Summer Reading List

Summer always started the same way when I was a kid. 

On the first day of summer my mom would pile all of us kids into the station wagon and drive us to the Round Rock Public Library and sign us up for the Summer Reading Program. 

The program worked like this: For every milestone you passed (for every 10 short, children’s books when you were a kid or for every 100 pages of a chapter book once you got older) you got a Prize Pack. Those Prize Packs were filled with all sorts of little trinkets as well as coupons for free stuff from local shops. 

The best prize in the gift bag (the Holy Grail of the Prize Packs) was the coupon for “One Free Donut” from Round Rock Donuts! Lots of people can trace their love of reading back to an certain influential teacher or to a particular beloved book, but I’m pretty sure my love of reading was nurtured by those donut coupons!

 

Even though the donut reward system is long since past for me, I still see summer time as reading time. Each summer I put together my own Summer Reading List, and I build in some accountability by sharing the full list with the church. It is also an invitation too. If  you are interested in any of the titles on my Summer Reading List and want to order a copy for yourself I’ve also included Amazon.com linksfor each book. 

So without further ado, here is what I’ll be reading this summer:

• A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen
  A classic text. Nouwen connects the practical need for funds to do the work of religious organizations with the spiritual and theological principles that inform the work.
  
• Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairytale by Frederick Buechner
  A short, quick read by one of my favorite authors. It offers a creative look at the underlying meaning of the Gospels that stresses the many dimensions of God's relationship to humanity.
  
• Insurrection: To Believe is Human to Doubt, Divine by Peter Rollins
  A thought provoking book from one of the leaders of the Emergent Church movement that “prescribes a radical and wholesale critique of contemporary Christianity” in order to faithfully follow Jesus.
  
• Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate by J. Clif Christopher
  I’m re-reading this one again this summer. Written with the needs of pastors and stewardship teams in mind the book provides immediate, practical guidance to all who seek to help God’s people be better stewards of their resources.
  
• My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer by Christian Wiman
  Completed in the wake of a bone marrow transplant, the book is a moving meditation on what a viable contemporary faith—responsive not only to modern thought and science but also to religious tradition—might look like.

I’m also planning on finishing The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer (which you might remember from last Summer’s Reading List!) and just for fun I highly recommend Steve Martin’s Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life. Oh, and as a family we are going to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix out loud to each other during our vacation back in the Midwest in July!

Yours in the Journey,
Rev. Brian

From the Sporadic Bibliography

I haven’t showcased anything from the “Sporadic Bibliography” here lately, so here we go: A handful of things that I’ve been reading this week!

Week of Compassion Resources
Don’t forget that this Sunday marks the closing day for this year’s Week of Compassion Offering. You can find all sorts of great resources on their website like the history of Week of Compassion, resources for specific projects, success stories from local congregations, and even the video we shared in worship this past Sunday.


What is Week of Compassion from Stephen Moseley on Vimeo.


YouVersion.com
Earlier this week I took part in a Webinar led by church growth and revitalization guru Rev. Cameron Trimble. She turned me on to this website, and I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not quite sure what to make of it just yet. But Cameron has never steered me wrong before, so I’m willing to check it out. YouVersion is an online, social networking, Bible study community. Follow the link to check it out and see if you think it might be something useful for our church to try. If you have any opinions on it, drop me an e-mail.

SWOT Analysis and Asset Mapping
Two separate resources, and they only sound New Age-y. They are actually terrific exercises for organizational development. Sandi DeFeo and I met last night to talk about our upcoming Administrative Council Retreat and we’ll be using modified versions of these two tools to set some goals for Administrative Council and begin the work of discerning God’s vision for our congregation. You’ll be hearing more about the Administrative Council Retreat in the coming weeks, but for now check out these two resources to see what we’ll be talking about.

Growth Stalls, Falls for Largest US Churches
This one is humbling. Actually, it just hurts. USA Today ran a story earlier this month on the statistics and trends in church membership in the United States today. In a word: Not so good. The mainline church (of which the Disciples of Christ are a part, even though we don’t garner a single mention in the article) has continued to see steady decline in membership, giving, and participation. It spells out the very real challenges that are ahead of us if we want to be a growing, vibrant, active church in this day and age. It is well worth the read if you want to get a sense for the state of the church in America today.

