Time to take another look at the best of Christian blogs and internet news you may have missed. Not many weird religious news stories this week; try to do something stupid over the next few days, okay?
- According to a CNN story, the head of Christian Copyright Licensing Inc. claims that Chris Tomlin is the most prolific songwriter in the United States right now.
- Personally, I thought my alternative ending to John MacArthur’s Strange Fire Conference would have been an interesting touch …
- … but of course, truth is always stranger than fiction. While I first read about Mark Driscoll crashing the party, I’d not heard James MacDonald’s name mentioned until this.
- Two pieces on the subject of porn: Eric Simmons at Desiring God with I Hate Porn, and Tim Challies offering some preventative measures with The Porn-Free Family.
- Did you see marathon swimmer Diana Nyad talking to Oprah? Is it possible to be an atheist and still be “in awe?”
- Short Essay of the Week: What if modern technology permitted Biblical education to take place individually, and the place we gather weekly was for interaction, coaching, personal support, and prayer? Be sure to read David Morrow’s The Flipped Church.
- Medium Essay of the Week: Dancing as “keeping in step with the Spirit;” a metaphor for a life of faith, unless of course you believe that, “the praying knee can’t belong to a dancing leg.”
- A Minnesota Pastor takes 20% of the revenue from a land deal and creates entrepreneurial opportunities for young people. Read the original CT article and this response (with video).
- Most Provocative Title: From Catholic writer Tony Agnesi, are you Living Your Resumé or Your Eulogy?
- Starting Over: For Jon Acuff, this particular blog represents Day Zero.
- Academic Article of the Week: We all know what the gospel is, but if you’re studying alternative texts, what exactly is a gospel?
- … and aggregate the Tweets of some well-known Christian academics, and you might find yourself reading Bible Gateway Bible Profs News.
- Kid Min Corner: Unlike many children’s DVD series, Phil Vischer didn’t stop at the end of Acts. So what themes from Paul’s letters did he feel were worthy of inclusion in a kids video?
- Youth Ministry Corner: Apparently some parents would rather just write a check to pay for missions trips, and the kids don’t want to do fundraising, either.
- Know any Aspies? That’s a term for people with Asperger’s Syndrome; people for whom the church can feel like an alien place.
- The blog Sliced Soup found this 18-month old guide to Hebrew pronunciation of YHWH, but as it turns out the video channel is from a goldmine of instruction in Ancient Hebrew.
- What should worship leaders do when the keyboardist who wants to join the team is a classically-trained pianist.
- Pastors: If that illustration you’re using is actually debunked on Snopes.com, look out! Turns out Millennials like to fact-check sermons.
- Video(s) of the Week: Two beautiful acapella song covers on YouTube by David Wesley – One Thing Remains and the more recently posted (last week) How Deep the Father’s Love.
- People You Should Know: Another edition of the Young Influencers List.
- Charlotte Church is now 27, but she knows the pressure put on young music stars to be hyper-sexualized.
- Questions about the film’s ending has caused tension for the March, 2014 movie based on the life of Noah.
- Music Flashback: From our Lost Songs collection, the worship of Calvary Chapel Downey, with the hauntingly beautiful song To be Like You.
- Denominational stereotypes? Christianity Today answers the question, ‘Why are Google searches so much fun?’
- Finally, if you’re going to steal stuff from a church, don’t try to flog it at a yard sale only a few streets away.
Link list curator Paul Wilkinson blogs at Christianity 201 and Thinking Out Loud, the latter of which still sports its original look and theme, an actual functioning blogroll that is updated regularly, and a merry-go-round that still operates. (Maybe not that last thing…)
Posted October 23, 2013
