And Some Other Stuff Worth Checking Out

Here’s the rest of the stuff that caught my eye over the last two weeks,

It is Easier for a Camel to Go Through the Eye of a Needle than for a Cool Man to Enter the Kingdom of God – Whilst there is a distinction missing here between being cool and being talented, the core of Jared’s post represents a solid challenge. A lot of church practices (especially those geared towards youth and young adults) are predicated on notions of cool (and as I’ve said before, counterculturalism) that can actually obscure the Christian message. Jesus did not come in order that you may be cool…

Multitasking We Don’t Want to Know About – In case you didn’t get the memo – multitasking is bad, quite possibly only sustainable in myths and legends, frequently an excuse for poor organisation skills and over time will reduce your productivity and almost certainly lower the quality and focus of your work. This post, from the excellent NYT blog/column, Shifting Careers, reveals the way that working from home can open the door to what some people call multitasking, but could be better described as distraction.

The New Asian Consumerist – Helpful summary of the different kinds of Asian consumers and the way Hong Kongers are diverting attention away from consumption and towards investment.

An Interview With John Eldredge (via Lev’s Blog) – Insightful and brief comment on building balance and authenticity in worship by focussing on the full implications of discipleship.

Dr. Dobson’s Values Test – If someone asked me, in principle if I was pro-life or pro-family, I would have to say yes. In my view any Christian must consider families to be important and must be in favour of a full embrace of a life lived in hope. However, it’s clear that what I might mean by pro-life and pro-family are a long way from what Mr Dobson is saying.

What’s Going On Here and Halo 3 in Church and other items on faith in the NYT – One way to be “Pro-Life” is to question, to theologically question, the cult, culture and consumption of death. I’m all the use of relevant means of communication and even fully in favour of using gaming culture as a communicative bridge. But the ends don’t always justify the means; sometimes a good cause does not cancel out the bad that exists in a game. You’d think that morally informed and reflective pastors would be the first to understand this.

[tags] Consumerism, Investment, Pro-Life, Multi-Tasking [/tags]