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Thoughts on voting and the prophetic journey towards reconciliation.

Many people have probably heard me say, “I use my vote to vote for something, not against something.” 

Staying true to that axiom, for the first time in three elections, I didn’t vote for Ralph Nader. I actually voted for a major party candidate for the presidency. 

Two things that will win my vote no matter what the rest of your platform is:

1. I feel like your telling me the truth. No BS. I vote for the most honest person in the room. The one who has nothing to lose and is a straight shooter. The one who doesn’t just play the game of fame politics, but is driven to achieve goals that are self-actualized in the character of the individual. 
2. Your definition of “Life” is from the womb to the tomb! Abortion is a hot issue, especially for Christians. But in my neighborhood, so is being a teen mom (in 2004, North Minneapolis had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation). Life is not just about bringing kids into the world, it’s about what are we going to do with them once they’re here. How will we care? How will we show it? What will we do to support young moms? I tend to think that poverty is the reason the abortion rate is so high, not just because women have the right to have them. A whole-life policy is what we need, not just regulation and restriction. 

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I miss blogging.

Lately, I’ve just been way too busy to blog. I’ve got a lot going on.

Sunday, I leave for France where my wife and I will have vacation, and she’ll undergo life-changing back surgery. The kids are staying at home. For three weeks. Crazy. That takes some planning.

When we get home, our friends Corey and Betsy and their kids Jonathon and Lily will have moved in. To prepare, we have to clear out the playroom, to convert it back into a bedroom, and clear out my office to convert it into a bedroom. We’re purging our stuff, cleaning out the basement. Getting rid of our junk, and preparing to live in tighter corners with tighter community. This is a big step. One I’m both excited and apprehensive about. 

We’ve given the situation until the end of summer, then we’ll have an evaluation of how things are going…

Needless to say, all the stuff above, and the reality of handing my job over to 5-6 committed volunteers whom I’m very grateful for, has been a ton of planning and extremely time consuming…Not to mention that backyard landscaping project that i decided to start in the middle of the night a while back.

Anywho…I can’t wait to start blogging again, but It might not really come back until week 2 of France. I will probably have a lot of time on our hands while Sarah is cooped up in the hospital…

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And the winners are:

I asked my twitter / facebook communities to give me some book suggestions for reading while I’m in France in a few weeks. Here’s the 3 that are going to make it into my carry-on bag:

Common Wealth by Jeffrey Sachs
I read the End of Poverty by Sachs last year. I expect equally great things. 

 

 

Un.Orthodox by Tommy Kyllonen (Urban D.)
Urban D. has been guest artist at Sanctuary a few times for Hip Hop Sunday. He’s equally impressive as a preacher, and I’m guessing equally impressive as a writer. (I’ve already started this one, not sure if it will make it to the plane.) 

John Adams by David McCullough
 I read McCullough’s 1776, last fall. A Brilliant read. What a great storyteller. I want to read it before I see the HBO Documentary.

 

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Welcome…This is the first day of the new blog address!

I’m excited to be sitting on my own domain now. 

The site is still a work in progress. I’m not at all sure about the design, but it will do for now…

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March + April Fam Photos

Gallery

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And her name shall be Maverick

Sarah will be getting one of these on June 2nd.
The Maverick>>

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Efrem at Willow Creek Lead Summit

The Willow Creek Lead Summit is coming up in August. Efrem will be speaking there this year.

They’ve got their website up and running now. You can check out a sample video from Efrem there.

Or check out the introduction from Phil Jackson, who co-wrote the Hip Hop Church book with Efrem.

The Book at Amazon:

Incidently, Phil and Tha House MCs will be at Hip Hop Sunday this month, April 20th 9 & 11am. They blew the roof off last time…Tha House is a ministry led by Phil Jackson birthed out of Lawndale Community Church in Chicago.

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10 Designers/Studios I love.

In the creative business, it’s important to stay inspired. I do that often by visiting the sites of the designers I love and the work they do that inspires me.

Here’s a few designers I like to follow.

1. Duffy & Partners.
Last summer I had the opportunity to work with Dan Olson, Creative Director at Duffy on a project for King’s Christian Academy. It was an awesome opportunity to see the process behind the great creative teams.
Here’s the logo we worked up…

2. Design Guys.
Instrumental in the “Target Revolution.” Steve Sikora literally got to go isle by isle and redesign generic target products, point of purchase, endcaps and more. Amazing work, wish they’d show more of it and update their website.

3. Swim 345.
Chris Dewan is one talented cat. Use to be Minnesota-based…never met him…but he’s somehow connected to friends…

4. Bludot.
I don’t know how comfortable their stuff is, but I love to look at their new catalog each year. They never seem to sacrifice function for form.

5. Tilka.
I’ve been enamored with Jane Tilka’s work since I saw her speak at a conference a few years back. She simply understands how to build an identity system and keep it consistent across the brand. She started Sox Appeal years ago.

6. Olson .
Great work. The new ad hub of the twin cities, since fallon has really gone downhill in the last several years. At least 3 Olsonites go to Sanctuary. Can’t wait to work with Rob someday. He’s got far more talent than I do in this area…

7. Hatch.
I loved Joel Templin’s work as part of Templin Brink, which apparently went their separate ways last year. His work is so clean and always has been. Love it.

8. Wink.
Fascinating kitschy retro esthetic. One of the guys from Wink moved into my old apartment in NE Minneapolis when we moved out and bought our house. Wink was just getting going then…They’ve grown up.

9. IDEO.
Not much you can say. Brilliance at work. Innovation is the name of the game.

10. Turner Duckworth.
Just a warehouse of ridiculous talent. Package design to blow your mind.

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Dawg Day

At Sanctuary, staff members are required to have a monthly spiritual retreat day. We call it the DAWG day (Day Alone With God). I did mine today.

Funny enough, I spent about two hours at Barnes and Noble reading, “God is not Great.”

Atheist Christopher Hitchens makes a case for God not being so Great (or even existing at all).

It attempted to dismantle the world’s major religions through highlighting the inconsistencies in their major texts and the representation of their people. Logic, apparently, is the only fabric that should weave our understanding of the world.

I actually enjoyed the read, though I whole-heartedly, and partial-mindedly disagreed with Hitchens.

Note to self: Never try to convert an atheist… just love people…let God (or your belief in the God that you’ve made up) do the rest…

One of my favorite former atheists is doing a great series on violence in the old testament over on his blog.

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Living in Community

Friends Corey & Betsy and their two kids Jonathon and Lily moved in on Sunday. That’s right, we now have 4 adults and 4 kids living under the roof. They might be here a week, they might be here a few months, who knows, they are welcome to stay.

Living in Community over the last few days has been really good. Some of the pros of living with friends:

1. Meal time is easier.
Somebody cooks, somebody cleans, we switch it up. It’s wonderful to not have it all be on one mom and dad.

2. The kids occupy themselves.
I love my boy Elliot; Elliot needs friends. It is so nice that it isn’t up to mom and dad to be his entertainment all the time. With more kids in the house, there’s more people to play with and moms and dads can have more mom and dad time.

3. It’s cheaper.
The footprint is smaller, the food goes a little farther, we can share more.

4. There’s potential to get out more.
When the kids are asleep, one couple can go out. There’s always someone there.

5. We all work more from our strengths.
I like to cook, others like to clean.

6. To know and be known.
Sharing life together is a good thing. We know each other more. We share more with each other.

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