Steelers 34, Bengals 9
Falcons 24, Panthers 23
Browns 42, Texans 10
Cowboys 24, 49ers 20
Bucs 19, Lions 17
Titans 30, Jets 28
Bills 24, Chiefs 17
Bears 33, Rams 14
Dolphins 26, Patriots 21
Jaguars 20, Vikings 17
Eagles 24, Ravens 13
Cardinals 31, Giants 28
Broncos 38, Raiders 12
Chargers 34, Colts 32
Saints 28, Packers 19
Redskins 20, Seahawks 16
(image grabbed from the RELEVANT website)
Five minutes well spent: check out Matt Litton’s article, “Our ChaCha Christianity,” on the RELEVANT website. Litton has some great things to say about those in Christian circles who evade mystery, either by attributing Absolutism to things that aren’t so absolute or by simply avoiding tough questions altogether.
Well written. Good thoughts — Chesterton-like thoughts, really. Check it out.
Categories: Church in transition · emergent
Julie just showed me a hilarious video about church marketing — and what would happen if Starbucks behaved like the church.
I thought the clashing patterns and use of Papyrus really brought the message home…
Categories: design
Jets 17, Patriots 16
Falcons 34, Broncos 30
Eagles 27, Bengals 20
Packers 24, Bears 19
Colts 28, Texans 24
Saints 38, Chiefs 16
Dolphins 20, Raiders 9
Giants 30, Ravens 12
Panthers 24, Lions 22
Titans 24, Jaguars 17
Minnesota 24, Buccaneers 13
Chargers 23, Steelers 21
Rams 31, 49ers 27
Cardinals 28, Seahawks 20
Redskins 28, Cowboys 23
Browns 31, Bills 27
I bought and read Mark Batterson’s Wild Goose Chase this past weekend, to read for my own pleasure and to determine how well it would serve as a book study for a small group setting. After reading, I’m convinced that a small group setting is actually the best climate for this book to impact readers.
In Wild Goose Chase, Batterson, the pastor of Washington D.C.’s National Community Church, explains to Christians that Jesus did not direct us into a life of safe spiritual disciplines within the confines of the church, but a radical and unpredictable journey of constant wonderment and redirection. In a day when messages of “centering” and “balance” are the buzz within Christian circles and greater culture (and there is an appropriate context for those messages), Batterson takes a much different angle – calling Christians to exchange comfort and stability for the “responsible irresponsibility” involved with following the leading of God’s Spirit.
(And let me just say that, for a book about the “adventure” of the faith, Batterson avoids the primitive gender-specific language that plagues most books of similar focus. While Batterson sees faith as a high-octane thrill, he puts it in a way that people of both genders and all personalities can appreciate.)
Batterson’s book is filled with examples from his own life – from relinquishing a big-time college scholarship to a failed church-planting venture to the challenges that face his multi-site church which meets in movie theaters across the nation’s capitol. His church attracts many twentysomethings and single young adults who are facing the “quarter-life crisis,” and that same demographic is the optimum audience for Wild Goose Chase.
There are points in this book – especially in the epilogue – when the writing moves into too many pithy motivational sound-bytes (think Leonard Sweet in his over-the-top moments), but those instances are not so frequent as to render Batterson insincere. The language of the book is such that it can engage people with graduate degrees or those with only a high school education, making it a versatile book for churches to use (especially in a small group format).
Wild Goose Chase isn’t a seminary textbook, or a distinctly theological book. It’s a faith-building challenge to those who are in the fold of Christian faith. At the same time, Batterson is saying things that all Christians need to hear—that our call as Christians is to follow the Spirit of God into the dangerous places, tasks, and relationships of our day.
Categories: Church in transition · books · reviews
Brandon O’Brien has a solid review of Scot McKnight’s new book, The Blue Parakeet, which I have yet to read but am excited to buy. O’Brien’s review of McKnight on the Out of Ur blog is divided into Parts I and II. Here’s a quick excerpt:
There is much about The Blue Parakeet that is praiseworthy. McKnight’s conversation about reading the Bible as story is immensely helpful. I was in college before I learned (in a Bible interpretation class) that the Good Book is really one giant narrative that runs from Genesis to Revelation. That insight changed the way I understood and approached the Scriptures. What McKnight adds to that observation is the idea that each of the 66 books of the canon is a wiki-story—a unique retelling of the metanarrative.
I have nothing to really say about the book until I grab my own copy, other than to say that O’Brien’s reviews raised my already-high expectations for the book. More to come, I’m sure.
Categories: biblical studies · books
I was looking up some things on a few theologians this morning, and came across this nifty dictionary of theological and philosophical names and ideas. Most of the definitions are brief, but this resource seems even-handed and if all you need is a basic sketch about something, this might help you out. It’s worth passing along.
