The Cardinals Go To The World Series!

The Lord still gets our attention through miracles, and in this case the St Louis region benefits from His providence. The Cardinals looked horrible for the last month of the regular season, but somehow have turned it around and find themselves in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Because of this our plans for Thursday night Worship might change a little. For now we still have a traditional worship service planned, but if the World Series we may change it to a time of fellowship. So, please stay in touch and we will keep The Gate's website updated to let everyone know what we have planned for Thursday night.

Working Out of a "Third Place"

It is a sign of the times to see people working from wherever they feel comfortable. With free wireless booming in our cities and suburbs the office has become wherever we are. USA Today has a great article on those people we see who aren't working from home, or the office, but from a "Third Place" such as Panera Bread Company. It says a lot about today's business culture and even more for our thirst for community.

I have tried working from home, working from the office, and an occasional day of working from a "Third Place". I really enjoy working from anywhere but the office, although I find I am a little more distracted from both home and in a public place. The office is still my most productive place.

The article is located here. Link.

FBC O'Fallon Ministry Fair

Thanks to all who helped today at the FBC O'Fallon Ministry Fair. We had a chance to talk to a couple of students that didn't know we were there to serve McKendree, and we also met a couple of parents who want to make sure their students know we are there for them. Thanks George, Kelly, Matt, and Anthony for helping out today.

On the down side, the Cardinals gaime against the Giants this afternoon was rained out and we got nothing for our money except for drenched!

The Gate's Evangelism Conference

The Gate hosted a great Evangelism Conference this past Friday and Saturday. Phil Nelson from Lakeland Baptist Church in Carbondale, Illinois came and shared with us about his thoughts on living an evangelistic lifestyle. Phil believes our actions speak so much louder than our words, so evangelism is a lifestyle that results from Christ peermeating our lives rather than just a verbal proclamation of the gospel. The verbal proclamation of the Gospel is the result of an overflow in our lives. We look forward to hosting the Evangelism Conference every Fall and seeing the difference it makes in the lives of our students throughout the year.

We are also thinking a bout hosting a Walk Thru the Bible Conference in the Spring. You can find more information on Walk thru the Bible at their website located here. Link.

Local Christian Concerts

I wanted to pass on some of the local concerts that will be happening in the area over the next couple of weeks. There is some great talent coming to the local area.

The Robbie Seay Band, will be at Bethel Baptist church in Troy, Illinois on August 25 at 5pm. Bethel Baptis's location is here:

http://www.bbctroy.com/location.ivnu

This concert is targeted to high school students, but the bands is top quality and I am sure you will be welcome if you show.

The second concert is very local, in fact it is on McKendree's campus on this Sunday August 27 (the day before classes begin). The group’s name is Ineloquent and they are from Dubuque, Iowa. For more information on the band their website is located at http://www.theineloquent.com/ . They will be leading worship at 10am in Bothwell Chapel and will be in concert at 3pm on the McKendree Quad. Tim Harrison assures me that "They are exciting and should have a lot to say as we start the year off!" It sounds like a great way to kick off the new school year. The concert is free and there should be some food there as well.

I hope to see you there.

Passionate Christianity

Passionate Christianity started yesterday at church. It was a pretty good lesson, but I really don't like the 40 days of...I think it tries to make God into s 12 step program.

In Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What Miller makes the statement that (I'm paraphrasing now) the Bible is God's love letter to us, and that coming to know Jesus Christ in a personal way is very similar to falling in love with your spouse. I think that is a wonderful way of describing the Christian life. I didn't come up to my wife and try to capture her love all at once, it was a process that takes time and effort. A lasting relationship with Jesus Christ is the same way. Thumping someone over the head with your Bible until they submit isn't the way to win someone to the Lord. It may be a way to force them to say the prayer, as if they wre saying "Uncle". But leading them into a love relationship with the Creator of the Universe and the Savior takes time and can't be packaged into a 40 day journey.

I'll strive to keep an open mind and see where this goes.

Passionate Christianity

Our church is starting another 40 days of.... This time it is Passionate Christianity. I don't normally care for the 40 days of...., and I find it hard to get on the enthusiasm bandwagon, but this time I have seen a difference. My fairly conservative church has decided to throw its hat in the ring and stand up a Passionate Christianity website and of all things it even includes a blog (although it is more like a bulletin board). I never thought our church would get to the point of having a blog, but I have seen positive changes happening in the last year that I like. I am impressed that even our senior Pastor has contributed to the blog. This is a great sign.

My Apologies For Not Writing

I apologize for not writing much this summer in my blog. It was so busy and I just needed to take some time off. Working more than full-time, running a ministry, working on my Ph.D. dissertation, and trying to spend time with my family got me to a point where I had to take a break. Anyhow, I plan to be posting a couple times a day.

The Gate Website

I can't believe the reduction in price and the increase in capability in the technology world in the last couple of years. I was looking for a very basic, low cost website for The Gate (the McKendree College Baptist Collegiate Ministry) and came across Ipower. For no set up fee and only $7.95 per month we were able to set up a scalable website with E-mail capability. It doesn't include anything fancy, and there isn't a whole lot there so far, but we will add capability as my students get more involved in building the website. I know there must be some other good deals out there, but this one I couldn't pass on.

Another Conference

Hello from Manhattan, Kansas. I am attending the Army's Integrated Training Area Management Conference this week on the campus of Kansas State University. (I can't get the website to work, so I hope they are just doing maintenance on it)

The Army does a good job understanding the environmental implications of owning large areas of land. Some are native grasslands, some are forests, others desert, but they all have conservation programs in place that ensure they will be as undisturbed as possible. The ITAM program helps the Army manage these training areas. The Army's ITAM program uses our electronic mapping software extensively and have been good customers.

I am enjoying the conference for a couple of reasons.

First, I have an opportunity to meet lots of great people who I develop relationships with as as customers. ESRI places a large emphasis on relationships rather than purely as sales opportunities.

Second, I am completingt my PhD dissertation on John Steinbeck's book The Grapes of Wrath and I enjoy any chance to enjoy the culture of the great plains.

And third, as a diehard Nebraska Cornhusker fan, I have always wanted to come and visit KSU's campus. For the last 15 years or so the Cornhuskers and the Wildcats have had a good rivalry. I have had a chance to see the campus up close, and eventhough I got a $50 parking ticket, it has been a wonderful experience.

I'll be home tomorrow evening and back to work in the office on Thursday, but for today life in The Little Apple of Manhattan, Kansas has been good.