I'm revisiting this category since I'm on vacation and don't feel like writing something substantial today. And I'm sorry for ypos that I know will creep in -- the laptop I'm using doesn't have FireFox on itl, and I don't have the cool spellcheck thing here :(
Christianity Today's music section has a piece about Centricity Records. I love Centricity -- they're one of the few labels out there that were willing to talk to a little podcaster like he was an important part of promoting their artists. They get podcasting like few other labels do. And the music is good.
There aren't many labels right now that get new media, or even electronic marketing and the use of the Internet. They have a MySpace page, they have a website. But beyond that, they're stuck in the old school attitudes toward marketing. They are missing the whole "Web 2.0" boat, and that's a shame.
The Internet is getting back to it's social roots. It's returning to the Usenet days, when community was built around a subject. I'm not sayi8ng anything really new here, but it bears emphasizing -- to make full use of new technology, you've got to be social, you have to have a new media strategy beyond "ignore them, and they'll go away."
Because guess what? They will go away. And you'll lose. Watch what's happening with the music industry right now. They're going nuts trying to figure out how to deal with digital music and portable MP3 players. The radio industry is trying to figure out how to deal with people who want to listen to their own playlists and not the station's playlist. So far, all they've done is stick their fingers in their ears and make "nanananananana" noises, hoping this new technology will go away. They've been doing it since high-speed Internet connections made streaming music (and video) possible. They'll still be doing it when the next big thing comes out. ANd eventually, they'll go out of business.
I'm thankful for labels like Centricity, who actually get it. It means that artists will have options in the future. And it means that the rest of us will, too.
Remember the Blogroll Cruise? When I cruised through my blogroll quoting people that you should be reading? Well, I'm doing it a bit differently now.
Looking at the blogroll(s), there are a LOT of blogs I don't read, for whatever reason. And there are plenty of blogs I DO read that aren't on there. I'm working on a fix, but for now, I'm calling the cruise what it really is -- the RSS Reader Cruise.
I rarely read blogs at their web sites anymore. I dump them all into Google Reader and read them there (unless they only send the first 200 characters or something to the feed; then I have to go to the page and finish the article if it's interesting enough. You understand why I don't do that with this blog ...). So here we go:
Jared Wilson. Heck, I read whatever he writes -- if he wrote cereal boxes, I'd read more of those. I learn something every time I read one of his posts. And I love this one. Especially this part
I believe Jesus is for the cool. I believe you can be cool and follow Jesus. I believe there are cool Christians. But what if -- honestly, what if -- Jesus asked you to give up all your coolness to follow him? Would you still want to? What if following Jesus meant dressing up in a suit and having an Alfalfa haircut and listening to CCM? I mean, it doesn't, obviously (and thank God). But what if it did? Would having Jesus still be worth it?The truth is, a great many of us desperately need to nail cool to the cross.
Life in Christ is about dying to self.
I've always loved parody and satire, and recently discovered Tominthebox News Network. Just read anything there, laugh, and then think about what it's trying to say. I think that's the problem with satire -- it assumes that people think. I'm not sure that's true anymore.
Ditto for SBC Outpests, but for different reasons. They've been silent for a while, but it's worth monitoring.
Joe Thorn blogs about unplugging, which ties in with a book I reviewed not long ago. Technology is good, but it should be our servant -- not our master. That's a lesson I'm trying very hard to learn.
I've got more, but that should keep you for a while.
I'm planning on a fuller Blogroll Cruise later today, but I just found this and HAD to share. From Phillip Johnson at Pyromaniac. Phil describes himself as "a melted piece of fundamentalist-flavored gum on the shoe of the evangelical movement."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
More from the SBC Bloggers aggregator this time, picking up where I left off.
Joe Kennedy, who is Live... from New Orleans, has been interacting with a reader named Felipe concerning Catholics and Evangelicals. Tow posts so far, so read here first, then here for part 2.
