Shuffle

Article #1:

Here's a short interview with a pastor who is revitalizing a dying church in a place where people "don't do God".

Andrew Baughen – St. James Clerkenwell from Mars Hill Church on Vimeo.

Article #2:

If you are interested in the Christian debate about Global Warming you might like Dean Ohlman's excellent article.

Article #3:

Finally, here's a wonderful post from local blogger, Rose, about volunteering with her grandchildren. What a great idea!

Shuffle

I fixed these links as of 8:30am Saturday!

Article #1:

We had the Ebertfest here in C-U last week, and the town had it's annual influx of film afficionados. The city of Urbana honored Roger Ebert by placing a plaque on the sidewalk in front of his childhood home. In response, he wrote a marvelous article about the influence Urbana, and the university, had on his life. I am shamelessly proud to post this; I agree with him wholeheartedly that there is no better place to live.

Article #2:

Not really an article, but if you have an interest in sacred music, Soli Deo Gloria"s website is an interesting place to visit. They are a group of highly competent professional musicians who promote the performance of existing sacred music, and the comissioning of new sacred music on an international level. The short video clips are quite informative about the state of contemporary sacred music (poor), and the importance of promoting sacred works as a way for people to connect with God.


Article #3:


This was an interesting post about, well, thinking.

Article # 4:

I'm not a pastor, but reading blogs by pastors and theologians is still very helpful to me in my position as Music Coordinator. It's all about working with people!

I liked this post from Indiana pastor Rob Harrison about the difference between "doing" pastoral work and "being" a pastor. What Math Class Taught Me About Pastoral Ministry

Shuffle

Article #1:

Some of you who live in my area may remember Brant Hansen, a U of I grad who was a radio host for a local Christian radio station, WBGL. Brant was also a member of Koinonia Christian Cooperative House at the Baptist Student Foundation, where my sons lived in college. Anyway, he is now in Texas, and has his own radio show on a Christian station down there. As you may see, if you read his post "Can Jesus and Christian Radio Coexist", he is not you average bland CCM guy, and he likes to push the buttons of the Bible Belt establishment.

Article #2:

Someone else is rocking the boat. Check out this article and video about a New England pastor who's efforts to be obedent to the Gospel have raised a firestorm of community anger.

Article #3:

Speaking of anger, Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" wonders "is it really about the AIG bonuses??"

Article #4:

In important reporting on the "slippery slope" issues, Ryan T. Anderson writes:

"President Bush was, in fact, the first president in history to fund embryonic stem cell research. The compromise Bush reached, however, put restrictions in place that prevented the further destruction of human embryos. It is these restrictions protecting human life that Obama has lifted."

As Lenin said "There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience."

Shuffle

Article #1:

Christopher Cannucciari decided to video his great-grandmother as she cooked some of the meals her family ate during the Great Depression. The results were so interesting, he created a website for others to learn her cheap and simple cooking tricks. This is lots of fun, and you get to meet a wonderful lady to boot.

Article #2:

Yet another way to try to grasp how much we are getting into with the bailouts: "What Does A Trillion Dollars Look Like?"

Shuffle

Article #1:

I liked my blog-friend Rose's essay on farming and family life in Central Illinois.

Article #2:

There was much discussion this week about the need for dialog about race in the U.S., so this article was interesting to me:

"The real fights within the black community — our internal culture wars — have been over which face we show white America. The legendary battle of ideas between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois at the dawn of the 20th century was also a battle over masks: should we seem humble and modest or prideful and outraged? This “mask war” was vicious because group masks are mutually exclusive; each nullifies the other. Can’t be humble and outraged at the same time. One mask had to die so that the other might live. So the battle between Washington and Du Bois was winner-take-all. One man emerged the leader of his race; the other became a symbol of Uncle Tomism. "

This is an fascinating editorial by Shelby Steele that revisits the life of Booker T. Washington, and a debate that I, as a white person, never knew existed.

Article #3:

Finally, I'm having a great time reading the blog posts by Slate's David Plotz, Blogging the Bible. Plotz, attending a bat mizvah for a relative, picked up a Hebrew Bible (Genesis through the Chronicles), and, while thumbing through it, discovered stories he had never learned about in Hebrew school. He decided to actually read the Hebrew Bible, and blog about what he found there. The perspective is Jewish, and refreshing because it is just an ordinary person's gut response to what he reads. Always thought-provoking.

Shuffle

I haven't had a lot of time for reading and posting this week, but here are two things you might find interesting:

Article #1:

This is why I love high school and college sports, despite my disinterest in professional sports.

Article #2:

Bill Mounce posts an absolutely wonderful article on the importance of guarding one's speech, even in e-mail and blogging.

Shuffle

Article #1:

A 79 year old Chinese lady sends a letter of thanks to Christians all over the world. This one made me cry.

