tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52626942011-08-17T13:37:30.942-07:00Look at the feet. A broken bottle of incense lies on the floor. She lies there weeping and kissing the Son of God. She mops her tears with her hair. Some think its disgusting. His money man is sickened by the waste. The Son of God says "When you're forgiven much you love much." This humiliating, messy, desperate attempt at kindness is my kind of story. It illustrates the only kind of faith that fits me.chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.comBlogger3671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-56517353340546126672007-02-16T12:41:00.000-08:002007-02-16T12:47:19.044-08:00

For the final episode of Little House on the Prairie they smashed up the town and then blew it up. A fire broke out on the grounds of the M*A*S*H set and they managed to write it into the plot of the final episode. I have no fancy ending to this blog. Just a redirect.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-12480855182323087512007-02-14T06:49:00.000-08:002007-02-14T06:55:11.231-08:00

Keep praying. My mom was admitted to the hospital the night before last for the fluid surrounding her internal organs. She is starting the pill form of chemotherapy. They asked about whether they should look into hospice care yet and were told no. This is a hopeful sign. Thanks for all the love and support.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-40233040000735225412007-02-12T07:39:00.000-08:002007-02-11T10:59:13.664-08:00

I'm leaning more and more towards switching to my Wordpress site and just leaving this one up for archives. Main reason: few returning visitors, few comments anyway. Reason for not: blogger's email to post feature. Reason to leap: blogger's comment feature is so cumbersome that I think most folks give up trying to comment. That's my theory anyway. Reason for leaping would be that Wordpress's

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-26983311667011198272007-02-11T10:53:00.000-08:002007-02-11T10:47:10.107-08:00

Almost as soon as I finished that last post the song "Hope" by Mason Proffit began on my ITunes. The lyrics go:"There's a mountain/there's a lake/there's a people who God did not forsake/there's a river Lord and there's a way/and there's one small word we all need to say/Hope/for a world of lovin'/hope for a time of givin'/hope is a word worth livin'/let's live together"

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-51682316621568004722007-02-11T10:32:00.000-08:002007-02-11T10:12:09.712-08:00

Sometimes the most important muscle in my body, the pulpy mass in my head in which I feel emotion, use cognition, read, process and disseminate information, and focus my will and energy, is no defense against the darkness I sense coming my way. I'm talking about my beautiful mothers body suffering. I'm talking about the knowledge that one day I will not be able to call or see her anymore. I can't

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-50998939064959985682007-02-10T07:25:00.000-08:002007-02-11T10:57:56.032-08:00

Thanks for your prayers. Mom got home around 1:30am this morning. The tests revealed that the cancer is on the move throughout her internal organs, heart, liver, and kidneys. She will return Monday for more tests. They gave her meds for the stomach pain and at this point she can remain home. This is difficult for us all emotionally. Mom was quite hopeful for healing and now feels resignation

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-12991781011233790612007-02-09T18:22:00.000-08:002007-02-14T06:58:28.443-08:00

I'd like to send out a general plea for prayer for my mom. Months ago I wrote about her battle with cancer. She and my dad are now in the Emergency Room and doctors are running a battery of tests for the next four hours.I just got off the phone with my dad. He says that the doctors seemed very concerned.There's a good chance the cancer has spread to her stomach and elsewhere. Please pray for dad

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-6879413685070750062007-02-09T12:41:00.001-08:002007-02-07T12:57:06.414-08:00

remind me that i'm the same guy i was yesterday. walk with me and just be who you are.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-45949798113243589392007-02-07T12:45:00.000-08:002007-02-07T12:49:55.657-08:00

Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography, Chapter Ten “Finkenwalde: 1936-1937” pgs. 493-586 Other Works consulted:The Way to Freedom: Letters, Lectures and Notes, 1935-1939, Edited by Edwin Robertson, Cleveland: Collins-World, 1977. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Life in Pictures, the Centenary Edition, Fortress, 2006. Daring, Trusting Spirit: Bonhoeffer’s Friend Eberhard Bethge by John W.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-947862419599469092007-02-05T14:15:00.000-08:002007-02-05T14:17:45.749-08:00

My sister Jen has a great eye for photography. Of course, her kid subjects are the cutest in the world too! They just happen to be my offspring.Tags: sisters, Jennifer Rice

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-32554145404584292532007-02-05T13:58:00.000-08:002007-02-05T14:03:38.218-08:00

Sub Ratione Dei has once again "beaten me to the take" with his book review of Robert Brimlow's What About Hitler? This is another reminder to me that I need to get back to blogging Bethge. I do have a plan for less TV at night and more Bonhoeffer. In my defense, my HP all-in-one printer "gave up the ghost" today, delaying my work schedule.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-28317774572864620652007-02-05T09:04:00.001-08:002007-02-05T09:04:41.816-08:00

When I said catalogs I meant catalogs for office supplies and packing materials. Not catalogs from fellow publishers. I keep those of course.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-54449078274937815102007-02-05T08:44:00.001-08:002007-02-05T08:44:04.570-08:00

