all over the country to be a part of the Virginia Tech family this Friday, to wear orange and maroon to support the families of those who were lost, and to support the school and community.