Look at this video then read the rest of the blog post:
The scene is a Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later: the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…. How many other things are we missing?
One of the most popular
What a great day it is in Chicago and around the world! Today as we attend 
about the high levels of dissatisfaction mature believer have with churches. Drawing from the 200 churches and the 57,000 people that have taken the survey, he said that most people are leaving the church because they’re not being challenged enough. Because it’s the mature Christians who drive evangelism in the church Hawkins says, “Our strategy to reach seekers is now about focusing on the mature believers. This is a huge shift for Willow.”
Chicago ranks as the 33rd most affordable metro, ahead of such cities as Portland OR (37th),Seattle, (40th), Boston (42nd), NYC (46th) and San Francisco (49th). In Chicago, where the aforementioned housing charges consume about 35 percent of our income, the study said. It pegged the median mortgage payment here at $1,358; add to that a median monthly property tax of $309, and your basic home-owning Chicagoan gets a monthly mortgage payment of $1,667.

our local PBS station WTTW, called 


This June, Teaching Pastor Randy Frazee will become the Senior Minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he will teach and lead in partnership with pastor and author, Max Lucado. “After 8 months of prayer and counsel, I believe God is calling our family to expand the reach of the neighborhood initiative to San Antonio,” Randy said. “However, my decision to leave is mostly about family and a simple desire to be around my kids, two of whom are currently living in Texas and a third who will head to Texas for college this fall. “It has been a complete privilege and joy to be a part of the Willow Creek team,” he said. “You can count on our fervent prayers and blessings as we move forward on this endeavor.”
Gene Appel, Lead Pastor-South Barrington, who came to Willow Creek as Associate Pastor in 2003 and moved into his current role two and a half years ago, also announced his resignation from staff. “I love this church,” Gene said. “It has been an enormous privilege for me to serve here, but after months of internal wrestling and seeking the counsel of wise people I trust, I have come to a place of peace and clarity, and sense the nudge to move toward being the senior pastor of a local church again. I’ll continue serving in my role through the Easter season, and then I’ll begin prayerfully pursuing God’s next adventure. I am honored to have been able to serve in partnership with everyone at Willow and I have been forever impacted by this place. I will be cheering you on for the rest of my life.”
On January 17, 2008 the Elders of Willow Creek and Bill Hybels agreed that Bill will assume the role of Lead Pastor-South Barrington in addition to his other senior pastor responsibilities, which include oversight of the Regional Campuses and the Willow Creek Association. “I am honored to assume the responsibility to lead the staff and congregation at South Barrington and I look to God expectantly for what He has planned for us in the future,” Bill said. The Elders fully support the decisions of Gene and Randy, and are grateful to them for their faithful leadership, high character, and inspired teaching.

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