It takes money to make money in a book publishing venture. Sometimes the shipping costs alone are enough to really hurt. Here's one idea I've come up with for packing boxes. Instead of the plastic bubble wrap, use your shredder on the metric tons of print catalogs that come in. Shredding can be cathartic and, once started, can feel almost like pyromania! Take out your anger on the advertisers and

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-49049487624899247292007-02-02T14:31:00.000-08:002007-02-02T14:45:02.677-08:00

For the most part I have kept quiet on the whole gay marriage and sexual identity debate raging in the Church. Much of the reason for my silence has been, as with many topics, the innane level of dialogue on the subject. Decidedly "pro-gay" spokespersons tend to leave no room for anyone claiming that they left the gay lifestyle. To leave the gay lifestyle, for some, is to be a liar. Well, I have

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-25127832959976037632007-02-01T09:07:00.000-08:002007-02-01T09:12:18.457-08:00

It used to be that we had a lot less choice in our faith. Nowadays we live in a glut of choices. Questions themselves are "invitations" to "deeper truths." But discipleship, cross-bearing, and repentance are not simple rational decisions. They take commitment. If we are unwilling to see ourselves as part of a grand and deeply flawed human attempt at acceptable and sociable form of the Western one

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-31504724436969877152007-02-01T08:44:00.000-08:002007-02-01T09:06:59.508-08:00

A story was related to me about a caucasian man with liberal sympathies who prided himself in his appreciation for all that the Civil Rights movement did to change his more redneck kind. He happened into an African American bookstore in downtown Chicago and meandered around poking through books. As he headed to leave he was taken by a large photo of a public hanging. He gasped and staggered loud

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-71864097973061157002007-02-01T08:34:00.000-08:002007-02-01T08:44:03.065-08:00

Evangelicals and Pentecostals, now in the Mainstream, are not as rough around the edges as their fathers. They've moved their window dressing up nine floors. They're not quite so fundamentalist, so dogmatic, so doctrinaire, so old. As I look back at the battles my father fought with an eye toward my own future, I can't honestly say I'm happy to see all the errors he fought go, if it means my

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-30388811504714207592007-02-01T08:30:00.000-08:002007-02-01T08:32:22.635-08:00

Jesus’ preference for the poor is a source of social dissonance. Miraculous healings, exorcisms, and social intercourse with a Samaritan woman known for her many failed relationships were all unacceptable activities that put his larger public relations in jeopardy. Further, he didn’t use key opportunities to his advantage. After one miracle the people were ready to make him king by force, but he

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-90195385288662284712007-02-01T08:14:00.000-08:002007-02-01T08:25:46.592-08:00

What is fascinating and staggering to me is how, in America, no amount of controversy surrounding a media personality who claims to speak for God will always hurt their influence. The two cases in point are Pat Robertson, head of CBN and Regent University, and Oral Roberts, founder of Oral Roberts University. Both of these men are extremely controversial, but just where we might feel confident

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-42528218058438660172007-02-01T08:11:00.000-08:002007-02-01T08:14:38.448-08:00

It happens whenever I’m in the presence of glossolalia (speaking in tongues) or of a prayer for immediate healing. I quickly scan the room and do a mental recall of who is present and how this will be perceived. If I remember that we’re all friends and family, I feel safe. If I remember that someone present may not understand, I feel uncomfortable. Will this be shocking, interesting, or

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-78637960900821580142007-02-01T08:06:00.000-08:002007-02-01T08:09:37.922-08:00

Five Acceptable Heresies* Infecting Evangelicals and Pentecostals today Sin is the cause of illness and poverty. It is never God’s will that Christians ever be poor. Furthermore, Christians should embody the latest and finest the world has to offer because they represent the Good King who always blesses His Children.Nations are endowed by God with the unquestionable

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-65180357203385111792007-01-30T14:11:00.000-08:002007-01-30T14:37:24.879-08:00

I often think about my connection to media and its effect on my relationships with others. I feel that its very important to submit the amount of time I spend interacting with various mediums both to God and to those I love and am responsible to. My lovely wife is particularly sensitive toward any of us in the family being "sucked in" to a virtual environment that robs us of each other.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-88709165588238802892007-01-26T08:03:00.000-08:002007-01-26T08:21:31.323-08:00

Steve Inskeep did his follow up interview with Ken Stein this morning. Comparing the two interviews, I have to say that the final one was a let-down, but a good one. Inskeep put Carter on the defensive and let him battle his way back. But in interviewing Stein, Inskeep just lets him talk--and Stein's accusations don't seem to hold enough weight to make it interesting.Inskeep: A layman might ask:

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-56520139957900247562007-01-26T07:05:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:33:08.642-08:00

Jer 12:88 "My inheritance has become to MeLike a lion in the forest;She has roared against Me;Therefore I have come to hate her.NASUDear God how do you come to oppose your people? Why do you use the word hate here? Surely Lord this is too strong of a term! In Philippians 4:8 hate is not among the list of things we should dwell on. So why is it in the Bible? Lord you know how much hate is in the

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-25930315801256840982007-01-25T12:21:00.000-08:002007-01-25T12:35:07.696-08:00

