The Illumination Dilemma

13459

2008-07-18T17:49:00.002-06:00

- thoughts on church...

...so, for those of you who don't know i am a pastor's son, a seminary graduate, an intervarsity alumnus, and i just finished a two+ year church planting experience. on top of that i've read (probably) way too many books about church. so i bring along some baggage when i go to a new church. it is difficult to take the critic hat off and fully enter into the experience. for these reasons, and many others, the church transition has been, perhaps, the one i've been most nervous about...

...all that being said it seems like we're settling in with Reunion Christian Church. reunion is a new non-denominational church in boston (they are associated with the big idea, for the church model nerds out there). this weekend amy and i are going camping with some folks from reunion's sister ministry Sojourn. check the links if you want to know more about them. pray that we'd have a good weekend and that we'd start some new friendships.

peace

13359

2008-07-12T07:52:00.002-06:00

- thoughts on work...

my job as a unit leader with bird street's summer day getaway program is three weeks old at this point (and has finally produced income...woohoo!). this job is a nine week position helping run bird street's summer day camp. i am in charge of a unit of two junior counselors (high school seniors) and 13-15 eleven and twelve year old boys. every day we bus these kids out to hale reservation, a cool spot about forty-five minutes out of town in the woods. mostly i just supervise, take care of paper work, and make sure the group gets to their various activities on time.

my group has turned out to be one of the biggest which means i have more direct interaction with the campers (ideally the group would have ten campers, five with each of the jr counselors and i would be doing supervision and leading the jc's). also, i've discovered this job to be pretty physically demanding...lots of walking, throwing kids in the water, lifting coolers, carrying a first aid bag and my backpack in humid and hot weather). by the end of the day i am pretty beat...but, i am getting toned and tanned =)

i'm also learning the lingo a bit. probably the most important word here is "mad." this can be used in a variety of situations to describe both amounts and qualities. for example: "mr. steve there are mad bugs at this camp." (i.e. there are a lot of bugs) or, "mr. steve it's mad hot today." (i.e. it's very hot today) to clarify, if you are acutally mad (i.e. angry) at someone you wouldn't say "I'm mad mad at you," you'd say "i'm so heated with you." so there's your slang lesson for the day.

peace

13259

2008-07-05T09:35:00.010-06:00

- hope everyone had a great 4th! here are some pics from the festivities in boston...

...lots of people...

...sunset on the charles...

...the city at night...

...fireworks!!!

13159

2008-07-04T13:56:00.000-06:00

13059

2008-07-04T10:59:00.012-06:00

- cool pictures from the road and the red sox game...

12959

2008-06-25T10:33:00.002-06:00

alright, alright...i'm getting some flack for not posting for a while. it's been a little crazy in the boutry household over the last two weeks.

recap: amy and i got married on june 7th, honeymooned in mexico for a week, packed up a budget rental truck the day after we got home (the 16th), hit the road the next morning in the wee hours and drove all the way to durango in one shot. wednesday morning we packed up my stuff, had lunch with some friends, and were back on the road (we spent the night in denver with my aunt and uncle). thursday morning...more driving, followed by more driving, and then...some more driving. we didn't stop until we hit boston in the late hours of friday night/saturday morning.

so, after many miles and hours and a small fortune in gas we slept in our new home and then saturday (the 21st...my birthday) we began unloading the truck and moving in. we've made some good progress over the last couple of days (no pictures yet...still working on getting the 'net in the new house), but we've been busy with other things as well.

what other things? i had my first fenway park experience monday night. i started work yesterday. we saw dave matthews last night. and on top of all of this, amy's grandfather passed away sunday night.

please pray for amy's family and for amy as well (she just got here and now has turn around and go back to california to be with family and go to the funeral).

there's been a lot going on. oh, and our roommate arrives in town today.

anyway, we are not complaining. we love being married! but pray for rest and comfort and for a slower pace of life to settle in soon!

12859

2008-06-16T23:01:00.005-06:00

...the wedding day has come and gone, with all the planning and details and people to talk to and hands to shake now in the past. it was hectic but full of great moments, with some great people. see, for example, this picture:

...the honeymoon has also come and gone, with it's sitting around doing nothing and looking at this:

...which means that the time has come to drive a great distance...all the way from Salinas to Dorchester, via Durango...

...that's the quick update...more pictures and updates and reflections to come in the near future!

...for now: much gratitude is felt to our wonderful family and friends for all the help we've received in the last weeks to make all of this possible. we are deeply indebted to many of you for your generosity and helping hands!

...so a major thank you, from amy and steve!