Happy reading, friends. If you have anything that you have enjoyed reading lately and would like to recommend it please mention it in the comments section!

Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian

The Sporadic Bibliography

Time to re-introduce an old feature on the blog. The name has changed several times, mostly to reflect the frequency of the articles.

At first it was the "Weekly Bibliography" but I had a hard time posting it every seven days. Then it became the "Bimonthly Bibliography" which has a nice alliteration to it, but that didn't work either. Thus the new title...The Sporadic Bibliography!

Every now and then I'll use this space to list off some of the interesting things that I've been reading. Because the best part about reading something interesting is being able to share it with others, right?

Sometimes the articles I'll post will tie directly into an upcoming sermon. Other times it will be something interesting that I've read about church vitality or leadership development or prayer. Every now and again (though not as often as you'd think!) I'll share something simply because it is silly and I want you in on a good joke.

So without futher adieu, here is what I've been reading lately:
The Text This Week
Simply the best scripture study and lectionary resources around. It has tons of links to Bible Study aids, sermon starters, blog posts, worship resources, prayers and more. It is where I start my sermon preparations every single week.

Green Stop Signs?
A fascinating article about the ways we as the church send mix messages that keep us from effectively communicate with the wider world. From a website designed "to frustrate, educate and motivate the church to communicate, with uncompromising clarity, the truth of Jesus Chris." And yes, font size and clutter matter!

Evangelism and the Under-30 Crowd
Wanna know what young people want in a church home? Check out this great read from the Alban Institute about the Relational Evangelism Pilot Project.

Prayer Generator
A daily dose of prayer from the good folks at beliefnet. If you hit the "see another prayer" button then it will randomly generate a prayer from the archives. Pretty cool and surprisingly engaging.

Enjoy the read! If you ever have posts or articles that you would like to share with me feel free to drop me an e-mail!

peace,
Rev. Brian

What I'm watching...

A special edition of "What I'm reading" this week that needed a slight title tweak. You see, these aren't articles or blog posts that I've been reading but important videos from the United Church of Christ that I've been watching...over and over again! Give 'em a click to see what I'm talking about!

The New UCC Ad
This launched on Friday as part of a viral marketing campaign by the UCC. It is unlike anything the church has ever done before, and yet it authentically represents exactly who we are and who God is calling us to be.



The Installation of the Rev. Geoffrey Black
Our new General Minister and President was formally installed this past weekend. Check out the highlight reel below that captures some of the festivies in an easy 5-minute video clip.

I've been reading: Easter Edition

Here are some of the things I've been reading this week in preparation for Easter Sunday:

Unnatural Event by Theodore J. Wardlaw
From the "Living by the word" section of "The Christian Century" it is a fabulous reflection on the power of the Easter story to speak God's word of hope against all other storytellers who might tell you otherwise. Simply a must read.



Hope Synonyms
I couldn't get away with saying "Easter is about hope" without then having the most complete list possible of synonyms, definitions, and descriptions of "hope". If you've never played with the "visual thesaurus" before then scroll down two-thirds away through the listing and click on over.

Easter Surprise
We'll be using a version of this Children's Sermon as part of our Easter Sunday Worship Service. Except that I don't have a jack-in-the-box, so we'll be acting it out with our youngsters instead!

The Magical Revolutionary Machine
I know, I know, this has nothing to do with Easter except for the coincidence of the calendar. But the iPad was officially launched this weekend and being the tech geek that I am I couldn't help but read every last review, posting, jot and tittle about the latest gadget du jour. So here you go, the full review from my favorite tech blog. Enjoy! And if you can talk the Easter Bunny into bringing me one, even better!

This Week's Reading List

Here are some of the things I've been reading online this week:

OGHS 2009 Mission Report
We'll receive our One Great Hour of Sharing special mission offering this Sunday at the church. Here is the excellent 2009 Mission Report from One Great Hour of Sharing that tells some of the stories (including one I used in last Sunday's sermon and one I'll be using this Sunday) of what exactly your One Great Hour of Sharing dollars are being used for. To give online, just click here.

