More Blogs 4 U

Time for another update to my ever expanding list of bookmarks in my computer. But first; if you’ve missed any…

Here’s the link to part one. (The really big one. You have to be a major blog nerd to go through all these.)

Here’s the link to part two. (Spring, 2015 update.)

Here’s the link to part three. (Late Spring, 2015, included my news sources.)

Here’s the link to part four. (Summer, 2015 update including “aggregators”, which are basically blogs that do things like the link lists we do here.)

So this would be part five.

Contradicting Bible Contradictions | Answering Bible Contradictions

Home | Ratio Christi

Christ Hold Fast

john pavlovitz | Stuff That Needs To Be Said

Bethany House Fiction | Connecting you with your favorite authors.

Stumbling Zombie | Insights of a zombie stumbling towards the Light.

“…a better country”

Vic the Vicar!

jamesedwardsharp | Abundant, passionate, honest, thought provoking musical take on the world.

Disciple All Nations | Implications of the Great Commission for the 21st Century

Redeeming God | Rescuing Scripture, Theology, & Church from the Shackles of Religion

Her View From Home

Pilgrim’s Rock – Worldview Apologetics Online Courses Books

Uniting Grace | Grace is the gift that unites us to Christ, and to others in Christ

Janet Mefferd | A Christ-centered look at life

The Christward Collective

Acculturated

Slowing Down and Speeding Up Time | Shalem Mental Health Network

Welcome to the BreakPoint Blog

justinpetrick.com

ChurchPOP | Make holy all the things!

Brain Pickings | An inventory of the meaningful life.

GoodOleWoody’s Blog and Website

Purple Theology | The Blog of Austin Fischer

Art of the Christian Ninja

Enrichment Journal

Unsettled Christianity

Junia Project Home | The Junia Project

Gender Equality Blog | The Junia Project

The Evangelical Calvinist

Technology, Christianity, Culture | Second Nature

east coast veritas | Living, breathing and wrestling with truth while church planting in Atlantic Canada

Devotions — Proverbs 31 Ministries Devotions

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit | “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise” -Proverbs 13:20

Jeff K. Clarke – Jesus (RE)Centered

Life in the Kingdom

Teaching Nonviolent Atonement — Mimetic Theory’s Wisdom for Building Cultures of Peace

Theology in the Raw

The Mordecai Blog

CaroleMcDonnell

Liturgy of Life | Sacramentally Cultivating a Household

christianityincollege

Alan Rudnick | Pastor, Author, and Speaker

Uncommon God, Common Good —

Christ Almighty!

Blog – What’s Best Next

a Life Overseas | — the missions conversation

Sheep To The Right | Whatever you did for the least of these … Matthew 25:40

Random media links. I have no idea what the criteria was for this particular set of bookmarks. Unlike what’s above, these haven’t all been checked lately, so if you find a dead link let me know. Others are used on a weekly basis like Drew Marshall and Phil Vischer; and His Place (from Cornerstone Television) has been the subject of an entire blog post.

Worship House Media: One-stop-shop for your church media and video ministry

96five – Brisbane, Australia. Family’s Number One!

WAY-FM Media Player

TitleTrakk.com – Christian Books, Christian Music, Christian Fiction, Christian Movies

The DREW MARSHALL Show – Canada’s Most Listened to Spiritual Talkback Program

WVMC FM – Christian Hit Radio – Mansfield Ohio

Listen Live! « newlifefm.ca

Welcome – Ancient Faith Radio

Church Solutions Magazine: Christian Business Resources to Grow Your Church

A Christian and an Atheist podcasts

His Place

The Phil Vischer Podcast

Christian Rock & Christian Hip Hop Radio Online ::  NGEN Radio

My Christian Hits – Your Place For New Christian Music – Home

 

Wednesday Link List

 

I think this guy is late for the evening service. He may not have his Bible, but he remembered to take up his cross.

