Writing with Jay Lorenzen

Bunkhouse Living Room

Sunday night my good friend Jay Lorenzen drove up to Estes Park to join me for a writing week.

I’ve been working on a book with Sam Williams tentatively titled, “To Transform a City: Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole City.” We sent out rough draft copies to 20 or so city-focused people asking for feedback and this was the week for a re-write.

Jay spent 20 years in the Air Force, rising to the rank of Lt. Col. before leaving and joining the full-time with Campus Crusade in the Military Ministry and now with the Good News/Good Deeds Team as well as Faculty Commons. Jay is a persuasive leader and is probably the most prolific reader / thinker that I know. Here are a list of a few (not all) of his websites/blogs. They are rich with insight.

• www.ifproperlyled.org
• www.onmovements.com
• www.mycommonplace.com
• www.extendingthekingdom.org
• www.jayslibrary.com
• www.lifeandleadership.org

Airial view of Nordic Walking route

Back in August, I spent a day with Jay at his home outside of Colorado Springs where he helped me migrate the content of my blog from blogspot to this current domain. I’m still a caveman….can’t even post the books I’m reading but I am learning. As we talked I suggested (“Jay, you really need to do this!”) that we take a week in December where he can get started on book. It just didn’t seem right that more folks were not being blessed by Jay’s writing.

One of the things I’ve discovered is for those of us who like to lead / influence, writing is a powerful tool. Words do their work even when I’m not working. Luther discovered this after he translated the Bible into German and got it into the hands of the people. “Whether I’m sleeping or having a beer in a pub in Wittenburg, the Word of God does its work.”

Nordic Walking

Jay’s wife Laurie packed a load of food for us so we’ve been eating like kings…well like kings that had Laurie as their chef. The first night we had Elk Tenderloin…last night we had half-pound elk burgers (you probably figured out that Jay shot an elk last month). For lunch we’ve been eating Laurie’s home-made soups. Wow! In the morning, after some vespers (technically an evening term) Jay and I take a four-mile “nordic walk.” It’s a great way to start the day.