Introducing Kevin Davis...

Every now and then I get the privilege to "introduce" a blogger on my site... and I say "introduce" because they usually already have a following, but my readers may not know about them. A few months ago, I met... through the blogosphere... Kevin Davis of The Third Place, and there was an instant connection. I've enjoyed following his blog (he'as an AWESOME blogger), keeping up with what's going on with him, and interacting with him in email dialogues and Twitter updates. :-)

So, my friends: I introduce to you Kevin Davis... click on his blog... and ENJOY YOUR READING!!!

Wisdom Doesn't End Here

Here are some thoughts from other bloggers this week that have stuck with me:

* On who we're marketing - Steven Furtick

* On preventing burnout - Kem Meyer

* On laughter - Wayne Cordeiro

* On serving the community - Jason Curlee

* On developing a culture of generosity - JR LEE

* On funny Halloween reflections - Jumaine Jones

These guys are great bloggers, and are some of my regular reads...enjoy!

Can Anything Good Come Out of Takoma Park?

For 23 years of my life, I lived in a little town (I consider it my hometown) in Maryland - right outside of Washington, DC - called Takoma Park... a little-known place that has produced several well-known people:

Goldie Hawn, actress...

Steve Francis, NBA Houston Rockets basketball player...

Tamyra Gray, singer from American Idol fame/actress...

Sharmba Mitchell, former boxing WBA super-lightweight world chamion (4 successful defenses)...

Maia Campbell, former teen actress of "In the House" fame with LL Cool J...

Marty Lyons, former NY Jets football player...

Dominique Dawes... former Olympic Gold medalist...

Takoma Park is definitely not a big town, so having a handful of celebrities/TV personalities come from one little area is pretty amazing. And then, there are some who actually grew up in my neighborhood... Belford Towers... and I knew them personally, like:

Chris Thomas, comedian...

Glenson Sitney, former George Washington Univ. basketball star...

Lisa Comfort Bradford, former candidate for District of Columbia Council Ward 4 (well, she was almost famous)...

Stephanie Ready (picture above), NBA Charlotte Hornets' Sideline Analyst and the first woman coach in men's professional sports (I actually hadn't seen Stephanie in years, and recently ran into her brother Eddie Ready who told me about her present career)...

And now...

D-PLUM!!!!!

Well, I may not have "star" status with many... but The Plummer fam is CRAZY about me! ;-)

The "Servant Evangelism" Guy

I got a call from this guy today... and we had a really great conversation about church planting, servant evangelism, one of my Mosaic guys that just moved to Cincinnati, the emergent movement, Nelson Searcy (I'm in one of his coaching networks)... a wide variety of topics. I had read, and liked, his books... and now I know why. We're both passionate about the same things: loving God and loving people! And Steve's had a MEGA impact on my philosophy of evangelism (although I haven't yet graduated to cleaning toilets, lol)


If you're not familiar with Steve Sjogren, you owe it to yourself to: Conspiracy of Kindness (which is definitely a classic), Irresistible Evangelism, Outflow, and 101 Ways to Reach Your Community... to name a few.

Looking forward to connecting more with Steven on some things in the future... keep you posted! ;-)

Fighting Forum?? Nope!

Had the opportunity to participate in a research study focus group about young adults on yesterday afternoon, at Catholic University's Life Cycle Institute... re: engaging them and getting them more involved in the life of the church. More specifically, what are some of the things that hinder young adult involvement in church? It was a great time (about 2 hours) of picking one another's brains (my wife hates that term... sorry, honey!) and exchanging ideas. The forum was hosted by Dr. Kathleen Garces-Foley of Marymount University.

It was also a great time of connection... with the exception of Jumaine Jones, all the other participants were from a different theological/philosophical perspective than me. At times, we had the whole Evangelical vs. Emergent discussion going on, with both sides being strongly represented (and, if you know me, you know there was NO WAY I wasn't throwing in my two cents, lol). But the disagreements were amicable, and we all left as brothers and sisters... the way it should be.

Sometimes, you have to agree to disagree... and keep on moving. ;-)

New Friends

Last week, I met a wonderful couple, Evers and Carmen Santos, not too far from where we live... they run a convenient store that they just took over a few months ago. It was a pleasure getting to know them! They are believers and pray everyday for the community their store is in.

We found out that we have a point of commonality, too (besides Jesus): Two of our band members run a local music/worship institute, and the Santos' son, Franklin, is a student (bass player) there. In fact, Franklin jammed with us a few months back (his picture is on our website)! I never cease to be amazed at how God brings people across each others' paths!