Don at Locusts and Wild Honey has been posting the newest resolutions that were passed by the Southern Baptist Convention this year in Nashville. Of particular interest is the before and after look at the Resolution on Educating Children.
Aaron at Maranatha offers his comments on A Generous Orthodoxy. Agree or not, he's done a great deal of study and put a lot of thought into this one.
Justin at Marvelous Light is preparing for a missions trip (actually, by now he's gone!).
Matt at Matthewhall.net is offering some theological thought on providence and suffering. Read Matt -- he doesn't blog daily anymore (of course, he's a new Dad, so he's got more important things to do), but when he DOES blog, it's always worth reading. He was one of the first people I put on my daily-read list.
That's it for today -- I'll have more of this ever-expanding list of Southern Baptist bloggers later on this week. If you ARE a Southern Baptist blogger, or know someone who is, tell them about the aggregator, and tell them they need to let me know so I can add them. I THOUGHT about just adding every Southern Baptist blog I found, but there are some people who don't want to be a part of a group (for whatever reason), so I always ask if they want to be included. Unfortunately, I can't visit every SBC blog, so I'm asking for help. Thanks!!
This installment, I'm cruising through the SBC Bloggers roll. If you want to keep track of these blogs on your own (which I recommend) head over here and bookmark it.
This is a kind of Blogroll cruise, but I'm cruising the "new additions" to the blogroll.
OK -- one new addition. But it's a biggie.
Way back when I was first really exploring the Christian side of the Internet, I found two sites. One was the Fundamentalist Forums, where I lurked for a few years, off and on, before getting up the guts to post. I still hit that site every day, looking for my next arguement -- or at the very least, some blogging fodder.
The other was a gold mine for me. Phil Johnson's bookmarks. The best and worst of Internet Christendom, all in one convenient list. I hit that page every week or so, just to see what's new. (I'm still waiting to see how Phil categorizes The Sword of the Lord's website.) If you've never been there, do it now -- I'll wait.
Ok, back now? Now the reason for all this rambling.
Not long ago, there was a discussion on the FFF, and the topic of blogging came up. Someone said that Phil should be dragged into the blogosphere kicking and screaming. And he has entered the blogosphere -- kicking people and screaming at them!
Ok, that was a little hyperbole there, but Phil is pulling no punches on his new blog (aptly named PyroManiac). He first targeted Calvinists (actually, mainly those who are in the "cage stage"). I don't know anyone who would disagree with this point, but Phil went further -- he charged the Boars Head Tavern. So in his very first post, he got a LOT of people mad at him.
Then he posts about loving our enemies. This from a guy who used to hang out on the Fighting Fundamentalist Forum (before my active posting time, unfortunately). And he's won a Warnie in his first week of blogging.
Needless to say, this blog needs to be on your daily read list. You don't have to agree with him on everything, but I promise you that you'll learn something, AND be entertained.
If you question the entertainment value, just read some of the comments!!
This isn't a true Blogroll Cruise -- it's more me talking about WHY these people are in my blogroll. If I can't justify it, I'm getting rid of it. That doesn't mean I don't LIKE it -- it just means that I'm trying to get down to 20 or so blogs (which I said I was going to do a month or so ago).
Al Mohler's blog: DUH! It's AL MOHLER!!! I think a link to his site is a requirement for attending Southern.
Antioch Road: Jason hits a lot of topics that I don't cover, especially political topics.
Back of the Envelope: Even if this wasn't a great all around blog -- the Weekly Webcomic Review is worth a read. He's a Sluggy fan, guys -- 'nuff said!!
Mind and Media: For some reason, I've got this listed as Blog for Books (which I am now changing). Everyone who likes to read should be involved in this -- you get free books!!
Blogcritics: I'm a member, it's worth reading. That covers it all, I think.
Blogs4God: With all the aggregators out there, it's nice to remember the original. It's still worth a read, too.
