Once while I was traveling in a van full of mendicants through North Carolina I had what can only be described as a once in a lifetime experience. We were on the interstate somewhere between Winston-Salem and Greensboro looking for a turn-off to find some little camp in the High-Point area. It was the middle of the night, had to be two or three in the morning. We were hoping to get close enough to our destination that we could... Read more

This “Slate” article by Hanna Rosin is pretty wild. She writes that of “Teenagers who identify as “evangelical” or “born again” …80 percent think sex should be saved for marriage. But thinking is not the same as doing. Evangelical teens are actually more likely to have lost their virginity than either mainline Protestants or Catholics. They tend to lose their virginity at a slightly younger age—16.3, compared with 16.7 for the other two faiths. And they are much more likely... Read more

I have a friend who is going to jail. Actually he’s likely going to prison but he’s in jail right now. I took him there last Thursday afternoon. It’s an awkward thing to drop someone off at the jailhouse so they can be locked away behind layers and layers of bars and doors. Especially because dropping someone off at the jail means one has to drive away and go back to living life. Self-conscious and sweating we drove around the... Read more

Which Theologian Are You?find out at quiz farm So I ran across this quiz online that will tell you which theologian you most resemble. I have to tell you, I was a little bit disturbed to see that I’m 40% Calvin. But knowing that being like Calvin doesn’t necessarily make you like a Calvinist seems to offer some comfort in a time like this. And luckily, he’s still near the bottom. Perhaps more disturbing is the Anslem thing up there... Read more

Praying for Paula I’m pissed. I have a friend named Paula, actually she’s a great friend of my wife. Here’s her story. I’m telling you because I want you to join me in praying for her. Paula was working at a Habitat for Humanity site as a volunteer one Saturday morning a long time ago, when a group of friends from my old church (Lakeland Community Church in Lee’s Summit), were there helping as well. She struck up a conversation... Read more

Into Great Silence a film by Philip Groning Into Great Silence is in theatres. Anyone interested in the monastic life has probably already heard about this movie. I have not yet seen it but I’ve been reading about it for a few weeks now. There is a great article on it in the Kansas City Star. They did a review as well. Essentially the film was shot by Philip Groning. He moved into a monastery in France and lived there... Read more

Schools of Thought, Ultimate Concern & Intellectual Snobbery Amazingly enough, Kansas State basketball is looking up under our new coach. That’s fun because K-State is my school. We actually have a legitimate shot at the NCAA tournament, which has not been even a remote possibility for the past decade. It probably won’t happen but…Go Cats! I was enjoying their win this weekend and thinking how folks who went to college generally have great affection for their school. I love K-State... Read more

A Conversation Among FriendsJanuary 18-19, 2007left to right: John Wright, moderator, George Lindbeck, David Burrell, Stanley Hauerwas.Nazarene Theological Seminary hosted gathering of great theological minds this past week. Stanley Hauerwas, George Lindbeck and David Burrell gathered to publicly discuss the question “Is the reformation over?” Me and a couple of friends went to listen to them and I have to tell you I was pretty blown away. All three have ties to Yale and Burrell and Hauerwas were at Notre... Read more

A Theology for the Social Gospelby Walter Rauschenbusch I read a great book over the holidays and have since had to write a paper on it for one of my classes. The class is called “Contemporary Theology: Barth to the Mid-Century,” and the book is called A Theology for the Social Gospel by Walter Rauschenbusch. Rauschenbusch was a Baptist minister in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City from 1886 to 1897. If you’ve seen the Scorsese movie “Gangs of New... Read more

Satellite Soul Now Available4th Project at CD Baby Now I’m pretty stoked because our new record is out as of today. If you are into it, stop by CdBaby and pick up a copy of your own. It’s on sale for around $12 – it’s not on itunes yet but should but up within the week, they tell us. Also we’ve got a brand new website up and running and our myspace page has been getting some traffic as well.... Read more