Bondye Bell

 

Secret Church

 It’s been years since I was first introduced to David Platt.  I was a young, inexperienced student pastor looking for a decent speaker for a middle school summer camp.  Per the recommendation of a friend, I invited David Platt to speak and he agreed.  Yes, you read that right.  I invited David Platt to speak at Middle School Camp. We weren’t 10 minutes into the first night and he was quoting Romans verse by verse.  He was “radical” far before any New York Times Best Seller was released.  It didn’t take long to know that I had a new friend and I’d met someone who was truly anointed.

After David had moved to Birmingham to pastor The Church at Brook Hills, I begin hearing a lot about this gathering called “Secret Church.”  God was greatly using this focused time of study to enrich thousands of people’s knowledge of the Bible while also providing an accurate understanding of the state of the Church and the reality of persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.  It seemed a movement of God was beginning.  The simple objective of Secret Church has always been for participants to pass along what they learn to others, so that they can make disciples of Christ--both locally and globally.

And last Friday night, I was able to experience it myself.  It was a tremendous night and I can't say enough about what a priviledge it is to partner on this with David and this team at Disciple Making International.

I was asked to write a first-hand perspective on the evening for Baptist Press.  If interested, you can see that HERE.
 

Interview with Tim Elmore and Amena Brown

As part of our newly launched webshow, Connecting with Threads, I recently interviewed both Tim Elmore and Amena Brown.

Dr. Tim Elmore, the author of the Habitudes® series, is the founder and president of Growing Leaders, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization created to develop emerging leaders. Through Growing Leaders, he and his team provide public schools, state universities, civic organizations, and corporations with the tools they need to help develop young leaders who can impact and transform society.  www.growingleaders.com

As a poet, speaker, journalist, and event host Amena Brown’s words excite, ignite and inspire. Whether in front of audiences as intimate as 50 or as sprawling as 20,000, she is a young adult who has something to say that matters.  www.amenabrown.com

 

Catalyst Conference

You won't want to miss the Catalyst Conference, happening October 5-7, 2011 in Atlanta, where 13,000 young leaders will converge for the leadership experience of the year, including high-octane speakers, powerful worship, innovative programming, and an experience unlike any other.

Hear from leadership authorities including Andy Stanley, Jim Collins, Francis Chan, David Platt, Priscilla Shirer, Mark Driscoll, Dave Ramsey and Judah Smith, along with several innovative thinkers and practitioners like Princeton professor Dr. Cornel West, TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, Global Soap Project founder Derreck Kayongo, Hillsong United visionary Joel Houston, Barna Research President David Kinnaman, and adoptive mother of 13 Katie Davis.

Plus, Catalyst Labs will feature innovative thought leaders like David Platt, Michael Hyatt, Reggie Joiner, Mark Batterson, Tim Elmore, Dave Gibbons, Margaret Feinberg, Bob Goff, Susan Isaacs, Mike Foster, Bethany Hoang, Samuel Rodriguez, Stacy Spencer, Jon Acuff, Lecrae, Jo Saxton, Charles Jenkins, Jim Daly, Darren Whitehead, Vicky Beeching, Eugene Cho, Lisa Sharon Harper, Jon Tyson, Lysa Terkeurst, Bobby Bailey, Jeanne Stevens, Mary Graham, and others.

Best Rates on Catalyst tickets end on Thursday, June 23rd, so register now. Call 888.334.6569 to speak to a Catalyst Concierge, or register online at www.catalystconference.com. Use Rate Code FOB and receive a ticket price of $199 (savings of $120 off regular prices). Catalyst will sell out, so make sure and register early!

THE WALK

I had the huge privilege of teaching at The Walk in Knoxville a couple weeks ago.  I taught as part of their on-going series entitled, Check Your Status.  I was entrusted with the topic of religion.  I taught from John 21 where Jesus demands a love that signifies total commitment.  If desired, you can view that below beginning around 24:00.

