For some reason the only thing I've ever done that's gotten a fair amount of attention is wearing white shoes. I've blogged about them before so I won't go into it but I've done a fair number of weird things and I swear these shoes get way more attention than anything else. Sad - is this who I am? Is my ultimate value to people only those shoes and the hilarity they seem to bring?

Seriously, I've been wondering lately if people notice where I buy things and what I wear.

As I was walking through the mall today I suddenly had the urge to look at shoes. I'm going to need a new pair in the spring so I figured now's a good time to start looking. The problem was I couldn't really get myself to go into any of the big shoe stores. I just kept thinking about Tom's Shoes. If you aren't familiar with them then I'd encourage you to click that link and do some browsing.

In light of the good that can be done by buying my next pair of shoes through Tom I can't really bring myself to even look at shoes from others right now.

I guess I'm wondering whether it might also serve a great purpose - beyond placating my personal conscious do people actually notice what we wear? I've been buying a lot of stuff from The Gap and their (RED) line lately and I wonder if people notice that or if they're just cool t-shirts with a quirky saying or funky picture on them?

What do you think. Do people notice? Does it matter? Is it just mostly a ploy by big business? 

What is the church? It's kind of a common question being asked today - you can't go to any church conference right now without people tackling that subject. I certainly don't have the answer to that but I think one of it's primary roles is that of a gift.

I was reading 1 Cor 12 this morning where Paul (a follower of Jesus) is trying to help a new group of believers know what to do with the new identity they find themselves adopting. Part of that new identity is the realisation that we've been equipped for life by God long before we ever knew God. There are latent talents, spiritual gifts the Bible calls them, that are given to each person and the people of Corinth aren't sure exactly what to do with them. 

I think they were falling into the temptation that many of us fall into - to use those talents for our own gain. They were trying to get prestige or to be noticed through the gifts they were given. Paul comes back to them and says "hey guys, it's not about you. Those gifts were given to you so that you can give them to others". The exact words Paul uses are "for the common good" you've been given those gifts. 

Common good means the good of everyone - the good of humanity.

So when asking "what is the church" I think part of our answer has to be a gift. A gift to humanity. The things that we enjoy from our community are not just for our benefit but for the benefit of all. Just as Jesus was given because God loved the world so His body is given to the world.

Yesterday I stumbled across the following tweet: RT @willmancini: 1993-2000: 104% increase in spending on church buildings; 8% pop. growth; 8% decrease in church attendance - 100% for 0% . That just kills me. We spent 100% more on buildings and saw a net gain of 0% coming into the Kingdom. Something is wrong with that! 

This breaks my heart and feels like basic stewardship being thrown out the window. It's like the parable of the talents - what we're given is be used to multiply the impact of the kingdom and if we don't we won't gain the approval of the Master.

Well the same gentleman who tweeted this yesterday followed it up with a building project that seems to me better positions to multiply its impact. Read about it here. 

This to me seems like missional thinking at it's best. The church is here to engage the lost and help them come to a saving faith in Jesus. We need to create environments where relationships can be built, trust can be re-established and the Gospel regain a natural environment in which it can be spoken. If you're going to build a building, build it not for just a place to meet but a place to engage and a place that will help us tell the story that needs to be told. BTW - if the term Third Place is foreign to you read this.

Yesterday Mel, Layla and I went for a drive through some of the neighbourhoods in the city that we've got our eye on. It's becoming a habit - we did the same thing last Saturday as well. Right now we're just trying to get a view of what's going on in The City and how each neighbourhood is unique in it's own right. We're trying to discern where we might best fit in and where the soil is being tilled for the planting of a faith community.

Some of you who have been tracking with us for some time might be thinking "I thought your target was the Annex". And it was - from our vantage point outside of the city it seemed like a good place to start. However, we're not closing ourselves in there because the more we get to know about The Annex the more we realize that it might not be the best place for us to be. So for now, we're keeping this open and looking for where God is directing us.

