the year that was 2008

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Gospel, blogging, church planting, concert, education, emerging church, family, fatherhood, history, missiology, missional church, relevintage, theology
• Date: Dec 31,2008

It is terrible how much has been forgotten, which is why, I suppose, remembering seems a holy thing.
Anita Diamant, from The Red Tent

It’s the last day of 2008, time to look back at the year that was:

January

I had the privilege to lead my oldest son of 6, Cooper, in a prayer of belief in God’s grace for his salvation. I thank God for the awesome opportunity.

Sally Lloyd-Jones stopped by the blog and thanked me for my kind words about The Jesus Storybook Bible, which I believed God used in a providential way to help make the gospel clear to Cooper.

My Sloan turned two.

February

I remembered three tragedies that hit close to “home”: one in my hometown, one in the town I live in now, and one that affected a sister Christian university.

March

Cooper was baptized. Praise God!

I wrapped up my series: The Emerging Church: A Postmodern Reformation.

I posted my review of Todd Agnew’s new album, Better Questions. (I review music for Ardent Records)

I had the privilege to be a part of a unique event that ended up being one of the most transformational times in my spiritual life. I was part of a recording for the Shapevine’s Active Learning Podules series with Reggie McNeal. You can watch it on the home page of their web site. I would embed it here but it doesn’t have that capability.

April

I posted my review of Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken’s new EP, Ampersand. (I review music for Speakeasy)

Cooper enjoyed his first Cardinals game with my Dad and I and played organized baseball for the first time.

I talked about how the will of God is that we would pray ceaselessly.

I “celebrated” two years blogging.

May

Our family grew in missional compassion through Compassion International…

I saw Radiohead in concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis. Wow…

I wrapped up my book review series on the Zondervan Counterpoints book, Four Views of Hell.

I posted my review of Delirious’ new album, Kingdom of Comfort. (I review music for Sparrow Records)

The Lost finale. Unbelievable…

June

I celebrated nine years with my amazing wife…

My family enjoyed a local vacation…

I recapped my series on the missional church: The “Sent” Church: A Missional People.

I talked about one my vices: morels.

For the second year in a row, I judged Joy FM’s iSing competition at Six Flags – St. Louis .

July

My family and I visited Tulsa for the first time to confirm the call to plant missional communities there in the future. God answered our prayers…

I posted the first (and only at this point), vodcast on Acts.

August

We celebrated Margo (5) and Everett’s (1) birthdays.

I posted on my weight loss. Total loss = 20 lbs. I have to say, wow…

I spoke on emerging worship at Bible Preaching Week at Windermere at the Lake of the Ozarks.

I spoke at the first annual Missouri Baptist University Ministry Group retreat at Cornerstone Farms in St. Jacob, Illinois.

Fall classes began at MBU; teaching “Worship History and Leadership” and “Worship Performance Workshop”

September

I announced the cool opportunity to do two directed studies in missiology under the tutelage of Ed Stetzer.

I posted on my first trip with Ed to a conference in Jackson, Mississippi. This pretty much sums up the trip..

I had the privilege to host Dan Kimball, Matt Maher, and The Afters for MBU’s second annual Abandoned: Worship as Life seminar. Here are some pics…

October

We celebrated Cooper, Holly, and I’s birthdays.

I posted on my second trip with Ed to Johnson City, Tennessee. Here is a pic…

I traveled with my good friend, Clint Carter, to Tulsa to continue to exegete Tulsa…

I attended the Lead Conference, put on by The Journey, a conference on the theological and practical implications of ministry in an urban context with Clint.

I posted on my missional practicum in University City.

November

Relevintage becomes transformission.

