I signed a deal a few moths ago with Wipf & Stock Publishers to write a book. It’s going to be a sort of post-liberal reading of Walter Rauschenbusch’s Theology for the Social Gospel (1917). Has to be to the publisher by the end of November, 2010. I’m stoked! I just wrote the longest paper of my life; 64 pages, 19,000 words, which is a precursor to the book. I’m attempting to show that Walter Rauschenbusch has been mislabeled and... Read more

 Read more

Geez… this is not fair! N.T. Wright, Richard Hays, Jeremie Begbie, Markus Bockmuehl, Walsh & Keesmaat, etc. Wheaton College is the place to be this weekend. Against all wisdom to be present where I am – I wish I were there right now! Nerd heaven… Read more

Somebody sent me a link to this. This was me at the Dove awards back in the day – Sitting in with Big Tent Revival and Pete Stewart from Grammatrain… no we never won a Dove Award. Read more

A trip with the family to Cape Cod: $5000 Cross the Pond to the UK: $3000 Getting someone else to pay for it: priceless. I’ve played the lottery, I’ve entered raffles, I’ve played bingo, and fantasy football… but I never win anything. Not this time. This summer is my scheduled sabbatical – It’s been 8 years since I came on board to start Redemption Church. In our church full-time pastors are asked to take a three month sabbatical every 7... Read more

Mount Righteous is Coming to KC Saturday, February 20th at the Brick – 10pm. Kristin and I are going and I’m trying to get some folks to go out to the show. Come out and see my new favorite band! Read more

J.D. Salinger died yesterday. I’ve been reading the news reports, each describing his life since he found fame and fortune with The Catcher in the Rye. They call him a recluse; his decisions strange and odd, which I suppose is true. One report mentioned that he had made some strange choices, preferring to be in relationships with much younger women, choosing to live an ascetic life. I can’t help wondering how far from the truth of his life the reports... Read more

Edwin H. Friedman. Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue. New York: Guilford Press, 1985. . Edwin Friedman was born in New York in 1932 and was raised on the Upper West Side. He did his undergraduate work at Bucknell and earned his doctorate from Hebrew Union College. He spend more than 30 years as a Jewish Rabbi and was a prominent voice on religion, politics and psychotherapy. He worked in the Johnson White House as a community... Read more

I went to see Invictus the movie last night. It was a pretty amazing film. I was reminded how much I appreciate Clint Eastwood as a director. The first film he directed that I fell in love with was Pale Rider (1985). But I think he reached a new level with Mystic River (2003) and then Million Dollar Baby (2004). For an actor/director who made a name for himself as a kick-ass and take names later action-type hero, Eastwood has... Read more

Richard Rohr, Adam’s Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation. New York, NY: Crossroads Publishing Company, 2004. . In Adam’s Return, Richard Rohr writes an interesting account of the way men are initiated into the life of the Christian church. Rohr spends a significant amount of his time working with men and those who lead men’s ministry. This book seems to pick up where the Wild at Heart (John Eldridge) philosophy leaves off. Rohr is not critical of the Wild... Read more