Conference Call Audio with John Burke

Posted on January 27, 2011

Listen in to our conversation with John Burke from Gateway Church in Austin.

Download MP3 Here

Listen to previous conference calls here.

Origins Conference Call with John Burke (1/25)

Posted on January 19, 2011

Our next Origins Conference Call will be with John Burke on Tuesday, January 25th from 4:30-5:30pm (EST).

John Burke and his wife, Kathy, founded Gateway Church in Austin, Texas, in 1998. Since then, Gateway has grown to include several thousands of people at their Sunday services, most of whom are in their twenties and thirties, and consists mostly of unchurched people who began actively following Christ at Gateway. Burke is also the author of No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come-as-You-Are Culture in the Church and Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended.

John will be interviewed by J.R. Kerr and Eric Bryant and will include time for a Q&A as well.

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Keep your eyes out for the next Origins newsletter for a chance to win a free copy of Soul Revolution. If you aren’t yet signed up, you can do so here.

Listen to previous Origins Conference Calls here.

“Help in Haiti” by Chris Marlow

Posted on January 13, 2011

“Haiti: A Year Later” by Chris Marlow of Help End Local Poverty, a non-profit based out of Austin.
“It seems rather strange that it’s been one full year since a massive earthquake rocked Haiti.

Since that earthquake, Haiti continues to be dealt blow-after-blow. Political unrest has caused little rebuilding efforts to take place. Cholera has spread throughout the country. For over a week, Haitians were being pestered by a potential level four Hurricane this past November.

It’s hard to find clean water, food and shelter. Education and job opportunities are still hard to come by.

And yet, Haitians continue to fight and struggle to move forward. Inch by inch, they claw, scratch and push to help create a better future.

January 12, 2010, Haiti was a changed nation. January 12, 2011, Haiti has become a symbol to the world. A people who simply won’t back down, give up or quit.

Today we mourn the loss of many, we’re frustrated at the lack of progress for Haitians, and yet we can’t help but take a moment and and thank the Haitian people. They are brave, their resolve seems to be unmatched, and their willingness to move forward is stunning, convicting and simply amazing.

We heard from our Haitian friend and partner, Pastor Jean Alix, today. He shared his thoughts with us as he reflected on this past year:

For me it is very hard to even think about what happened last year. This morning I cried just listening to the news. It is very difficult for our brothers and sisters in Haiti that lost all they had – family, houses, jobs, friends and even dreams, and when we look on the horizon there is not much hope except for Christians who believe in God and his Son Jesus who can do all things for those who believe in him.When I look back after one year, I see a lot of good and bad things.

Good things: I saw a solidarity between Haitians that I’ve never seen in my life.
I saw revival in the churches as never before.
I saw the world come and help Haiti.

But the bad things:
Lots of people and organizations take advantage of the situations of the people – both Haitians and people or organizations from other countries.
Lots of people are still in some bad situations even though they should have been helped, but no one cared for them.
Our government doesn’t do much.
There are still dead bodies under the debris.
People still in tents.
The sanitary condition of the people is very critical…

We will continue to partner with Haitians, including Pastor Jean Alix, in 2011 to help bring restoration and renewal to the nation.”

Click here to see how you can take action.