Pew Forum asks, "How religious is your state?"
I could play on this website all day. Not just because it is an attempt by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life to answer the question "How religious is your state?" but also because when you click on the interactive buttons it has this groovy animation for rearranging the states depending on their rank in different metrics. Awesome! And in case you were wondering, Arizona ranks 33rd, right behind Iowa and just ahead of Nevada.

Getting through to Glenn Beck
You've probably heard that conservative political pundit Glenn Beck recently told his listeners to leave any church that teaches social justice, and to report its pastor to church authorities. Sojourners Magazine thought it was a better idea to encourage Christians who believe in social justice to turn themselves in to Glenn Beck! Follow this link to send a letter straight to Glenn Beck explaining that you are a Christian who believes in the biblical call to social justice.

"You Are Accepted" by Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich is one of the most influential theologians of the last 100 years and I take great pride in the fact that I am a theological grandson of his (I studied directly under Clark Williamson who studied directly under Paul Tillich). This is one of Tillich's more famous sermons, reprinted in his book "The Shaking of the Foundations." In talking about grace in this Sunday's sermon, I couldn't help but take a sizable quote from Tillich's own words...because I could not say it any better.

This Week's Bibliography

Here are some of the things that I've been reading this week.

Seeking a Moral Compass: Will the Recession Change us? by Julia Baird
A Newsweek editorial from a few weeks back that challenges us to learn the same kinds of hard lessons from the Great Depression as those who lived through the Great Depression took from it. A stunning article that wound its way into the opening of Sunday's sermon.

One Great Hour of Sharing
We introduce our One Great Hour of Sharing Special Mission Offering this Sunday (we'll be receiving the offering next week, 3/14/2010). So I've been spending a lot of time on the One Great Hour of Sharing webpage. Some of the highlights include the success stories of how your OGHS dollars are used, the wonderful worship resources that we'll be drawing on in the coming weeks, an invitation to get involved , and this fabulous One Great Hour of Sharing video...

The NEW Southwest Conference Website
Our Conference Communications Director Peggy Ice just launched the brand smacking new version of our conference website (note: you'll want to change your bookmarks, it is an entirely new web address too!). It is fabulous and even includes a tab specifically dedicated to the Conference Justice Witness Committee (that I serve on, so visit that page often!). Big thanks to Peggy for all the work that it takes in launching a new site...so check it out and visit it often!

Hamster Sunday Readings

Here is what I've been reading in preparation for Hamster Sunday:

Can You Milk a Hamster?
This one comes at the suggestion of our Conference Minister. A funny clip from a company that promises to answer any question you text in to them...including "Can you milk a hamster?" Check out the video to find out the surprising and "delightful" answer.

Pope recognizes "Hamster Jesus"
A fake news story from the satirical news website The Spoof. This story was copy and pasted whole sale into the back page of the Hamster Sunday Order of Service...by someone other than me. Seriously, I went to church, fired up the computer, went to work on the bulletin, and this story was pasted in there waiting for me. That was the moment when I realized Hamster Sunday had taken on a life of it's own.

The Other Side of Music
In case you were wondering what it would sound like if a Hamster sang the Books of the Bible. No really.

Hamster Care Guide
For anyone who was motivated by Hamster Sunday to go out and get one of those cute little furballs for yourself, then here is an about.com guide to taking care of your hamster...

Zhu Zhu Pets
...or if you don't think you can handle a real hamster (or prefer for you hamster to drive around in a little car) then might I suggest this link for the world's most in demand toy hamsters and accessories.

If you've read this far and still don't get what in the world we are talking about with "Hamster Sunday" at the Encanto Community Church, then check out this link to an earlier blog post explaining the whole thing.

Weekly Bibliography

I'm a couple of days late on this one, but here is what I've been reading lately.

Outgoing UCC Leader: Greatest Challenge Facing Church is Leadership
The greatest challenge the United Church of Christ is facing and will face over the next decades is leadership, according to our outgoing General Minister and President John Thomas.

Our Churches Wider Mission
A felt board, a goofy voice over, some worthy attempts at humor. Here is a YouTube clip that explains Our Churches Wider Mission in plain talk.

