I haven't been breaking out the d50 enough lately, but that hasn't ever stopped me from posting some Phriday Photos. Here are a couple of my favorite recent photos of my wife, Molly. She is the most beautiful woman I've ever met.
"Down the Rabbit Hole," a Fast Company article about viral marketing, has been haunting me today. Provoking many thoughts about how the church conveys who we are, our mission, etc.
I'm happy to say that I've added my take on murder and mayhem to YouTube. If you haven't seen it or just feel compelled to revisit this dark film portraying the tragic mix of the wild west and suburbia, go watch the classic McCoy family favorite: Black Boots.
Time for a roundup of random stuff.
1. I've started a Bible study series at our church based on Kris Lundgaard's book, The Enemy Within (@ Monergism). Lundgaard's book is based on two of John Owen's works on sin. I read it a few years ago and rereading it for this series. Very helpful book. Justin Taylor points to some of Lundgaard's audio messages on The Enemy Within.
2. Watched the movie Click with my wife yesterday. It was moderately funny. Best part of the movie is what Adam Sandler does to David Hasselhoff (there's a bad word here, so don't watch if you can't handle it).
3. Speaking of video, the Smiling Addiction video is great. It's an original piece (including original music) by Crossroads Community Church in GA. I think Joe Thorn first pointed me to this.
4. It looks like Paradox, a music venue at Mars Hill Seattle but not run by Mars Hill, is no more. This article doesn't really give Mars Hill's perspective in a good light, but the news was worth mentioning.
5. Have you taken a trip on Line Rider yet? Throw on a scarf and go!
7. Tim Keller wants to help you know how to "Work." Great sermon. Keller provides Dorothy Sayers' definition of the biblical doctrine of work: "Work is the gracious expression of creative energy in the service of others." Other TK Resources.
I received the new edition of Wired in the mail today. The lead article is called "The Church of the Non-Believers" on what they call "the new atheism." Much is focused on Richard Dawkins (Mohler commented on Dawkins yesterday). It's a thought-provoking article.
Don't miss the "Faces of the New Atheism," including a few paragraphs on Penn and Teller.
A couple of CD's that are burning up my iPod over the last week or two.
The Decemberists: The Crane Wife (MySpace)
I bought the previous album from The Decemberists, Picaresque, and liked it. Didn't love it, but liked it. When I heard their new CD was out I wasn't terribly interested. But when review after positive review kept coming in I thought it might be worth a try. When Best Buy put it out for $7.99 I couldn't resist. I'm glad I gave in. It offers an array of interesting sounds and quirky folksy melodies. I really like this CD.
Given the band's graduation from minor to major leagues, The Crane Wife may prove to be the most crucial record the Decemberists will release in their lifetime. Fortunately, their fourth album further magnifies and refines their strengths. Winsomely balancing frivolity and gravity, the Decemberists assemble an oddball menagerie of the usual rogues and rascals, soldiers and criminals, lovers and baby butchers-- but they've got a lot more tricks up their sleeves than previous albums had hinted. The Crane Wife employs an impressive variety of styles and sounds to tell Meloy's imaginative stories: There's the band's usual folk-rock, honed to an incisively sharp point, but they also deploy a smuggler's blues ("The Perfect Crime"), a creepy lullaby ("Shankill Butchers"), a Led Zep stomp ("When the War Came"), and, perhaps most divisively, a multipart prog track ("The Island") that stretches well past the 10-minute mark.
Songs From The Voice (Vol 1): Please Don't Make Us Sing This Song
Someone gave me this CD and I left it sitting on the shelf for a bit. Taking it off and putting it on my iPod was a great move. What a wonderful CD. It is the first volume of songs based on The Voice, "a project to rediscover the story of the Bible as retold by a gifted team of writers, poets, pastors, and storytellers." The folks working on this retelling of Scripture includes Chris Seay, Lauren Winner and Brian McLaren. I'm currently reading some from The Last Eyewitness.
Artists on this CD include Sandra McCracken, Sara Groves, Derek Webb, Robbie Seay Band, Don and Lori Chaffer (of Waterdeep) and others. There are too many great songs to list here. But a few of the best are McCracken's "Call Him Good" and Lori Chaffer's "Please Don't Make Us Sing This Song," which was featured on a video about hurricane Katrina. Highly recommended, beautiful and artistic CD.
Read more from Christianity Today. Infuse says...
