13 Things (v. 1)

As I peruse the web each day I come across many interesting articles, funny videos, great quotes, and much more.  If I find something I really like I’ll often tweet it out or send an email to friends with a link.  Sometimes I think about blogging these things, but as fast as the internet moves I’ve found I shy away from doing it so that I don’t end up being “that guy” sharing a YouTube video 3 weeks after the rest of the world saw it.

A few weeks back I came across Joe Carter’s blog tradition of posting “33 things” from the web each week and thought I’d use this idea and do a roundup of random things online that have impacted me lately.

So here goes:

1. My friend from college, Price Edwards, recently did a guest post on the famous Stuff Christians Like Blog outlining the art of “Facebooking your Mission Trip.”

Profile Picture

Who is in your picture is very important, so you must crop wisely. Kids are a must. You can do the one kid “building strong, personal relationships” look, the multiple kids “this is my posse that I am discipling” look, or the tons of kids “look at the impact I am making” look. Make sure to at least be hugging a few of the kids. Also, be sure not to have too many fellow mission trip goers in your pic. It water downs your impact.

°°°°°°

2. The Image of the post: Paul Hassel’s Lake Tahoe

°°°°°°

3. More Teens Becoming “Fake” Christians

°°°°°°

4. The practical item: How to Make Introductions like a Gentleman

Have you ever been at a party with a guy who runs into somebody he knows and starts yammering away while you stand there awkwardly, holding your drink? Man, I hate when that happens. You’re left in social limbo. I usually have to just take things into my own hands and introduce myself, which is fine, but the exchange would have been much smoother had my friend introduced me to his buddies.

5. Kevin Watson has a great series of blog posts detailing how to adapt Methodist  “Class meetings for the 21st Century”

The phrase that I believe best captures what the Methodists believed was so important about the class meeting was “watching over one another in love.” Early Methodists were asked to invite others into their lives and to be willing to enter deeply into the lives of other people so that together they would grow in grace. They were committed to the idea that the Christian life is a journey of growth in grace, or sanctification. And they believed that they needed one another in order to persevere on this journey.

°°°°°°

6. Electoral Politics.  Social-awkwardness.  Social Justice.

°°°°°°

7. Want to join me as I try to work up to one-hundred push ups in 6 weeks?

°°°°°°

8. Be sure to click the links in this “Rant about Worship Songs”

°°°°°°

9. David Taylor at Duke Divinity: Thoughts on Contemporary Worship Music

My point is this. The burden of responsibility for writing theologically sound music should not be placed exclusively on songwriters. The responsibility should rest jointly on congregations along with pastors, teachers, artists and theologians. Together we should carry the responsibility for holy and holistically nourishing songs. Together.

°°°°°°

10. A lesson for all of us who screw around on our phones too much.

Use the Rubik’s Cube rule.  What’s the Rubik’s Cube rule, you ask? Here we go:  If it would be appropriate for you to pull out a Rubik’s Cube and start playing with it, it would be acceptable for you to screw around with the apps, games, texting, and other trappings of your ComputerPhone 5000.

°°°°°°

11. Tempted to get on web sites that waste time at work… or during class lectures? Try the Leechblock browser add-on.

°°°°°°

12. This video of soldier’s coming home is best watched without others around.

°°°°°°

13. What are you willing to do for a fiverr ($5)?

°°°°°°