A29 Bootcamp (San Diego) Audio

In case you ever wondered what sort of things go on at an A29 church planting bootcamp, I give you the links to the audio from the most recent one in San Diego, hosted by the fine fellows of Kaleo Church. Here’s the lineup:

• Main Sessions
  • Scott Thomas – Why Start a Church?
  • David Fairchild – Gospel-centered Theology
  • Mike Gunn – Biblical Missiology
  • Daniel Montgomery – Leading the Mission
  • Dick Kauffman – Gospel Journey
  • Dick Kauffman – The Gospel-driven Church
  • David Fairchild – Qualifications of a Lead Planter
  • Doug Swagerty – Multiplying by Multi-site

  
  

• Workshops
  • Drew Goodmanson – Technology and Mission (audio coming soon)
  • David Fandey – Don’t Go It Alone
  • Scott Thomas – Replanting a Missional Church
  • Daniel Montgomery – The Gospel-centered Mess
  • Brian Thomas – Missional Worship: The Fuel that Ignites a Passion for God’s Glory

There’s a whole lot more over at Drew’s blog – go check it out.

Jesus in Japan?

When we were living in Japan, we took some time during one of our summers to travel up into Aomori Pref. to camp at Lake Towada…unbelievably beautiful location (if you go, be sure to take in the Oirase River as well). Anyway, while we were up there I remember seeing this large sign indicating the direction to the gravesite of Jesus. Huh. Never really found out more about that whole story and sort of forgot about it until I came across this article on the BBC website. Here’s a couple snips:

The story goes that after escaping Jerusalem, Jesus made his way across Russia and Siberia to Aomori in the far north of Japan where he became a rice farmer, married, had a family and died peacefully at the age of 114.

A villager hinted that I might be able to meet one of Jesus’ descendents – a Mr Sajiro Sawaguchi, who is now in his 80s.

His family owns the land on which the grave stands and his house is at the foot of the mountain.

I set off to find him but was told he was too ill to speak to me.

However, his grandson Junichiro Sawaguchi did agree to talk. Was I about to meet someone with a true touch of the divine?

The tubby middle-aged gentleman in glasses who spoke to me did not seem particularly Messianic.

“And I don’t claim to be a descendent of Jesus although I know some people have said my grandfather is connected to the legend. However, when I was a young child, my mother drew the sign of a cross upon my forehead as a symbol of good fortune,” he told me.

[...]

However the legend of Jesus the rice farmer does not stretch back very far. It only began in the 1930s with the discovery of what were claimed to be ancient Hebrew documents detailing Jesus’ life and death in Japan.

Those documents have now mysteriously disappeared and the grave has never been excavated.

Sermon text for September 17th – James 4:11-12

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. [1] The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Sermon audio 

Sermon text for September 10th – James 4:1-10

‘Twas the same as last week – we spent this time looking at the need for us to be engaged with our whole heart (along with our mind, soul and strength) toward God. For that, we spent the bulk of the time considering the story of Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4:1-42) in order to encourage our love and admiration for Jesus as a real person rather than an abstract idea.

Here’s the sermon audio.