Texas Hill Country tour (fb)

A week before Spring Break we had no plans other than to help with the Church 2010 event at the Refuge OKC (which was amazing!)  We only have a few Spring Breaks left with the kids- precious time- so we wanted to use the few days after the OKC event to hit the road and do something fun.  It worked out so well I thought I'd give you the itinerary.  It would be a cool road trip for families with older kids or even for couples (it weirds the kids out when we describe places as "romantic"-  but lots of places were).

Wednesday:
Drove 3 hours to Fort Worth.  Hung out at the Stockyards for about three hours.
Leddy's - learned all about hand made boots, saddles, and hats
The Love Shack- had milkshakes on patio overlooking the main drag
Cattle Drive - kinda lame- only about 20 sleepy cows sauntering down the block
Joe T Garcia's - great tex-mex in an incredible outdoor atmosphere- one of the kids favorite things of the whole trip.  There is a line for seating indoor and one for outdoor.  The outdoor line will be longer but well worth the extra wait.
Billy Bob's- pool and two-stepping, big fun
Hotwire.com hooked us up with a 3.5 star Hyatt Center near downtown for $54 bones

Thursday:
Drove 2 hours to Austin.
Magnolia Cafe- perfect lunch on South Congress ("SoCo")- worth the wait
Walking South Congress and Downtown- South by Southwest was in full swing- there was live music everywhere- every parking lot, bar, lawn, building- everywhere. It was heaven.  We strolled for four hours down SoCo listening to music, eating great food and hanging out in cool boutiques.  Here are a couple of highlights.
Mellow Johnnies- Lance's bike shop.  Over-the-top awesome.  They were setting up for a band that was playing in the shop for SXSW.  Several of Lance's bikes downstairs.
Cupcake Airstream- listening to live music hanging out in front of the cupcake trailer was surreal.
Zilker Park- we took naps on the lawn at Zilker Park- threw the baseball.
Zilker Botanical Gardens- a hidden treasure in Zilker Park- we all loved it- beautiful
Pool at Barton Springs- we didn't swim but it is a must see
Alamo Draft House- good bar food while watching Alice in Wonderland 3-D.  Go early- the stuff they show before the movie is as good as the movie- classic.
Progress Coffee- OK- truth- we were too tired, but it really is the best coffee shop in Austin and I fantasized about all of us laughing into the late hours of the night over coffee but instead we ended up at a smokey Super 8 motel bushed.

Friday:
Drove 2 hours to Fredericksburg- wonderful scenic drive
Downtown Fredericksburg:  classic main street lined with mostly legit boutiques, bookstores, cafe's- nice strolling and browsing.
Rather Sweet Bakery:  where the locals eat- fresh local veg and baked goods.  Best chicken salad sandwich I've ever had- really cool place with a cool courtyard, balconies.
Becker Winery:  Fredericksburg is the hub of the Texas wine country.  Becker is the bell of their ball- expensive tasting room ($10 for 6) but fun.  Good wines.  Wish we had been there in May for the lavender festival.
Peach blossoms everywhere !
Enchanted Rock State Park:  This amazing granite rock in the middle of nowhere. You can climb up in 30 minutes- a must do- probably the consensus favorite thing of the whole trip (many thanks to Teri Brasheres for the rec)  Walked around on top for awhile- saw a helicopter mountain rescue- some lady fell down the rock- be careful!
Der Lindenbaum:  Small German place on Main- great food (this was a German town so we wanted to find the heritage fare).  We waited outside for a table and listened to a guitar player/ singer at the Silver Creek that was amazing.  I could have sat in that courtyard for hours- under the trees and the strung lights and the heaters and the music...

Hangar Hotel:  Our splurge- a converted airline hangar on a working airstrip.  We loved it- beautiful room, great people, boutique hotel.

Saturday:
98.1 KVET:  Listened to this station for three days.  Great new and classic country with a bent towards Texas hill country....country- Robert Earl Keen, Randy Rogers, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle
Drove an hour, through Luchenbach, to San Marcos- beautiful
San Marcos outlet shopping:  we had a good time- they have all the stores- what can I say- it's outlet shopping- sometimes it's incredible and most of the time no big deal.  This time was on the no big deal end of the spectrum.
Drove 3 hours to Fort Worth
Riscky's BBQ: Good BBQ in Sundance Square- downtown Ft. Worth.  Sundance Square is kinda like if you put OKC's bricktown in the middle of the financial district- right in the middle of downtown- pretty cool.  Best spare-ribs I've ever had- with the possible exception of Shafer's home-smoked ones, but I digress.
Hilton:  Hotwire scored for us again- $54 for the downtown Hilton.  Walking to dinner, swanky hotel, so fun.

Sunday:
Breakfast at the Corner Bakery then we hit the road back to OKC.

Do this trip or something like it.  The Texas hill country is beautiful- great people, food, scenery, music, rural, urban, outdoorsey- everything a road trip should be.