12759

2008-06-04T10:25:00.001-06:00

12659

2008-06-02T13:45:00.002-06:00

...5 days to go!

12559

2008-05-24T10:45:00.002-06:00

- miscellaneous thoughts...

- two weeks to the wedding! it's almost been a week since i left colordao...time is flying by. right now i find myself doing various pre-wedding related tasks, trying to sell my car, and resting up after a hectic last few weeks.

- i think i finished my time well in durango...everyone surprised me with a visit from the parents for my last sunday...very cool.

- i finished off the brick at lady falcs...hopefully when we go back through in june it will be painted and up and i can take my picture with it. for now, this will suffice...cheers!

12459 last_week

2008-05-11T15:41:00.004-06:00

- i organize my life on boards...a clipboard (for paper and notes) and a white board (for an outline of my week)...so here is my last week in Durango...crazy.

12359

2008-05-02T13:46:00.004-06:00

- just over two weeks left in durango...here are some updates regarding the future...

- we will be living in this house (on the first floor)...

...which is located in the fields corner neighborhood of dorchester, ma.

- i will be working this summer at the bird street community center...employment that will hopefully continue into the fall (please pray for a full-time position!).

- last, but not least, i hope to spend a few days here =)

peace

12259

2008-04-27T14:11:00.004-06:00

- last night i had the opportunity to help two good friends get married. this was my first ceremony and it was fantastic...better than i could have imagined. most importantly, i think they were really happy with how the ceremony went and that is the best! here are some pictures:

12159

2008-04-23T22:55:00.003-06:00

- tonight we said goodbye to our friend sean, a young dude who has been a pretty important part of our farmington crew. he's off to florida and some new adventures. pray that sean will find a community where he will be valued as much as he was here!

12059

2008-04-21T15:33:00.002-06:00

close...

...that's how i feel about so many things...getting closer to the wedding date...closer to locking down a place to live and a job in boston...closer to leaving durango and CTK...closer, closer, almost, almost...

...it's been a weird tension for a while, but is becoming more tangible and palpable all the time.

pray for sanity and the clarification of some of these "almosts"...especially the job and the house!

thanks

11959

2008-04-14T10:00:00.005-06:00

i've been reading The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. there's a lot to say about this book, but i've decided to limit myself to five quotes...here it goes:

The worst disservice that we as individuals or churches can do to Christianity is to become sponsors and supporters of the status quo.

Contrary to some shallow thinking, the responsibilities of the pastorate both stagger and astound the imagination. They tax the whole man.

I was convinced that worship at its best is a social experience with people of all levels of life coming together to realize their oneness and unity under God. Whenever the church, consciously or unconsciously, caters to one class it loses the spiritual force of the "whosoever will, let him come" doctrine.

Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and maturity enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil. The greatest way to do that is through love. I believe firmly that love is a transforming power that can lift a whole community to new horizons of fair play, goodwill, and justice.

(Our) guiding principle has since been referred to variously as nonviolent resistance, noncooperation, and passive resistance. But in the early days of the protest none of these expressions was mentioned; the phrase most often heard was "Christian Love." It was the Sermon on the Mount, rather than a doctrine of passive resistance, that initially inspired the Negroes of Montgomery to dignified social action. It was Jesus of Nazareth that stirred the Negroes to protest with the creative weapon of love. (emphasis mine)

- i could go on and on with amazing and timely quotes: King also had a lot to say about war, hunger, economic inequalities, the defense budget, and many other things that are quite pertinent still, especially in this election year...instead, in the spirit of Dr. King, here's a song from Tyrone Wells:

11859

2008-04-09T12:10:00.003-06:00

i'm back in colorado after a whirlwind weekend that included a marriage conference, a job interview, apartment hunting, a tyrone wells show, some rain, and even a little time to hang out with amy =)

right now it feels like i have 60-70 percent of the picture of the future (or the future that will begin in two months) but that last 30-40 percent is still getting to me...

59 days, 8.5 weeks, 6 sundays...that's all that's left...

ps. and 29 beers

11759

2008-04-01T10:23:00.002-06:00

- this is a fantasy baseball post, so if you're not into that you can just scroll on down to the comment section and leave your sarcastic remarks! (this is for the 2-3 of you who care about this kind of stuff)...

