Big Christianity

Bad Sports in Any Religion

2009-01-27T04:16:00.000-08:00

It only took a week and some national attention for the Dallas Covenant School to apologize for running up a 100-0 score against Dallas Academy. It's never too late to apologize, we're just wondering what the adult coaches were thinking during the game. The faces of dejected teen girls didn't tip them off that maybe the game was a little unfair. Our advice is the coaches from Covenant ought to take a lesson from the Grapevine Faith football coach.

Pop Culture Pope

2009-01-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

Katie Couric has one so does President Obama and now Pope Benedict joins the world of homemade video with his own YouTube channel. Let the wackiness commence.

Listen to This

2009-01-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

At some point we'll have to talk about all the prayers and praying that happened around the inauguration this week. For now, here's a little something from Coach Craig's Lifechurch.tv blog, Swerve. Listen to the posted voicemail then spin through the 60+ comments. The range is interesting. Some of the comments are edgy, perhaps even mean. The thing that bothered us the most was how quickly people resorted to name calling-silly, petty, grumpy, judgmental,lonely, and old, A few people said, the caller needs Jesus. Yes because apparently knowing Jesus makes you a whole lot less petty, grumpy, silly, and judgmental. Right?

Providence Trumps Politics

2009-01-22T06:08:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting take on Obama's election from Sandy Banks at the LA Times. While the column's okay (did the Times fire all the copy editors?), the photo editor was on point. For that reason alone, we shamelessly borrowed this stunning Francine Orr image. Now that's a photograph!

Multiplied Impact

2009-01-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

While Rick 4.O Warren prays for the new president, our man in Chicago, Captain Bill Hybels is doing some inaugurating of his own. The Willow Creek leader rolled out a new strategic vision for his over 20K congregants this weekend. Not surprising, a more radical agenda of evangelism is at the top of the plan. Hybels has been consistently asserting the need for "Creekers" to reengage their evangelical responsibilities over the past few months. Looks like he's gone as far as quantifying the goal: filling 9000 open seats at the various Creek sites. We'll be watching Captain Bill and team. No matter what they do, it's always really interesting.

What's a "New" Evangelical?

2009-01-21T04:21:00.000-08:00

We're not sure what it means to be a "new evangelical." It's one of those terms that seems to have more significance to the media than it does spiritually or theologically. This story by Joe Garofoli in the SF Chronicle doesn't do much to clarify the issue. A note to Rob Boston of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State about describing Rick Warren as "Jerry Falwell in a Hawaiian shirt." Rick gave up wearing Hawaiian shirts a year ago. Time to update your stereotype, buddy.

Thank You Mr President

2009-01-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

If for some reason (we can't conceive of one) you missed President Obama's speech go watch it. Now. Hope and virtue, indeed.

It's a Beautiful Day!

2009-01-20T04:43:00.000-08:00

"We have a stake in one another … what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and ... if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done for the people with whom we share this Earth."

It's an historic day. We urge everyone participate, to engage in a civic relationship, to believe in the power of community. It's Inauguration Day, don't let it get away!

Mr. Stanley Goes to Washington

2009-01-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

BC6 Sermon Project's Andy "Zippy" Stanley is delivering a prayer for government leaders today at the National Prayer Service. The service theme is "tolerance, unity and understanding." We love Andy and cheer his selection. That means two of our six pastors are involved in the inaugural festivities. And no one is protesting one of them. Not bad.

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr

2009-01-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, here are a few of quotes that speak to us. May this historic week be marked by love, altruism and care. Peace and grace to you

Warm Fuzzy to Start the Week

2009-01-19T04:44:00.000-08:00

We heard this story from Rick Reilly's Sports Illustrated column as part of a great sermon on Sunday. It made us cry, twice. Read it for some much needed heart warming.

The Other Man on Mars Hill

2009-01-18T21:03:00.001-08:00

We're way behind on posting this New York Times Magazine piece. Our underlying ambivalence about he-man macho minister Mark Driscoll is to blame for the delay. While we cringed more than once reading it, it's well-written and worth passing on. In addition to our serious theological objections to Driscoll's extreme (some argue misunderstood) fire and brimstone Calvinism. We were reminded how much we miss the good old fashioned boundaries that kept discussions about anal sex safely outside of the church sanctuary. Call us mossy but some things just don't belong on the holy jumbotron.

