Mars Hill Church Qwest Field!!!

Sickness = Reading

Miles Run:122.9

Miles Biked:85.99
Total Miles:208.89
Stadium Stairs Run*:2244
Steep Steps Run*:1340
Days to Rainier:108
Summit Team:8
Aspirin Tablets:42

Woke feeling like crap today, called in sick to work. So I read all of Steinbeck's The Pearl and 1/3 of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America while trying not to think of throwing up. After recovering, I ran 7.07 miles.

Blog Outline:

I. Preparing to Build

II. Wedding

III. Night Hike

IV. Steven's Pass

V. The Pearl

VI. Democracy in America

VII. Super Awesome Good News

I. Week before last I was assigned the fun task of reading a book and summarizing it as part of my internship. The title was Preparing to Build. So I got to learn about how a church can first perform a successful feasibility study, set specific building goals, identify a specific vision, communicate this vision to the church body, raise funds, and then search for the land, designer, and builder for the new building. The non-disclosure forms I happily signed before beginning my internship deny me the pride-inducing revelation of why this book needed to be "cliff-noted" for the elders, but it's pretty sweet. I really appreciated learning and being honored to prepare this doc.

II. Two of my friends got married week before last, so I shaved off my beard and threw on my tux and shades. When I showed up to the wedding, only those who have spent a lot of time with me knew me (mainly just my community group). The rest who had just seen me around or briefly conversed with me didn't recognize me. I introduced myself to everyone as "Tony." I was amazed how many people bought the jesting false identity.

III. Two weeks ago I held my first group hike of 2011. I took 10 people up to the top of Tiger Mountain #2 and then on to #3. We gained and lost 2272 feet on our 4.56 mile round-trip. One of our hikers had some problems with her calf cramping up. But other than that we has great weather and even enjoyed 6 inches of wet snow on top of Tiger #2. The night started in dense fog, but we hiked above the clouds and saw out to a 25 mile horizon across the Kent valley to Federal Way from Tiger #2 and across Issaquah to Bellevue from Tiger #3. Check out the elevation profile:

(Kinda looks like a face...)

IV. Ronda in my community group invited the entire group up to her ex-husband's cabin in the mountains off highway 2. I got to meet him. You know how when you hear someone's story about how much a jerk someone else is, you think, "yeah, yeah everyone seems right until the other side is heard." We'll Ronda's side of the story was right. The cabin was amazing with a sweet pool table and being placed right on a river was blessed with a smooth continuous stream of conscious interrogatives from acqua pura punctuated rarely by the roar and whistle of a passing Northern Pacific train. I even got to ski! I really enjoy skiing; it is my favorite winter activity. The top of Steven's Pass Ski Resort is 5584ft. By weak-minded, stubborn, milquetoast blindness, I followed Lisa, Mackenzie, and David up to the peak which has only diamond and double diamond ski-runs to allow escape from such an alpine penitentiary. I crashed, slipped, and careened all morning until lunch with the CG, after which I gained more confidence and started cutting a decent rug on the snow-laced dance runs. A great weekend.

V. The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a masterpiece of a parable with apparent subtle hints of Marxian economics. However when you look deeper, Steinbeck's heart is dreadfully wounded by the plight of the poor in all times and in all places. He spent months in Baja California and made numerous friends with the poor locals of Mexico whose families had lived under subjugation for generations. For those who have read The Jungle, a fictional narrative starring Jurgis Rudkus, (blatantly false yet powerfully moving) written by Upton Sinclair, we all resonate with the passion to rise up and defend those who are taken advantage of and oppressed economically. I would argue that this sense of objective justice come from Jesus, God, who set THE knowledge of righteousness in every man's heart (though many intentionally pervert it). The Story of Kino, his wife Juana, and their infant Coyotito revolves around a poor family stricken by circumstance who are blessed with the gift of a singularly amazing pearl. They dream of all the innocent improvements that the money from the sale of the pearl will bring, little Coyotito can be the first one in the family to be educated; he can find out what is really in those books that the wealthy men speak of. They are plagued by thieves and cruel men intent on cheating them of this gift. Kino kills four men and looses his son all due to the greed the pearl inspires, the ending is very anti-climactic and left me facing my own greedy, wanton, fleshly desires to yearn for the precious. During the same time, J.R.R. Tolkien was writing his Lord of the Rings saga. These two stories show the all-too-twisted human nature that will go to any length to acquire the promise of a changed life...changed not on God's terms but rather on the self's terms. I guess I am confessing that I am a bit like the pearl dealers, Smeagol, and even Kino. Buy what is my great Pearl? Maybe it's my self-sufficiency or my desire for control over my life or my pursuit of comfort.

