This Week’s Links (July 31, 2009)

I posted a bunch of stuff via Twitter and Delicious this week. Here are some of my favorites.

• Tyler Braun’s series on “Sovereignty” is full of great guest posts yet again this week. I strongly encourage you to check them out: Kurt Brandemihl (@godsidekurt) and Justin Wise (@JustinWise) brought some really interesting thoughts.
• Additionally, Tyler Braun found some interesting similarities between the Tour de France and ministry. It’s all about teamwork, kids!
• Jonathan Brink (@jonathanbrink) offered some really interesting thoughts on “The Problem of Ordination.” Brink engages with N.T. Wright’s thoughts on the recent decision by Episcopalians to ordain homosexuals. Jonathan also posted a video called “The Good News According to Rob Bell.” I’m not a huge Rob Bell fan (even to the point where I find his speaking rhythm/cadence annoying!), but setting that — and some issues with his understanding of history — aside, I found this video to be full of some interesting insights. Eleven minutes is a bit long, but you can handle it!
• Tony Jones discusses “shibboleths” and the fondness that Evangelicals hold for them in “Just Another Means of Division.” He shows that Evangelicals have jumped from the abortion debate to the gay marriage debate. Another interesting note is his insistence that Evanglicals, though clearly comprising a huge political bloc in the US, prefer to view themselves as an oppressed minority.
• Kem Meyer told us that cutting clutter and noise was the way to go for most churches: “Pigs flew and I went on Christian TV…”
• Think that folks tweeting during church is no bueno? Carol Howard Merritt offers a different point of view: “Twibal Church.”
• Carlos Whittaker (@loswhit) alerted us to the awesome goings on at Rolling Hills Baptist Church: “Where’s the Steeple?” I also posted on this here.
• PCUSA’s Special Committee on Civil Union and Christian Marriage is asking for your thoughts and opinions on marriage. Drew Tatusko (@dtatusko) offered his letter to the committee for all to see: “on covenanted same gender relationships.”
• John Piper discusses 1 Thessalonians 5:8–10 and how it provided him with solace while he was dealing with some serious medical issues: “Biopsy Blows and the Helmet of Hope.” That’s pragmatic Christianity!
• Pat McCullough created a page devoted to helping undergrads figure out the grad school scene: “Wanna be a Bible scholar…?” A lot of good advice from McCullough there.
• Along with Brandon Wason, I will celebrate the anniversary of Hans Dieter Betz’s commentary on Galatians.
• Josh Hale, after reading a recent article on Mashable talking about Twitter’s new homepage, writes about the new Twitter attitude (twattitude?) and how it is appropriate for evangelism: “Twitter and Mission Fields.”
• César Baldelomar writes about being “corrected” by a Catholic community for asserting that Adam and Eve were not historical figures: “Taking the Bible Seriously, but not Always Literally.”