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    This is a link to my podcast where I ruminate on life, leadership, travel, spiritual revolution, books, and just about anything else that may pass through my mind when the recorder is on. Listen at your own risk!

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« April 2006 | Main | December 2006 »

Prophet Pat

RobertsonThe Rev. Pat Robertson says God has told him that storms and possibly a tsunami will hit America's coastline this year.The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network has told viewers of "The 700 Club" that the revelations came to him during his annual personal prayer retreat in January."If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms," Robertson said May 8.He added specifics in Wednesday's show."There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest," he said. Unfortunately, this is the image most Americans and Europeans have of Evangelical Christians. No wonder people flock to Oprah when they perceive Christianity to be the other option. I am convinced that this is one of the dangers of "Christian" television. To keep your audience, there always has to be something new and sensational, so why not a special message from our loving God about impending doom and destruction ... just in time for May sweeps!

Pastor Oprah

Oprah Last Thursday's USA Today carried an intriguing story about the power of being Oprah Winfrey and how many Americans (particularly women) see Oprah as a spiritual leader who is changing the world. Here is what actor/entertainer Jammie Foxx said as a guest on her show ...

Last fall, at the start of this 20th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show, guest Jamie Foxx said much the same thing, but he wasn't joking. "What you have is something nobody can describe," Foxx said to Winfrey on the air. Then he explained about how he told Vibe magazine: "You're going to get to heaven and everyone's waiting on God and it's going to be Oprah Winfrey."

He told her she has "different gears" than most people. "You're on the top of the world, and we really do watch and listen for everything you do and say to kind of get our lives together. It's the truth."

In a November poll conducted at Beliefnet.com, a site that looks at how religions and spirituality intersect with popular culture, 33% of 6,600 respondents said Winfrey has had "a more profound impact" on their spiritual lives than their clergypersons.

Cathleen Falsani, religion writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, recently suggested, "I wonder, has Oprah become America's pastor?"

What do you think? Is Oprah America's new spiritual leader? Does the fact that 33% of 6,600 respondents say the Oprah has had a more profound impact on their lives than their clergy person say more about Oprah or about today's clergy person? Something to think about ...

Join a Million Voices for Darfur

DarfurmillvoiceIn Matthew 25:44-46 Jesus says, "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' And he will answer, 'I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters you were refusing to help me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.

Send a postcard to President Bush to help give him the leverage he needs to lead in the face of this human tragedy and genocide. Send a Postcard Now!

Damned by Darfur

Though it is good to see the tragedy of Darfur finally in the national and international spotlight to some degree, I am wondering why it is celebrities like George Clooney (God bless him) who are at the forefronDarfurt of this issue? Why is the Evangelical Church and its leaders virtually invisible when it comes to this issue? How many sermons were preached this last week in our pulpits in support of this past weekend's events planned to call attention to the genocide and put pressure on national and international leaders to DO something? Why are we as evangelical Christian leaders so passive and silent when it comes to such global tragedies? Imagine the impact if all of our evangelical churches in the Twin Cities (and the nation) had taken to the streets after our church services to stand in the gap for the Invisible Children and the gross injustices that are taking place in Sudan. I am afraid that by our silence we are being damned by Darfur. What are your thoughts? Why do you think our evangelical churches remain silent in the face of this tragedy and what can we do to shame the church into action?

Check out the Invisible Children

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Reading for Revolutionaries

  • Shane Claiborne: The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

    Shane Claiborne: The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
    This book will rock your world! I believe this is a must read for anyone serious about being a genuine Christ-follower. Read it and weep ... Read it and rejoice. (*****)

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  • John Wood: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

    John Wood: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children
    This is at turns and incredibly inspirational and convicting book. John Wood left a cushy job and promising future at Microsoft in order to devote his life to building libraries and schools in the villages of Nepal and other third world countries with low literacy rates. I wonder if this is what Jesus meant when he spoke to the rich young ruler? (****)


  • F. LeRon Shults and Steven J. Sandage: Transforming Spirituality: Integrating Theology And Psychology

    F. LeRon Shults and Steven J. Sandage: Transforming Spirituality: Integrating Theology And Psychology
    Shults and Sandage bring a fresh approach to this work on spiritual/personal/theological formation and its integration. As in their previous collaboration, "The Faces of Forgiveness," this book is a paradigm-breaking, creative, and invigorating contribution to the field of spiritual formation - though it deals as directly with subjects such as theology, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and sociology, weaving them all into a rich, integrated whole. Just a taste of what awaits in Transforming Spirituality ... "However, the reformative Pneumatology we have been outlining can help us understand that our way of being-present to others in space and time is our spirituality." (*****)

  • Kathryn Tanner: Economy Of Grace

    Kathryn Tanner: Economy Of Grace
    Theologian Kathryn Tanner explores alternative economies that are based on grace rather than greed and money. She provides a challenging and cogent argument for rethinking the foundations of current forms of advanced capitalism. Though I do not agree with all of her final conclusions, I agree with her primary premise that current systems are in need of change and rethinking our theology of economics is where we need to begin.

  • Larry L. King: In Search of Willie Morris: The Mercurial Life of a Legendary Writer and Editor

    Larry L. King: In Search of Willie Morris: The Mercurial Life of a Legendary Writer and Editor
    A powerful and sad tale about the troubled life of a near literary genius and how his dark side caused him to squander his talent and strengths. A sobering reminder of the need for Self-leadership!

  • Stanley J. Grenz: The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei

    Stanley J. Grenz: The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei
    This book addresses how an understanding of the triune nature of God should shape our concepts of "self" or "soul" as well as result in a more relational and communal church which takes responsibility for the "other." Because we are created with the imago dei, we can only find our true self-hood in relation to others. God is a social God. Grenz does an amazing job of debunking the post-modern concept of "possessive individualism" which is killing the missional focus of the church today. (*****)

  • Gerald Clarke: Capote: A Biography

    Gerald Clarke: Capote: A Biography
    This is an excellent biography of a brilliant writer whose life was sabatoged by the Dark Side. A study in how not to be a parent! This is an interesting read. (****)