mike gastin | trust me, i'm an expert

What? Where is the justice?

That's just great.

So. How does one go about starting a church? I don't mean starting a new religion. I know how to do that. I mean a church - a local fellowship of people that come together to worship Christ. How does one do that? Where does one start? Rent a hall, send out flyers and knock on doors? Hire a billboard?

It seems a bit elusive to me.

I've started businesses. I've started a family. I've even started a fight or two. But a church? I have no idea how you do that.

You may be wondering why I am even asking this.

I am not trained to be a minister. I don't have a seminary education. I have not been ordained by any denomination. I can't read Greek or Hebrew. I'm not even confident that I am the best public speaker in the world. I have a bad attitude lots of the time, I drink a little alcohol, smoke the odd cigar and generally don't like hanging out with church people.

So, even I have wondered why I want to know how to start a church.

But, here's the thing. Jesus is amazing to me. Just amazing. And the way he lived his life on earth and the things he taught have imposed on me a vision of how my life should be. I am being transformed. And I have a vision of his kingdom that I can't get away from. I feel compelled to live it out.

Feeling compelled to live out the Kingdom of Heaven is not a reason to start a church. In fact, it is a great reason to *join* a church and get with others who are trying to live it out. Right?

I wish it were that easy.

I can't find a place to live it out. I can't find a group of people who share my vision or my world view. There are a lot of great christians out there and a lot of fine churches. I am having trouble finding one that is focused on the kingdom and apply it in a way that is in integrity with my vision.

I know, there is a lot of "my" in the statements above and it is not all about me. It is about God. Yeah. OK. But, at the end of the day, I have to answer to God. I don't get to point at you and say, "but they told me it was OK" or "I was just doing what the group thought we should do!" Something tells me if that is your argument you get the old, "Depart from me I never knew you" and I did not come this far to hear that!

I am a starter. I am a developer and a builder. I am not a great employee, but I love running a business. I am not a great follower, but I love to lead. I was not a great son as a kid, but I love being a father.

I don't know how else to get at the burden on my heart and to realize the vision I have without making it a reality--without starting something.

So, how does one go about it?

I can hardly wait! Punkt: TypeCon 2008 is almost here.

This year's event will be in Buffalo, NY - only 75 miles west of me. That means I'll be geeking-out to type for the week, attending wild type parties and hanging with the type glitteratti from July 15th through the 20th.

Are you with me on this! Pay attention! This is huge! Bigger than Jim Kelly and the Bills going to the Super Bowl. Well, OK, maybe not that big, but still. Think of all those serifed faces, modulated strokes, stark counters and loads of type flavor. It's crazy I tell ya!

Anyone other than me going?

So, Lydia and I have just celebrated 16 years of marriage.

I don't think I have done anything steady for 16 years other than eat, drink and sleep! I am not known for my steadfast nature. A peek at my long resume will confirm this. So, for me, this is quite an accomplishment.

But, the real accomplishment is that we have made this thing work. I am more in love with this woman after 16 years than I was the day I proposed. How amazing is it when you take two unique and different (that's redundant, no?) people and make them one? How much of a miracle is that?

I know it is a miracle in our case. I came to the table not yet a man, even though I was 25! I was insecure, immature and directionless. How Lydia was able to hang in there I don't know. But she did and with grace. We have had our tough times, our stress and our disappointments - many caused by my attempts to find out who I am.

Through it all she hung tough. She has left family and country to be my wife. She has stood by me when no one else would. She believed in me when it looked like I didn't have a chance.

Next to entering God's family, she's the best thing that ever happened to me.

Lydia, you are amazing. Thank you.

I am taking a class. Well, I'm auditing it, which is different because I just have to show up. No work, no reading, no papers and no presentations. I just have to sit there, drink it all in and offer the occasional comment if I feel so moved. Too bad I was unable to audit all of high school back in the day! I would have been a much happier young man.

Anyway, it has been a real learning opportunity. I have learned a great deal on the topic of the class - Survey of Christian Eschatology. But, that is not what I am referring to. My big take-away is that I have learned something about myself.

I have learned that I don't like to sit in class and I don't enjoy learning in that kind of environment. (right about now my mother is rolling her eyes and thinking she could have saved me the hassle and told me 30 years ago that this was the case.)

I feel too ... I dunno. Too bound, too locked-in, too bored. The professor is excellent, the subject is fascinating and my classmates are nice to be with. It's just I can't stand the structure of a class. I want to get in, get down to business and dig deep. Then I want to get out and move on. I'm talking 4 weeks. Tops. You know, commando style. Not in college bro. No sir! You got 14 plus weeks of night class. Glug.

So, I have learned some stuff about the end of the world and that is what I came to do. But, I have decided that I will put to rest that dream of getting a Ph.D. someday. I just don't think I was made for that.

I should try writing a book next. That has always been a dream. I bet I could knock one out and get that out of my system, too.

