A More Depressing List

It's the end of the year and everyone's making lists. We gave you the big religion stories the other day, now on a gloomier note, we have Paul Raushenbush from Progressive Revival chronicling the worst.

Some Want to Ditch Rick, Others Attempt to Boot God

We knew someone somewhere was working on the lawsuit to remove prayer from the inauguration and the winner is... the guy from California who tried in 2001 and 2005. Yes, Michael Newdow and 17 other atheists have filed suit against the Chief Justice, some of the inaugural planners and BOTH praying pastors, Rick Warren and the much less controversial if not more interesting Reverend Joseph Lowery. The suit has failed in the past but imagine if it didn't, that'd be a whole different kind of controversy.

A Big Year

The Washington Post summarizes some of the big religious stories of 2008. We're hoping for fewer controversies and scandals in 2009. It'd be nice to see an end of the year news story that focuses on all the good accomplished in the name of God.

"Divine Recruits"

Here is Part 2 of the NY Times series on priests from abroad. The story profiles an African priest serving a parish in Kentucky. We were especially struck by the implications of the brain drain referenced in the story. When priests are in such short supply and needs are so great in developing countries, what are the ethics around US churches recruiting in Africa?

News Round Up

Our very favorite news story of the holiday season comes out of Kansas City, Mo where 400 people dressed up like Jesus. Why? To put Christ in Christmas! Yup, they went to work, drank lattes at Starbucks and did a little last minute xmas shopping at Target while wearing flowing robes and thorny crowns cause nothing says Christmas like a good,old fashioned crown of thorns. We'll post the YouTube video later.

Probably the most thoughtful thing we've seen on the Rick Warren invocation mess is today's op-ed by Frank Rich. We think we understand what Gene Robinson means when he says that Rick Warren prays to a God "he does not know" but we're not sure that it's anymore civil than Warren's ridiculous comments. We agree with Rich, everyone should just stop talking and pray, silently, for some humility and wisdom.

Also from today's NYT, a story about the Catholic church recruiting from abroad. The noted upside was it's easier to sack them if it doesn't work out. Some of the reason cited are eerily familiar to things American priests have, on occasion, been caught doing. "Some foreign priests had to be sent home. One became romantically entangled with a female co-worker. One isolated himself in the rectory. Still another would not learn to drive. A priest from the Philippines left after two weeks because he could not stand the cold. A Peruvian priest was hostile toward Hispanics who were not from Peru.

Another story on church foreclosures. There's a sin that's not covered in the Bible, oh wait, it is..

Finally, because enough ink hasn't yet been spilled on Rick Warren. Here's a rather tough Chicago Sun Times opinion piece. We find telling the Pom Juice tycoon (also FTD, Franklin Mint and almost every almond tree in California) that she's going to hell because she's Jewish a combination of bad manners, bad politics and really bad theology. God's chosen people, does that phrase sound at all familiar???

Merry Rick

Unexpected real life events have crowded out BC blogging but with a hopeful holiday lull, we can catch up a little. Today we find an LA Times reporter has actually attended a Rick Warren church service (more than we can say for most of the people writing and talking about him) to report on the lightening rod pastor. Rick's sermon focused on the challenges of unexpected events. We're not sure if Warren talked about the difficulties his family has faced this year. If not, it's well to remember that the man who almost lost his grandson and then a few weeks later, his daughter-in-law preaches from those experiences when he says, "Jesus said you don't understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later. That's the . . . thing you have to learn when God changes your plan. You have to learn to trust him." We still hate his position on gay marriage (and a few other issues) but we trust that he'll see the light eventually.

A New King's College

The King's College is reborn with a new emphasis on critical thinking and engaging diverse points of view. Bankruptcy is an interesting instrument of reform.

Prayer is Prayer

Rick Warren, Rick Warren, Rick Warren.. The guy's EVERYWHERE. And, on January 20th he'll be in DC praying. Our own Rick 4.O Warren has been selected to offer the inaugural invocation. There's a great deal of political uproar about the choice. The gay community is furious because of Warren's support of Prop 8. Conservatives Christians are grumpy because they feel like Warren shouldn't be blessing an Obama administration. We think everyone needs to be quite. It's not politics, it's not policy, it's prayer. Warren isn't giving a speech. He's not being offered the podium to talk about his views. He isn't being rewarded for his politics. Rick Warren is being asked to pray to God on behalf of the new President and the behalf of the country at a crucial moment. Yes, it's flattering but it really isn't about Warren. It's about God.

Too Many Cooks in the Crystal Kitchen

There are too many Robert Schuller's in the Crystal Cathedral. That's our diagnosis of what's gone wrong. This OC Register story made our heads spin as we tried to distinguish among the rival Reverend Roberts - H the senior, A the one who just quit and V the one who plans to leave with his father, the one who just quit the job that his father gave him. Maybe this is the best thing for the whole clan. Seems like having all the Schuller kids, kids spouses and grandkids run the place together isn't doing much for their familial relationship.