Schools, Bibles, Dogs and Churches

2009-01-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Obama's have had plenty of decisions to make these past few weeks. They picked Sidwell for the girls and the Lincoln Bible for the swearing in. Rumor is it's down to either a Labradoodle or a Portugese Water something for the puppy but no news on the church. Today the family went to 19th Street Baptist but religious adviser (is this a new position in the White House?? We'll have to explore)Josh DuBois said the family "will choose a church home at a time that is best for their family." Finding a church is harder than finding a new school and a puppy? We're not sure what that says about the American church but we're pretty sure it says something.

PR Machine

2009-01-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we heard from Dan Gilgoff at US News and World Reports that Rick 4.O Warren wasn't giving any interviews before the inauguration. We were thrilled. It seemed like a wise move from a leader who recognized the media frenzy had spun out of control. Gilgoff went further saying the decision, "is basically a vow to stay off the news for the next week to let Obama have his moment. Warren knows that anything he says about the invocation could be fodder for headlines, so he's keeping his head down. Pretty classy." Yes, indeed, staying out of the news would have been pretty classy. Too bad the PR machine couldn't abide. Warren's media moratorium seems only to apply to the interactive kind since he issued a statement praising Obama for including Gene Robinson in the inaugural festivities. Warren says "I applaud his desire to be the president of every citizen." A stark contrast to the statements made by Robinson when Warren was chosen. While we are happy to see a positive statement from Warren, we're a little cynical here at BC. Somehow it doesn't feel like a warm fuzzy so much as a calculated cold prickly that was hashed out by PR people looking to regain the moral/civil high ground after the whole Beliefnet debacle. Maybe that's unfair but all of these holy men have been playing games through, with and by the media. We just can't help but question these things. We are equally critical of Robinson for his ridiculous NYT interview about Warren's selection. BC has its own ideas for how to tone down the tension. Remember when you were in second grade and the class got out of control? The teacher would flip the lights off and say "heads on desks!" We think ALL the celebrities of God should take a cue from our second grade teacher, Ms Traventi. HEADS ON DESKS, NO MORE TALKING.

Yes Jesus Loves Me

2009-01-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

Jesus confirmed our Facebook friend request! It seems like he was catching up since we were part of a group of 34. He only has 101 friends which was a tad shocking since Rob Bell has more than 18K "fans" and our friend, the cinematic theologian, Craig Detweiler has almost 2000 friends. We think it's because Jesus is new to FB. For the record, we were very relieved when that friend confirmation came through. It's okay to be snubbed on FB by the popular kids from high school but the son of God, that's a whole different deal.

FB Jesus

2009-01-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

FB is Facebook for the uninitiated. It's where you go to make peace with all the people you went to high school with 20 years ago. We love it. So you can imagine our overwhelming joy when we learned that Jesus of Nazareth has a FB page. We didn't believe it either but it turns out to be true. Sadly despite our 30 year relationship, Jesus did not seek us out. We're waiting to see if he will confirm our friend request. If he doesn't, we're going to have to rethink a lot of things.

Rick Explains and We Still Don't Get It

2009-01-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

You know when you read something someone said and then you read the explanation of why they said what they said and the two just don't add up? That's the feeling we got when we read Rick Warren's latest comments on his "private" outreach to the Episcopal breakaway in the OC. From Rick's statement, "So, as standard procedure, anytime an evangelical congregation loses its place to meet, we offer them space, out of gratitude, to the churches that helped us before we got our own building. It’s just one of many quiet ways we support the Body of Christ behind the scenes. Without any press, we’ve helped 5 other denominations plant new churches in the Saddleback Valley. We never view other congregations as competition, but as team members in the Great Commission. Helping other congregations is consistent with my calling, and 30 year track record, of serving, encouraging, and championing other pastors." Great, except these guys didn't lose their space. They aren't a new church plant. They are part of a denomination that is trying to find its way thorough some important, sensitive and incredibly complicated questions. This parish chose to break relationship. They chose to leave instead of to live in the tension that we must sometimes endure to grow. They quit giving up faith that reconciliation is possible. And they did that with lots of people cheering them on including any number of voices in the evangelical world. When did we all forget that God and God's love is bigger than even our most divisive issues and when did it become okay to celebrate and encourage breaking relationship? Rick ends by suggesting that since it was a private email exchange, others to whom it was not addressed (code for bloggers who need to get a life?) read an intent into it that was not there. Intended or not, Warren's comments about the Episcopal Church and his actions to support a breakaway congregation both serve to undermine the already fractured relationship. We wonder what purpose does that serve. For a pastor and a leader who speaks so eloquently about love and civility, can't he find a more a loving and pastoral role to play?

