Dealing with Debt: WSJ on Young Couples and Debt

Last updated on: April 2, 2009 at 9:28 pm By Owen Strachan

The Wall Street Journal has a helpful article by Jeff Opdyke called “With This Debt, I Thee Wed” on managing debt in marriage. It’s an adaptation from the new book Financially Ever After: The Couples’ Guide to Managing Money, which looks very helpful. Here are a few nuggets to chew on: “Couples today routinely enter marriage already laden with debt — student loans, car leases, credit cards. In a recent survey of seven major economies, PayPal, eBay’s online-payment service, found... Read more

Two Noteworthy Events: Steven Lawson in New England and Band of Bloggers

Last updated on: April 1, 2009 at 7:44 pm By Owen Strachan

Two excellent events to bring to your attention: 1. If you are a pastor or interested layperson in New England, please note that next week, the New England Center for Expository Preaching is holding an expositors’ institute featuring Steven Lawson, renowned preacher and author of over a dozen books. The event goes from this coming Monday, April 6 through Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Location of event: Island Pond Baptist Church 26 North Salem Road Hampstead, NH, 03841 The cost is... Read more

Phil Ryken on James Boice: What Young Pastors Can Learn from Godly Mentors

Last updated on: March 31, 2009 at 4:20 pm By Owen Strachan

In the latest issue of 9Marks, which I blogged a while back, Phil Ryken, one of my pastoral heroes, has written a brief but engrossing article called “What Would Jim Do?” about his early experience at Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church under James Boice, the venerable minister. Here are a few selections from the article, which I highly commend: “THE STRENGTH OF COMMITMENT Over the course of 180 years, Tenth Presbyterian has been blessed with long pastorates. Five of our twelve... Read more

The Link 3.27.09: State Department Faxes, Would-Be Athletes, and Hip-Hop Souls

Last updated on: March 27, 2009 at 9:06 pm By Owen Strachan

1. A fun and often funny look at the fax machine from Culture 11 (great site to check often–photo is its own). Many true points here, especially on the matter of how uncertain actual reception of a fax can be. On this point, I remember the strange and frustrating experience of sending faxes to the Green Zone in Baghdad when I worked at the State Department. I had to send documents to an office working nearly half a mile away... Read more

Where Writers Write: A BBC Photo Slideshow

Last updated on: March 26, 2009 at 9:56 pm By Owen Strachan

My friend Jared Compton passed on word of this highly interesting photo collection, put together as an audio slideshow on the BBC News website (three minutes long): “In a new exhibition, award winning photographer Eamonn McCabe, draws together a selection of works from his project illustrating the working environments of novelists, biographers and poets. “I have always enjoyed photographing loners. When I was covering sport it was boxers in their gyms. Now I’m older, I enjoy photographing writers, poets and... Read more

The Globalization of Cheating: The Chronicle on Essay Mills

Last updated on: March 25, 2009 at 10:17 pm By Owen Strachan

Did that brilliant essay come from your student–or from somewhere far, far away? The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published an engrossing story entitled “Cheating Goes Global as Essay Mills Multiply” by Thomas Bartlett. It tackles this question, and is quite worth a read (photo: The Chronicle). The gist of the situation: “Everyone knows essay mills exist. What’s surprising is how sophisticated and international they’ve become, not to mention profitable. In a previous era, you might have found an essay... Read more

Pickup Basketball, Ethical Fabrics, and the “Larry Bird” Moment

Last updated on: March 23, 2009 at 10:12 pm By Owen Strachan

My erstwhile blog partner Stanley Fish has just written a post called “My Life on the Court” for the NYT on how much he loves basketball. I found it quite enjoyable, and you might too, especially if you enjoy pickup basketball. Fish’s love affair with basketball: “I have been playing basketball since I was seven years old. That’s more than 60 years, and as March Madness moves into full swing, I find myself thinking about the game and my addiction... Read more

The Link 3.20.09: Abortion Arguments, Troubled Political Families, and Dever on Multi-Site Churches

Last updated on: March 20, 2009 at 8:18 pm By Owen Strachan

1. Vitamin Z has a great interview on a robust pro-life way of thinking and acting with Scott Klusendorf, author of a new and important book called The Case for Life (very highly recommended by Justin Taylor). Here’s a very moving quotation from the interview in which Klusendorf describes how he left malaise on this point and became a pro-life advocate: “Gregg’s signature quote haunts me to this day: “Most people who say they oppose abortion do just enough to... Read more

The Sweetness of Sport: ESPN on Small-School Basketball

Last updated on: March 19, 2009 at 6:33 pm By Owen Strachan

“With another 100-point night in the books, the Elliott County Lions have adjourned to the Penny Mart (“Deli-Propane-Lotto” reads the sign). Here, playing rook amid the motor oil and fishing hooks and canned goods, they are rural royalty. The chicken wings, cheeseburgers and slushies are free for the boys after every game, enthusiastically provided by proprietor Bobbie Howard.” (photo: Randy Evans) Thus begins a terrific ESPN piece by Pat Forde called “Daring to Dream” that profiles a tiny Kentucky high... Read more

The Danger of Identifying with Ambient Culture

Last updated on: March 17, 2009 at 9:43 pm By Owen Strachan

From a provocative piece on President Obama called “Showered with Praise” from The Weekly Standard: “Obama is the candidate for those who believe that the New York Times Book Review defines civilization, and Obama will be their revenge. He is Metro, not Retro. He is not from Texas, and doesn’t talk southern. He does not have a ranch, which he does not cut brush on. He has never run anything, but they haven’t either. He does talk and write, which... Read more