A Family Affair

Joel and Vicky O. are on the road. A recent trip to the city of brotherly love included a night at the Wachovia Center and a little book signing in Rittenhouse Square. There are a few interesting details in this Philadelphia Daily News story. We love the description of the Osteens bouncer, the guy whose job it is to move the masses along while offering a kind of benediction in the process. We were also struck by not just one but two communications staffers quoted. Our favorite was "Although she seemed a little wary, Victoria couldn't have been nicer (her older brother Don Iloff, chief of communications at Lakewood, even went so far as to vet me by reading my stories on philly.com. He urged me to be nice to his sister)." This solves the mystery of the really snippy exchange with a reporter that Don got into last month. It seemed like a bit of an overreaction by a communications pro but as a defense of one's baby sister, it finally makes sense.

Stop the Presses

The Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has successfully sued to stop the release of religious themed license plates in South Carolina. We still object to their objections. Anything that potentially reduces those obnoxious Christian bumper stickers is a good thing. Wouldn't you rather look at the pastel stained glass window than read "Christians Aren't Perfect, Just Forgiven" one more time?

More Famous Than God

Simon Cowell beat out God and the Queen as the "most famous person in the world" in a survey of British pre-teens. The kids thought being fat was the worst thing and good looks were among the very best. They also want to ban divorce. An interesting and daunting social commentary from a bunch of 10-year-olds.

Encounters with God

We loved this moving op-ed from Roger Cohen in today's New York Times. Cohen may be a stranger to religion but we think he has more experience with faith than he lets on.

Faithful Party

This piece by Mike McCurry at The Daily Beast is a good read. We're all for Dems living their faith lives as publicly as they are comfortable doing. However, BC is so very tired of the breakdown of polling numbers by religious affiliations. Left or right religious math just seems wrong. The real question is, does McCurry have to take Greek in his program at Wesley Theological Seminary? We'd love to know how the former press secretary stacks up his Clinton spinning years against learning the nuances of the aorist and imperfect tenses.

BC is BACK!

Sorry for the break in post action. We are back, ready to report on all the sacred meets secular happenings we can find.

Stuff Christians Like

We're quite fond of the blog Stuff Christians Like. It often provides nostalgic reminders of a misspent youth in our little EVFree (that's Evangelical Free Church for the mercifully uninitiated) Church in Cresskill, NJ. It's also well written by a quick witted chap who isn't afraid to mix it up with the language of the day. This post on BC6 study subject, Andy "Zippy" Stanley, is as good as any intro to this happening little blog. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Coach Craig

It's the big guy's big day. Coach Craig Groeschel turns 41 today. His blog post at Swerve is all about passion. We've got to admit, we can't imagine this guy as a "lukewarm" anything. He is the definition of INTENSE. Here's to a blessed day for our man in Oklahoma and Florida and Texas and Arizona and New York...

Join the Campaign to Pay Audelia Wilson Back

As news of lawsuits between breakaway congregations and their denominational groups make headlines, we stumbled across a much less publicized fight between a denomination and a church member. The story is about an 83-year-old woman who was swindled out of 20K by her pastor. If the pastors actions were not sickening enough, we are confronted by the Church of God's response (non-response really), "Church of God International deeply regrets the situation. The local Church of God, which has had to be disbanded, and the Church organization also have issues with this former pastor, and it is the position of the Church that it, too, is a victim of his actions. All possible ecclesiastical sanctions have been undertaken. However, it is the position of the Church that Mrs. Wilson should seek legal recourse against the former minister directly.” The 83-year-old should deal with it herself? How about the Church of God taking responsibility for the fraud perpetrated by one of its own? If denominational organizations own the assets of the organizations that compromise them, they own the liabilities as well. They should pay this woman the 20K immediately. It's time for someone to do the right thing. Let's start with the church leaders, the ones who say that, "We commit ourselves to the challenge of being a church that genuinely cares for one another and for those who are lost, hurting and needy." If you agree, please join our campaign to Pay Audelia Wilson Back by going to the Church of God contact page and (politely!) ask them to take responsibility and pay her the 20K. Maybe the Church of God just needs a little help remembering what it means to act like a church of God. Let's give them a hand.

WORLD AIDS DAY

There are 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS. For every one person who begins antiretroviral drugs, two new people are infected with HIV. Every day 4100 men, women and children in sub-Saharan Africa die from AIDS. While the numbers seem overwhelming, change is possible. Today is World AIDS Day. Take a minute to see what you can do. Lend your voice at one.org or just drop by Starbucks for a (RED) drink. There's no such thing too little or too late when it comes to doing good. Choose faith, act, now.

(Re)Opening Day

St John the Divine, the NY Episcopal cathedral reopens today. It's been a long process of recovery from a 2001 fire. Congratulations! We're thrilled that this beautiful church is back in business. If you are in the New York area, go visit, it's worth the trip.

How The Other Half Worships

The opinion is oddly lacking in this LA Times opinion piece (and the link didn't work but that's par for the course with the LAT of late) but it did give us the heads up about Photographer Camilo Jose Vergara's book, "How The Other Half Worships." From Amazon and Publishers Weekly, "Vergara, who has been photographing 'ghetto' and 'storefront' churches in several major U.S. cities for the past 30 years, avoids any overarching academic thesis about the religiosity of the urban poor, in large part because their religious institutions are, more often than not, fascinatingly eclectic, idiosyncratic and not easily traced to one specific Christian tradition." This one is going on our Christmas wish list.

