Random

• I've got some wild orchids in a pot on the patio and right now they're in bloom with beautiful miniature flowers. It doesn't really take much to care for orchids in this climate. This particular variety doesn't even need soil.

• Krister Stendahl, former New Testament professor at Harvard and bishop of Stockholm, died yesterday. ~ Source

Bishop Stendahl spoke at the centennial celebration of the Evangelical Covenant Church in 1985. The planning committee for the worship service in which he spoke had included a massive flag-waving American patriotic display which made me feel uncomfortable, stunned the Swedish bishop, left the Canadian participants in the cold, and which was theologically out there.

When it came time for Stendahl to speak he really zinged us for our biblical, theological, and social short-sightedness. At that point he became one of my favorite theologians -- even though at times his liberal streak had me rolling my eyes.

• It's interesting that I'm not coming up with much of anything about Krister Stendahl's death on the newsites. But it's the buzz on the blogs. ~ For example

• Potential .edu domain scam -- But how did the Pickering Institute get a .edu anyway? They aren't accredited by a recognized accreditor. They must have been grandfathered in under the old system. ~ Link

• Keith Drury's latest post deals with the problem of youthful optimism. "...what do you think about how the church should prepare for this wave of idealistic YES-WE-CAN young people who want to change the world?" ~ Link