Watch this excellent take by Bishop Tom. Indeed, for every hour of online navigation we should invest the same quantity and quality with people, in 3-D interaction. Appreciate the fact that he linked TV watching as a similar danger — sitting and watching a screen for hours on end in the evenings. Get out and be with people! NT Wright on Blogging/Social Media from Bill Kinnon on Vimeo. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "NT Wright on Blogging + Social Media", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2009/07/23/nt-wright-on-blogging-social-media/" });

Every week I interact with teenagers. It’s more rewarding (and challenging) than I anticipate, every time. I tell whoever will listen that the greatest danger facing our youth is being swept away in a sea of triviality . There are endless waves of nonsense competing for their attention, and we must teach them to know a few things so well they are gripped (or anchored) by them. By God. By the Gospel. By God-centered and others-directed love which compels us to give our lives away (2 Cor. 5:9-21). I contend that adults are essentially junior high students, past the changing-everything-stage,...

John Dyer has a great post worth a read over at Don’t Eat the Fruit: Being Conformed into the Avatar of Christ: Social Networks & Identify Formation A snippet: I believe that any tool, whether we use it for good or bad, right or wrong, truthfully or untruthfully, shapes the way we look at the world. Just as a photographer sees the world in pictures and a stockbroker sees the world in business transactions, we all see the world through whatever we use most. A wise man once said, “We become what we behold.” His conclusion: So, come, be my friend on facebook, twitter, and the rest [links...

Don’t have much time to invest writing these days, but do keep a journal and write thoughts (more often type them, or hand-write in my illegible lower case scratches that inevitably make it difficult for others to read; a short-hand of sorts). Along the same lines, I haven’t had much time to read in recent months. At least not at the book-a-week clip I enjoyed before. Always dabbling in a few books, and trying to keep up on a few blogs. Here’s what I’m reading right now: SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Happy tensions: a few of my reads (print + web)", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2009/04/03/happy-tensions-a-few-of-my-fav-reads/"...

Just finished reading a fascinating book, Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists by Collin Hansen (Crossway Books, 2008). Hansen is editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine, and a phenomenal writer and story teller, in my humble opinion. His new book is an expansion and more detailed research project of his September 2006 article in Christianity Today magazine . During that time and afterward he traveled all around the country (for nearly two years) chronicling the diverse movement, from the Passion conferences to Southern Seminary, to Bethlehem Baptist...

Last year at this time Matt Perman of Desiring God gave a short list of various readings related to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, those two coming together as one in “The Greatest Event in History.” I agree. Furthermore, I don’t think I would be breathing right now if Christ hadn’t tasted death and risen again. And would have no hope, eternal or temporal. God did not spare His own Son but intentionally and freely gave Him up for the salvation of His people. He bids us come and experience His love. This weekend, may more people trust in Christ and experience God as...

We can’t ignore Joel Osteen, though I wish we could. His “church” in Houston hosts more than 35,000 attendees each Sunday, and more than 7 million viewers watch his messages on TV each week (no need to wear a cross, just put on an IWJO lapel). While Osteen’s message is far from the biblical Gospel Jesus Himself preached, people are clamoring for his self-help mantras. His message appeals to the longings of the natural mind — we want money and happiness, but we do not want God Himself. The gifts are more beautiful and compelling than the Giver. We want what God...

Kari is continuing her retelling of our story, “The Road to Santa Clara,” detailing our experiences in leaving all for a ministry opportunity a few years ago. The lessons learned along the way have proved to be invaluable, and although we wouldn’t sign up for it again, we wouldn’t trade it for the world. It is a redemptive story of God’s sustaining grace and the depth of friendship in the midst of confusion and frustrating circumstances. The entire story is now up: Ch. 1: The Phone Call | Ch. 2: The U-turn | Ch. 3: The Jeep | Ch. 4: The Apartment | Ch. 5: The Meeting | Ch. 6: The Rack...

Justin Taylor brings us this quote from C.J. Mahaney’s book Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God (pp. 49-50), about transitioning one’s soul during the commute home from work. It struck me as powerful, practical, and very effective for being essentially a small thing. Seeking to do this has had great impact on our home life, and it is easy to tell when I haven’t paused and calmed my soul to be “all there” at home after a long day in class or at work. Let’s strive to be better husbands and fathers. Here it is: When our first two children were still quite young,...

The New York Times reports that after using the same font on highway signs for over 50 years, America’s Federal Highway Administration has approved a new font, ClearviewHwy. Clearview is replacing Highway Gothic which has been in use since Eisenhower decided to expand the Interstate System in 1956. [HT via] Why does this matter, you ask? Well, first of all the leading killer in the U.S. is traffic accidents. Second, we perhaps may not realize how what we see and how we see it. That is the reason why I must wear my glasses for my eye exam when I renew my driver’s license. Without being...