Ouch… I’ve gotten really behind on maintaining this thing; apologies to the handful who actually follow this…

Here we go:

Ever want to try to break open a door just like in the movies? Here’s how to do it (without hurting yourself).

Glen Bickford: How I Lost a Vocal Cord and Found My Voice.

Roger Olson: Should Christian organizations adopt the business model? Certainly there are practices and techniques that we can learn from an adapt, but when do we cross the line from being a body that changes the world through our values and practices to being one that simply assimilates the inherent brokenness of the purely secular world. I think I see this most clearly around employment practices – should the church pay, provide benefits, and treat employees like every other business does (which generally means strive for the lowest common denominator), or should we aim to do better, striving to really embody a belief that every person is of sacred worth and deserves the best the organization is able to offer? Obviously this same line of thinking can be applied to the whole discussion around church metrics and congregational vitality as well.

Related to that last point – Jeremy Smith has a whole round-up of Call to Action-related posts. Tim McClendon on Restructuring is bad medicine for the UMC. Also, from another perspective, check out Bishop Scott Jones: 1972 No Longer, and Bishops, Conference, Mission.

Another post from Olson worth checking out – Our Founding Fathers, Christians or What?

Mark Engler – a guy I used to play ultimate frisbee with back in high school, now writes some great stuff at Democracy Uprising, has a excellent post on Occupy the Pulpit. I’ve been paying attention (and intrigued) by the whole “Reverend Billy” thing for a while, and how his act essentially mocks stereotypes of preachers, while at the same time putting forth some very valid points about community building and not being lost in an overly materialistic culture. As Mark makes note maybe it is time for real preachers to make a prophetic stand so that Reverend Billy is no longer necessary.

Megan Phelps-Roper of Westboro Baptist Church: An Heir to Hate. When I read this, I realized it was most likely was Megan that I shared a plane with a few years ago (I was going to guess that her cousin mentioned in the article, Libby, was the other young woman on the flight, but according to the article, Libby had already left the church by then). Much light that flight, the article on Megan simply reminds me how tragic her situation is. I know I’m a victim to my own biases and prejudices, but it doesn’t isolate me. It also made me really reflect on the compromises we all make – I’m really curious how Megan can reconcile protesting Steve Job’s funeral while also using an iPhone… and I know if I looked hard enough I could find similar hypocrisy in my own life, but at least I’m willing to acknowledge the grey areas of life and my own imperfections. When you make everything so very black-and-white you can’t help but expose the flaws in your own philosophy.

Zombie Outreach for Churches. From Halloween, but still good. PS – How amazing was this season of The Walking Dead? Loved the ending, and I can’t wait for the series to resume.

Dan Dick: C is for…

Jay Voorhees: Using the Common English Bible in Worship. I do have a couple copies of the CEB (both physical, but also on my phone), and have been using it a little in worship and in Bible studies. I’m not sure I’m totally comfortable with making a big commitment to it, but I do like the way some of it reads.

Drive Old or Buy New?

Perry Noble: My Wife Had a Bad Experience at Chick-Fil-A. Does one unusual experience, or one bad encounter get in the way of all the good ones? (That question has nothing to do with Chick-Fil-A).

Fred Clark: Richard Land to Newt Gingrich – Strike a Pose

Derek Webb has an excellent piece of the future of the music business in terms of distribution, generating revenue, and building community: Giving It Away – How Free Music Makes More Sense. Although I’m not involved in the industry, I’ve been thinking along the same lines for a while now (see my discussion about Prince from a few months ago – near the bottom of the page). Back to the idea of what churches can learn from business, I think there might be something here – give it away, and build those personal, long-term relationships.

Rupert Murdoch now controls 50% of the Christian book market.

The Easter Island “Heads” Have Bodies! By the way, I’ve noticed Mental Floss magazine in the stores for a couple years now, but I never really stopped to look at it – turns out I LOVE it, it totally speaks to my inner geek – if anyone wants to give me a subscription, or a shirt feel free (I especially like the “I’m no rocket surgeon” and “I avoid cliches like the plague” ones).

Sometimes you just have the learn the hard way: Maybe our apartment is too small for a bald eagle.

Still prefer the original, but Billy Bragg has a new version of Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards out…

I know I’m overdue for another round-up… I might have some time to crank one out tomorrow, in the meantime check out the clip from Stephen Colbert from a few nights ago…

Fred Clark on James Taylor and Moral Relativism. Also from Fred, Why are those OWS Protesters so Upset?

Lifehacker: The True Cost of Commuting – Unfortunately I fit, almost exactly, this profile:

“Let’s take a typical day’s drive for this self-destructive couple. Adding 38 miles of round-trip driving at the IRS’s estimate of total driving cost of $0.51 per mile, there’s $19 per day of direct driving and car ownership costs. It is possible to drive for less, but these people happen to have fairly new cars, bought on credit, so they are wasting the full amount.
Next is the actual human time wasted. At 80 minutes per day, the self-imposed driving would be adding the equivalent of almost an entire work day to each work week – so they would now effectively be working 6 workdays per week.”

