Category: interesting stuff

Now that summer vacation is over and the alarm is waking me up every morning, TGIF means a lot more. We’ve finished one week of school and there have been a few challenges, but God is gracious. Sunday marks the start of what I hope will be a new community of faith that embodies the grace of the Father in Rock Hill. If you think about it, please pray for the Spirit to guide us and work in us.

Here are some of the links for this week:

From truth to truth. Tim Hill mourns the American icon. This is a great song. Life lessons from Sarah Fujimoto. Who knew parking could be so spiritual? iMonk on evangelical worship settings. Scot McKnight on John Piper and tornadoes.

Alan Knox on spiritual gifts. Learn how to take a photo with and without flash (HT: Brother Maynard). Here is a new way for churches to raise money. A lesson on forgiveness (?) This sounds like some of my camping trips. Is Jeff McQ becoming agnostic? The wisdom of crowds.

I hope you have a good weekend. If you’re a surfer, I hear there’s going to be some killer waves on the east coast this weekend. 🙂

I was going to post last night about something significant that’s happening in our lives (at least it’s significant to me), but the internet was down at our house. So, you’ll have to wait until later. 🙂 All the teachers and staff started back to school this week, and it has been hard adjusting to going to bed and getting up earlier. You would think I’d be smart enough to start adjusting a few days before starting back, but nooooooo…

One thing I have been able to keep up with is my reading, so I can give you, my loyal reader(s) the links I think are especially good. Here they are:

Bill Kinnon reviews Why We Love the Church. Molly is feeling a bit sheepish. Getting back. Jeromy Johnson is wrestling. This guy is just a bit off (Not the writer. The guy in the video). The unfair grace of God. Have you ever listened to the Devil’s sermon? What do teachers make? Jonathan Brink on consumerism.

John Armstrong on the teaching of Jesus. Foundational thoughts about church. Alan Knox on unity.

Enjoy your reading. Stay tuned.

This is the last TGIF before summer vacation ends. Beginning next Friday, the letters TGIF will begin to mean more. 🙂 Jan and I spent the past two days at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. We were volunteering at the World Vision table here at the Charlotte site, and were able to sit in on all the sessions for free. We enjoyed it and learned some valuable things. If you’ve get a chance to go to a Leadership Summit, check it out. It’s more than just mega-church CEO type leadership stuff.

Now, it’s with great pleasure that I present to you the links of the week:

Holy listening. Sarah Gillis writes the winning entry in the wrecked.org social justice writing contest. Dr. Lewis thinks we should all listen to this. Jared Wilson gives us 25 evangelical myths. Alan Knox on distractions to worship. Planetshaken, but not stirred. Jonathan Brink on true fundamentalism. Interesting series on Genesis one. Part 1 is here. John Armstrong asks if we have a theological deficit. Jeff McQ has been rethinking his views on worship.

Enjoy your reading and have a great weekend.

This has been kind of a slow week for me. Yesterday, I spent about 5 hours helping Jan move everything that belongs to her out of the classroom where she’s been teaching. It was hard for her to pack up all the stuff that accumulates over a period of years that was such a major part of our lives. We’re both looking forward to the next thing the Father has for us on our journey.

As usual, here are the links:

Alan Knox has a couple of good posts up, here and here. iMonk writes about caricatures. Spirit vs structure. Jonathan gets honest with himself. Don Miller on stories. Sometimes the questions are tough. Crazy things dogs have eaten. Scot McKnight reviews a book about forgiveness. John Armstrong on Judge Sotomayor.

Jeff McQ claims he hasn’t backslidden. Short but sweet from fr’nklin. Karen Swank writes on value, beauty, and worth. Are there non-negotiable beliefs for Christians?

Have a great weekend.

This has been quite the week. Jan and I went to the beach for a couple of days, after learning that Jan is going to have to look for another job. We had a wonderful time, and it was good to get away from everything and everybody for awhile. After we came back, we officially left the congregation we have worshiped with for the past 14 years. Josh came home last night from his two month sojourn in California. On top of all that, yesterday’s post was number 200. Wooo hooot!

Anyway, here are the links of the week:

The real question is, what is Jesus doing? Ben MacKinnon reflects on faith. The God of the OT vs the God of the NT. Here is a good post on theme parks and wilderness. Alan Knox puts the ekklesia in context. Kingdom vs church. Just beyond the 100th time. iMonk riffs on post-evangelicalism.

Good post from Jeff McQ. Should a Christian use acupuncture? Scot McKnight continues his series titled, “Beginning with God,” with part 8. Mark Roberts begins a series on the Christian life (HT: Scot McKnight).

We spent the biggest part of this week cleaning out the garage. It’s kind of fun finding out you have things that you forgot you had.

Without further ado, here are the links:

Brian Onken writes about Jesus’ timing. Jesse Medina reviews The Hole in Our Gospel. N.T. Wright on the question of gay clergy. What is your reaction to this? Imperfect spirituality. Alan Knox writes about koinonia. By the rivers of Babylon. Stories behind 10 T.V. theme songs and the world’s smallest microwave (HT: Brother Maynard).