Our touring took us to three places yesterday: The Beach, The Distillery and West Queen West. Here are some thoughts about each one.

The Beach: The Beach was a very interesting place. Definitely the kind of place where people live. By that I mean it's not a place where people go to work but rather where people's homes are and where they come to spend their free time. Located on East Queen St. the heart of this area is filled with shops, restaurants and parks. Lake Ontario is also less than a KM from Queen St. here in the city - thus the name "The Beach".

The Distillery: A district filled with Third Places . This could be really good for gathering people into groups and rallying them to serve the city - third places make a natural choice for meeting spaces so this is a great opportunity. However, the challenge is that ALL of the housing here in is condos which don't tend to promote personal interactions and relationship building.

West Queen West: This is the art & design district. Obviously culture pubs are a natural fit here. The Question that we need to feel out more is whether our family can do life here. I'm not suggesting an answer to that yet.

One interesting thought I had was trying to land in an area that borders on several different places to launch into at one time. The Beach and Distillery are very close to one another - does it make sense missionally to land there because one can both touch into the family life of the Beach as well as the Third Place life of the Distillery? OR - does it make more sense to be right in the epicenter of cultural creation? These are the kinds of mission focused questions we're asking in these early days on life in the GTA.

Hey Friends,

Here is another post about Haiti. Melissa and I are currently discerning how to get involved in a helpful way. My twitter and facebook accounts have been inundated with seemingly good options. Sometimes it's hard to know which agency to get involved with.

Do I go with the most visible? Sometimes their administration fees are too high and not enough money goes to the right people.

Do I do what's easiest like giving via text message? Sometimes they don't forward money until my bill is paid and so money won't get there for 1-3 months!

If you haven't began to consider how you'll respond to this crisis I urge you - consider it now! A few good options I know of for giving funds are through Compassion Canada (Mel used to work for them so I trust them implicitly but you can read on their site that 100% of donations will go IMMEDIATELY to relief). I also know the CNBC is getting involved. Another fantastic avenue would be to call your local church and ask what they're doing to help. 

Maybe you've already given and have a terrific group you'd recommend people give through. Please feel free to post the link here so we know of all our options!

Pray for Haiti. Pray for Haiti. Pray for Haiti!

Last year one of my favorite reads was "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" (winner of most poetic title of 2009) by Mark Batterson. This morning, mark reposted what he calls the Lion Chasers Manifesto. I really love this as it helps to summarize much of how I'm seeing a life devoted to Christ these days. If you're still searching for your 2010 motivation I'd highly recommend this book to you. It might just be a shot of divine energy for your soul.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Criticize by creating. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

There is no such thing as a major city. Cities are just a whole lot of smaller communities stuck together. As we've been looking for a place to live this fact is becoming reality to me. Every little pocket of Toronto has its own vibe. The context changes every few miles. Ministry has to look a bit different every few blocks. Maybe that could be discouraging...but I find it compelling!

What I see as we drive around this city is that every gift given by Jesus to humanity has a purpose and a mission in the context of this city. Do you have a dream? Is there a task God has given you to do? Consider bringing that dream to the GTA - I'd be honored to  help you find a community that needs it and a way to bring it to life!

 What would 2010 look like if you resolved to be...

Poor in Spirit

Mournful

Meek

Hungry and Thirsty for righteousness

Merciful

Pure

Peacefilled

PERSECUTED

Would 2010 be more like the life Jesus has in mind for humanity? Just wondering what you think as I read Matthew 5 this morning.

 Since it seems all cool bloggers do this so I figured I'd start off 2010 by listing my most veiwed posts of 2009. I'd love to know which of these you found most interesting or if they were all useless to you ;-)

5.  Montage - a community of faith in the city of Toronto 

4. My Mind is Bent - the Day After Culture Pub Training

3. Vision Clarity 

2. Marks of a Disciple

1. I Disagree with John Piper