Prayers for Chad Holtz as he takes a break from blogging to find some healing in rehab.

Dan Dick on Discipleship; also, The Missionally Challenged Church.

Sam Kemmis: History Will Thank Us for Determining Which Mushrooms Are Poisonous

Chuck Warnock: The Myth of Why Conservative Churches are Growing.

Top 4 Practices of Disciple-Making Churches.

Jeremy Smith reviews the Official UMC iPhone App. (I still haven’t downloaded it to give it a try myself).

Seth Godin: The Difference Between Management and Leadership.

Brandon Cox: What’s Right with the Church in 2011.

Jen Lemen: Wrecking Ball.

Rhett Smith: Steve Jobs, John Wesley and how Pursuing Opportunities can come at Great Cost to our Personal and Family Lives.

Mike Slaughter on Bridging the Political Divide in Church.

Friend and colleague, Rick Dake, pointed me to this audio from Bishop Gerald Kennedy from 1960 speaking on The Marks of a Methodist – interesting how little has changed in 50 years.

Michael Hyatt on How to Avoid the Power of the Drift and Are You Living Your Own Dream or Someone Else’s?

Great video from Advent Conspiracy / Chris Tomlin – Love:

[AC] Love All (ft. Chris Tomlin’s ‘Love’) from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

From Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together:

“It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us… Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”

To find out more about the global missions efforts of the United Methodist Church and to make a donation, click here.

Another catch-up week with lots of links (I actually cut out a few that would have been included in a “normal” week):

Smashing Magazine: How to Make an eBook Don’t know what I’d ever write a book about, but I like the whole idea that whole new platforms are opening up to those seeking to self-publish and destribute their ideas.

Haven’t checked this out yet, but I like the idea – Fleetly iPhone App turns exercise into a game (via Lifehacker).

Semi-related: John Piper on Exercise. I’m not one to often agree with Piper, but I think he does make a couple good points in this one – I especially appreciate the note he makes that obesity isn’t the same as gluttony.

Jen Lemen: 10 Ways to Become the One You Were Made to Be. Also from Jen, 15 Things That Can Happen When You Keep Your Truth In A Hidden Place. Too often I feel like Jen is constantly peeking into my brain.

Upcoming legislation allowing cell-phone robocalls and what you can do about it. (via Lifehacker).

Daniel So: Pastor, Present and Future.

“Cassette Tape” Cut From the Oxford English Dictionary. Further confirmation I’m old.

From the Personal MBA Blog: Are You an Implementor or an Enabler?

Stephen Colbert on God and Hell (taken from a Fresh Air interview):

Dan Dick on Christi-inanity. I think Dan’s making a good point, but also I don’t think it’s quite as “black and white” as he makes it. Do we need to raise the bar on theological understanding and conversation within the church? Absolutely. But when you are dealing with congregations with a wide diversity of age, educational and theological backgrounds it’s hard to get good systems in place that can meet the different populations at different points of need. Even using words like “antinomianism” or “theodicy” has to be done differntly when I’m preaching to the university church where a majority are college graduates and many have post-grad degrees versus the rural congregations where less than 10% of the population has a college degree. One isn’t better than the other – they just have a different set of demands, and a different style of communication, even if the content is the same. Likewise, I feel like even with my seminary education, I lack a certain amount of critical theological discourse. I know I’m lacking in this area, myself, and yet I know I’m probably better than most in terms of on-going reading and education on these topics. In the midst of all the demands of ministry, reading to stay on top of topics like systematic theology, unfortunately, doesn’t fall on many people’s priority list. It needs to be fixed, but I’m not even sure where you might really begin.

Semi-related: David Kinnaman on Prodigals, Nomads, and Exiles.

Greg Boyd on Kingdom of God vs. Religion. Greg’s work is something I’ve not very familiar with (another admission of my limited theological depth, perhaps), but I’ve seen Roger Olson make reference to him on occasion in terms of his take on open theism, and he says some interesting things here, so maybe it’s worth checking out:

Teddy Wayne: Occupy Main Street!

For the science-nerd in you: Hubble Telescope Picture of the Center of the Galaxy.

Sherman Haywood Cox II: Naming Your Sermon. I always dread having to come up with titles/names for my sermons, but there are some good ideas is this post.

Budgeting with Cash Envelopes. Great tip that made a big difference for my household (unfortunately we’ve fallen off the wagon); make sure you check it out, though, because they include a template so that you can print your own envelopes. We had always used the Dave Ramsey envelopes that come with the Financial Peace University kit, and the trouble we’d have is that they would wear out fairly quickly with use – so a nice template to make your own as needed is a good thing.

Guy Kawasaki: What I Learned from Steve Jobs.

