Jims ThirdSpace

Ron’s got it together…

Several years ago I made a friend in Michigan that has really challenged me to think,  rather than to take for granted a lot of things.  That friend is Ron Martoia.  Ron is now published and a frequent speaker-teacher at innovative conferences around the world.  He is one of the most well read and articulate people I have ever met, with a charismatic personality that make you love him.  Once again he is on the edge with a new publication,  ttTribe-Manifesto . While this pub contains a pitch to join a subscription learning community I think he is right on with a lot of his observations and conclusions.  Rather than give you a few “sound bites” I’ve included a link to his pub so you can read, enjoy and be challenged.  I think you will enjoy this introduction to Ron if you’ve never read or heard him, and if you’ve read him in the past, you’ll recognize this as another of his insightful works.

After you’ve read ttTribe-Manifesto,  feel free to comment and we can chat.

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Tags: Ron Martoia

A year of living dangerously…

Brief post to confirm that I’m back “on the grid”.  It’s been almost a year of living dangerously, trying to sort things out, hanging in there,  plan B, plan C, no jobs, five part time jobs, believing and living for a God that knows what His timing is and continues to bless and provide for our family.  So from a blogger’s perspective, I’ve been:

But I’m back. Look for my blog postings to be frequent, be things that will make you: laugh, cry, think, worry, be challenged, make you say WHAT?, and hopefully force you to be more engaged as a Believer in the context of the world we live in.  So let the games begin….

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Tags: off the grid

Take a chance

“The only way you can reach someone that no one is reaching is to do something that no one is doing.” Craig Groeschel. Why would Andy Stanley think this is a huge statement?  Because it is.

We have to be ready to present an unchanging message in new ways to connect with new people groups.  What are some new people groups that you have been trying to reach this year?  Have you tried to reach the homeless?  Have you tried to reach unwed Moms?  Have you tried to reach webheads? Have you tried to reach the families on your kid’s soccer team?  How about the barrister at Starbucks that knows exactly what you want to drink?  Successful?  How are you trying to share the gospel?  It has been said that doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get different results is the definition of insanity.  Are you going crazy, or are you willing to have people call you crazy because you want people to get IT?

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Tags: Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, message, Take a chance

Tweeter in Jacksonville churches

Twice in the past month I’ve blogged about Tweeter in churches.  Is there a use for churches on May 3rd, then on May 25th some info about a few churches that are using Tweeter around the country.  Here is a link to an article in the Florida Times Union that talks about Tweeter in some Jacksonville churches.

There’s still a major division of opinions, from ““God has something to say to you today … but he won’t be calling your cell phone. Please silence your cell phones and other devices.” to “It’s just a different way of distributing the gospel, basically.”

Close your eyes, bow your heads, start tweeting?

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Tags: spread the gospel, tweeter

Jacksonville Festivals

It’s Spring!   Time for festivals in greater Jacksonville.  Take a look at this link and you’ll find festivals that are planned around the city.

Don’t bunker in with church people, meet new people, start conversations, engage the culture of your world, find new friends, share your story, make a difference and have fun.

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Tags: church people, culture, festivals

Go ahead, quit, give up, throw in the towel… Part Two – follow up

I wrote today’s post, Go ahead, quit, give up, throw in the towel…, before last night’s game.  I think this Part 2 is a perfect follow up:

Two weeks before the end of the season, the Cardinals lost to the Patriots 47-7 and many said they were the worst playoff team in NFL history.

They are now in the Super Bowl.

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Tags: giving up, Super Bowl

Building a Coffeehouse instead of a church

Mark Batterson, pastor National Community Church, has a great word for those believers that love to “go to church”. Mark was a church planter who started a church in a movie theater in Union Station, because they had no money as a startup. As the church grew, pastor-friends would ask him, when was he going to get a “church”? As the new start started to reach unchurched and dechurched twenty-somethings he realized there was no way he could vacate “such a strategic spiritual beachhead”. Their vision is to meet in movie theaters at metro stops throughout DC. They now own the largest coffeehouse in Capitol Hill, and in 2007, it was voted the #2 coffeehouse in metro DC.

Here’s Mark’s word for us:

“So why did we build a coffeehouse instead of a church building? Because Jesus didn’t hang out in synagogues. He hung out at wells. Wells weren’t just places to draw water. Wells were natural gathering places in ancient culture. Coffehouses are postmodern wells.To borrow the sociological term, our coffeehouse is a third place where the church and community can cross paths……Too many churches expect unchurched people to come to them, but the church is called to go to the unchurched people. The church is called to compete for the kingdom in the marketplace.”

What do you think?

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Tags: coffee house, Great place, Mark Batterson, National Communit Church, Simple Church, third space, unChristian

Perceptions of Christianity

Hear what some are saying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m3Q2lDMRm0&feature=related

Join our reading group that meets weekly or our virtual discussion. Go to the unChristian tab for more information on unChristian, our reading group discussion, background material and other resources.

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Tags: unChristian

unChristian on CNN

Gabe Lyons interview on CCN about unChristian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMflS_pRnVo

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