Josh has a regret. What is an “average church?” A new riff from iMonk. What if winning means losing? How many of these do you drink? (HT: Scot McKnight) Scot McKnight has a series titled, “Never Alone.” Part 1 is here. John Armstrong has a series on Christian marriage. Part 1 is here. Jeff McQ on practicology. Grace talks subversion.

I hope your weekend is restful.

This week, in Switzerland, Usain Bolt ran 19.59 seconds for 200 meters. That is the fourth-fastest time in history. Bolt holds the current world record at 19.30 seconds. What makes this week’s time remarkable is that the race was held in a cold rain, and the runners waited 3 or 4 minutes at the start before the race started. It looked like an easy run for Bolt, who was ahead of his rivals after about 80 meters. We may see that world record go even lower later this summer. You heard it here first.

No world records here, but I do have the links of the week:

There are some interesting Christian album covers over at Jesus or Squirrel? The Church of No People also features Christian music. Do you want to be “fixed”? Molly writes about love that wins. I think Jesse Medina makes a very good point here. What are you willing to lose? Jake Belder on culture and worldview.

iMonk weighs in on Derek Webb. The comments are interesting as well. Ruling or leading? Really cool macro photography (HT: Brother Maynard). Holy is the dish and drain. The upside of inexperience (HT: Scot McKnight). John Armstrong on ideas. Good thoughts from Anthony Smith. Church in the future. Jeff McQ has a good series going. Part 3, with links to parts 1 and 2, is here.

Tomorrow, we’re going up to Grandfather Mountain for the Scottish Highland Games. Should be fun. I hope you have a good weekend.

This weekend we celebrate the birth of the United States. Our neighborhood will have a parade tomorrow morning, and since the neighborhood is small the parade will pass by our house two or three times. It’s one of those slices of small town Americana. There will be fireworks, cook-outs, and other celebrations. In the midst of our patriotic fervor, however, we who follow Jesus must remember that we are really resident aliens in this country. We follow the King of Kings and we are citizens of a different Kingdom. Even though we can love the country we live in, our first allegiance is to Jesus Christ and our first priority is bringing his kingdom to bear in every part of our day-to-day lives.

Enjoy these links:

Lacey Gustavsen on tennis balls. George Elerick writes about convenient amnesia. Musings on the body of Christ. Dr. Lewis on something she never heard in fundamentalism. Alyson DaCosta on poverty. Todd Hiestand on the suburban mob. Alan Knox has a couple of good posts, here and here. Brother Maynard reveals his secret indentity. How big (or small) is your Gospel?

Words of wisdom from Jeff McQ. iMonk posts a thought on Hebrews 12:1. MercyMe covers “Thriller.” 32 reasons why Southern Baptists must change their name (HT: Scot Mcknight).

Have a good weekend. Stay safe and don’t burn yourself with fireworks.

What do y’all think of our governor down here in South Carolina. It’s a sorry spectacle. What I get from this whole thing is the thought that he that thinks he stands, let him be careful lest he fall, to paraphrase 1 Corinthians 10:12. All of us must realize that, without the grace of God, we are capable of the same, or worse. Pray that the Father brings healing to that family.

Without further ado, here is the good stuff:

Dan Edelen responds to an earlier post. John Fonville on what the Gospel is and isn’t. iMonk thinks things are changing at the Southern Baptist Convention. Are you searching for IT? What is justice? Brother Maynard weighs in on Jon and Kate. Just what are these people thinking? We’d better be careful, or this kind of thing might catch on (HT: Brother Maynard).

Alan Knox thinks we should just make disciples. Dan Kimball reminisces. He will build the church. Matt on the “good old days.” Shaun Groves thinks Adam Smith was wrong.

Have a great weekend. Stay cool.

It’s been a good week. Busy, but good. It took two days to get caught up on the yard work after a week away. On Wednesday, I drove a bus for a local camp that is just starting up this summer. Today I spent the day working at a basketball camp. Summer has officially begun and the days are getting hotter here in the sunny South. Our drought is over and we are actually hoping for a spell of dry weather.

I was able to catch up on my blog reading so here are a few of the good links for the past two weeks:

Jared Wilson’s thoughts on the culture war. Perhaps you can find a way to help. Jesus is Alan Hirsch’s disequilibrium. Alan Knox gives us a hypothetical situation. The Tall Skinny Kiwi is taking a break. Molly writes about pathological spirituality. The sometimes surprising price of success. Rich Wagner is scared of both conservatives and liberals.

Requiem for the word “religion.” How do you like your coffee? This is just a bit much. (HT for the last two: Brother Maynard) Speaking of Brother Maynard, he’s doing some navigating. iMonk on worship: here and here. Rob Woodrum has begun a new chapter of “Rabbi Encounters”. Laurie D. Russell redefines beauty (HT: Scot McKnight). Grace gives us her doctrines of grace.

Enjoy your weekend. Tomorrow, it’s another day of camp.