well, i am heading to uganda this summer. our missions team consists of 7 men and 1 woman. we will be building a multi-purpose building and helping to lead a missions camp for students at the university. the missionaries we are partnering with are dave and jen carroll.

here are two sites from ugandan newspapers that you can check out. they are the monitor and newvision.

the seder we had last week was also cool. if you have never been to a seder, i would encourage you to try it out. it is the best example i can think of where your taste is part of the story. your actual sense of taste. the bitter foods are bitter for a reason. the sweet food is sweet for a reason. the flat bread is flat for a reason. this idea is beautiful and should be replicated to speak to our current context.

mark

another blur of a week. easter. i was listening to garrison keilor saturday night and in his tales of lake wobegan, he mentions the pastor being ever so busy and that is why he gets paid the big bucks. well, minus the big bucks, it was a busy week. we again put together an experiential story by creating a walk-through of the last week of Christ's life. i called it stations toward the cross instead of staions of the cross which i think are unbiblical. minus the fog machine setting off the smoke alarm with 10 minutes before it began, the event was very powerful. i love narrative immersion! someday it would be fun to connect with others that are doing this same thing.

maybe someday.............................................

we have been experimenting with some different forms of gatherings that might be attractive to a person who does not know Christ (who know what to call them now?). sinner used to suffice, but oh well.

last week we had an expresso cafe where we celebrate creativity. we have done about 6 of these now and they keep gathering steam. we have poets, painters, rappers, breakers, unpluggers etc. do there thing. we then give everyone an opportunity to get in on the fun with interactive creative stations etc. and of course, there is lots of caffeine and goodies (also an art form-yumm!). all of the proceeds from that go to feed the hungry.

another thing we are doing is called the salon. the idea is actually french (boo) but really took off in seattle and is spreading. it is a night to invite people to converse. there are actually books to help you with your salon. we are seeing cool stuff happen from these. i just discovered a site that could be used for advertising a salon if you are interested. www.meetup.com

also, if you are just interested in doing a salon, here is a good site. www.conversationcafe.org

and if you have an idea on connecting gospel and culture, let me know. email me at mark@newsongministries.com.

my daughter turns 9 today. i am officially an old man. we celebrated her party last night. when i asked her where she wanted to go, she said "OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE." my daughter, the red meat lover. wow.

she is such a great kid. she has taught me more about myself and my faith than anyone else. she is an amazing young girl and i am eternally blessed to have her call me "daddy."

been a while since i have blogged. been a little crazy.

2 retreats
major writing project
expresso cafe with our journey group (which was amazing, remind me to tell you about it sometime)
we hosted a couple who are thinking of church planting in the cleveland area

busy but good. I am tired however. but i thought i would check in.