Charlie Wear’s Notes

I suppose everyone in the known universe has heard of Hugh MacLeod. He is the guy who draws cartoons on the back of business cards. This is one creative guy. At his website, gapingvoid.com, he has an article posted called "The Hughtrain." I think it is a takeoff on The Cluetrain Manifesto. But is challenging in a lot of ways. It is challenging with its profane language and brutal honesty. And it is challenging because of its off the wall ideas. But there are a couple of universal truths proposed therein that should cause all of us to stop and think for a minute.

" the market for something to believe in is infinite…"

"We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary. We humans want to believe in our own species. And we want people, companies and products in our lives that make it easier to do so. That is human nature." — Hugh MacLeod Can this possibly be true? And if it is true, then why don’t churches automatically grow? Is it because we aren’t good examples of people who believe in something? Is it because we are not good communicators? Okay, here is another one:

"at the center of every human soul is the intense longing to be closer to God. a brand that can empathise with that is powerful…"

Here is my question, then: Why does so much of what we do in "the church" seem to be ineffective and impotent? There is a lot to ponder in the assertions contained in MacLeod’s Hughtrain. For now, I am just going to think about these two things…

Unity is an illusive ideal. Be careful of praying this dangerous prayer, “O God, make us one!” A church split is bound to follow!

On the other hand if two or three can agree on something, it is clearly very powerful. Jesus said, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” I can give you this guarantee, when Jesus is there with you, stuff will happen.

Probably my best experience in ministry happened when (in this case there were four of us) just a few of us came together with the idea of ministering to skateboarders in Moreno Valley, CA. No in-fighting, no politics, all we were doing was what God asked us to do. Guess what? Stuff happened. The financial needs of the ministry were met. Kids were introducted to Christ and to moral values. It was a great experience.

Two or threee in agreement is a powerful thing…

Jim Henderson likes hanging out with atheists. He buys them on Ebay and writes books with them (Jim and Casper Go to Church). He also likes hanging out with ordinary Christ-followers who want to learn to connect with their non-Chrisitan friends in a way that will inspire them to want to follow Jesus. As part of that effort he presides over one of the best-run and innovative annual Christian conferences, Off The Map Live.

This year’s speakers include:

Brian McLaren (interview)
Social-spiritual activist, movement planter, leader in the emerging church

Ruth Padilla Deborst (interview)
Latina activist among the poor, familiar with suffering, influential thinker

Richard Twiss (interview)
Native American leader, activist and artist

Diana Butler Bass
Historian, expert on state of Christianity in America, Futurist

Todd Hunter (interview)
Movement leader, key adviser to young leaders, pastoral theologian

Jim Henderson (interview)
Innovator, change agent and friend of the people formerly known as lost

Jim’s innovative Off the Map team weaves live music, multi-media, speakers and workshops into a conference that sometimes resembles the precision of a rocket launch. I attended Off The Map a couple of years ago with my good friend, Bill Dahl, and mark it as one of the highlights of my spiritual journey of discovery.

Watch here as Jim interviews Casper, the co-author of Jim and Casper Go To Church:

I just couldn’t resist this video posted by my friend, Chris Elrod. If I lived in Lakeland, Florida this is the kind of guy I would like to be my pastor. How much fun is this?

Just returned to California after a long Labor Day weekend at the beach. Florida Gulf Coast beaches are absolutely great for kids! No big waves to knock a toddler down. Water as warm as a bath tub (87 degrees F) And daily showers to cool things down just when they are getting a little too warm. My wife had ordered up a "hot" vacation at a Florida beach and that is what she got. I think she was in the water about 9 hours on Sunday!

Meanwhile, back in California, they have been having a heat emergency with triple digit temperatures and people dying in their non-air-conditioned apartments! It was great to be home for a few days. Now it is back to work with a vengeance!