The Drum Major Instinct
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historical Drum Major Instinct sermon preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia on February 4, 1968. It deals with the same sermon text we wrestled with this past Sunday (Mark 10:35-45) and got a shout out in the sermon.

UCC General Minister and President: I am excited about this church
In his first address to the UCC's Executive Council, new General Minister and President the Rev. Geoffrey A. Black commended the body Oct. 16, saying, "The UCC is an important voice in the church and society."

Weekly Bibliography

Howdy friends! Here is what I've been reading this week:

Geoffrey Black's words of hope for the UCC
Our General Minister and President-elect (he'll fully assume the role in October) the Rev. Geoffrey Black recently posted an article on the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog. He talks about the realities and opportunities for the United Church of Christ. In many ways his larger vision reflects the kind of hope and energy we are feeling at the Encanto Community Church on a local level.

Neighbors in Need
We will receive our annual Neighbors in Need special offering on Sunday October 4. Neighbors in Need(NIN) is a special mission offering of the UCC that supports ministries of justice and compassion thoughout the United States. Follow this link for Neighbors in Need stories, FAQ's, resources, and even a secure place to donate on-line.

Working Preacher
Commentary on Mark 9:38-50 by Paul S. Berge, professor Emiretus of NT at Luther Seminary. It is a nice overall introduction to the Sermon Text this week. This thought provoking reflection really helped me organize my own comments for Sunday. (Note: make sure and click on the "Gospel" tab)

Salty Stewards Share Rev. Sharron R. Lucas' brief and poignant reflection on power, sharing, and ministry based on this Sunday's sermon scripture.

Traveling Together: A Guide for Disciple-forming Congregations
This one isn't a web article. It is an actual book. One that I'm reading this week. An excellent resource on discipleship and vital congregations by Jeffrey D. Jones. The link will take you to Alban's website where you can preview the book and order it for yourself.

Not-So-Weekly Bibliography

I know, I know. I've been terrible about posting this supposedly weekly piece. Anyway, here is what I've been reading this week.

International Day of Prayer for Peace
World Council of Churches member churches worldwide are once more invited to pray for peace on 21 September 2009. The International Day of Prayer for Peace offers an opportunity for church communities in all places to pray and act together to nurture lasting peace in the hearts of people, their families, communities and societies. Overcoming Violence: Churches Seeking Reconcilation and Peace present resources for Monday September 21's International Day of Prayer for Peace.

JPANet: Pray and Act for Peace The UCC's Justice and Political Action Network's resources for the International Day of Prayer for Peace. It includes an email-able letter to President Barack Obama supporting his vision of a nuclear free world, and also has a prayer from UCC General Minister and President John Thomas.

i.UCC: Feed Your Spirit
The sermon this week draws heavily from Rev. Kate Huey's weekly blog at i.UCC. Her post this week is titled "First in Caring."

Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 5
It was Church Night with the Diamondbacks for the good folks at the Encanto Community Church on Friday night. It was a rough start for the Dbacks, but a big 4th Inning made a game of it and same late inning heroics put it away.

And speaking of late game heroics...

Cardinals 3, Cubs 2
Welcome to the rivalry, Matt Holliday. Let's here it for the good guys!

Weekly Bibliography

I'm going to need to tweak the title of this recurring feature, since it isn't actually recurring as often as the title might indicate. Anyway, here are some of the things I've been reading (and doing) on-line lately.

New UCC News Feeds on the Encanto Website
I've added a news feed section to the website. It is a self-updating RSS feed, which means this page will change and upload new stories and links as soon as they are available. It is a great way for folks to stay in the loop with things going on in the wider world of the United Church of Christ.


UCC justice leader decries Tiller murder
Here is just one example from the UCC News Feed: Sandy Sorensen, the UCC's Washington-based Justice and Witness Ministries minister and team leader, has issued a statement regarding the killing of Dr. George Tiller.

Annual Report of the National Setting of the United Church of Christ
Speaking of the wider world of the UCC, here is the online version of the Annual Report from the UCC. It includes video clips, plenty of photos, and our denominational leaders telling you in their own words what they are up to in the name of serving the Lord. Make sure to click all the way to the end (about 5 clicks, really) for the invitation to share your own videos or stories about how the UCC has changed your life.

