Last week I returned to work after my first ever ministry sabbatical. It was three wonderful, life-giving months, and I am thankful for every moment. When I returned, I sat down and started to write this post and quickly realized I had more to say than was appropriate for a blog post. Read more
In 2008 I attended my first Q gathering in New York City, and since then I’ve been hooked. I’ve attended five of the eight gatherings, and it continues to be the premiere learning and networking event of my year. I even partnered with some friends back in 2012 to put on a local Q event here in Denver. Q has become more than an event I attend; it’s a movement and tribe of which I’m a part.
This week Donald Miller made waves within the bubble of the Christian blogosphere with a post about why he doesn’t attend a local church. Controversy erupted in the comments section (proving the truth of this statement by my friend Phil Owen), and Miller responded a couple days later with a follow-up post that offered little new insight but emphatically doubled down on his decision. Read more
I returned home to Denver last Wednesday from the Q LA conference to the typical rush of life that greets you when you return from a conference. While I’d hoped to take some time to share some of my takeaways the busyness of life has thus far prevented it. Then I got this email from my friend Dave this morning:
How was Q? What was your big take-away?
If I only download 2 talks, what should they be? Read more
2012 was another great year for the Redden family. Lots has happened since our family update last spring and the updates about Ethan and Stephen’s trip to Guatemala. It’s not until you sit down with a friend you haven’t seen in a while or write an update like this that you realize how much happens in everyday life! Here are some of the highlights from our lives over the last few months. Read more
In 2008, shortly before I moved to Colorado, Initiative 40 was passed into law. Initiative 40 provided for the legal use of marijuana as a medical treatment for people with “debilitating medical conditions.” So the nearly four years I have lived here in Colorado has been the age of “medical marijuana.” This decision has brought a lot of changes to my city and to our state. Those of us who live here know that the “medical” veneer of marijuana is thin (it’s amazing how many 20-somethings there are here suffering from chronic back pain). With laughingly little regulation over dispensaries or the process for obtaining a card to purchase medical marijuana, we have stood for four years on the precipice considering the implications of making marijuana legal for recreational use. This week we stepped off the cliff. Proposition 64, which proposed a constitutional amendment to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol in the state of Colorado, passed into law with 55% of the vote. An inevitable fight between state and local government certainly lies ahead. As Governor Hickenlooper said in a statement last night, “Federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly.” Read more
Dan Snyder, my good friend and co-worker at New Denver Church, wrote a blog post this week entitled “Singleness.” It was an excellent post. Honest, vulnerable, hopeful – just like Dan himself. Like Dan, one of the things I love about working at New Denver is that I have many opportunities to spend time with young adults. Unlike Dan, I am no longer a young adult myself. Having crossed the big 4-0 line into mid life, when it comes to young adults I am no longer “us”; I am “them.” So it was with some perspective and nostalgia that I read Dan’s post and thought back on the single season of my own life. Read more
If you’d like to get the full update of our 2012 Guatemala trip click here to read the update. This is our trip in pictures…
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On Friday June 15th around 10:30pm Ethan and Stephen arrived back in Denver, safe and sound after a long week of travel. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and to those who contributed financially to this trip. We wanted to take a few minute to share some stories and pictures from our time in Guatemala. Read more
Hey everyone,
As many of you know, for the last two years New Denver Church has been developing a partnership with a church in the small Guatemalan village of San Pablo la Laguna (to read more about our decision to work in Guatemala check out the New Denver website). Our strategy is to establish a relationship with this church and their pastor, Antonio Moxnay, in order to contribute to lasting change over a long period of time. We are focusing all our efforts on this one village. Read more
My NDC Messages
Stephen -- Interesting that you say that there are way more...04/05/2017 - 7:31 am by John
that's a great local location for retreats. Been there several...05/25/2016 - 11:37 am by Brian Ralph
good stuff, thanks for sharing. love the parts on mobile...08/19/2015 - 2:35 pm by dan snyder
St. Patrick's Day (17 March).. Great summary..04/04/2015 - 8:19 am by Phil Kingsley