• Living Ministry Life Backwards – From The Washington Post: “For most of his career, Joshua Harris was the kind of evangelical pastor who chuckled at the joke that ‘seminary’ should really be called ‘cemetery…’ That is, until Sunday [1/25], when the 40-year-old announced that he is leaving to go to seminary, saying he needs formal education and training and more exposure and connection to other parts of Christianity… Harris said he expects that studying at Regent College, a graduate school of theology, will broaden his perspective, including on accountability.” (Links to full sermon/announcement video.)
• Getting Back on the Horse You Fell Off – After battling the Ebola virus in the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Dr. Rick Sacra is back in Liberia. “Thomas Curtis is senior pastor at the Sacra’s church, Holden Chapel, and a long-time friend and prayer partner. He said watching Sacra battle Ebola this last year helped to grow the congregation’s faith and united several area churches in prayer. He said members at Holden Chapel are excited that Sacra has returned to serve in Liberia. ‘It wouldn’t make sense to us if he didn’t because he’s not that kind of person…'”
• Church Planting in Sin City – “The [San Francisco] Bay Area has never been perceived as religious: a 2012 Gallup poll found that fewer than a quarter of residents identify as “very religious” (defined as going to church weekly), as opposed to 40% of the nation as a whole. High salaries have drawn droves of well-educated millennials to the booming tech sector, which correlates with lower religious sentiment. So far afield from the Bible belt, the region is in fact seen as hospitable to all forms of old testament abominations: fornication, paganism – even sodomy. If you look around, however, you’ll notice a bumper crop of newer Christian ministries…“
• The Danger of ‘Winging It’ in the Pulpit – While the Perry Noble Christmas sermon on God’s “Big Ten” brought some major doctrinal concerns, perhaps a greater problem was the backstory on how the sermon happened at all: “Sometimes you are put on the spot and have to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you. This was not one of those occasions. Perry Noble got caught up in excitement and interrupted a program to deliver a message that he was in no way prepared to give. Preaching is not just some form of spiritual motivational speaking, it’s declaring the word of God. Even the goofiest sermon is a sacred act of worship that is meant to call those who hear to a deeper relationship with God. It’s just irresponsible to take that lightly. There is a real danger that can come from misrepresenting God’s word. I have no doubt that had Perry Noble spent a few hours preparing this message (instead of 10 minutes) that a lot of the controversy surrounding it would be almost non-existent.”<
• Gideons Face Roadblocks in Georgia – Did the framers of the constitution intend this? For most Christians, clearly not, but it doesn’t stop secularists from continuing to marginalize Christianity in public places. “Some board members are in favor of the proposal. However, school board attorney Tommy Coleman says it’s unconstitutional for them to allow the Bibles to be distributed on school grounds. Glenn Phelps, with the Gideons, presented board members with a map showing many other South Georgia counties that allow Gideon Bibles to be distributed. But Coleman held that if it was happening, those school boards were not obeying the law…He said he doesn’t believe there’s any practical way to legally distribute Bibles to students at school.”
• Podcast of the Week – Steve Brown talks to CCM singer Jennifer Knapp about coming out (which he thinks might lose him a radio station or two).  “I had people writing…the worst is the anonymous stuff… I’ve had people disagree with me in public spaces and come to shows and say they’re disappointed in me, but those are pretty tame in comparison to the anonymous kind of stuff that you get… The thing I didn’t anticipate that absolutely happened was an overwhelming responsive of positivity.” 43-minute audio.
• The Worship Article That’s Got Everyone Talking – Perhaps it’s just the fact that articles that begin with a number (6 Tips, 5 Principles, 7 Ways) always get traction; but it seemed that everywhere I turned last week, someone was including this in their own internet roundup. Check out 15 Worship Decisions We’ll Regret Later. (Sample #10 – Not providing a venue for creatives to express their art as worship.)
• Micro-Church Planting – “There are 60-some beds at the Kings Motor Inn, but it doesn’t seem like our friends find much rest here. People bounce from room to room, cars come and go, kids play in the parking lot. Everyone looking to escape, to feel some peace, but nobody really finding it.” They call it Dope Church. Fife, Washington is on the I-5 corridor, which is also a corridor for drug and sex traffic. Some snapshots of ministry life at the motel.
• Moody Press Offers To Trade Books – The conservative Evangelical publisher is inviting readers an opportunity to mail in their copy of 50 Shades of Grey and receive in exchange a copy of Pulling Back the Shades by Dannah Gresh and Dr. Juli Slattery. The latter book helps undo the damage done by the former. (You can also read a sample chapter at the site.) Related article: How 50 Shades of Grey Harms Women & Jesus Saves Them.
• The Angst Your Church Sound-Tech Faces – “The stage was set.  The equipment checked and double-checked.  The band was plugged in and ready.  Everything was as expected until they played the first song…They sounded horrible.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the musicians were horrible.  The house mix sounded atrocious…” I’ve probably never seen an article that so well exposes the heart of that guy at the back who is under-appreciated and dealing with his own self-doubts.

Short links and things that got cut from Parse!:

• A different kind of Baptism invitation: Don’t come forward, go out the door.
• Everywhere I went online this week, people were talking about the band I Am They. Check out the song From The Day. (Also posted here yesterday as it turns out!)
• Trinity Western University in British Columbia, Canada continues to its battle to see the school represented by various law schools on a province-by-province basis including this recent victory in Nova Scotia.
• The Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller TV show is getting a makeover with a new producer who has done similar work for Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer; as well as a host of denominations and organizations.
• On the wearing of leggings as pants, there is no end of media coverage. Read the original story with the ABC News video clip. And coverage here. And here. And…
• As we’ve said before, there are no cats in the Bible, but dogs do not fare well in its pages.
• is this transcription correct? if so, it’s the only time that e. e. cummings used a capital letter… see what may have occasioned this exception.
  
• I can see using this “service countdown” video at youth group, or even mid-week, but I’m not sure it would work in even an informal Sunday morning. Then again, churches are changing right.  Step away from the computer and enjoy 5 minutes of exercise.

They Like Her, But Why?

Last week we looked at the issues raised by the group calling itself #the15 in reference to the books that get sold in Christian bookstores and their online equivalents. I want to focus on one in particular today.

Google the phrases “Joyce Meyer” and “false teacher” and you’ll probably get, as I did, over 91,000 results. That’s a lot of discontented people posting an opinion online. Many of these people would hard to please. I always thought that if I could ask the head of one particular watchdog organization who he really likes, he’d probably say, “I really like my pastor, but he gets it wrong a few times a year, too.”