Related: My friend from college, Scott Heiferman, went on to make it big in the digital world (he’s founder and CEO of MeetUp.com). Here’s video of him asking Steve Jobs a question on how technology can change the world. Steve’s answer is okay, but I think Scott was hoping for more. Scott’s really gotten into the idea of using tech to bring people together in real face-to-face interactions (the whole idea behind MeetUp), and I think he’s on to something. Tech isn’t a tool in itself, only in it’s ability to connect and help facilitate real change to take happen:

Jamie the Very Worst Missionary: Missionary Positions: How a Wife Does It.

Seth Godin: Which Are You? Also from Godin: Open Conversations.

Lifehacker: How to Turn Any Song into a Ringtone for Android or iPhone. I knew how to do this for my old Android G1, but had no idea how to do it for the iPhone. Great tip.

Donald Miller: Intimacy With God Comes When We Accept His Kindness.

Jay Voorhees: Rebuilding Trust – The DS and Bishop Dilemna. I feel badly that this is falling near the bottom of an already long post, because it is important and needs to be read (but I’m also too lazy to move it closer to the beginning). I think Jay is hitting some important points, but I’m also trying to fight my own cynicism around this area. Yes, there is a breakdown of trust especially among clergy, congregations and the Cabinet in the UMC, and it is an “occupational hazard” of the system, but the post seems to suggest that the necessary change needs to primarily come from the Cabinet. Maybe we need to start assuming that they are doing the best they can and everything they can, and instead focus on what we do have the capacity to change about ourselves. Instead of waiting for a DS to set up a regular process for fellowship and conversation with clergy, maybe the clergy need to initiate it and invite the DS into the process. We need to stop blaming and stop complaining and start finding ways to improve the system under our own initiative. (Of course, that is much easier said than done).

Semi-related: Bill Dobbs (assistant to the Bishop in the Michigan Episcopal Area) on The Appointment Process.

Music: The Civil War’s covering Michael Jackson.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…”

Too good to just plug it in at the end of a round-up…

God Makes Lemonade – love this concept!

Seth Godin on Talker’s Block – great post about working through writer’s block; of course the mild irony, for me, is that I frequently do have “talker’s block” and tend to keep silent if I don’t have anything to say. Also from Godin: Marketing the Placebo – When Everyone Gets Their Own Belief.

Lifehacker: Upgrade Your Health & Fitness Routines.

Donald Miller: Leaders Lead People Through Fear.

Dan Dick: Take Time to be Holy.

Jamie, the Very Worst Missionary: Using Your Poor Kid to Teach My Rich Kid a Lesson. Raises an important point to consider about the unintended messages of mission trips.

Cameron Conant (via Rethink Church): Live the Best Case Scenario.

Christian Piatt (via Huffington Post): Why Young Adults Are Walking Away From Church.

Michael Hyatt: What Drives You As A Leader?

Chad Missildine: 8 Dos and Don’ts of Transformational Leadership.

I’d forgotten about the whole “Playing for Change” project, so I had no idea they had new songs out. Here’s their latest, and it’s a good one:

I don’t really fit the theological camp that Good News Magazine is written for, but I do try to read it when it arrives in my mailbox to broaden my theology and to better be in dialogue with other United Methodists; and the fact is, frequently there are good articles in the pages. The article by Jason Vickers “Renewal in an age of Anxiety” has some great stuff in it (it doesn’t look like the on-line version is available yet, otherwise I’d link to it). I especially appreciated these thoughts:

“The truth is that we do not need more demographic or generational studies to figure out what people are looking for. In the midst of workplaces full of resentment and hostility, people are searching for love. Surrounded by anxiety and depression, people are looking for joy. Amid the violence and insanity of city streets and war-torn countries, people are searching high and low for peace. Faced with spouses and co-workers who lose their tempers at a moment’s notice, people are looking for self-control. Amid rampant road rage, people are in desperate need of patience. Against the backdrop that is the harshness and cruelty of the evening news, people will inevitably be drawn to churches that exhibit gentleness and kindness in every aspect of their lives. Over against the gospel of pervasive pessimism about human nature and human communities, people will be drawn to church that proclaim and embody a gospel of transformation and holiness.

 “Conceived along these lines, the real question for the church is not whether we can get people to come to church in the first place. The real question is whether, upon coming, they will find compelling reasons to return time and time again.

“People will not be drawn to and held captive by the church simply because it carefully preserves and maintains its long-standing structures. Nor will they be drawn to and held captive by the church simply because it is part of a prophetic movement aimed at renewal or reform. Rather, people will ultimately be drawn to and help captive by the church when they discover in the church something they cannot readily get anywhere else, namely a community that embodies in readily discernible ways the mind of Christ, the theological virtues, and the fruits of the Spirit. In other words, they will be drawn to and held captive by those churches that bear the marks of incorporation into the Trinitarian life of God. Short of this, people may come to the church for a season, but they will ultimately look elsewhere for their salvation.”