Article #2:

Here's another perspective on Abraham Lincoln, from another reader of "Team of Rivals" We don't really disagree.

Article #3:

Apparently, the public believes that any random sampling of folks from the white pages could do a better job than Congress. This one made me chuckle.

Article #4:

Then again, maybe no one knows what to do. This left me incredulous.


In the end, I think Article #1 is the one I'll choose to focus on.

Shuffle

Article #1

"Disney's announcement that it was abandoning the Chronicles of Narnia series has disheartened many fans around the world, but it may be too soon to give up hope on the series, especially with news that 20th Century Fox plans to pick up where Disney left off. By going back to the drawing board and learning from key mistakes of the past, the series can still be saved, but it will be a difficult and painful road."

This was a very interesting article by Mark Jacobs about the challenge of producing movies that are true to C.S. Lewis, and true to the intended audiences as well.

Article #2:

How's the new president doing so far?

Article #3:

"The market does not drive scientists, thinkers, or governments to do the right things. Only by paying attention and making people care can we make as much progress as we need to."

Bill Gates presses forward with malaria relief work, and challenges others in the busness world to rethink their priorities.

Shuffle

Article #1

"Remember when the tightfistedness of relatives raised during the Depression was amusing? Our grandparents' certificates of deposit and plastic couch protectors seemed downright quaint when our own home-equity and retirement portfolios were ballooning. Suddenly, though, the pot-roast-and-potatoes ethic doesn't seem quite so kooky."

I'm all about the frugal living, so here's a great article to help you save money and resources from This Old House.

Article #2:

In the shameless bragging category, here's an article about one of my sons.

Article #3:

"It is no secret that our new president emerged from a contentious political battle. The Electoral College was recorded as a landslide. But there was less than a 5% difference in the popular vote that put our new president into office. Enormous challenges face our new president. These challenges seem to threaten the very fabric of who we are. Could the dream of America be at risk? Not everyone is on board with how our new president wants to tackle the issues."

Read what my own pastor has to say about our new president.

Article #4:

"So, what's a "redeeming" film? The definition varies, but for our list below, we mean movies that include stories of redemption—sometimes blatantly, sometimes less so. Several of them literally have a character that represents a redeemer; all of them have characters who experience redemption to some degree—some quite clearly, some more subtly. Some are "feel-good" movies that leave a smile on your face; some are a bit more uncomfortable to watch. But the redemptive element is there in all of these films."

Christianity Today's list of the 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2008. No, they are not all rated G. The reviews are pretty compelling. I haven't seen them all myself, but I think I want to!

Shuffle

Article #1:

"I was at the store the other day and was watching an old lady, cane in hand, slowly make her way across the atrium area to a door for a department store. When she reached the door, a man swung it open so hard that it would have knocked the old lady over if she hadn’t been just out of reach, then he continued on his way without even giving the old lady a glance. Several other people stepped to the side and used the other door as the old woman struggled to open it and quickly went on their way without stopping to offer and help. There was an opportunity for at least 5 people to help, but none of them did and the thing is, I don’t think that any of them even realized that they hadn’t helped. They had been so busy and focused on what they were doing and where they were going that they had simply failed to recognize that someone could use a helping hand."

Free Microloan's article on ways we could make the world a better place by focusing on small gestures as we go about our day. The article includes in interesting story about Joshua Bell playing in a Metro station.

Article #2:

One of several videos I've seen about the long term effects of plastic use.


Article #3

"Don’t get me wrong, the call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ is a joy. Yesterday I pronounced a godly young couple husband and wife. This morning I baptized a brother in Christ. Nothing is more thrilling than opening the Word of God to the people of Christ week-by-week. But it provoked my spirit this morning to preach the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday emphasis this morning."

Read "Why I Hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday" by Russel Moore

Article #4:

"An atheist drive to persuade people that God doesn't exist is catching on in a surprising fashion -- on the sides of buses in a growing number of countries around the world."

Read more here.

And if all that was just too serious, here's something that's just kind of fun:

Article #5

Shuffle

Article #1:

Do you remember that when Snoopy would sit on his doghouse, typing his novel, it always started, "It was a dark and stormy night..."? The annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, inviting contestants to submit the worst examples of writing they can find, among other competitions, had this example of rewriting famous quotes:

"The 2006 runner-up, Stuart Vasepuru from Scotland, played with one of the most famous pieces of dialogue from the Clint Eastwood movie "Dirty Harry"-

"I know what you're thinking, punk,"hissed Wordy Harry to his new editor, "you're thinking, 'Did he use six superfluous adjectives or only five?' And to tell you the truth, I forgot myself in all this excitement, but being as this is English, the most powerful language in the world, whose subtle nuances will blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' Well, do you, punk?"

