For those interested, I’ve posted a few photos from our recent vacation to Virginia Beach on my photo page.
We spend a week vacationing with my extended family every year, which is always a lot of fun.
And now just a few random thoughts about what’s going on, and what I am thinking about blogging this fall, just to get the blog rolling again:
Music:
- I am listening to Imogen Heap on headphones right now, and I am very impressed. If you get the album, check out "Goodnight & Go", "Hide and Seek", and "Daylight Robbery".
- I’ve also heard that Leeland’s new album is ridiculously good.
Books:
- I am reading Stephen Ambrose’s history of the building of America’s trans-continental railroad (Nothing Like it In the World). Interesting stuff.
- I’m still plowing through Jesus and the Victory of God (N.T. Wright). It’s a masterful book, and challenges a lot of preconceptions about what Jesus was up to. Very rewarding reading.
- I just started Sacred Rhythms, by Ruth Haley Barton. I’ve heard good things about her stuff on spiritual formation.
- I also just started Emerging Churches, by Gibbs and Bolger. Many say it’s the best book on the emerging church so far, so that’s a good reason to read it. I also like to see what other church leaders around the world are up to and how it’s working out.
Movies I’d love to see but will probably not see until they come out on DVD:
- Talladega Nights – Will Ferrell plays a Nascar driver named Ricky Bobby, who named his two sons Walker and Texas Ranger. Sounds hilarious.
- Snakes on a Plane – The title is a spoiler. You have to love a movie like that. I’ve heard the beginning and end are hilarious, and the middle languishes a bit. But I mean, seriously, an entire movie about snakes that are… on a plane? How could it not languish in the middle, unless the snakes do some line dancing or something?
Stuff I’m thinking about that will probably end up in this blog:
- The fundamental dynamics of spiritual growth (or spiritual formation, or character growth, or whatever you’d like to call it). It’s still a massively misunderstood topic, from the old question of "Why bother, because aren’t we saved by grace apart from works?" to the more practical question of "How in the world can I actually change?"
- Church and culture. This has been a big theme so far anyway, but I want to continue to explore the question of how a rapidly changing culture affects the way we function as the church, the way we lead, the way we teach and disciple and preach the good news.
- Web/Church 2.0 – How does the church create environments that are truly interactive, without losing her soul? How can what we see happening in the world of technology or music or film or design or fashion or architecture or _________ prompt us toward a more healthy ministry model?
- I’m hoping to start a Master’s program this fall – I’m sure many posts will be prompted by my reading for that course.
So those are the happenings in my world as of late. I hope to continue conversing with y’all soon!
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