Still, as someone who spends several hours a week in Christian retail, I do try to take these comments to heart and re-examine the products we carry. Even if many of the 91,000 web pages represent those who make it their business to put every word spoken or written by every Christian under the microscope to find fault, some of those criticisms have merit when the author’s opinions or interpretations are examined in the light of scripture.

So of course, I took particular note when one of the first phone calls of the year was an inquiry if the store carried Joyce Meyer. There are thousands of authors in the store, but this person’s judgement of whether it was worth a first-time visit to our store would be made or broken by the carrying of this one author. Interesting.

I got to thinking even as the conversation continued:

They really like her.

Followed by:

They really like her, but why?

Leading to:

They really like her, but why her?

Ms. Meyer is probably the top-selling non-fiction female author in most Christian book shops. Current runners-up would include Beth Moore, Lysa TerKeurst, Ann Voskamp, Stormie Omartian, Stasi Eldredge, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Sheila Walsh and Elizabeth George. For each of those, there are dozens of other women aspiring to be part of that elite Top Ten list. Despite the advances they may feel they have made in The Church over the last few decades, women have always played key roles in the history of Christian publishing.

So the cream always rises to the top, right?

Well, no. Christian book critics frequently note doctrinal concerns in the writings of some bestselling authors, many of whom also happen to have a Charismatic bent. (I’m referring to the denomination here, as in ‘Evangelicals, Pentecostals and Charismatics.’) So over the years we’ve seen Benny Hinn, T. D. Jakes and Joel Osteen under fire, and yes, rightly so. Osteen simply can’t hold his own in television interviews when the doctrinal questions are more than an inch deep. Conservative Baptists and Calvinists bring all of this down to a lack of academics, a lack of scholarship, or more simply put, a lack of study. And here there many times I might have to concede to them.

Joyce Meyer is undoubtedly the leading woman author in the Charismatic camp, but her appeal is even broader Hinn, Jakes or even Osteen. There are Presbyterian women who watch her. There are Baptist women who purchase her books. Heck, there are even some Reformed women who listen to her online.

So 91,000 internet pages of doctrinal concerns notwithstanding — and do, as I did, take some time read a few — she continues to outsell the other members of the Top Ten. They like her; they really, really like her.

In 2002, Hachette Book Group paid Meyer  more than $10,000,000 US for her backlist catalog of what had been formerly independent books. (See a recent article in Publisher’s Weekly.) They have no doubt experienced a significant return on that investment.

What would it take for someone to reach her sales pinnacle, and yet still be able to satisfy the critics? Of the women in our Top Ten list, two others, Voskamp and Moore are constantly under fire online as well. My feelings on this are similar to my feelings about Christian television: It’s a certain type of person who wants to be on television. That’s why we see the programs we see.

And maybe it’s no different in the world of publishing. Perhaps we get the books and TV we deserve. I don’t know. And I’m not sure how some Christian bookstores would survive without some of these controversial people.

As I wrote a few days ago, in my piece on Christian television, there are certain voices we seem to simply never get to hear from. I really wish we did, and I wish those mainstream Evangelical voices would rise to the top.

Update: I just want to reiterate here that popularity is no measure of orthodoxy. Sometimes the opposite is true. I’m just taking what is for others a criticism and turning into more of a lament; wishing that those who command a top position on the charts were more decidedly mainstream in their doctrines. This is also true of male authors, it is by no means limited to women.

---

Feelings about Joyce Meyer run strong, as I found out when I wrote this article many years ago. Please limit comments to why you feel Joyce resonates with so many readers and TV viewers.

 

What’s Missing on Christian Television

If your background is Anglican or Roman Catholic, you might think that the world of Christian television is dominated by Evangelical voices, but you’d only be partly right. In fact, Christian TV is dominated by a certain type of Evangelical, which if not Pentecostal or Charismatic, definitely is leaning in that direction.

And that’s unfortunate because there is a wide swath of Evangelicals that simply aren’t represented in the broadcast medium:

Calvinists – I know this one flies in the face of some of my other writing about the dominance of Reformed theology on the internet and in Christian publishing, but the five-point crowd isn’t known for using the visual media.  Anyone know a reason for that?

Cerebral Christians – I’ve always wondered what a Christian television program would look like if it was created by InterVarsity. I know I’d watch.  N. T. Wright is often a guest on various shows; if he were a host, I wonder who would he invite?

Progressives – For all the Nadia’s and Matthew Paul’s out there, TV must seem a very old-school medium. Still, what would mean to capture the energy of those podcasts and turn it loose in a more populist medium?

Polar Opposites – Television is a great showcase for the dramatic. What if the TULIPs and the DAISYs had it out on a weekly basis? Or pit the egalitarians debating the complementarians. Or the watchdog bloggers against just about anyone.

What Christian television that doesn’t exist would you like to see?

 

 

Wednesday Link List

Stay here to read classic Wednesday links, or visit PARSE to view nine selected stories with more preview info.

The above image from the Ship of Fools archives seemed appropriate given that women can now officially be bishops in the Church of England.

