nickblevins.com

I'm hip, I have a Moleskine

If you asked me what I Moleskine was a year ago I probably would have figured it had something to do with fancy clothing made from dead animals.  But, now I know it's the "is the legendary notebook used for the past two centuries by great artists and thinkers, including Van Gogh, Picasso, Hemingway and Chatwin" (according to the website).  That's not true obviously, as that brand has only been around since 1996.  They just claim those famous peeps used something similar. 

Well, I finally got 2 of them.  I doubt that makes me any cooler but I definitely like them.  I use one for my written "to-do" list and the other for my journaling.  I used to use a legal pad for the to-do list and small 5 star notebook for journaling.  But, neither of those were great for different reasons.  The only problem is that both my moleskines are exactly the same, so I put a red paper clip on one so I know the difference when reaching in my bag. 

The big question is........how do you pronounce moleskine?  I've actually never heard anybody say it, but I've read that the real pronunciation is "Mo-leh-skeen-eh".  Either way, my coolness just went from a 2 to a 3......on a 100 scale.

Maria Chapman's Funeral

Faith shines brightest in the midst of despair.  Steven Curtis Chapman and his family are showing amazing faith in dealing with the loss of their daughter Maria.  I hope their faith is seen by thousands of people who don't believe in God yet, so they might believe: 

Heart Broken & Burdened

At the Drive Conference Andy Stanley said that a burden reflects a broken heart.  He emphasized that our hearts should break for the things that aren't right in this world and that when they do, we will be burdened by that.  He says that burden fuels vision and it made me think about what my heart breaks for. 

In general, it's hard for me to be heart broken.  Maybe it's being raised like most guys, thinking that too much feeling isn't manly or something like that.  But, I do know of the things that break my heart the most and here they are:

• Ineffective churches
• As much as 80% of kids that grow up in church leave after they turn 18

I don't think that 80% stat is still as high (or maybe that's just wishful thinking) but anything above 50% is still heart-breaking.  There's one thing I want to put on that list, but to be completely transparent I don't think it breaks my heart enough right now.  It's people who don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  God's heart breaks for them and mine should too.  I'm wrestling with why I don't feel completely heart broken and burdened for them. 

The best I can come up with so far is that I don't know enough people personally.  I'm exposed to ineffective churches all the time and working for an effective one makes my heart break even more because I see what could be, and what should be.  I work in children's ministry and growing up in church I personally saw 80% of the friends from student ministry walk away after they graduated high school so that second one is close to home as well.  I'm going to try to fix what I do know, while praying that God will give me His heart and burden for those who are far from him. 

I actually wrote all of the above stuff on Wednesday night, saving it to post on Saturday (a Typepad feature I love) and then at the Whiteboard Sessions Vince Antonucci totally challenged me on this same exact topic.  I'm guessing I should get to work on that. 

What a mom....

Perry Noble and NewSpring Church blessed 2 moms on Mother's Day.  You can see the story of one of them in the video below.  I didn't even post anything on Mother's Day, mainly because after hanging out at my mom's I fell asleep until Monday.  For the record, my mom would sacrifice anything for me and my less-loved sister (inside joke there).

Disclaimer:  It's almost 9 minutes long, and you might be crying by the end of it.  (Jump to the blog if you can't see it in your RSS Reader).

Drive Blogger Gathering

As I mentioned at the end of a previous post, Carlos Whittaker (Ragamuffin Soul) organized a gathering for bloggers at the Drive Conference.  Basically we all met at a local restaurant to talk, get videotaped by Carlos and pose for a group picture.  Jennifer and I were definitely out of our comfort zone but it was worth it.  I have to admit it felt a little bit like a Star Trek convention (even though I don't know what that's like).  Nobody there was a huge nerd or anything (except me), but just the idea of a bunch of bloggers getting together when many of them didn't know each other personally doesn't exactly sound like a topic for GQ.  Here's the picture:

Here's the link to Carlos' post about it.

WoCC & Hard Rock

We'll, it's our first full day in Atlanta and it's been great so far.  We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then went through the World of Coca Cola.  It was a great experience.  I had never been before.  Jennifer and I were here last year but it was shut down for the new renovations.  We saw everything they had to offer, including the 4-D show. 

I loved the fact the everything was designed around providing an experience, not just a product.  The environment, language, focus and everything was all about a complete experience.  Coca Cola knows that people buy experiences, not just products.  In the intro video one of the "Happiness Factory" employees talked about them being like a body, a bunch of separate parts working together in just the right way.  If every church could work together as a body I have no doubt everybody who visited the church would feel a sense of wonder and awe that Coca Cola tries to create as well. 

I'm leaving in about 15 minutes for the first session of Drive

Networking

Ryan Arnold, our Student Minister, and I had lunch with Bob Rogers today.  Bob is a ministry friend of mine and we all had lunch so Ryan & Bob could meet and talk Student Ministry.  Ryan & Bob are both interested in meeting local student leaders to connect and share ideas.  I love it when churches can work together, even in small ways, to accomplish God's mission. 

I enjoyed the conversation as well, including the parts about student ministry.  While children's ministry is my gig now, most of my time before CCC was spent in student ministry so I still have a heart for it.  They talked about the challenges of partnering with parents, something we're BIG on in CCC Kids. 

Bob's church, LifeBridge, has gone through some major changes in the past few years.  The kind of changes that are necessary, good, but too difficult for most churches to accomplish.  I applaud them for being able to do that, while never thinking they have "arrived".  They're continuing to learn and grow, like any good organization should.  I'll be heading out to the Drive Conference next week to learn and grow......and visit this place while I'm in town. 

A child's dream come true...

This is like a dream come true for a child.  And since I think and act like I'm 8 years old it's a dream come true for me too....

Do we risk enough?

Most people fall in one of 2 camps when it comes to risk.  They either like to take risks, or absolutely hate to.  Tony Campolo did a sociological study with people over the age of 95.  The survey asked them, if you could do life over again what would you do differently? Most responses fell into three categories:

1. Reflect more
2. Risk more
3. Do more that will live on after I’m gone
{read more here}

I think it's obvious why risk was in the top 3...... the reason people don't risk as much is because there could be a lot to lose.  But, when looking back after a long life, you think about what could have been.  Plus, by that time everybody has probably experienced some failures and realized that failing every now and then isn't the end of the world.  So, the risks don't seem as great when there's less to lose and therefore not as much fear.

I hope I take enough risks in my life.  It would be great to look back and not have to regret being afraid to take chances.  At the same time, that desire to take risks has to be balanced with wisdom and discernment.  For me, that primarily comes from my wife.