One Life…

It always saddens me when I see Christians in a docile, defensive position; just trying to hold on to what they’ve got, while they ride out the storm. I think this is especially true of Halloween tonight. Probably more than any other night, Christians across North America are turning their lights out and hunkering down inside. All the while, darkness literally covers our cities.

There’s an awesome quote from Edmund Burke, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is that good men do nothing”

Evil people do not wait around and ask for permission. Evil can be compelling and magnetic, and it moves forward with every inclination.

And the truth is that hunkered down, inward-focused, well-meaning, passive neutrality, will never overcome evil.

Introducing… STELLAR VOXANNA

Stellar was born at six pounds and eight ounces to two incredibly ecstatic parents!

For those of you who are wondering, Stellar means that which pertains to the stars, or to be star-like.

When we say our daughter’s name it is loaded with significance. For us, Stellar means…

…the stars that shine in the expanse of the universe, declaring the beauty, wonder, and majesty of God (Psalm 19:1)

…the radiant lights that illuminate the skies even from a distance

…being completely human, with sunspots and solar flares

…the everlasting stars that humbly and faithfully shine even when no one is looking

…the timeless and brilliant arrangement of lights that navigate people home

…the light of God that punctures holes through the darkness of the night

Voxanna is a combination of words. Vox which means a voice or expression, and Anna which means a woman full of grace.

We are filled with so much love and hope for Stellar Voxanna. She is nothing short of a miraculous gift from God.

We thank every one of you for your love, encouragement, and prayers.

Here’s a short introduction video (only visible to friends and family now)

Excellent insight from InsideGoogle, definitely helps justify any bit of workaholism I have…

Googler Niniane Wang is vacationing in Egypt, but she had enough time to blog this exchange, which resulted when a traveling companion was typing away on his Sidekick, instead of enjoying the vacation.

Me: [after some silence] Do you think Google does this to people? Where we work so much?

Dan: No. We do it to ourselves, at Google.

Me: Surely it’s not normal to work like this.

Dan: It’s also not normal to do amazing things.

This page will no longer be updated. For the latest Erwin McManus and Mosaic resources and links please see my new site at SolarCrash.

This is a collection of resources that tie to the Mosaic movement out of L.A. It has been a tremendous impact on my life and my visions for church planting.

I’ve got a bunch of other resources (CD’s, DVD’s, etc.) that I’ve bought over the years, that I’m tempted to put up, but I don’t want to infringe on any copyright issues. If you’re in the area, you’re more than welcome to borrow them off of me. All the resources here are just what’s readily available on the web. I’ll try to keep this post updated as I stumble across things. Let me know if you’re aware of others.

Here’s a snap of my wife and I as we visit Mosaic LA (at the previous night club) and connect for a moment with Erwin Raphael McManus

ARTICLES

Interview with Erwin McManus on Swimming Upstream 2007
Article by Erwin McManus on the Emerging Angle 2007
Dancing from the pulpit - Article on Mosaic
Article on Comfortable Christianity and Mosaic
Notes from Humana 2.0 here, here, here, here, here, and here.
For a limited time only - preview articles and interviews from the Mosaic Alliance for free.
Article by Eric Bryant on MANAGING THE CREATIVE BEAST
Interview with Erwin McManus on Infuze 2006
Article on whether Mosaic and Bethel are part of the ‘emerging church’ by Alex McManus 2006
Article on the history and culture of mosaic through an Asian American lens
Article and another article on Erwin McManus at Catalyst 2005
Article about Erwin McManus and Creativity 2005
Interview with Erwin McManus on thinking differently
Q&A with Erwin by La Bodega 2004
Response article to me from Mosaic insider Soundchick 2004 part 1 and 2
Article on wholeness by Erwin McManus
Article on friendship by Erwin McManus
Article on a cause-driven church by Erwin McManus
Article and video by fresh ministry on postmodern ministry
Article in Relevant Magazine on Erwin McManus’ Barbarian Way
Alex McManus on pray247 interview
Article on Origins 2004, Recap on Origins 2005, Origins 2006 notes
Outline of Emerging Leaders program offered at Bethel
Article on An Unstoppable Force
Article on Mosaic and a vision for the world
Article on Ethos
Blogs of interns at Mosaic, here, here, and here.
Mosaic Navigator Eric Bryant’s blog , Eric’s latest blog.

AUDIO RESOURCES

Weekly podcasts
Erwin McManus speaking at NewSong on Unmasking Mexico 2007
Interview here with Erwin McManus on the Drew Marshall show 2007
mp3 of Erwin McManus and a Buddhist on life purpose at Veritas 2006
California Baptist Seminary Chapel podcast with Erwin McManus
Erwin McManus at Mosaiek Church - A revolutoin of the soul A revolution of the soul
Alex McManus on a hitch hiker’s guide to the galaxy a hitch hiker’s guide to the galaxy @ Kensington 2006
Catalyst Interview Catalyst Interview with Erwin McManus 2006
Archived Podcast of Erwin McManus on Leadership
Making space for strange things to happen 2005
Erwin McManus Chapel @ California Baptist University 2005
Mosaic Leadership Advance Leadership Advance Message 2005
Erwin McManus - Prepare for Impact Prepare for Impact 2005
Erwin McManus The future has arrived @ Richland Hills Church 2004
C&MA 2004 Council Session 1 and Session 2 by Erwin McManus (both messages are on the second half of the mp3)
Parable of the Talents Parable of the talents by Erwin McManus @ Rock Harbour 2002
Audio sermons by Erwin McManus on Meaning, Community and Destiny
The Great Commission and Discipleship The great commission and discipleship by Erwin McManus @ Woodland Hills 2002
Erwin on The Fingerprint of God The Fingerprint of God @ The Veritas Forum 2001
Erwin on The Character Matrix Character Matrix @ The Veritas Forum 1999
Odeo - Seems to keep the last 10 or so messages archived from the podcast in case you missed any.

