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blog

I’m a guest on HuffPost Live, join in

UPDATE: If you missed the discussion, you can see it its entirety here.  

huffpostlive

I’ll be a guest on HuffPost Live talking about Jason Collins, faith, and sports today.

HuffPost Live’s segment is billed as

Jason Collins is 34, black, and gay—and religious. Collins’ coming out presents an intersection of LGBT rights, religious freedom, and professional sports. What role does faith play for athletes and what it means to be gay in the NBA?

  • Rev. Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Senior Religion Editor, New York, NY
  • Rev. Alan Rudnick, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa, Albany, NY
  • Esera Tuaolo, Former NFL Football Player; Author of ‘Alone In the Trenches,’ Minneapolis, MN
  • Paul Shirley, Former NBA Basketball Player; Author of ‘Can I Keep My Jersey?’ Los Angeles, CA
  • Tom Krattenmaker, Author of ‘Onward Christian Athletes’ and ‘The Evangelicals You Don’t Know,’ Portland, OR

Some have suggested that because Collins identifies as a Christian he cannot be a Christian because he is gay.

Join in on the chat, watch the live interview, and comment. Everything starts today, Thursday at 2:30 EST.

social media

The Bible: Satan, Obama, and Social Media

Viewers who watched “The Bible” mini series took to social media to quickly point out a disturbing observation. The character, Satan has a striking resemblance to Barack Obama. The actor, Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, obviously wore makeup.

Twitter was abuzz:

What do you think? Accident or intentional?

UPDATE:

The producers have responded to the accusations:

“This is utter nonsense,” executive producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey said in a statement. “The actor who played Satan, Mehdi Ouzaani, is a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor. He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics — including Satanic characters — long before Barack Obama was elected as our President.”

Mark Driscoll, social media

Mark Driscoll’s (non)Ministry of Social Media

If you never heard of Pastor Mark Driscoll then maybe you should. His church, Mars Hill Church in Seattle has over 6,000 members in just 11 years. Driscoll is often described as a maverick in the ministry and has one the most innovative churches in the country. TIME magazine was interested in this pastor’s ministry and has featured him in a few articles.

Recently, the mega church pastor caught fire from Christians with this Facebook update:

driscoll

This comment clearly takes a shot a certain type of person in the ministry.  Not only that, the undertones of a comment like this do nothing to advance the kingdom of God. If you are shocked by this comment, as am I, do not think this is the first time Driscoll said something like this.  Many in the Christian community have a hard time with Driscoll’s “tough guy” persona and some question his ability to lead.

The New York Times wrote about Driscoll’s ministry and his tenancy to “male-ize” his ministry:
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Culture

3 Reasons Why the Nashville Flood Went Unnoticed

Nashville: Known for country music and… flooding?  It seems like few people are talking about it and few news organizations are covering it. Even though over 20 inches of rain flooded this growing city, 30 people died, the clean up will cost billions, and the city will take years to recover. Normally, that is cause for major media coverage (remember the floods in Iowa a few years back?)  Certainly, the flooding of Nashville and surrounding areas are not on par with the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but does that matter?  Yes and no. No matter the disaster, people need help. No matter how great or small the loss of life, supplies and funds are needed.

It’s clear that this story has not been in the news that much.  Did you know celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Nicole Kidman held a Nashville Flood Relief Telethon? Most did not see it or even hear about it. Did you know it could be one of the most expensive disasters in US history?   With such a need for help in Nashville it is clear the message needs to get out.  So, why haven’t we heard about the Nashville flood?

Here are three reasons why the Nashville flood went largely unnoticed by Americans and the media:

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John Piper

Why You Should be Upset with John Piper

ORIGINAL POST: Last week in Minneapolis, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) made waves with their new progressive policies concerning homosexuals and now allow:

  1. Non-celibate gays to become clergy
  2. congregations to choose to do to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships.
  3. people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church

The ELCA is not the first mainline denomination to change their policies on such controversial issues.  The United Christ of Christ and Episcopal Church have made similar policies.  Every mainline denomination is struggling with how to take a stand for or against homosexuality in the church.

What should have made just as much news was well known Reform Baptist pastor and author, John Piper‘s statement concerning the tornado that hit during the ECLA’s meeting:

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blog, Culture

Why I am Going to Watch Jon and Kate Plus 8

UPDATE: Jon and Kate filled for divorce.  I wonder if they tried counseling.  From the looks of the editing in the episode, Jon and Kate cannot come to an agreement.  It seems that ” trying to do the best thing for their kids” does not include trying to save their marriage.

I have resisted blogging about “Jon and Kate Plus 8“, which is the show about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their 8 children, because it has been the “hot” celebrity news item.  I try not to give any attention to “celebrity news” because it is not real news.   The Jon and Kate story is news worthy on this blog because they are professed Christians and their situation is putting Christianity to the test in the eyes of secular viewers.   Part of the show contains scenes of the family going to church, memorizing scripture, and reading Bible stories.    Recently, the couple has gone through a dark time in their relationship, which has made news in just about every news outlet.  Allegations of infidelity have plagued the show since the start of season 5.  Questions have been raised regarding  the couple  staying together.

Tonight’s episode is billed as TLC’s most shocking show announcement, which many think will include the couple divorcing or ending the show.   Many of my friends who are Christians have found themselves in conversation about Jon and Kate and wondering, “What would I do if I were in the situation.”   News outlets have also been talking about how America is watching this train wreck but cannot look away.  There have been reports that Jon has been looking for an apartment in NYC. This show has gone from entertainment to the guilty pleasure of watching a family being torn away from each other.  This family does not need to go through anymore drama, but that is what you sign up for when you do a reality show in your kitchen.  Their children will no doubt watch the show when they are older and be changed for it.

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