VI. I just brushed the surface of A. de Tocquville's political treatise on America in the 1830s, so I can't really comment on it, but I like his pursuit of objectivity in addressing the topic of what makes America tick.

VII. Oh what is the Great Super Awesome News? Well I am finally a master!!!!

No, I can't move objects using the mythical Force, shoot blue lightening from my fingertips, and fight impossible enemies with a light sabre, but I can crunch numbers faster than an African Swallow can carry a coconut to England so Monty Python can make weird little jokes about it.

In short I have just graduated from the University of Washington with a Master's Degree in Economics.

yeah!

Miles Run:111.29

Miles Biked:85.99
Total Miles:197.28
Stadium Stairs Run*:2244
Steep Steps Run*:1340
Days to Rainier:121
Summit Team:9
Aspirin Tablets:42

You know you have a problem when after a run you studiously enter all the way points into Google Earth and click "Show Elevation Profile" and get this:
And then your like, "I ran 12.1 miles in three hours?" But I still had energy at the end, I could have run farther.
When that happens, you have problems. Running is what you do in war, when bullets fly and your ears scream with the deafening roar of jet planes and the enemy's whizzing tracers cut laser-lines into your friends. Running is what you do when your son is in grave danger and you must snatch him out from the path of a barreling truck. Running is what you do when you see death coming for you and you thirst, you yearn, you passionately utterly maddeningly want to live.
Running is not a fun...thing...to...do.
So here I sit, body still high from the adrenaline kick, waiting for the heightened state to diminish, so I can sleep. As a side note, I decided to fill two of my hip flasks with water (my conventional water bottles just aren't comfortable to run with) and carry them with me. When taking hits (is it a hit, or is their another term for drinking from a flask?) from them down on Alki, no one seemed to care. But after running up near the Junction, I noticed a cop approaching just as I had paused for some water. I immediately tucked the flask into my elbow and did my best impression of a runner with a leg cramp until he drove past. I'd rather not have to explain, "No officer I am not consuming alcohol out of a hip flask in public, here smell, it's water....No, I'm not trying to get an officer of the law drunk while on duty...Do you really need to handcuff me before searching me?...!!!...Hi Bob...Yep it's my first time in lockup...Really you end up here every Wednesday night?..." The flasks may get me into trouble, but they are probably a better idea than my last run of 9+ miles where I hit cotton mouth at mile 6 and had to sneak water from someone's hose at 11pm just to make it home.

So I might as well tell you about what I did on Saturday night. I went to the ShowBox in SoDo to see a band oddly named the Dismemberment Plan. Now before you think, okay we all knew it would happen eventually, and finally Josh has snapped and is going off to some sick satanic band to quell the demons within. No, allow me to explain. This band saw the movie Ground Hog Day. Remember the insurance salesman Phil meets over and over? Well Ned Reirson is trying to sell insurance policies with optional death and dismemberment plan. So the band found a name.
Flash 18 years forward the whole band is in their late 30s and decided to come back together to re-release their album Emergency & I purportedly one of the most influential albums in the late 90s early 2000s in the indie rock genre. To promote their release, they made one quick tour. Some shows in Japan, some shows in D.C. their home town, and ONE show on the west coast---Seattle. So I went. My buddy Joe introduced me to them back in college, and they have been with me ever since, rattling around my brain and popping out of my atonal mouth when I think no one is listening. TO YOU bearded muses! May you reign as indie rockers of indie rockers forever!