Last night I heard someone say that American society allows everything and forgives nothing. I googled that and learned that it might just be a derivative of George Bernard Shaw's saying:Youth, which is forgiven everything, forgives itself nothing: age, which forgives itself everything, is forgiven nothing. Man and Superman, "Maxims for Revolutionists: Stray Sayings" (1903)Here's the entire

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-52981637809777505962007-01-25T06:17:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:54:14.960-08:00

I'm convinced that when you become President of the United States something happens to you as a human being. I don't see how it can't. You'd have to represent the most powerful nation in all the world. More than that you have to lead what it has become. Bear in mind that in modern Statecraft a nation is the sum of it's interests. While we're led to believe the democratic State is made up of the

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-35467911133361651912007-01-25T05:53:00.000-08:002007-01-25T06:12:03.064-08:00

I have quite a few posts on addiction and recovery here. I've never gotten terribly specific with my personal story. If you're interested I've posted my story on the Project 12 blog as it relates to Accountability at Jesus People USA. JPUSA, for you newbies, is an intentional Christian community located in Uptown Chicago. It started in 1972. I came with my wife to JPUSA in 1996. Essentially what

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-81374056284412401582007-01-22T08:59:00.000-08:002007-01-22T09:01:44.155-08:00

I just researched and posted bios, photos and links to my old friends Slim and Zella Mae Cox and Joy Ann Silvey on my blog Hard Country. Check it out.Tags: Joy Ann Silvey, Slim and Zella Mae Cox, Country music

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-89178967237161507912007-01-22T07:27:00.000-08:002007-01-22T07:36:19.996-08:00

Well, here he is, the Johnny Cash action figure. Available now on the Country Music Hall of Fame web store. I don't know what I think about this. It seems wrong. . . . . but then right. He's a legend. But an action figure? There he is, the man in black, reminding us of the wrongs. Making things right in song. He's a rebel. But a saint. He's human, but here he's larger than life in poseable

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-39498691101143973672007-01-22T07:02:00.000-08:002007-01-22T07:38:35.466-08:00

Well, American mornings are about to get a lot friendlier, as the ABC morning show "Good Morning America" has just signed Glenn Beck as a commentator on its program. Here's a peek at Glenn's illustrious track record on CNN: GLENN BECK IN HIS OWN WORDS On August 10 and September 5, 2006, Beck stated that Arab and Muslim Americans are apathetic to terrorism—completely ignoring the positive

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-30355282548145815172007-01-19T14:26:00.000-08:002007-01-19T14:51:02.178-08:00

I'm reposting here what I posted in the book discussion forum over at Ekklesia Project because I feel that it goes well with my previous post on Just War and Pacifism. Let me begin with a lengthy quote from Robert Brimlow's book:"I think I recognize something of the enormous crisis and struggle that Bonhoeffer endured in the last years of his life, and it is not for me--living this comfortable

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-91459437748689533742007-01-19T07:40:00.000-08:002007-01-19T07:58:16.320-08:00

I have entered a conversation that I really don’t want to be in, but that I feel compelled to join. I hope its of You, Lord. It involves the terrible tangle of competing theories of Just War and Pacifism. I hate competing theories. I’ve read enough about both to know that those compelled to either theory feel the need to defend their position in relation to the opposing theory. I don’t like that.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-51366501533010365382007-01-18T11:52:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:42:15.794-08:00

Yesterday I was talking to Dawn Mortimer, who is working with me on Glenn’s book, and she said something that I hope won’t soon drift from my memory. I was talking about my attachment to each of the books I’ve worked on here for Cornerstone Press. I was saying that, as Managing Editor, I felt personally attached to each book sometimes almost as if it were a baby that I’d conceived and carried

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-40474328051364902772007-01-17T09:38:00.000-08:002007-01-17T09:41:54.211-08:00

In what world is there a Jewish member of the Iranian Parliament? Why ours of course! You wouldn't know it from our news, but it seems Iran is a much more diversified nation than the US seems to indicate. The Jewish newspaper Forward has a fascinating article on Iran's 25,000 Jews. Tags: Iranian Jews, Forward, USA, Iran, Iranian Parliament

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-40431411534566581612007-01-17T07:27:00.000-08:002007-01-17T07:42:49.693-08:00

To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-85898465810997358322007-01-16T09:12:00.000-08:002007-01-16T09:38:29.667-08:00

I'm now proofing Glenn Kaiser's new book Kissing the Sky and I just can't help but post this excerpt:When commerce is valued above compassion love is the victim and all of us lose no matter what we gain. I don't believe compassionate Americans want to see things done this way, nor do Christians above all. So how do such skewed values become policy in our communities? Some Christians believe that

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-61608488681833515392007-01-15T07:54:00.000-08:002007-01-17T07:43:53.636-08:00

I sit here alone in the office this morning. I'm proofing a manuscript for publication. I'm ashamed to say its been over a year now that I've had to seriously remember the rules of commas in a sentence. So I'm copying and printing out all the rules again. I can think of better things to do than to correct comma splices for cosmetic effect. As an editor I know the importance of the rules. Its my

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-22986332506664174462007-01-11T08:49:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:47:03.293-08:00