Holly and I saw Coldplay at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Not bad, not bad…

December

We celebrated Christmas with all of our families. Blessed…

one of these things is not like the other…

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging, humor, photography, web
• Date: Jul 28,2008

fingertip knowledge

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging, web
• Date: Jul 1,2008

I’m amazed at the blogosphere. I know, it’s a unique place. The bad: Lots of self-promotion, uncensored thoughts, and stream-of-consciousness. But the good. Oh, the good. I was reminded of this today as I sifted through my 150+ feeds. So much amazing information at my fingertips. It all feels like such great ‘insider’ info. Some of it is. Just check this out from my feeds today:

-Aubrey Malphurs, Senior Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary and worldwide consultant, delves into the multi-site/church planting debate

-Bob Hyatt links to Ben Witherington’s wise words regarding the controverisal “Pagan Christianity”

-Bob Roberts gives us four resources to help preachers for their 4th of July weekend sermon, which typically revolves around love of country. He focuses instead on resources that will help you speak to religious freedom and why it matters…

-Church Planting Solutions give great advice on what equipment a new church should obtain as they are launching

-Kent Shaffer gives specifics on how to deal with a mean pastor…

-Tony Rienke of Sovereign Grace links to 9Marks recent ejournal on containing a number of resources on marriage, helpful for pastors and for all married couples. The eJournal includes a chart of 30 books on marriage, manhood, and womanhood all ranked and compared to one another.

-Jonathan Dodson shares Driscoll’s thoughts on movements from the recent A29 Pastor and Wives Retreat in Vail

If anything, the blogosphere promotes information overload. I’m wading through how to use it to promote information edification. Maybe less feeds? Better organization of things I want to read again? What do you do?

blog fast. live slow.

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging, books, family, fatherhood, review, vacation
• Date: Jun 16,2008

After this blog post, I’ll be taking one of my annual blog fasts for the next seven days…

My family is on vacation this week. We are staying in St. Louis and just chillin’ here. We’ve lived here for almost ten years – in total; Holly and I lived here in college – so we are going to do some things we’ve never done and visit some of our old favorite spots here in the Lou. Here is the plan:

Monday: Take the kids to the Boeing Store. This is the official source for authentic Boeing merchandise and collectibles, including apparel, travel gear, and gifts; aviation posters, etc. It’s right next to the airport. I’ve promised the kids this for way too long…

Tuesday: The ever-popular and free Science Center. The St. Louis Science Center is a science museum is among the largest of its type and my two oldest will really enjoy this place of informal science education for all ages.

Wednesday: The Butterfly House, a public natural habitat dedicated to the education of butterflies in Chesterfield. We were trying to go as a family when the kids studied butterflies in homeschooling, so better late than never.

Thursday: I’m really excited about this: The City Museum. Housed in the 600,000 square-foot former International Shoe Company, the museum is an eclectic mixture of children’s playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects. Artisans have constructed the museum from the very stuff of the city; and, as a result, it has urban roots deeper than any other institutions.

Friday: The Magic House. I haven’t been here in over 15 years. I’m going to get in touch with my inner child here. The Magic House is one of the best children’s museums in the country, engaging in hands-on learning experiences that encourage experimentation and creativity.

Saturday: The Children’s Garden at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. This summer, the fine folks @ The Children’s Garden are pretending to blaze a trail with Daniel Boone! There will be hands-on learning and family fun to be had here!

After The Children’s Garden, we’ll have a picnic and then head off to…..the famous Crown Candy Kitchen. Need I say more?

Sunday: Cardinals Party here at the ranch. We’ll watch St. Louis take on the BoSox on the tube. Dogs, chips, Cracker Jacks, etc. Tons ‘o fun…

Of course, mixed in with all of this is a bunch of goofing off, sprinkler time, movie-watching, sports-playing, resting, and reading.

Speaking of reading, I am going to try to tackle a few books this week. I have three chapters left on the first book. Here is what is on my ‘docket’:

On the other side of the blog fast:

-Continuing the “Re-engineering” series that is slowly getting off the ground – okay that is an understatement…
-My top 10 worship blogs
-Continuing “My Favorite Songs” series that has taken quite the hiatus…
-Some new blogs finds that highlight the ‘missional’ of everyday life…
-Ten artists you’ve probably never heard of but i like and you should too :)
-My top 10 Lost episodes…so far
-Music reviews of Jon Foreman’s Summer EP and Starfield’s I Will Go
-Book reviews of Steve Timmis/Tim Chester’s Total Church, Matt Smay/Hugh Halter’s The Tangible Kingdom, Dan Kimball’s They Like Jesus But Not the Church, Bill Hybels’ A Holy Discontent, Earl Creps’ Off-Road Disciplines.

the language of 2.0

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging, community, culture, emerging culture, relationships, technology, web, web 2.0
• Date: Apr 18,2008

Loved this post from John Voelz, Coriolis:Experience dude at Westwinds Church in Jackson, MI – btw, one of the most innovative churches in the country that won’t be on any “most innovative” lists.

