book review: Velvet Elvis

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Rob Bell. Rob Bell has become one of the most influential voices of the church, called heretic by some, and revolutionary by others. Notably he is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church and creator of Nooma (take a look….its worth it). One of the things I found most valuable was Bell’s understanding of Jewish culture (especially in the time of Jesus). It made me realize how much is in the gospel that I have just glanced over without truly grasping the cultural and historical significance that’s critical to its meaning and intent. Another example that we only truly begin to understand something when we define and study its context. Its completely changed how I look at parts of the Biblical story. I highly recommend.

WWJ..B?

Morgan Spurlock (the guy who brought us Supersize Me) has a new movie out called “What Would Jesus Buy?” in which he tackles how consumerism has gotten completely out of control especially at Christmas. Part of the movie he follows a guy known as Reverend Billy who is a caricature of a charismatic televangelist who is rallying the cause of the consumer revolution. I am excited about this movie because I think it will force me (and hopefully others) to reevaluate how and why we shop.
You can find a great interview with Morgan here on the Relevant Magazine Podcast (one of my favorites). It’s about 18 minutes in for the interview.
You can also visit the official website for the movie here

books on my radar

Here is a list of books that are in my queue to read next (not in any particular order).

Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis, and the Revolution of Hope. (brian mclaren)
A book that will definitely challenge and shape my world view.

Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade (david batstone)
The more I hear about this book, the more stirred I get about the movement. I recenltly listened to a podcast featuring the author and was blown away by the stories he told about human trafficking. When confronted with the truth about modern day slavery…its utterly abrasive to the soul. How is it that this largely goes unchecked…and unnoticed?


The Brothers Karamazov (fyodor dostoevsky)
Started reading this book last year and enjoyed it until I realized that I had mistakenly bought an abridged version. It felt like cheating….so I decided to start over with the uncut version.

The Pearl (john steinbeck)
One of my favorite fictional authors. I enjoy his stories on a multiple levels. His tales are composed of elements of faith, social justice, philosophy, and ethics, while still being enjoyable to read. The man was a master storyteller.

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (shane claiborne)
Shane founded the Simple Way, and is becoming a revolutionary voice in the Christian community right now.

Searching for God knows What (donald miller)
I’m a big fan of Donald Miller. Compelling as an author and a speaker, he is a good blend of academia and humor.

Watership Down (richard adams)
Matt recommended this book to me once. I take his recommendations pretty seriously since he introduced me to Lord of the Rings in college.

God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (christopher hitchens)
An atheist’s perspective on religion. A good literary diet is one that consists of books that you don’t agree with.

Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World (bill clinton)
Despite what you think about his politics….the guy is a gifted and charismatic communicator. You can find out more about the book’s concept from a talk recently given by former President Clinton here

People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present (howard zinn)
Matt also recommended this one to me. Telling the story of US history from a different point of view than our textbooks, it may (as Matt declared) make you never want to celebrate Columbus Day again...although I am not sure I would go to work in protest.

Simple Church review

Simple Church puts forth an age old principle: Less is More (especially when it comes to churches). Based on extensive research it concludes that the healthiest and growing churches say no….alot. It is only interested in ministries and ideas that align with is overall mission. The quintessential simple church is one that is very simple in its mission and makes sure that everything else contours to that mission. If it doesn’t, they don’t do it. The temptation of all churches is to become so complex in its operation that it becomes confusing to both the congregation and the staff. Non-simple churches send out conflicting messages, inefficiently use resources for conflicting and unaligned ministries, and are stretched too thin to do anything very well. Great book for church planters and current pastors. The simple revolution is upon us....and it couldn't happen soon enough. Its time to make church easy again...for everybody.

Classic Wisdom

Spending money is perhaps the most uncomfortable infliction that the two orchard thieves entailed upon us. But getting paid, what will compare with it? The way in which we worship money is really marvelous, considering that we so earnestly believe money to be the root of all evil, and that on no account can a rich man enter heaven. Ah! how cheerfully we consign ourselves to perdition.
Herman Melville – Moby Dick
The Message Version

Guns don’t kill people, swimming pools do

I have never been a gun person. I don’t own a gun, never have. That may be partly because the first time I shot a gun was with my dad and he thought it would be a good idea to start with the most powerful handgun in the world, a 357 magnum. I didn’t have any illusions about being Dirty Harry after that. Shooting that behemoth gun as a young teenage instilled a healthy (maybe too healthy) fear of guns in me.
My conundrum is that although I am not entirely comfortable with a gun in my house, I don’t want to be without some protection in that worst case scenario either.
Ergo, my brother, who is a gun nut, is going to take me to a range soon to give me the basics and see if he can change my perspective. Will let you know how it goes…..

Rabbit trail: In his book Freakonomics, the author states that if you own both a gun and a backyard swimming pool, statistically the pool is about 100 times more likely to kill a child than the gun is. Chew on that one for a while

Bonus: How do you feel about guns in the home? Have any ideas for alternative forms of protection?

Blood Diamond

Janelle and I watched Blood Diamond last weekend and found it to be a very thoughtful and entertaining flick which surprisingly had a lot of substance. It does a great job in shedding light on the plight of children in Africa who are forced to be soldiers, and the corruption of the diamond industry. A friend of mine quipped that every guy should have his girlfriend to see this before he proposes.

I was originally intrigued by this movie because it takes place in Sierra Leone as I happen to have two coworkers from there. SL is a small country in Africa on the western rim that is about the size of South Carolina. After getting to know these guys, I did a little research. I was shocked when I realized that the life expectancy there is ~40 years…..again, 40 years. That is a hard one to wrestle with. For me that would mean that I could only reasonably expect to live another decade. For some of you reading this, you would already be on borrowed time and would be the village elders. My coworkers are both now past that mark and have changed their life expectancy simply by changing their latitude and longitude.

Another documentary about the child soldiers in Africa that has gained a lot of buzz is Invisible Children (we haven’t watch it yet, but look forward to it soon), which was made by some college students who spent some time in Uganda. This is still an independent film, so you can’t rent this at your local Blockbuster, but you can purchase it at their site (for ~ $20). The good thing about this film is that it has started a movement that not just tells about the tragedies but is working for change. Go to their site for more info.

UNITED 93

Just rented the movie United 93, and it is just as heart breaking as you expect it to be. There is a section of the movie when all the passengers are calling home and saying good-bye, and I haven’t wanted to cry that hard since… well…. my wedding. Highly recommend. It is an emotional movie but also a stark reminder of a day that changed the world, and without these reminders it becomes way too easy to become numb of that initial feeling of horror, fear, wonderment, and anger.