Travis Morrison D Plan's Frontman @ ShowBox SoDo:

Me on stage with 80 others and Travis Morrison:

First Hike of 2011

Yeah, it's hiking season once again in the Pacific Northwest; time for my first group hike of 2011!!

Google Earth

Google Maps

We will go to Tiger Mountain 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Seattle on March 18th to do a small hike up to the radio towers.

We will be one day from the full moon, so if the clouds cooperate, we might not even need flashlights!

So far, I have eight people signed up. It will likely be muddy, so consider bringing an extra pair of shoes for the ride home.

Come join me, and we can enjoy the beautiful, lush Cascade foot hills under the constellations, while looking out toward the sodium-lit Puget Sound.

Thanks all!!

Josh

Details:

• 5 miles round trip
• 2,200ft vertical gain
• on a marked trail
• under a dense canopy of trees
• starting 9:15pm
• ending 1:30am
• carpools available

Gear:

• light pack
• sturdy boot or hiking shoe
• extra pair of shoes for the ride home
• trail mix / other snacks
• 32oz of water
• rain shell
• flash light / headlamp

** I will provide optional bricks to carry to the top. I am creating a ruin, and I would appreciate any help toward this end.

Whistling, Running, and Dune

Miles Run:99.19

Miles Biked:85.99
Total Miles:185.18
Stadium Stairs Run*:2244
Steep Steps Run*:1340
Days to Rainier:126
Summit Team:9.55
Aspirin Tablets:42

8.65 mile run on Monday. Strained my lateral colateral ligament on my right knee. Running sux, yadda, yadda yadda.

Ok the running stuff is out of the way, cool.

So I am here at the Ballard Campus of Mars Hill Church listening to the eloquence of the systems-minded master Tim Beltz. Very cool guy. He is a salty retired Coast Guard Officer who knows a lot about how to build a church's administrative capabilities to allow a church to love people and steward resources well. I need to learn these aspects to reach my long-term goals.

I had the chance to attend the church's staff training on Tuesday and was greatly encouraged by seeing the passion and steadfastness of my leaders. Pastor Mark Driscoll spoke from his gut and gave all the staff a widened vision of what we all are doing. He even gave health recommendations geared to help avoid burn out in this busy season of Easter prep, and assist all to steward their time well.

Yesterday, I got to enjoy some time with my amazing friend Pavel. He is an awesome leader at the University of Washington Campus of Mars. I had the chance to see how his Campus Cleanup team works. As the leader of the Ballard Campus Cleanup, I have made plenty of mistakes and learned a thing or two about how to lead people to worship in a way that serves people instead of using them and focuses on worship. Also as a systems minded guy, I enjoy looking at organizational structures. For some bizzare reason, I see into them, can see how they can be improved, and the simplest way to execute the necessary changes.

....................

Dangit!

I guess the running stuff is not completely done for this post. It's just after midnight and I wanted to finish this confession before sleep carries my mind away.

I just ran 9.72 miles...my God. It has been about 65 days since I started any exercise geared toward my eventual semi-random grid search for the local maxima of Washington State. Prior to January 7th 2011, I had run the mandatory mile run in 6th grade in under 8 minutes (I believe my exact time according to my mustached gym teacher was 7:12 but that seems fast considering I was the shortest child in my 1,100 student middle school). In fact, an embarrassing set of stories revolves around my height, next time you see me ask about it.

