WLL: The Softer Side of Calvinism, Pond Baptism, and Letting There Be Light

A bumper harvest this week (get coffee before reading).

The downside of giftedness: "When we elevate people in the church based on our need and their gifts, we put everyone in a precarious position."
This book's publicity was so ubiquitous this week, it's hard to imagine that eleven publishers said 'no.'
A 2,400 seat auditorium and only 150 in attendance. New Birth Church in Charlotte has entered foreclosure.
Two weeks ago, someone posted a threatening note on the doors of every church in Ashland, Nebraska.
VBS Debrief: In a two-part essay, a mom recalls the realization that the program in which her kids were registered was too focused on peripheral issues. Part One: Initial concerns. Part Two: Pulling the kids out.
Rapidly shifting demographics in the UK church: "In five decades, the number of people with no religion in Britain has grown from just 3 per cent of the population to nearly half, according to a new survey. Among adults aged under 25, nearly two-thirds define themselves as "nones", or people with no religious affiliation ..."
… and staying with the UK for a moment, a look at the pressures Independent Christian Schools there are feeling.
On last week's shooting at the Canadian Parliament Buildings: One man writes while still under lockdown, and then reflects further a day later …
… and Canadian author Sheila Wray-Gregoire visits Ottawa and the shrine that appears hours later.
Come see the softer side of Calvinism.
The case for bi-vocational ministry, increasingly becoming the new normal.
Whether it's over a wedding cake, invitations or flowers; you haven't really considered the full implications of gay marriage until you've put a face to it. This video was shown Monday at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Conference in Nashville.
God is not mentioned by name in the Book of Esther, so later on, Jewish scribes fixed that problem.
Saving Halloween—apologies to Kirk Cameron—and what one observant Jew plans to do with the scary day falling on a Sabbath.
Church leadership, by definition, means often having difficult conversations.
Essay of the Week (1): A book review of Drew Dyck's Yawning at Tigers is really the springboard for a much longer article on God's transcendence.
Essay of the Week (2): The power of event; how going to church reminds us that we are the church.
Essay of the Week (3): Take a moment to get inside the thoughts of how some women in the church feel as other-class citizens. (The bullet-point section is worth discussing with your church staff.)
Essay of the Week (4): This one isn't for everyone, but those curious might linger on the blog and look around at other items. It's a website for Messianic Christians who no doubt wrestle with what to retain and what to discard from Jewish practice. This one is about whether or not to keep having a Mezuzah at the front door.
Essay of the Week (5): Author Sarah Bessey on the firing of a well-liked Canadian (and NPR) radio personality, and its relationship to violence against women.
One time I had a dream. I saw a set of footprints. Later on, a lot of people saw a Footprints Statue in the park.
The raw 7-minute video as Mark D. takes the stage post-resignation at Robert Morris' Gateway Conference.
Tony Jones looks at some interesting stats from eight denoms on clergy who see themselves as part of the Emerging Church Movement.
If it's Wednesday, there must be another faith-related movie to mention. This time it's the film adaptation of Anne Rice's extra-Biblical novel about Jesus' childhood, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt now filming …
… and from the African American community, the movie For the Love of Jesus described as "an up close and personal look into the lives of Christian Pastors raw and uncut …"
Literature: Take a peek at a section of Mind Has Mountains, a forthcoming memoir.
As this article reminds us, some of the top-priced residential real estate in the United States is owned by the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church of the Nazarene is shutting down Beacon Hill Press in just over 30 days.
That United Methodist minister who was defrocked last year for officiating at his gay son's wedding has had his credentials reinstated.
Also at Religion News Service, the Westboro Baptist saga continues.
Video of the Week: The band The Surrender reworks old hymns …
… Meanwhile, the author of Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns believes the decline of contemporary worship is imminent.
Emily Wierenga guests at The Better Mom: Parenting is fine as long as you don't become one of those parents.
Essay from the broader internet: Stop Sleeping with Liars.
If a blog post begins with the word 'farewell,' you know a popular Christian figure is about to get trashed. Sometimes, an apology is in order.
Perspective: It's one thing to be single at a wedding. It's another thing to attend 32 weddings single.
KidMin: I don't know if you have to be using the Orange curriculum to buy their materials or if you can just order items piecemeal, but these movie poster parodies are awesome. (Click images to enlarge.)
The Church horror stories contest found a winner. I can't imagine how uncomfortable it would be being in this church service …
… Maybe it feels like Tim Challies' first-time visit to a health club: “Let me explain. I am a pastor and I think, for the first time, I understand what an atheist feels like when he walks into church … I don’t know what the expectations are here, I don’t know how anything works, and I feel like a total outsider.”
While this blog post is unabashedly commercial, there's an interesting section in the middle on how things worked for musicians in the years before royalties …
… Of course, even before that, worship might have had its complications.
I suppose everyone's baptism is special, this one was just specialer.
Finally, oh to just be turning thirty! Tyler Braun's birthday wisdom.