20 Oct 2009

Sending Mitch to Cutlivate09 and StoryChicago

Next week the Cultivate Conference will be taking place October 27th in Chicago at Park Community Church.  I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn from some of the most talented and influential leaders in ministry communication. Cultivate is designed for those that are responsible for influencing how churches communicate. This conference will focus on collaborative development of content and new delivery ideas.  It will be made up interactive work sessions that allow you to work through ideas and challenge your way of thinking with others.

On the following day, October 28th in Aurora at the Paramount Theater there will be Story. Story is a first-of0its-kind experience for communicators.  This event will allow those in attendance to have the opportunity to experience and learn from some of the most effective communicators of the Gospel.  Story is sure to change the way we communicate in ministry. This is another great opportunity that I am being blessed with the opportunity to experience and learn from.

All that being said I am looking to assist a brother to make his way to Cultivate and to Story.  Mitch Bolton had planned to make the trip from Colorado to the Windy City, but funds fell short. Many of you will know him as @muntz on Twitter and his #iphonepicoftheday.  What I would like to do is see if we can assist him in raising the money necessary to purchase him a flight from Denver to Chicago.  Mitch is in a communications role at his church and this would be a valuable opportunity.

I am looking for assistance in raising the necessary $250 to $300 to get him a round trip airline ticket.  I will ensure that he is picked up at the airport and has a place to stay when in town, as well as pitch in the first $50. We need to make every effort to have raised the money no later than Friday, October 23rd at 5pm.  This will give me enough time to coordinate with Mitch on the available flights and pray that tickets do not clime to high.  Please help get Mitch to Cultivate and Story.

I am currently working on a method to take donations online, but do not want this to hold us up.  Here are few current options:

  1. Send me an email to gospelpimp@gmail.com and I will utilize PayPal’s Request Money
  2. Send money by Texting with PayPal (send me an email for instructions and #)
  3. You can also reimburse me at Cultivate or Story, just let me know.
  4. I am trying to get an online Donation feature up and working.

If in the event that the funds are not raised in time or airline tickets get too high I will refund every dollar received.

13 Jul 2008

L.A.T.E. Ride

Last night I did the Chicago L.A.T.E. Ride with a friend, John. The ride is 10,000 cyclists riding through Chicago’s neighborhoods on a 25-mile to benefit Friends of the Parks. The ride began at 1:38am at Buckingham Fountain. From the fountain the course went to Greek Town then Andersonville and west on Foster Avenue back to the lakefront path on Lake Michigan.

This was my first major physical exertion since having my surgery back in March and I was not sure what to expect. I actually felt great and really didn’t have a single issue, in fact the longer I rode the better I felt. The worse part of the ride was the numerous people that did not know or use riding etiquette, especially when passing in the crowd or coming to a quick stop. This ride actually served to inspire me to get back on my bike once again and more often.
Thanks John for inviting me.

13 Nov 2007

Your sister is a bum…

Last Friday, I was walking to the train with a couple of guys from my team and witnessed something that bothered me, but my reaction has caused me greater concern. A homeless man was attempting to sell ‘Streetwise’ to a crowd waiting for a bus, but not having much luck. A tall man standing along the wall told him to get out of his face and called him a bum. In reaction the homeless guy spouted off as he walked away about the guy’s sister being a bum. The guy along the wall, which had to be 6 inches taller and 15 to 20 years younger than the homeless man, decided to defend his sister’s honor. He yelled after the homeless man and proceeded to threaten the guy. When the homeless guy turn around he was grabbed him by his head and neck and pulled to the ground. This all happened as I walked on past the scene into Union Station, concerned I would miss my train. Once I stepped in guilt and anger overwhelmed me.

union station
I was not any better than the twenty to thirty people standing on the sidewalk not doing anything to assist or defend a man in need. I should of… I could have… I started to think about the situation I just walked from and why it was imperative that I step in. This man will not be able to easily walk into a hospital and receive services for his injuries or even a sanitary place to clean his wounds. The wounds he may have received may have caused even greater hardship than he was already experiencing. We all just watched this man be treated as less than a man that was just attempting to sell a dollar paper that supports the homeless of Chicago. I felt guilt that I hadn’t prevent the act from going any further and show the homeless man that he was valued and not going to be ignored, which in turn angered me. I couldn’t get the scene and my actions out of head for a couple of days it sat there tormenting me for my inaction. The hope I have from this event is just that, the uneasiness of my non-action and the burden I carried for that man after the fact.

Has man become so numb to those around us or is it just those that we do not see a use or value? Do you think the scene would have been repeated if the homeless man had been a homecoming queen?

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