Merry Christmas! It’s Christmas letter time! Here’s a little glimpse into my world (outside of ministry) this year. Cat In On The Hat Pot! I visited my friend, Rusty, for a couple days this past summer. He was training his cat to go to the bathroom on the toilet! It was weird going to the bathroom knowing the cat had been in there before me! Or walking in on the cat and waiting for him to finish! omg! Note: Eventually the training … [Read more...]
Frequently Asked Questions
Randy's December 2010 Update: Frequently Asked Questions Edition How many people do you meet with/shepherd/mentor? I regularly meet one-on-one with between 20-30 next-generation leaders. What do you do with people when you meet with them? I attempt to build an intentional, loving, safe relationship with them. I listen to their life and their story. I ask questions and seek to understand their inner world, the truth and the lies … [Read more...]
Nuree’s Legacy
Who's In Church These Days? What percentage of people in the Y- generation would you guess currently attend church on a weekly basis in the U.S.? Per “The Bridger Generation”, by Thomas Rainer: 65% of the Builder Generation attend church weekly Only 35% of the Baby Boomer Generation attend church weekly Only 15% of Generation X (roughly ages 34-49) attend church weekly Only 4% of Generation Y (roughly ages 16-33) attend church … [Read more...]
Charity in Africa
Randy's October Update Imagine: Imagine sixty orphan children sleeping in a 20 x 20 ft. room, living on rice and bread, rarely being held, and never getting outside the walls of their compound. Imagine what would happen in our world if no one did anything about these things, if no one led the way to awareness, compassion and life-giving change. Y- Generation Leaders Making A Loving Difference Around The World: Charity is one of the … [Read more...]
My Gratitude Journal
Randy's August, 2010 Update Something a little different this month - a spiritual practice I’ve found helpful… with photos I recently took at the Morton Arboretum (something I’m grateful for). My Gratitude Journal: About a month ago, I resurrected my Gratitude (Thankfulness) Journal. I resurrected it because I could sense a nagging feeling of discontent in my spirit, with more scarcity thinking than abundance mentality. For … [Read more...]
Randi – Out of Africa
July, 2010 Update Follow-Up on Randi: Here is a follow-up on Randi Bahnick’s month-long serving trip to Africa. Just a reminder: Randi is a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The country in which she served has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. She wrote the following while she was serving at a hospital in Africa: Randi’s African Adventure: “Salaam ah lay … [Read more...]
Randi & Charity Go To Africa
Randy’s June, 2010 Update "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Proverbs 22:9 Would You?: Would you consider going to one of the poorest, most dangerous countries in the world to serve people you don’t know? They Would!: Two of the women I spiritually mentor are doing just that. They recently embarked on a one-month and a two-month humanitarian trip to one of the poorest and most … [Read more...]
Cleaning the Lust on the Inside
Randy’s May, 2010 Update “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” (Matt 23:26b) “We become like the God we adore.” - Unknown The photos in this month's update are from this Spring, in my yard. I think they are appropriate, because this is a story of renewal, of Spring. Cleaning the Lust on the Inside: “I used to shame myself a lot. I thought I needed to be hard on myself in order to change … [Read more...]
Finish Well
Randy’s April, 2010 Update TED Conferences: Have you checked out the TED conferences at ted.com? It’s an annual conference that brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers from the areas of Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) and more. These speakers are challenged to give “the talk of their lives” in 18 minutes or less. A Colonoscopy Study - Learning From Our ENDS: I was watching one talk from this … [Read more...]
Todd Summits Mountains!
Randy’s March 2010 Update Todd Katter plans to summit the tallest peak on each continent. So far he has made it to the top of two. The way things are going, I think he’ll summit more than just mountains. Spring, 2006: When I first met Todd Katter, he was 27 years old and working as a manager at Deloitte Touche, a public accounting firm. Outside of work, as a volunteer, he was leading a medium sized group of 20somethings in the … [Read more...]
Leader’s Retreat
Randy’s February 2010 Update Transparency: Recently, around sixty 20something Missional Community Hub leaders and their team members went on an overnight retreat at an amazing log house in Wisconsin. The topic for the weekend was Transparency (Transparency with God, self, and others). I was invited along to listen and pray with anyone desiring an older person’s presence, especially if the talks and exercises stirred up difficult … [Read more...]
Something to Celebrate?
Randy’s January 2010 Update Support Raising? Yuck! No Thanks!: There are times when I think, that at some point in life, everyone should have the experience of raising support to meet their daily needs and to do whatever redemptive thing they feel led to do with their life. It truly is an amazing journey – filled with humble surrender, redemptive trust building, hurtful discouragement, life-giving excitement, courageous fear … [Read more...]