My favorite movies of 2005: –Crash –Batman Begins –Revenge of the Sith –King Kong –Syriana –Munich (I saw it on Jan. 1st, but that’s close enough) My favorite books of 2005 (fiction): —Gilead —The Traveler —Glittering Images —The Dark Tower (Book 7) My favorite books of 2005 (non-fiction): —The Emotionally Healthy Church —Alexander Hamilton —The […]
Archives for December 2005
Merry Christmas
I’m preaching twice this weekend at our Christmas services and then I’m off for a week. I’ll probably try to stay away from the blog. Merry Christmas everybody!
December 23, 2005 by 2 Comments
That Was Hard
I walked into Sam’s Club two days ago to buy a present for Caleb. On a special display table they were selling “one time only” items. These are items that Sam’s doesn’t usually carry, but for one time only they’re available. One of the items they were offering was a black, 30GB Ipod. They were […]
December 22, 2005 by 7 Comments
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
The other day I heard this jingle on the radio: We wish you a happy holiday We wish you a happy holiday We wish you a happy holiday And a happy new year. I thought it sounded absurd. Almost as ridiculous as calling a Christmas tree a “Holiday” tree. Besides, if we’re going to change […]
December 19, 2005 by 13 Comments
The Secret Message of Jesus: Part 2
The second section of McLaren’sThe Secret Message of Jesus is called “Engagement: Grappling with the Meaning of Jesus’s Message.” In chapter six, McLaren gives a brief introduction to the parables, which he calls the medium of Jesus’s message. He writes, “Human kingdoms advance by force and violence with falling bombs and flying bullets, but God’s […]
December 12, 2005 by 6 Comments
Be Quiet
Luke 1:5-25 It was Zechariah’s big day. His name was drawn to go into the temple and burn incense at the altar. He would be only one veil away from the Holy of Holies. Geographically speaking, this is as close to God’s Presence as he was ever going to get. Once inside the temple, Zechariah […]
December 8, 2005 by 6 Comments
When Religion Becomes Evil
I was standing in Barnes and Noble the other day with my head cocked to the right and randomly scanning book titles in the religion section. That’s when I saw Charles Kimball’s When Religion Becomes Evil : Five Warning Signs. Intrigued by the title I gave it a quick scan, but didn’t buy it as […]
December 7, 2005 by 7 Comments
The Secret Message of Jesus: Part One
In part one of The Secret Message of Jesus McLaren attempts to excavate Jesus’s Kingdom message that he claims has long been buried. In chapter one, he makes a case for why recovering the essence of Jesus’s message is essential for those who do and don’t follow Jesus. He writes, “In one of my previous […]
December 6, 2005 by 1 Comment
So You Want to be a Youth Minister?
My brother-in-law, Houston Heflin, has jumped aboard the blogwagon. Right now he’s reminding me why I’m glad I’m not a youth minister.
December 6, 2005 by 4 Comments
The Secret Message of Jesus
In The Secret Message of Jesus : Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything Brian McLaren does what McLaren does best. He synthesizes and popularizes the work of theologians and scholars so that their work is made more accessible to a broader audience. I don’t mean by this that McLaren is simply parroting what others […]
December 5, 2005 by 3 Comments
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons