Terror Alert Level Red

This rumor, no matter how unlikely, is the greatest threat to America that the world has ever seen.

Michael Bleecker Said It

We don’t worship to raise money, attract crowds, heal human hearts, recruit workers, improve church morale, give talented musicians an opportunity to fulfill their calling, help marriages stay together, evangelize the lost among us, motivate people for service projects, etc. To the degree that we “do worship” for these reasons, to that degree it ceases to be worship.

~Michael Bleecker, of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX
(taken from his comment on my What Is Worship post)

More thoughts from me later.

Free Sitepoint Photoshop Book

Um, it's only available for another twenty-some days, but it's a free eBook from Sitepoint. Even if you think you don't need it, download it. Free books are proof that God exists.

I Don't Understand Why We Need A Manifesto

There's been a lot of blogging about the document, drawn up by a group of evangelicals, known as the Evangelical Manifesto. You can read the summary here, or the full length thing here, or go to its very own blog here.

They list three major mandates for Evangelicals:

1. Reaffirm our identity. Evangelicals are Christians who define themselves, their faith, and their lives according to the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth.

This isn't exactly revolutionary, is it? It even admits, later on, that "to define our faith and our life by the Good News of Jesus is [not] unique to us," which is something I'm glad to see added. But I think I'm confused about the point of this... point.

2. Reform our own behavior. Always reforming, if you will.

This is a really good principle to live by, especially when it comes to religion. All religions.


3. Rethink our place in public life.

I can't help but think that this might be better accomplished by less manifestos.

I don't really want to complain about or denounce the document. I'm actually quite thankful for a lot of the things said in it, especially in the way things were said in a lot of places. I'm just not sure I understand why we needed it.

Tony Jones Asks Good Questions

I wasn't sure, originally, if I was interested in Tony Jones's book The New Christians when I first heard of it coming out. While wasting a few hours feed surfing and clicking through to other sites, I found an unedited video of Jones interviewing a guy who goes by the online name of "Pastorboy" -- an evangelical pastor who's been consistently vocal in his anti-emergent sentiment. I was so intrigued by the interview that I went out and bought the book that day (and really enjoyed it, too).

Now, on Jones's blog, he's posted a series of related webisodes, and the latest (#5) includes clips from the interview I saw. It's worth watching, but I've included one of my favorite segments below the video. Great questions to think about.



Pastorboy: The trouble that people from my worldview kinda really have with emergent is they don't understand it, they can't nail it down, they can't get it.... Where we have a problem is when there's kinda some squishy or untidy language that's being used. I think a lot of problem has to do with there's no real statement of faith.

Tony Jones: But the Bible doesn't have a statement of faith.

PB: The Bible is a statement of faith.

TJ: Okay, but why can't I just say then, that's my statement of faith? Why do I have to give you another one? Why isn't that one good enough?

PB: It is good enough. But there's parts of the statement of faith, like for example, who is Jesus?

TJ: Okay, I'd say, Jesus is who the Bible says Jesus is.

PB: Okay, but let's nail that down.

TJ: Why? That's my question! Why?

Wise Words For the Church From 37Signals

Jason Fried is often asked how his company created the culture that they are widely known for. His answer is one of those unexpected (maybe we should start expecting them) sermons from the Secular World. You should read the whole extremely short post. An even shorter snippet is below.

“What do you recommend we do to set up an open, sharing company culture like yours?”

My answer: You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior.
...

Real cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth. They are nuanced, beautiful, and authentic.