Tithing Through the Church

2009-01-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

There is a church in the suburbs of Chicago whose mission is to give 100% of the money it collects away. No, that's not a typo, we didn't add an extra zero on the familiar 10% oft associated with money and Christians. The Waterfront Community Church is trying out a new economic model. They have eight sponsors who cover the shoe-string admin expenses like rent and a pastor's salary. All the money they collect on Sunday goes right out the door. We were really intrigued by some of the methods they're trying like this one, "At a recent Sunday service, the Rev. Semradek did a "reverse offering," passing out bags each with $5, $10, $20 or $50 bills. Congregants were instructed to choose how the money could be used in their community. The Rev. Semradek reminded congregants that there would come a day when they would stand in judgment before God." Okay, the scary, judging God image doesn't inspire, so much as it threatens, generosity but it's still interesting to see a church interpret its mission this way.

Exploiting or Exploited?

2009-01-13T04:43:00.000-08:00

We are referring to the latest Ted Haggard/Alexandra Pelosi media tour. HBO paid Pelosi to make a documentary about the former pastor and now the Haggards are out promoting it. The whole meth using gay prostitute scandal was detailed enough for us the first time around. We don't need another hour and a half of "The Trials of Ted Haggard." Just the image of Haggard and his wife (with two of their grown kids watching) taking questions about their marriage makes us a little queasy. The two year media gag imposed as part of Haggard's settlement with his former church isn't long enough.

Oh Rick

2009-01-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

In September we wrote this post about Rick Warren offering space to break away Episcopal churches. At the time, we couldn't find a reliable source to confirm that Warren actually made the offer. Looks like it is true. Warren, the man who while making an argument against rudeness in society said that bloggers need to "get a life" and who defines restoring civility to civilization as one of his life goals has an interesting way of practicing his preaching. Painting large groups of people (all bloggers, the entirety of the Episcopal Church) with a big, negative brush is neither polite nor is it particularly civil. BC wants to be very clear here. We're not anti-Rick. We don't always agree with him and we think his sermons are really long but he's a brother. We're all for the civility Rick proclaims, we just think it's got to come with a little more humility, respect and love. We stand by our initial post, we think staying in relationship even an uncomfortable relationship is the unambiguous commandment that Jesus gave. The more other denominations meddle, the greater the wedge and the less likely the communion will heal in our lifetimes.

The Other Man on Mars Hill

2009-01-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

From the Pulpit

2009-01-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

The communications savvy folks at All Saints Pasadena post clips from some sermons on YouTube. We're not sure how long the whole sermon was or even what the sermon was about (it was baptism Sunday most other places, Mark 1) but here's a little taste of the Reverend Ed Bacon addressing the Oprah interview.

Breaking News...Today on Oprah

2009-01-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

OPRAH UPDATE..

Ed Bacon unleashed a wave of healing across the country (and beyond). At least that is how he characterized the reactions to his comment on Oprah last week. We're all for healing. We're also really interested in another "H" word, humility...

No joke. This is really a post about what's happening today on the Oprah Winfrey show. Last week was all about "Your Best Life" and it included something called Spirituality 101. A brief confession, we didn't post on this because we just couldn't bear to watch or read any of it. There was something cringe inducing about the presentation of spirituality as a means of achieving one's best life. We did hear that the Reverend Ed Bacon from All Saints Pasadena said that being "gay is a gift from God." We even got to witness Oprah as she repeated this very awkwardly heading into a commercial break. It seems as if lots of people are interested in hearing Ed elaborate so back to Oprah he goes. We may or may not be tuning in, there is almost nothing more cringe inducing than watching a pastor turn into a celebrity on Oprah's couch. Here's the clip that started it all.

Another Inaugural Invocation

2009-01-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

Bishop Gene Robinson is going to get his chance at inaugural prayers. The openly gay Episcopalian will kickoff the three day festivities by offering the opening invocation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. Robinson was a very vocal critic of the Rick Warren selection. Mincing no words in New York Times, “I’m all for Rick Warren being at the table,” Bishop Robinson said, “but we’re not talking about a discussion, we’re talking about putting someone up front and center at what will be the most watched inauguration in history, and asking his blessing on the nation. And the God that he’s praying to is not the God that I know.”

Robinson didn't mention Warren directly today, in an email he said "I am writing to tell you that President-Elect Obama and the Inaugural Committee have invited me to give the invocation at the opening event of the Inaugural Week activities, “We are One,” to be held at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, January 18, at 2:00 pm. It will be an enormous honor to offer prayers for the country and the new president, standing on the holy ground where the “I have a dream speech” was delivered by Dr. King, surrounded by the inspiring and reconciling words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It is also an indication of the new president’s commitment to being the President of ALL the people. I am humbled and overjoyed at this invitation, and it will be my great honor to be there representing the Episcopal Church, the people of New Hampshire, and all of us in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community."