VIDEO RESOURCES

Eric Bryant’s Executive Artiste video on youtube
Collection of Mosaic YouTube videos
A silly clip of the Mosaic five core values
Erwin McManus clip on taking one more step of faith
Quicktime video of Erwin McManus and a Buddhist on life purpose at Veritas
5 Messages by Erwin McManus in Korea on CGNTV 2006
Mosaic on CNN 2006
Mosaic dance clip during service
Television Evangelist Mosaic Rap video 2006
Chasing Daylight trailer from BlueFishTV
Alex McManus at APU Chapel 2005
100 Huntley Street interview of Erwin McManus2005
Awesome clips from UrbanPoets 1, 2, 3, 4
Excellent Mosaic 2004 Recap Video
Erwin McManus Chapel 4 @ APU 2004
Erwin McManus Chapel 3 @ APU 2004
Excellent message by Erwin McManus summarizing Seizing your Divine Moment at Willow
Clips 1, 2, 3, 4 from Barbarian Way @ WillowCreek 2003
The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus at Willow (not the famous Leadership summit one)
100 Huntely Street interview on Creativity and Spirituality 2003
Erwin McManus Chapel 2 @ APU 2003
Montage of Erwin McManus on Heroes 2003
Erwin McManus Chapel @ APU 2001
Erwin on The Fingerprint of God @ The Veritas Forum 2001
Erwin on Character Matrix @ The Veritas Forum 1999

Read the rest of this entry »

Life’s been busy and beautiful. I’ve been trying to stay at least 3-4 weeks ahead of school in anticipation of our baby, and I think I’m actually on track.

Our doctor charges $10 to print out an ultrasound picture, so Yvz and I decided to just bring our camera in and take our own pictures! Here’s our first baby’s first video! It’s not the greatest footage, I’ll do better at our next visit in another week.

If you haven’t seen it already, Steve McCoy’s got an excellent post linking a smack of Tim Keller resource post. Keller’s probably one of the most level-headed biblical and missional church planting catalysts out there. Over the years I’ve tucked away my own set of resources from movements that I’ve been following. So in the spirit of sharing and inspired by Steve, I’m going to consolidate and post up some resources on the Mosaic Movement, Acts29, and maybe some Rob Bell stuff…

Here’s a pic of a flower by the side of the road we saw in Maui

…is the Crack-Cocaine of this generation of Christians.

(posted around my seminary currently)

I’m still in shock that this girl I met six years ago, is pregnant with my first child.

This is us at Urbana 2000. It’s on again this year in St. Louis!

I’m linked as a “Maker of Fire” on the Fight4humanity.com site, way cool. Join Erwin and Alex McManus at Humana 2.0

The Canadian National Church Planting Congress 2007 details are up. I’ll definitely be there, book your calendars! (Let me know if you’re interested in a 50% discount)

I’m not a gamer, and I have absolutely no time for this, but I can’t say I haven’t had my eye on the new Nintendo Wii.

On that note, you can play your favorite classic nintendo games in your browser here.

Some free videos from the Innovative Church Conference are available

I finally joined facebook. Seems like an interesting network…

And my vox of the week is Dave, a fellow seminary student at Fuller blogging about his experiences there.

Rick Tobias, CEO of Yonge Street Mission in downtown Toronto, teaches my Youth at Risk class.

Rick stated that “We abandon our kids when they abandon our values. Whether they are gay or chemically dependent, they are still our children and worthy of our love.”

How easy is it for us to withdraw our love when people disagree with our values? When those we pour our lives into don’t adopt the things we treasure most, why is it that our love for them as human beings is often the first thing that goes?

Many youth on the streets today likely have a physical home in which to return, but the one thing they need most, unconditional love, is nowhere to be found there. The reality is we go where we are most loved, and as bad as it may be on the streets, children are finding more love and acceptance there, than in the warmth of their own homes.

My first child is on her way in eight weeks. I have no idea what she will be like, but I know that I would already give my life for her. I love her right now, not because of her values or capabilities, or even her character, but simply because God blessed me with her. I suspect that I will need to continually remind myself of this for the journey ahead.

I just finished reading Reclaiming Youth at Risk. I had my doubts at first. It uses Native American child-raising philosophy in helping create redeeming environments for our youth today. It has caused me to have a much deeper respect for the natie american people as well.

A quote from poet Edwin Markham:

He drew a circle to shut me out.
Heretic, rebel a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win.
We drew a circle that took him in.