Catching Up

Today is an unusual day in my pastoring in that I am caught up with many things. With Sunday's Scripture and Carol service prepared and the Christmas Eve service nearly planned (but need more information from others before I can finish it up), I have an afternoon to get caught up with other things.

For the last couple of hours, I have been online getting caught up with my blog readings. As many of you know, I read a lot and much of what I read is online. I read a cornucopia of blogs ranging from LGBT issues to church growth, evangelism, and various theologies. I also read friend's blogs, organizational ones, and even a few decorating ones.

Today I watched a video about the impact of evangelicalism in America and how BIG it really is. I knew it was big, by the way, but the video I watched was simply amazing. There are six parts to the video and are worth watching in their entirety.

I also watched a YouTube video from Penn (of Penn and Teller) talk about how he was approached by someone prosyltizing to him (and Penn is a notorious atheist). Penn's reaction to this someone is heart-felt and good to watch.

I read a whole lot about Obama's selecting Rick Warren to lead his inauguration prayer. Many folks are furious about the selection but Pastor Dan sums it up well (although he uses a horrible cuss word in doing so). Maybe it won't bother you...maybe my Oklahoma sensibilities are just too sensitive.

And now, I just read an interesting post from Chuck Warnock about 5 Lessons I Did Not Learn in Seminary which hit home.

I'll be doing more surfing throughout the afternoon. Now I need to finish reading a couple of books for school. Presently I am reading Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey, by Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James Furr and The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church, by Alan Hirsch.