In it, he talks about how there is a strong contingent of society who think that technology makes life too frantic and schizophrenic. There is some truth to that. But it’s not the whole truth. Here is what John says:

We need to stop talking in terms of web technology “simplifying” our lives and stop defending that stance. Sometimes, it just doesn’t. We need to use a new vocabulary when talking about what web technology can do for us and stop apologizing.

So here is what John says technology does for him – I’m down with almost every point:

What technology (2.0, apps, digital, etc.) does for me : : :

• Puts me in touch with people I rarely have a chance to talk to
• Introduces me to new ideas
• Stretches my creativity
• Helps me learn processes that help me in multiple venues
• Keeps me sharp and talking the current language of our culture
• Helps me communicate what I want to say
• Makes me more accessible
• Makes my friends more accessible
• Helps me promote business
• Invites others into a conversation with me I couldn’t have otherwise
• Helps me network
• Helps me meet new friends
• Helps me share about Jesus and what He has done for me
• Promotes collaboration
• Introduces me to new things fast!
• Helps me learn what people are saying about the church and me
• I can speak my mind before others spread what they “think” I said
• Get my news fast!
• Helps me not lose touch with my kids
• Share and spark ideas in real time
• Emergency alerts through a variety of vehicles
• Conference with people when they are inaccessible
• Exchange important data stat!
• Warn people of impending robot domination (this one is just to make sure you are paying attention)

Preach it, Bro. Voelz!

new digs

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging, relevintage, technology, web
• Date: Apr 11,2008

If you’ve stopped by relevintage lately, you’ve noticed some changes. The new digs include a three-column template. I’m really proud of it. There will be a considerable amount of tweaks over the next few weeks, so stay tuned…

Kudos to my bro-in-law Henry for all of his help!

happy 2nd…

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging, reflections, relevintage
• Date: Apr 8,2008

With the busyness of life, I failed to mention that I passed the year two threshold for blogging back on April 1. Pretty hard to believe…

Here’s a glimpse of how this thing got kicked off back in April 2006:

Thank you for visiting Day One of the official launch relevintage. It is an honor that you have come!

It has been a hope of mine for some time now to enter the blogging world. I’ve been inspired to jump in the fray by reading various blogs over the last few years. Also, my brother-in-law Henry Imler has been encouraging me to blog for some time now. He also designed the template for relevintage. Thanks Henry!

Well, if you received the e-mail invite, you got a glimpse of what relevintage is going to be all about. On Day One, I would like to expound on the overall vision of this blog. Let’s dig in…

I have been immersed in local church ministry for some time now. It is a constant challenge to find fresh ways to minister to a diverse and relativistic culture, both inside and outside the four walls of our churches. But with the call to ministry comes a passion to minister and redeem that very culture. And whether we work in or outside of the church, we have that call! That is the vision behind relevintage!

relevintage, again, is an amalgamation of the words relevant and vintage.

Why use these words?

Read the rest of this entry »

“ardent” reviewer

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: CCM, blogging, music, review
• Date: Jan 13,2008

Ah, the power of the blogosphere…

Much like uber-reviewers like Scot, T-Wax, Bob, and A.J., I have entered the realm of receiving free stuff to review, albeit music not books – although I hope that soon changes. I can’t attest this to any other reason than the mostly music and sometimes book reviews on relevintage.

I was contacted last week by Ardent Records to review new albums by those on their artist roster. Once a much bigger label, they have streamlined – much like the rest of the Christian music industry – to include artists Todd Agnew, Skillet, and Joy Whitlock.

Here is a little background on Ardent via Wikipedia:

…often shortened to “Ardent,” is a Memphis record label founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for Big Star, whose first two albums, released in 1972 and 1974, helped define the style known as power pop. The label was initially an attempt by the R&B-focused Stax to move into rock music, but distribution problems prevented any releases from succeeding. Big Star became widely known through 80s reissues and the long delayed first release of Big Star III, recorded in 1976.