I went to Nashville in February to attend an industry seminar. The seminar was great and I learned a lot, but the thing about this trip that I will never forget was my first night in town.

I got settled into my hotel, took a walk around the tourist areas, visited Hatch Show Print (and geeked-out over the letterpress goodness), had some dinner and was winding down for the evening. No sooner had I changed into a t-shirt and sweats when alarms went off all over the hotel. I have stayed in a lot of hotels all over the country for the last 15 years and never have I had alarms and sirens blasting throughout the building. It freaked me out.

Then, a voice boomed throughout the hotel informing us that the city was getting hit with tornados and that we should be clothed and in good shoes for evacuation.

What?!

Sorry, bro, but did you say tornados? I am down with snow storms, wind storms, ice storms, flooding, power outages, bush fires, swarming bees and even the odd drought. But tornados?

I had no idea what one is supposed to do. I figured I was supposed to head for the basement, but I was on the 6th floor of a massive hotel and did not even know if there was a basement.

So, I did what any sane and logical person would do. I threw on my street clothes and headed outside to check it out.

There were about 5 or 6 of us standing in the wind and rain out in front of the hotel. All of us were men, I might add, which either proves the bravery of our gender or the complete and utter stupidity (so often satirized in contemporary television ads).

Anyway, it was nuts. The skies were dark with an unnaturally low blanket of clouds that raced overhead. There were violent flashes of lightning all around and the wind howled. It was both terrifying and exciting at the same time.

Eventually, a bank of green clouds rolled-in and one started to form a cone. At that moment the winds picked-up velocity and became dangerous. Immediately all of us darted for the doors to get back into the hotel. The twister did not form, however, and after a few minutes a couple guys needing a smoke went back out. I decided that I had gotten my fill and returned to my room.

What did I do once back to my room? Pray? Call my wife and tell her I love her and things don't look too good? Write it all down in my journal in case I got wiped out?

No. Of course not.

I turned on the tube and watched MTV's Hogan Knows Best. It's a 'reality' show about wrestling icon, Hulk Hogan, and his dysfunctional family and how they struggle through life all following the leadership and guidance of the aging Hulkster. That is how I spent my potential last night on earth. Shameful, I know.

Later, around 12:30 AM, as I was sound asleep, the sirens and alarms went off again. We had to get dressed and get ready to evacuate as another cell was working its way through our area. I threw on my t-shirt and sweats and lie back down. I knew my life was in order and I had a great insurance policy. So, I rolled over and promptly fell asleep.

I think I read too much.

Really. I feel like I am spending all my time reading-up but not enough time applying what I read. The following is a list of my periodical reading.

The Economist (weekly)
The Rochester Business Journal (weekly)
Runner's World (monthly)
Money Magazine (monthly)
Fortune Magazine (monthly)
Kiplinger's Magazine (monthly)
The Complete Investor (monthly)
Blue Chip Growth (monthly)
Wired (monthly)
Print (monthly)
Communication Arts (monthly)
Architectural Products (monthly)

Then add the blogs I subscribe to.

Achievable Ends
The Forgotten Ways
Letters From Kamp Krusty
GPUpdate
43 Folderss
Soul Sides
Confessions From A Grassroots Entrepreneur

Then add the books I am currently reading.

The Omnivore's Dilemma
Pagan Christianity
The Bible (not as much as I should!)

Add my queue of books waiting to be read - easily 25! All of them are sitting on a shelf on my book case devoted to unread books.

It's no wonder that I feel overwhelmed! Maybe it is time to go on a diet ... a reading diet. I have a ton of work to do around strategy development and implementation and I feel like all my reading obligations stand in the way of me getting at the actual work that needs to be done.

On the other hand, the reading is critical, because it is what informs my ability to develop strategies that work. Having context is (IMHO) critical for good decision-making. And I just plain love to learn. You will notice that there is not any fiction in my lists. I love a good story, but rarely have time to dive into one.

So, am I alone in this? I know I read more than most, but do folks feel overwhelmed by information or am I just out of whack or a light weight?

Lydia and I home school our kids. Mainly Lydia does, but I help. We have been a part of Greater Rochester LEAH, a local LEAH chapter, for a few years and serve on its board.

We have gotten a lot out of our involvement with the group. Our kids have made a lot of great friends, they have been able to take excellent classes like art and public speaking, we have made some wonderful friendships with other home schooling parents and our kids have taken part in great sports programs.

We are getting there! Snow has melted (although it could come back!), the temps have risen just a little and in the mornings now one can hear birds chirping. Actual live birds! This is better than the excitement over the coming of Santa - Spring is on its way.

OK - still working on getting the new site up and running .... seems like a lot of work to be able to write things on a web site that absolutely no one will read. Ah well. I guess that makes me like the millions of other people out there with a site all about themselves and for themselves.

Kinda sad, really.