Bobby's Blog: Read the "Wha' Happened?" post there, and you'll understand. I like the way Bobby writes. He's one of the hidden gems in the Christian blogosphere.
This is my very first Blogroll Cruise at the new site. So let's get started!! For those who aren't familiar, this is just a look at posts that have caught my attention while surfing through my blogroll. I do this every so often, supposedly as a service to my readers, but actually because I can't think of anything original to write ...
Over at Al Mohler's blog, he is commenting on the blogosphere as revolution -- specifically Terry Teachout's new blog. If you don't know who Teachout is, or why you should care, read Dr. Mohler's blog, then Teachout's.
Everybody and their brother seems to be reviewing Beyond the Shadowlands over at Blogcritics. Glad I was the first one to do it -- maybe I started a trend!
The folks who brought us the ESV are soliciting questions for the Translation Oversite Committee. Submit yours at Adrian Warnock's place.
GetReligion has a piece about an unusual baccalaureate at one high school. I salute those who wanted a Christian message -- but I have to wonder if they couldn't have found a better speaker than Joyce Meyer.
Stop by Matt Hall's place and congratulate him on the birth of his son, George.
Russell Moore has started blogging at Mere Comments, so I've started reading it more often -- and I've blogrolled it as well.
If you want to know all about Songstress, head over to her blog and check out the tests she just finished taking.
Evangelical Outpost offers a look at reason and religion ... err, I mean Cogito and Christ. Maybe I need to revisit my Faith and Reason posts from a while ago, and actually finish the series.
Think that will do it for now -- I'll have more in a few days!
I've added the ESV blog to the blogroll. Unfortunately, I did it too late to get the free Bible. :(
Oh, well. It's still a worthwhile blog, and an outstanding translation. Maybe they'll have a contest to get one of the Study Bibles when they come out.
Here we go, on this whirlwind trip through my blogroll.
Same format today. I'll probably NOT do the cruise on Thursday or Friday, because of school, but every other day, it will be here.
I like the "top five" thing I did yesterday, so I'm going to do the same thing. The first five blogs listed in the Church Directory.
Returning to the Cruise today, I decided to take a look at the top five blogs mentioned on the "Church Directory" (the Evangelical Outpost list).
First up, Jollyblogger. I haven't been linking to him much lately, and I am not sure exactly why. Today, he's tough to ignore, with not one but TWO great reads.
First, the McChurching of America talks about the franchising of the Megachurch. I'm torn here, because in a way, it seems that the megas are doing what I want them to be doing -- they are starting new churches rather than keeping a central church that requires its own ZIP code. But I'm not sure that these satelite churches are anything more than elaborate small groups, whose identity is still tied to the "mother church" -- it almost sounds like an Evangelical form of the Catholic parish church. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but THIS jury is still out.
Second, his post yesterday about Blogging and Walls. I have to salute someone who links to a post that criticizes him (although indirectly), and takes the time to respond to it. And I like what David has to say. I kinda like the idea of denominational blog aggregators -- simply because it would help network some of the bloggers out there. I know a few other Southern Baptist bloggers out there (one, Matt Hall, is also at Southern, and he's got links to a couple other SBTS bloggers), and it would be nice to cooperate, and possibly meet up (especially at the national convention) -- maybe even set up a blogging symposium or something to show the average church how a blog would compliment their ministry. There is a LOT we could do, but we don't know each other. For every SBC blogger I know, there are probably 10 that I don't. Denominational aggregators can build a community online, and help that community work together offline. If I had the tech know-how, I'd set up the SBC agg. myself. Maybe if I could get a lesson or two from someone with a few more skills.....?
Rebecca over at Rebecca Writes is one of my favorite bloggers. She was also pretty much my first regular reader, so not only is she a good blogger, but she has great taste! And she's got some great theological writing over at her blog. She's doing a semi-series about the anathemas of the Council of Constantinople which is great reading. She's done a series about the purpose of Christ's death that is outstanding. So I'm going to link to her post about haggis. Why? Because I have a warped sense of humor. Deal with it.
