A couple posts back, Amjad was kind enough to ask if she could throw some questions at me. If I'm not mistaken, they'll deal with Jesus & the Bible in relation to Islam (if I misread, I'll post a retraction). But it sounds good to me...

Anyway, I created this post the way some people choose clothing, for the sake of the comments.

I hereby invite Amjad (thanks for the question), and you (yes, YOU), and your friends, and any other interested parties to jump in. Anyone can pose a question, anyone can write an answer, and my job will be to add my two cents and hose down any flamers--don't worry, they typically avoid this blog.

Additionally, if you want to raise a question on a different topic, don't be shy. Most of us can walk and chew gum at the same time, so tracking different conversations shouldn't be a problem...

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

For those of you keeping score, this is church planting interview # 2. My first talk was with Kevin Cawley, who happened to be in town at the time. Since Pete Williamson pastors Oikos Fellowship in Bellingham, Washington, I had to track him down via the internet--and while that took away my chance to calculate his coffee IQ, it didn't detract from what he had to say. Here's our e-interview. Good stuff--thank you Pete.

Can you tell me a little about yourself (biographical stuff), and how you got interested in church planting?

I'm 38; born in Tacoma, WA. I have lived mainly in the Pacific Northwest, but spent two years teaching in Japan. Cheryl and I were married at the end of '95 and between us we've produced three great kids - Kristian (8 1/2), Noah (7) and Naomi (3 1/2).

Education - did my undergrad at Washington State University, graduating with a degree in Russian Literature & Language and another in History. I graduated from Regent College in '03 with a Masters in Christian Studies (emphasis in NT Studies).

I grew up in a Christian home, but wasn't converted until sometime around my 3rd year of college. Planted Oikos on January 30, 2005 [in partnership with Acts 29]. My interest in church planting was the result of a couple different streams.

First, after I was converted I felt a very compelling urge toward pastoral ministry. Since that time I had served at a couple different churches in various capacities and over that time realized the challenges of working within an existing church structure vs. starting a church from the ground up.

Secondly, at the time I was converted I became acquainted with another new Christian at Washington State U. by the name of Mark Driscoll...we hit it off quite well, were in each other's weddings, etc. Over the years as Mars Hill Church got going, I kept tabs on Mark and really resonated with a lot of what he was doing.

What has been the greatest challenge of church planting?

You mean, aside from me? I think it's been trying to find and develop leaders to help share the work and beyond that trying to find elder-able men. At this point, I don't have any other elders.

About three months into the plant, I had a handful of guys who were consistent in their attendance and gave a lot of their time to helping at the church on their own. I approached each of them and invited them to be a part of a leadership team. I did talk to a couple about eldership, but both declined for the time being mainly because of a lack of life experience (neither were married). They're still here and I'm hoping to go through a deacon training program with them and then see if they're up for eldership after that.

As far as developing leaders, it's mainly through our regular meetings (which include an ongoing study through Grudem's Systematic Theology). I also contact each periodically to check up on their spiritual health. One of the guys is hoping to be a church planter someday; I'm going to have him work on his own statement of faith and philosophy of ministry.

How do you deal with the financial needs?

We had some support from Mars Hill for the first couple years as well as some other outside help, but we were able to keep our costs low and I worked full-time for the first full year at Logos software. In other words, we were mighty blessed.

Our fund-raising connections were through already-existing relationships - relationship with A29, friends, etc. A few came into the picture afterwards, but really outside of A29 we haven't had a large degree of external support. We weren't on an aggressive plan to get financially independent. We're there now, but we probably could have been so within a 1 - 1 1/2 years of launching.

How do you deal with the "people" needs? (finding the right people to back you and deciding who your plant will target)

Keep preaching the gospel and the vision. I'm not so much targeting a particular group but trying to get us as a church to look at Bellingham as a whole; help them to look at where they live, work, etc., and think about how to reach out to the particular people God put them around.

How did you (or would you) put together a core group? (What type of people did you look for, how did you get them on board, how many did you want to have before you launched...?)

