Hi friends, If you frequent this blog as your only connection to me, you may be wondering how the MainStreet Covenant church plant is coming along in Mound. It’s going well. But we are “pioneering” a church, which means we are building from ground up and starting very much at the grassroots level. The ideal … More MainStreet Update – 8/29
RECALL NOTICE: The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the … More Recall Notice (author unknown)
I want to introduce a talented young poet and friend, Brandon Hull. We’ll be sharing some of his writings on DI in the future, and I encourage you to check out more of his stuff at his blog Pushing Through Concrete. I must confess to an obsession, when pressed for an impression I’ll give most … More “Confessions” by Brandon Hull
Just about everyone is capable of developing a degree of leadership intuition, though we don’t all start off at the same place. I’ve found that all people fit into three major intuition levels: 1) THOSE WHO NATURALLY SEE IT Some people are born with exceptional leadership gifts. They instinctively understand people and know how to … More 3 Levels of Leadership Intuition (by John Maxwell)
I declare this “Hug an Entrepreneur Day.” Such folks often walk a lonely road, living on vision and suffering the sneers and mockery of more down-to-earth, practical minded people. I know, I think I have the “E” disease….
I have the opportunity to have coffee/lunch chats often with young disciples of Jesus. It’s one of my highlights of ministry, and I only dream I can impart some Jesus-like wisdom to these friends to spur them on in their walk of faith. Have you ever wondered what a coffee chat with Jesus would be … More Coffee with Jesus – 1st Century Style
Clark Pinnock, a well-known theologian, has passed. As a young college kid majoring in Theology at Bethel, I attended the Evangelical Theological Society annual meeting in Colorado Springs in 2001. My friend Joe and I had the opportunity to tag along with a group of scholars going out for dinner one evening. We carpooled from … More QUOTABLES: Clark Pinnock’s Theological Pilgrimage
From the old DI archives, here’s a piece written in 2006 comparing my blogging habits to the spiritual life. At that time I had lost inspiration and quit blogging for weeks before finally posting this. -JB Yes, I was dead. My pages were stilled. My message was silenced. Some faithful readers came by to visit … More Blogging Habits and the Spiritual Life
This is the first of hopefully several MainStreet Mission Moment videos to help inspire our growing community in Mound. Enjoy!
From one demon to another on leading one away from faith: “Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that ’suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches… The search for a … More QUOTABLES: C.S. Lewis
Check out this new video capturing the vision of MainStreet Community in Mound!
Hi blog readers and friends! I’m enjoying my “blog-cation” this July. Providing “daily” illumination everyday for the past 500+ days straight was…well…time consuming work. Plus transitioning into the lifestyle of a church planter this summer has added a whole new intensity and work load to my life. But this new ministry adventure also brings fresh … More Personal Update – July 2010
Continued growth is the key to success in any arena of life. The same holds true with love and marriage. I have never loved my bride more than I do today on our 5th anniversary. We have never been healthier and more satisfied in our marriage we are today. But our first couple years of … More Five Years of Marriage
I need a “blog-cation” — a vacation from blogging. I need to step completely away for a month. I may post a couple of personal updates during July, but I need to free myself from the self-imposed pressure to provide new content daily. This is long overdue. Pray for us when you think of us. … More See you in August…
I’m grateful for culturally engaging Christian networks like Origins. From Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed: The Church in America is changing, and Origins is at the forefront. Origins is a worldwide network of leaders who follow Jesus thriving on the diversity and creativity growing in the Church. It’s an externally-focused network of creatives, business leaders, … More ORIGINS: The Forefront of Future Christianity
Just a personal update for some of you who only keep up with me through the blog these days. We’re busy sharing the vision of MainStreet Community in Mound this summer with family and friends from the area. We’re inviting people to join the launch team for this different kind of church community. To give … More NEW! MainStreet Community website!
CLARIFICATION: The “Divine Summons” series is telling the story of my call to Mound and the Revolution ministry we planted back in 2005-2007. This is not to be confused with our current efforts to continue that work with MainStreet Community. =) An Open Door of Ministry With the opposition-filled narrative-world of Acts shaping my personal … More Divine Summons 17
“This is the reason why a person is unable to find peace: they instill human apprehensions, preferring the pleasure of the present to the promise of the future. For they do not know what great torment the pleasure of the present brings, and what delight the promise of the future brings.” – From 2 Clement, … More QUOTABLES: 2 Clement
IV A Mustard Seed Revolution Begins When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with … More Divine Summons 16
1. New churches are needed because the large majority of Americans do not attend a local church. About 17% of Americans attend a local church on any given Sunday. Many of those attend a church where they do not clearly hear the message of salvation in Jesus. 2. New churches are more effective than established … More Top 10 Reasons to Start New Churches
Are you afraid of failure like me? Do you celebrate your successes publicly and quietly sweep your not-so-successful ideas and attempts under the rug to save face? Here’s a good word for us by Mike Foster in an article called, “Snuggle Up With Failure.” Here’s a snippet below and a link to the full article: … More Mike Foster & the Value of Failure
This series tells the story of the Revolution in Mound back in 2005-2007. Divine Encounters and Open Doors I don’t think it was more than a week later that Keri and I were out on one of our walks about town. We stopped by Caribou Coffee as part of our normal routine. We struck up … More Divine Summons 15
Kingdom Harbor 