• Desiring God interviews missionary and Ebola survivor Nancy Writebol, who says that it’s all worth the risks aid workers are taking: “[T]o just turn away and put our backs to the world is wrong.”
• These reviews of Kirk Cameron’s film Saving Christmas weren’t exactly glowing, and these were from people within the camp, so to speak.
• The first-ever Islamic Jumaa prayer gathering at Washington’s National Cathedral was interrupted by a woman who stood up saying, “Jesus Christ died on that cross over there; He is the reason why we are to worship only Him. Jesus Christ is our lord and savior!”  Needless to say, she was escorted out…
• …Franklin Graham says the service should have never taken place in that setting…
• …While meanwhile in Canada, a similar situation is avoided by cancelling the event, but one writer suggests that may have been the wrong move.
• From a few weeks ago, but too important to miss, is the National Association of Evangelicals’ statement on end of life issues.
• With the Mark Driscoll story somewhat played out, on the book publishing side of things, the attention now shifts to David Jeremiah.
• Worldviews in Collision – Opening the very same weekend as the movie 50 Shades of Grey, Valentine’s Day 2015, the movie Old Fashioned is a kind of anti-50 Shades.  The battle takes place at a multiplex near you.
• The fiancée of Ebola victim Eric Duncan is still struggling. “I am hurt, I am displaced, I have this Ebola stigma on me and no one will take me in,” she said. However, the Christian Examiner reports that “Wilshire [Baptist] church members were among the few who didn’t shun [Louise] Troh and her family. The congregation literally and figuratively embraced her in welcome when she attended a service after her quarantine.’ 
• Should Serena be granted church membership? There are some fairly solid arguments on both sides of this case study which will put your mind into overdrive. Read the four ‘expert’ opinions, and then decided which way you would vote.
  
• “In its unredeemed state, lust disrupts our ordered sexuality, resulting in the objectification and oppression of our bodies, and the misuse of sex for the sake of our own greed and pleasure.”  A woman considers the consequences of lust.
• A new EFCA report shows that overall, we gave 6.9% more in 2013, and then breaks down that giving by ministry category.
• Thom Rainer gives five reasons why Millennials don’t want to pastor established churches, and one major problem this creates. 
• According the website Right Wing Watch, Donnie Swaggart, son of Jimmy Swaggart “asserted that, like ISIS, gay rights activists in America would publicly behead Christians if they could get away with it.” 
• So many issues in this story, one of which is: Can you be excommunicated from a church you’ve already stopped attending?
  
• TBN Africa has rebranded under the name Faith Broadcasting Network.
• He had reached the limit and was ready to end it all. God had other plans. 
• One of my favorite teachers from the Willow Creek Midweek Experience, Wheaton College’s Dr. Gary Burge was a guest on this week’s Phil Vischer Podcast.
  
• Essay of the Week: On men and church, “[T]he malaise of masculinity is a symptom of a deeper and more profound contemporary social and existential malaise, a malaise that affects everyone.”
• It only took one atheist parent to object to a high school concert being staged at a Presbyterian Church — even though the concert contained no religious content — to get the entire event canceled, much to the annoyance of students, parents and staff.
• In addition to the possibility of building showers for the homeless at The Vatican, this article also mentions a change of underwear and possibly haircuts…
• …However, less popular with some readers here is the Pope’s statement that, “the scientific account of the beginning of the universe and the development of life through evolution are compatible with the Catholic Church’s vision of creation.”
• While this story doesn’t mention Christian groups, a new law in Australia bars “hate preachers” from entering the country. 
• There’s now a new record for the world’s longest sermon…any guesses as to how long? You’re probably low.
  
• Worship Song of the Week: Unstoppable God from Elevation Worship.
• Video Resource of the Week: Three hours with author Randy Alcorn. Free! 
• And here’s a bonus song, just in time for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, My Heart is Full of Thankfulness by The Getty’s, or if you prefer a more rollicking version by Stuart Townend.
  
• Video Curiosity of the Week: Cindy Cruse and Take Six give Toto’s Rosanna new lyrics as Hosanna, a worship song, circa 2005. 
• The Covenant Awards are Canada’s equivalent of The Dove Awards. Here are the 2014 winners.
  
• Finally, a humorous, exhaustive look at various interpretations of the Alex Lee phenomenon, aka #AlexFromTarget.

 

With all the many challenges that gay couples face, I honestly didn’t think of this one:

 

Wednesday Link List

The Wednesday List Lynx still prowls the office here after dark.

Welcome to this week’s link list to those of you who didn’t already have it automatically download to their phone.

