Shapevine Missional Simple and House Church Spiritual Leaders -- Alan Hirsch Sally Morgenthaler Ron Martoia Steve Sjogren Reggie McNeal Brant Hansen Frank Viola

Vic and Cassie's Wedding!

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/vic-and-cassie-wedding.html

I'm proud to present Mr. and Mrs. Victor Swisher!

Last Saturday I had the privilege to conduct the wedding ceremony for one of my best friends, Vic Swisher, and my cousin, Cassie Smith.

We had a great time at the reception, I only wished I would of danced with my smokin' hot wife more.

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Kevin Rush

Grace Based Parenting

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/grace-based-parenting_8510.html

This has been my favorite parenting book to date.

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Kevin Rush

Sondra's Graduation [Photos]

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/sondra-graduation-photos.html

Here are some photos from Sondra's Graduation! I'm so proud of her.

Yesterday Sondra had a job offer at MedCentral Mansfield. We are praying to see, if this is where she feels she should be right now.

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Kevin Rush

Corny 4th

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/corny-4th.html

Selah eating corn on the 4th.

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Kevin Rush

Generational Interview

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/generational-interview.html

Recently I've seen some really good interviews with different generational leaders, thinkers and pastors in the church. Here are two of my favorites:

Three Degrees of Separation
Church and Politics
with Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne

Pastor's Q&A
with Mark Driscoll
interviewing John Piper and Matt Chandler

I've been attending the church I grew up in. When I'm there I try to take time out to talk to the elderly [in age] to get their wisdom and story. I tell you what the newest thing fades, fads where out, but wisdom always wins out.

Relish your elders! Their story is invaluable!

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Kevin Rush

Missional Posts

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/missional-posts.html

Here are some short, but great content I've found out on the web about Missional Church.

Alan Hirsh on Out of Ur explaining the meaning of Missional

A Churches Missional Resolutionst:

We resolve to learn and speak the language of our culture.
We resolve to sincerely listen to people and their ‘stories’.
We resolve to be a Christian community that is counter-cultural/intuitive.
We resolve to live out our Christianity in our work and recreation.
We resolve to demonstrate the unity of the church in the city.

Nic asks... What If The Church?

…could make a food pantry experience, not feel like a food pantry
…could build entire housing complexes and give them away
…would provide free bus passes to people in the community who didn’t own cars
…could provide transportation for elderly people to go to the doctors
…could teach single moms a skilled trade for free, so they can get a better job
…could be the center of the community
What would it look like for a church to serve it’s community,
What could we accomplish?

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Kevin Rush

Community | the Exception

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/community-exception.html

Recently I have came to the conclusion that although most things can be spread through vision-casting. Relational community and intimacy cannot.

The more you talk about community, the more it will elude you.

It recently dawned on me why this is...

If I butter my wife up with talk about being intimate and romantic, yet I never trust my own intimacy with her our relationship will dwindle. The effect is that the more I talk about intimacy the more she will be turned off by it. But the more I show and live intimacy the more it will flourish.

As you try to create community in your church (small group, house church, sunday school class, etc.) spend more time creating an environment for it to flourish in and less energy talking about it.

Here's a funny cartoon I found on 'Community Church'

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Kevin Rush

Random Selah Video

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/random-selah-video.html

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Kevin Rush

Busy with the sticks!

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/busy-with-sticks.html

I've been busy the last few days working on a gathering of pastors that I'm helping to market and produce.

We rolled out the website yesterday at www.thesticks.tv

I highly recommend attending the sticks gathering if you are a pastor in smaller town and cities. Let me know, if you are going.

Grace and Peace!

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Kevin Rush

the sticks

http://church20.blogspot.com/2008/07/sticks.html

For those of you who are pastors in small towns and cities, I wanted to make you aware of a gathering that is designed just for you.

It's called 'the sticks' [www.thesticks.tv]

You won't want to miss it. There are only 400 seats available so register soon to get the discount pricing!

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Kevin Rush

What Makes A Healthy Church Member?

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/what-makes-healthy-church-membe

In Tim Challies Book Review of What Is A Healthy Church Member?, he highlights the 10 characteristics of a healthy church member.

A healthy church member is...an expositional listenera biblical theologiangospel saturatedgenuinely converteda biblical evangelista committed memberseeks disciplinea growing disciplea humble followera prayer warrior

What would you add to the list?

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Kevin Rush

Selah Swinging!

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/selah-swinging.html

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Kevin Rush

The Girl Effect

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/girl-effect.html

I'm a supporter of micro-financing sites and organizations, such as Kiva.

Recently I stumbled upon The Girl Effect.

What a creative and visually pleasing video, that calls you to action!

Grace and peace to you...
Grace and peace to humanity.

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Kevin Rush

FREE TICKETS AND GAS!

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/free-tickets-and-gas.html

Hop over to thesticks.tv and register to win a free ticket!

Also check out how you can win free gas!

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Kevin Rush

Battle in My Brain

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/battle-in-my-brain.html

Most people are primarily left brained (logical, structured, and ordered), or right brained (artists, expressive, and free thinking). I on the other hand have a battle in my brain everyday to see what side of me is going to win out.

The Engineer* in me says…
where is the system, the process, the check-list, the building blocks.

The Artist* in me says…
where is the spontaneity, the beauty, the response to reality that I so desire.

This blessing, which sometimes feels like a curse, often allows me to wrestle with and see things that others don’t.

[Continued tomorrow]

*Yes, I am literally an Engineer (B.S. in Electronics Engineering Technology) and a Artist (write, record and produce).

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Kevin Rush

FREE TICKET and GAS!

http://church20.blogspot.com/2008/07/free-ticket-and-gas.html

Hop over to thesticks.tv and register to win a free ticket!

Also check out how you can win free gas!

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Kevin Rush

Making the Band

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/making-band.html

One of my best friends and former band mate, Lee Klopfenstein, who is employed at the Richland Academy is making bands out of local talent. Check it out! Sign up now, auditions are just around the corner.

Guess who is on the auditioning panel? Yours truly!

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Cutie!

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/cutie.html

Selah swinging...

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Kevin Rush

Hmmmm

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/hmmmm.html

I am spending time at my parents since Sondra is at the Women of Faith. We always eat Fast Eddie's Pizza and Jones Chips and tonight was no different. Also Trev, my brother, and I watch episode after episode of Scrubs.

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Kevin Rush

Revolutionize I/O and Beauty

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/revolutionize-io-and-beauty.htm

Many people are either to logical and treat everything as a basic I/O device - input this, get that output. These people usually get a lot done, but they often fail to produce that beauty and quality.

Others are too artistic and try to see the potential beauty and creativity in everything. They are great at seeing what could be and provide the needed motivation to spur on greatness, but they often get lost in their own imagination and never get anything done.

The best is when these two parts of the brain or an organization refine and redefine each other. These people and organizations reach a greatness that could not be obtained on their own.

Example - Think of Apple and Steve Jobs. They continually pump out beautiful and elegant products that are simple to use.

Also check out 3M. They have all the kinds of post-its, tape, glues and other crazy office products. It’s all due to the fact that every Friday they let their employees play in the lab and come up with new products. It’s an incubator of creative and engineering.

Both of these companies are revolutionary in their industry.

Are you allowing your brain and your organization to fully embrace and revolutionize, both sides of their brain?

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Kevin Rush

Engineering Needed

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/engineering-needed.html

All things are engineered and designed at some level to fulfill a purpose. Let me give you three sure-fire things that all organizations, living or non-living, need to fulfill its purpose.

Structure
Expectation
Communication

Even the simplest of living organisms, a cell, has these. It has a different parts [structure] with different functions [expectations] that need to coordinate its function with the function of the whole [communication] otherwise the cell dies. Or even worse it could continue to multiply continually with out a purpose. You do know what we call cell reproduction with out a purpose? – CANCER.

Ask yourself…

What are you doing to keep your organization fulfilling its purpose?
And are there adequate structures, expectations, and communication in tack?

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Kevin Rush

Dreamers Wanted

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/dreamers-wanted.html

Having posted on Engineering Needed yesterday, I now turn to dreamers!

Having worked in the public school systems for over five years in Administration it is clear to me that we are in need of a major overhaul. To do this more dreamers are needed.

Dreamers are people who can envision more then there already is and looks only looks to the past to advance the future. They look with optimistic eyes and ambition and find ways where their appear to be none.

The people who came up with microfinance or the play pump. They are the dreamers we need.

No matter where you are at you can make a difference by dreaming, and doing. Dream up something and try to do it. If it fails, tweak it and tweak it again.

