Jonathan Blundell

Quote for the day

“Religiously, the majority of Americaâ€™s young are postmodern, which means they do faith like jazz: informal, eclectic, and often without theme. They have largely rejected organized religion in favor of a religious pastiche that works for them. They think nothing of hammering together a personal faith from widely differing religious traditions, and many acquire their theology the same way they catch colds: through casual contact with strangers. Thus, when Obama speaks of questioning certain tenets of his Christian faith or the importance of doubt in religion or his respect for non-Christian religions, the majority of the young instantly relate and welcome his nontraditional faith as a basis for hisâ€”and theirâ€”left-leaning politics.”
– Stephen Mansfield
“The Faith of Barack Obama”

I hear there’s a FREE preview you can download from a particular podcast’s site. Might be worth checking out.

The drive in with NPR

Well I had to drive to work today due to meetings in Mesquite later today.

And I have to say, despite the annoyance that sometimes comes with having to wait on a DART bus or sitting next to someone who’s a heavy smoker — I’d rather do that any day than have to drive and sit in traffic day in and day out.

However driving to work does give me a better opportunity to catch up on the day’s news with NPR.

Some interesting stuff today that you may or may not know…

If you have an accident in the City of Dallas and are not a city resident, you’ll be charged $600 if you request police or fire assistance.
12 people were killed in Sherman, Texas this morning when their bus (carrying them to a mission project) likely blew a tire and ran off an overpass.
Folks in Fort Worth aren’t happy and are protesting the continued drilling of gas wells within their city.
Texas Gov. ~~McDreamy~~ Perry requested that the EPA waive their requirements to add ethanol to gasoline within the state. The EPA told Perry to dream on.
Despite a jury saying a former driver for bin Laden would only have to serve out 5 more months at Guantanamo – the Pentagon tells everyone, “So what? We’re the US Government, we can hold him as long as we like.”
Ammon Shea likes reading — a lot. So he decided to read the nearly 22,000 pages in the Oxford English Dictionary. Among some of his favorite words :: bedinner; bemissionary; gymnologize; twi-thought; and vocabularian.
The US Government says they have found “without a doubt” the Anthrax killer from 2001. Apparently for the US Government, “without a doubt” can be based primarily on “circumstantial evidence.” Sadly, their suspect committed suicide last week – meaning there will never be a trial to prove or disprove the government’s statements given at a press conference last week.
Oh and the Olympics have started in China.

So there you have it, all the news that matters to you/me.

Top emergent books

Tall Skinny Kiwi shared his top 5 emergent books for American readers back in June on his blog (just saw the post :-().

Here’s his top 5 (plus a few others) ::
1. Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures, by Ryan Bolger and Eddie Gibbs.
2. The New Conspirators, Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time, by Tom Sine.
3. The Emerging Church, by Dan Kimball.
4. The Church on the Other Side, by Brian McLaren.

Runners-up for 5th:
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier, by Tony Jones.

Revolution, by George Barna.
The Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claibourne.
The Great Emergence, by Phyllis Tickle.
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community.
Also: Rising From the Ashes: Rethinking Church, by Becky Garrison.

Worth a mention: It might be almost 40 years old but “The Emerging Church” by Bruce Larson and Ralph Osborne (1970).

—

To be honest, as someone who was called an “emergent sympathizer” today I haven’t read any of these books — yet. I actually ordered two of them earlier today and hope to read them soon – that is if a couple others I’m expecting don’t reach my mail box first.