• T.D. Jakes has two syndicated television projects in development, one a daily show, the other a weekly.
• At age 14, she was taken from her family and given to an ISIS commander as a bride. Then she and a friend escaped.
• It’s called Lateral leadership, defined as “leading your peers, those you serve alongside but don’t report to, and they don’t report to you either.”
• Pope Francis shook things up last week by performing weddings for couples who had been previously living together, some of whom had children.
• Hillsong made the New York Times, complete with a quotation from the Rev. Dr. Albert Mohler Jr. that they water down the gospel…
• …But one church planter thinks the move by churches back into cities like NYC is somewhat selective when it comes to neighborhoods.
• A few like-minded linkers this week noted this upcoming theology cruise to the Eastern Carribean. Beats a seminary classroom, I suppose. Maybe you were predestined to see this.
• I hope my editor approves this link: Introducing grassroots pastors, “a growing population of Christians—especially young Christians—called and trained for ministry, but, for one reason or another, not in a formal church role.”
• What if instead of suppressing belief in God, the 1960s had brought God into the foreground?
• The death of controversial pastor turned politician Rev. Ian Paisley elicits stories from The New York Times and UK Christian media.
• Let’s talk about a Rob Bell book before it’s released; nobody’s ever done that before. The book, coauthored by wife Kristen deals with egalitarian marriage.
• Your mileage may vary: See if you agree with this assessment after the lyrics of modern worship songs are placed under the microscope.
• Maintaining a distinct identity: What distinguished the early Christian community from their surrounding neighbors?
• A Georgia pastor who delivered what he considered an ‘educational’ message about the middle east temporarily had his YouTube account suspended.
• Planning weekend services: Living between the tension of following the template or starting from scratch.
• The hometown mainstream media continue their coverage of things at Mars Hill Seattle.
• Church Profile of the Week: A look at Christ Redeemer Episcopal in Milwaukee, where community trumps dogma, and former Evangelicals discover Anglican worship.
• Benjamin Corey responds to the trolls: “…if your goal is to help introduce people to Jesus, you’re actually achieving the opposite of your stated goal. …you’re actively harming the efforts of those of us who are purposeful and attempt to use extreme care with how we communicate the message of Jesus.”…
• …Taking that to the next level, a guide to having crucial conversations.
• You’ve seen books like All the Men of the Bible and All the Miracles of the Bible. This blog post looks at all the suicides of the Bible.
• Patriarchy and clergy libraries: Hey, pastor; take a minute to scan your shelves and compute the male-female balance of writers on your shelves.
• A Brazilian soccer star is trying to bring visibility in that country regarding the plight of Saeed Abedini, imprisoned in Iran for two years.
• Three book reviews, including Marketing Like Jesus and a revival of the True Love Waits movement.
• An atypical story of domestic abuse: When the husband is physically injured.
• Often voiced: Christian Bible study resources for women tend to be too feeling-based.
• Pope Francis has suggested that the conflicts we’re seeing around the world are like puzzle pieces combining to form the picture of a third world war. (My paraphrase.)
• American Pastors looking for a pay raise might want to relocate to The South. (According to the study, they should also avoid Canada.)
• Mathematics Department: Unpacking Baptist attrition rates.
• James MacDonald apologized on the weekend for a church disciplinary action against three former elders that was excessive.
• When Hollywood got it right: Eight reasonably positive portrayals of Christians on broadcast television.
• I think in many respects, the blog platform tumblr is a mission field, so I greatly admire people doing ministry there.
• When it comes to understanding the Christian publishing market in Canada there’s one guy you might want to know.
• Song of the Week: Unspoken’s Start A Fire. (Thanks, Diane.)
• Advertising by a faith-based preschool is refused by Groupon.
• Cartoonist David Hayward’s cartoons can make your head explode.
• Worship Leader Trauma Center: Dealing with your church’s OPH problem.
• After its first hiatus in eleven years, The Drew Marshall Show Canada’s “most listened-to spiritual talk program” returns to the air on Saturday. Join listeners from around the world live between 1:00 and 5:00 EDT.
• Calminianism: Harmonizing predestination and free will with God’s sovereignty.
• A cross symbol on the helmets of a college football team meant to memorialize a former player and a former equipment manager violate the United States Constitution. Excerpt: “These young men were simply trying to do a good deed. They were standing up for their fallen teammates. It’s really too bad the university could not stand up for the team.”
• Journalistic curiosity: Calling last Thursday “9/11’s Bar Mitzvah.”
• Not serious: Peter Enns guests at Huffington with 10 Signs You Take The Bible Too Literally. (And guests at Reddit today (9/17) at 3:00 EST.)
• The Gaithers Claim Another Victim: The founder of the Christian rock band Starfield turns bluegrass.
• Did you get your free U2 album? Did you want to get the new U2 album? Some people were unwilling recipients. At Rolling Stone, a track-by-track guide to all eleven songs.
• Prosperity Gospel? Yes, people still teach that. If I’m not wealthy, I must be doing something wrong.
• Finally, this may or may not be a true story: A church decides to shut down its ministry to focus on the success of its coffee shop. (Website name is a clue.)

My wife makes these. I didn’t have a closing photo this week, so I thought you’d enjoy seeing the puppets in an international mood.

Paul Wilkinson failed to find a suitable Christian media link related to tomorrow’s historic separation vote in Scotland, but you can read him the rest of the week at Thinking Out Loud or devotionally at Christianity 201.

Wednesday Link List

Time for your midweek break and some news and opinion pieces you may have missed:

• As a New York state couple refuses to rent their facility for a lesbian wedding, we flash all the way back to July, where a blogger asks if people are overreacting. 
• Don’t tweet these: 25 Things You’ll Never Hear God Say.
• Why the Robin Williams death is hitting so hard.
• If you were one of the two SIM workers who contracted Ebola, would you even consider going back to Africa? The two are now immune; can’t spread the disease or contract it.
• Straining at a gnat? You decide. An argument against communion by intincture.
• Christian faith and depression medication: An article at Patheos turns up at Time Magazine.
• 

  You can also read today’s link list at Leadership Journal by clicking this image.