Hey, if you're reading this: can I get you to pray for the Santos' family store right now? I promised them that bunches of people would be praying for them, all over the country/world... so, don't let me down! ;-)

"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results" (James 5.16).

Catalyst on the Road

Had a chance to chill with the Catalyst Road Crew tonight at Ebenezer's Coffeehouse in downtown DC... great guys! And it was great hanging out with some other pastor friends, as well: Matt Morgan, Pastor of Reston Community Church; Jumaine Jones, Lead pastor of The Bridge; and Atiba de Souza, Pastor of Vision Runners Int'l.

LV Hanson was a great host, and Mack and Tripp were incredible, too... I can't believe these guys get to drive around the country and talk to cats like us! The cool thing is that they weren't asking us for anything (not that we would've minded) - they weren't like, "Hey, we'd really like you guys to get the word out about Catalyst, and help us get some more people to our conference!" No! They were there to hear our stories, and to encourage us!

Left a big impact on me: that these guys would be willing to drive to who-knows-where to meet with... who knows? But what a way to connect with people and make new friends! Hey, if I had to give up my day job to switch places with them, I'd do it! ;-)

LV... you are the dude of dudes! Thanks for hooking this up! It was great meeting you, man... and I'll get a God-story over to you soon! ;-)

Mack... you're name's ALREADY cool, dude! BIG MACK!!! D-PLUM can't even beat that!! ;-)

Tripp... is that FREAKIN' CRAZY?? That we probably met each other back in 1997 during my VERY BRIEF INTERN STINT at your home church?? Good NIGHT, that's insane!! That is just TOO crazy, my man! PLEASE tell Buddy that I miss him and would love to connect with him!!

Also, shout-outs to one of my "Mosaic Mentees", Xavier, for hangin' with me tonight... love you, bro! JT and Patrice... great seeing you again! Kelli Wise... great meeting you, and hope to see you out at Mosaic soon! ;-) Drew, would love to hear more about Common Ground, and Chris - blessings on the new venture, man... may God richly bless your calling and endeavor!

Introducing...

Just found out that one of our UMD students at Mosaic has a blog... so, I want to take this post to introduce you to Brandon (BHavs) Havas! Brandon's a sharp guy, and I like him alot. In fact, there were four things that stood out about BHavs from jump:

1. He's pursuing Christ...

2. His girlfriend, Brittany, likes Mosaic (and they both frequently invite their friends)...

3. He plays guitar...

4. He's got "bling" in both ears!! (I almost did it, B!)

He posted a nice synopsis of our kickoff on the God on Film series... you can check it out here...

Hope you enjoy Brandon's blog... when you stop by, be sure to say hello! ;-)

Old Friend

So, I'm working out of my mobile office (Starbucks), and I decide to walk across the street to grab some lunch, right? And who do I run into? One of my best friends from Bible College, Jamie Freeny! We were the most unlikely of duos: He grew up in a small, predominantly-white town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland; I grew up in urban MD, right outside of DC... he's a diehard Redskin fan; you KNOW who I root for... his granddaddy had Klan ties (J wouldn't mind me putting that out there); my granddaddy was the first African-American in his community... and wasn't leavin' for ANYTHING OR ANYONE (if you know what I mean!) But although Jamie grew up in the culture he did... he gravitated toward listening to hip-hop (Slick Rick was one of his favorite rappers), and came to Christ at a predominantly-black college! God prepared him for D-PLUM!! :-)

(I really must pause here and give props to God's sovereignty: the person most influential in J's coming to Christ was my best friend at the time... this was a few years before I would even meet J... how awesome is that??)

I hadn't seen Jamie in quite awhile, and it was great catching up with him... and hearing about all that God is doing in his life. I don't think it was "coincidence" that we ran into each other... wonder what God is up to? Hmmm... :-)

It Pays to Connect!

We're launching our CONNECTION GROUPS this week... and, last night, my group had the honor of "kicking off" the first group in our Connections Groups season! Everyone had a really great time... and it was really awesome, because we've been intentional about holding off on groups for the better part of a year, while we focused on our large group environment (our worship gatherings). It definitely paid off, because people began to crave community... so it was just a matter of getting things structured and off the ground... and the people did the rest by eagerly getting in the groups!

We held a Connection Groups Vision Nite/Q&A last week that went really well, and helped to set the tone for the launch of our groups. So, we've got about 80% of our partners/regular attenders involved so far! Everyone's pumped and ready to see what God's going to do through these groups... and in their individual lives, as well!

I've been committed to groups for quite awhile now, because I know that what happens in a group context can happen no where else in the church. God never expects us to grow in isolation, and connection (small) groups give us the opportunity to learn from and grow with one another in community.

GROUPS... don't do life without 'em! ;-)

Wednesday "Wows!"

