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I just learned about this book today.
I've added it to my Amazon Wish List and hope to pick up a copy soon. I'll let you know when I do. I'm always a sucker for books like this.
You might want to take a peek at the book's web site to see why its piqued my interest.
HT: Jordon Cooper
Tags: The end of religion, Bruxy Cavey
[Click on photo for larger, richer view.]
This photograph brings back great memories of the midwest.
Take time to enjoy nature, your blessing and most of all your famlies. Have a great weekend.
pax,
meb
You gotta love it!
It unepectedly brought tears to my eyes. Wow.
To learn more about Juan's story or to join the Free Hugs movement, please click here.
HT: Youth Specialties
Tags: Free hugs campaign, hugs
Recent articles about Joel Osteen have lead me to say just a few things about Osteen's preaching. It appears to be an interesting admixture of the following:
Here's a clip from his recent interview with Larry King.
HT: Bob Blog
Tags: Joel Osteen, Gospel of prosperity
Here's a video clip of Hank (King of the Hill) looking for a new church.
I find myself in a similar predicament. Enjoy. ;-)
HT: Jonny Baker via Malcom Chamberlain
Tags: King of the Hill, Church Hopping
Interesting quote:
The Church has become like a group of people in the waiting lounge of an airport...They’ve bought their ticket and they’re waiting for their flight home. Meantime, the entire city around them burns. And every once in a while, they send out a specially selected person to try to recruit more people to buy tickets.
HT: Pernell Goodyear
Source: Christian Week
Tags: Pernell Goodyear, Christian Week
I have been very fortunate to work in two separate settings that had a heart for mission and outreach. Here are their Vision Statements; I'm sure you'll see what I mean:
We have a dream of a Church that feeds the hungry, that clothes the naked, that gives a cup of water to the thirsty, that visits the sick and the prisoner, that cares for the orphan and widow. We have a dream of a Church that cares for the baby in the womb, the child in the Third World ghetto, the elderly in the convalescent center, and the hurting person inside each of our hearts. We have a dream of the Church that advocates on behalf of the oppressed, that dispels tenderness to the downtrodden, that confronts all forms of discrimination, and that challenges cruel dictators and landlords. We have this notion of a Community of Believers where the idea of compassion, love and forgivenes are not mere doctrines---rather, they're a way of life."
Have we lost our minds?
No, we think we’ve found them as faithful followers of Jesus Christ.
Here's the second Vision Statement:
Imagine a ragtag collection of surrendered and transformed people who love God and others. They are mesmerized by the idea that this is not about them, but all about Jesus. They are transfixed by His story and His heart for their city.
They are seed-throwers and fire-starters, hope-peddlers and grace-givers, risk-takers and dreamers, young and old. They link arms with anyone who tells the story of Jesus. They empower the poor, strengthen the weak, embrace the outcast, seek the lost. They serve together, learn together, play together, worship together, live life together. Their city will change because God sent them.
We are they.
We believe that small things done with God’s love will change the world with God’s Spirit to empower and guide us, we’re transforming the world, with God’s love, one heart at a time.
I wish we could claim originality for these Vision Statements, but we cannot. They were constructed with the help of vision statements already available.
Tags: vision, vision statements, missional
[Click on photo for larger view.]
Dogs in costumes is a photo set posted on Flickr. This is simply hilarious and an appropriate link just before Halloween.
I can't decide which of these two lovely ladies I like better. And while we're on that subject, I wonder what an Uma Thurman-clad doggie might have looked like-- particularly Pulp Fiction Uma. Yikes.
Have fun browsing. ;-)
HT: Flickr Blog
[Click on photo for better view, better detail.]
I thoroughly enjoyed the Amtrak train ride this weekend despite the 90 minute holdover in Ft. Worth and the delay caused by a rowdy passenger who found the Dallas Police waiting for him.
His belligerence was totally unwarranted. Oh well.
The diner food was high-priced, the seats were old and worn, but I had a ton of fun anyway. Though I wouldn't recommend trains for longer rides (i.e., no movies, TVs or headsets), I recommend them for shorter treks.
I had fun, but it's good to be home.
pax,
meb
I was recently asked to write something about the Christian faith. So, here's what I've written so far:
Contrary to popular opinion, Christian faith is much more than wishful thinking; it’s the daily offering of oneself to God. Therefore, faith is better seen as a process than a particular moment in time or a verb than a noun. It’s not something we possess, it’s something we do.
It’s that on again off again entrusting of our fragmented lives into the hands of a loving God.
There’s a story of a woman who passed by a monastery and inquired, “What is it that people do in there?” A wise monk who overheard her question responded: “We fall down and get up.”
That's what Christian faith is to me. We entrust our lives to God and do a lot of falling down and getting up again. It’s not a story of perfection or "having arrived," but a story of faithfulness despite the obstacles or uncertainties.
Tags: faith, Christian faith
