I came across a great little blog as I was preparing for today, the Advent Sunday of joy, and so I shared this with our church. Here are the opening lines:

I agree that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” But I also quite like to receive, don’t you? And other people who love me want to know what to get me, so I help them by composing a Christmas list. Plus it’s fun to finally just put right down there what I really, really want.

For those who are interested in these kind of things, Alan Hirsch, along with a couple of local guys, will be at Regent College on Sat. March 12, from 9:30am-4pm. The cost of the seminar is $35 and you can register at the Regent Bookstore.

The theme of the seminar is "Everyday Mission for Everyday People." Alan is a really interesting guy who has lots of good things to say to the church. I read his latest book, Untamed, and it was very good. I don't know that I'll be able to make it out due to other commitments, but thought that I would pass this along.

I recently wrote up some thoughts that I had on yoga and contextualizing the gospel on a blog that I've started. It's kind of long-winded, so if you want to skip some of my ramblings, you can cut to the chase in the third posting. Either way, read through it and let me know your thoughts.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

So goes this provocative posting by David Fitch. Fitch does admit that he is stirring the pot by being provocative but hey, Jesus too was known to use hyperbole from time to time.

A brief summary of the three points he makes:

Did that title get your attention? I've been reading a book entitled "The Naked Anabaptist" by Stuart Murray which highlights some of the essentials of my background (Mennonite) and how they might be relevant to the position of the church in our society today, specifically with respect to the decline of the Christian society (Christendom).

It’s Christmas time and Jesus’ incarnation, his coming to earth in real flesh and blood, has been on my brain lately. It’s all because of a book I recently picked up again. The book’s main premise is that the idea of Jesus’ coming as a baby should serve as a model for cross-cultural missions. Now, most of us aren’t cross-cultural missionaries in the traditional sense, but really, anytime we interact with people who have values and lifestyle patterns different than our own, we are engaging in a form of cross-cultural ministry.