You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up

Drudge Retorts reports that a Texas man rammed his car into another car because the person "was not driving like a Christian and it was Jesus' will for him to punish the car." The dry wit award goes to Lt. Kyle Coleman when commenting that no one was hurt in the accident said, "God must have been with them."

Ordering the Red Letter Words

There's a man in Missouri who has spent the last dozen or so years working on a book that puts Jesus' words in chronological order! Why? "It just seemed that to me that, in my own experience, I had found it difficult to make the words of our Lord more important than the words of other writers of scripture..." says Keith Siddens of Words of Jesus. Huh? When asked about the version he used, Siddens said, "I used the King James because ... it is claimed that King James told the writers of the King James version that if he discovered that they had deliberately mistranslated something, he would take their head off. This seemed like a pretty good motivation to do it right. I hope it is not just prejudice because I was raised on the King James version, but I do feel that there is a lot of accuracy there." Again, huh? We can't wait to see what the NT scholars think about this one. It's like the reverse Q.

A Take on Quincy

Father Tom Ehrich sounds off at IndyStar.com on the recent vote by the Quincy diocese to break from the Episcopal Church. We agree with much of what Father Ehrich writes but that's no surprise given what some might perceive as the very liberal BC slant. We were really interested in the comments on his post. One person calls Episcopalians the "religious equivalent of socialists." For the record, as far as insults go, there are worse things to be called. The same person goes on to criticize Father E for owning a 350K house in North Carolina. So much for the socialist critique. Unless of course the good priest wants to share the NC house. Is it near the beach?

Fun and Games

A recent Facebook game came our way this week. Since it's a holiday weekend, we thought we'd share the game and the fun of our result.
1. Put your music on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS (you can try the next track if it is completely no fun at all... try not to go more than that and don't go through them until you find one that "fits"!)!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the activity as well as the person you got the idea from.
5. If your shuffle is as dumb as mine, you can skip over a repeated artist if you wish (We didn't do this)

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Watching Me

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
The Last Song

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Fallin

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Everything

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE??
Concerto grosso

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Always

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Aida

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Gimme the Car

WHAT IS 2+2?
Further on up the Road

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
If I Ain’t Got You

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I Will Follow

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Cello Suite #5 in C Minor

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
North and South of the River

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Pray

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
De Doo Doo De Da Da Da Da

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Even Better than the Real Thing

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Don Carlo Act III: Per me giunto

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Guerilla Radio

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Wake Up Little Susie

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Marigold

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Vertigo

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Njalo

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Lose Yourself

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Tomorrow Night

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Corinthians Chapter 10

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Change

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Moses

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
How Come You Don’t Call Me

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
There is Power in the Blood

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
How You Remind Me

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Two Hearts Beat As One

Assault Rifles, Art and Jesus

An artist gets frustrated with an art dealer who suggests the artists work isn't penetrating enough. Toronto artist Viktor Mitic's response? "That same day I drove down to a gun range in Buffalo N.Y.; I rented an assault rifle and blasted a 'more penetrating' painting, a portrait of Christ named Hole Jesus." We've learned two things: Mr. Mitic has excellent aim and you can rent assault rifles.

Forgive Us Our Trespasses...

Death notwithstanding John Lennon has finally been forgiven for saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. In an age where the iPhone is commonly referred to as the Jesus phone (at least in the European press) and a recent Presidential campaign included charges of Messiahship, it's hard to imagine the days when that quip led to the mass burning of Beatles albums. It's a good thing the Vatican is finally over it. 42 years of the sun setting on that kind of anger is an awful lot of sunsets.

Zippy Not So Snippy Afterall

Continuing the copyright conversation, it looks likes all is well between Ryan at inside my head and Andy Stanley uber pastor extraordinaire. We're not surprised Andy picked up the phone. It's consistent with what we know about him. He's an earnest guy who values open and honest communication. A lesson to us all about the limitations of this medium, the lack of tonal range available in black and white font (or whatever pretty blog posts come in) can be problematic. We stand by our initial advice to Stanley. It'd be really helpful for all these guys to give some attention to the question of intellectual property and Christianity. It's an important topic for writers and readers. If any of the BC6 pastors want to chat with us about that or anything else, they should feel free to leave a comment - any tone will do.

Reader's Digest Rickifies

According to the New York Times, The Reader's Digest Association (parent company of the famous publication) is launching a new venture starring none other than the purpose driven pastor Rick 4.O Warren. The official announcement is planned for Monday. The tease in the NYT piques our interest, "Together, they are creating a Christian membership organization, The Purpose Driven Connection, built on Mr. Warren’s call to faith and charitable work. Paying members will receive a quarterly magazine edited by Mr. Warren, with DVDs and pull-out study guides in each issue, and access to a social networking Web site." Sounds ambitious.

Zippy Getting Snippy?

