Recently we had an innovative outreach at Portland State…a 
Poetry Slam. You can read about it on the CruPress Green site here.
One of the biggest mistakes we made in advertising for the event was putting our ad in the school newspaper for two editions. Exactly 0 people indicated they found the event via the newspaper. $430 later I feel a bit snookered.
But what do you do? You have to leave no stone unturned when sponsoring a campus wide event right? Maybe times are changing. What do you think?
I was in Seattle last week with other Campus Crusade leaders from the northwest region and there were lot’s of questions about the recent adoption of our son Isaac. My smok’n hott wife has nicely recapped our story, so if you’re interested here are the links.
I don’t think everyone is called to adopt, but I do think everyone should ask the Lord if it’s for them.
A couple of interesting links you might want to take a look at.
Last year I left a thriving ministry at Montana State because I caught a vision of launching new movements on the campuses in Portland, Oregon. This year I was reflecting back on how cool it was that our staff team at MSU was thinking beyond the edges of our campus, and was trusting the Lord to send teams of staff/students all over the world.
I look forward to the day when our team in Portland is sending missional teams all over the world. Our vision isn’t just to change the campus, it’s to change the whole world!
Here’s a recent video of Mark Gauthier (National CCC Leader) talking about what’s going on at MSU this year!
A serious post on Friday? How can this be? Oh well, it’s what you get.
It’s been an intense season of life and ministry for me lately. It’s no excuse, but it sure surfaces the reality that I easily care more about what God does in our ministry than just being with Jesus.
The story of the women who annointed the head of Jesus in Mark 14 resonated with me yesterday. She cared more about being with Jesus than the cost of the perfume. She would do anything to be close to him. Everything else was secondary, including her iPhone.
I like to say that all I do is win, but the truth is…I fall short. Miserably short.
But the story doesn’t end there, mired in my personal failure. There is hope. Like any good story you have to walk through conflict before reaching the sweet peace of resolution.
Hebrews 4 beckons us to draw close to the throne of grace. Jesus tells me to draw near and find rest and peace in him. So thankful that in my weakness I can draw near.
Hhhmmm, guess I’m preaching the Gospel to myself again. Hope that’s cool with you.
Here are the most viewed posts on my blog last month…if you care. Interestingly, 2 of the 4 posts are really old.
Evangelism: What’s working, what’s not. The current reality of the Campus Crusade for Christ experience in evangelism in Portland. This reality stretches my thinking.
Social Media in Ministry Seminar. A little lesson for new staff on how to make social media fuel building spiritual movements in their context.
Top 6 quotes from Tribes by Seth Godin. An old post.
The Valley of Insight. An even older post getting some hits.
I just wrote a blog post about blog posts. How cool am I? Oh, and I only posted 4 times in October.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about building our Campus Crusade staff team here in Portland for the future. Other than a soft teachable heart, the most common characteristic I want people on our team to have is the ability to be initiators. It’s not the end all and we recognize our staff develop over time, but we want you to be an initiator not just a responder.
A while back Brad Lomenick wrote a couple posts that put into words what we’re thinking as a team.
Favorite quote…
Make sure you have a team of leaders who initiate at their core. It’s much easier to slow down a racehorse by having to pull back on the reins vs. having to spur and kick and get out the whip in order to move forward.
Where have you seen the value of being surrounded by initiators rather than responders?
Photo courtesy of Malkov
I feel like I’m living the new book by Gabe Lyons call The Next Christians. Talk about resonating! Here are a couple of quotes that have caught my attention so far.
Engagement over Condemnation: Provoked Christians resist the urge to condemn everything that isn’t explicitly Christian.
The beauty of the Gospel is found in both proclamation and demonstration. Neither comes first; niether comes second. Like the perfect marriage, it’s the duty of the Christian to take on each, giving 100 percent effort to both.
Cultures aren’t changed by being condemned, critiqued, or copied. The only way to change culture is to create more of it.
This book is challenging me and giving words to things I’ve felt. I recommend it.
Social Media Revolution video that you don’t get in the slides above.
Read Blogs and get Blogging!
CCC Staff Blogs worth your time:
Other favorite spiritual leadership or social media blogs:
Is there some content I missed? Was this helpful? Any feedback would be awesome. Let me know if you have any other questions and I can point you to someone smarter than me!
