Last Saturday was my brother-in-law/co-worker/running partner/friend’s birthday.

He’s just a little behind me by turning 31.

He’s a new father and he’s new to the blogosphere. So go over and check him out and give him some love. Tell him I sent you.

This shot was from Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh Scotland last September. It’s the highest point in the city. We thought it would make for a good early morning run.. it slowed us down to a walk within two minutes.

That was Seth’s first real trip out of the country (Mexico doesn’t count), and definitely one of the highlights of my year.

… this guy is going to blow up.

I got a chance to hang out with some of my good friends last night - some of them I haven’t seen in almost a year - at a cafe in German Village called Thurman’s. I had never heard of the place but supposedly they have the best burgers in Columbus.

I gotta tell you, I was impressed… 3/4 lb of meat and over 1/2 lb of ham and other stuff. Insane.

You can check out the pictures over at Neil’s site. And yes… that is a shot of my Thurman Burger.

This is my friend Neil. We used to work together. And this is Neil’s web site. You should read it.

Neil just moved to Arkansas. He’s like the Chief Creative Guy or something at a big church. Because he’s a genius like that.

This is a picture of us at The Polaris Mall from the last time our families got together before they moved. It was sad.

My parting words to Neil were, “You know… this whole thing sucks.”

Some of our really good friends, Larry and Jennifer are getting ready for the adventure of a life-time. They are moving their family to St. Petersburg, Russia this summer to assist Russian churches in setting up and implementing youth ministries.

They have a ton of preparation before the move and a ton of money that needs raised. You can check out their website here to learn more about their mission and move.

Oh yeah, you should also donate some money.

Seriously.

Just the fact that they are moving to Russia deserves the respect of some cash.

And… if you were moving your whole family to a former communist country… you would want people you don’t even know throwing cash at you.

I’m just saying… it’s a big deal.

I’ve had a chance to make some new friends lately. One of them is Jamal, who is a thirty-something, former pastor who is now running a non-profit called Illuminate.

We sat down for coffee a few weeks ago just to get to know each other a bit. He later emailed me a draft of a book he has written on the American church. I quickly read it and marked it up in red with all the great stuff that stood out to me. Here is a quote that made me put the manuscript down and think.

“Most leaders resist outside leadership. The reason they resist is because their identity is found in their leadership… and when they aren’t in control, they have no identity.”

Most leaders resist leadership. Why? They’re competitive.

Jo and I have a busy and fun weekend coming up.

First, dinner with this guy… at his house… he’s cooking…

Tomorrow morning I’m running the Starbuck’s Rerun 10K. Just doing my part for the environment. Trying to offset the use of driving my Expedition.

Then, this guy is getting married.

Then, dinner with this guy. I’m cooking. Maybe some chorizo and japeleno hamburgers. Maybe some fajitas with fresh salsa. Maybe some ribeye cheesesteaks on fresh sourdough. Maybe some italian sausage and sun-dried tomato penne pasta… hmmm…

Last time he was over, we both overslept and he almost missed his bus. I heard his church has grown a bunch in attendance since they moved into their new building.

Should be fun.

I had lunch with this guy a few days back and I have to tell you that I am really, really thankful for good friends. I have a few people in my life that regularly encourage me to dream. The cool thing (or not so cool thing depending on how you see it) is that I don’t ever think about what I am going to say with him. He usually gets me uncensored… which could be overwhelming… not sure.

Here’s another guy that does the same thing. I’m excited to see him in about a month and then trying to hook up with him in Scotland in September.

I don’t know why, but I’ve really been into Gavin DeGraw’s Stripped Down Version of Chariot. It was a good disc to begin with, but I think the Stripped version is even better.

My friend Rick gave me the heads up on this a little while ago. And by the way, he’s got a site up and running. Find him over at Chick On A Stick.

My brother Nic has had a site up and running for the past several months. I think he’s a great writer and he kind of has that “irritated-at-the-church” kind of approach about him. I think you’ll enjoy it. Stop by and show him some love.

My friend Shane who works for the Church of Ireland Youth Department recently put together a devotional called FUEL that takes a different approach to reading the Bible.

Instead of reading a passage of Scripture and then someone’s commentary on that passage, Shane has developed a list of questions to help you walk through that passage and discover your own personal insight.

Questions like, “What word or phrase or sentence stood out to me as I read?” and “What might God be trying to say to me through it?”

Fuel is based on a time-tested, Christian practice known as Lectio Divina that leads you to READ, THINK, PRAY and LIVE.

I picked up a copy for the young adult leaders we took to see Rob Bell last week. A lot of the guys are really enjoying it and gaining new perspective from the Scriptures.

Shane has some instructions on his web-site if you would like to pick up a copy. Or just email him. He would love to chat with you.

One of my great friends, Shane has a monthly feature on his blog called, “Hero of the Month.” As I was checking through my blogs yesterday I was slightly scared by the picture I saw….

Shane has been a great friend of mine since high school. He is actually the one that invited me to a Christian rap concert where I decided to follow Christ. He initiated the conversation and then kept pursuing me to attend youth group.

Shane is currently working with the youth department of the Church of Ireland and spends his spare time on an organization called, “Dreamers of the Day” - utilizing the arts and spiritual disciplines to engage people in their journey toward Christ. Shane has published some articles online here and here. His blog is also a worth while read.

Shane also said some really nice things about me in his feature… so listen up and take notes.

Josh Ratcliffe is a great friend of mine and one of the best designers I know. He is the Creative Director for Keypoint Church, a start up in Northwest Arkansas. He recently designed this piece and submitted it to Church Marketing Sucks for feedback. I think it’s a great piece. Probably one of the best mass-mail pieces for churches that I have ever seen.

Matt Santone is a friend of mine who is extremely talented.

Here is a post of his that I love.

Make sure you check out the follow up too.

Pops like popcorn. Gotta love it.

Eric and I were trying to find a grocery store and we stumbled upon the Super H Mart.

They should have called it the Super Korean Mart. There wasn’t a white person in the whole place.

Here’s Eric looking for Body For Life milkshakes. I don’t think Koreans need Body For Life because they aren’t fat.

Neil put together a message for his church last Sunday title “Brand You.” It was inspired by a post from Terry Storch and a series of posts by David V. Lorenzo. Terry Storch even commented on Neil’s message recently in his blog.

I sat down and watched it last Wednesday while I was doing some work. It is completely worth the time and inspiring. I was literally laughing out loud in my office. Some of our staff came in to see what was going on.

Neil is driving down to Columbus to catch the Coldplay concert tonight at Germain Amphitheater right down the street from my church. I’m going to try to get a few pictures and post them over the weekend.

Oh yeah… I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled at 8.45 am tomorrow. I obviously have Friday off, but being Labor Day weekend, I don’t have to work again until Tuesday. It’s a little crazy that I’m excited about getting them pulled because it gives me some time off. Psychoanalyze that one.

I had three guys really redefine friendship to me over the weekend.

I knew I had to go to my house in Springfield on Saturday and get some work done on it. We just had renters move out and the house needed a lot of work. We have it up for sell and are waiting to schedule open houses until the work gets done. Needlessly to say I wasn’t too excited about it.

But these guys wanted me to go play golf and they were really looking forward to all of us getting out for our first 18 of the season. Add to that the fact that it was an absolutely beautiful day. They were disappointed when I told them I had to bail.

What blew me away is that all three of them rearranged the day to drive to Springfield and work on the house with me. Then we played 18 at a course a few minutes away. We spent half the day working on the house and got way more done than I would have been able to on my own.

What I love about these guys is that it’s not just “my” house. They look at it like it’s “their” house. Whatever I’m going through, they’re going through. That really challenges me and redefines what friendship means.

Thanks Seth, Steve and Ben.