My kids are going to space (fb)

Today was the maiden voyage of the first commercial spacecraft by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.  It was only a test, and it never got into space but...it will- not 50 years from now but in the next two or three.  This makes me giddy with excitement, not because of space but because it is such a brilliant example of how quantum change really happens- it isn't linear it's reactionary.

If we polled 100 people and asked them "when will commercial spaceflight happen and what will it look like?" ninety plus percent of them would say something like..."It will be decades if it happens in my lifetime and it will be in some big spaceship that looks kind of like the space shuttle, with a blast off and everything."  Leave it to Richard Branson to find the guys that are thinking radically different.  The current model of spaceflight was built in and for the industrial age:

Massive organizations
Thousands of specialists
Rockets required to launch the craft from ground into outer space
Extremely infrequent launches
Large space craft requiring large structures and propulsion
Only the largest and wealthiest governments can afford to participate
Government sponsored space "programs"
Passengers are physical and intellectual elites that have gone through years of training

But here is how Virgin Galactic saw the future:

Smaller organizations
Less specialization and more borrowing from a variety of technologies and industries
Planes perform the final launch from 60,000 feet
Frequent launches
Small craft requiring small structures and propulsion
Thousands and eventually hundreds of thousands able to participate
Private "firms"
Passengers are normal Joes (that have a lot of money- at least at first!)
Training takes three days initially (I'll bet they get that down to one day within the first 5 years)

Wired magazine makes the point this month that the Apple ipad will forever change personal computing- no more mouse or keyboard or clumsy case.  Today the Church in America is Commodor 64, but it will be iPad, not iMac.  It won't be more and better of what we currently think of as "best practice."  It will be  different- quantum different.  I'm a Church lover- I don't know what you love.  But if you're a pioneer, avoid the trap of thinking linear change and train your mind to think quantum, which normally begins by changing all the questions.  And if you're a settler- don't stress out- just enjoy the ride and let the pioneers lose sleep about space travel, smart homes, communication technology, sustainability, urban planning, local food... And while we're glancing out the window wondering what the first moon village will be like you'll be full of joy, in the moment, awed by the vastness of space:)

To the sent ones (fc)

You are part of the most exciting generation in the history of the Church.  A generation set apart to be sent out into every network, neighborhood, and nation.  There is nothing special about you- in fact- it’s your ordinariness that is compelling.  Like the army in the book of Joel, the nations are shaking but they don’t see you they see Him.  Cities will be changed from the inside out, from the margin to the center.  No person, no church, no organization, no country, no leader gets the credit- a.k.a. the GLORY.  That will be reserved only for Him.  But where the sent ones are, EVERYONE will want to be.  If you want it you can have it- AIDS, Africa, human trafficking, extreme poverty, the marketplace and the arts- but it will cost you everything, beginning with your reputation.  History says you’ll quit.  If you make it it will be because you accepted the journey of character, courage, and community for a lifetime.  The good news?  You’ve got it- everything you need to go the distance.  You lack…nothing.

High school for life (fb)

High school orientation for Jake last night.  The band, the choir, the athletes, the speeches, the hype, the clubs- holy cow.  The sun club promotes recycling and organic gardens.  The kids jamming in the corner are promoting the guitar club.  The latin club kids seem the most enthusiastic.  Enrollment forms due tomorrow.  A/P or no A/P?  Woodworking or Intro to Business?  How many sports?  Which sports?  So many decisions, so many options.  So I'm pondering.  I think these four years are probably the most important four years of your life.

Why?

You solidify your values while you're still living at home.  Who you are in high school, from a value stand point, is pretty much who you are for the rest of your life.

It determines where you go to college- which has a huge impact on your career, who you marry, what part of the country you settle in...

It can determine your lifelong friends.  Even if you don't stay in touch with your high school friends I'll bet you still hang out with the kind of people you hung out with in high school- and who you hang out with determines who you'll be.

It locks in the self-image you carry with you for the rest of your life.

I think...do you think so?  What do you think?  Is high school the most important time of your life?

Why I am a runner (fb)

I watched the sun rise this morning over the Sorghum Hills on a ten-mile run.  It was beautiful and everything felt right.  I felt like a runner…I am a runner – so started thinking about why.

I am a runner because Stephanic Fischer spoke destiny over me.  She walked up to Stacy and I after church one day, looked at me and said “I see you as a runner.”  I hated running, looked like anything but a runner, had no plans to run.  But her words were powerful- words are powerful.

I am a runner because I started running.  Four years after Stephanie’s comment I took it with me and headed out the door for my first run.  I ran one minute then walked one.  Eventually I ran two minutes then walked one.  Then I ran ten minutes and walked two.  Eventually I ran a mile without walking.  I was happy with little victories and pathetic baby steps but I stayed…I ran.  You can’t be a runner if you don’t run.

I am a runner because of Eric Mixon.  He is my training partner and even though we don’t often run together I think about him every time I train.  He keeps me accountable to live the life I want to live.  I wouldn’t run without Eric.  You can’t run without accountable community.