* Keda and I had to go to Richmond for my annual church planter assessment with the SBC of VA/DC... it went really well! The guys were really encouraged and encouraging about all that God is doing at Mosaic! It's awesome to be connected to people who care about you and support what you're doing for the Kingdom!

* Tomorrow, I have to head back to Richmond for our bi-monthly Statewide Church Planters Network. We have 5-6 of these a year, and I always look forward to them because it's the only time I get to connect with most of the other planters. It's an all-day trip, and kinda tiring, but tomorrow I get to travel with this guy... that's always cool beans! ;-)

* Sitting in Starbucks now... just met a guy named Chris. He's a UMD student (Biochem major... whew!), and is Greek Orthodox... pretty interesting conversation! Told him I would pray for him (just did), that he'd be able to get into a pre-professional school. Gave him one of our impact cards... hopefully, he'll come out!

* Just received an email from one of our first-time guests from this past Sunday... he lives in New Jersey, and was was in town and was invited to Mosaic. He LOVES what he experienced Sunday, and said he's down here often and will schedule his trips so that he can make it out on Sundays, at least twice a month! LOOK AT JESUS!! When you come face to face with the Savior, He begins to rearrange your priorities! ;-)

* Btw, almost all of our guests from Sunday have communicated - either by email or in person - that they plan on returning this weekend... YAY, GOD!!!!

Open Letter to Britney

Here's another great post from Tim Stevens... read here!

Introducing Jeremy...

I want to introduce you to my friend, Jeremy Farmer... we met on the blogosphere last year, and I began following his blog for a minute... I'm loving it! His post today was awesome... enjoy!

Comment and tell him D-Plum sent you! ;-)

Who's Out There??

Often, when I'm skating through the blogosphere, I come across someone who either mentions me in a blog or has me on their blogroll... and I don't even know who they are... which is totally cool!

So, today... I'd like to steal an idea from my friend Jay and give you an opportunty to share a little about yourself... who you are, where you live, what you do, and your favorite food! I've changed my "comment settings", so now you can comment without having to create a blogger account... SO POST YOUR COMMENT! :-)

Nothing major... I'll be the first:

I'm Darren (or D-Plum).
I live in Laurel, MD.
I'm a church planter/pastor.
My favorite food is chicken.

Your turn... GO!

An Afternoon with Rick Warren

This afternoon, Jay Hardwick, Jumaine Jones, and I hung out down at Ebenezer's... and we had the awesome privilege of listening to Rick Warren share his heart for about 2 1/2 hours! Let me tell you... say what you want about Rick (I think you're crazy), but the guy has a tremendous heart for pastors! He encouraged us, challenged us, and blessed us... as he talked about the importance of focusing on people growth as opposed to church growth. The man is FULL of wisdom... and it was definitely an honor to be a part of this event! Rick was supposed to be leaving for his next scheduled event (teaching a class at Georgetown University), but insisted on taking flicks with each and every pastor there!

Jay and I, chillin' after the event... it was good hanging out with Jay all day. He flew up from Columbia, SC to hang out with D-Plum! (Rick Warren was an added benefit... haha!)

Here's Jumaine and Mark Batterson, who's church owns Ebenezer's and who hosted the event with Rick Warren!

A Blog-Eat-Blog World!!

Can't believe I've actually reached the 400 post mark! Never thought I'd write this much... When I started blogging almost 2 years ago, I knew nothing about it... but kept hearing people talk about "blogging" at the 2006 Buzz Conference.

And speaking of "buzz", there were certain names that kept flying around that I either knew nothing or very little about: I kept hearing about this guy, this guy, this guy... and, of course, this guy...

... and this guy, whom I've since had the awesome privilege of becoming friends with (can't wait for his conference... which, by the way, you just don't wanna miss).

I was so intrigued by this "blogging" stuff, that - once I started learning about it - I just became consumed! Now, I can't even imagine life without blogging! And now... through blogging... I've become friends with this dude, this dude, this dude, this dude... and I'm hanging out with this dude on Monday! I'd say that's... COOL BEANS!!! :-)

So, what are some of your stories? How'd you come to start blogging?

Cool Beans!

Next week this time, I'll be chillin' with Eric Bryant and some other pastors out in Pasadena for a Mosaic Alliance Pastors' Roundtable... should be pretty cool! Never been further west than New Mexico, so I'm really looking forward to going out to Cali. It's been cool getting to know Eric over the last several months... if you haven't read HIS BOOK, get it... read it... and pass it on! DEFINITELY one of the best books I read in 2007!

I'm honored to have been invited to participate in this gathering of pastors, along with Dan Kimball, Naeem Fazel, Mark Batterson, and some other cool heads... I'm sure I'll glean quite a bit from those guys. Naeem was really encouraging to me when I first got on the field in April 2006... he had just launched Mosaic Church in Charlotte a few months prior, and gave me some good "heads up" on church planting. We haven't talked in awhile, so it'll be cool to connect in person with him.

Headed to Pasadena, baby!

Sunday Night Speak

* Great time tonight! Had a couple of Univ. of MD students out, who are friends of my boy Josh Chevalier. Josh is out in LA, doing an internship with Erwin McManus, Eric Bryant, and the crew... and we're hoping that God opens the door for Josh to come back home after he's done and help bust things out here in College Park! No pressure, of course, Josh... ;-)

* Kicked off our new series, Open Before Christmas... spoke on giving the gift of forgiveness to our family. Our family members know us better than anyone, and those relationships are usually the ones that frustrate us most. But God specializes in transformation... and forgiveness can transform ANY relationship!

* This will be the last month where I do "morning moonlighting," leading worship a few Sunday mornings a month and then do Mosaic in the evening. Actually, it's not moonlighting, at all... just helping out a couple of friends of mine, who are in a quandry with their worship situation. I count it a privilege to be able to help out... but it can be really tiring. Add to that a 2pm wedding (like today), and it's enough to totally drain you! So, after December, I'm turning over a new leaf! :-)

* Marquita's best friend got married today... 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon! Isn't that the craziest bunch of craziness you've ever heard?? (Just kidding, Juvonia!!) Congrats are in order, though... Juvonia and Paul make a great couple!

* What happened to the Skins today?! I was in the hors d'eouvres line at the wedding reception, and I was told the Skins were leading, 16-8. When I left about 40 minutes later to head out to church, they had lost... 17-16! Wow... that's all I can say. Actually, no it's not: HOW 'BOUT DEM COWBOYS?????????

* Our new Christmas message series impact cards (wow, that was a lotta words) are almost gone... we've just about passed them all out! No one came today from receiving one... but they're coming... I can FEEL IT! :-)

* Looking forward to HAVING SOME COMPANY AT THE METRO STATION this Wed and/or Fri!!!

* My man Jim Henry is somewhere smiling right now because his Seahawks won... I can FEEL IT!! :-)

* Well, tomorrow's my reading day... always enjoy book-filled days!! Later!

Sunday Nite Speak!

* Great service tonight... kinda low-key, kinda different... KINDA UNPLUGGED! We were short some musicians tonight, but BRIAN did a great job of using what he had... which was only his voice and my man Jonathan on guitar. But they did a fantastic job... love those guys!

* Tonight, we finished up our message series, Vertical... spoke on "When God is Silent", and it really connected with people. We've had people praying about their health, somee have been praying about financial situations, a couple of our ladies had miscarriages on the same day a couple of weeks ago, loved ones have died... just stuff happening. And, like the Psalmist David prayed in Psalm 10, people are like, "Okay, Lord... where are You when it hurts??" Hopefully, people were helped tonight, and encouraged to keep trusting God...and waiting on Him... even when it doesn't make a whole lotta sense.

* Had someone show up tonight from receiving one of our promo cards at her house.. cool beans!

*Brian and the guys did a drama sketch tonight before the message... wasn't fancy, wasn't "professional", but it was GOOD... and it fit the message well! Awesome, guys!

* Seth, my 4-yr old is sick now... augh!

* For the first time in a looooooong time, I was rooting for THE EAGLES tonight... and they almost pulled it off! But the Patriots scored with 7 minutes to play, and the Eagles BLEW A CHANCE TO TAKE THE LEAD with a terrible play that ended up costing them the game... geez!!

* Getting ready for our OPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS message series that starts next Sunday... should be SWEET! Invite your friends, and come on out!! ;-)

* Met with THIS GUY this past week... had a great time at lunch! DJ is a sharp guy, who I'm enjoying the privilege of getting to know better. A few weeks ago, he invited me to be a contributing author along with some awesome guys on THIS BOOK BLOG... should be alot of fun! Uh-oh... just remembered I have to send in my picture!

* Well, tomorrow's my book reading day! Can't wait! ;-)

Away...

I'm down in Hampton, VA for the Annual Homecoming the SBC of VA/DC... the theme this year is "Pushing Back the Darkness". Since I'm a funded church planter through them, they take me hostage and make me attend these things! Haha... just kidding... part of the covenant... all good. One fringe benefit is I'll get to hang out with guys like Jumaine Jones, Daniel Floyd, and Ben Arment...

Okay... so, later on I'll post my Monday's Thoughts About Sunday's Service... see you then! ;-)