by Ben Sternke on February 7, 2010
The Right Kind of People
By Edwin Markham
Gone the city, gone the day,
Yet still the story and the meaning stay:
Once where a prophet in the palm shade based,
A traveler chanced at noon to rest his mules.
“What sort of people may they be,” he asked,
“in this proud city on the plains o’erspread?”
“Well, friend, what sort of people whence you came?”
“What sort?” the packman scowled; “why, knaves and fools!”
“You’ll find the people here the same,” the wise man said.
Another stranger in the dusk drew near,
And pausing, cried, “What sort of people here
in your bright city where yon towers arise?”
“Well, friend, what sort of people whence you came?”
“What sort?” the pilgrim smiled, “Good, true, and wise.”
“You’ll find the people here the same,” the wise man said.
(found here)
by Ben Sternke on February 5, 2010
Lamebook is a blog (found here) featuring funny Facebook posts. The one below is hilarious for a lot of reasons.
I can imagine 14-year-old Jesus using this as an excuse. “Yeah, I punched the janitor again, but hey, I work in mysterious ways! It’s all for your own good!”
Beth’s response is also a brilliant example of the all-too-common schmaltzy sugar-coated sentimentalism that pretends to be Christian “encouragement.”
by Ben Sternke on February 3, 2010
Chris Smith and I co-led a session at this year’s Missional Learning Commons in Fort Wayne on “Eucharistic Economics,” or “Crucial Practices for Deeper Churches.” Hearing the stories of what his church community has done in the areas of neighborhood development, hospitality, and care for the poor.
Chris, who created and edits the immensely helpful Englewood Review of Books, has written and released a free e-book on the topic called Growing Deeper in our Church Communities: 50 Ideas for Connection in a Disconnected Age. I just read it this morning and forwarded a copy of it to the team that is developing the missional communities of our church plant. It is a helpful, practical tool to get missional imagination started in any community.
Download the free e-book here, and if you like it, spread the word.
And hey, Scot McKnight liked it, too!