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Kevin Rush

3 is Enough

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/3-is-enough.html

I recently stumbled upon 3 is Enough.

It's a great resource for the church to be incarnational and missional followers of Christ. They have a simple premise. Make a TiE group of three or more people. Meet together to PRAY, GROW and SERVE.

Practial, organic, spirit led discipleship. Great stuff!

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Kevin Rush

Perspectives

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/perspectives.html

I recently watched Vantage Point, which I thought was good in concept, but inconsequently ruined the action sequences due to the fact they had to revisit it over and over and over.

Here’s the trailer..

It got me thinking though. About perspective and I have learned, that a change of place can really allow me to see more.

[I will unpack this thought more tomorrow]

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Kevin Rush

Google Adds 300 Templates to Docs

http://church20.blogspot.com/2008/07/google-adds-300-templates-to-do

Google just added 300 templates to their Google Docs last week. Just another step that Google is taking to make it harder and harder for people to pay for Microsoft office.

They have templates for Buisness cards, Resume, Invoices, pretty much anything you could think of.

If you haven't taken a look at Google Doc's yet, now might be the time.

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Kevin Rush

Step-back Perspective

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/step-back-perspective.html

Have you ever been so close, so involved, and invested in solving something that it becomes a nuisance, even an obsession. In my life I can remember many times where I was so invested, okay obsessed, with a problem I was dealing with that I couldn’t actually fix it.

Just about the time I am ready to throw my hands-up and disgust someone will come by and say, ‘What you doing?’ I’ll explain it, and they will say something like ‘Maybe you just need to step away from it, or look at the bigger picture. You’ll find the answer.’

It’s weird that I need someone to tell me that every once and a while, but it works. As soon I a walk away and focus my attention all the sudden a possible solution to the problem presents it self. Then I'm back at it again usually with greater success then when I was obsessing about it.

When I receive permission to step back or even walk away from it is amazing what I can accomplish.

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Kevin Rush

Wedding Weekend!

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/wedding-weekend.html

We had two weddings we attended this weekend.

ONE INSIDE

ONE OUTSIDE

I love weddings of people I know and care about. Always a beautiful time to express love thru celebration and covenant.

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Kevin Rush

The Artist’s Perspective

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/artists-perspective.html

I really enjoy going to Art Gallery’s and Museums, especially with someone who is an artist. They see things in the painting, the photo, the exhibit that I don’t. They have an innate ability to discover nuances and tones that the normal eye cannot.

This got me thinking about life…
Do I see the subtle, the tones, and the nuances that I should?
Do I hear, not only what people say, but how they say it?
Do I feel the pain that is behind the beautiful exterior that people put on?
Do I find God in the unexpected?

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Kevin Rush

Parent's New Car

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/parents-new-car.html

My dad bought a new Chevy Malibu. It's a nice ride.

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Kevin Rush

Eye of the Artist

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/eye-of-artist.html

A few months ago a good friend of mine called me and began to tell me about his dating relationship. He told me that they have been dating for a while. They first met at a summer mission project where they worked together. After the summer each went their separate ways; one to Michigan, the other to Pennsylvania. Soon after they started dating. Yes a long, long, long distance relationship. They would occasionally make the long trip to see each other. For the next year they so desired to be with one another. Eventually it worked out where my friend could move to MI, so he did. They were so happy to be together, but over the next year their relationship slowly moved from vibrant to boring. He asked me what I do to keep my marriage vibrant?

I told him to look at her with the Eye of the Artist. I dig deep and realize that she is beautifully and wonderfully made. She is the most wonderful gift that God has ever given me. She is complex, yet simple. After all she decided to let me into her heart, and that means I have the privilege and pleasure to look, gaze, grasp and hold it ever so carefully. I get to find the nuances, the beauty, and the tones of her whole being; heart, body, soul and mind.

I told him if she’s the one for you, you will happily do the same.

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Kevin Rush

My New Drum Set

http://www.kezrush.com/2008/07/my-new-drum-set.html

Last Sunday I led worship at New Life in Bellville. During the worship set I even played and sang from the piano, which was my first time in public. Since I got my piano less then a year ago I was nervous.

However, playing the piano has come pretty easy for me. I just play it as if it was 88 drums and I have 10 sticks to play it with. After all it is a percussion instrument.

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