I’m thinking of a doing a series on politics and the Bible because I get asked lots of questions about my political stances. I think it might be helpful to have a resource to point people to when they ask me (particularly the more conservative of my friends that think it crazy that I would even consider voting anything BUT republican). And so, I’ll kick things off by rehashing an old article that sets the stage: Political Language in the New Testament.
In that particular post, I mention some …

‘Pay close attention to these things also. Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build the temple. Then I will be pleased and honored,’ says the Lord. ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! This is why the sky has held back its dew and the earth its produce. Moreover, …

Last week I finally bit the bullet and did something I’ve been meaning to do for quite sometime: join Kiva. For those unaware, Kiva is an organization whose goal is to see worldwide poverty eliminated. They go about things differently though than your typical aid organization: they provide local people with small micro-loans (generally only a few hundred US dollars or less) that empower them to start, expand and develop their businesses, with an end goal of financial independence.
How It Works:
Kiva directly partners with various micro-financing across the …

Well — Obama gave his acceptance speech for the democratic nomination last night. It was a pretty historic event — the first African American to ever be nominated for president. I didn’t actually watch the speech, instead choosing to do other things, but I did today on youtube. And if there is one think that is certain — should he be elected he would likely be the most regal president in modern history. He is by far the best speech giver of any politician I’ve seen: …

If anyone wants to buy me a gift, I highly recommend this option: The Criterion Edition of Bottle Rocket. If you’ve spent anytime around me when I’ve talked movies, you probably know that my favorite comedies are the quirky Wes Anderson flicks, Bottle Rocket being my favorite. I already have the regular edition DVD and its gotten TONS of use. This edition includes commentaries, documentaries and the original 13-minute short that the movie is based on. Also it has 11 deleted scenes and lots more.
I can’t …

This weekend was NCC’s leadership retreat where all of the leaders in the clusters get together and spend time fellowshipping, worshipping and catching the vision for the coming year. And this year should be exciting as the vision is begin to cement on seeing God move radically in Norman. If you could boil it down to a single verse from the Bible, it would be:

…My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power…
1 Corinthians 2:4

For …