The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself
I have linked to Dan Clendenin's blog before, but since I opened the sermon with an extended quote from his essay, it feels right to link to him again. Bookmark his site and comeback often, or just check to make sure I didn't misquote him.

Immerse Yourself Photo Mosaic
Lots of UCC links today, but this one is my favorite. The UCC has created a photo mosaic for General Synod 27 in order to share all the ways that UCC members and friends immerse themselves in life, love, ministry, justice and more! Well...I'M IN THE MOSAIC! I can't tell you how excited I am! Right in the middle (the right leg of the second "M", second photo down) with Lee, Phil, Liana, and Barb at the Clergy-vs-Youth Softball Game. Just look for this photo, right here...

Weekly Bibliography -- Lotsa Stats!

In preparing for this Sunday's sermon (the second in our sermon series on Christian Identity; built around the Mission Statement of the Encanto Community Church -- Caring Christians Joined in Faith) I've spent a lot of time reading over survey results and the reactions to those results. Here are some of the links that I found particularly helpful and worth reading this week.

American Religious Identification Survey
The place to start if you are going to look at the most recent, wide-sweeping, big-picture view of the current context of religious life and identity in America. The stats I quote in the sermon (not too many, I promise!) come from here.

Beware American Religious Identity Survey
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield's re-framing of the results from the ARIS. He claims the survey shows a sea change in religious identification, not a vanishing of faith. I couldn't resist putting these two links back-to-back! Nothing like telling you to read something and THEN telling you to beware of it.

Pew Forum US Religious Landscape Survey
Can't get enough stats? Here is an another broad-based survey of American Religious Identity. It includes 5 page summary version of the results or for the truly diehard, a full 143 page version!

God Talk
Tired of stats? Then check out Stanley Fish's New York Times opinion piece about faith, reason, and the future of religious belief.

What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church?
I freely admit, the title is better than the clip. But if you are jonesing for a youtube clip on the current state of the church, you could do worse than this one.

Weekly Bibliography

Here are a couple of interesting reads for this week.

Caring
Remember, that this month we are observing "Identity Month" at the Encanto Community Church by dedicating one Sunday service to each word of our Mission Statement, "Caring Christians Joined in Faith." So it makes sense to actually define "caring".

The End of Christian America
Jon Meacham's Newsweek story from a month ago. It is your "assigned homework" for Sunday May 10th; required reading leading up to the second of our "Identity Month" sermons. As you are reading, pay special attention to the demographics and statistics pertaining to belief and religious affiliation.

Hot Passionate Conservatives and Icy Cold Liberals
A good read from TribalChurch.org that challenges the familiar notion that Conservative Churches are growing and thriving while all mainline churches are shrinking and dying. It does a nice job laying out some of the context that most mainline churches (including us right here at Encanto) were born into...and the new context that surrounds churches now.

The new and improved UCC News
A must bookmark for UCC folks. This is the new redesign for the UCC News website, which features videos, opinions, blogs, and news feeds broken down by category. Enjoy.

Weekly Bibliography

UCC Leaders Hail Iowa Court Decision
Last week the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously decided to reject the ban on same-sex marriage in the state of Iowa. Find out what prominent United Church of Christ leaders had to say in support of the court's decision.

Who needs facebook? myUCC officially launched!
The United Church of Christ officially launched myUCC last week, a social networking site for UCC members. And yes, I am on it. Check out the article to learn more and get signed up.

The World God Loves
UCC General Minister and President John Thomas' Holy Week reflection on the love of God.

Earth Day Invitation for IPL
Interfaith Power and Light is an ecumenical campaign mobilizing a national religious response to global warming and promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation. They have branches in 29 states...and Arizona is not one of them. At least, not yet. Here is an invitation to take part in one of three statewide meetings with the hope of establishing Arizona's very own IPL chapter.

Weekly Bibliography

Here's a running list of some of the interesting things I've been reading this week on the web:

Information about Rev. Geoffrey Black
Unanimously approved by the Executive Council of the United Church of Christ
The UCC will elect a new General Minister and President this Summer at the General Synod in June. This past week Rev. Geoffrey Black (currently serving as New York Conference Minister) was unanimously confirmed by the 90-member Executive Council to be the candidate for General Minister and President. Follow these two links to learn more about Rev. Geoffrey Black.