I am a runner because I speak the language, I’ve had the experiences.  If I was injured tomorrow and never ran again I am forever part of the running family.  I have run for years not months.  I have experienced pain and suffering and victory.  It is a lifestyle not an event.

I am a follower of Jesus.  Destiny was spoken over me, I responded with a smidge of faith and started running towards Him, running with Him.  Accountable community keeps me running but, regardless, I am a part of a spiritual family forever.  I’ve had the experiences, I’m learning the language of Kingdom.  I want to help others run.  The family is supposed to be bigger.   Everyone is invited.

I think Henri was like... (fc)

If a young Henri Nouwen were here this morning it wouldn’t take much cajoling to get him to speak to us.  And if he did he would shyly walk up here, but once he began you would be struck by a couple of things.  One, you would be captured by the way he used words- his brilliant eloquence.  But secondly, you would be entertained by this brilliant clown who flailed his lanky limbs awkwardly around, never standing still, and pausing with crazy eyes and a big smile after a point well made.

But if an older, road weary Henri Nouwen were here this morning I think he would be sitting back there in the corner.  And he would be irreverently fidgety.  He was ADD with everything except for one thing- people.  If he were here he would lock onto the person seated around him who looked the most lost and lonely- and he would secretly hope and pray for an opportunity to know them.  And if that person were you, you would shake his hand and he would look at you in a way you’ve rarely if ever been looked at- with eyes full of expectation, joy, love, and unconditional acceptance.  He would probably want to ditch this sermon for the opportunity to have a cup of coffee and get to know you- and while you talked you would never doubt that you had his undivided attention.  And after your encounter you would feel loved by Henri and loved by God.

(excerpt from a biographical sermon on Henri Nouwen)

How the Community Communicates (fb)

Some thoughts about how comm tech is accelerating change in the Church:

A biblical theology of community says that we’re all connected- now a spiritual reality is becoming tangible to everyone.  I am connected to Nancy in Kenya via Facebook but, more broadly, we are aware of how the food we purchase in OKC impacts the rice farmer in Thailand.

New communications tech is fundamentally changing the way that community functions- you change the way community communicates... you change everything (credit Clay Shirkey’s great explanation of this principle in Here Comes Everybody).  For instance, hierarchy becomes unnecessary when everyone can talk to everyone.  This afternoon, via Twitter alone, we can muster an army from multiple churches to remodel a housing unit for a single mom at Tapestry- we don’t need anyone to plan it, publicize it, resource it, communicate it, connect us to it, educate us about it, train us for it.  In short- we don’t need a hierarchy to manage us.

The ability to pursue a vision together, with our community,  without relying on an organization means that we are fixin to see a humongous jailbreak of lay people (a.k.a. amateurs) taking over the leadership of this movement called Church.  Our theology says “everyone gets to play” but our paradigm says that’s not really true.  Now we see that one amateur with a heart to put tents in Haiti can git r done- that’s really exciting.  Effectiveness no longer requires professional management and organizational support.

The idea that our missional energy should be directed exclusively through organizations (local church, parachurch) that we belong to will seem increasingly silly.  The opportunity for missional community to form around “networks and neighborhoods” will increasingly unite people across denominational, theological, sociological and local church tribes.

As we become more aware of opportunities to “be the church” and “live as church,” in a manner that fits our vision, call, gifts, personality, networks, dreams, and the Kingdom worldview; we will become less willing to pay a subscription fee for participation in spiritual organizations (salaries, buildings, and programs).  Instead, we will choose to use our “giving” for fighting human-trafficking, projects we’re directly involved with, and people we’re directly connected to.  We will become better stewards of our giving resources, demanding more accountability and giving only to those projects that provide us the greatest Kingdom return on our financial investment.  This will further erode the current economic model of western “Church.”  What am I talking about?  I’m saying it will no longer be cool with us to pay to build buildings that go unused most of the week or pay for Mrs Johnson’s grandson, who plays the guitar, to sing Passion songs for the Sunday morning youth service; or to pay for Johnny Tightshirt to hang out at the church coffee “lounge” as a paid intern ‘cause it’s funner than funemployment.  Side note:  so is there anything in the current system that we’ll still be willing to pay for?  Yes, but it will have to be a clear value, characterized by excellence.  So we’ll pay for super excellent worship celebration, teaching, inspiration, and resources- …but not every week:)

Get ready for wiki-theology.  For the past 100 years we’ve been taught to fear incorrect doctrine.  Our ability to interact with “them” and “their” ideas will actually result in the Church starting to love the Church.  The main and plain will become mainer and plainer and we’ll no longer be afraid- when you’re not afraid you’re free.  Look for the language of Kingdom and discipleship to become the glue of a global, shared language of Church.

What an amazingly, exceedingly wonderful time to be a part of this 2000 year old, world-changing community called Church.  Ooooo I love tech-no-lo-gy, but noooooot as much as you you see…