  Essay of the Week: Five Ways to be a Better Atheist.

• We know that women outnumber men in most churches. Here are five ways leadership can get men on board.
• Interesting topic, especially online: How to Give and Receive Criticism. (It’s a terrible article.)(Just kidding!)
• The responsibilities of a worship leader include a teaching ministry that goes far beyond just teaching songs.
• With 20 locations, is LifeChurch.tv still the multi-site leader? The 20th opened on the weekend in Wichita, KS.
• For one writer, in the U.S. Christian Twitterverse, some things create much internet heat, while other current events rarely get mentioned.
• While written with mainline UK churches in view, this article on personnel and human resources issues in multi-staff churches applies here as well.
• Bahamas pastor (hey, someone has to do it) Thabiti Anyabwile on secular psychology versus Biblical counseling.
• A look at the guiding principles which shape sexual morality in 2014…
• …and from the same author, some stats on what that morality looks like.
• With the school year not yet underway, a serious security breach at a Canadian Bible college.
• The wife of a former-policeman turned missionary reflects on events in Missouri last week.
• As if there aren’t enough forums for poking fun at Christianity, now there are irreverent board games and card games.
• Deconstructing overused Christian clichés.
• We seem to have a new Christian movie announcement every week, though in this particular case, with a name director (Last Temptation of Christ) the drama mixes with church history…
• …Then there’s the documentary Holy Ghost, opening September 6th and shot with no script. Watch the trailer.
• Protect your brand: You’ll soon be able to get a .church domain for your church website.
• Who says they never come back? John Ortberg does his annual return to Willow Creek. (Choose audio or video.)
• Also at Willow, founding pastor Bill Hybels still amazes me. This summer sermon was the setup for a Baptismal Service which followed. (Choose audio or video.)
• It must be one of those military exercises you hear so much about: First you remove all the Bibles from the guest rooms, and then you put them all back…
• …Meanwhile, in England, Travelodge has removed all Bibles to respect diversity.
• Rev. Cindy Kent springs to the defense of Cliff Richard in the latest wave of allegations of past impropriety.
• Well, I rather expected this: “Please note that Pastor Mark Driscoll is generally unavailable for interviews through the end of 2014.”
• Another volley in the worship wars: Apparently modern worship “declared itself a viable choice.”
• Increasingly in the UK, families cannot afford funerals.
• Bulldozers readying the site for the Answers-In-Genesis (Ken Ham) Noah’s Ark attraction inadvertently uncover evidence proving that the earth is billions of years old. (Okay, I totally made that one up. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Won’t happen again.)
• Pastors, your people do really miss you when you’re gone, but there are reasons for taking a breather.
• Canada’s Christian-owned, family-friendly network, CTS is being re-branded as YES-TV.
• Tabloid-style-link: Justin Bieber: Is he reconnecting with Selena, with church?
• Another exciting episode in the life of Isaac Wotts, Church Custodian. (Actually, there are no other episodes.)
• A group consisting of Ray Boltz and Jennifer Knapp (among others) grows with an announcement by Vicky Beeching.
• Hey, it’s okay to be in ministry and be living with someone because, “Paul wasn’t married…Many significant Bible characters were not married. Marriage is not a prerequisite for being in the pulpit.” (You gotta admire the logic, or the chutzpah.)
• Finally, has anyone else noticed that the Mormons have all the cool baptism songs.

Paul Wilkinson is available to speak or sing on any dates you had previously booked with Mark Driscoll, Vicky Beeching or Gungor and may be contacted through his blogs, Thinking Out Loud and Christianity 201.

Wednesday Link List

Post something amazing online and you could find yourself here next week! Click anything below and you end up at PARSE, the blog of Leadership Journal, a division of Christianity Today; from there, click the story you want to read.