Youth and Young Adult Interim Report
How do put together a Youth and Young Adult Report in today's world? Youtube, of course! Watch this fascinating report from our Interim Minister for Youth and Young Adults where our young people answer the questions: What does God dream for you? What does God hope for the United Church of Christ?

Rev. Kate Huey's Weekly Seeds
Weekly Seeds is a wonderful, recurring column from i.ucc.org that gives an indepth reflection on Sunday's sermon scriptures. This week the article focuses on Jeremiah's reflection on the new covenant that "will be written on our hearts". Even though I didn't preach on the text, it is well worth reading...and bookmarking so that you can come back each week.

Vicar of Dibley Jokes
The sermon started this week with a reference from the 90's British sitcom "The Vicar of Dibley" including the end-jokes that followed the credits on every single episode. Here is a 10-minute YouTube collection of some of the best of those jokes. Enjoy.

Weekly Bibliography

One Great Hour of Sharing. A national clergy survey. A new book from the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries. A favorite article on God's love. And more college hoops than I care to publically admit. Here's a sampling of the things I'm reading this week.


The UCC's One Great Hour of Sharing Website
We will collect our OGHS Special Offering this Sunday. In preparing for the service and writing a sermon inspired by OGHS, I've been frequenting the website, reading over the stories and reports, and feeling proud that the UCC is one of the denominational partners who makes this worldwide outreach ministry possible.

The Results from the Protestant Clergy Voices Survery
Just how liberal or conservative are Mainline Protest Church Members? And how does that compare with their pastors? And how about UCC pastors in particular? Follow the link and take a look!

I've Ordered Mine. Have you ordered yours? The Public Policy Briefing Book.
"Due to popular demand, Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM), partnering with Wider Church Ministries (WCM), revives a highly respected ecumenical resource, the 2009-2010 Public Policy Briefing Book. JWM and WCM are pleased to share this helpful tool in hopes that it will be a useful instrument for individuals or congregations to engage in the justice and peace movement. Inside the briefing book you will find tips for congregational advocacy, in-depth coverage of the U.S. financial crisis and the Iraq War, and issue-by-issue coverage of domestic and international concerns likely to be acted on during this two-year session of Congress."

"Life and Light" by Dan Clendenin from his "Journey With Jesus" Blog
This is an article from a couple of years ago, that I come back to now and then. It happens to draw from John 3 (this Sunday's lectionary text) and gets an extended quote in the sermon. In case you want to read the entire article (about the nature of God's love and the ways it transforms us) here it is.

The Official NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Site
Come on, folks! It is March Madness! And the Sun Devils have already advanced past the first round! Even if you haven't kept up at all this whole year, you have to be excited about men's college basketball now, righ?!?

Weekly Bibliography

Here is what I've been reading this week.

UCC.org's New E-Commerce Section
This is the exciting announcement from UCC.org that we finally have a place on the web to do our one stop shopping! Click on the link to read the announcement, or follow this link to actually visit the new UCC.org Online Store.

2009 UCC Church Leadership Institute
Another excellent online resource from our beloved United Church of Christ. This the "Grow the UCC" website, an initiative from the National Evangelism Team (I know, I know you think "evangelism" is a bad word...well guess what, that is part of the problem! check out the website and see). It also includes information about the upcoming webinar "Where are the 20-somethings" -- an online seminar for exploring ways of creatively engaging young people and inviting them to be a part of our churches.

Leprosy in the Bible
This week's lectionary offering is Mark 1:40-45 where Jesus cures a leper who begs for his help. So here is a nice article (with just a bit too much detail!) about the differences between "leprosy" in the Bible and "modern leprosy" (ie Hansen's disease). A little homework for the sermon and some akward cocktail chatter next time you bump into a dermotalogist.

Preaching Helps
Another site I visit weekly to help me hone in on the issues at stake in scripture. And don't hold it against them that it is a Methodist resource! It is a nice, concise engagement of the lectionary texts with some leading questions that are thought provoking (and ofter sermon-inducing). This week it does a nice job drawing the connections (and contrasting the differences) between the Old Testament and New Testament stories of healing a leper.

