matt's thoughts

closer than you think...

i had lunch in the town center with another local pastor yesterday, and after lunch we walked to the campsite of a homeless man in our community.  now saying that in many other communities wouldn't be a huge surprise, but around reston it really blew me away.  reston is a planned community that fights viciously to keep up its pristine image.  this is a wealthy community with a median income far beyond what would be considered normal elsewhere....

...and yet tucked away in the woods, within walking distance of high rises and corporate execs driving their beamers and bentleys,  are many single men who can't make ends meet...many of them greatly addicted to various substances, and many of them struggling with mental illness.  but it is all hidden from our site in our beautiful planned development. 

the man i met didn't seem to be struggling with addiction or mental illness, he was dressed well enough, but simply couldn't afford to live...so he hides in a tent, shrouded by leaves, next to a highway, praying the cops don't find him, and make him move...again.... this just seems wrong to me.  i'm not sure what our response as a church should be, but there has to be something we can/should do...

refocus 07 video online

video from the refocus conference in Canada featuring Piper and Driscoll can be found [here]

ht: the resurgence

we're home...it was too short...

monday morning with the morgans

headed out for a couple of days of rest with the wife, so instead of something thoughtful or poignant, you get this... :-)

forced to finish...

headed out to an open mic night hosted by another new church plant in Silver Spring, MD tonight.  i don't often take the time to play out, so much of my original stuff lays unfinished.  nothing like having to play in front of people to get things rolling.  :-)  my wife spent a few moments with me today helping me work out a bridge that was weak.  i love that my wife is so creative, and can be such an amazing addition to my creative endeavors. 

so here's to finished songs...and great events to showcase them!

thoughts from the beginning of the book...

I'm reading through the Pentateuch right now, and having just finished Genesis and Exodus, I was struck by this thought:

There are two things we often overlook in wanting God's purposes and promises to come to fruition in our lives:

• The role of the timing: often things that we want to happen tomorrow need time to "marinate."  Sometimes God ordained skills need to be developed and shaped over long seasons of time.  Easy to forget when a hundred years can fly by in a single paragraph of scripture. 
• The role of the the Spirit: sometimes God moves and the timing thing goes out the window...or rather gets redefined in God's terms. 

Here's the key though...we often idolize the timing and the Spirit in others to the point that we miss what God wants to do in us. 

driscoll's video

this is the video that got all the hoopla at the national new church conference last week.  i'm so glad driscoll posted it on his blog.  it's good stuff.  what else can we fight about...  ;-)