Bobby Griffith is an internet friend of mine -- he posts over at the PCCBoard Forums, and is most likely doing his PhD work at Southern -- in Church History, no less. He's like me, but more Reformed! And he's posted the Christianity Today list of Ten Reasons to Study Church History -- which should be required reading for everyone, IMnsHO.
Adrian Warnock has been accused of being too close to the Jollyblogger -- in fact, he was accused of BEING JB by one blogger (whose link I cannot find right now, unfortunately). So he's decided to disagree with Jollyblogger ... or at least, try to. Careful Adrian -- David's in Baltimore, and probably could get to Fort McHenry before you could get to him -- and you remember what happened the last time the Brits tried to take that Fort.
Now I'm closing. I just found out that I am pulpit supply on Sunday for a small Baptist church, and I have a sermon to write AND a Sunday School lesson for my own church to get ready. And maybe another post or two -- I can always prepare tomorrow .....
A brief note: I'm not linking to posts on the whole SpongeBob thing. NOT because it isn't an important issue, but because if I did that, I wouldn't have room for anything else on the cruise. Google SpongeBob and Dobson if you want a rundown of those posts.
Allthings2all has an account of a Christian doing what Christians are supposed to be doing -- meeting people where they are. This is something we forget way too easily, and far too often. We are all ministers of the Gospel, after all.
For the Joy is doing a running series on The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience -- about emphasizing living lives that are consistant with our beliefs as Christians. We can never hope to show the world how Christ can change lives if our own lives remain unchanged.
Rolling Stone won't take religious ads. GetReligion exposes their hypocracy. I love it when the intolerant get caught with their pants around their ankles.
More tomorrow, promise!
JivinJehoshaphat (gotta LOVE that name) has a multi-part series about How Pro-Choicers Argue (the link is to part 5, but there are links in that post to the other parts as well). We should be knowledgeable about how our opponents think and debate, so that we can work more effectively against them. This is a great series -- read it from the beginning, and use it!
Along the same lines, Proverbs Daily has a series about the sanctity of human life. He's up to part 3 right now, with four more parts to the series. This time of year, it seems that we focus on the abortion issue a lot. We all need to take advantage of those who are posting this material, and use it all year round.
The Grey Shadow blogs about bloggers, and being transparant. This has a lot to do with Christians especially, and how we blog -- with humility.
Matt Hall talks about unmortified sin -- and how as Christians we walk a fine line between our quest for a holy life and the pit of legalism. The Bible commands us to live holy lives, but we are so often worried about becoming legalistic that we don't live as we are commanded to. There's a happy medium, and that lies in obedience to God and His commands.
Head over to Bobby Griffith's blog, where he's talking about Christians and our need to use the Old Testament. We owe it to ourselves to read and study the OT -- if for no other reason than the fact that it was the Bible the disciples and Christ read from. The Old Testament is not the "lesser Testament" -- it is just as inspired as the New, and it containts treasure that Christians are forgetting to mine.
Echo Zoe is blogging Oswald Chambers. This is stuff that every Christian should be familiar with -- and even if you are, it never hurts to read it again. And again. Chambers doesn't get old to me.
First, I noticed that Evangelical Outpost was doing something called Outtakes -- Joe is basically going through his blogroll and commenting on noteworthy posts -- with links, of course.
Next, I saw that Rusty at New Covenant is doing something called Rusty Nails, where he goes through his blogroll and comments on noteworthy posts -- with links.
And now, I see that David at Jollyblogger has started his Jolly Digest, where he goes through his blogroll and ... well, you get the idea.
Far be it from me to ignore such a great idea, especially when it's being done by so many bloggers who I read and respect. So I would like to introduce the Blogroll Cruise, where I go through my blogroll and comment on noteworthy posts -- with links and trackbacks, of course. The idea is to do it daily, but I'm not going to promise that -- I will most likely miss Fridays and possibly Wednesdays. And I'll try to feature blogs that the others don't cover, especially blogs that I think are not getting the attention they deserve.