Zombies Ahead
Yes, this is my hometown. No, I wasn't the one who hacked into the highway warning signs in Austin, TX to make them display ridiculous warnings about zombies. But I do think it is funny and worth watching on YouTube!

What I'm reading

A busy weekend means I didn't get this page up by its regular Friday deadline. But here is what I've been reading this week:

Justice and Witness Ministries
A big chunk of the sermon talks about the importance of Justice and Witness Ministries in the life of the UCC. This is their website, which does an admirable job explaining who they are, what they do, and the ways that their ministry truly is our ministry.

The Politics of Coming Out
The "Out in Scripture" Blog is another blog that I frequent often. It tends to err on the scholarly side (two of my former professors, Charles Allen and Holly Hearon on the editorial board) but offers an insightful take on the weekly lectionary texts from an LGBT perspective. This weeks analysis of the struggle between human agency and divine initiative is a great read.

Compassionate in Word and Deed
I don't just read blogs, scholarly texts, and denominational websites. Sometimes I read other people's sermons too! This is John R. Donahue's sermon from this past week. He is a professor of New Testament studies at the Jesuit School of Theology and Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He offers a great take on the text and its parallels in our modern world. A gutsy sermon and well worth the read.

The NBA All-Star Weekend
Come on! It is happening right here in Phoenix! The Valley of the Sun will become the center of the basketball universe! Of course I've been reading all about it...and you should be too!

What I'm reading this week

Time for another new feature on the blog...one that I mentioned in my very first post and then have been too busy to actually get started!

Which means that I cannot promise that this will be a regular weekly feature, but that is certainly the goal. The "What I'm reading this week" feature is exactly what it sounds like, a list of articles, blogs, websites, and stories that I'm following this week. Many of them will directly relate to the sermon that I'm preparing this week (call it homiletical homework) but it will also include articles from the UCC's national website, interesting things going on close to home in the Southwest Conference, and (frankly) whatever other interesting thing I stumble upon that I think you might be interested in too. Some of it will be silly, some of it serious, all of it things I'm reading. You can click on the linked title of each piece, or just trust my own little snippet synopsis.

So with that word of introduction out of the way, here is what I'm reading this last week of January, 2009.

SarahLaughed.net
For my money, simply the best lectionary blog on the planet. I'll link to it often in this space, but just because it isn't here, doesn't mean I'm not reading it. I read it every week and I am consistently touched/challenged/inspired by what Sarah Dylan Breuer has to say. In fact, click on the link, bookmark it, and come back often.

JourneyWithJesus.net
Dan Clendenin is another favorite of mine, and he gets referenced in my sermons frequently. Bookmark this one too. This week he wrestles with the intriguing question: Who speaks for God? (Note: just because you see a picture of Pat Robertson right away, don't assume he's saying Pat Robertson is the right answer to the question!).

Heavy Hitters Planned for Synod
The General Synod Planning Committee has released their list of Speakers for this summers national gathering of the church in Grand Rapids, MI. The list is headlined by renowned journalist and author Eugene H. Robinson and also includes such familiar names as Ray Suarez, Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor, and Rev. Jim Wallis.

Harmonies on Liberty
The sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins (General Minster and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), my "other" denomination) at the National Prayer Service at the invitation of President Barack Obama.

Covenant Connections
If you aren't reading John Dorhauer's blog, then you need to start immediately. In fact, stop reading right now and click on the link...okay, you back now? Pretty cool, huh? It is the best way to keep with the Southwest Conference and the adventures of our Conference Minister. John does a tremendous job sharing the stories of our Conference and showing us the faces of the people who are making all that ministry possible.

Wordle.net
An amazing graphics program created by Jonathan Feinberg. Insert any text into the CREATE window and it randomly renders it as "beautiful word clouds." Don't like the way it turned out? Hit the "Randomize" button again, or edit the type yourself. Hard to explain, but fun to use, and an easy way to waste a couple of hours. The pic at the top of this post is a Wordle rendering of last Sunday's sermon.