The books I’ve read and recommend as part of the “emergent movement” and or just faith in general are (in no particular order):

Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren. Probably one of the first “real emergent” books I read and one that had a great impact on my thinking and understanding.
Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne. Another great book that talks more about the history of kings, empires and the role of God-followers along the way.
A Christianity Worth Believing by Doug Pagitt. This book has left me asking a lot of questions. It’s not one I’ve recommended to a lot of people just for that reason but I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
A Peculiar People by Rodney Clapp. I don’t know that Rodney Clapp considers himself emergent by any means but his ideas really came to life after reading many of these other books before hand.

btw – if Mr. Tall Skinny Kiwi happens upon this blog post – we’d love to have you join us for an episode of the something beautiful podcast. tell us when and we’ll take care of the rest. 🙂

related ::
tall skinny kiwi ::emerging church: top 5 books for american reporters
something beautiful podcast

Justin Farmer’s out Brad Hawkins is in… for now

As reported by Uncle Barky (as well as here) earlier this year, Justin Farmer’s last day with WFAA, Channel 8’s Daybreak was Friday, August 1. His contract officially ended August 5th.

Farmer made the announcement back in January (the same day morning co-host Cynthia Izaguirre joined the WFAA team) that he would be heading back to Atlanta to work for WSB.
Uncle Barky also reports that Brad Hawkins will be given the the rest of this year to win the job permanently.

It appears there was no mention of the switch on the air. Just a new face next to Cynthia Izaguirre on Monday morning (even though Hawkins has been filling in for Farmer throughout the year).
Hawkins will join Izaguirre, Alexa Conomos and Greg Fields weekday mornings from 5 – 7 a.m.

Folks seem to have varying opinions on the switch and move (see the comments on my original post). Amazing to see how dependent/accustomed we become to our favorite news anchors.

At least 370 parties scheduled for party conventions

From the Sunlight Foundation:

At least 370 Parties Scheduled for the Democratic and Republican Parties
Despite New Ethics Law, Lawmakers & Lobbyists Party On

WASHINGTON, DC — As part of its about-to-be-launched Party Time project, the Sunlight Foundation has obtained lists of 370 parties and events scheduled for the Democratic and Republican conventions, sponsored by the likes of Bank of America, the Distilled Spirits Council, Eli Lilly, AT&T, and Anheuser Busch.

Compiled by a top Washington lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, the lists show how partying will continue at the conventions despite the new ethics law, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HOGLA), which prohibits lobbyists from throwing parties honoring specific
lawmakers. The DNC list is available at http://tinyurl.com/6pm4lo and the RNC list is online at http://tinyurl.com/6ew8rf.
Continue reading At least 370 parties scheduled for party conventions

Remembering Hiroshima — 63 years later

From e-mail:

I invite you to join Faithful Security in prayers of remembrance marking the 63rd anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, today, and Nagasaki, on Saturday.

If your community holds a prayer vigil or education session or other activity, send a picture and/or a short description – I’ll post them on our website and they can provide ideas for others next year. One inspiring story I read recently was “Novenas to disarm the world” about Ms. Fatima Portugal and St. Charles Borromeo Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

As I’ve been reflecting on the atomic bombings, a news story on sick nuclear weapons workers caught my attention in late July. While thinking about the only times nuclear weapons have been used in war and the devastating long-term health consequences for those who managed to survive initially, this news story on U.S. workers left me shaking my head.

The Rocky Mountain Times special report draws attention to what is a matter of justice: fair care and compensation for impacted workers, some of whom were not alerted to the dangers even when the federal government knew of increased risks of health problems. For example, there is a story in the report on Navajo uranium miners: “Ten thousand Navajo men mined uranium for America’s atomic bombs. The U.S. government knew early on that uranium could cause lung damage. But instead of warning the Navajo miners, the government decided to study what happened to them.”

On this anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, may your remembrances and reflections renew your commitment to engage our government with a clear message: Never again.

T.C. Morrow, Communications Officer

Anyone doing anything this week to remember those killed 63 years ago – along with those left to dealt with the aftermath? I’d love to hear what yall are doing?

Author: Jonathan Blundell

Quote for the day

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The drive in with NPR

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Top emergent books

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Justin Farmer’s out Brad Hawkins is in… for now

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At least 370 parties scheduled for party conventions

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Remembering Hiroshima — 63 years later

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