Wednesday Link List

from Church is Stranger Than Fiction by Mary Chambers an IVP book from 1990

If it’s Wednesday, it’s time for another list of things you may have missed from the Christian corner of the web.  Clicking anything below will take you to PARSE where the list officially resides. Then click the story you wish to read.

• Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove comments on the botched execution in Oklahoma two weeks ago.
• The same word-for-word approach The Visual Bible took is now being applied to a graphic novel with the Word for Word Bible Comic. The project is currently seeking funding, and BibleGateway interviewed the creator.
• After some technical hiccups, the videos from the Q-Conference are available for viewing.  For more conservative conference stalking, there are always videos of the featured talks from Together for the Gospel.
• The results of the Kentucky Derby clearly indicate that the world has been taken over by the anti-Christ.
• If you’re reading this before noon today, God and the Gay Christian author Matthew Vines and popular bloggers Rachel Held Evans, Tony Jones and Jay Bakker have a one hour live chat on Patheos.
• For one writer, a funeral was the high point in his church’s week.
• As you read this, it’s midway through the first of several regional editions of the National Worship Leaders’ Conference.  One worship writer explains why we need new songs.
• Just when you thought you were on top of all the faith-based movies on the big screen, you need to know about Calvary.
• A small church pastor is surprised at what he learns from the pastor of one of Canada’s largest churches.
• One of the most dangerous men in the UK tells of life transformation through taking the Alpha Course in prison.
• How “legal” is your church when it comes to honoring copyrights? Here are some reasons why you should.
• What to do when the congregation is simply standing there, not singing.
• Has your church covered some of the R-rated sections of the Bible? Many churches avoid those passages, one pastor sees value in including them intentionally.
• With a Reformed perspective, this list of 20 tips for using commentaries gave rise to this collection of links to lists of the best ones. (With typos as no extra charge.) For a more Arminian perspective, I’m reminded of this list.
• With a movie that released in time for Mother’s Day, CNN hails a new genre, Christian comedy…
• …And heading off a Mother’s Day tempest at the pass, Perry Noble discusses his choice of Lysa TerKeurst as guest speaker.
• The Atheist Church is holding its first general assembly. Can district superintendents be next?
• Under what circumstances might you ask a member of the worship team to step down?
• Charismatic Corner: Lee Grady offers six really strange Charismatic doctrines that should be scrapped.
• Demographics Department: Some interesting consequences for the church in the wake of mass Baby Boomer retirement.
• Meditation Moment: A look at classic writer Andrew Murray’s favorite hymn.
• It doesn’t happen until January, but the three amigos from the Reformed, Pyromaniacs blog are going into the conference business.
• Got your WJRtMW bracelet yet? It stands for Would Jesus Raise the Minimum Wage? (And no, there’s no actual bracelet that I’m aware of.)
• You know a Christian bookstore is valued in a city if the Mayor steps in to keep it from closing.
• At long last, a writer has noted the Christian fascination with board games.
• Using the excuse that it was overdone the previous year, students are told they can’t thank God at the grad ceremony.
• As I promised last week, we finished the AHA curriculum with Kyle Idleman, and the church kit offers various possibilities for use.
• If you missed it, HGTV axed a real estate reality show before it ever aired because of the hosts’ faith convictions. As CT points out, another HGTV show with Evangelical hosts is still scheduled.
• This was fun: Imagine being a young woman writing a novel for young adults with scenes set in a high school when you, yourself were home-schooled.
• Are you a parent? In Kidmin? This rather sobering article is worth a read: Five signs your child is not saved.
• Music Video of the Week: The title song from Michael W. Smith’s Sovereign.
• When I think of people walking a prayer labyrinth, I tend to think of Anglicans, but some Baptists are now utilizing them.
• Now that the whole series is available for purchase, watch one of the four video studies based on the epic-length biography, Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas.
• Introducing ServePoint, for coordinating volunteers with scheduled events.
• Moving from the city to a Christian farm community helped this writer’s children learn about the reality of death.
• Love or hate the Noah movie, it’s ideal for cinema.
• In a busy world, when is the last time you phoned someone (a real voice call) just to say thanks, with no catch?
• Crooner Michael Buble, complete with ukulele, guitar, piano and brushes on a snare drum, proved that a Jamie Grace song could easily be converted into a big-band hit.
• Female pastors who wear clerical garb will want to track this new line of vestments.
• The Passion 2014 conference album tied its own previous record for highest debut of a Christian album on Billboard.
• This fall a British reality show will see couples tie the knot after a single meeting: Marriage At First Sight.
• Finally, a personal note: If anyone has playable tapes of the demos of classic Jesus Music radio shows like The Rock That Never Rolls with Brother Dale or The Scott Ross Show please contact me.  (Or a good recipe for Peach Crumble.)

From CBD, for women who don’t have the joy of the Lord: