CRN.Info and Analysis

As a way of shifting gears a bit, here are a few things I’ve enjoyed thus far this summer that might pique the interest of some of our readers:

• The gods Aren’t Angry DVD (July 7) - While it’s not as good as live front-row seats, it is an excellent presentation regarding the history of sacrifice, God’s use of it through the ages, and application for today - concrete teaching to explain why there is nothing a Christian can do to earn God’s love.  (It’s a great companion to Everything is Spiritual, which has set up some excellent conversations for me the past few months, and something to tide you over if you’ve pre-ordered Jesus Wants to Save Christians.)
• Third Day’s new album, Revelation (July 29) - Released today, and I’m loving it.  The three-year wait has come to an end with a new (non-holiday) album from Third Day.
• The new Sandra McCracken (Mrs. Derek Webb) new album, Gravity|Love is available on mp3 and is a great listen (though you hard-copy CD lovers will have to wait a couple more weeks).
• Meet the Rabbis (Brad Young) - I took a trip back through this excellent work which explores Jesus’ contemporary rabbis and the streams of though they held to - comparing and contrasting them to Jesus’ teaching.  (And just as exciting, his book on Parables is now available in paperback!)
• Blink (Malcolm Gladwell) - An excellent book I’ve recommended for several years - I took my work book club through it a few chapters at a time and got some additional insights into the way folks think and make quick decisions. (I’m also pre-ordering Outliers, his first book in 3 years)
• If you’ve ever had qualms about the American Justice system, false arrest and the death penalty, An Innocent Man is an excellent read - it sent chills down my spine reading the story of Ron Williamson and his years on death row and descent into semi-insanity as an innocent man there.

What has everyone else been watching, reading, listening to this summer?

Mike Ratliff to Joe Martino, “You have an unregenerate heart.” Click here to read more.

We probably all know now that the apprising site is now back up. I must admit that it was a relief for my own ministry to have it down for a while. It just seems that we will have to contend for truth and a pure faith for a while longer. For the most part I sat back and watched the action on all of this, and was really proud of how CRN.info handled this situation. It seemed that there was a fair assessment of the situation, taking into account both R.A.’s and K.S.’s responsibility in the matter.

Having that said, I find it strange that all of the featured articles on the new apprising site are about raising money. In one post Silva mentions that he is soliciting churches to give him money out of their missions budget. Does Ken really see his work as evangelistic?

We just had a big earthquake in Chino Hills, my home town.

All is well.