Mike Rusch

I’m not really sure when or how the conversation started. Maybe it was over a random cup of coffee or a comment that was said in passing, or maybe something as simple as a few people being a room together. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I was a part of the conversation. However, whatever the situation was, it must have been good…

…because somewhere these themes of Rescue & Redemption began to simmer until they found another expression last Sunday evening at The Well.

Past couple years for me (and Corrie) have been a pretty amazing and fast paced journey down a road of rediscovering faith in the context of the larger story that God is telling in the world around us. Looking back, I think I wasted a lot of years trying to figure out how to get more God into my plans for life vs. the other way around. It hasn’t been an easy road to walk, but it has been filled with incredible stories of people & their lives being changed.

I don’t yet know Seth (Primm), Matt, Rick, Seth (Haines) or Philip as well as I’d like to (or plan to), but I do know that being surround and influenced by a group of people like that is pretty incredible. I truly appreciate the impact they have had on my life and for being voices of encouragement along the way.

…looking for a couple places to continuing exploring these themes?  Try…

• On Adoption - “From Ashes to Africa” by Josh & Amy Bottomly
• On finding the image of God in everyone - “Sex God” by Rob Bell
• On how our culture is changing - “UnChristian” by Gabe Lyons & David Kinnaman and “Lord Save Us from your Followers” by Dan Merchant
• On story - “Searching for God Knows What” by Donald Miller

I’d love to hear your story of Rescue & Redemption. Would you share?

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(you can visit The Well’s website and go to Media > Messages to steal a listen to the evening)

Yes, I know that The Idea Camp is still ‘officially’ 13 days away from starting, but I went ahead and took the liberty of kicking it off yesterday (at least for me). Hope that’s okay with everyone.

Here’s what I love about The Idea Camp…it transcends a time & a place.

Because when you’re all about the power of relationships, you know that they just don’t fit into a couple days in a single place.

And so, they overflow, and that is beautiful.

It’s beautiful because I think that’s what relationships are supposed to do. Authentic relationships are marked by the overflow into the world around us, and they continue to overflow until they fill all the broken and dark places.

…and that sounds a lot like being present.

Yesterday through a series of unpredictable, unplanned and even unwanted circumstance, I met a couple new friends whose lives are marked by the overflow. They understand (and are teaching) me that what brings people together at The Idea Camp doesn’t have to wait until The Idea Camp.

…true mercy, justice and compassion aren’t confined to a specific time & place, so why should relationships developed around these themes be confined as well?

Well, they aren’t, and my new friends that I met yesterday (because of The Idea Camp) know this much better than I.

You see, it’s people like this that are at the heartbeat of why we gather for a couple days in a single place.

For me, The Idea Camp is a place where I can come…to simply find the overflow.

So, I went ahead and kicked it off…