- yesterday was opening day for most teams and the first day my team collected points...here's how it went:

Hitters
Victor Martinez, C, Indians: 2 for 2, 1 run, 1 rbi, then he tweaked his hamstring...great
Travis Hafner, 1B, Indains, 1 for 4, 1 run,. 1 rbi, looking for "pronk" to rebound and have a big year
BJ Upton, 2B, Rays, 1 for 4, 2 rbi, hoping for 30/30 and loving that he is hitting cleanup for that team
Alex Gordon, 3B, Royals, 1 for 5, 1 HR, 1 run, 2 rbi...i got to see his home run during lunch at miller...such a beautiful swing
Edgar Renteria, SS, Tigers, 1 for 5, 1 rbi...not the type of player in normally like, but the SS i wanted got picked right before i was going to take him (by literally one pick!)...so i go with edgar and the stacked lineup of the Tigers!
Matt Holliday, OF, Rockies, rained out =(
Delmon Young, OF, Twins, 2 for 4, 1 run, 1 stolen base...love that he is running all ready, hoping for 20/20 (you can tell i went with some unproven, high upside guys)
Jeremy Hermida, OF, Marlins, he's on the DL (nothing new there) but should be back by the weekend (I'm using Eugenio Velez in his stead hoping for some cheap steals)
Frank Thomas, DH, Blue Jays, also rained out...i'm not excited about this spot in my lineup, i'm hoping i get lucky with either Big Frank or Hank Blalock or someone else...a gamble for sure.

Pitchers
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs, 6.2 innings, 5 ks, no runs, 0.60 whip, then he went out with forearm cramps...uggh.
Cole Hamels, Phillies, pitches tomorrow (he's supposed to be the more fragile of my aces, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that Zambrano's cramps are no big deal)
Ian Snell, Pirates, crazy game yesterday 12-11, 12 inning game, X Nady hits two home runs!...snell started, 6 innings, 4 runs, 3 ks, 1.50 whip...ok, but not great...hopefully just some opening day jitters.
Tim Lincecum, Giants, pitches tomorrow...go timmy!
Clay Buchholz, Red Sox, a bit of a gamble but i like the rewards possible with this guy...pitches on friday
Shaun Marcum, Blue Jays, pitches this weekend...i thought he was a steal with my last draft pick!
Joe Nathan, Twins, 1 inning, 1 save, 1 k, classic joe nathan
Todd Jones, Tigers, 1 inning, 1 k...i'm also rolling the dice with my relievers, but hey, that's nothing new...i figure jones may give me an ulcer but he's going to get a ton of saves with the Tigers likely to win 95 games.
Brian Wilson, Giants, did not pitch, and he may not have many opportunities with the crappy Giants. oh well.

that's my team...3rd place after one day.

happy beginning of the baseball season to everyone!

11659

2008-03-24T09:29:00.003-06:00

- i feel really blessed and encouraged after a great easter yesterday. our easter service was a lot of fun, with a great turnout of people, a full band (or close to it!)...and, this is difficult to describe, but a feeling of "rightness" about our new place and time. i don't know if that is the correct word, but it just feels natural and good when we are together on sunday mornings at matt's house.

- after our celebration, i went over to dave and cathy johnson's and got to eat a delicious easter meal with the johnson family, which is always a joy and priviledge. while hanging with them i got the distinct impression for the second week in a row that chip and jenn and family are in a good place and in good hands here in durango. while i was never going to be able to "take care of them," it does encourage me, as i leave, to see that they are well cared for in ministry and family life. very cool!!

- then, i spent the rest of the afternoon with some of the young couples in our church. we ate (i ate well yesterday!), played music together, and had some great times. there were a couple of moments where i imagined that this community will still be together, eating and playing music, months from now, when i am long gone, and that also was an encouragement to me. real community has been formed here. also very cool!!

- these are things that make me very happy.

pictures:

11559

2008-03-18T12:55:00.010-06:00

- it's been a busy few days...here's a run down of recent events:

- spent a great week with amy...we got our invitations done and bought wedding bands...very cool!

- we had our first sunday morning service...it felt very natural and normal.

- we met with Patrick Crossing people to discuss some more future possibilities and partnerships.

- i drafted my fantasy baseball team (the centerpiece of which is Matt Holliday)...hopefully this will be another winner.

- now, it's back to the grind!

- here are some pictures

the new place:

- Hanging out and Invitations:

11459

2008-03-13T09:43:00.002-06:00

- this has been a great week of hanging out with amy! we've gotten some stuff done, but we've also been able to catch up on some movie watching. here's a summary:

1) Once (every one's probably seen this, but it's great...great music, interesting story, well shot)

2) Gone Baby Gone (takes place in the Boston neighborhood where amy and I hope to live...also raises some interesting questions about society)

3) King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters (story of two guys going for glory by recording the all time highest score in donkey kong...sounds lame, but it's unbelievable...probably the best of the three...a fascinating study in human nature)

that's it for now...

