For those of you joining us for the first time, welcome to Random Acts of Linking, AKA the Wednesday Link List from Thinking Out Loud. Links included here may not be new, but they’re new to us. We aim for content from the last 30 days. Linkage does not imply endorsement. Your mileage may vary. Professional stunt blogger; do not attempt at home. And now, on the with the show…
- Truth be told, most of us would rather the truth not be told. Finally, the case against transparency.
- The IKEA retail chain launches a new store in Winnipeg, Canada with advertising informing people that each year nearly three times more IKEA catalogs are printed than Bibles. That’ll impress Manitoba Mennonites.
- A Wisconsin elementary school has a “Gender Bender Day.” Yes, elementary school. Just when you thought it was safe to… oh wait, you didn’t.
- Citing an Associated Press report from exactly one year ago, Scot McKnight’s blog documents a foreshadowing of last month’s shutdown of Exodus International.
- Essay of the Week: Steve DeWitt’s sermon text from Father’s day last month; written under the title ‘The Almost Father,’ but updated when the baby came early.
- In a two-minute video clip for churches, Jesus is listening to prayer requests in-person at a local coffee house.
- Churches hire clergy for mostly full time positions, and laity to serve in mostly part-time positions. What would it look like if a denomination launched a living wage initiative for its laity positions?
- When it comes to Passion Week, it’s a piece of iconic fine art, yet until now, The Last Supper has never been the subject of a film.
- Atheists in Bradford County, Florida demanded an equal-time counterpoint to a Ten Commandments monument.
- Tony Campolo has a new website which dubs him The Positive Prophet of Red Letter Christianity.
- In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be a Church and Synagogue Security News website, but then people wouldn’t be breaking into peoples’ homes and cars while they’re at worship either.
- Can’t get enough of author Eric Metaxas? There’s always the website with the audio of the daily Breakpoint radio features.
- The Christian Reformed Church and Reformed Church of America join together to produce a new hymnbook. Wait a minute, what’s a hymnbook?
- Timothy Keller shares his prayer pattern: Petition in the morning, repentance at night.
- Couldn’t track back the original source on this, but it’s five good reasons why church “A” shouldn’t import the ministry model of church “B.”
- A missionary family in Africa reminds us that in foreign missions, results don’t happen overnight.
- Coming in November: Zondervan’s Counterpoints series looks at the thorny issue of Biblical inerrancy, and it has to cover Five Views to do so.
- Keeping out of the spotlight, the CEO of a popular take out restaurant quickly removed a Tweet posted after last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision.
- The Dictionary of Christianese – which treats its mission as serious academic study – recently profiled the phrases traveling mercies, and I agape you.
- A Kentucky pastor makes a Sunday morning habit of mentioning other churches in his pastoral prayer, which often causes concern that those other churches are dealing with issues.
- As he has done each month for six years, Catalyst’s Brad Lomenick has another Young Influencers List of new voices and talents to watch.
- What do you do if, as a Christian, you have to fire someone who is also a Christian? (Does Dayspring sell a greeting card for this?)
- At my own blog this week, I get all ranty and ravey when a church service video stream times out because I wasn’t a paid subscriber, and also take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the KJV.
- Finally, if you’re not in vocational ministry and feel like an outsider, remember, there’s always the website Ordain Thyself. As online ordination sites go, it’s as a good as any.
Paul Wilkinson blogs daily at Thinking Out Loud and Christianity 201. His bio includes worship leading, Christian school teaching, camp ministry, freelance writing and editing, lay pulpit supply, and far too much time in and around the Christian publishing industry.