Got a Google Alert today about BC6 study subject Andy Stanley. It appears that he takes some blogger to task for posting copyrighted material from a recent Catalyst conference. The exact comment he posted on Ryan Crozier's inside my head reads "Ryan, Help me out. Why is it that bloggers feel the freedom to reprint copyrighted material on their blogs? You certainly aren't the only one. Craig and I have found our notes printed on several cites. It happens any time I speak from distributed notes. Quoting is one thing. But reprinting copyrighted material seems a bit much. Help me out. What makes that ok in your mind? Again, you aren’t alone, you’re just the guy I decided to ask. Thanks, Andy" Not too rough except if you consider that you are Andy Stanley super celebrity pastor revered by the youthful blogosphere. Setting aside the intense disappointment the kid probably felt from getting his hand smacked by one of the paragons of Christian leadership, does Andy have a point? It is his stuff, his work. But as we think more about it, we wonder. When you are in the business of evangelism, when your whole mission is about getting information and ideas out to people, what difference does copyright make? When one's job is doing the work of the kingdom of heaven, how do those tricky kingdom of the world laws factor in? We empathize with Andy but we also think that it's a little more complicated than his comment suggests. If he asked us to "help him out" we'd start by suggesting he decide what's in and what's out of bounds for sharing broadly and why. Is it good enough to credit him or does he really mean that he doesn't want things reproduced. Communicate clearly about the boundaries before asking people to respect them - that's our advice. Most of the bloggers that repost these things are only invested in getting the word out. It's what people like Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel inspire them to do. Heck. They think that they're all on the same team.

Focus on the Fair

News of Focus on the Family layoffs made the Daily Beast Cheat Sheet. For the uninitiated, the Cheat Sheet is the daily top ten "must reads from all over." It's amazing that anyone other than the 202 people (and their families) losing their jobs would care. What's the agenda here? What's the real news? We're all for taking shots at James Dobson when it's deserved - as it so often is - but let's make them fair, put them in context. A quick story meant to juxtapose staff layoffs with a pro Prop 8 donation isn't worthy of this attention. We love the Daily Beast Cheat Sheet, let's hope it doesn't become the Cheap Sheet.

Ancient Church Remains

And we thought megachurches were an invention of modernity. Looks like big churches have been around from the beginning. Archeologists have found an early Christian church in the Syrian desert, "Christianity came to Palmyra in the year 312, at a time when Christians had begun to build churches," he said. "And this one is huge -- the biggest ever found in Syria. It dates to the fourth or fifth centuries after Jesus Christ." Stories like this always make us think. Did the folks in Palmrya run a multi-million dollar capital campaign to fund their building program the way big name churches here do? Just wondering.

Shop with a Christian at Wal-Mart

Even the overwhelming BC penchant for mocking religious cliches (and Wal-Mart) was stemmed by this story of a cop trying to get Christmas presents for kids in need. The program is called Shop with a Christian. "Our goal is to raise $150 for each child," said McDuffie County Sheriff's Deputy Al Reeves. "With that money, each child will get a chance to go shopping at Wal-Mart with a local Christian and buy maybe a couple of toys, a pair of new shoes and some clothes." We're cheering for you Officer Reeves. We may cringe a little at the Christian-ese but you are pure heart, living the love of Jesus in kids lives. That's our kind of Big Christianity. God Bless!

Jubliant Twittering

Just last week some BC friends were talking about Twitter, mostly trying to figure out what it was, why it was and who really uses it. BC pointed out that our first post mentioned Gospeler the Christian Twitter. We've been pretty skeptical of the value of "..a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" since we really don't care to read about the sip of coffee or yummy doughnut just consumed. All that cynicism was quashed today with news that none other than Jubilant Joel Osteen is a Twitter-er. We can't wait to sign up so we can track J.JO's every move. Our single remaining jaundice fear is a Wizard of Oz like revelation that the tweets are written by some PR intern instead of Joel. For now, we're just excited to hear what Joel is doing and to see if he uses smiley faces.

Prayers for Mt Calvary Brothers

In very sad news, we report that the Mount Calvary Retreat House was destroyed in the Montecito wildfire. Thankfully, everyone was evacuated safely. Mt Calvary was an incredible place reflecting the true grace and hospitality of the brothers. We ask everyone to join us as we pray they and all the others affected by the fire find peace and grace tonight and in the days and weeks to come. Check out the Episcopal News for more information on how to help in the fire recovery efforts.

Rock Star Drummer Interviews Rock Star Pastor

Jimmy Eat World drummer Zach Lind vimeos with Mars Hill lead pastor Brother Rob Bell. We can't review it for you, the fidgety camera and dallying audio makes us batty. The conversation takes place in three parts, grab your Dramamine and load up one, two, three.

Apparently Ed Young Likes Sex, Too

We're not sure what's going on with these megachurch pastors, first Coach Craig with his wink and nod on Tony Morgan's blog and now Ed Young with his Seven Day Sex Challenge. That's right, the younger Young (his Dad is pastor of Houston's Second Baptist, the third largest American church) of Grapevine Fellowship has challenged his Texas congregation to have sex everyday for a week in conjunction with his new sermon series. There are some rules. The sex is only for the married, straight people - everyone else is forbidden from participating on the grounds that the other kinds of sex are sinful. The whole thing takes a very creepy turn with this line "It's time to put the bed back in church and church back in the bed." Thanks but no thanks. We're much more comfortable with pews in church and beds in bedrooms.

Jesus Searching for Enlightenment?