Aside from that one run, I had never run any distance for any reason before the age of 24 years, 6 months. I am now 24 years and 8 months old. What a difference 2 months makes. Shoot, if I found some caffeine pills, chugged 4 full-sized energy drinks, ate a bag of French Truffles, and was being chased by half zombie invading Fremen from planet Arrakis, I might be able to run a half marathon tomorrow. Holy cow. I mean I still hate running, but I'm kinda sorta making progress. It's like that time when I was a little over 3-and-a-half years old, and I saw a man walking down the side walk whistling. I was blown away. You can make music without an instrument?! I asked my godmother Bernadyne, and she whistled too! I single-mindedly dedicated myself to the task of learning how to whistle. For the next week I experimented, revised, and finally achieved unaided noise from which my godmother had no escape. By the end of the month, I could whistle any tune I heard and did so often. I just collected information, synthesized it, executed as best I could, and achieved the desired outcome. I suppose this running thing is no different.

..............

Submitted an application today. Can an introvert like me get a job with the Development Group of a megachurch? IDK.

Ever been so tired you ask yourself, "Hey Josh, what are you feeling?" and you say, "Meh." back? Sleep. 8 hours. ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

Neurons and Necrobiosis

Miles Run:80.82

Miles Biked:85.99
Total Miles:166.81
Stadium Stairs Run*:2244
Steep Steps Run*:1340
Days to Rainier:131
Summit Team:9.55
Aspirin Tablets:42

Some philosophers have speculated that heaven is only the brains oxygen-deprived neurons firing and the mass release of serotonin resulting in euphoria and random visual free-associations allowing the soon-to-be deceased to accept the end of days. That's of course retarded[1]. But perhaps these scholars are partially right. Perhaps when the brain is dying it fires everything it's got, throws the rum and gunpowder and cannons and the livestock and the 2nd lieutenant[2] all overboard and runs the sails to the braces.

To me running is dying, at least it feels like that. Could be why I hate running... I have had an occasion or two in my life where death was certain yet failed to materialize and running brings those to mind.

So I just got back from my longest run yet (8.77 miles) and it came 40 hours after my previous longest run ever (8.61 miles). By sheer force of God, I managed one leg of continuous running that spanned 4.71 miles.

So in light of nearly two hours of an oh-so-lovely semi-hypoxic brain (where philosophers speculate our heaven-halucinations are manufactured), what did my 2.9 pound lump of spongy mush spit out?

• "The enemy's gate is down"
• "Will the real John Galt please stand up, please stand up, please stand up..."
• "Bonfire...with friends...that dude rocks...cheers mate, enjoy your beer"
• "I wonder if I could kick Benjamin Franklin's butt in a chess match?"
• "I always voted at my party's call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all, I thought so little they rewarded me, by making me the ruler of the Queen's Navy!"
• "Where did Fermat's logic break down in his correct yet blind assertion that (a^n)+(b^n)=c^n for all integers greater than 2?"
• "If an arrogant man is humiliated in the forest, does someone somewhere laugh at him?"
• "Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you weaker, so the next thing can"
• "Is there a file on me with the USSS over that little Romney 22lr incident?"

Ain't neuron necrobiosis grand?

________

1 - Please forgive my crude insult to men educated beyond their own intelligence. They are making a blatant mistake by relying on blind faith that they own collection of neurons is a trustworthy tool for proper perception and analysis. It ain't.

2 - Often seen as the least desirable military officer by the enlisted, the 2nd Lieutenants know enough tactics to get their men into trouble, but haven't had the same level of field training as the average grunt. As such, they tend to be outcasts from both the enlisted and higher ranked officers.

Progress or Death

Miles Run:72.05

Miles Biked:85.99
Total Miles:158.04
Stadium Stairs Run*:2244
Steep Steps Run*:1340
Days to Rainier:132
Summit Team:9.55
Aspirin Tablets:42

