Monthly Archives: March 2009

“Perversion is a failure of the imagination,” part one

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Stephen

To further explicate the point I’ve tried to make in the last couple posts, allow me to quote from a couple of authors who first planted these ideas in my head. To sum up the point beforehand, I’m trying to … Continue reading →

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David McCullough

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Stephen

Tonight, some friends and I went to hear a lecture by author David McCullough, sometimes called America’s preeminent social historian, given at Belmont University. He talked a bit about his biographies of Harry S. Truman and John Adams, but the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Literature | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Will You Sign My Bible?

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Stephen

After the guest speaker finished his sermon, I would wait impatiently, along with the rest of the kids in my church youth group, for the song leader to finish leading us in the five, or twenty, verses of “Just As … Continue reading →

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“Thar’s “gobs of ‘em’”

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Stephen

You know how you do dumb things when you’re a kid? Here’s one stupid thing I did: had a congressman sign my Bible. Actually, he wasn’t a congressman yet, he was running his first campaign (on the promise he would … Continue reading →

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Best song lyric of 2009

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Stephen

I’m in the middle of reading David Dark’s newest, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, along with Peter Rollins’ How (Not) to Speak of God, and I just discovered a line on the new U2 CD that goes along with both … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Literature, Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

My favorite definition of “the Church”

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Stephen

“The Church is one cat in one ditch and one nobody of a son of a bitch trying to pull her out.” For some reason, I find myself about once a week or so trying to explain why I go … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Literature | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

RR: Tell Stories

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Stephen

I have a new post up at the Rabbit Room, quoting Peter Rollins, Walter Wangerin, and Frederick Buechner. I’ve been re-reading and thinking about the excerpt from Wangerin’s essay on preaching that takes up most of that post for the … Continue reading →

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The Gospel Hankie Card

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Stephen

“Look great and share your zeal for soul winning with these witness ties and handkerchief.” So reads the headline at the top of the full-page ad in the current issue of the Sword of the Lord newspaper, the biweekly publication … Continue reading →

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Why Music Matters

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Stephen

A friend of mine, a Grammy-nominated arranger that I work with, recently forwarded me a speech he’d come across given by Karl Paulnack to incoming freshmen at the Boston Conservatory. In it, Paulnack argues that musicians are as important as … Continue reading →

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“Our stories are all stories of searching…”

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Stephen

In his book The Longing for Home: Recollections and Reflections, Frederick Buechner includes a letter he wrote for the birth of his grandson, to be read on his twenty-first birthday. Since today, March 8th, is the day I add another … Continue reading →

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