Here’s my summary of a little parable I just read in the book Divided by Faith, by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith.
Imagine that two friends, Maridel and Parker, decide to lose weight by checking in a six-week camp-style program (O.K., a “fat farm”). Upon arrival, they are separated and sent to different compounds.
In [...]

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This is a dated topic, but I write it now because yesterday someone gave me the poster you see here from the Rocky Balboa media push for churches. I’m grateful to the person who put it on my desk, and I plan to put it up. But the campaign itself, to promote Rocky [...]

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I just finished reading Illusions of innocence: Protestant Primitivism in America, 1630-1875 by Richard T. Hughes and C. Leonard Allen (1988, University of Chicago Press). This is an excellent book that most of you won’t want to read (unless you’re really into history) because it is so technical. But it is valuable [...]

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Shane Claiborne has an interesting article (part 1 of 3) today at Out of Ur, the blog for Christianity Today’s Leadership magazine. I’m currently reading Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. I like the book because, aside from a few sophomoric references, Claiborne defines “radical” in the correct sense [...]

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Gordon McDonald has posted the best article I have read on the sad Ted Haggard situation. McDonald, who went through a similar experience in the 80s, writes with truth and compassion about Haggard, his family and his church. The thing that is missing, though, is any real idea about how things could have [...]

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HP is promoting a new slimming feature on their digital cameras. The before-after pictures are impressive, but when you watch the demo at HP’s site, you can see the distortion take place. CBS took flak in late August for slimming down Katie Couric in a publicity photo.
I learned of the HP camera feature [...]

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For many centuries after Christ, Christian pilgrims in Europe found spiritual meaning in traveling to the Holy Land, especially to the birthplace of Christ. The rise and spread of Islam didn’t interfere with these peaceful pilgrimages. But as the year A.D. 1100 approached, things changed. Seljuk Turks, aggressive and warlike converts to [...]

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Mike Zukowski sent me this link to a Philip Yancey story called “Postcard from Africa” in Christianity Today. In Africa, AIDS, death, poverty and strong Christianity live with one another. My persistent thought while reading this story: African Christians will certainly lead us in the Kingdom of Heaven.

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In response to my thirst for adventure that I described in my last blog post (which received wider-than-normal readership because it also ran in our church newsletter) I have had no shortage of suggestions from friends on how to kick-start the jaw-dropping life I desire. One guy suggested that I join him on [...]

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At the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, our group got to see a short video from World Vision depicting AIDS through one woman’s eyes. I found it moving. Now I invite all of you to watch it online. You’ll need a high-speed connection and about 15 minutes.
Our church is raising money for a [...]

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