I have been troubled lately by the reality of my calling, namely to live among the poor and minister to addicts. What does success look like in this calling? It looks like the bloody form of a man hanging naked from a first century empire's means of keeping the peace: the cross. This crucifix is my calling. It is my promised reward. Jesus said "Take up your cross and follow me." I remember the

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-13481388206569375692007-01-10T12:50:00.001-08:002007-01-10T12:50:06.303-08:00

I heard tell about this preacher once. He just wouldn't go away. He kept talkin about how churches should be noticing the homeless and poor walking the streets. He kept talkin about prisoners and their rights. He knew very well that this wasn't popular. He knew the folks of this little city would rather see the homeless freeze to death or kill each other than try to help them. He knew that

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-18821106625750291112007-01-10T07:56:00.000-08:002007-01-10T08:02:27.064-08:00

Here's a brief history of the Chelsea Hotel, now the Friendly Towers where my family and I live and work. I have personally rehabbed my fair share of rooms here. Imagine working with age old firebrick, fifty year old wood, and the dust! Once a friend and I tore out one of the garbage chutes. Now THERE was some history there!Tags: Chelsea Hotel, Friendly Towers, Uptown

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-17128079433358024872007-01-09T14:32:00.000-08:002007-01-10T08:04:01.052-08:00

Sometimes I get angry at my Television. Well not actually at the television, but at what's on the television. As a heterosexual male with a fine working libido and a healthy attraction toward the opposite sex I consider it unfair that network television considers my libido a target for sexually charged advertising. Do any of you other men feel the same way? Do you ever feel like as a sex, we

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-35700596011136151152007-01-09T06:34:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:49:00.219-08:00

Now that we're back into our regular routine, my family has morning devotions where we pray and read a Psalm. The Psalm this morning was 34. Benedicam Dominum in the Book of Common Prayer. I love those latin titles! 9O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,for those who fear him have no want.10The young lions suffer want and hunger,but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.11Come, O children,

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-76461166429472264362007-01-05T09:24:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:43:11.671-08:00

I meditated this morning on John chapter 14. I was sitting at home thinking about how good it is to be back in familiar old surroundings. The old sights and sounds of Uptown Chicago. Our couch, our rocking chair, our window overlooking the Lake. Even our little house rabbit is happy to be home. Then I thought of Jesus' words "I go to prepare a place for you." That word place is pregnant with

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-60649596369065761512006-12-31T09:33:00.000-08:002006-12-31T09:42:07.598-08:00

Since I began tracking numbers (earlier this year) this site has recieved:5,030 page loads, 3,373 unique visitors, 2,841 first time visitors, and 532 returning visitorsI'm thankful for every person who lands on this site and I hope it is useful to you. Folks who land here by-in-large tend not to comment on the posts. That's ok.Some plans for the new year:finish my friend Glenn's book. Work some

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-30051380513212646122006-12-30T06:34:00.000-08:002006-12-30T06:48:58.439-08:00

Two of my favorite hobbies are reading and music. Here is list of new acquisitions in the last few weeks.Books:Billy Joe Shaver: Honky Tonk Hero, University of Texas Press, 2005. (Devoured in one day.)Waiting for the Word: Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Speaking About God by Fritz Delange, Eerdmans, 2000. (Nibbling my way through. Found for $5 on Abebooks! Bought because of Richard Gillingham's review.)

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-48494992855893769722006-12-29T07:14:00.000-08:002006-12-29T07:17:22.451-08:00

There are zombies in the Bible! You heard it here first. Tags: zombies, the Bible

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-59328674272105505802006-12-26T09:41:00.000-08:002006-12-26T09:45:30.241-08:00

Kim Fabricius (male expat New Yorker in the UK) has a great post titled "9.5 Theses on Listening to Preaching." He weaves theological concepts throughout in a very inviting way. I would venture to say most untheological folk won't get most of them. I only got one because of Bonhoeffer, theologia crucis. Wish I'd seen this before I'd posted my "looking for a church and finding a family." But then

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-53033197922039470862006-12-25T17:51:00.000-08:002006-12-25T18:01:50.801-08:00

An old friend passed away on December 5th. Dr. Vernon Purdy had a profound impact on my life and I will miss him. I found his obituary here in the archives of the Springfield News-Leader. Please pray for his family, particularly his wife Naomi and his daughter Carissa and son Caleb. He was only 48 years old. The obituary did not mention a cause of death. I learned so much about the horizons of

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-88651254838533564522006-12-25T11:33:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:43:56.780-08:00

Well I don't know if its appropriate to blog about this on Christmas Day. Is it appropriate to do anything on Christmas Day aside from opening presents, eating and laying around? Well I'm blogging and the rest of my family are cleaning because a guest is coming tonight. I already did my share. On play right now are Carl Perkins, The Statler Bros. and the Carter Family all opening for Johnny Cash

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-53576175271401728562006-12-20T11:21:00.000-08:002006-12-20T11:56:21.415-08:00

Well, if you've found this blog because you saw me on NLEC's Telethons: welcome! I hope my singing and playing were not too painful an experience for you. Then again, whatever it takes to get you here! Because I care about fairness, here are the artist's songs that I did and the albums where you can find these songs. I'm sure you'll find their versions much more appealing.Johnny Cash: Personal

