We are driving through Downtown Boston right now trying to find I90 West to New York, traffic is crazy! (time to catch up on our blog!) I wanted to share a little about our time Monday morning with Ed Marcelle & Phill Taylor from Terra Nova Church in Troy, NY. We found ourselves driving along the eastern bank of the Hudson River amidst 19th century architecture...it was absolutely beautifu! You may remember the movies Age of Innocence, The Emperor's Club, & Scent of a Woman - all were filmed in Troy.
Revolution Hall, one of the coolest concert clubs I've ever seen, plays home to Terra Nova Church every Sunday morning at 11AM. The story of Terra Nova follows the story of their lead pastor, Ed Marcelle. As we sat around enjoying coffee and a couple of ham, egg, and cheese wraps from a small breakfast joint right next to the club with Ed, Phil Taylor (executive pastor), and Dave Lewis (another pastor from Troy whose heart is for the inner city). We asked Ed about his story..he is not shy about his past, and is so transparent that we felt immediately safe and free to share in the reality of where we've been and the extent to which the Lord has transformed our lives. Ed has an ability to connect with ANYONE because of his love for others - he loves Troy and has a huge heart for the city. Check out this very well written article written about Terra Nova Church published in Metroland Newspaper, a weekly publication NOT known for their gentle and affirming position towards evangelical churches. Yet this article seems to embrace Terra Nova as part of the city, and an important part! Ed knows the author and has since become good friends with this man who often laughs at Ed's faith yet continues to share life. Culturally aware, firm yet sensitive, inviting, loving - that is Ed, and that is Terra Nova Church.
Check out this video highlighting more of what is happening in Troy, NY:
Threads is sponsoring a Virtual Coffee Break, with Threads authors, this week! It's a conference call via the Skype-like ooVoo . It enables up to 5 people to have a video conference call, perfect for discussion and interaction! Among the authors is Mark Batterson , who will be meeting with folks from 2 - 4pm (central time) this Thursday, in little 1/2 hour meetings.
See the Schedule - hurry, it's just this week!
We just created some fun new ads for Facebook! So how about a little contest. The first three people to send us a screen shot of one of our Facebook ads, get's a book! Email us the screen shot, your name and address, and a picture of you + a link to your blog (we'll post the winners on the catablog).
Catalyst Church in Kent, OH invited us to join them for their Sunday morning worship service...hey, we had to stop by and check out what was happening with a church named Catlayst! Jonathan Herron and the team welcomed us wtih open arms and made us feel right at home. Were able to join Jonathan on stage for an impromptu interview during the church service to share more about what we are doing on the road and why the Highway Highlighter made it all the way north to Kent...it's always fun to be able to share about how important it is for us to invest in face-to-face connections with leaders on the front line of the church. We were able to celebrate Jonathan and their staff with the rest of the congregation!
Jonathan took a few minutes to share with us a little more about the story of Catalyst Church and how prayer begins an adventurous cycle of growth full of twists and turns...check out the video below to hear more from Jonathan:
Catalyst Voices - Jonathan Herron
Catalyst Voices - Jonathan Herron from Catalyst on Vimeo.
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