Random

• My copy of Dangerous Calling arrived today and I promptly watched it this afternoon. It's a great independent film dealing with pastoral leadership, the church's mission, and the issues that hold it back -- all set in the context of a thriller that is totally engaging. As the promo reads, "This is not your typical church film." I'm planning to use it in a class this semester and for a retreat that I'm leading next month. ~ link

• John Maddex, who was the linchpin of the Moody Broadcasting Network, has been appointed president and CEO of Conciliar Media Ministries, a publishing and online media organization of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. It's interesting to see how Conciliar has been evolving from just a magazine -- adding a bookstore, adding a publishing house, adding a radio ministry. ~ link

• Hearst, which has owned the Seattle P-I since 1921, is putting the paper up for sale. Its future seems uncertain. This has got to be as big of a shock to the city as the take-over and sell-off of WAMU. ~ link

• Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is going to be the first Protestant seminary to offer a PhD in spirituality. It's a tad bit ironic to think of Southern Baptists on the cutting edge of "spirituality." Almost by definition they're very attached to formulas and very defined methodologies. Spirituality seems a little too fuzzy. No criticism intended -- just an observation -- and kudos. ~ link



• The pastors who will do anything... to get you to come to church. Thanks, Jeff... I think...

• The beekeepers prize orange blossom honey. But the citrus growers blame the bees for causing otherwise seedless mandarins to develop pips. Interesting dilemma -- new twist on the farmer cattlemen range conflicts of previous generations. ~ link