The king of new age spirituality just wrote a book about Jesus. Fear not, Deepak Chopra limited his musings about Jesus' early life to the realm of the fiction. Although his Newsweek interview throws some red meat in the evangelical direction including mention of Jesus doing yoga in India and this quote, "Fundamentalist Christians always quote Jesus in the Gospel of John saying 'I am the way. I am the life. Nobody comes into the kingdom of heaven except through me.' But what does Jesus mean by "I"?" In his language, Aramaic, the word is translated as "the I within the I." So he may be speaking about himself as a universal spirit. In that case he can't be squeezed into a body or the span of a lifetime." We're pretty sure a few people might take issue with that one.

Good Christian Bitches

It's a new novel although we think it makes a better band name. The book is about gossip and betrayal among some church going women. BC is taking a pass on this one. We've had enough nasty. Everywhere we turn - TV, magazines, newspapers, movies, books and real life - there is gossip and betrayal. We don't need one more book to remind us of the danger of the human mouth even if it's got a eye catching title.

Coach Craig Likes Sex

Somehow we missed blogger Tony Morgan's 5 Questions with Craig Groeschel when it first appeared. Thankfully (kinda) nothing goes away on the internet. The big man from Lifechurch.tv talks about his favorite subject,"IT." We've read plenty about the book already so we jumped right to the good stuff. Coach Craig is a "big blog reader." He names a bunch of ministry blogs - all men - he reads regularly. Sadly, BC doesn't make his list. He also talks about friends and mentors including fellow BC6 study subjects, Captain Bill Hybels, Andy "Zippy" Stanley and Rick 4-O Warren. The post ends with a risque question about Craig's six kids and if sex is the key to church growth. Since starting the BC6 study, we've developed a soft spot for this intense former football player. Here's a good example of why, "Not only is sex one key to church growth, but to a lot of other good things in life." There it is, Christian boys talking dirty on the internet.

Clooney versus Warren

While George Clooney and Rick Warren didn't engage each other directly - maybe someday - they both offer arguments about Prop 8 that put the issue in some historical context. In a Hannity and Colmes interview yesterday, Rick said "..I just am opposed to redefining marriage. For 5,000 years that term, marriage, has represented a man and a woman..." Previously, Pastor Rick made a similar argument and then went on to say,"We should not let 2 percent of the population change the definition of marriage."

At HuffPo, dreamy George offers a different angle on history, "At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black."

BC sides with the celebrity movie star over the celebrity pastor on this one. According to Rick's own logic, our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters have been waiting for equal civil rights for 5000 years, we think they've been waiting long enough.

Enough with the Advertising

The American Humanist Association is spending 40K for a holiday ad campaign. Their slogan, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake." Clever but not surprisingly, it lacks any true understanding of why people believe in God. Asked about the timing, the spokesman said "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion." We think the humanists are just trying to pick a fight with the Keep Christ in Christmas people. BC can do without all of them. There are genuinely lonely people around, they are not going to feel any less lonely from reading a slogan on a bus or getting a card that says Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. Take the 40k and add it to whatever to wacky Christians spend on their campaigns and buy a bunch of presents for kids who don't have any or feed people or buy coats for the homeless people who sleep below the ads in the DC bus shelters. Whatever, just stop the bickering and the ads, for goodness sake.

1685 Jaggie Fox Way

That's where 300 God's Pantry Food Bank volunteers assembled 4000 Thanksgiving baskets for families in need. While Washington bails out big business, Fayette County Kentucky practices a different kind of economics. Everyone gives a little and somehow fewer people go to bed hungry. 4000 families fewer. Well done, God's Pantry.

Facebook Friends

The new Rob Bell Nooma video, Tomato, is available for free at Facebook until November 13th at noon. After that we assume you can buy it the regular way. Nooma videos aren't really our thing. We're more partial to Brother Bell sermons and books. Watching Rob wax eloquent about salsa at the beginning was fun for a minute but then we started wondering if he was actually standing in his own kitchen. The place seemed a little too perfectly styled to be real. The ultimate question is the half-empty wine rack on the top of the fridge. Who keeps red wine on top of the fridge? It's way too hot up there. Real kitchen or fake kitchen? That is the Tomato based question.

Driving for Jesus

Just when you thought there was nothing left to brand, someone in South Carolina (Florida is also working on this) decided it was time for sanctified license plates. The special plates feature a stained-glass window and a cross on one side with the slogan "I Believe" across the bottom. The move is not without controversy. The happy folks at Americans United for Separation of Church and State in DC filed a lawsuit. While we object on principle to the commoditization of faith and to the aesthetic of this product in particular, it's really none of our business if a bunch of people want to spend an extra $55 on their license plates. We just hope that everyone who buys them drives with the love of Jesus reflected in their every turn.

Brawling Monks

Rival monk factions at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the site of Jesus' death and resurrection) in Jerusalem brawled again. This week a few of the holy men were carted off to the big house after a fight that had something to do with a procession commemorating finding something that some people believe is the cross used to crucify Jesus and somehow this was connected to the question of who owns Jesus' tomb. We didn't really follow this one. The latest fight comes just weeks after international attention about the dangerous condition of the roof in the hotly contested Ethiopian chapel. It's more sad than ironic that centuries of hostility surround the stuff and the place where Jesus - the guy who spent a good bit of time talking about the danger of attachments to places and stuff - was crucified.

JESUS Food Sighting!!!!!!!!!!

We LOVE these stories, the ones where people claim to see the face of Jesus in their food. It bodes well for this week that we start today with news from Sydney about Jesus' appearance in a cappuccino. We think it looks more like Caspar but here's the photo to judge for yourself.

