http://preachermike.com Sniffing out the work of God in the world... Wed, 14 May 2008 14:36:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I have to admit: I get weary of the modern "masculinity movement" in the church that wants people to rediscover the REAL Jesus -- the Jesus who'd love to kick your butt. It gets as silly as this. The parody is silly, but so is the interview it's ... http://preachermike.com/2008/05/13/a-jesus-for-real-men "Is it too much to say that Stop, Look, and Listen is also the most basic lesson that the Judeo-Christian tradition teaches us? Listen to history is the cry of the ancient prophets of Israel. Listen to social injustice, says Amos; to head-in-the-sand religiosity, says Jeremiah; to international ... http://preachermike.com/2008/05/12/stop-look-and-listen All right, this one isn't exactly from May 11, 1978. But I don't have any wedding pictures digitalized. But it's close. On this 30th anniversary, we have both boys, our daughter-in-law, and our granddaughter here. That's a good day! (And, of course, we remember with ... http://preachermike.com/2008/05/11/may-11-1978 A couple weeks ago I visited with a woman from our church whose memory is fading. We sat in her living room, and she mostly listened to the conversation around her. But four times -- four! -- in half an hour, she looked at me and told me how much ... http://preachermike.com/2008/05/09/a-default-setting-of-love Son #2 is now in high school. Translation: he now has real coaches. I've been retired (temporarily, at least) as a little league coach. He and I have recently been to three little league games, watching young buddies of ours. It's quite a different perspective from the ... http://preachermike.com/2008/05/07/coaching-advice Congratulations to the board of Rochester College for appointing Rubel Shelly as their new president. His intentions are not to serve in the position for long but to allow the board to do a nationwide search. I've known Rubel well for a long time. They couldn't have ... http://preachermike.com/2008/05/05/rochester-college-2 "A song we used to sing in worship that I miss (because we no longer sing it) is _________ ." http://preachermike.com/2008/04/25/powerful-memories Sometime when you have about an hour, listen to this amazing message from N. T. Wright. - - - - So . . . who's booted off AI? Jason or Brooke? I'm guessing Brooke (again). - - - - I've been dancing almost daily with a (barely) one year old. My ... http://preachermike.com/2008/04/23/simply-christian A couple resources to help think through appropriate ways for Christians to participate in politics: First, a discussion between Charles Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne. Very interesting! Also, Shane Claiborne's new book, Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals, is worth pondering. Find out why Claiborne is so appealing ... http://preachermike.com/2008/04/22/christians-and-politics From a recent editorial in Christianity Today: . . . Vitriolic language directed at political figures does not, to use the Pauline metaphor, attract others with "the aroma of Christ." It just creates a stench, making it more difficult to nurture relationships with those who want to meet Christ and who ... http://preachermike.com/2008/04/21/love-hillary I'm sure the higher ups at the Mormon Church wish this story of the FLDS sect in Eldorado, Texas would go away. It keeps reminding people of how extremely late and under what great pressure the church finally distanced itself from the widespread polygamist practices. The stories are horrific. ... http://preachermike.com/2008/04/18/eldorado-el-dorado ACU just changed its alcohol policy. It was the right move. The focus now will be on underage drinking and drunkenness. - - - - Just two weeks until the Pepperdine lectureship. I've gone every year since 1986. Good classes, good friends, and staggering beauty. Plus ... http://preachermike.com/2008/04/16/avocado-and-bacon-in-search-of-the-perfect-sandwich If you're a Red Sox fan -- or just a Yankee-hater -- you've got to love this story. - - - - Here are a couple posts from April, 2004. (I know, I'm lazy this morning!) - - - - I'm reminded by my little league team that some children have no one ... http://preachermike.com/2008/04/14/1405 I remember well Wednesday nights growing up. If you think there was ever ANY question of what we'd be doing -- regardless of homework, baseball practice, exhaustion, or anything else! -- you're wrong. We were going to be "at church." We'd start in our classes. Forty minutes. Then the ... http://preachermike.com/2008/04/10/spurring-one-another-on "From ancient times onward, every movement for social justice has been charged with misunderstanding Jesus' true intentions." - Peter Gomes, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?. http://preachermike.com/2008/04/08/gomes-and-gospel