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NEWS & RECENT WORK

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LA and Belfast, I'm coming for you!
Newsworthy WITHOUT Norsworthy podcast - Mike Donehey and Me
Newsworthy with Norsworthy podcast - Israel/Palestine pt 2
POD.SB podcast episode - Gripped by the City
Newsworthy with Norsworthy podcast - Israel/Palestine pt 1
God Over Good Episode of Newsworthy with Norsworthy
Biologos Article - Rooted Faith in a Changing World
At the very beginning of all our dreaming about @sbcitychurch, we developed some mantras to describe the life we would hold in common. These mantras - sushi, not fish stew; everyone an icon; practices, not performances; and fields, not factories - have become portable prayers that go with us into our every day experiences, too. But sometimes our best prayers aren’t words at all. This year we commissioned the stunning work of @scottthepainter to translate the mantras into images, and he was with us this weekend to paint them on large canvases and speak to our community about the role of images in our spiritual journeys (he also performed his @sayyes show and it was fantastic). Scott, thanks for taking on this project and giving so much to our community. I can’t wait to see what happens as we carry these prayers - both word and image - into our worlds.
My uncle Brett died last week. It was sudden and unexpected, and it feels like he was way too young. He was a music hero to me. A freakishly good drummer, he had played in some bands before he became a full time educator, teaching hundreds (maybe thousands) of students in his personal studio and training high school drum lines, too. I loved it when he told me stories about the bands he had played in, like how some of the guys he had played with went on to become the band Megadeth. (Apparently they would open for another band that had a Greek keyboard player in it, and that guy went on to become the artist known as Yanni. Megadeth used to open for Yanni. Sort of. Truth is stranger than fiction.) Well, truth be told, while I loved those stories, I always wondered if there was a little bit of spin in them. Or if maybe the stories had grown larger in my memory than what Brett had said. Today I spoke at Brett’s funeral, and I told the story about Megadeth and Yanni and wondered all over again how much of that was a big fish tale. And then after the funeral this guy walked up to me with a warm smile and shook my hand and he said, “Hey, thanks for sharing. I’m David... from Megadeth.” !!! Apparently it was all very true. I never should have doubted. Brett was larger than life. Love you, Uncle Brett. Rest In Peace.
Best surprise of the morning at @sbcitychurch was seeing these two walk in. @ericleecarpenter and @mandacarpenter drove over from Chicago to join us. Two of my favorites, two of my heroes. ❤️
Every once in awhile I need to be confronted by mountains. I need to feel small, because it opens me up and reminds me how good and freeing it is to be a creature in a world that’s way bigger than me, with a God infinitely beyond me. This week in Montana was good for my soul. Adrenaline and fear and wonder all mixed together in an experience of awe that I hadn’t had in a long time. Feels like I’ve got a fresh footing for the year ahead. Let’s go.
So proud of @mandacarpenter and this project she created. If you hop over to her account, you’ll see that she’s taking people through this devotional in January, so if you’re interested, jump in on it now!
I took over @lukenors’s podcast this week to interview @mikedonehey about his band, @tenthavenorth, their new EP, honesty in art, emotional vocabulary, hate in politics, all with a good dose of Freddie Buechner thrown in. We called it “Newsworthy without Norsworthy”. Find it on your favorite podcast app!
This handsome little guy holding my hand is Theo. For the last two years, we’ve spent most Sunday afternoons together, along with his mom and dad and aunt. I preach three services, and then I leave the building exhausted and scattered and a little broken-hearted at the needs our community is carrying and a little bit hopeful because of all the beauty I saw, and it’s hard to know what to do with all of that. But being with Theo each week has been so peaceful and centering, even though he’s been to hell and back more times than you can count. Something about all the joy, vulnerability, and bravery located in this one little package has called me back to center again and again. It probably doesn’t hurt that his support team - Rick and Chelsea and Aunt Elysia - have walked through all of this with such uncommon grace and faith. They call me back to center, too. Anyway, Theo and his mom relocated to South Florida for flu season to try to mitigate the risk of respiratory sickness this winter, and I’m really missing our Sunday ritual today. Hurry back, Theo. Your SB fam can’t wait to hang with you.
After months of searching and discerning, today we welcomed our new executive pastor, Matt Graybill, to the @sbcitychurch team! Matt and his wife Beth shared some of their story with our community in our gatherings this morning. They and their boys moved from SoCal to South Bend to join us in this adventure, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Welcome to the family, Graybills! (📷: @jeffreycmyers )