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-23960551989143800322006-12-20T10:42:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:45:43.241-08:00

On Looking for a church and Finding a Family One of the big prayers we had for this trip to visit my mom was that the Lord would direct us to a church that really embodied the Word of God in word and deed. I asked our home family at JPUSA to pray that for us too. We were looking for a church with a good Sunday school for our kids, for a worship we could relate to and an order of service

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-51000191704255107222006-12-14T15:28:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:49:37.383-08:00

My dad called me this morning and we talked about things that happend at the Free Store last night. I was rather dismayed to hear that my friend Eddy, who’d been playing guitar, had a bit of a violent blow out and the police were called. I was saddened, but I’m never altogether taken by surprise. Maybe sometimes I sound a bit Pollyannaish when I describe the Free Store, as though I only expect

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-59971753160833212662006-12-10T16:32:00.000-08:002006-12-15T08:21:52.126-08:00

Frank was one of the homeless men interviewed for the Springfield News-Leader article last week. Here is some of his response to her article: [12/15, After consulting with Frank and my dad, I have edited this down to just a few of Frank's sentiments. Not everything needs archiving on this blog. Since all this happened, the police have been much more agreeable and helpful. The weather has warmed

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-84544423936351933522006-12-09T08:28:00.000-08:002006-12-09T08:39:18.040-08:00

I played and sang at the Free Store again last night. There were like twice the usual number of friends. A nice family brought food so the atmosphere was a bit different. I was really nervous at first and totally flopped on the first song "Unchained." Oh well. They were all busy eating and talking. So I just smiled, apologized for butchering Johnny Cash, and moved into the next song. It was fun.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-38182270722954271282006-12-08T10:21:00.000-08:002006-12-08T10:37:50.315-08:00

The Springfield News-Leader ran a front page story this morning on dad's civil disobedience and the emergency housing situation in Springfield. Jane Huh's story is titled: "Homeless advocate challenges city again." It has some nice pictures and is mostly positive. Its interesting to read the comments from Springfieldians. My favorite is "Jesus must be crying because of the publicity given to this

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-77374261542033169582006-12-07T16:42:00.000-08:002006-12-07T16:50:45.416-08:00

This week has been quite exciting. My dad and I have been meeting with homeless men and women at the New Life Free Store on Commercial Street in Springfield Missouri. Far from being an official church service or Bible study, we sit on old chairs or the carpet and just talk about what’s been going on in our lives. We ask to hear their stories about just making it day to day on the streets. The

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-23749405119979463022006-12-05T14:05:00.000-08:002006-12-05T14:31:53.332-08:00

Eberhard Bethge, Chapter Nine "Preacher's Seminary: 1935" pgs. 419-491I feel like I've been over Chapter Nine before. I prepared a paper for the Cornerstone Mag website in March of 2005 titled "Dietrich Bonhoeffer as we understand him at Jesus People Covenant Church." For that paper I used chapter nine and Craig Slane's "Bonhoeffer as Martyr" as key resources in understanding the importance of

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-4618398570874235282006-12-04T18:04:00.000-08:002006-12-04T18:10:48.013-08:00

While working on my Bethge blog chapter nine, my daughter Gabrielle interrupted me to help her with her homeschool studies. She asked what a pledge was. The sentence in her book said, "We pledge allegiance to this ____." and then showed a cartoon of a Christian flag, you know, the white one with the blue box in the corner and the red cross on it. So I started describing what a pledge was--- in

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-66576275109688481952006-11-30T13:11:00.000-08:002006-11-30T13:13:39.496-08:00

Ok, let me just add a disclaimer here that the Flogging Molly DVD should definitely be rated R for language. If you're a youth pastor please don't show it to your group of sixteen year olds upon my recommendation. I've been watching the whole thing on my laptop with headphones.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-58861273954581101632006-11-30T12:53:00.000-08:002006-11-30T12:59:43.539-08:00

"When my father died, which was probably the most traumatic thing, we'd one window in the flat. He was sitting at the table there on a Sunday. The sun was shining through the window and it hit him on the face. And he was yellow. I thought it was really funny. I thought it was great. I said "Hey dad, you're yellow!" Alright? And that was the last time I ever seen him. My mother went outside. She

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-87644979266942167672006-11-30T08:30:00.000-08:002006-11-30T08:47:49.536-08:00

Flogging Molly restored my faith in Irish music. I'd heard so much crappy traditional Irish music over a short period of time that I swore off altogether and went straight Bluegrass. Then my friend Jason passed me a Flogging Molly cd. I watched the first half of the Whisky on a Sunday DVD last night. Its one of the more fun "life on the road" biopics I've seen.Then yesterday I got to see half of

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-43816089641134383832006-11-29T05:04:00.000-08:002006-11-29T05:22:07.665-08:00

I continue to work through chapter nine of Bethge's Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography. I have a few paragraphs written for a post but I keep editing and deleting and rewording. Sunday morning I got hit with the writing bug. Then Monday and Tuesday my sisters came to town with their families and we've been going over to my mom's to be with them each day. Yesterday morning I finally got out on a

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-90529501802649821522006-11-24T10:51:00.000-08:002007-01-26T07:50:18.830-08:00