This first edition will be brief, but here goes:
I feel like running through the 'roll this evening. So here we go!!
More later. Hoping I'll get the Mark study for today done pretty soon.
If you want the newest posts from everyone, click the Blog Aggregator link. Some of these are the newest, and some aren't -- these are the ones that made an impression on me.
Yes, I have joined the League of Reformed Bloggers. So that means there are a LOT more blogs that I've got links to, and they're all pretty good. I'll probably cruise through there this afternoon, and let everyone know what I've found, but in the meantime hit some of those sites yourself. I've already found several that I really wish I'd blogrolled earlier -- there's some great stuff out there!
I'm feeling a bit of writers block coming on, so I'm using this old cop out. It isn't really a cop out, though, because there are some good blogs out there with some good things to say. And I've added a few new ones lately. I'm not putting links to the actual articles, mainly because I started doing this, got almost all the way through, and realized I'd forgot, but also because I want you to check out the whole blog, not just one article. In most cases, the article is the newest one -- it should be close to the top, anyway.
Dr. R. Albert Mohler has a great article about engaging culture and the role of faith in politics. And I'd put his article first even if he wasn't my Systematic I teacher!
Back of the Envelope is still on semi-haiatus, so he's running Sluggy Freelance recaps. You really need to check this comic out. It's one that I read every day, without fail. It's Nifty!!
Bene Diction and Beyond the Rim both have outstanding viewpoints of the Russian hostage situation and the loss of life there.
Rebecca from Rebecca Writes is blogging on behalf of David Brainard -- who would have blogged if they'd had computers, electricity, and the Internet back then. I love this idea -- it's fascinating to read excerpts from Brainard's diary and see how God was working through him among the Native Americans.
Get Religion has a piece on Christian comedian Brad Stine, and his gig at the GOP "after party" with the Bush twins. I commented over there that it was a shame Mark Lowry and Isaac Air Freight were ahead of their time. (Got to see Isaac Air Freight at Liberty my freshman year. Laughed my head off -- that's why my grades were so bad; no head.)
Ian's Messy Desk has a very funny list of caddy retorts. I'm just glad I don't play on courses that are nice enough to have caddys. I'm sure I'd hear most of these during my round.
Imago Dei has a new address and a new look. Check out http://www.imago-dei.net/
Jollyblogger has a really neat piece on Superman and Christ, and the comparisons made between the two. I'd often thought about it, but it's interesting to read other people's take on the subject.
Jared at Mysterium Tremendum has a neat list of "Things I Like". I may do something similar tomorrow night after church.
Bryan at Spare Change is looking for a few good blogmates (is that a word?). He wants people who want to become a part of the "Spare Change Team". This sounds like an opportunity to me for someone who thinks they might like to blog, but can't (or won't) take the time to set one up of their own. Head over there, and email Bryan for details.
Think that's it for this trip. I have to prepare a Bible study Powerpoint for tomorrow evening (and as usual, I'm waiting until the last minute to do it -- I know what I'm going to do, it's just the actual doing that I haven't started yet), so you won't hear from me until after about 8:30 Eastern (US) time. Maybe I'll figure out something to write about by then ...
Haven't done this in a while, so let's hop in the virtual hot rod and cruise the Blogroll for a bit...
Al Mohler has a great entry today, entitled "Is The Religious Right Really Right?" If you know anything about Dr. Mohler, you already know his answer to that question. Take a look anyway, because the article is very informative and a bit entertaining.
Over at Challies.com, Tim talks about a new Barna study involving the impact of The Passion of the Christ. Interesting findings.
I can't pick just one post from Jollyblogger, but he's been blogging about one of my favorite topics -- the interaction of Christians and society, especially with regard to government and political involvement.
