Rustin Smith is a good friend of mine. He wrote a killer article at Immerse Journal about Johnny Cash & what it means to be an artist and a human being in the world. There is a little something here for the music lover, the pastor, the artist, and just the person who wants to live a life that is true in a world that is challenging. This is brilliant writing & you should read it and follow Rustin here... Read more

David Fitch has a great post on the mythic figure of “church planter.” I’ve been on staff with three church plants in the past 15 years. That said… Fitch is right on target. I know it is a bit of a caricature, but his sketch of the church planter is on target and a little scary. It’s totally worth the time to read the blog post so have at it here: http://tinyurl.com/3wc7upu Read more

I’ve got a new article up at the Huffington Post. Here’s an excerpt: The entire music business is in flux, and contemporary Christian music has not escaped the changes. Digital recording platforms have revolutionized the way music is made — and who can make it. Digital distribution has change the way music reaches the consumer — and who will profit from it. Grassroots and independent models have become more and more successful over the past decade. “Indie,” which was once... Read more

From The Onion: Read more

This is one of the most interesting video clips I’ve seen in a long time. I’m shocked but not surprised to learn that the algorithms and filters employed by sites such as Google, Facebook and more and more of our news outlets actually control our internet experience. Those sites mine data from your search history in order to learn what you like and don’t like. They then filter out things that you may not typically see, showing only the kind... Read more

That’s what one of the comments says underneath this video on youtube.com – if it were a caption content for a video, that would be a winner! There’s something about the moment when the first guy takes off running that just makes me laugh so hard I want to cry. About halfway through the video a woman stands up and picks something up off the carpet. I think it was the wallet of one of the runners & she went... Read more

I like NASCAR. I know I don’t fit the profile, but I can’t help it. I’m also a pastor, which means I pray in public a lot. In a million years I would never be able to pull this off… it’s hilarious… it’s totally wrong… but I bet this guy’s congregation loves him. Read more

I re-reading Telling Secrets by Frederick Buechner. It is a stunning thing to read an author’s account of their own worst moments. Reading Buechner’s account of his father’s suicide, his mother’s emotional distance/shallowness, and his daughters eating disorder, I feel as though I now know what it’s like to be a priest hearing confession – so dark, so sad. You just want to go back in time and grab him at that age and take him – take his brother... Read more

I will admit to loving pretty much every film Wes Anderson has made. He’s one of the great American filmmakers of all time. In this short video the AV Club takes us to the actual house in Harlem, where the film was set. Give it up for the AV Club! New York: The Royal Tenenbaums house Read more

A large industrial company pollutes the environment and puts the health of the community at risk. The common laborer in the company might blame the management – they gave the orders. The head of the company might blame the board – they pressured him to act. The board might blame the chairmen – he only had his eye on the balance sheet. The chairmen of the board might blame the stockholders – they demand higher stock prices. Yet the average... Read more