One of the toughest things about raising kids is imparting simple advice concerning control over the emotions. That sentence is enough to make you wonder what sort of parent I am. Let me break it down.No one can make me rageful. No one can make me wallow in self-pity. No one can make me live in fear. These are all personal choices. But they don't feel that way. Helping my daughter understand that

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-79272890224271672762006-11-22T10:44:00.000-08:002006-11-24T10:51:26.271-08:00

Life is much slower down here in Nixa Missouri. I'm learning to adjust. I still have internet access and can continue blogging but even my internet connection is slower. The real adjustment is with continuing our kids' education while we're gone. Between blogging I'm watching Alathea so that Martha can school the older kids. I long to continue work on my memoirs and spend time playing those

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-45622181654152513402006-11-21T14:33:00.000-08:002006-11-21T14:36:33.388-08:00

My sister told me today that she'd tried to post comments to a few of my posts and had a hard time. Here's the trick (I think). If you're a blogger user you need to log in first before filling in the comment box. This seems to be the case on Beta Blogger blogs. I forget this all the time too. Anyway, log in, then comment. If I don't post your comment within a few days, email me. It may have

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-41054630888898920032006-11-17T13:34:00.000-08:002006-11-17T13:38:07.105-08:00

Here they are in the order I personally feel they should be viewed in. I think the second is the weakest personally, but you decide.Tags: Johnny Cash, videos, American V, Rick Rubin, Help Me, God's Gonna Cut You Down

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-54165579408783078002006-11-17T13:27:00.000-08:002006-11-17T13:31:47.481-08:00

Over on the Johnny Cash forum someone pointed out that the new documentary doesn't include the full concert. In fact the concert may have been filmed with only the documentary in mind. So when Johnny was pulling all his stunts with the cameraman during the concert they wouldn't have used that anyway.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-30450807360823503032006-11-17T10:53:00.000-08:002006-11-17T10:56:43.371-08:00

Wow! Well I know what I want for Christmas this year. The three disc set of Johnny Cash: Live at San Quentin. I can't believe they released the documentary filmed for the BBC. Rumor had it it was lost for all time! There is a clip available on Johnny's myspace page. Also on the page are three music videos from his new album. Good stuff.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-18315220140681620902006-11-16T10:36:00.000-08:002006-11-16T10:39:11.242-08:00

The illustrious, flawless, indefatigable Wordpress.com just gave me this response:Server Maintenance Your server is going through a few minutes of routine maintenance. Please don't touch your browser for a few minutes. What do I do? If you were posting a comment or making a post on your blog then do not press BACK on your browser. Wait 5 minutes and press the refresh icon on your browser. Your

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-58846977397601264402006-11-16T09:31:00.000-08:002006-11-16T09:33:41.303-08:00

Here are my thoughts on blogging and then tracking it.Tags: keywords, blogging, tracking, sitetracker, analysis, frustration, glee, etcetera

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-25263633687617772222006-11-14T09:00:00.000-08:002006-11-14T09:14:10.614-08:00

One of the central issues Larry Witham highlights in his book involves the Call to ministry (Who Shall Lead Them? Chapter One). He reports that many ministers feel guilty that they must spend so much time worrying about their work as a vocation (paying bills, overseeing building projects, business meetings, or planning for the future) when they first experienced the Call to spiritual ministry.

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-38892396797877814142006-11-13T13:23:00.000-08:002006-11-13T13:59:09.599-08:00

For as far back as I can remember I have lived within the fulcrum of a ministerial calling. My father is an ordained minister. As early as age five I responded to the call of salvation and then, every day since, to the call to ministry. I have never been ordained in any official sense as a lay or pastoral minister, still I feel the Call to ministerial activity in my blood. As a teenager I had the

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-50205004339106236022006-11-13T08:11:00.000-08:002006-11-13T08:14:01.917-08:00

I carefully typed in the lyrics to some songs I can't stop listening to on my wordpress blog--- here. Tags: Johnny Cash, "Personal File", Lyrics

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-38802619503311620792006-11-11T16:20:00.000-08:002006-11-11T16:31:53.032-08:00

A Disaster in the Middle East Is ImminentAvigdor Lieberman becomes Israel's Deputy Prime Ministerby Samer Kokaly of Beit Sahour, PalestineAvigdor Lieberman is a well-known personality who always asked about kicking Palestinians out of Palestine. He hates Arabs.He is now in a position where he can do what he wants and lead the whole Middle East into a real disaster. So how can we expect peace

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-42189176001603384892006-11-05T14:09:00.000-08:002006-11-05T14:15:46.146-08:00

Here is the letter of response from Ted Haggard to his church, which was read aloud this morning.Tags: ted haggard, New Life church, response, apology

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-51806702050670577582006-11-05T13:29:00.000-08:002006-11-05T14:07:38.537-08:00

Alas I too have succumb to the pressure. . . Here's myTop 20 Books list originally presented by Ben Myers.20. No Compromise by Melody Green and David Hazard19. Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour and David Hazard18. Cotton Patch Evidence by Dallas Lee17. Hammers & Nails: the Life and Music of Mark Heard by Matthew Dickerson16. After Fundamentalism by Bernard Ramm15. With Open Hands by