• Taping has begun for The Rob Bell Show to air on OWN, Oprah’s network. There’s one a week today (5/14) but audience members must make a six hour commitment (and provide a picture of themselves; no kidding!)
• From home-schooled kid to co-director of Moms’ Night Out, a director’s take on the movie opening just in time for Mother’s Day weekend.
• Essay of the Week: Perhaps we’ve put the church growth/megachurch model on a pedestal when the model we should be idolizing is much smaller communities.
• When the seminar from a featured speaker at a UK spring festival draws less than 100 people, does that say something about his name recognition or churches not prioritizing outreach?
• “Let’s give the Lord a clap offering” is the latest phrase under the microscope at Dictionary of Christianese.
• HarperCollins Christian Publishing group will now include Olive Tree, a Bible software app that’s probably on your phone right now.
• No matter how much energy the band generates and no matter how great the precision of the flashing lights, some megachurch Evangelicals find their way back to the hymnbook.
• With many church activities being ‘a young man’s game,’ what does leadership look like when you enter your mature years?
• Cornerstone Television in Pennsylvania has been doing some cool things for 35 years now. (His Place is approaching 200 episodes.) Their latest new show is Sister 2 Sister.
• A young teen, Molly Kate Kestner finds out what happens if you don’t strive to be a star. (Now closing in on 4,000,000 views!)
• The opener to this one had me hooked: “In Catholic circles, the joke goes that if you want to quote from the Bible, find a good Protestant to help you.”
• Publisher’s Weekly interviews theologian Miroslav Volf.
• Modern Hymn of the Week: Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery. (Thanks, Zach!)
• Pastors and Depression: A quick list of the top ten triggers.
• Barnabas Piper doesn’t think people should write about writing. Nicholas McDonald disagrees.
• Pope Francis joins Catholic scholarship in espousing an economic view that is neither Capitalism nor Communism, but rather ‘Distributism.’
• Four Blood Moons sold enough copies to land on Tim Challies’ radar. Don’t be expecting a positive review.
• Is China really declaring war on megachurches or was this bulldozing truly just an over-the-top response to a building code issue?
• The issue that won’t go away: The Voice Bible blog with more on its translation choice for God’s name.
• Social media continually proves itself to be the wrong place for certain kinds of conversations.
• HarperCollins arranged to have a team of evangelical scholars write a rebuttal to Bart Ehrman’s How Jesus Became God. The latter will release through Zondervan.
• The “Jesus had a wife” document turns out to be a forgery after all.
• The parents of an 18-year old TV star in the UK produced and acted in porn. Their son speaks out about how that genre is warping his generation’s view of sex.
• Author Emily Wierenga on why she doesn’t immediately launch Facebook first thing in the morning.
• Skye Jethani thinks your pastor’s sermon last Sunday might have run a bit long.
• The daughter of singer Ray Boltz on women’s reproductive rights.
• FOX-TV explores the life of Jesus at 13 — oh, those awkward teenage years — and other apocryphal stories in the new series Nazareth, now filming.
• An IVP author makes a solid case on video for meeting homelessness with affordable housing.
• All those pocket-sized Love Inspired inspirational fiction books have been bought by HarperCollins, along with the rest of Harlequin.
• Is a Christian lyric makeover considered parody? Either way, this is based on the popular song Royals by Lorde. (If you like the band Apologetix…)
• I love it when the visual layout of a blog matches the writer’s goal. (And check out the Sidewalk Prophets song posted on March 3rd.)
• …time to get back to work reviewing the curriculum that goes with AHA by Kyle Idleman, clearly the best yet from City on a Hill productions.

That’s it for this week. Between now and next Wednesday, join me at Thinking Out Loud, Christianity 201 and on Twitter. 

Congratulations to Phil Vischer, Skye Jethani and Christian Taylor on Episode 100 of the Phil Vischer Podcast! Click the image, sent in by listener Kyle Frisch to listen/watch.

Songs with substance: Enduring worship

If you check the right hand margin over at Christianity 201, you’ll see that all of the various music resources that have appeared there are listed and linked alphabetically. Take a moment to discover — or re-discover — some worship songs and modern hymns from different genres.

Wednesday Link List

Yes, it’s true; Target does have people who visit Wal-Mart and link list creators do drop in on other link lists to see what’s making the rounds. If you find yourself craving more of this sort of thing by Saturday, two of my weekend favorites are the Saturday Ramblings at Internet Monk and the Saturday Links at DashHouse. I only borrowed one from iMonk, but linked three stories from church planter Darryl Dash, so this week’s lengthy intro was mostly guilt-induced. Clicking anything below will take you to PARSE, the Link List Overlords; then click the stories you want to read there.

• Are some prominent pastors’ sermon series timed to coincide with national release dates for their latest book?
• Some students at Gordon College didn’t connect at all with the gospel-styled worship leader at chapel services…
• …which led this pastor with a broad church background to write about the value of denomination hopping.
• A long-running Canadian Christian talk show, 100 Huntley Street is entering the U.S. market with a distinct American edition and Eric Metaxas as co-host.  Teaser/sample: Metaxas on The Quirky Bible. Long form sample: Interview with Mark Burnett & Roma Downey.
• With fact-checkers like this out there, if I were Ergun Caner, I might never utter another word.
• The American Humanist Association successfully got a memorial cross removed from public property in California, but a number of others quickly replaced it in protest.
• The United Methodist pastor who officiated at his gay son’s wedding and was then defrocked now has a book deal.
• I normally have an aversion to articles that start with a number (“7 Must-Implement Church Growth Ideas”) but I do want to recommend 10 Signs You Might Be A Legalist…
• …From the same author, Jeremy Myers, check out his list of offbeat sources for church demographics. (Don’t miss the map on the Forbes link.)
• Buried in this story is a suggestion from Pope Francis that what Pope Benedict did by resigning should be normative, thus making Pope Emeritus a more frequent designation.
• A pregnancy center in Buffalo, New York is offering both birthing services and abortions in the same building, believed to be the first such facility in the U.S.
• Quote of the Week: “First-world believers are ‘right-handed’ readers interpreting a message written to the spiritually and socio-economically ‘left-handed.” Read the rest!
• Post-debate discussions on creation continue; this one on the age of the earth particularly resonated with me.
• And this story happened literally close to home: Canadian broadcaster Lorna Dueck’s story on the 20th anniversary of the Toronto Blessing. (Though she avoided the topic of the role of Rodney Howard-Browne and “holy laughter.”)
• Justin and Trisha Davis take a brief look at the value of separation after an affair for the purpose of achieving reconciliation.
• The Mormon Church has issued a statement to help clarify some elements of its doctrine considered outlandish by non-LDS members.
• Short Essay of the Week: An open apology to local congregations by Katelyn Beaty.
• Long Essay of the Week: An insider look at sexual temptation in the homeschool community.
• Essay Runner-Up: “…now, most of us live public lives on a worldwide forum.” With Facebook and Twitter, we’re all celebrities now.
• John Ortberg’s PCUSA congregation becomes the second mega-sized church to exit that denomination, but at great financial cost. (If you have 30 minutes, click the sermon audio link.)
• The pastor of a 3,000 member megachurch in Sweden and his wife have resigned and become Roman Catholics.
• Women’s Corner: Does embracing Biblical submission mean this writer might as well quit med school?
• Analogy of the Week: Rinse-and-spit devotional time.
• Want to expand your weekly podcast experience? Try the Christian Podcast Directory.
• If even half of these stories are true, British church organists are up to a lot of mischief.
• Metaphor of the Month: The long forgotten analogy of the pastor as fisherman. (Ideally, the pastor and everyone else, too.)
• Life at Christian Colleges: Sometimes transportation issues leave younger students no choice, but there are reasons to pass on the church all the other students attend. (The article was written more for graduate students, but has broader application.)
• From the wife of a well-known pastor, five (or maybe seven) things kids should know before heading to college.
• Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? First there was Not a Fan and now there is Unfollowers, a new title from Wesleyan Books. (But that said, I just ordered a copy!)
• The east edition of the Creation Festival will include Tullian Tchvidjian, Eric Ludy, and Jeff Bethke; and there are rumors they might also have some musicians.
• This writer creates a Mark Driscoll catalog of offenses…
• …However, two voices that have not been heard, plus an ironic picture.
• Finally, here’s a classic, one-minute movie clip that you must watch full screen. (Thanks to this sleuth blogger!)

