My Big News!

On Sunday, we announced that at the end of January, my time at Journey Fellowship will be ending. Over the last two years, I have been incredibly blessed to serve with an incredible team, and watch God grow a church.

I could go on and on about the huge things that have gone on in my time at JF. Good times with the high schoolers, two Church Has Left the Building events and the Sunday Night gathering, just to name a few. We tried a lot of new things. Some worked better than others. But I truly believe, that in it all, God was glorified.

Of all the big things over the last two year, the most important is what God has done in me. When I came to Journey, I was broken down and depressed. I was surrounded by people who believed in me, supported me, and comforted me. At the same time, I was humbled by successes that were beyond my power, and failures that resulted from my pride. My time at Journey has rebuilt me, shown me what I'm good at, and prepared me for what God has next.

Many of you are probably wondering what's next. Well, so am I. Stay tuned.

Learning to lean

Right now I'm learning to not just lean on, and lean into God. Leaning on God is like using him as a proof that you are right. Leaning into is much scarier.

I'm not exactly sure where God is taking me, but, what's becoming abundantly clear is my need to fully rely on him. I heard Dallas Willard say that the problem with our theology is that we trust God for our salvation but not for our next sandwich.

Leaning into God is like standing on a cliff during a windstorm, and leaning forward, trusting that you won't fall. What I'm learning is that if we believe God is God, we must expect and rely on him for everything. We must lean off the cliff, and trust that he loves us too much to let us fall.

What does your church do well?

In my current church, we've got some limitations based on our organizational structure. One area we are not limited in is creating a setting. The first time I walked in as a visitor, I said to myself "this is a place of peace." The room is dark and candle lit. While we have chairs, we also have round tables and couches. When you walk in, you go through our coffee car, and then into the worship center. The purpose of all of this is to make someone, especially those with little, or bad church experience, feel at home.

Good to Great taught us the importance of determining what it is that you can be best in the world at. Do you have great worship leaders? Great small groups? The best Sunday school teacher in the world? A passion for the at-risk students in your neighborhood? A unique demographic?

For us, we are the best in the world at creating a setting. What is it for you?

Why I Love "Your Mother"

I recently caught up on season 4 of How I Met Your Mother. I love this sitcom in a way that I have loved no other sitcom before. And I think there are a few things we can learn from it.

1. Have an overarching narrative. What keeps HIMYM from being a rehash of Cheers, Friends and Scrubs, is how the entire show is framed in an overarching narrative. The story is building and the characters are changing. In Churches, it's easy to get lost in teaching "biblical principles," and forget that we are part of the great drama of all time. In our own lives, it's easy to get caught in the day to day hassles, and forget where we're headed.
2. Culture views sex as a commodity. The two most common commodities in HIMYM are sex and alcohol. Episodes revolve around one character sleeping with the other. Sex is something that is bartered, that has little value. An entire episode is built around insulting Marshall for believing that sex should be tied into love. Sex's utter lack of sanctity and value is ironic, since the show is based on Ted's search for true love.
3. Flaws increase authenticity. The characters are very flawed. Lilly is a compulsive spender and Barney is arrogant. But it's their flaws that make them seem more like people I know than characters on TV.
   
4. Friends are the new family. The five friends are so close that they refer to each other as brother and sister. The American family has changed, and how we reach that family, and surround them in Christian community must change as well.
   

What Are You Good At?

It's a question I've been getting a lot lately, and I've been surprised that it's often hard to come up with an answer. Knowing the answer is an essential step to knowing who you are, and who you are not. Which is a key toward pretty much everything else, such as finding the right job, right spouse, growing as an individual. Not to mention, it just makes you feel good, when you know you do things well.


The things we are good at come so naturally that we don't think about them. Little do we know, others are watching over our shoulders, thinking "how does he do it?!" To be good at something means:

• You've done it a lot.
• You enjoy doing it so much, you are willing to work at it.
• Others recognize that you do it well.

The last part is the key. Something you like to do, but others do not recognize that you do it well, is more likely a hobby.

Here's some questions I've reflected on to figure out what I'm good at:

1. What did you naturally do when you were a kid?
2. When you have free time, what is it that you want to do?
3. What tasks at work or among your friends always get delegated to you?
4. What have been your biggest successes?
5. What do other people say you are good at?