If you aren't familiar with The Walk, you should check them out.  It's one of the finest college ministries in the country.  Another huge thanks to my buddy, Tim Miller, for the invite.  He's the best of the best.  Also, you should check out the next message in the series.  My old college roommate and now pastor at Arrowhead Church, Ben Shoun, brought a powerful message on the topic of politics.

NOW

 Here's what I'm spending lots of energy working on, dreaming up, and praying about.  I'd love for you to join us.  Just take one look at who we're bringing together and I think you'll be interested.  Praying this brings glory to God and is used to advance the Gospel!

 

Experiential and unconventional, the NOW Conference is an event for young adults designed to help them discover and live out the reality that they can live significantly in whatever context God has placed them in the present or calls them to in the future. 

Secret Church

I'm really excited about our partnership with David Platt and The Church at Brook Hills to provide Secret Church to people around the world via live simulcast.  The live event sold out in minutes.  But if your church or small group are interested in particpating in this unique opportunity, here's your chance. 

Below is a post that I wrote for the event blog.

The Benefits of the Church vs. Consumerism
 

 

 

Your Secret Name

I recently received a copy of Kary Oberbrunner's new book, Your Secret Name.  He asked me to spread the word of its' recent release. 

The idea of discovering who God created us to be is worth exploring.  As Kary says, "We all have a Secret Name. The Bible tells us so. Yet few of us know ours. Ignorantly, were stuck, caught up in the Name Game, searching for our true identity."   He takes you deep, past clichés to discover Your Secret Name and the vision God has for your life.  Check out the video to get more of feel as to what the book is all about. 

A Radical Faith

There are few guys that I respect more than David Platt, the pastor at The Church at Brook Hills. David brought a strong word to nearly 2000 students at our National Collegiate Week Event in New Mexico last week. I'm grateful for his friendship and impact on the Kingdom. If you haven't had the opportunity to hear him preach, you're missing out. Here's something to chew on. Other sermons are HERE. And his new book, Radical, has been a New York Times Best Seller for 12 weeks now. Good stuff.

STORY

It's been a joy for Threads to partner with my friend, Ben Arment, in some of his recent endeavors.  With that said, let me tell you about Story.

STORY is a conference for the creative class in ministry on September 23-24, 2010 at Park Community Church in downtown Chicago. The purpose is to fuel the church's artists, writers and producers in communicating the greatest story ever told. You’ll hear from some of the best creative practitioners in both ministry and the marketplace, from filmmakers and authors to actors and musicians. Presenters include:

# Dan Allender - best-selling author, professor at Mars Hill Graduate School
# Charlie Todd - creator of Improv Everywhere in New York City
# Princess Zulu - AIDS victim from infancy, advocate for the oppressed
# Jason Fried - founder of 37Signals, creator of Basecamp, author of Rework
# John Sowers - president of Donald Miller's The Mentoring Project
# Shauna Niequist - former creative director at Mars Hill, author of Bittersweet
# David Hodges - formerly of the band Evanescence, award-winning songwriter
# Leonard Sweet - futurist, author of 40 books, professor at Drew University
# David McFadzean - creator of Home Improvement, producer of Roseanne
# Richard Walter - accomplished screenwriter and professor of film at UCLA
# Sean Gladding - member of Communality, a new monastic community
# Andrew Klavan - author of True Crime (Clint Eastwood) and numerous novels
# Gary Dorsey - founder of Pixel Peach Studio in Austin, TX
# Music by Vicky Beeching, Kari Jobe and Carlos Whittaker

Seating is limited to just 500 attendees, and the event is scheduled on a Thursday and Friday so you can enjoy the weekend in the city. Following its inaugural event in 2009, STORY is now a two-day, main-stage event with no breakouts or workshops; just an intimate audience with the top creative minds. You’ll be able to ask questions during the event and continue the conversation after it's over. Visit www.storychicago.com.