The Wednesday Link List is a production of Paul Wilkinson with proofreading assistance from Mrs. W. who is actually the better writer in the family.

Wednesday Link List

Once again, it’s time to hit the links: You can catch this week’s list at its home at Out of Ur, a blog of Leadership Today magazine.  Click anything below:

• Steve Taylor fans will want to catch the video for his album fundraiser on Kickstarter.
• If you like to keep idealistic memories intact, think twice before clicking to this article on the horrible personal life of C. S. Lewis.
• Why stop at bumper stickers if you can put the entire story of Jesus on your car? (Pictured below)
  
• In the UK, Christmas cards are becoming increasingly me-centered.
• So when all was said and done in the Mefferd-Driscoll controversy, Carl Trueman had predicted the outcome either way…
• …and then InterVarsity Press (IVP) became an official player in the saga with a short press release.
• …and a Reformed author offers seven thoughts on the writing of books.
• Saeed Abedeni wasn’t one of them, but Iran has released two other pastors detained in prison for 214 days.
• Do progressive Christians read books as do Evangelicals? Maybe not, as one Christian publishing imprint scales back.
• While reading a video game Kickstarter proposal, my wife discovered that one of the creators of the classic video game Myst, is now a pastor, at this church.
• When Jesus said to ‘take up your cross,’ is this literally what he had in mind?
• Sarah Palin is promoting a book which will resonate with conservative Christians, fighting the ‘war on Christmas.’
• …But are some conservatives fighting the wrong war?
• Essay of the Week: What do we mean — and is the definition changing — when we say pastoral.
• Most Clicked Article of the Week: As seen on various websites, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot on the use of ‘Christian’ as an adjective. (Here’s some classic music by Jon)
• A case will be heard in court in Armenia in January as Jehovah’s Witnesses appeal two building permit requests turned down because of complaints about the sect.
• A discovery by South African scientists again reopens discussion as to the age of the earth.
• Living Out, a new website in the UK offers encouragement to Christians experiencing same sex attraction…
• …and also from our brothers and sisters across the pond, a great Christmas Eve service video (that also proves not every spoken word piece that rhymes is rap).
• Former Charisma magazine editor Lee Grady thinks that with the passing of Paul Crouch, it’s time to reinvent Christian television.
• Link that takes you to more links: The best of the internet on the subject of hell.
• Going Deeper Department: Do we start with scripture or do we start with Jesus? Discuss.
• In Holland, the election of Pope Francis is at best slowing down a rapid exodus of Catholic parishioners…
• …Meanwhile, back at The Vatican, is the Pope sneaking out at night to give away money?
• A reality show in the U.S. may be intent on popularizing the idea of group marriage, aka polyamory.
• Recurring theme, different location: Pentecostals in Africa prescribing prayer instead of drugs for HIV patients.
• The Grammy nominations are out, scroll down the list to gospel and contemporary Christian categories 36 thru 40. This was the first time I’d heard of Tye Tribbett, nominated in three categories.
• Weird Video Moment of the Week: Rob Bell talks God and surfing — but not necessarily in that order — on the Pete Holmes show, a talk show affiliated with Conan O’Brien.
• It’s not in your mailbox. It’s not on your video screen. It’s the four-letter word you don’t hear.
• When the person playing Mary in this Australian Christmas re-enaction boards her donkey, she’ll be wearing a helmet of sorts.
• Finally, our gift item for the week: Mormon missionaries riding their bikes through some kind of environmental aberration.  Free shipping available.