When we got started we first joined with a church about 30 min to the south of Bellingham that was drawing a number of people from there. We stayed with that church so that I could get to know folks and go through their eldership process so that when it was time for us to go I would have both some people connections as well as a legitimate "sent-ness." While that was going we also ran a Bible study out of our home and began to develop relationships largely through that. Most of our contact since the beginning has been through word-of-mouth.

What was or is the role of your mentor or role model? How did you find your mentor(s)?

Honestly, I don't have one and I really regret that. When I came in to Acts 29 there was a lot of talk about this, but not much action. I have a loose network of pastor friends that I draw upon, including [Kevin] Cawley...but it's still short of a regular relationship. A29's been playing around with a coaching model, but it's pretty loose and unstructured for my needs.

What is the role of sponsoring/partner churches? What has worked? What would you change and why?

Primarily financial, plus Mars Hill provides a lot in the way of conferences and regional events. Not a whole lot on a personal level though. I'm not sure what I would change. I like the relative independence that we have from MH, but it would be nice to be a bit more on their radar than we are.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

We have decided that I definitely am not, which is a good thing. Lindsay, however, very well may be and probably is. Details to follow.

If you're married or potentially married, you should jump at the chance to team-read a book. That's "team" as in doubles, not baseball or basketball--although good books have been known to cause games of one-on-one.

Captivating wouldn't be a bad book to team read--although the Lord of the Rings Trilogy would be going one better. (I'm serious.)

But about team-reading: the potential for discussions, interesting disagreement, and scuffles over the book is really great. We'll let you know where we land on Captivating. And if anyone else has read this one or is reading it, jump in.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

Christmas came early last night, when a friend of mine hooked me up with a ticket to see the Jayhawks crush Division II Washburn at Allen Fieldhouse. Clearly, it was going to be a feel-good match with minimal suspense (will the Jayhawks break the century mark?), but fans got a bonus when Brandon Rush took the court for twelve minutes in his first appearance since major knee surgery over the off-season. He looked really good.

This is big news for the Jayhawks, who will need their #1 game-changer to be in top form if they're going to make a dent in the tournament. I was so happy with what I saw from Rush that I posted my first Phog Blog piece of the season.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

If you haven't seen Walk the Line, the (somewhat) biographical movie about Johnny Cash, you probably should. It's an excellent film, with top-notch performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, and the concert sequences are electric--emotionally, of course, not musically. However, as an accurate depiction of Cash's life, the film disappoints. You walk away with the impression that June Carter's love magically induced Cash to forsake his massive drug problem and rediscover his musical chops--and this is simply revisionist history. Doxologist sketches the heart of the real Cash transformation story:

Cash hit rock bottom... He had ruined everything and he decided to take his own life. As a kid he had explored depths of Nickajack Cave, an immense, abandoned cave system that was about to become a water reservoir. Johnny crawled in, carrying only a flashlight, intending to get lost and die in the darkness of the soon to be underwater cave system. He crawled for hours till flashlight went out and he curled up to die. He described it like this, “The absolute lack of light was appropriate, for at that moment I was as far from God as I have ever been. My separation from Him, the deepest and most ravaging of the various kinds of loneliness I’d felt over the years, seemed finally complete.”

Then, as he thought he drew near to death he said, “I felt something very powerful start to happen to me, a sensation of utter peace, clarity and sobriety… There in Nickajack Cave I became conscious of a very clear, simple idea: I was not in charge of my own destiny… I was going to die at god’s time, not mine.”

Read the whole thing. Of course, if you're familiar with Johnny Cash's life and music, this is old news. If you're not, do yourself a favor and explore his canon. You'll discover a brooding, rough but poetic voice that is familiar with darkness, yet has become convinced that salvation and grace are the stronger realities.

Some of our favorite recent albums:

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

The attrition rate for blogging is something remarkable, kind of like the attrition rate for door-to-door salesmen or deep-fat-fryer operators. I've seen some great blogs begin with a burst of creativity, only to fall silent as the novelty wears off and the blogger starts getting a nervous tic whenever he thinks about writing a new post. However, it doesn't have to be this way.

