DWELL: Driving Urban Church Planters March 2, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Church, Urban Church, Methods & Strategies, Missional, The Cultural Conversation, DifferenceMakers, Culture and Faith , add a commentAt Park Community Church, our vision is to be a Biblical community where the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms lives, renews the city and impacts the world. Being a city center church, we are focused on reaching the city of Chicago and would like to reach 1% (29,000 people) of the city in the years to come. That is why we love conferences that focus on the major global centers like Chicago or New York, and one of those great get-togethers is coming up.
The Dwell Conference is scheduled for April 29-30, 2008 in New York City and involves two of our favorites: Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City will be co-hosting and partnering with Acts 29 Network in a premiere church planting event to create a world-class training for urban church planters. It has a fabulous lineup of some of the most influential church planting leaders as speakers at this event: Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Ed Stetzer, CJ Mahaney, and Darrin Patrick.
I also love their anchor verse for this movement of planters (as it has been an anchor for our church about urban living for years):
Jeremiah 29:4-7
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and DWELL in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”
The Turkey Whirlwind Tour November 3, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI am blogging to you from Turkey — we were invited over here for a five day whirlwind tour of some churches to understand their long term planting and growth strategies and look at long-term partnerships. I am tired but excited — we flew through London so it so about 20 hours of planes, trains and automobiles but we arrived safe and sound. Turkey is an interesting, complex melting pot of nationalities and culture, intertwined with a rich and vibrant history. From Constantinople to its modern day pursuit of entry in the EU, Turkey sits in one of the most strategic places in this world — and I get five days to explore it!
Today after meetings, we headed out in the 40 degree rain to see the Blue Mosque and the 1,500 year old roman cistern. While I had been to Istanbul before, I only learned today that the Emperor who commissioned the Blue Mosque was 19 when they had the commissioning/groundbreaking ceremony in 1,609. Wow — what leadership at such a young age. The cistern amazed me at the incredible engineering almost 400 years ago — what an engineering marvel! Anyway, tomorrow, we have a full day of meetings then a late afternoon run through the Grand Bazaar!
