Wednesday Link List

The cartoon is from ASBO Jesus, which sadly isn’t being updated. The lower one appeared here about five years ago, and was from Pundit Kitchen.

They call it Labor Day because on Tuesday we all had to work twice as hard to catch up. Take a few minutes to pause and do some clicking:

• Churches need to stop taking attendance. Immediately. This means you.
• The marketing of the new MEV Bible translation may leave many feeling it’s something other than what it is.
• Shane Claiborne has a quick debrief on his trip to Ferguson, Missouri…
• …While in a much longer piece, Jamie Wright debriefs her night undercover in Southeast Asia following investigators trying to get freedom for girls being trafficked in the sex trade.
• Essay of the Week: People dress “sloppy” for church. “It’s like some people decided to stop mowing the lawn and then decided to come to church.”
• A look at Britain as a “Global Exporter of Terrorism.” Sample: “…the British elites don’t care so much about their own civilization …radical Muslims have been allowed and even encouraged to build a parallel society within this officially Christian nation.”
• Lots of buzz on Twitter this week about David Platt being elected as the new president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
• While small churches still begin the hiring process with paper resumés, increasingly the job may never be posted, and the candidate may not even be looking to move.
• So normally for guys, the hot girls in the pew ahead can be a bit of a distraction. Not this time, though.
• Essay of the Month: A thoughtful response to “Christianity is not a religion it’s a relationship.”
• Since this is the time of year that things get hectic, it’s a good time to read an interview with the author of Addicted to Busy.
• Meanwhile, in the land of academic scholarship, this story would be the equivalent of a sports franchise losing a key player to another team and deciding to simply shut down.
• Are pastors now truly afraid to weigh in on social issues?
• Focus on the Family’s Plugged In website tracks media including things like Taylor Swift’s next album, or the TV series Doctor Who.
• Yes, some of the stuff in Christian bookstores is shallow and profit driven, but doing a remake of Jesus clearing money changers in the temple still carries criminal charges…
• …Mind you, there may be limits to holding your peace, such as this loopy theology.
• There’s no separation of state and church in Germany when it comes to funding houses of worship and their staff. Some changes in that system are touching off a church exodus.
• Justin Davis: “At least 2-3 times per month Trish or I will get a text message, email or phone call asking our advice from a pastor or pastor’s wife on how to navigate an affair.”
• No you’re not having a flashback; the new All Sons and Daughters album truly is available as a limited edition white vinyl record.
• Reporting on reporting: A Midwest newspaper still gives lots of ink to coverage of religious stories.
• Two years later, Mark David Chapman, the killer of John Lennon is still saying yes to God and the prison board is still saying no to parole.
• Retro-Linking: From 2012, if your church is online, does this change the target audience of what you’re doing at the weekend service? (Probably more relevant now than then.)
• The president of one of the largest Christian universities is currently going through a divorce, but is also keeping his job.
• If some of the ministers people in your church read, watch, listen to, or download are a little off track, somebody probably needs to say something.
• I know sometimes you have to put the cookies on a lower shelf, but have we dumbed down church to the point it’s now just too easy?
• An outdoor refrigerator with food for the needy seemed like a good idea for this church, until they were bombarded with health regulations.
• Without thinking, Hallmark shipped some same-sex wedding cards to the bookstore at Brigham Young University. Without thinking, bookstore staff displayed them. Question: Why doesn’t the “Christian” university bookstore carry Hallmark’s Dayspring line instead?
• One in six Christian radio stations now carries the one minute feature, 60 Second Re-Charge from the ministry Revival Over The Walls.
• Stormie Omartian moves beyond her Power of a Praying series to look at other topics, including the role of the Holy Spirit, and a recent title on the love of God…
• …In other book news, here’s a Snakes on a Plane title that spells out the plot: The Mainliner’s Survival Guide in a Post Denominational World. Just released from Chalice Press…
• …And a final book item, Made in the USA: The Sex Trafficking of America’s Children is a story of commercial exploitation that didn’t take place in a land far away, but much closer to home, as told by five survivors, four women and one man. Watch the video trailer.
• The same thing that attracts people to the music industry in general may reflect itself in the passions of church musicians…
• …That is, worship musicians who should remember to pronounce the words correctly.
• In the Christian rap music genre, the name to know is Shai Linne. He’s also an associate pastor at Del Ray Baptist Church in greater DC, where his August 17 sermon ran one hour…
• …And I’m guessing that at one time, Shai was on Brad Lomenick’s monthly roundup of up-and-coming leaders. Here’s the latest list.
• Continuing Education Department: ChurchNext.tv lets individuals or churches have unlimited access to a variety of topical courses for as little as $15/month.
• Finally… and the Ice Bucket Challenge begat the…

Link sleuth Paul Wilkinson is also available for private investigations if there’s a link in your life that’s gone missing.  Or, for free, you can read his blog, Thinking Out Loud.