Protest News

Today's LA Times covers reaction to yesterday's protest from some of the Saddleback community. There is a notable lack of empathy, the love that Pastor Rick preached about apparently hasn't been embraced by the entirety of the congregation. This quote is an especially striking example of the void of understanding on this issue, ""When we saw them out there, we thought, 'Why are they not over this? Do they think they're going to change anything, or are they just stirring up trouble at our church?' "

Protesting Pastor Rick

Prepare for protest Saddleback Lake Forest. On your way to church tomorrow morning you will have the opportunity to see the faces of the people whose civil rights were just stolen by 5.6 million Californian voters. One of those votes belonged to Saddleback's own Pastor Rick who offered his celebrity status endorsement to the Yes on 8 Campaign just before the election, encouraging Saddlebacker's in an email and video blog to vote in favor of the discriminatory proposition. We hope the OC demonstration is a big one. We hope that it is a chance for the Christians who just finished 40 Days of Love to come face-to-face with the people whose main association with Christianity is hate. If you are interested in joining the protest, there's more information here.

Happy 90th Billy!

It's Billy Graham's 90th birthday. Before Rick 4-O, Captain Bill, or Jubilant Joel, Graham was the face of modern Christianity. Like the message or not, the man is to be respected. BC says Happy Birthday, celebrate 90 but don't think for a minute that you are finished. We're waiting anxiously for your new book. Who better to tackle questions of ailing bodies, age and faith than a man who has faced every other challenge in life with integrity and compassion.

Today's Youth

Christianity Today recently did a compilation of quotes from around the Christian world. Our favorite came from UPenn student, Jordan Regan, a leader of Campus Crusade for Christ's chapter, "Crusade is a dramatic word, while 'Penn Students for Christ' leaves us to decide what we are about." Hmm...

24.5 Million Dollar Sorted Listing

Looking for a 7000-seat auditorium on a 100-acre campus all done in soaring neo-Gothic style? We've got the perfect property for you. The Cathedral at Chapel Hill, a once thriving Atlanta megachurch is on the market. The church founder has been subject to allegations of sexual misconduct. Last year the current lead pastor found out he was the son of the founding pastor, not his nephew. All of this lends a certain dark irony to the church slogan, "the trendiest.. friendliest..most radically inclusive worship experience in Atlanta."

GOD BLESS PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

And this great country of ours. It's an historic day.

Starbucks + (RED) + You = Good!

Buying (RED) just got easier. The campaign to help save lives in Africa is hitting the corner Starbucks. We've been hoping for (RED) lattes since this interesting pro social partnership of commerce and charity started two years ago. Here is a great opportunity to exercise that generosity muscle. If we all do a little, together we can make a big difference. Granted Mother Theresa wasn't talking about $4 coffee drinks but the holy sister's words are spot on for the occasion, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." Buy (RED) this holiday season, we know times are tight for everyone, we also know that the poor always get hit first. Small things added together make for great love.

A 1000 Words

Michael Shaw at HuffPo makes some interesting observations about images of Obama. We hope for plenty of opportunities over the next four years to see how he is portrayed. While we can do without the overt and covert deification overtones, we admit a certain fondness for some of the stunning photographs produced during the campaign. This one from Time ranks among our favorites.

If you're one of the many people heading out to church this morning and you do this regularly on Sundays and you are white, chances are you are not voting for Obama. Politico reports on the Gallup numbers that show no movement in the white weekly church going crowd despite Obama's outreach to them. The reason? “It’s abortion,” Land replied when the Gallup data was read to him. “I think pro-choice people in this culture have absolutely no idea of the depth and intensity of the moral outrage of the people who are pro-life,” Land said. “They think that conservatives use it only as a wedge issue.” BC agrees with Land but we think it's time for people who consider themselves Christians on both sides of this incredibly personal, sensitive, heart wrenching issue to stop shouting. The only God gap is the void that we create when our moral outrage - left and right - becomes more important than loving the neighbor on the other side of it.

The Week Just Ended

A Paramus (that's in New Jersey and has a big mall) boy was sent home from school for dressing up like Jesus for Halloween. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Not sure if this covers Halloween costumes.

Jesus is the theme of one of the 43 cars racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Nothing says Jesus like a green and yellow dodge with a purple cross and Day-Glo orange letters coming at you at 190 MPH.

While not officially the domain of Big Christianity, news of the Christian Science Monitor going digital is worthy of a mention.

More from the international bus advertising tug-of-war. It's nice to see the Christians and the atheists doing their part to bolster the advertising industry.

BC Says No on 8!

A whole lot of holy showed up today to speak out against Prop 8. The interfaith event held at St John's Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles is a good reminder that there are plenty of Christians saying NO on Prop 8.

Mega Spoofing

This is the guy who was banned from God Tube then won some kind of Emmy. He recently did a spoof on Rob Bell called Sexy God. It wasn't funny enough to make the BC cut but this one is pretty good.

Quote of the Month

In a review of Michael Wittmer's new book, Don't Stop Believing, blogger Tad Delay speaks about Rob Bell in precise, generationally senstive, vernacular. "I’m not saying anything critical of Rob Bell disciples; I have a bit of a man-crush on the prophet of G-Rap myself." That's enough to make the prophet from G-Rap, the Moses of the second exodus, BC's Brother Bell blush. We applaud Delay for speaking boldly about the manly affections so many harbor.