Article #2:

A lot of people would agree that there is a tremendous amount of conflict in the world (and always has been) because of religion. I certainly agree with that. Here's Tim Keller's take on why that is:


Article #3:

At The Wonder of Creation blogger Dean Ohlman writes: "Wendell Berry is one who in his writing has taken me further than anyone else in understanding that one cannot really have or understand “community” if the natural world around us is not included in that community—deliberately included, not by necessity or by accident. Berry writes: “Without a complex knowledge of one’s place, and without the faithfulness to one’s place on which such knowledge depends, it is inevitable that the place will be used carelessly, and eventually destroyed.” Wendell Berry, “The Regional Motive” in A Continuous Harmony (1972), p. 67"

He goes on to describe the importance of a sense of place in his life, and points the reader to a few Berry articles that might be of interest.

Article #4:

"I don’t think I spend much more time reading than some of you. My calendar is full, my honey-do list is long, my kids are hyper, and my boss is active (or is it the other way around?). My running shoes are muddy, my weight bench is dusty, and my 10-foot front yard needs to be mowed at least twice a year."

I have made a vow to read more this year, but I have to retrain myself to find the precious time to do it. Tony Reinke has a great article on how to carve out reading time.


Article #5

Here's something I know we'll all want to try:

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Article #6:

"The news was dire. A huge fire had broken out in the foothills of Montecito, which we can see from our porch. The Santa Ana winds, blowing uncharacteristically late in the season – and particularly ferociously – combined with unseasonably hot temperatures, and my town was in flames, my street under evacuation. Those winds change direction unpredictably; there was no way to know if we'd be OK. Ryan had corralled the cat and the dog, and wanted to know what to take from the house. I said I'd let him know."

What would you save if disaster was imminent? How would you feel if you lost everything? Shannon Kelley muses on the meaning, or lack thereof, of our belongings.

Shuffle

I'm going to start a new label category called "shuffle". When I find interesting articles that I think might get people thinking, I'll collect the links and post a list of them from time to time. They will be a real mixture of subjects, so the term "shuffle" reminds me of the setting on an i-pod where you don't know what might come up next, Vivaldi or the Bare Naked Ladies.

I'm not going to avoid controversy either. These will be articles that made me think, and I hope they will make you think, too. That doesn't mean that I agree with the writers, only that I thought the discussion was worthwhile.

Article #1:

"Gracious, self-forgetful humility should be one of the primary things that distinguishes Christian believers from the many other types of moral, decent people in the world. But I think it is fair to say that humility, which is a key differentiating mark of the Christian, is largely missing in the church. Nonbelievers, detecting the stench of sanctimony, turn away."

Tim Keller gives one of the clearest definitions of humility I've read, and discusses why we struggle to attain humility, and how important it is for the church to re-emphasize it if we are to have a voice in the culture we live in.
The Advent of Humility by Tim Keller

HT-JT

Article #2:

"Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do."
As An Atheist, I Truly Believe Africa Needs God, by Matthew Parris

HT-Rob

Article #3:

"If you are anything like me, you are about to embark on a post-holiday, welcome the New Year, pre-spring cleaning purge. My key to surviving it without a bulging garbage can is to be organized. If you give everything a place, you are more likely to reuse instead of lose it."

A seasonally timely article on how to deal with clutter in a way that doesn't just fill the landfill.
Reuse It or Lose It, by Green Bean

Article #4:

"The pastor giving the reflection, not a homily, began by saying, "We are gathered here to honor tradition." I bit my lip, hard. "We are gathered here to sing beloved songs and hear well-known stories." Bit it harder. We were not there to celebrate and contemplate the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity...evidently."

Interesting reflections of an Orthodox Christian blogger who had an opportunity to visit another church on Christmas Eve, and discusses the difference between worshipping and attending a concert. Whispers On Earth

Article #5:

"Both Iran and its Hamas proxy in Gaza have been busy this Christmas week showing Christendom just what they think of it. But no one seems to have noticed. "

Scary, scary article on the Israeli-Hamas showdown, and the Palestinian Christians that are caught in the middle, along with insights into the West's bungling in regards to Iran. Believe it or not, crucifixion is now back as a form of punishment. If this doesn't promt you to pray for wisdom for our new president, I don't know what would. Caroline Glick's column in the Jerusalem Post

HT:Jared

Article #6:

Here's a video I saw on the blog of a friend who is in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. If children are our future, this is worth looking at.

HT: Kathy

Musings For A Day In The House

If you are snowbound and bored, here are a few things I've been reading in the past few days that were very interesting:

Dean Ohlman's beautiful blog, Wonder of Creation. He strikes a wonderful balance between science and faith.

Stephen Nichol's article on "apostasy lit", and what believers can learn from the angry authors who write this genre.

A powerful story of forgiveness.

A great article on musical taste, and how to express it graciously.

A discussion by an atheist of how he feels about proselytizing, in this video clip:



Did it get you thinking?