Songstress7 is doing her Free Association today. I especially appreciated her link to this.
Nicene Theology is confessing his addictions. I thought about doing this, but I stopped. After all, my sister reads this blog.
I've been reading Rebecca's blog since I started reading blogs. Her post about True Evangelical Faith is outstanding.
I've got more, but I'm going to go ahead and post this. There are some massive thunderstorms coming this way, so I may not get the chance to finish. Stay tuned for part 2!
Welcome to the blogroll ... Nicene Theology.
I've read this one off and on for a little while, and I've learned something just about every time. I've especially enjoyed his writing on the whole KJVOnly controversy. And I like his 'Blogback' idea -- I'll be doing a few of these each week, I think.
If you haven't yet, head on over there and check it all out!!
Just really quickly, a few things of note from my blogroll that you all might have missed:
Parablemania has a great post about different translations of the Bible that is must reading. He takes a rather complex subject and makes it pretty easy to understand. And I agree with him, for the most part -- I'm still torn as far as the Byzantine Text vs. Alexandrian Text arguement (and it's NOT because I think that everything that comes out of Egypt is evil -- a typical KJVO arguement). My two main Bible translations are the ESV and the NKJV -- one modern and one TR. I'll probably be out of seminary before I get this issue finally resolved in my mind. I just wish more people would educate themselves on this subject -- it would eliminate a lot of confusion and conflict.
Over at Patriot Paradox In Exile, the judging for the first round of King of the Blogs is in: I came in fourth, but it was a CLOSE fourth. I'll do this again in a few months.
Jollyblogger has a great article about Al Mohler's idea of theological triage. I think I need to start reading Mohler's blog regularly; but if I don't, I know I can read Jollyblogger and get the good stuff.
One of my favorites, and something I'm going to talk about a bit later, maybe Monday or Tuesday if I don't get it finished tonight, is from Dialog:Breaking the Bubble. It's from more than a week ago, but I really think that every "godblogger" should sit back and think about it. I'm not talking about bloggers who just happen to be Christians, but Christians who write Christian blogs. What are we writing them for? More exactly, who are we writing them for? I'll give you my answer as soon as I figure out what it is, exactly. In the meantime, go check out Michelle's blog -- she's got some interesting stuff there.
Most of you have probably already seen this, since Instapundit linked to it, but I figured I'd post a link here anyway, since it ties in to what I was talking about last week -- fundamentalists and evangelicals. I think Donald's definition of evangelical is probably a little bit wider than mine, and his definition of fundamentalist might be a little narrower, but he hits the nail firmly on the head. I guess it's the Southern Baptist thing -- we must think a little alike.
I haven't tried to post anything extensive today, simply because of modem problems here. I've tried to post on a few message boards that I read frequently, only to have my cable modem lose connection before I could post. It's working now (of course -- a tech is coming tomorrow afternoon), so I'm putting a few things up tonight, but the Mark study will have to wait until tomorrow.
I'm trying to set up a schedule for the Mark study and the Today in Church History postings, since a lot of people seem to really enjoy them. When I work something out, I will let you know. It may end up being TiCH on Mondays (golf league night), and Mark study on Wednesday (church night), but I WILL let everyone know when I figure anything out for sure.
Of course, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't stop by every day! You never know what I might rant about......
I've added a few blogs to the Blogroll over on the right side of the page.
Leithart.com is an interesting blog. I don't always agree, but I always come away with something to think about, which is why I read it.
I've been reading Ian's Messy Desk for a little while, and I've finally gotten around to putting it in my Blogroll. I like the Quote of the Day especially.
Challies.com is another thought-provoking blog. Tim also shares my love of Christian music -- he has a lot of news and opinion over there!
The Gray Monk gives me a bit of British perspective on many issues -- and I've found some awesome pictures over there!!
Check these out, and cruise through the rest of the 'roll, too! You won't be disappointed!