We want sermons that explore the awkwardness of too much privilege, right-wing relatives, the drunk stranger in the back pew, our pad in the comfy end of the global village, litter in the poor part of town.
Maybe the key to social change and spiritual growth is found in stumbling, fumbling, oafish awkwardness. Our pulpit awaits.
$1,200 in prizes
Plus we’ll print winners (and others) in Geez magazine, Spring 2009
Mexico City finished first in a list of the world’s most visited religious tourism destinations, ahead of the Vatican and Lourdes in France, reports Milenio.
A study carried out by the Spanish Office of Tourism found that Mexico’s capital is the preferred destination of tourists seeking religious sites, largely because of its Basilica de Guadalupe, which receives millions of pilgrims each year.
The site of the basilica marks the spot where, according to Catholic tradition, the Virgin de Guadalupe — Mexico’s most revered saint — appeared to indigenous farmer Juan Diego in 1531. Every year, millions of pilgrims make their way to the shrine — arriving in their biggest numbers around Dec. 12, the Dia de la Virgin.
Overall music sales, which account for albums, singles, music videos and digital tracks, exceeded 1.5 billion units, a 10.5% increase from the previous year. Digital track sales–such as the singles on Apple’s (nasdaq: AAPL – news – people ) iTunes Store–accounted for 1 billion of those units, a 27% jump from 2007. And vinyl, surprisingly, is making a small comeback. Consumers purchased 1.8 million vinyl albums last year, a nearly 90% increase from 2007.
While it’s a good sign to labels and artists that they are able to get consumers to pay for music online, digital sales alone are not enough to sustain the industry. Instead, younger consumers are moving more toward buying digital singles instead of albums, which are more lucrative for artists and labels alike.
I have to admit I was really reluctant to share anything regarding my spiritual journey. For the most part, I was worried what friends and family would think, and feared negative responses with a bunch of out of context scripture references thrown at me. In other circles, I’ve been told that my questions and doubt would mean that I wasn’t really saved or that I was “luke warm” – which made me feel that I was letting someone or even God Himself down. Not that my journey is complete, but the whole process has been liberating and refreshing, and lot of that comes from a lot of you. Many of you may not have commented, but have sent me an email describing your similar experiences, and why you now also consider yourself a “Recovering Baptist” (and thanking me for coining the term, even though I’m sure I’m not the original one that came up with it), and above all, providing me with encouragement.
Dont’ get me wrong, I don’t dislike dislike the Baptist, but I do have my disagreements. They are great people at the core and are extremely well intentioned, it’s just over time I found out I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole, and I like to describe the experience in a tongue and cheek manner. Or to put it Biblically, I felt I was roaming the wilderness for the past 40 years, even though I’m not 40.
The UK’s Ministry of Defense lost 440 IT devices in the last year, including computers, hard drives and memory sticks. That seems like a lot. Article
I saw the new weather girl on Fox 4 yesterday morning, and she looked like an attractive tom-boy that tried to dress girly. Kind of like Jo from the Facts of Life.
Whoa, that was weird, and I wonder if it was some sort of Freudian slip regarding the last bullet point. I typed “I saw the new weather” part first, then stopped because I got distracted. Then when I tried to type “girl” I accidentally put my hands not on the home row keys, but one key over to the right, so my left hand pinky was on the “S” key and so forth. Well, when you do that and try to type “girl” you actually spell “hot.”
I wonder how many of you are going to see if that actually works.
I often think about my days working at the credit union in Abilene. Good times.
I think this kid is related to my Favorite Cat Loving Llano Estacado Pastor.
After watching How I Met Your Mother last night every fiber of me wanted to go out and eat a burger, specifically one at the Carnegie Deli. I remember eating there my senior year in college and having the best burger and fries in my life. I returned there about a decade later and feared the repeat burger would live up to my memory . . . but thankfully I was wrong. I’m salivating as I write this.
Believe it or not, I’ve only listened to the new U2 song all the way through twice.
I think I’m going to buy some video editing software.
I saw that Costco now offers VHS to DVD conversion for $20. That seems reasonable.
I think I have now received all my tax stuff in the mail, I might just finish it all this weekend.
Today’s random TV theme show song brings back some good memories. YouTube