Wednesday Link List

This long de-commissioned church photo appeared back in October at the Twitter feed of AbandonedPics.

There’s something here for people at every age and every stage, including links to stories of interest to lay people and clergy, liturgists and charismatics. Or at least that’s the theory. 

The link list is now owned and operated by PARSE the blog of Leadership Journal, a division of Christianity Today.  Anything you click below will take you first to them, then you can click the item again.

• The Gideons are no longer welcome at an Alabama Air Force base.
• While being confronted about his infidelity, a Connecticut pastor dropped dead in the pulpit.
• So will resurrected bodies have gender and corresponding gender roles to what we have now? An organization promoting the Biblical view of such things may have overstepped scripture in saying yes.
• 13-Step Program: How to make a mess of scripture interpretation.
• The problem with church metrics: When the focus is all about parking spots and seating.
• Pastor Must-Read: Six ways to avoid finding yourself in an embarrassing ministry situation.
• If you studied classical philosophy or Catholic theology, or perhaps you just like donuts, here’s a refresher to enjoy with coffee.
• Giving it up for Lent: A Baptist writer thinks we should give up criticizing people who do or do not observe the 40-day tradition.
• Analyzing the “nones” finds many of them to be unaffiliated believers, not atheistic.  (“Nones” never works verbally; people think you mean “nuns.”)
• How to spiritualize a preference: Don’t like Daylight Saving Time? Turn your dislike into a sermon.
• On the one-year anniversary of their son Matthew’s death, Kay Warren says not to tell grieving people it’s time to move on.
• Infographic: The social media, music, books, conferences and controversies that shaped the Young, Restless and Reformed movement, aka The New Calvinism.
• Mark Driscoll has withdrawn his claim as a New York Times bestselling author in the wake of both criticism of his actions and exposure of the process that afforded that status.
• Whether you’re a pastor or author or neither, if you’ve gained a platform on social media, you can monetize it without selling your soul. (33 minute podcast with Michael Hyatt)
• With the relaunch of the TV show Cosmos, Phil Vischer asks why religion and science can’t just get along.
• Essay of the Week (1): Shana Niequist talks about her one-year older sister. You know her as Willow.
• Essay of the Week (2): Do Roman Catholics worship relics? The artifacts are important, but this writer thinks worship is the wrong word.
• Essay of the Week (3): In two U.S. states smoking pot is no longer illegal. Does that mean Christians are free to light up?
• Intermission: A 3-minute film based on an article by Pete Wilson.
• Orthodox Church leaders will meet for a rare summit in 2016; the last such meeting was 1,200 years ago.
• A New Mexico student pastor gets an “I am your father” message on Facebook which turns out to be true. (Actually, it was a little less Star-Warsy.)
• Marriage Checklist: Twelve reminders to keeping your spouse as your best friend.
• Need a little redemption after a long day at work? A Florida church offers drive-thru prayer in the church parking lot.
• Some see it as an extension of the church’s regulatory obligations, but here is an argument in favor of church membership…
• …Unless of course your church has these praise dancers. (Video clip not safe for church office, or possibly anywhere else.)
• The Pope’s first year: A video highlights reel…
• …and Shane Claiborne reflects on the pontiff’s first 365 days on the job.
• If you call your ministry Eternal Perspectives, it’s only a matter of time before you write about growing old…
• …at the same site, Randy Alcorn’s daughter Angela offers wisdom in using Facebook that applies to church leaders and everyone else.
• Book your flights; according to this rundown, Christian conference season is in high gear.
• Christianity and Culture: A review of Popcultured by Steve Turner.
• Video of the Week: The Fundamentalist classic, Be A Missionary.
• Seriously, Video of the Week: From Paul Baloche’s about-to-be released album recorded live in Toronto, He is Risen.
• Finally, an Easter gift for the person who has (almost) everything. For only $299, a full size replica of the Shroud of Turin.

All I know about this comic below is that I found it on the floor of my office, apparently photocopied from a 2002 book of Christian cartoons by Doug Hall. (Does anyone know the book title?) The sentiment expressed here is still alive and well a dozen years later.