What more needs said? Jack Fox, Associate Pastor of eXchange from Maryland Community Church will be teaching a session at re:Creation whose tagline is “discussions on art, faith and response.”

If you’re interested in more information head over to Jack’s contact page and let him know.

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That’s right, my pal Scot’s follow up album to Simple Worship has finally arrived. Click here to buy Simple Worship 2 (or here to get 1 + 2 as a bundle!). We’ll be having a CD release party tonight at Coffee Grounds from 7-8:30pm. There’ll be live music, conversation and, of course, awesome coffee.

If you’re in the Terre Haute area be sure to stop by!

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This post by Marvin Williams made me sit back and take stock in my friends. Marvin talks about having a Ride or Die. What’s a Ride or Die?

A “ride or die” is someone in your life who will be there with you through thick and thin. They will do what they need to do to help you make it through difficult times.

Marvin then lists out the traits of a Ride or Die:

1. Pledge absolute allegiance to you, even if it means death
2. Tell you the truth about your life and decisions 
3. Love you when you have nothing else to give

You’ll have to check out the rest of Marvin’s post for the full list.

I’m so lucky to say that my Ride or Die list is probably 10 or so deep. I hope those 10 or so know that they can count me as a Ride or Die, too. In eXchange we call them our 3 a.m. friends. They’re those friends that, if a tragedy happened to you at 3 a.m., they’d be on your doorstep in 30 minutes.

So, here’s the exercise.

Stop what you’re doing. In 30 seconds, take stock of your Ride or Die’s.

Now, call them, email them, or go see them, and tell them thanks for being your Ride or Die. And tell then you’re there for them, too.

Fess up… how many Ride or Die’s you got? And what traits might you add to the list?

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Justin Hoeppner.

Justin, Summer, Clayton and Mattix. Welcome to the crazy that is Maryland Community Church.

Let’s light this candle.

Related posts:

1. Worship confessional 03

It’s about time I update my blogroll, so consider this an open call for a link to your blog.

If you link to me, post a comment with a link to your blog. I’ve got a rotating thing going on right now but, depending on how many links I have to update, I’ll probably expand that.

Either way, post a link to your blog so I can update my blogroll. Let’s go!

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1. My blog is three!

You’ll notice we’ve got a new design here at shawnw.org and, to celebrate, I want to run an ad for your blog. For free.

Constraints? The ad banner must be 125×125 pixels and no more than 15K in size.

Once you’ve designed your ad, post it in some webspace (use something like tinypic.com if you must), then send me an email using this link with a link to your ad image and where you’d like the ad to link to (probably just your blog address).

I have no intention of making any money from these ads (obviously, since I’m doing this for free) but, what’s more, I never intend on showing paid ads.

I’ll run the first batch of ads for awhile and will rotate them out in the near future, depending on how many submissions I get.

If anything, I want my ad space to help promote the blog community that I’m a part of. If you’re just some random visitor looking for a freebie, look elsewhere. Obviously, I reserve the right to deny ads that don’t quite fit in here.

I think that’s it.

What are you waiting for? Let’s do this!

Related posts:

1. My blog is three!

He’s the Sr. Associate Pastor at Maryland Community Church and lead pastor of eXchange. He also blogs over at resonate.

Ladies and gentlemen. The man. The myth.

Scot Longyear.

Scot’s taking a trip this summer to Guatemala. What’s more, you’re going to have the opportunity for Scot to be YOUR waiter. Let’s see what he has to say about it:

Shawn:  So, what’s the deal?

Scot: Come by Beef O Brady’s on Monday, June 2 and I will serve you dinner.  You still have to pay for it, but I will help serve (and bus your table).  I guarantee a quality experience. 

Shawn:  And you’re doing this to raise money, right?

Scot:  Right.  A portion of your bill goes toward a trip that we are taking to Guatemala.  The trip has 2 purposes:  1. We are attending a dedication of a New Testament which was just translated into a previously unwritten language in a village in Guatemala.  This has been a 25 year process.  It is huge and exciting.  Just think, people who have had no ability to read scripture will now be able to do that.  20 years ago I met the missionary couple (now retired) who started the work.  They were the first missionaries to move in and live among these people.

Shawn:  And the 2^nd reason?

Scot:  With my team, I will be exploring some more options for exchange to be involved in Guatemala.  For several years I have been praying that God would give us a part of the world to focus on.  The world is huge and the needs are great, so choosing is a daunting task.  Long story short, we feel God leading exchange to make a bigger investment of time, people, and money in Guatemala.  While we are on this trip we are meeting with leaders from Buckner Ministries.  We have partnered with Buckner for 3 trips so far and are excited about exploring new ways to make the name of Christ famous in Guatemala.

Shawn:  How did you come to choose Guatemala?

Scot:  Some people from eXchange got connected to Buckner and made a trip to work with their orphanages there.  The next year they took a few more people, and it grew each year.  I tool my 1^st trip in March of ’07 and I was hooked.  Once you go and hang with orphans and those who are overlooked and ignored, you fall in love.  We could go anywhere and make a difference in the world, but God has led multiple teams down there and they are in love with the people of Guatemala. I know we can make a difference in Guatemala.  There will be orphan kids who will come to know Christ and have their life changed because of exchange.  God tells us to give a cup of cold water in his name. That is what we are doing.

Shawn:  Awesome.  So who is on your exploration team for this next trip?

Scot:  It will be me, my wife Stephanie, Jody Elslager, Nate and Rachael Brown, and my daughter, Mariah.  I am the excited about taking Mariah.  She will start High School in the fall and will do so with a world view that is rocked.  Can you imagine experiencing a 3^rd world country when you were 14?  I am sure it will frame her well in her Christian worldview.

Shawn:  OK, so what can we do to help?

Scot:  Great question.  For starters, come and have dinner with us on Monday.  A percentage of the sales are donated to the trip.  As an aside, it is also great to Support Beef O Brady’s.  This restaurant is owned by folks who attend and support exchange.  They are generous and are using their business to fame Christ in small and big ways.

Shawn:  Great.  Any other ways we can support you?

Scot:  Of course, we need you to pray for the trip – that we would be safe, dangerous, and clear on our future investment.  Also, if you would like to donate money toward the trip, you can do so by making a check out to MCC and sending it to me at:

Maryland Community Church
c/o Scot Longyear
4700 S SR 46
Terre Haute, IN 47802.

All contributions are tax deductible.

Shawn:  Thanks for your time.  Anything else you want to say?

Scot:  Just that I think you are one of the greatest bloggers in the whole wide world.

Shawn: Oh stop… ok, you’re right.

Related posts:

1. I’m going to Guatemala
2. My blog is three!
3. Compassion in Guatemala

Los was a worship leader at Sandals Church in California when the episode was filmed but now works at Buckhead Church in the ATL as Service Programming Director.

Check out his “oh yeah!” video here.

ragamuffin soul, buckhead church, carlos whittaker, la ink, discovery, shawnw

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