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Today’s guest post is brought to you by Ben Emerson, one of the extraordinary (I’ve been using that word a lot lately, thanks to Ramona Quimby) folks I met over at BlogRocket. He’s at the beginning of a monumental undertaking – blogging about each and every chapter in the Bible, starting with Genesis and working his way through.

Today he’s taking a break from his normal exegetical style and providing us with something a little different: Five Writing Secrets I Learned From Genesis (the book of the Bible, not the musical band that brought us “I Can’t Dance” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”). Enjoy!

A couple of months ago I decided that I wanted to blog through the entire Bible. I work in ministry and (confession!) have never actually read through it. So it was about time to buck up and go for it. I am nearing the completion of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and was surprised to find so many helpful little nuggets about writing.

What follows is my humble contribution to Shawn’s “Five Writing Secrets I Learned From . . .” series.
Continue reading “Five Writing Secrets I Learned From Genesis”

Yesterday I read a Twitter profile that made me sad. It caught my eye, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Underneath the picture, this person wrote a brief introduction: where they live, what they do, that kind of stuff. Then they ended their profile with a sentence that made me sigh.

“I aspire to be a published author.”

I can see the expression on your face. I know what you’re thinking.

“That’s it? That’s the offending sentiment? It doesn’t take much to make you sad.”

And if you are thinking that, you are right (I nearly cried while watching “Ramona and Beezus” with the kids the other night). I was born with overactive tear ducts.

* * * * *

Why would such a worthwhile goal bring me heartache? Why would I, a writer, find it sad that someone would want to be a published author?
Continue reading “Why “Aspiring to be Published” is a Dangerous Goal”

What if we are (almost) missing the point completely? Is it possible that an entire religion can jump the rails by forgetting something foundational?

About a week ago I got an email from my friend Jason. We’ve been buddies for many years, although now that he lives in western Canada I never see him. But, thanks to the interwebs, his physical location hasn’t stopped us from continuing conversations about our shared interests, namely philosophy and theology.

He has always sort of vacillated back and forth between Christianity and eastern religions, and I value his opinions, one reason being because I feel he is one of my few close friends who can accurately clue me in to what people outside the church think about things.

Which is why I was kind of surprised when he emailed me this:
Continue reading “What My Eastern-Religion-Leaning Friend Taught Me About Being a Christian”

It’s been far too serious around here lately, so it’s time to return to the ever-popular…

Tuesday’s Top 10.

Today we explore the worst inventions of all time (a huge shout-out to Sky Mall for providing me with a centralized location from which to compile this list). I’ve only got seven inventions listed, so I’ll need your help in the comments to finalize the top 10 worst inventions of all time.
Continue reading “Tuesday’s Top 10: Worst Inventions of All Time”

About the same amount of people showed up for week two, showing that the preface and first two chapters of “Love Wins” weren’t too much for them to handle. Or maybe they had a secret ballot in the hallway, deciding who would receive the honor of eliminating me. As I’m still alive to write this post, I can only assume this wasn’t the case.

In all honesty, this small group of around 20 people is the most graceful, curious, well-meaning group I’ve run into for a long time. No one has gotten even the least bit upset at anyone else, at least not on the outside. And we are a diverse group, anywhere from early-20-somethings to 50-somethings, Gen-Xers to Baby-Boomers, moderns to postmoderns.

You can tell by the questions people ask and the verses they bring up that they do not always agree, but what I find most refreshing is this willingness the group has to let the questions be asked.

What if?
Continue reading ““Love Wins” Book Discussion – Week Two Recap”

People passing by on the road ridiculed the man being executed. The soldiers laughed and gambled for his possessions. The criminals hanging on other crosses, dying their own deaths, even took time to scoff at him. The religious crowd joined in, taunting him.

“Save yourself! If you are really God’s son, come down off the cross!”

They must have really hated him. It’s one thing to get on someone’s case when their successful, or steal your parking spot. But to harangue a rabbi as he dies one of the most painful deaths known to mankind? That’s just low.
Continue reading “When Being “Saved” Isn’t Enough”