Christian Hipster Cities, Oxford Scholarships, and Clint Eastwood Movies

I came across a fun and informal piece recently on the “Top Ten Cities for Christian Hipsters”.  A fun read.  The author’s not trying to be scientific.  Number one city?  Chicago.  Figures.

It’s interesting to play this off of a recent post by an Acts29 pastor featured on the blog of Justin Taylor that wondered out loud why more young guys aren’t targeting broken cities and aging demographics.  There’s something to be said for that.  I like the whole “cities drive culture and are very important thing”; I may end up ministering in a city–who knows?  But everyone needs the gospel, right?  Desperately, right?  Detroit needs the gospel; Cleveland needs the gospel; all of the Rust Belt does.  Everyone everywhere does (with unreached peoples taking priority, hopefully).

Bill Streger’s blog is worth quoting and chewing on:

It’s amazing how many young pastors feel that they are distinctly called to reach the upwardly-mobile, young, culture-shaping professionals and artists. Can we just be honest? Young, upper-middle-class urban professionals have become the new “Saddleback Sam”.

It can’t completely surprise many of us hard-driving, culture-engaging church guys that we, want to reach, well, upwardly mobile culture-makers, can it?  This doesn’t mean we discontinue or sneer at the new evangelical urbanism; far from it.  It does mean, though, that we think critically about it, in my opinion.

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Oxford University is offering a sweet three-year PhD fellowship in theology.  Check that baby out, ambitious young would-be Christian scholars.  Thanks to the Oxford don (and sage blogger and Jonathan Edwards buff) Michael McLenahan for the link.

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The New Yorker takes a look at the films of Clint Eastwood.  I found Gran Torino quite moving.  My wife did too, though she thought Dirty Harry’s cinematic vision was a little dark.  It is.

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Do you want to live in Tokyo?  Do you have $750,000?  I have just the place for you.

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Must-read piece by Nicholas Kristof on how an eight-year-old Yemeni girl was forced into marriage.  There are some foundational differences between societies possessing, in some form or manner, Christian roots, and those possessing Islamic roots.  While we’re on must-read NYT columns, David Brooks has a marvelous column up about the remarkable spirit of Norwegians.  If that is not a tantalizing hook, just trust me and read it.