My answers include: Writing, making new friends, teaching, singing, and various creative endeavors. What are you good at?

Hello Wordpress!

You can now find a new and improved version of my blog at chrismorton.info! The main change you will see is a new focus. Every week, you'll find posts on these four topics: God, Life, Church and Culture.

There are also new features:

• Fund layout powered by Wordpress.
• Twitter bar.
  
• More about me, including a bio and my resume.
• Examples of some work I've graphic and video work I've done.
• Booking and contact information.

Check it out at chrismorton.info!

Time + Talent = Treasure

If someone were to look at my life, here's what they'd see me spend my time on in the average week:

• 56 hours sleeping
• 30-35 hours a week in the office
• 10-15 hours listening to podcasts/audiobooks
• 7-10 hours surfing the internet/social networking sites
• 7-10 hours of prayer/bible
• 6-10 hours with friends.
• 5-10 hours non-office related work
• 5-8 hours watching TV/Movies
• 7-12 hours eating
  
• 4-8 hours exercizing
• 5 hours reading
• 3-5 hours networking relationships
  
• 3-5 hours with my small group
  
• 2-5 hours writing
  
• 2-4 hours reading blogs

I can't say I'm happy with the results of this little exercise. Where is your treasure?

What movies have you seen this holiday season?

This year I was pretty overwhelmed by the number of interesting looking movies. Limited budget led me to just pick one.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a beautiful movie. It was great to see CGI and incredible makeup used for drama and not just science fiction. Cate Blanchett (best acress of a generation?) is fantastic as always. I'm a huge Brad Pitt fan, but I felt a bit underwhelmed by his performance. It was a poignant reminder of the inevitability of old age and death. It captured the last American century in the way that Forrest Gump did, but without the charm.

Next on my list is Slumdog Millionaire. Then it's probably back to Blockbuster for awhile.

What holiday movies did you see?

Dr. Horrible's Got a Point

In Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog he explains his desire to rule the world. Penny, the girl of his dreams, approaches him about helping the homeless. He explains that helping homeless is great, but homelessness is only a symptom of the disease. He says the fish rots from the head, and humanity needs to be completely rearranged.

Now, while I don't have a deep yearning to takeover the world, I do understand the struggle between treating the symptom and treating the disease. Symptoms are easy to identify and complain about. Often, they are also easy to cover over and ignore. However, this only allows the disease to go unchecked. Symptoms must be addressed, but the disease has to be treated.

What are the diseases in your world? Some of mine are chronic disorganization and failed relationships. Now, in order to treat the symptom I need to buy a planner and sign up for some on-line dating service. Symptoms cause a lot of pain, so you shouldn't pretend to ignore them.

But the true problems- a life time of bad habits and procrastination, lack of teaching in basic organization, struggles to maintain basic friendships, ignorance on how to interact with the opposite sex, not really knowing one's self- those are the source of the disease. Overcoming deep personal problems takes a commitment to the slow, prodding process of change. It takes the humility to seek out help, and to submit to guidance. But in the end, you'll be free of the symptoms, and the disease behind them.

What Goals Have You Set?

It's that time of year. By the time this post comes out, you have probably already taken a stab at your New Years resolution. Hopefully you're succeeding at them.

What are your goals for 2009, and how do you plan to accomplish them? How did you arrive at your goals? For an example of some goals, check out my roommate Trevor's big ideas for 2009. I've been doing a lot of goal setting work recently. Personally, I use Dan Miller's breakdown of 7 areas of life:

1. Spiritual
2. Career
3. Financial
4. Social
5. Family
6. Physical
7. Personal Development

Using these seven areas, I set four benchmarks: immediately, three years, five years, and ten years. I like this because it allows me to think long term, dream big, but also think about immediate steps.

Dave Ferguson of Community Christian Church posted an interesting goal setting exercise here. Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week, doesn't think that setting goals is risky or concrete enough, and he recommends what he calls dreamlining.

What are some of your goals for 2009?

