If the Bay Area Were a Country: World’s 10th Largest Economy
Last week the San Francisco Chronicle spread word of a new report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and Booz & Co.:
The Bay Area Council Economic Institute website provides more information about what makes this economy unique (though here the ranking is listed as 24th, not 10th):
The Bay Area Council Economic Institute serves one of the
world’s most innovative, competitive and diverse regional economies. The success
of the Bay Area economy is built on an unparalleled culture of entrepreneurship.
The Bay Area competes strongly in national and international markets as a
knowledge-based, innovation-led economy.
Global & National Competitiveness
With an economy of almost $300 billion, the Bay Area ranks 24th in
the world when compared to national economies. On a per capita basis, it ranks
ahead of all national economies, including the U.S. The region is at the cutting
edge of global technology, and is a leader in many key indicators of regional,
global and national competitiveness, including:
- The nation’s largest concentration of national
laboratories, corporate and independent research laboratories, and leading
research universities; - The largest number of top-ten ranked graduate programs in
business, law, medicine and engineering in the nation; - The highest density of venture capital firms in the world, with
32% of total U.S. venture capital funding invested in the region; - More Fortune 500 companies than any region except
New York; - The highest internet penetration of any U.S. region;
- The highest level of patent generation in the nation, with more
patents generated per employee than any other major metropolitan area; - The most highly educated workforce in the nation, with the
highest percentage of residents with graduate and professional degrees; - A leading position in global trade, with exports larger than
all but one U.S. state; - The highest economic productivity in the nation—almost twice
the U.S. average.
Nine-County Region
The nine-county Bay Area embraces San Francisco, Marin, Napa,
Sonoma,Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, and is
the only region in the nation claiming three major cities—San Francisco,
Oakland and San Jose—as well as the high technology center of Silicon Valley,
and the heart of Northern California’s wine country.
With a market of more than six million residents, the
Bay Area is California’s second largest and the nation’s fourth largest
metropolitan region.
Rediscovering the Gospel: Getting Wrecked and Getting Put Back Together
Following a quotation in Jerry Bridges’ new book, The Bookends of the Christian Life (pp. 75-76), I read a moving article that I urge all of you to read. I think many of you will relate. Personally, this is the most helpful thing I’ve read about the gospel’s transforming impact on a person’s life. This man’s story helps me better grasp what God has been doing in my life the past 4 years. I will be re-reading this several times.
Pastor Joe Coffey, How a Mega-Church is Rediscovering the Gospel. Themelios. Volume 33 Issue 1.
An excerpt:
To be specific, I have found it to be incredibly challenging to give up
the belief system that has sustained me so long, one built on an
initial forgiveness and then fed through a powerful combination of
pride and fear. This pride stemmed from the performance of spiritual
disciplines, pointed to the obvious signs of success (we were, after
all, named in the fastest-growing one hundred churches!), and most of
all was fueled by the approval of others. But fear may have been an
even greater motivator: fear of being exposed as less than what people
expect; fear of not being as smart, spiritual, or competent as I should
be; fear of not measuring up; and fear of Luke 12:48, “to whom much was
given . . . much will be required.”
The belief system of a pastor is bound to come out in his preaching
at least in subtle ways. My emphasis was always on grace, but it was
also laced with the discipline of effort and inner strength to be what
God called us to be. The result was either pride or defeat. My
preaching has changed as a result of the Gospel going deeper inside of
me.
The truth is I have existed as a pastor with gods in my closet.
There were times when these gods sustained me. Giving them up has
caused more death this year than I would like to admit. The closet is
still not empty, but the death of these gods has made me ravenous.
Without the Gospel as my source of security and significance, I would
die. So as one who has vacillated between self-sufficiency and
depression, Gospel-driven transformation is both liberating and
terrifying.
There are some in our church who have not yet rediscovered the
Gospel this way. There are others who hear the terrifying part but not
the liberating part, and they sit on pins and needles. Many of them
will leave soon, I think. But there are many others who have felt the
shackles start to fall off, and, like me, they are filled with an
inexpressible and glorious joy.
Rediscovering the Gospel is an ongoing process. Our church is a big
ship to turn. I would never attempt to turn it if the approval of
others was as vital to me now as it was a year ago and if I hadn’t been
changed by love, by Good News. In the midst of news this good, there is
no better place to be—even if Iam rejected by some and even if
attendance falls. As a sinner-pastor, I stand in dependence on grace to
plant and water Gospel seeds, recognizing that God himself gives the
growth. In 2008, I will endeavor to preach an ever-clearer message that
is faithful to the Scriptures—and woe to me if I do not preach the
Gospel. Indeed.
You must read the whole thing.
Photo: a place in Pacifica where I’ve done sermon prep
TGC 2009
The Gospel Coalition Conference was excellent. I haven’t had any time to blog about the conference and I don’t have time right now (I’m with some pastor friends in downtown Chicago and have grabbed a few minutes on the internet at the Apple store), but I wanted to quickly highlight one of my favorite messages from the conference.