Categories: biblical studies · theology
Denver at Cleveland Here we have it, the day Browns fans thought might never come – the beginning of the Brady Quinn era in Cleveland. Will it be everything they hope it to be? Yes, especially this week against a Denver pass coverage that has mustered up all of three interceptions this season. Browns 37, Broncos 13
New Orleans at Atlanta Back from the bye week, Drew Brees puts his rested arm to good use. Saints 34, Falcons 17
Tennessee at Chicago Last week I picked the Pack to knock off Tennessee, and, while they gave the Titans their closest game of the year, Chris Johnson and Co. pulled it out in overtime. This week, a lot of people are picking the Bears to give the Titans their first loss. In my opinion this is an easier matchup for Tennessee compared to last week, especially if Rex Grossman is under center for Chicago. Titans 26, Bears 15
Jacksonville at Detroit Wouldn’t it be something if, in back-to-back weeks, Jacksonville gave both Cincy and Detroit their first wins of the season? I would pick it, but I’m holding to my theory of picking against the Lions until they prove me wrong. Regardless, this is going to be a really ugly game. Jaguars 19, Lions 17
Seattle at Miami West Coast teams continue to struggle when playing the 1:00PM EST time slot. Part of that might be due to West Coast teams being awful. Dolphins 27, Seahawks 17
Green Bay at Minnesota Adrian Peterson all day in this one. If the Green Bay defense begins to cheat against the run, Vikes wideout Bernard Berrian will rack up his fifth straight game of at least 80 yards receiving and one score. Vikings 33, Packers 24
Buffalo at New England Here’s a risky pick. Both teams are coming off of tough losses, but I expect that Buffalo has the larger chip on their collective shoulders, seeing as their two straight losses have come in AFC East contests. I’m shooting for the fences with this one, but I’m calling it: Bills rookie WR James Hardy will catch at least seven balls for a solid 75 yards and he’ll reach paydirt. Bills 31, Patriots 23
St. Louis at New York Jets Interesting game here. Think of it as the NFL equivalent to the Phoenix Suns of a year or two ago taking on the Detroit Pistons or Miami Heat in basketball: the teams play such vastly different styles, so whoever ropes the other team into playing at their pace will win handily. Marc Bulger is going to want to push the ball to Donnie Avery, while the Jets coaching staff is going to want to run Thomas Jones, four yards at a time, and dominate the time of possession. Rams 28, Jets 25
Baltimore at Houston Making up the Week Two game that was postponed due to a hurricane, the Texans expect to sorely miss Matt Schaub. Schaub’s backup, Sage Rosenfels, will look to make up for a horrific blown game when he was doing bullpen duty against Indianapolis a few weeks ago. Texans 28, Ravens 24
Carolina at Oakland The dysfunction continues. Panthers 45, Raiders 10
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh Surprise: Indy’s back in the hunt. Colts 20, Steelers 17
Kansas City at San Diego What’s so dangerous for San Diego is that they know they could go 7-9 and potentially win their division. 9-7 would make them a lock. Will they manage to fight the complacency? This week, probably so. Chargers 33, Chiefs 17
New York Giants at Philadelphia NFC East games are always tough to call, because both teams raise their game for these bruisers. Eagles ought to bring out the black jerseys for this one. Just saying. All things considered, Giants are great on the road. Giants 21, Eagles 20
San Francisco at Arizona This is a cupcake game for the Cardinals. The only thing to watch for in this one is the Mike Singletary implosion. Really though, as Monday games go, this is one to skip. Cardinals 38, 49ers 16
So we’ve finally made it to Election Day 2008. Tonight or tomorrow (or maybe a week from now, after re-counts and law suits), the US will know who its next president will be.
Will there still be an economic crisis in this country? Yes. Will one of the primary causes of that crisis be the culture of debt we’ve accepted in the country? You betcha, Joe Six-Pack. Will the government continue to excuse oil companies for their tyranny? Yep. Will the majority of Americans lobby to drill their way out of an energy crisis? Sure thing.
The only thing that will really change this week is that Americans will have a new name to blast when things don’t work out, a new resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Well, actually, two other things will change as well.
First, Saturday Night Live writers will have to find new material. Tina Fey will return to being Liz Lemon and not a governor who can see Russia from her house, and the SNL writers will probably need to up the dosage of “McGruber” episodes or have more of Kristen Wiig playing that crazy middle-aged, cat sweater-wearing cashier at Target.
Second, Christians will decide to believe in Jesus again. Not that they’ve been openly denying him over the past few months, but it would be a huge stretch to say that he’s been the person in whom Christians have been placing their trust and hope. Sometime during primary season, Jesus stopped being the change they could believe in.
Certain as the election cycle every four years, the political apostles like James Dobson and Jim Wallis came along to point Christians toward alternative messiahs. Pastors and church leaders began to write and talk almost exclusively about the alternative messiahs, and managed to get onto television and radio in order to talk about their newfound eschatological hope. Christians scurried onto Facebook to join groups and add pages endorsing their alternative messiahs, and on message boards they offered their testimonies for their anointed leader.
But all of that ends this week. Some Christians will be excited about the nomination, while others will be furious – depending on which alternative messiah they clung to. But, like SNL, Christianity will have to recalibrate and return to the conversations and hopes of a year prior.
James Dobson and Jim Wallis will suddenly become less interesting, slipping into relative obscurity for a few months. Pastors – suddenly amazed by all of the time on their hands – will slowly re-learn what it looks like to discuss spiritual formation and the discipline involved with walking in the Way of Jesus. And many Christians will look for new Facebook groups to join.
Jesus will get his throne back this week. He’ll go back to being the hope of the world, a true agent of change, the one with the power to rescue and deliver, the person Christians want representing them. Because Jesus is good enough for Christians – at least in three years out of four.
