This Week in Aurora

Downtown development
More new condos are being rehabed in a historic building downtown and will be complete with a Potbelly, my favorite sandwich shop, and a wine shop.

Riveredge Park
This project is somewhat controversial here, but the economic impact and beautification of the riverfront has huge potential. It's something many of us are following, as it will mean more people downtown and new ways to connect with people. It'll be a great "third space." Now the city is looking for some grant money to help make the dream more of a reality.

See the sketches here.

Fermilab
Though in Batavia, it sits on the border of Aurora. Fermilab, a Department of Energy particle accelerator with lots of smart physicists, lost funding recently and has been in danger of forced layoffs and cutbacks. The good news is that those jobs were just saved by a supplemental appropriations bill last week.

Crime in Aurora
For years Aurora has had a bad stereotype for being unsafe and crime-filled. Aurora police recently announced some good news that crime is again down, and no murders were committed in the 1st half of 2008.

Reimagining Evangelism

It's no news that the Christian culture sometimes doesn't do the best job at engaging nonbelievers, and there's a pretty obvious culture clash in America. A recent article from The Christian Science Monitor tells one story of a man seeking to build bridges with those without faith.

Jim Henderson of Off the Map (please check the site out if you haven't) is a former pastor who realized that most people never come to church and now is on a mission to help other Christians realize why evangelistic efforts turn people away. If nothing else, his resources are a great discussion starter and thought-provoker.

FaithVisuals.com actually has a free, downloadable video from Off the Map called Three Minutes With Three Lost People.

Let's Talk About the Emerging Church...

...and we can start by discussing your thoughts on this Christianity Today article.

Five Streams of the Emerging Church
Key elements of the most controversial and misunderstood movement in the church today.
by Scot McKnight

The Goal of Serving Your Community

About a year ago I was really struggling. Someone I respected told me that the at-risk tutoring/mentoring ministry I led wasn't really effective unless it brought people into the church, or at least that's the way I understood it. I'm not sure he meant it quite as bluntly, but that's how I took it.

So, the time that we spent serving a need in that low income area, developing relationships with the families and students, and being the hands and feet of Jesus was a waste?

I think wanting to bring people into our church is a good goal, but as we know the "church" isn't necessarily a place many in our culture feel comfortable. I also think that finding ways we can interact with our culture and build relationships is a good and holy goal. I want to do so without feeling a sense of manipulation....that I want something from the people I'm serving. Is this just leaving them off the hook? Or enabling them to take advantage of you?

I still struggle with this, but a recent article I read from Relevant magazine gave me some hope.

Socks and Cigarettes
by Tim Berroth

What the Coffeeshop Teaches Us

As much as I like my once-a-week Starbucks gift to myself, I treasure those more sporadic stops at my local indy coffeeshop. It's easier to go there and stay there for hours. I often choose that coffeeshop when I have a friend I want to spend some quality time with. I meet more people there than I ever would at Starbucks.

I love this article that Leadership journal published about what the church can learn about the coffeeshop (also love it because this coffeeshop is MY coffeeshop and I know the author and his wife):

Coffeeshop Connections
What one pastor is learning, as a part-time barista, about relationship and discipleship.
by David Swanson

Here's my favorite excerpt:

If we believe the church community is the sum of its people, and if we believe that relationships are not something that can be programmed, then we do well to consider how to create margins in church life for spontaneous relational moments, similar to those that attract people to the coffeeshop.

What Is Missional?

Welcome to our blog! This is our experiment with a few goals: 1) to communicate with friends about the progress of the network we're hoping to create, 2) to try to explain in more detail what it is we are feeling led to do, 3) and, at least for me, to help make some sense out of what's going on with the church, with culture, and how we fit into it.

First question you may have: what's a missional church? Leadership journal's most recent issue is on the topic of "Going Missional." To read about some common practices and commitments of a missional church, all of which we hope to accomplish, read this great article:

Missional Buzz
Will the real church please stand up?
by Tim Conder

Please feel free to post your questions about what we're doing, and we'll see if we can answer them. And thanks for supporting us in what we hope will be a terrific ride.