Dietrich Bonhoeffer I’m reading “Life Together” for the very first time. I’ve actually never read any Bonhoeffer before. I’m just going to list interesting quotes and comment on them as I read this slowly. One of the ideas which Bonhoeffer develops early on here is that Christian to not relate to each other directly, but only through Christ. Any relationship we have which is direct and not mediated through Christ will be a purely “psychic,” which he defines as human,... Read more

If you have SHOWTIME check out the upcoming documentary “Fall from Grace.” It’s a great film about Fred Phelps. I had the great fortune to produce a track for the film earlier this year. Satellite Soul played the music and our good friend and sometimes band-mate Janette Crawford sang the track – J. Hall mixed – it was really fun. Ryan Jones is a creative and insightful filmaker – it’s just a really good film. Read more

McDonald’s chocolate chip cookies are like crack. I cannot stop eating these stupid things. Our church office is under construction right now and so I’ve been without an office since the end of July. That’s three and a half months now that I’ve been sponging internet off places like Panera or McDonalds. For awhile Panera was winning out until they protected their network and made it impossible for me to send email from my Outlook. Now I’m stuck with McDonalds.... Read more

Here is a quiz from quiz farm which is supposed to tell you which political party you should be a part of. This one is pretty funny. I came out as an Anarchist which is very puzzling given my penchant for following the rules. At least I was zero percent Nazi. Here are my results…take the quiz & share your results with us!! . . . What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In? You scored as an Anarchism... Read more

This is a great post from my friend Casey who is in Seminary in Chicago. Thanks Casey for teaching me more about Madeleine L’Engle (pictured here), and for your artistry!...Co-Creatorship & the Influence of Madeleine L’Engleby Casey Thornburgh..Something in me could not let the passing of Madeleine L’Engle on September 6th go by without some reflection. So here I go, doing my best to muster a few words about an author who left more than a few fingerprints in the... Read more

................a quick review of a really great book…..Simply Christianby N.T. Wright.Until I began to read and listen to the work of N.T. Wright, the phrase “putting the world to rights” wasn’t in my vocabulary. Today, I think it is the best short description of what I believe the Kingdom of God is all about. In his book Simply Christian, Wright expands on what he believes is the “echo of a voice (p.3) which we hear in our imaginations and our... Read more

............ Jackson Pollack is one of my favorite artists. I don’t know why but respond very emotionally to most abstract expressionism. De Kooning is another favorite. There is a De Kooning here in town at the Kemper Museum that I like to go see. There is also a Pollock at the Nelson in the new wing. It’s nice, but not one of his more important works. I love the deconstruction of forms and the large scale…I just think it’s beautiful.... Read more

About a year ago my friend Isaac told me about this band – Sigur Ros that I needed to check out. He suggested that I just look on youtube and find live footage. But the first thing I clicked on was this video for the song Glosoli. On youtube it’s low quality and not it the Cinema dimensions. Even so, I fell in love with their music. J. Hall hooked me up with more of their music (thanks J.), and... Read more

Wes Anderson is one of my all-time favorite directors. I love his films because they are quirky and cool. They are almost always about trying to find family, or community. They are also great works of art in terms of the way they are shot. I also really admire his use of music in film and the way he’s crafted his own style that is distinctively his now. That’s no small feat. Anyway, he’s got a new film out called... Read more

When Robert Jenson came to NTS I got to sit in on a couple of conversations with him. In one class he was asked to reflect on what he’d learned from his friends, Karl Barth, Jurgen Moltmann, and Wolfhart Pannenberg. This is what he said about Pannenberg: . . . “What I took from Pannenburg about 19th Century theology, about which he knew just about everything: If there is one God, that God is Triune and the creation of that... Read more