11359

2008-03-04T10:43:00.006-07:00

political thoughts...

today is a big day in the democratic primaries (obviously), plus i've been reading Jesus for President (which i won't comment on, except to say that whether you read the book or not, pick up a copy and look through the pages...the design is unbelievable...it makes a Rob Bell book look boring in comparison), so in that spirit i offer my thoughts:

i actually don't have too many sophisticated political thoughts at this point. just a sense of angst (which is true of many other aspects of my life these days, so why should politics be any different?).

anyway, i've been a fan of Barak Obama since his speech at the '04 democratic convention. my reaction was, who is this guy and why isn't he running for president? a few months later i received his memoir, Dreams From My Father, for Christmas and i really enjoyed reading it. last year i read his other book, The Audacity of Hope, and i enjoyed that as well. i love his background, what he represents, that he spent time in south Chicago working in neighborhoods familiar to me, and, i admit, when the guy speaks i get chills...he's an incredible communicator.

however, i feel conflicted about his campaign. part of it is stupid and selfish. three years ago he was still under the radar and it was like discovering this cool band that few other people knew about and every now and then i'd run across someone who knew about Obama and there was this knowing, insider look we'd exchange. now everyone has an opinion about Obama, and i feel the same way i feel when that cool little band all of a sudden gets huge and everyone knows them and has their opinion about them (and your parents are going to their concerts...sorry mom and dad, couldn't help it!). so, that's my dumb reason for feeling conflicted. on to the more important reasons...

...here's the tension i feel:

1) i hope Obama wins and is the next president of the United States. i've voted in two presidential elections and both times it felt like i was choosing the lesser of two evils. this is the first time in my voting life that i actually like a presidential candidate for who he is and what he stands for, not because he seems slightly less worse than other guy (i apologize for my male-centric pronouns). but...

2) i also hope Obama loses and does not become the next president of the United States. i am extremely wary of power, especially political power: the ways that it changes people and what it does to a person's soul. i also fear becoming more disillusioned with the political system by watching someone i admire compromise and play the inevitable political games that one has to play.

so here is what i hope actually happens...Obama wins the democratic nomination, but loses the presidential campaign. he then decides to go back to the grassroots level and community organizing, using his new found clought and profile to stand up again for people who desperately need advocates, all the while speaking prophetically into our political system. probably not going to happen (my audacious hope), but that's what i would really like to see...

...comment starter: are you hopeful or wary as far the '08 presidential race is concerned?

11259

2008-02-29T13:22:00.001-07:00

my best man was on the price is right yesterday...watch it here (click on february 28th)

11159

2008-02-26T10:27:00.002-07:00

wrapping up a big weekend...

1) we called last sunday (2/17) vision cast 2008...we said we wanted to continue practicing the habits of worship, community, and service, maximizing what we do through authenticity (in the spirit of love, acceptance, and forgiveness) and accessibility (by widening the metaphorical side and front doors of our church). this week we talked about what that looks like: namely, open small groups that are actively praying for the people about to come, and moving our weekend service to Sunday mornings. Sunday mornings accomplishes two things for us: a) it seems a better time for the people we are attracting, and b) it allows us to further partner and cooperate with matthew's house and patrick's crossing...an opportunity we are very, very excited about.

2) along those lines, the church co-op idea is gaining some steam...last night, in partnership with PC, we were able to screen the film Lord, Save Us From Your Followers. the response to the film was very positive overall (a few people walked out and the crowd was definitely made up of church people...not a bad audience for the film, actually), and i think the big take away was that there are some churches in this town who are in to cooperating and sharing resources, as opposed to competing against each other. pretty cool!

3) my thoughts on the film: quality production...i would have focused on some issues less and others more, but still a great effort. some people who did a great job (i.e. they were thoughtful, dignified, and passionate in a positive way): tony campolo, john perkins, bono, rick warren, and al franken. others did not come off so good...no need to name names. if you have the opportunity to see it this summer, i would strongly suggest it...you will cringe, feel embarrassed and angry, but also moved and inspired.

4) here's an interesting article, especially after watching this movie: evangelicals

5) new podcast page! we're trying to get the last two weeks on there as soon as possible.

peace

11059

2008-02-22T10:24:00.003-07:00

- ctk-durango and patrick's crossing have the priviledge of hosting a screening of this film on monday at the abbey theatre. check out the trailer...

- we hope this will provide a unique opportunity to dialogue with some folks who are suspicious of organized religion...