Paul’s preaching was effective: it changed people’s lives to such an extent that it even changed the culture. The reason for this is that Paul confronted idols.
The Gospel Coalition 2009 Conference: Live Webcast
I’m in Chicago for The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference. Tomorrow the conference commences. If you couldn’t make it to Chicago, you can watch a live webcast of the conference sessions through Christianity.com.
The Settlers of Catan
I don’t like board games, but I like The Settlers of Catan. Wired magazine has a great article on the story behind the game:
Along the way, it’s teaching Americans that board games don’t have to
be either predictable fluff aimed at kids or competitive,
hyperintellectual pastimes for eggheads. Through the complex, artful
dance of algorithms and probabilities lurking at its core, Settlers
manages to be effortlessly fun, intuitively enjoyable, and still
intellectually rewarding, a potent combination that’s changing the
American idea of what a board game can be.
Any other fans of Settlers out there? Friends at my church introduced me to it and it has quite the following here at CPC.
Fathers & Replacement Glory
“A man will forget that, as a father, he has been welcomed to the transcendent glory of being part of God’s work of forming human souls. Instead he will buy into the replacement glory of career success. More and more, his life will be eaten up and defined by his work. Less and less will his sense of purpose have to do with the formative community that only he can offer his children. Sadly, his children cease to be one of the joyful focuses of his living and become an obligation in an already-too-busy schedule. Less and less do his children know him, respect him, trust him, or feel his love.”
-Paul David Tripp, A Quest For More: Living for something bigger than you, p. 29
Forming Family Traditions: Sunrise Easter Service
Now that we’re a young family of four, Taylor and I have been thinking a lot about family traditions. It’s been fun to discuss the question: What traditions do we want to have shape and set rhythm for our growing family?
This Easter, at Taylor’s initiative, we took our first stab at doing what we hope will become an annual family tradition: a sunrise Easter service. For those of you who don’t have this tradition going and might be interested in getting it going, here’s what we did:
-Chose a hilltop down the street from our home where we knew we’d catch a good sunrise
-Invited neighbors to join us
-Woke the boys up at 5:50am, met up with friends, and hiked about a mile to the hilltop with breakfast in tow
-Gathered together and, as the sun began to rise, we read the resurrection story and then prayed and sang a song together
-Ate breakfast and drank coffee
-Let the kids enjoy an Easter egg hunt
-Took some photos
-Raced off to CPC to prep for our morning services while wife, kids, and other lingered
I think this tradition will be a keeper.
Taylor has been enjoying reading Kent and Barbara Hughes’ book, Disciplines of a Godly Family, as it’s been stimulating her thinking on traditions. You might want to check it out.
Papa Pilgrim
In the summer of 2004 Taylor and I celebrated our 1st anniversary by embarking on an unforgettable adventure. It took some convincing, but Taylor grew warm to my anniversary adventure rather quickly: explore the north by truck.
After throwing a thin mattress, our down comforter, backpacking gear, books, and a big knife into the back of my pickup, we were off. For the next 30 days we drove my 4×4 from San Francisco, through the Canadian Rockies, into the expanses and corners of Alaska, all the way to the shore of the Arctic Ocean, and then we drove back. (Guys, I know, God has been kind to me to give me a bride who was actually willing to do this).
Along the way we had many mini-adventures. One of the most memorable was two days of backpacking through Wrangell-St. Elias, the largest National Park in America. I won’t tell you our stories about the grizzlies, the glacier, the mountain rescue, or the mine. Instead, I want to point you to a different story.
On our final day in Wrangell-St. Elias, Taylor and I hiked through the small (year round population of 50), extremely hard to get to town of McCarthy. There we met a few teenagers who dressed, acted, and talked in a very unusual manner. When introducing ourselves, the girl told me her name was “Jerusalem.” Her siblings’ names were also biblical and unusual. She told me she had a total of 14 siblings.
Later, I asked other locals about these people and they told me strange stories of “the Pilgrim family” who lived far up in the mountains in an old mine. Taylor and I were deeply intrigued and somewhat disturbed by what we saw and what we were told about the pilgrim family.
Five years have passed since that encounter in a far corner of Alaska. But, a few days ago I was reading Outside magazine and was stunned when I came across an article that tells the true story of the pilgrim family. I think many of you would be interested in reading this story, The Darkest Place, by Mark Kirby.
Here’s the lead in:
frontier, a man can hide his sins. Robert Allen Hale—a.k.a. Papa
Pilgrim—bought a homestead outside the remote town of McCarthy where he
imprisoned his family and conned the world with tales of a simpler
life. But for the 15 children living the nightmare, the only choice was
escape.
Read the whole thing (and take note, it is a man who truly knows Jesus who helped bring truth and rescue to this family).