Wax Jesus and Friends

Ft Worth Texas is getting a new museum and it's not just any old art hanging place, they are opening a Christian Arts Museum. The centerpiece of their 2400-square-foot space? A life-size wax figure display of Jesus and the apostles enjoying the Last Supper styled after the da Vinci masterpiece. Just as soon as they finish (they need $177K) we're on our way to Texas. A life-size wax Jesus with blond human hair and blue eyes? That's got to be on a top 1000 things to see before you die list.

All Talk

We thought all the TD Jakes appearances on Dr. Phil might be warm up for something bigger. Looks like the good pastor's audition reel nabbed him a show. Jakes is facing some pretty stiff first-run competition. The amazing Dr Oz (another Oprah product) is also hitting the small screen in 2009. It's a television trifecta - doctor, shrink and pastor - who needs personal relationships, we've got everything we need right here with the added bonus of a remote with a mute button.

Equal Time for Evangelical Sarah

While we find this Christianity Today editorial full of logical inconsistencies and we disagree with much of its content, it does offer another perspective on Sarah. In service to fairness, here is a view contrary to our own.

Greenwich Blues

The Washington Post offers an interesting view of the economic crisis through the eyes of Greenwich clergy. A trip through the hometown of hundreds of the financial elite reveals that stiff upper lip quality we've come to expect from these denizens of privilege. We wonder if the insulated world view that helped cause the financial crisis might still be operating. At the very least, we have a serious objection to comparing the current economic problems to Hiroshima. Perspective. Maybe the Greenwich clergy should start preaching about perspective.

Big Issues

First Joel Osteen, now Rick Warren. The defense of white space is the uber celebrity pastor cause du jour. Perhaps Rick will have better logical luck on this issue. Some are quite critical of his circular journey to his anti gay marriage position. It is a very loopy path.

Sabbath on Sarah

BC is taking the day off from talking about Sarah P. Instead, we'll leave the commentary to Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic.

Thumbs Up for Crusty Columnist

BC is lukewarm about the LA Times' Steve Lopez, we've had some historical tension. Today is one of those days when we forget the past and embrace the beauty and nuance of this occasional sourpuss. Lopez writes an excellent profile of Father Geoffrey Farrow, the Catholic priest from Fresno who recently announced he is gay and advocated defeat of Prop 8. Regardless of one's position on the issue, you've got to respect someone willing to risk everything for their convictions. There are moments when the courage of ordinary people both humble and inspire us. Thanks to Lopez for introducing us to one of those people today.

The Week Just Ended

Jim Wallis, the face of the new Christian left, talks about his "Personal 'Faith Priorities' for this Election" at HuffPo.

Not all Christians are opposed to Prop 8. The last line of the San Jose Mercury News story sums up the position of many Christians on the issue of same sex marriage.

On the lighter side Jubilant Joel sits down with the Free Press for a little Q&A on happiness and other stuff like that.

And if that doesn't satisfy your soul, to get a firsthand look at the happy man from Houston, presale passwords are available for the Jacksonville show.

According to the LA Times, Robert Schuller of Crystal Cathedral and Hour of Power fame fired his son. In what can be described as a confusing quote, Schuller said this in a statement read by the church president, "For this lack of shared vision and the jeopardy in which this is placing this entire ministry, it has become necessary for Robert and me to part ways." We wonder what Thanksgiving is going to be like at the Schuller's house.

No Love for Some

Pastor Rick ends his forty days of love sermon series with hate for gay marriage. There's a video on his blog if you want to hear how the guy who just spent six weeks teaching people how to make love the highest aim in their lives explains being against the ultimate expression of human love.

Green is the New Red

Guess those old Bibles with the words that everyone (or at least some people) thought Jesus said printed in red have been replaced. The next Bible hitting the already overflowing hallowed shelves is green. In addition to being printed with soy ink, the verses where God says things about taking care of the planet will literally be green. We love the planet here at BC. We use CFL's and drive a hybrid but is it us or is the custom Bible market getting a little out of control. Highlighters people, just go old school and save yourself the $20. Heck, that way you might read all the verses to get to the ones that you agree with. We realize that context is a bore but we must insist on it. Here at BC, there are no moral ambitions lofty enough to justify out of context Bible verses. That's the standard, no exceptions, not even for the causes wih which we are deeply sympathetic.

No Better Uses for Money?

It's the atheists versus the evangelicals in an advertising showdown on London buses. Looks like everyone has conceded the point that hearts and minds are won through pithy 10 word phrases (a subtle reference to one of the best West Wing episodes ever, "Game On").

Christians Only

As NBC finally gets its sitdown with Sarah - with her Presidential candidate turned chaperone on hand to keep Brian Williams from getting fresh - the rest of the country is talking about her shoes. Is this the RNC's new damage control tactic? Just as the party is facing substantive public scrutiny, the conversation is turned to the most superficial story of this election cycle. The economy is falling apart and we are at war in two countries, whether or not Sarah shops at Payless or Saks is a lot less important than what she does and does not say to Brian Williams (and what she already said to James Dobson). This is the candidate who has done three interviews, two of which exposed serious problems for the people of Alaska and introduced the rest of the country to the potential risk of a McCain-Palin administration. No one is shrieking about her weekly absence from Meet the Press anymore. We've all acclimated to the rules. Sarah doesn't do interviews with just anyone. You have to be one of the three national networks or you have to be a Christian.