This week I had a conversation on the topic of organizational effectiveness, missional relevance, and what death looks like in an human institution. David provided some great insight and helped me to flesh out my own version of the Theory of the Firm.
During my time at Hillsdale College, I explored the strict Austrian view of Industrial Organization. They relied on the assumptions of human self-interest and the predictability of the natural desires for personal advancement. These desires in a properly architected organization can theoretically lead to the organization's benefit, the individual's benefit, and an expansion in overall production in the broader economy. Now how does this apply to the Security Team at the West Seattle Campus of Mars Hill Church?
I am blessed with the chance to serve with amazing folks in West Seattle who sacrifice their time to serve coffee, assist people's parking, and image Jesus.
So in an organization like Mars, what does a well-crafted system look like?
My conclusions, which have been heavily influenced by a bit of reading in this field, is that there are three phases in any organization: innovation, management, and death. In the innovation stage, the organization is infused with a vision of what can be done and pursues it. In the management phase the mission is accomplished, the passion is depleted, and the third phase is irrevocably imminent. When I say death, I mean that the organization still exists, but no progress is possible with current systems, the size will continue to dwindle, and though it may take 40 years (until all the people die off) there is only futile, stubborn mediocrity leading to closure.
Let's do a case study! The U.S. Postal Service. Back before letter carriers (calling them mail-men is not politically correct) decided to shoot people at random (40 people have been shot by on-duty USPS employees in the last 28 years), this organization was founded with enthusiasm to serve America in a noble profession. Benjamin Franklin[1] started a small-scale postal service in Philadelphia, 1775. After incorporation into the government under the newly ratified Constitution, the Post Office Department was created in 1792. So where has the institution come since some bright-eyed young men started delivering grandmother's birthday cards to young Philadelphia school children?

Well, as reported in the 2009 historical table from President Obama's Executive Office (Page 61) [2] the Postal Service will lose another $4.5 Billion this year and over $5 billion by next year. I find it humorous that USPS brags about its self-sufficiency...except for the little $4+ billion a year it has to borrow from the goventment because it is an obese organization. A brief survey of future initiatives laid down by Patrick R. Donahoe (the current PMG) shows management is the current phase of the organization. Their is no vision for the future, no innovation. The organization exists to continue its own existence. Basically, the organization is bound to slowly die over generations because it has no purpose, no passion.

Look around your neighborhoods (if you live in Seattle), there are a ten managerial/dying churches for every one innovative church[3]. So what does this look like in WS? Well, every team at Mars is designed to be a missional entity looking to share the gospel. We are totally flexible in the way to organize the teams; when a better idea comes along we adapt. Each leader under my oversight is free to direct their team as they desire (providing they still respect the aforementioned timeless truths. When a new leader is raised up, the first thing I tell them is, "Look for your replacement" because leading is not about getting a comfy role and then stagnating; it's about passionately pouring into others so they become better disciples of Jesus. If there is a highly-talented person on any team, we grab them, pour into them, and raise them up to lead as their abilities and gifts enable them. We look for new ideas to contextualize the message to our neighborhoods; we have a stated goal for a church campus of 2,000 people. (BTW that would put our little campus of Mars Hill into the top 400 churches nation-wide) I believe if we reach 2,000 folks and say, "Sweet, we have arrived, let's take a breather", then we have failed. We cannot give up progress and die. We must continually innovate even though it will certainly be uncomfortable, hard, unpopular, and exhausting.

Speaking of exhausting, my awesome cousin Tanya is running her second Marathon tomorrow. It is the 33rd Annual Napa Vally Marathon. She is amazing.

My training this week is a mere spark compared to the bonfire of a marathon, but I managed 21.31 miles in three runs including my longest run to date covering more than eight-and-a-half miles. I found out that the ringing in my ears is likely due to aspirin. So my fun pill statistic may be soon sacked. My internship is fun and challenging and I got a chance to work with the newest census data just released this week. Very cool. Oh...and now I have footnotes!

_______________________

1 - He was the biggest name is chess in Colonial America. Very Cool. I highly recommend his autobiography

2 - http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy09/pdf/hist.pdf

3 - innovative is intended to convey a forward-looking passionate goal setting that is based on timeless truths in scripture, not a whoring (Jesus' words not mine) church who is trying to draw a crowd but doesn't care about truth.