28 things that happened in 2008

1. Moved in with Trevor and William
2. Fell for a girl when she told me that God had given her a dream about us.
3. Did a lot of Swing Dancing.  
4. Wrote a script for a short film.
5. Was used by God to pull off two HUGE service projects with hundreds of people.
6. Hosted a few parties.
7. Grew really close with my small group.
8. Stayed in touch with people from college.
9. Reconnected with a friend from High School.
10. Voted in the Presidential election.
11. Started Twittering.
12. Said goodbye to William, one of my best roommates yet.
13. Learned to judge by fruit instead of potential.
14. Baptized a few people.
15. Started running.  
16. Gave up on gaining muscle with a high protein diet.
17. Watched Battlestar, How I Met Your Mother, Veronica Mars, Lost.
18. Had a party to celebrate BATMAN!
19. Read a few books.
20. Listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts.
21. Got my heart broken.
22. Learned that being right isn't all that great.
23. Saw how I hurt people.
24. Had a few sexy haircuts.
25. Ate a lot of Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wraps.
26. Went to a lot of counseling sessions
27. Made on-line contact with people who's work I respect.
28. Wrote in a journal everyday for four months straight.

So This Was Christmas.

Without much fanfare, Christmas 2008 has come and past.

This year I happily listened to Christmas Carols. Did not give or receive much in the way of materials. Read the first few chapters of Luke. Spent a lot of time alone. Did some reading. Did some writing. Was taken in by two families from Church. Watched a few movies. Feel rested and blessed.

The simplicity of this Christmas gives me hope for future Christmases. I have hope that Christmas can be simple. It can just be about food, family and friends. I have hope that movements like the Advent Conspiracy will help Churches focus on the needy during Christmas. I have hope that wherever I am, and whatever my circumstances, God will surround me with people that will help me get through. I have hope that someday, I will do the same for others.

50 Things I'm Thankful For

1. The new Malcolm Gladwell book. Listening to it on my Thanksgiving drive is possibly going to be the highlight of my day.
2. Running. I hate it. But it's good.
3. Journaling. It forces me to think.
4. Movies. I really like movies.
5. My friend Rachel. She let's me talk a lot, and acts interested.
6. My health. Don't you have to say that on a list like this?
7. The values I picked up from my family. Things like: Loving Jesus, the Church and books.
8. My boss Steve. He's really gone to bat for me.
9. My roommates.
10. The Elders at Journey. We eat together a lot.
11. Don McLaughlin. Amazing mentor back in Atlanta who poured a ton into me.
12. Other pre-San Antonio mentors, like Marvin Crowson, Gailyn Van Rheenan, Barry Alexander, Glenn Robb and Lee Cole.
13. This American Life. Ira Glass is a high point every week.
14. Podcasts. Seriously, I don't remember life before them.
15. Twitter. I like following you people!
16. Traditional and non-Traditional theories of Atonement. It's just great to think about everything God's done for us.
17. A new friend who's given me some much needed hope.
18. Counseling. I am a better person today because of it.
19. Journey Fellowship. It's more than a job or a church for me. It's a home.
20. The dozens of writers of the Bible. Their humanity makes it seem real.
21. The Democratic process.
22. Fall weather.
23. Electricity.
24. My friend Daniel. The guy can talk a lot, but he still knows how to listen.
25. James Holston. Better friend now than when we lived in the same city.
26. Comic Books. Mainly Batman.
27. The Dark Knight movie. Amazing.
28. The swing towards social justice in the church.
29. Bad things that have happened to me in the past. I'm better off now.
30. The growing nation-wide interest in church planting.
31. Refrigerators. I'd make a terrible hunter.
32. Indoor plumbing.
33. Cell phones. I plan to make good use of mine during my two 3 hour drives today.
34. Blogs. Though they are dying off, they made me take my writing public.
35. My Community Group. They have been the people I fall back on, every week.
36. Abraham Lincoln.
37. Our big L-shaped couch. It's what makes our living room.
38. Falling gas prices.
39. My Uncle's desire to have, and fund, a big family Thanksgiving.
40. Being born in America. It's makes me one of the richest people in the world.
41. My Church of Christ heritage. Yeah, there's baggage, but I can harmonize like nobody's business.
42. Scented candles. Because a house full of dudes can smell.
43. The deer that live all around our apartment. They make this place seem wild.
44. Jared Eckman. He fixed my car for free.
45. Kevin Nations. He makes cool movies, and will hopefully make more!
46. The guys in Witness and Castle Rock. They were the first real friends I ever had. Wish I was with you today!
47. Being single. Yeah, it sucks most the time. But can you imagine me dragging a wife through the crap I've gone through the last 5 years?
48. Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Arminius, Wesley, Campbell, John Paul, and the other great leaders that have paved the road for the church to be what it is today.
49. YOU!
50. Thanksgiving Day.

