Blogs & Sites

Reformation 21

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Reformation21This looks really good.  Reformation 21 is the new online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE).  It is edited by Derek Thomas, and he explains the purpose of the e-zine in more detail here.  They explain the purpose of the e-zine as...

Reformation 21 is an online magazine (ezine) created to serve, edify, and educate Christians bypresenting an authoritative reformed perspective, while embracing various denominational positions, on a variety of relevant historic matters, current issues, and thoughtful positions that inform, inspire, and challenge Christians to think and grow biblically." 

They also have a weblog, book reviews, an archive of both new and older writings, and counterpoints that engage a cultural issues.

You can read a list of contributors which includes Alistair Begg, John Piper, Mark Dever, Paul Helm, Sinclair Ferguson, D.A. Carson, Al Mohler, and Jerry Bridges.

 (HT: JT)

Young Bucks

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I thought I would point to a couple of young guys who are saying some interesting things in the blogosphere.  I know both of them.

First is Justin (Justin's Mad Wisdom).  I met Justin during my work with international students at the University of Kentucky.  Justin isn't an international, but has been international on his two year stint overseas with the International Mission Board of the SBC.  Now he is about ready to marry a very close friend of ours who my wife and I had the privilege of discipling for a while at UK.

Check out Justin's post on trying to figure out the emerging church stuff.  Good wrestling going on.

Second is Adam (Reform the Romans).  I also met Adam in Kentucky while attending the same church (pastored by Kyle McClellan).   I just found his blog today and it's looking very promising.  Justin interacts with Adam in the post linked above.

Take Note

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Scott Slayton is going to talk a little emerging church over at Scattered and Covered.  He's a buddy from seminary who is both funny and thoughtful.  His first post links to me, and it's nice to see someone who wouldn't say they are ec to be so generous from step one of the conversation.  You also might want to check out some of his posts reflecting on the Southern Baptist Convention.  Good stuff.

Joe Thorn had the pleasure of peeing next to John Elway today just to get me his autograph at Chili's.  I hope the autograph isn't written in urine.  I'm an Elway fan since our time living in Denver a few years back.  Our church out there was close enough to Mile High Stadium to park people on gameday.

Girl Talk

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I think the Mahaney girls' blog, Girl Talk ("conversations on biblical womanhood and other fun stuff"), will be really good for women and their daughters when it kicks off on June 20th. 

(HT: JT)

Jimmy Draper Blog

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UPDATE: Dr. Draper has now changed to a blog hosted at Lifeway.  Hopefully this will make comments possible, but not so much yet.

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Jimmy Draper, the head honcho over at SBC's Lifeway, is now blogging at Crosswalk.com (Lifeway).  Here's a link to his blog.  His first post is about blogging and about what he's learned in the Younger Leaders Dialogues (for emerging leaders in the SBC).  In the last paragraph he is very generous to my other site, Emerging SBC Leaders.  UPDATE: Baptist Press has an article on it as well.

Dr. Draper knows that he doesn't fully understand us, but also says that we don't fully understand his generation either.  Fair, and as he says, it's a good reason for us to talk.  It's obvious he could care less about blogging, but realizes that blogging is a means to connect with us better.  Good move.  Unfortunately he's using a blogging system that doesn't allow comments (which he admits), but it's a start anyway. 

A part of my concern with the current leadership of the SBC and older generations (if you will allow me to broadbrush), is that they usually think that for us this conversation is about our way of doing things vs. their way of doing things.  I don't think this site or the concerns we raise are only about (or even primarily about) doing things differently.  I think it's also about doing them better.  But maybe that's our problem too, in that we find things older generations do as always inferior to our brilliance.  We need to be very careful and willing to listen to see if we are overstating our case.

Is a desire to move from institutional to incarnational, or from monuments to a movement, about doing it different?  Or doing it better? Are we only about being different to reach younger generations, or more missional to reach all generations better?  I think these are some of the most important questions as we seek to see walls come down and find real understanding between us.

Mere Moore Comments

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The Touchstone Magazine weblog, Mere Comments, first linked to my blog back in early March.  That's when I really started keeping up with their blog as well.  Then they linked to my post responding to an article by Russ Moore later in March.  Russ is a theologian at SBTS.

Now Russ Moore is one of the bloggers at Mere Comments.  I think that significantly raises the stock of the blog.  One of his first posts discusses a book on "manly dominion."  Don't miss the last line.

Kevin Cawley Doesn't Suck

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Cawley_2_cropCawleyblog is a great place.  I'm posting this to thank Kevin for his excellent posts, because he has become a personal friend, and because he is moving away and I want to keep the pressure on him to keep up the excellent blogging.  Plus, as of last check, he doesn't have nearly enough Bloglines subscribers per the quality of his work.  The inhumanity of it all.

I want to get the word out.  Here are some examples of Kevin's above average service...

Biblical Principles for Engaging Culture.
The Missional Church: A Beginning Reader's Guide
The Missional Church
Sam Storms' Appeal to Pastors

I hope that by visiting one or more of these posts you will see the good in making Cawleyblog a regular part of your diet.

Jesus Creed Blog

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Many of us have discovered Scot McKnight's blog, Jesus Creed, as he went through the process of reviewing Don Carson's Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church a few weeks ago.  Having completed that task with thoughtfulness, he is now plugging along with some great insights on the emerging church and ecclesiology through a look at Doug Pagitt's book Reimagining Spiritual Formation.  Really good stuff.

Even when I disagree, I'm better for having read McKnight.  I highly recommend keeping up with his thinking.

Christian Counterculture

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It appears Chrisitan Counterculture, an online newsletter of sorts, is back online.  Rob Schlapfer, who also runs The Discerning Reader online bookstore, has emailed out the Christian Counterculture May 2005 issue.  With his Calvinistic background and new thoughts on the NPP and the emerging church (that have encouraged the war cries of critcs), this could get interesting.  I'm going to be reading each issue.

Note the "editor's desk" section where Rob jabs at bloggers (some of them, at least).  Also note a personal apology from Rob.

SBC Emerging Site

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I'm playing with a new weblog that can serve, at least for now, as a place for initiating contact between emerging leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention.  If you are in the SBC, are a young leader or a leader who is working to reach emerging generations, and are interested in joining the conversation about what it means to be SBC and emerging, please go there and leave a comment with some info about yourself (blog address, email, etc) so that we can get in touch. 

It's my hope that soon there will be some kind of discussion site set up for emerging leaders to discuss any number of topics together.  Until then this site will list all the SBC emerging leaders weblogs that I can find, and whatever information I can find on the conversation in the SBC.