Monthly Archives: June 2005

Well… it’s coming up to Independence Day Weekend here in the United States. That means illegal fireworks, bar-b-ques on Weber grills, little children wearing patriot garb, and the sounds of the “most recognizable patriotic song” in the nation blaring from pickup trucks with gun racks from coast to coast. If you think I am talking about “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” or Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A”… think … There’s more to read here.

A friend of mine – Jim Henderson – has recently published a book on what I am calling the new DWI or ‘depth witness intentionality.’ The book is entitled ” a.k.a. Lost: Discovering ways to connect with the people Jesus misses most” As he winds his ways through a virtual book tour of the blogaverse, he talked about the book with Rachelle Mee Chapman at her blog on ThursdayPM… There’s more to read here.

Today is John Cusack’s birthday – so let us take a moment of silence as we reflect on the advice he gave years ago in the persona of Lloyd Dobler from Say Anything, the patron saint of 40-something males everywhere:

“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, … There’s more to read here.

This past decade can surely be labeled the “decade of top 10 lists”. In order to spike periodical and broadsheet sales (as well as Nielson ratings in the US to attract advertising dollars), the forming of top 10 lists continues. One of the recent additions to listmania is the current addition of Spin magazine put out its 20th anniversary issue and listing the top 100 albums of the past 20 … There’s more to read here.

I have been musing today amidst breaks in conference calls about the place that Chuck “Fight Club” Palahniuk holds in the pantheon of modern literature. Having posted the last FMD on Elliott Smith, I was drawn back to his Portland literary compadre. Bryan Curtis had written an interesting review of Palahniuk’s work and his latest offering “Haunted” on Slate.com – here – with his turn to the macabre and, … There’s more to read here.

Back to the issue of conversion and evangelism…

TAIPEI, Taiwan – A man leaped into a lion’s den at the Taipei Zoo on Wednesday to try to convert the king of beasts to Christianity, but was bitten in the leg for his efforts. “Jesus will save you!” shouted the 46-year-old man at two African lions lounging under a tree a few meters away. “Come bite me!” he said with both … There’s more to read here.

Since we’ve done pretty well with our U2 moratorium for awhile now, and since we (that is, Brannon, Gloria, Michael and Julia, and 50K others) caught the tour tonight at Glasgow’s Hampden Park Stadium, I figured some of you would be interested, and others of you wouldn’t mind, if I posted a detailed set list.

Vertigo
All Because of You
The Electric Co. with strains of Smashing Pumpkins’ Bullet With … There’s more to read here.

One of those classic questions from Friday night youth group campfires came up this week in a conversation and I didnt see it coming – “so, what does it mean to be a Christian?” Frankly, it is tempting to throw the force field of ‘theology qua theology’ around me akin to Sue Storm in the Fantastic Four and then speak with authority from within the protective bubble – “Oh, just … There’s more to read here.

My friend Tim Beal just published a new book called Roadside Religion : In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the Substance of Faith (Beacon Press) . I have read some of the press copies and it is a great summer read. Not your typical ‘religion’ book – it is very reader friendly – filled with ‘truth stranger than fiction’ accounts of life in the American South. He was … There’s more to read here.

This past weekend I was in Portland, Oregon – aka the City of Roses. Portland is a great place that channels the vibe of other cities at opposing ends of the I-5 corridor here on the West Coast – the Beat sensibility of San Francisco and caffeine-induced Grunge introspection of Seattle. Even though it is a city that sports one of the greatest independent used bookstores on the planet – … There’s more to read here.