No word on whether Robinson and Warren are praying to the same God yet.

Joe the Plumber/War Correspondent

2009-01-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Burger at 1600

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Joe the Plumber is a going to Gaza. Why? We have no idea. We think it's a cheap publicity stunt by the people at Pajamas tv. We learned about it from the hard hitting stylings of Jon Stewart. As always Stewart got right to the heart of the Joe the Plmber interview. When asked about protection in the war zone, Joe replied "Being a Christian I'm pretty well protected by God." Hmmm...

Drive thru Spirituality

2009-01-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

Need a quick pick me up? A little God in soundbite sized morsels? Cramming your devotion to the Almighty between the windows at the drive thru? Sadly, there is someone happy to sell the quick fix in the form of titles like the "5 minute Theologian: Maximum Truth in Minimum Time" or "The One-Minute Bible, Day by Day." Warning to the perpetually overwrought and underwater, this peace that passes all understanding thing doesn't really work in one and five minute increments.

Heck No We Won't Go

2009-01-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

This story from today's NYT about vigilant Catholics refusing to leave their parish made us smile. There's nothing like a good old fashioned protest/massive sleepover. Our favorite moment, "It changed the locks at St. Frances in October 2004 but unwittingly left a fire door open, an error the parishioners call a miracle." One man's mistake, another man's manna.

No Win Victory

2009-01-05T14:32:00.000-08:00

The seemingly endless, messy, break away of a small number of churches from the larger Episcopal Church took a big hit today. While the people are free to leave, they can't take any stuff with them. In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court says the assets stay. Like most divorces, this thing is just ugly.

The Creche Crime Wave of 2008

2009-01-04T03:17:00.000-08:00

The weeks leading up to Christmas were replete with news stories about Baby Jesus' stolen from nativity displays from New York to Kentucky. We purposefully shunned the story, sensing that everyone had already had their fill of stolen Jesus jokes. We thought all the humor had been wrung from the issue until we came across this piece from the UK Guardian, here's a nice wrap up on the creche crime wave of 2008.

Another Jesus Food Sighting

2009-01-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

The Lord and Savior has been spotted in a piece of pita bread. The shameless owner of said pita is selling the holy toast at TradeMe if you're interested. We think it looks more like Hugh Laurie than Jesus.

Hotels.god

2009-01-03T05:13:00.000-08:00

Looking for a spiritual retreat? A little religious getaway? Myrtle Beach, a hot spot for boozing college kids on Spring Break, is putting up a new hotel. The proposed 20-story edifice is Christian themed. That's right, you can book yourself a stay in King Solomon's Temple but don't expect to sip champagne in your oversized hot tub, there's a strict ban on smoking and drinking, no word on fornicating.

Frivolous Flyers

2009-01-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

The approval of a helipad at a megachurch in the Seattle area seemed very wrong to us. At first we decided to suspend judgment, thinking perhaps the church is engaged in Harrison Ford like rescue missions around Mount Rainer. Sadly, instead it was explained this way, "The church will use the helistop only on major religious holidays and for special guest speakers, said Hulsmann, owner of Abbey Road Group Land Development Services. Another case would be a special event, such as Wendy Treat’s birthday, so she could be at both campuses for services, Hulsmann said." Yes, that's the American church putting those tithes to God's work.

Pastor Facebook

2009-01-02T04:53:00.000-08:00

We know 2009 is going to be good. We're merely hours into it and we just got word that our own Jubilant Joel Osteen has a new Facebook page. We're fan #94, it's too bad he's a FB celeb and only takes fans. It'd be much cooler if we were FB friend 94. The arrival of Joel on the social networking scene made us wonder about the other BC Sermon Project Pastors. No profiles for Coach Craig, Captain Bill or Zippy Stanley. Rick 4.O Warren has a showy 2371 fans (we made it 2372). But the king of the FB pastors is none other than Brother Bell, the Moses of Michigan with a stunning 18,164 total devotees.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T22:11:00.000-08:00

We pray that in 2009 we will know more grace, embody more kindness and experience more love. Happy New Year.

A More Depressing List

2008-12-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-31T09:42:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-29T16:27:00.000-08:00

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"

2008-12-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-26T04:05:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-16T05:15:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-30T10:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-30T10:24:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-24T20:02:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-11-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-18T10:10:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-16T05:44:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-14T20:11:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-14T19:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-11-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T07:07:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-12T15:19:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

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!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

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

Starbucks + (RED) + You = Good!

2008-11-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-03T05:14:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-11-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-11-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-26T19:20:00.001-07:00

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