[Photo: drurydrama] Tickers, blue corners and close friends oh my. Yes, Facebook has done it again. Not since the great “Rounded Corners Kerfuffle of 2008” has there been such an uproar over changes to the design and architecture of our beloved Facebook. I know that there are a variety of reactions to the recent changes, but it seems as if many of the people who are pitching the biggest fits are folks who, in other contexts, consider themselves agents of... Read more
For those of you familiar with the California’s FAIR Education Act (SB48), it is the latest target for many Christian groups who believe that homosexuality is a sin. Motivations are far more complex than that but for me to try and capture what my brothers and sisters in Christ on that side of the aisle believe would be unfair. Suffice it to say, they are none too happy about this recently signed into law legislation and there is a well organized effort underway to... Read more
For my first foray into the Patheos Book Club I chose to take a peek at R. Kirby Godsey’s book Is God a Christian?. With words and emotions of the the 9/11 10 year remembrance in the air, I thought this would be a great book to help me think about some of the harder questions confronting religion today. I was not disappointed. You can hear directly from the author and get the study guide on the Is God a Christian? Book Club Page, so... Read more
[photo: alphadesigner] I must admit I rarely comment in this manner about things that I did not see or hear firsthand, but like so many who might not have watched the GOP debate last night, my interest was piqued when I began to see tweets about the applause Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) received for his answer about Texas executions. Apparently when talking about the number of people who were executed in Texas under his watch, the audience expressed great approval... Read more
Yesterday being Labor Day and all, what a better way to remember and celebrate labor in the United States than a good old fashioned union action? Yeah, I know that many struggle with unions these days, but I am one of those who believes that working people, middle-class and those who do not occupy the upper echelons of our socioeconomic world are unfairly targeted both for blame for and relief from our current economic woes. So you can surely feel... Read more
I have talked about the about.me service before, but just in case . . . about.me acts as a kind of online business card where you can hold and share a snapshop of who you are: bio, images, links, etc. I have found it a great way for folks to connect with me while being able to easily keep all information up-to-date. It has a clean simplified interface with many great templates and as one who is also trying to build up readership and... Read more
One of my ongoing projects, the “BE THE CHANGE” series highlights people and projects that I encounter during my travels who are doing the hard work of changing the world for the better. Subjects are chosen by me with no committee or proposal process 😉 So if you know of a person or project that you think is doing something that is making the world a more just, compassionate and peaceful place, please feel free to send me a note or... Read more
In response to my last post, The Race for Room 200 and the #sfmayor Election, a comment on the SF Gate Cross Posting, basically said that I should just shut up about politics because I am a pastor. Well, sorry to disappoint those who think that being a person of faith automatically excludes him or her from civic engagement, but as many have felt for generations, my Christian faith is inherently political and compels me to be active in public square. As I have said before,... Read more
[Photo: giesenbauer] Last year the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a survey that created a huge buzz in religious circles about a group that could now be categorized as “Spiritual but not Religious.” The one of the findings that piqued the interest of many was that the decline in traditional church membership was not leading to people rejecting faith at the magnitude that many had expected. In fact, “faith,” in its many manifestations, was still a significant element in... Read more
[photo: Jeremy Brooks] In an on-going attempt to get create some space for spirited, yet respectful, dialogue to take place about issues important to many of us, in this installment of “Help Me Understand” I am taking on an issue that I know many parents confront as they decide how to raise their children: spanking. As a father of three children living in a bold, know-it-all city such as San Francisco, I acknowledge that any assessment of another’s parenting style is much easier... Read more
Bruce Reyes-Chow
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