Christianity Today - Radical Faith

The Feb issue of Christianity Today hit the shelves last week. I wrote a story on My Search for Radical Faith that landed on page 36. If you took the time to read it, I'd love to hear from you. If so, what made the biggest impact on you?

Of all the articles I've written, the process behind writing this one effected me the most - so far anyway. I had originally written this at the request of Relevant Magazine. But after I submitted the first draft to the editorial staff, without much explanation, they asked me to change the direction. But that direction - and the surprise ending - was something I could never change because it had so deeply effected me.

In a twist, a fellow Judson University alum, Ed Gilbreath at Urban Ministries in Chicago, referred the story to a CT editor who really loved it.

Here is a link to the web version. I'd say "enjoy the read", but if you genuinely read the story, joy is probably not the first emotion that you'll have. So... umm... more peace on you then.

Catching a Monster

I'm not much of a fisherman, unless you count hooking into seagulls and seaweed as requiring skill. But this got my attention.

These guys are friends of a friend. They were fishing the Willamette River here in Oregon a few weeks ago and caught this 1000 pound Sturgeon.

Lawyer Jokes become Banker Jokes

After my own battles with Countrywide Mortgage Services (which I will begin blogging about separately), and the realization that banks have received billions of dollars without lending it back to struggling consumers, I propose a new rule to the committee that manages global joke telling. Here is my suggested language:

Rule 5150: From this point forward, herewith and thereforeto, we, the committee for the ethical treatment of jokes and their telling, do hereby determine that "lawyers" are no longer to be used to represent the lowest degree of human behavior within jokes and their telling.

Henceforth, "bankers" and/or "mortgage company executives" will be used in their place. Bankers and Mortgage Company Executives (aka MCE's) may be treated as mutually low and interchangeable in context.

Ok, get the word out there and have fun telling "banker jokes".

My Christianity Today Story about Radical Faith

I originally wrote this article (deleted at the request of CT editor) for Relevant Magazine. They asked for it. But when they read my final draft (Again, you'll have to read it when it comes out in CT), the managing editor of Relevant would not run it unless I agreed to significant changes. I love Relevant Mag and, to be honest, it was not clear to me what I was supposed to change exactly. But I felt it was important to leave the story as is. So I sent it that way to Christianity Today.

Actually, Ed Gilbreath made the introduction for me as he'd been an editor there for years and we went to the same college.

So, here is my four page story that comes out in the February issue. (Again, deleted because the editor at CT said I "scooped the magazine" which was really fun to hear. After I realized what the actually meant, I felt like a reporter for the Daily Planet) Should be on the shelves in a couple weeks. I look forward to hearing your feedback so please read through it and let me know what you think.

Tow Surfing a Sick Reef Break in Oregon

Click here to see more photos of a ridiculous reef break near our home in Oregon.

Recently, a local surf buddy got some pros to come up and tow-surf it. The pics came out in Surfer Magazine this month.

You might want to sit down while viewing, afterward, you'll want to go to confession.

Enjoy!

The Immorality of Debt

On the day after Congress rejected a bailout for the automakers, I am wondering how the next few years will play out in North America. I'm glad they said "no"; we are all taking our medicine now. Let 'em fail... but millions and millions will be out of work soon.

So, I'm convinced now that things will get very bad for many people. The reason? Because we have all been misled about the morality of money.

• Banks and hedge funds playing the "leverage game", finding new ways to keep up the facade while selling marginal loans to other companies and countries, are immoral.
• Banking giants who charge high interest rates to high risk customers are doing something that is immoral.
• Mortgage lenders who promised money to people who could not pay when the rates adjusted were immoral.
• Families who spend more money on credit card debt than widows, orphans, and even their own children, are immoral (My own included).
  
• Companies that worked their people into the ground for minimum wage while they paid their executives outrageous salaries are immoral
• Churches that went into massive debt to purchase large buildings and fancy sound systems instead of caring for more poor and needy... are the most immoral. They had a book that warned them. They should have known better.

The Atheist Sign Mystery in Olympia

There are just so many things wrong with this entire story. Olympia, Washington has a Christmas display that includes not only a Nativity scene... but now a large sign promoting Atheism. Well, actually the sign is now missing because some radical, fundamentalist, anti-atheism strongman probably stole it! It weighed 50lbs so the church lady did not do it.

Here is a short list of problems to consider:

1. Shouldn't the real Christians in Washington State help the Atheists find the sign or setup a new one? I mean, that is what Jesus would do, right? Honestly now.. I'm not kidding. Can you really imagine Jesus sneaking up the Capitol lawn at 3am to steal a sign that ruins His image? Ridiculous. But I could see him walking with the atheists, talking with the atheists, until they find the sign. But by then they would'nt want to put up the sign anymore.
2. Atheism, by definition, is the absence of religion. So they really cannot claim things like equal access, equal time, or freedom of religion. If I were an atheist, this little stunt would make no sense to me.
   
3. Who really cares about a stupid sign that promotes an anti-god world view? According to the story, 7% of Washingtonians believe there is no God. Since when did anyone in the US care about what 7% of the people thought?
4. What if the radio station was somehow in on this? As a longtime marketer, I can't think of a better ratings boost than "Hey, what do ya know... someone just dropped that Atheism sign off at our front door... weird!" Yeah right!'
5. Are the state police really going to investigate this? I'd bet money that if you got your car broken into in Olympia, they wouldn't have the police resources to take fingerprints and find the bad guy. They just tell you to call your insurance agent. Why can't they say the same thing to the Atheists?
   

That's it for now. Enjoy the story.