The label was revived in the 1990s with two divisions: Alternative Mainstream and Contemporary Christian. Former Big Star guitarist Alex Chilton released recordings on the Ardent mainstream division, which also released recordings by bands such as Spot, Jolene, Two Minutes Hate, The Idlewilds, Neighborhood Texture Jam, and Techno-Squid Eats Parliament. The mainstream division of Ardent Records was closed in the mid-1990s.

Ardent’s Christian label issued its first Christian releases in 1995. Initial projects included albums from Big Tent Revival, Skillet, and Smalltown Poets. To date, Ardent Records has released more than 35 albums by artists such as Skillet, Todd Agnew, Jonah33, Smalltown Poets, Satellite Soul, Clear, All Together Separate, Brother’s Keeper, Justifide, Before You Breathe, NonFiction and Joy Whitlock. In 2005, Ardent inked a deal with INO Records, a division of Integrity Media, to distribute and market its entire roster.

Stay tuned for the first review of Todd Agnew’s 2007 album, Better Questions…

the year that was 2007

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Gospel, abandoned, apologetics, blogging, books, church, church planting, concert, culture, education, family, fatherhood, music, parenting, relevintage, review, seminar, theology, video, worship
• Date: Jan 3,2008

January

My number 3, Sloan, turned 1. Unbelievable.

March

I presented a talk on worship and reconciliation entitled “Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?: A Third Way” at Missouri Baptist University. Here are parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

April

relevintage turned 1.

Chris Sligh stopped by relevintage in response to my entry “Chris, Stay in Your Supposed Subculture.”

May

derekwebb.net picked up my review of Webb’s new album, The Ringing Bell.

Sally Morgenthaler stopped by relevintage in what would end up being a providential connection.

June

I left Grace Church – St. Louis after 2+ years – my second go-around with them – to accept the position of Worship Arts Coordinator of the new Worship Arts program at MBU, my alma mater.

Holly and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. Still crazy about her after all this time…

July

I saw Pete Yorn in concert at Live @ the Levee. My concert review here.

Word & Way featured me and my new position at MBU.

I attended the Gospel, Church, and Culture seminar at the St. Louis Baptist Association building with Darrin Patrick of The Journey and Mark Devine of Midwestern Theological Seminary.

I started @ MBU.

August

I announced the first annual Abandoned: Worship as Life seminar, sponsored by MBU’s Worship Arts program, with special guests Sally Morgenthaler, Shaun Groves, and Joel Lindsey.

I posted the first of my conversations with Sally on issues of worship, missiology, and culture.

Our fourth child, Everett was born. My second son…

We celebrated Margo’s 4th birthday. Unbelievable.

I started a Masters of Arts in Theological Studies with Liberty Theological Seminary. 18 hours worth, to be exact…

I was asked by Liberty Theological Seminary apologetics professor, Adonis Vidu, to help contribute to a book he is working on in response to Westminster Theological Seminary professor Peter Enns’ book called Inspiration and Incarnation.

September

I attended the Continuous Worship conference at Mars Hill Church in Seattle with my friends B.J. Mumford and Joel Lindsey. Special guests were Harold Best and Mark Driscoll. Additionally, I had the privilege to spend some time with Mars Hill worship pastor, Tim Smith, and see “behind the scenes.” My recaps of the conference are here, here, here, and here.

Pre-seminar interviews for Abandoned with Sally Morgenthaler and Shaun Groves were posted on relevintage.

I directed MBU Worship Arts program’s first annual Abandoned: Worship as Life seminar. Recap here.

The beginnings of an intensive church planting training program with the Acts 29 Network and The Journey commenced with other folks like myself – full-time job, married. This will be a bi-monthly training session with the pastors from The Journey. I begin this program full bore in January of 2008.

October

We celebrated Cooper’s 6th birthday. Unbelievable.

November

I led worship at The Journey for the first time.

December

I survived 18 hours of seminary.

I went with Joel to see to the Rams play the Steelers in their last home game of the season. They retired Marshall Faulk’s jersey at halftime and Isaac Bruce moved into third all-time receiving yards, moving past James Lofton.

so true…

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging
• Date: Jan 2,2008