Christina Grimmie: What we Lost

In the past week’s other Orlando story, there was the reality TV singer who was shot and killed while signing autographs after a performance. I later heard she was a Christian, but this is the U.S. after all, where it seems as though everyone is a Christian, especially those in the music industry who grew up singing in church.

It’s so easy for this to just be another sad story; I don’t watch much of The Voice and didn’t know the name Christina Grimmie before this week.

But then I heard the video which follows.

And then I realized what we — all of us — have lost.

If you missed the news story, Christian Today wrote:

Christina Grimmie, a former contestant on “The Voice” who was fatally shot on Friday night as she signed autographs for fans, was a committed Christian who had previously spoken of her faith and how she sang for Jesus.

The singer was a contestant on season 6 of “The Voice” in the US, having already made a name for herself on YouTube, with one of the videos she shared being “In Christ Alone”, which you can watch below.

The Christian Herald adds:

On The Voice Facebook page Saturday morning, a brief tribute was paid to Grimmie:  “There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice. Our hearts go out to the friends, fans and family of Christina Grimmie.”

An amazing voice; see for yourself in this video. So very sad.

Wednesday Link List

Is it Wednesday already? Time for another list of links of interest to people like you from blogs and websites great and small. But wait! None of the links below actually work; you need to click through to the Wednesday Link List’s new home at Out of Ur, the blog of Leadership Journal.

• How about a 19-second video to kick things off? (Apologies to those who clicked!)
• Frank Viola offers a completely different take on the spiritual life of John Lennon.
• What did the Pope really say in that in-flight news conference? One writer thinks it’s not exactly what was reported.
• You thought there were fewer this year and you were right. Stats on why not as many churches are doing VBS.
• Got the standard 2.3 kids? John Wesley would not approve. I suppose you could call this an article about being procreative.
• A UK church organist, 68, was walking to a midnight Christmas Eve service as he had done for 40 years when two men, both 22, beat him to death in a motiveless attack. Now, his widow offers a message of forgiveness.
• Essay of the Month for June (but you may not like it): The atheist daughter of a noted Christian apologist shares her story so far.
• Related: An Atheism, Theism, Agnosticism, Gnosticism infographic.
• Essay of the Week: Ten things church worship leaders want the rest of us to understand.
• Related: What if we looked at our church’s corporate worship time as a spiritual discipline?
• The year isn’t even over and already we have a winner for the worst reporting of a religious story in 2013.
• I’ll let Michael Frost Tweet this intro: “The conservative journal Christianity Today makes the case for welcoming same-sex couples to church.”
• A blog to know about: Jesus I Will Follow You is a tumblr that answers questions from young readers on tough subjects.
• From my own blog this week: A blog summary on the Presbyterian Church USA’s “In Christ Alone” hymnbook controversy and a look at same sex marriage in the Anglican Church of Canada.
• It’s easy to deal with what’s appropriate beachwear for women when you’re on a Christian radio show. It’s harder when it’s your own 13-year old daughter.
• Rob Bell is offering two more of his 2-day conferences in September and October that are already renowned for their lunch break to go surfing.
• Music to brighten your day: Shine Bright Baby’s song from their new album Dreamers; enjoy Beautiful Love.
• A link that takes you to more links: An Arizona pastors offers a 6-part blog series on the sins pastors commit including letting their wives manage everything on the homefront.
• Here’s a March post which is a link to ten articles at the blog “Canon Fodder” by the author of The Question of Canon on — wait for it — ten things you should know about the New Testament canon.
• In searching through blogs I had bookmarked months earlier, I landed on this very succinct post which I offer for your prayer consideration.
• Before you hit the FWD button next time, here’s four reasons that Christians need to stop forwarding hoax emails.
• A historic Roman Catholic Church that is already a shrine to a saint whose legacy is devotion to animals plans to set aside a memorial space for Fido and Fluffy.
• Your assignment: Write a modern worship chorus utilizing the titles of television soap operas. [Warning: Consumes 4.5 valuable minutes]
• Finally, a reminder for the end of the week, end of the month, end of the summer, or anytime you need a reminder.

I have no idea where the first graphic — the premise of which I’m not sure I agree with — originated; but the comic books below are purported to be real.  For additional wit and wisdom, follow me (please!) on Twitter. And one last time, here’s the link to today’s Wednesday Link List without the Linkectomy.