Refer also to my facebook profile page!
Some random factoids:
– Mike grew up as one of three lone ethnic kids in his neighborhood and elementary school (the other two were his cousin and brother).
– Mike is an avid Pittsburgh sports fan and is awaiting the day when the Pirates, Penguins and Steelers can all bring home a championship in the same year. 2009 is our year!
– Mike can make the sound of one hand clapping.
– Mike spent 11 years in Chicago — in college or seminary for 10 of them.
– Mike’s personal best golf score — 110… with a few mulligans allowed (Mike has not golfed since 2002 and recently donated his clubs to a church planter).
– Mike often wins limbo contests at wedding receptions and pre-school Father’s day outings.
– Mike is deceptively good at Taboo and other “description” games. Beware!
– From August 1996 to June 2008, Mike never once flew internationally. From July 2008 to October 2009, Mike will have been in Kenya twice, France, Switzerland, Germany, India, Turkey and England. SN – Mike has discovered he likes to travel.
Favorites:
– Coffee — Anything African, Honduran
– Beverage — New Castle Brown Ale, Coke Zero
– Cuisine — Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French
– Meat to stick on the grill — Ribeye, Tri-tip, N.Y. Strip
– Appetizers — French Onion Soup, Chopped Salad, Bar Finger Foods, Hot n’ Sour soup
– Dessert — Coffee ice cream with a warmed up brownie
– Music — 80′s, Alternative, Soundtrack music
– T.V. shows — Psych, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, Man vs. Wild, Man v. Food, Monk [waning], Heroes [waning]
– Books — Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Forgotten Ways, Organic Church, Heavenly Man, The World is Flat, MegaShift, Shaping of Things to Come, Notes from Underground, Army of Ordinary People, Church Planting Movements
– Movies — Anything Terminator, The Professional, Sneakers, The Fifth Element, Alien Resurrection, Slumdog Millionaire, The Wedding Singer, Zoolander, Casablanca
One of the questions it is hard for me to answer is “What do you do?”
I am a father of three kids
I am a husband who “works” with his wife
I am a church planter and pastor (as of January 2010 no longer)
I am a chaplain for the city of Sunnyvale (as of January 2010 no longer)
I am a little league coach (as of January 2010 no longer)
I am an elementary school math tutor (as of January 2010 no longer)
I am a Kingdom collaborator for local initiatives
I am a disciple-maker
I am a spiritual parent and coach
I am a spiritual DNA embedder
I am a spiritual fertilizer — preparing the soil for the future harvest
I am a spiritual foundation-layer
As of January 2010, I am a champion of a new wine skin called Apostolic-Prophetic base camps.
As of January 2010, I am trying to develop new kinds of reproducible communities that will express its spirituality and engage in mission in entirely new ways.
As of January 2010, I am trying to start/develop small businesses for local evangelism, social entrepreneurialism, and sustainable mission.
What I [used to] tell unchurched people in the Bay Area: I am a follower of Jesus who longs for a better world. This leads me into two areas. First, I start churches — everything from simple, organic ones that meet in Taquerias or cafes or living rooms (no offerings, no politics, no change of clothes or language — just several friends walking through life together and seeking after the real Jesus together) to one that still has a Sunday morning “service” and a more conventional appearance, called baylight church. And second, I assist with local and global community development and transformation — partnering and networking with friends, non-profit groups, government organizations and churches to help serve and build infrastructure for underserved pockets of people: migrant Hispanic workers, underperforming elementary school students, at-risk youth, local victims of crime, African refugees, and so forth.
What I am telling unchurched people about our move to Globe: I am a church minister who is leaving pastoral ministry in order to better help people outside of the reach of the church. Moving to Globe, AZ is our experiment of what it would look like if the church had no walls, but instead the entire city was the church or parish in need of wholeness and transformation. What would we do? Who are the people in need of help? How could we help them? I believe this is how Jesus did things, and our move is our attempt to better act on this deeply felt belief.