If you haven't noticed, Sarah is doing more of these things that if you hit the mute button look like interviews. They're really infomercials brought to you by Pat Robertson and James Dobson (by the way, isn't Focus on the Family a 501c3?) The shiny red faux croc pumps are distracting us from two issues. First, the things that come out of her mouth. The Focus on the Family transcript is beyond comprehension. But even more important than what she says is the fact that a Vice Presidential candidate is running an intentional campaign to exclude or include people based on religion. It's not as if she's accessible to everyone and spending her time with the base. She's only engaging people who agree with her (save a few hours with the networks).

What is one to do when a candidate who flatly refuses to offer her views on anything beyond a few topics, who rebuffs contact with people who are meant to ask questions and on the few occasions she must participate, makes up her own rules? What are we to do with an elected official who does not believe in communicating through the mainstream media? Who is counting on God to get the message out (almost a verbatim quote from the Dobson interview)? The free press is foundational in a democracy. For good or bad, the mainstream media is as important to America as voting. All politicians complain about the "filter" but are we really willing to accept this kind of threat to the essential value of a democratic nation?

If Sarah Palin wanted to be Vice President of Focus on the Family or the National Association of Evangelicals, we would accept and respect her choices. In those jobs, you get to handpick your constituents, you decide who you talk to and when, issues of accountability and transparency are private. While ink is spilled by the barrel on questions of wardrobe and the most thoughtful political minds of our country are reduced to conversations that sound like a Sex in the City episode, we can't help but suggest that the media has lost the plot. The American people are being defrauded, the bill for this is going to be a whole lot higher than 150K in fancy clothing and sparkly shoes.

2008 Pastor Rick Stocking Stuffer

From the USA Today we learn that Rick 4-O Warren is going to reintroduce Americans to the true meaning of Christmas. According to the book's publisher, for a mere $17.99 investment, you too can be reminded that "..Christmas is for celebrating the birth of Christ, not consumerism." Coincidentally 1.8 million copies will be on sale November 4th. Just in time for holiday shopping.

Powell v. Dobson

BC can't decide if we agree with Daily Beast writer Max Blumenthal's argument that the blood feud between James Dobson and Colin Powell factored into Powell's endorsement of Obama. We have trouble believing that the most loyal man in America (that's one of those backhanded compliments) broke ranks with his party over the playground bully (not any form of compliment). That said, Blumenthal's masterful account of the Dobson intimidation campaign is fascinating. Apparently it's Focus on the Fear when you dare to disagree with Dr. Dobson.

Another Horrifying Video, This One Starring Sarah



Be warned, if you watch the whole thing, it's five minutes and eight seconds of your life you will never get back. We watched it and then we watched it again to be sure it wasn't a Tina Fey parody. In this promotional video, we mean, interview with the Christian Broadcast Network - you know, the world according to Pat Robertson - Sarah Palin talks about Obama's connection to Ayers, abortion, gay marriage and her feelings. She defends her attacks on Obama but says that if anyone in the crowd suggested hurting him, she'd call a time out and tell them to stop. And if you weren't dazed and confused yet, SarPa hits the ear drum shattering, glass cracking high notes with this gem, "...faith and God in general has been mocked through this entire campaign and that breaks my heart."

We do our fair share of mocking here at BC so we are going to take this occasion to be very clear. We are not mocking religion. We are not mocking God. We are mocking you, Sarah Palin. Just you. We are mocking you for trying to reduce God to merit badge size, to campaign slogan length, to a tiny idol on the altar of partisan politics. SarPa goes on to say "people would misconstrue and spin anything that has to do with my faith or anybody else's and turn it into something to be mocked. That's very sad. I don't think there's anything I can do about it..." Well, let us help you out. First, no more Jeremiah Wright references, subtle or otherwise. Second, stop appropriating God for your campaign purposes or stop complaining that people criticize you for it. You were selected to secure the evangelical base of the party. Your own people acknowledge that. You are using your religion, your personal faith as a qualification for office. You openly talk in eschatalogical cliches and you constantly use Christian-ese. You only speak to certain constituencies and only answer certain questions yet you desire to govern the whole country. You refuse to engage with the world yet you want to be one of the people who leads it. And after all that you have the audacity to resent that other people have something to say about it. We don't know what comes after hypocrite, delusional? Whatever it is, look behind you, Sarah, you crossed that line a while ago. But that's just one more voice from the left, the "liberal blogosphere" taking a cheap shot at the "new face of feminism."

Another Day, Another Bell

Today we feature the Neue Podcast of Cameron Stang's interview with Rob Bell. BC has not yet listened to it but this teaser has us on the edge of our seats intrigued. "Bell is disarming and vulnerable in the conversation, refreshing for a minister of Bell’s stature. From a ministry perspective, the podcast is a rare glimpse behind the thoughts and feelings of a national spiritual leader." Okay then, a vulnerable and disarming spiritual leader. More evidence to support our Moses of the New Exodus supposition.