With some forward thinking and savvy, you can dodge the bullet of blogger burnout and create a site that will enjoy a long, well-rounded existence. Here are ten ideas to guide your blog toward low-maintenance and longevity!

1. Pace yourself. When people start blogging, they often feel like they need to swing for the fences with every new post. Not true. If you write a thoughtful, premeditated post (possibly involving quotes, metaphors, and witty one-liners) once a week, you're doing well. Spontaneous, off-the-cuff pieces are a time-honored part of the blogosphere as well--so embrace 'em.
2. Blog your fiestas. Birthdays, road trips, Final Four parties, nights on the town--they all take you away from your computer, and that's a good thing. But with a little foresight, you can let those exciting times translate into high-energy posts. Upload a few photos, mention some highlights, and give a recommendation or two. If people care enough to read your blog, they'll be interested to know how you spent that long weekend.
3. Don't blog your siestas. Sometimes less is more, as in that sleepy afternoon where you crumpled your to-do list into a wad, tossed it into the rectangular filing cabinet, and collapsed on the couch. When you woke up two hours later, you felt like the world was a better place--and it was. So why ruin it by rushing to your computer to "make up for lost time?" The blog will benefit from your deserved downtime. To put it another way: take breaks and make to apologies.
4. Don't write a dictionary. Despite the popularity of blogs, most people still turn to books for their serious, extended reading. Keep this in mind when you're writing, and aim for short or mid-length posts that someone could get through in under five minutes. Of course, you can make exceptions, but they should be just that.
5. Write down ideas. Inevitably, you have times when your creative juices are flowing--and times when they're stuck like a creek hitting the Hoover dam. So you might as well stockpile during days of inspiration, right? Keep a list of post ideas, and refer to it when you feel like you've got nothin'.
6. Link good content. If you're like me, you frequently read other blogs, think, "That was great," and then forget about it. But why not compliment the author and let your readers benefit as well? Don't stop at merely linking a good post though--add even more value. Explain why this particular piece caught your attention. Note things you liked, or explain points of contention.
7. Share favorite quotes. This one works well if you read books on a regular basis, and have readers who do the same. A spicy quote or two can work well as a stand-alone post, especially if you add a few sentence of commentary. In fact, one of the most popular posts on this blog is a collection of quotes.
8. Write reviews. If you read books, listen to music, or watch movies, you're accumulating blogging material in your spare time. Why not capitalize on all that media? Most people enjoy good recommendations. Write a "flash review" or a "here's what's playing" list. The best part? Since it's your blog, you can be as detailed or general, as generous or Grinch-like as you want. Of course, if you're too scathing, someone might call you out!
9. Do interviews. But not the old-fashioned kind. No scribbled notes, lengthy phone conversations or awkward pauses. E-interviews are nearly-painless, both for the "reporter" and subject, which is why so many established bloggers are happy to answer questions--and why you'd be foolish not to ask them. Identify some people whose thoughts you value, then come up with a few really good questions. Brief, terse, maybe a little edgy. The questions are key. Make them interesting, not no-brainers. Word them in a provocative way. Then hit send, and wait for a reply...voila, instant post material with built-in credibility. Just be sure you ask nicely.
10. Make a "Top Ten" list. I mean, why wouldn't you? Our culture loves lists, especially when they make outrageous claims like "The Ten Best..." or "The Top Ten..." For some reason, stuff like this grabs people's attention. Just make sure to make it fun, and then follow through with some interesting content.

There you have it, ten easy ways to avoid blogger burnout and rescue your blog from embarrassing failure. Have other ideas? Share 'em in the comments. Now there's no reason why you shouldn't still be blogging five years from now.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

Anyone who can translate Ecclesiastes for the blogosphere has my immediate respect. I'm happy to introduce Matt from The Beggar's Table, presenting "Blog Ecclesiastes":

...Whatever exists has already been blogged,
and what man is has been archived;
no man can contend
with one who writes longer comments than he...

Read the whole thing. Very, very nice.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.

Like what you read? Don't forget to bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed.