Blog
swimming in Lake Michigan Mon, Dec 21st
Just as Jesus took the plunge into the mess of humanity to relate to us, he now calls us to plunge into the messiest social corners of our city. To illustrate how uncomfortable that can be, I went for a winter swim in Lake Michigan. Click the image to check out the video.
sermon audio: missional beauty Mon, Dec 14th
Sermon audio from last night's message is up over at the main website. Click the image to navigate over and look for it in the bottom left corner of the home page.
new website is up Fri, Dec 4th
The Painted Door is growing up and shedding this prepubescent blog for a new website. Launch team member Greg Connour did a great job getting the new site up in time to coincide with the Tribune article that dropped today. We'll still keep the blog rolling, too, but check out the new digs.
Chicago Tribune covers The Painted Door Fri, Dec 4th
Click on over to the Chicago Tribune to read a story on The Painted Door. Religion reporter Kate Shellnutt followed us around for about six weeks leading up to our first service and wrote a nice piece. We're grateful.
Video: Collision panel discussion Thu, Dec 3rd
On Nov. 19, The Painted Door and Chicago's own Hemant Mehta (the "Friendly Atheist") teamed up to co-host the official Chicago screening of Collision, a documentary film pitting atheist Christopher Hitchens against evangelical Doug Wilson in a debate over whether Christianity is good for the world. After the film, I moderated a panel discussion with Mehta and Christian philosopher Dr. Chad Meister.
For your viewing pleasure, here is video of that panel discussion, complete with an invitation from one atheist audience member for the Christians in attendance to kill him. We politely declined. Enjoy!
The Painted Door's Discussion on Atheism from Parable Media on Vimeo.
Upcoming Sunday service dates Mon, Nov 23rd
At present, The Painted Door gathers monthly for Sunday services. Join us for teaching, singing, prayer and feasting -- and invite your friends.
Feb. 14 │ March 21 5pm - 6:30pm Merit School of Music - 38 S Peoria St. (map it)
sermon audio: the divine vocation Tue, Nov 17th
The audio quality could be better and we missed recording the first 10 minutes of the message, but such is the nature of church-planting. It was great seeing all of you who made it and meeting many of you.
We'll be posting video from our first service soon, but here's audio for now: listen
The Divine Vocation Fri, Oct 23rd
Join us for our inaugural Sunday service at the Merit School of Music building in the West Loop (map it).
We’ll sing, eat, celebrate and learn, as we study God’s plan for redemption and restoration in our neighborhood, our city and our world.
All are welcome. Childcare will be provided.
Click the flier to check out details for this and other gatherings of The Painted Door.
morning prayer Wed, Sep 23rd
Recognizing that without God, we can do nothing of value, The Painted Door gathers for prayer each Wednesday morning from 7am-8am. We look at God's word for guidance and ask him for wisdom and direction as we move forward in this church plant endeavor.
Join us.
Eckhart Park meeting room (map it)
Wednesdays, 7am-8am
Chicago, here we come Mon, Aug 31st
My wife and I spent all of last week in Indianapolis getting assessed for membership in the Converge network. And the results are in: It's a go!
This is a big deal for The Painted Door, as Converge will provide considerable support, coaching, and money to help us get started (stay tuned for more detailed info on the money piece). Already, the network is handling all of our donation intake and making sure we stay out of jail. Click the give button on the right of this page to learn more about that process.
With the Converge connection established, we are now set for the big move. We expect to hit the ground in Chicago Sept. 19. Eager to meet everybody and get this church rolling. Check back here often for more detailed updates on forthcoming meetings and events. And hop on our Facebook group to join the story.