Please Don't Make Us Sing This Song, is part of a fifteen-year brainstorm of pastor and author, Chris Seay. Seay has set forth on a quest to reignite the beauty and artistry of the Bible, through working with an integrated team of authors, scholars, artists, musicians, and the like in order to rediscover the story of the Bible. This album is part of that collaboration and stands as a testament to the creativity, heart, and faithfulness of all involved.
A mushroom cavity in a tree outside our house, and my son, Daniel, napping.
Thanks to Todd Hiestand for reminding me of this vintage video. I hope the current Bears team has more rhythm.
Cory Miller asked me 5 Blogging Questions. I answered them. Cory has them up now at ChurchCommunicationsPro. See how other bloggers responded.
Watch the meltdown by Arizona Cardinals' coach Denny Green. Go to Sportsline, watch the free video on the right side all the way to the end (just a couple of minutes long). Man, no doubt, the Bears looked awful. Chicago has a lot to learn, especially Grossman. But Denny Green's meltdown comes from a coach watching his job slip through his fingers. Pretty funny.
If you haven't read Tim Keller's All of Life is Repentance, please do. Read it even if the topic doesn't tickle your toes at the moment. Very helpful on the Gospel, "religion," and repentance.
Find more Keller stuff at my Tim Keller Resource page.
Cool post from Tod Bolsinger about his kid starting a Christian group at his public school...
Last year as a seventh grader, my son Brooks read an article in Ignite Your Faith Magazine (putout by Christianity Today/Campus Life) about kids starting Christian groups on their campuses. He came to me and said, "Dad, I think I want to do this."
[...]
But the principal reiterated the policies. No student run clubs unless they are directly affiliated with the school. We were disappointed. But we kept praying. Beth and I met the principal at "Back to School Night" and thanked her for meeting with Brooks. She was gracious and very complimentary of our son. And we kept praying.
The next week, the principal wrote me back to tell me that when she went over the policies again, she found out that while the kids couldn't use a classroom, they could use the library. And she suggested that they use a section of the library that is often NOT used during lunch--the research area.
Brooks wrote her on email and secured permission. He started a weblog to tell other kids about it.
So today, at lunch, The Lighthouse will have their first meeting. A bunch of middle school kids all meeting for the purpose of learning about Jesus, "the light of the world" (John 8:12) and how they, as followers of Jesus can "let their good deeds shine out for all to see" (Matthew 6:16) and make their school a better place.
Give praise to the God who answers our prayers and ask him to bless these young leaders as they seek to live out their faith for him.
Update after school on Friday: I met my beaming son after school. 15 kids showed up, the librarian had even reserved the tables for them...he shared a scripture, they talked about the group and he led them in prayer to close. It was a good day.
We have homeschooled our kids until this year. They are now in our local public schools. So this really resonates with us. (HT: Internet Monk Radio)
The US population is about to hit 300,000,000. Um...yippie, I guess?
I'm not one of those "season of destiny" guys. But I am a Calvinist, so can you say "predestination?" The Bears come from down 23-3 near the end of the 3rd quarter to score two defensive touchdowns and a punt return for a touchdown to defeat Arizona 24-23. The Arizona kicker missed a 40-some yard fieldgoal with under a minute to play. Unbelievable.
When you can win after an ugly game (defense gave up two touchdowns in the first quarter and Grossman had 6 turnovers!!!), it says something about a team. Go Bears! Read about the game at Sportsline. Picture from Sportsline.
Bob Roberts posts on a conversation with Alan Hirsch about the reasons why faith spreads, about movements. It's worth reading and thinking about. You should keep up with Bob Roberts' blog over at Glocalnet.
Faith brings and gives Christ to you with all his possessions. Love gives you to your neighbor with all your possessions.
Martin Luther, in Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol 1, pg 34.
Alan Hirsch's new book, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church, is going to be released in December. Below are two pictures. Click on them for large, readable versions. The first is the cover and praise for the book. The second is much the same thing with Brazos info so you can pre-order the book at half price. How cool is that? Go to the Brazos website or call 1-800-877-2665.
We took a family trip to the pumpkin patch last Saturday. It was a blast, as usual. I grabbed a few photos along the way. The top photo is Elijah, who turned 6 on Monday, putting his best foot forward. The bottom photo is Daniel (3) who couldn't keep his eyes off the chicks.