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-61326396927480273842006-11-03T16:54:00.000-08:002006-11-03T16:57:10.761-08:00

I've been interested in the social history of the pastorate recently. The news broke yesterday on Ted Haggard. BlueChristian has the good word on the whole sordid affair. I'm quite saddened by it.Tags: social history, pastorate, perceptions, Ted Haggard, news

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-86871228591934849992006-10-31T09:53:00.000-08:002006-10-31T10:01:27.003-08:00

After the furor over Jesus Camp, Becky was forced to move the location from Devil's Lake.Turns out vandals did some serious damage. Here's the story. It's really too bad that people can't watch a film without being so reactionary. It's sad that conversations about faith can't turn meaningful instead of threatening.Tags: Jesus Camp, Vandalism, closure, Assemblies of God

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-32180100833700652862006-10-31T08:51:00.000-08:002006-10-31T08:59:11.506-08:00

I've been tinkering with a new Wordpress blog over the last week. I'm debating over whether to switch this whole blog over there. I invite your comments on Beta Blogger vs. Wordpress. Youtube no longer functions with the new blogger. I'm thinking of uploading .mp3 posts so as to audioblog to Wordpress. I think I can do that. Most of the hits I get here are anonymous and transient through the old

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-42737343167483276452006-10-26T12:04:00.001-07:002006-10-26T12:26:54.176-07:00

I finally got around to reading Mark Noll's article "Where We Are and How We Got Here." Responding point by point would take far too long but I want to critique two evangelical distinctives in the last fifty years.1. The propagation of the gospel as a repository of Truth. Evangelicals have made Jesus accessible and relevant but in effect they've also made him an American concept. (Please somebody

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-9198032259314945512006-10-25T14:28:00.001-07:002006-10-25T14:37:49.644-07:00

Blogging BethgeDietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography, Revised Edition, by Eberhard Bethge, Fortress Press, 2000.Chapter Eight, London: 1933-1935 pg. 325-419It is disheartening to find our 'theologian of community' standing alone. From all that I've observed blogging Bethge up to this point, it is clear that Dietrich Bonhoeffer's belief in God depends upon relationship between persons. For this reason

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-7755392469685388892006-10-25T07:13:00.001-07:002006-10-25T14:41:55.766-07:00

"It is becoming increasingly clear to me that what we're going to get is a big, popular, national church whose nature cannot any longer be reconciled with Christianity and that we must be prepared to enter upon entirely new paths which we will have to tread. The question really is: Germanism or Christianity? The sooner the conflict comes out into the open, the better. Nothing is more dangerous

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-26511548689004706402006-10-24T14:09:00.000-07:002006-10-24T14:51:15.906-07:00

Craig Nessan's review of Conspiracy and Imprisonment (Volume 16 in the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works) is excellent. As you know I'm still plodding through Bethge. It'll be some time before I see this title. I think I read in the Dietrich Bonhoeffer English Language Society newsletter that the final books from this series will be out over the next two years. It's a beautiful time to be into Bonhoeffer

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-73132407326905977372006-10-24T11:28:00.000-07:002006-10-24T11:40:29.209-07:00

If We Never Meet Again. . . . Another wounded soldier passed recently. Not like the others. This time he fell on his own sword. This pains me, not unlike the others, but this time I can't help but be a bit angry. God knows that I myself have often looked down at myself in contempt, doubting that this sword of the Spirit really fit my arm. I doubted my strength. I doubted my shield of faith. I

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-59579494827595807562006-10-23T08:42:00.000-07:002006-10-23T08:48:04.384-07:00

Here's the second part of my audio blog. This time it gets more personal.Be prepared to turn the audio down. I really sort of yelled into the mic at this point.speaking of death #2 - Part 2 "If we never meet again. . . ."It gets personal. How do I face suffering in my family? Link to download. Tags: suffering, death, healing, Christ

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-56257264969663728692006-10-19T11:40:00.001-07:002006-10-19T12:05:33.113-07:00

If We Never Meet Again. . . .reflections, and memories of losing friends to death Download as an .mp3 or link to as podcastTags: death, life, acceptance, faith

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-39556218327248609402006-10-19T07:43:00.000-07:002006-10-19T07:44:00.023-07:00

If you're interested in some videos of JPUSA life check this out from my friend Nathan Cameron: Over the past few years, many people have expressed to me how they would like to be able to see and share some of our JPUSA movies with friends and family. Now due to video sharing website such as Google Video, YouTube, and MySpace this is now easier than ever. For starters you can view a few movies

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-58045990623429862022006-10-17T10:07:00.000-07:002006-10-17T10:33:53.970-07:00

Somebody explain to me how the President can be given the kind of authorization he just signed into law in the Military Commissions Act of 2006? I don't really want a long legal explanation beyond a simple description of what entitles this kind of new power. Permit me to think out loud. According to the Bill:1. 9/112. President given power to declare war and govern military tribunals as commander

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-29618040371709610422006-10-16T10:14:00.000-07:002006-11-01T08:04:13.170-08:00

