Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

The nerve disease ALS left graffiti artist TEMPT paralyzed from head to toe, forced to communicate blink by blink. In a remarkable talk at TEDActive, entrepreneur Mick Ebeling shares how he and a team of collaborators built an open-source invention that gave the artist — and gives others in his circumstance — the means to make art again.

As I finished watching this short video, I couldn’t help but think: “This is what the Kingdom of God looks like.” I hope that as we continue to progress as a Church that we will be a people who are making these sorts of advancements and innovations with our talents, with our skills, and with our passions in order to be a generous people that make a difference in this world that will change the world for someone around us. We are the change-agents the world has been waiting for.

Let us be a people that allows the Kingdom of God break-in more and more through us and around us, creating hope and change wherever we go because of Jesus. Be inspired to be that kind of a people, and that kind of a church!

“Baptism is more than a way to spiritual freedom. It also is the way to community. Baptising a person is receiving that person into the community of faith. Those who are reborn from above through baptism, and are called to live the life of sons and daughters of God, belong together as members of one spiritual family, the living body of Christ. When we baptise people, we welcome them into this family of God and offer them guidance, support, and formation, as they grow to the full maturity of the Christ-like life.” Henri Nouwen

This morning I had the privilege of participating in the baptisms for these four men. My friend Michael Browne, who is a part of our IKON Community, created an intense discipleship program to reach into and change the lives of the homeless here in San Francisco. Only six weeks into his first group, this happened… baptisms. I’m amazed and excited for the work Michael is doing in this city!

It was a tremendous joy to be there as 30 people surrounded these men, listened to their stories of pain and rejection that led to redemption and hope. It’s exciting to see these men, who have connected with our IKON Community, being surrounded by people who love and support them, are cheering them on, and watching their lives change on a daily basis. I’m looking forward to seeing more of these stories played out in our community, of seeing people’s lives renewed as together we push forward towards the renewal of all things!

At the heart of the historical Jesus story is the provocative, compelling, subversive, beautiful insistence that nothing can ever be the same again, not after resurrection…

(ht: Laughing Squid)

Thirty-six skaters made their way down the hills of San Francisco with neon signs attached to them to create a life-sized game of tetris. This is one of the reasons I love this city… the creative spark and imagination that flow from the people who live here and call this place home is at a level unseen in most places around the country–around the world. The city of San Francisco is a place of experimentation and hope, the land of the start-up (there are more start-up companies here than almost anywhere else) and the land of the non-profit (there are more non-profit organizations here than anywhere else in the country). The people of San Francisco believe they can do anything…

What better place to start a church than here! Imagine what could happen if the creative spark that drives this city is turned towards the realization that they are a part of a Sacred Ecosystem (Kingdom of God), and that together it really is possible to change the world…

This the endeavor that we are a part of… revealing the Sacred, opening the eyes of the people around us to the realities that God is in our midst working and shaping everything around us. This is what brings me hope, this is what excites me about this new church forming in all around us… I believe change is in the air.