I stumbled across this interesting video the other day. It’s really well done & as a theology nerd, I enjoyed it. It’s a promotional tool for a book called Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. I have never read the book and so cannot recommend it. However I can quibble with one aspect of what the video is promoting. The final line of the video says, “The question is whether what we know about God is true.” Is that the... Read more

I confess that I am on retreat at Conception Abbey until Wednesday. I confess that I have tried to post my confession all day I have not been able to. Blogger is blocked on the computers here, and my goofy EVO wasn’t allowing me to type in the field for a blog entry. I couldn’t get the keyboard to pop up… so frustrating! I finally downloaded the blogger app. Don’t know why didn’t I think of that work around sooner.... Read more

So – at a Chicago gay pride parade a group of Christians showed up… what do you think they were there for? This is typically the point at which we learn that Fred Phelps and his crazy family were there with their “God hates fags” signage.. Thankfully that’s not what happened. Look at this: http://imgur.com/bVD9p What do you think? I told my wife, “I love the sentiment, but can we just wear pants?” (you have to see the picture) She said,... Read more

This is one of my all time favorite clips. I know it’s old, but I ran into today by accident & couldn’t stop laughing. The clip is produced like a movie trailer – explaining everything which happens in nearly every contemporary church in Americaeach weekend – eerily on target. I’m pretty sure NorthPoint made the video. Having a laugh at our own expense is good! I cannot even begin to remember how many worship services like this I’ve been responsible... Read more

This Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Epiphany. In the church calendar, Epiphany means, “to show, to reveal, to make known,” and so during this season we tell these great stories from the life of Jesus, about how God began to reveal who Jesus really was and what he was trying to do. We are following the Revised Common Lectionary (actually we are following textweek.com which is an incredible resource for everyone from Sunday School teachers, to CM directors, to... Read more

One of the major themes of President Obama’s State of the Union Address last night was the inequality between the rich and the poor. It made the main headline in today’s Washington Post. The president noted that something is wrong when Warren Buffett pays fewer taxes than his secretary. If you want to read a good article on the inequality and the issue, here’s a NY Times editorial by Paul Krugman. I’m glad the president saw fit to bring inequality... Read more

Matthew Paul Turner is a friend of mine from way back in the Satellite Soul days. He used to run one of the really cool coffeehouse venues, Jammin Java, in Maryland. Later he was the editor of CCM Magazine. He’s an author & humorist now (satirist maybe? – just think John Stewart or Colbert for evangelicals), anyway he writes books and is stinking hilarious. Matthew has been telling a story (a not so funny one), on is blog the past... Read more

New York City Housing Authority officials have notified all of the churches who rent space in their public schools that they are no longer welcome as of Feb. 12. This decision came without warning and some say it threatens to violate an earlier Supreme Court Ruling on religious use of public space. After numerous protests and even 43 arrests, it’s happening. Here’s a snarky NYTimes editorial about it. Here’s an article on the protests. It begs the questions – should... Read more

I confess that one of the more annoying pre-holiday issues in 2011 was that our refrigerator died. Almost everything in it was ruined and we had to drop a thousand dollars on the unplanned purchase of a new fridge. I confess that this is why I’m doubly annoyed by the fact that our washing machine died last week & we had to buy a new one. I confess that although I’m incredibly thankful to have been married for 15 years... Read more

Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary this weekend, which makes the primary season a little more interesting. This is now a two-man race, and one which defies all of the norms of party politics going back to 1972, when the current form of choosing a candidate was instituted. Here’s an interesting article on what’s happening. I would have never thought it possible that Gingrich could make a serious run at the White House. Although I’m not sure who will... Read more