I said I was having fun at Jim West's site. But then I read his next post on the same day on the Alms Statute of 1520:Mutatis mutandis, if the Zurich legislation were active today, people who were poor because they were lazy, alcoholics, drug abusers, and the like would be left in their condition because it was self elected. On the other hand, if someone lost their house or job because of

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-27628655201215063452006-10-16T07:47:00.000-07:002006-10-16T08:06:11.441-07:00

I'm having fun over at Dr. Jim West's discussion "Is the Social Gospel A Distraction?"Sub Ratione Dei clued me in to this. Some great comments. Richard is right though, its quite parochial, though this is a very practical and pastoral issue. I say the Gospel involves the mandate to care for all people. Dr. John Stott is trying to broaden the concept of Evangelism, pointing out in an interview

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-50617968339817655822006-10-13T13:12:00.000-07:002006-10-13T13:21:54.764-07:00

I caught Get Up! Stand Up! The Story of Pop and Protest on PBS last night. Really fascinating stuff. It was a history of protest and music in American history. I only wish the exploration in more recent years had been more indepth. It weighed heavy on the 60's but then by the '90s the protest side of the music seemed far less effectual. The point was made that the larger issues came out as the

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-59551584654956714902006-10-11T07:53:00.001-07:002006-10-11T08:06:31.283-07:00

Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography, Revised Edition, 2000. pg. 257-324Chapter Seven "Berlin 1933"Maybe the clearest sign that Eberhard Bethge moved from the general to the particular in tone is when he began marking the months. Whereas in previous chapters he splits the sections topically, based on duties or ideas. Here, in 1933 he moves from January to September chronicling every

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-48072435644639538172006-10-10T08:07:00.001-07:002006-10-10T08:07:40.516-07:00

The Times October 09, 2006Rabbi leads defence of Palestinian olive grovesFrom Ian MacKinnon in Huwara, West BankThe olives are stunted, the trees in poor condition. At the top of a ladder, stripping fruit from high branches, the Palestinian farmer Omar Karni is in his element, working his way up a dusty olive grove that has been in his family for generations. For the first time in four years, the

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-55163216705349237192006-10-06T09:16:00.001-07:002006-10-06T09:16:26.022-07:00

Luke 7: 36-50; Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14: 3-9; John 12:2-11I'm looking again at the quote below the title of my blog, "A Desperate Kind of Faithful".By way of explanation, I have in truth done the hermeneutically unthinkable and have combined two stories into one narrative, mixing and matching characters to form an idea. There are two foot anointing stories in the gospels. One at the pharisee Simon's

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-6635595410145996042006-10-06T07:06:00.000-07:002006-10-06T08:05:34.413-07:00

Three things that are interrelated. Last night I saw the 2001 movie documentary "Hell House."It may still be airing on the Sundance channel and in reruns of This American Life. Michael and I set it up in the dining room here and many other young folks came in and out. A young lady sat on my left who had never before been exposed to a Pentecostal worship service. You may remember that I recently

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-12206282903297547572006-10-05T12:08:00.000-07:002006-10-05T12:09:25.842-07:00

I finally have the first video from my 2003 journey to Israel and Palestine uploaded on military occupation. Dr. Elias Rishmawi of Beit Sahour is a wonderful resource. There's more to come from this interview.Tags: Dr. Elias Rishmawi, Palestine, Military Occupation

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-37619197280283452932006-10-03T07:40:00.000-07:002006-10-03T07:44:53.414-07:00

For those who like straight lines, Halden Doerge has blogged a scene from John deGruchy's Daring, Trusting, Spirit where the Bethges visit Jerry Falwell's church. The experience reminded Eberhard Bethge of Germany in 1933.Tags: Eberhard Bethge, John deGruchy, Jerry Falwell, Germany 1933

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-9157907284870148482006-10-01T12:58:00.000-07:002006-10-01T13:47:29.552-07:00

I saw the movie "Jesus Camp" on Friday night. In it the camp director, Becky Fischer, mentions some websites that describe Palestinians training their children as terrorists. Her Christian Zionist sympathies are in rare form. The film is a provocative experience. Watching it was reliving a lot of really bad spiritual experiences from my own youth. From the website I noticed that it was screened

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-73177966510692364392006-09-27T07:28:00.000-07:002006-09-27T07:53:35.131-07:00

Some preliminary thoughts to Chapter Seven of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography by Eberhard Bethge:1. Do not cast Dietrich Bonhoeffer vs. Adolph Hitler. They are not hero and antihero. I say this because almost every reference to Bonhoeffer that I've seen this year does this to one degree or another, such as this youtube video. I don't mean these folks aren't well-intentioned. It's just a stupidly

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262694.post-61924560185640311452006-09-25T10:29:00.001-07:002006-09-25T10:29:29.519-07:00

I don't pretend to be 'into' hymnology but I do have to say, the stuff Johnny Cash released for his recordings with Rick Rubin and from his "Personal File" selection that was found in the House of Cash vault, together make for an expanded definition of hymnody. Here's a playlist I put together for my ipod. A lot of these are story songs, but they all take vulnerability on the part of singer and

chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16190307304407180671noreply@blogger.com0