Trust gets easier

Recently, I have found the reality of trusting in God to be much more palpable. What's different:

• I've been here before. Difficulties, unanswered questions, etc. Somehow I'm still alive.
• I am asking for help. When you don't try to do it on your own, and you lean in to the church, let it do what it's supposed to do, God's body will take care of you.
• Today's difficulties are the answers to yesterday's questions. As hard as the moment may be, I'm ready for some answers.

It's a good feeling, trusting God.

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." Jeremiah 29:11

Haven't been here in awhile

There's a few reasons I haven't been blogging.

1) I have a ton of things going on, which I look forward to talking about in this forum in the future. But not now.
2) I've been distracted by Twitter. You can follow me at twitter.com/chrismorton82
3) I haven't devoted the time to thinking things out. This blog has served primarily as a venue for me to think about stuff. I have been doing too much going, and not enough thinking.

Some things worth writing about:

-Coffee House Night + Art Show, Friday at 7
-The second ever Church Has Left the Building, December 7
-Holidays
-This weekend's retreat
-The Washington bio I read
-The new Malcolm Gladwell book. It's should be a holiday.

CHLB is Back!

CHLB Week 1 from Chris Morton on Vimeo.

Let's be honest.

Let's be honest.

He's the second black President of the United States.

Could we have gotten here without President Palmer?

A Prayer for Election Day (and beyond)

God, make us a people of Grace. Remind us that all leaders are ultimately chosen by you, for grand purposes we are too small to understand. Help us to respect and pray for those to will be given offices. Keep fear and hatred at bay. Let your people be a shining example of the Kingdom of God, no matter who controls the government.

Making sense of the last ten days or so

I am determined to gather life and leadership lessons from the funk I'm stuck in:

I recently held an event meant to give people a place to bring their non-christian friends. It went off well, except that the 30 people I invited were nowhere to be found. Sharing my frustration, many people noted that they wanted to experience the event before inviting their friends. Lesson: Just making the environment is not enough, you must also help people trust and appreciate it.

I've heard ministers refer to people as "extra grace required." I've had to deal with a lot of that recently. My immediate desire is to box them in, so they can cause as little damage as possible. The problem with that strategy is that it leaves no room for grace.

Another event I was a part of did not go too well. Once I got over my initial anger, I went back and apologized to the organizer, a young leader whom I unfairly gave totally responsibility. I realize now that I threw this person out to drown. It reminds me of the first leadership axiom I was ever taught: Don't expect what you don't inspect.

Finally, I was reminded again of the importance of communication. Rather than talk about a problem, I often let it fester deep within me. This keeps me from having meaningful relationships, and turns me into a bitter person. Just talk about it.

What have you learned lately?

My Kingdom is Not of This World.

It's not a secret that I've never leaned right politically. My upbringing, my experiences working among the urban poor and my embarrassment at conservative Christians married to the right wing Republican agenda have driven me away from the teritory held sacred by so many American Christians.

When people bring up the election, my response is two-fold.

First, I am so excited to hear mainstream Christian voices encouraging us to vote our values, not our party. Greg Boyd has called in to question the role of Christians and the state. Jim Wallis and Shane Claibourne have encouraged us to be "political misfits." And Rick Warren's Saddleback Forum proved that Christians want to talk about the issues.

Christians are migrating to a new space, more defined by a broad, Bible inspired agenda, and not limited to one party. It's about time guys, I've been lonely.

Second, I'm afraid that a younger generation of Christians are selling out to Obama the way their parents did to Reagan. I was a little overwhelmed when I saw dozens of my friends change their Facebook name to include "Hussein." Brian McClaren, perhaps the most influential theologian around, blogs regularly about why you should vote for Obama. When Relevant Magazine editor Cameron Strang turned down the opportunity to pray at the DNC, it was picked up by, one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller of Blue Like Jazz. Now Miller is stumping for Obama.

This election fills me with hope for the Churches leaders, but fear for my generation. My prayer is that before you vote, you will consider long and hard the implications of Jesus' statement "My kingdom is not of this world."