Good free music #004: Odd Thomas

I'm by no means an expert on hip-hop, but I know what I like.  In rap, as in every genre, I admire people who don't sound like everyone else, and who are able to mix in a little humor and satire with their music.  Odd Thomas does that very, very well.

You can download his album The Divine Use of Animosity and Ridicule here.  Check out the other artists on the site as well; Humble Beast Records has some really great music, and it's all free.

The answer is always simple

On Monday evening I read a G+ post that essentially called me an idiot who didn't care about babies being murdered because I didn't vote against our president in the last election.  (For the record, I abstained from voting, because no candidate was acceptable.  As Charles Spurgeon said, "When faced with a choice of two evils, choose neither.")  Aside from reminding me of the constant bickering that drove me from Facebook, it drove home once again the desperate need for professing Christians to understand the way the world actually works.

Bringin' the stoopid #003: K all the P

"Bringin' the stoopid" is what happens when I stay up too late playing on the computer.  Readers should be warned that they will never get back any of the time they waste on this post.

Tonight:  we like to blame politicians, but it's the bureaucrats who make all the important decisions.

Book review #001: 'Pagan Christianity'

I should go ahead and warn you that this will not be any kind of in-depth, academic, or even very useful review of Pagan Christianity, by Frank Viola and George Barna.  I read it fairly quickly, absorbing more of the general thrust than the specific arguments.  In truth, I think that's probably the best way to approach it.

Bringin' the stoopid #002: AC

"Bringin' the Stoopid" is what happens when I stay up too late playing on the computer.  Readers should be warned that they will never get back any of the time they waste on this post.

Tonight:  if you've ever said to yourself, "A five-year-old could write this" ... you're right!

Good free book #001: '[Citation Needed]'

[Citation Needed] is a collection of material from the blog of the same name, which of course happens to feature the queen mother of all cuss words as its post today.  That's as good a way as any to learn that the blog occasionally features language you probably didn't learn from your sainted mothers, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Good free music #003: The Collection

I can't say enough about how I love this album.  Interesting music, (mostly) clever lyrics, and banjos as far as the eye can see.  If you want to hear something new and unusual, try The Collection EP by The Collection.

If the David Crowder*Band and mewithoutYou had a baby, that would be very disturbing, but it would also sound a little like this.  Man, I love me some banjo.

Filth pays

The last couple of days there's been a lot of talk about the kid who stars on Two and a Half Men and his statements regarding his new Christian faith and its effect on how he sees the show.  I can't comment on the kids' faith, of which I know nothing, or the content of the show, which I've never watched.  One thing that's jumped out at me, though, is how much he apparently gets paid for the show he now describes as "filth".

Bringin' the stoopid #001: B meets G

"Bringin' the Stoopid" is what happens when I stay up too late playing on the computer.  Readers should be warned that they will never get back any of the time they waste on this post.

Tonight:  a classic in every sense of the word!  Find out what happens ... when worlds collide!

Why I like e-sword

There is a lot of great Bible study software out there ... or so I'm told.  Most of it costs money -- some quite a bit -- and since I have the spiritual gift of being a cheapskate, I can't actually speak to how good any of it is.  I can talk about why I like a really nice free program, e-sword.

Reblogged #001: JMB's gift guide

I don't plan on using this blog to post bare links -- that's what Google+ is for -- but a new article on Bible-buying from J. Mark Bertrand is always worth sharing.  For the record, if anyone wanted to buy me an ESV Clarion or Single-Column Journaling Bible, it wouldn't hurt my feelings any.

"Good" free music #002: Mark Hewes

Derek Webb's Stockholm Syndrome was a very controversial album when it was released in 2009.  The huge shift in musical styles, the pointed attacks at those who shamed God from both inside and outside mainstream evangelicalism, the notorious use of a particular word in "What Matters More" ... there was something for everyone to argue about.  So what do you do with such a divisive work?

You make a Christmas album out of it.  Duh.

Thoughts on (maybe) preaching my first funeral

There are a couple of firsts every new pastor looks forward.  His first baptism.  His first wedding ceremony.  His first communion.  One that I doubt anyone looks forward to, though, is preaching his first funeral.

A real fan

Oh, is that game today?  I don't know how I forgot, because I really, really love Alabama football.

A ministry worth supporting #001: Gospel for Asia

Every so often I want to point out a ministry that I believe deserves your support.  This time around it's Gospel for Asia.

Good free music #001: Derek Webb

For a limited time, the good folks at NoiseTrade have an acoustic version of Derek Webb's latest album, Ctrl, available for download here.

NoiseTrade is a huge site where artists can post their music and fans can download it for free.  Derek Webb is a founder of NT and one of my favorite singer-songwriters.  Ctrl is ... well, I haven't heard it yet, so I can't say a lot about it.  I've never heard a bad Derek Webb album, though.

Again, it's for a limited time, so get it while you can.  Unless you hate good music or something ...

Five weird things I'm thankful for

Since this is the time of year we all tend to look around and appreciate what we have, I'd like to offer this list of things that may not seem at first blush to be blessings at all, but for which I actually am thankful.

You spent how much?

I have a confession to make:  I own a $200 Bible.

I own another that retails for $100, though I admit I didn't pay that for it.

Yet another cost me $75.

I won't even get into the ones I've bought for others, or just given away.

Believe me, I'm not saying these things to brag.  In fact, the reaction I get most often is, "Why would you pay that much for a Bible?"

Four proofs I'm called to ministry in Newfoundland

A few weeks ago I read Bruce Waltke's book Finding the Will of God:  A Pagan Notion?.  In it, Waltke examines the rather superstitious ways that modern Christians in America tend to try and find God's will for their lives ... or at least find ways to justify what they already want to do as "God's will".  He then contrasts that with the ways that the Bible gives for knowing God and what he desires from and for us.  It's a really good book, and opened my eyes to a few ways in which I'd been soothsaying rather than actually listening to God.

I also inspired me to find superstitious reasons for the calling I feel to share the Gospel in St. John's, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.  Looking back it's all so clear how God was giving me signs my whole life!

Why I quit Facebook

This morning I finally did what I've been thinking about for weeks:  I deleted my Facebook account.  Of course, the good folks at Facebook have kindly instituted a two-week period in which I can reopen it, but I honestly don't see that happening.  It felt good to cut that tie.

Five books

Again I find myself in the position of ripping off my good friend Greg; his post on the five books that had most influenced him influenced me, so here's my doubtless inferior effort.  I've probably averaged 100-150 books a year over the last 20 years, and I rarely reread anything.  These are the ones that I have read, some dozens of times, and that have helped to shape me into the person I am today.

The inevitable introductory thing

I've had this address for a couple of years now, and never done much with it.  Until a few months ago I was neck-deep in college and seminary, and on those occasions when I just had to write something non-academic, there was always an argument on Facebook.