Random

> When I grow up I want to be like Allan Barsema. A lay leader at First Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois, he was recently awarded $100,000 for his innovative holistic ministry with homeless. (If there is another less sterotypical term we can use other than "homeless," I'd like to hear what it is.) The money came through Civic Ventures a six-year, $17 million program “that provides large-scale investment in social entrepreneurs older than 60 who, in their encore careers, are using their experience and passion to make an extraordinary impact on society’s biggest challenges." ~ link

> "It is important to value both evangelism and dialogue without reducing one to the other..." ~ Richard Mouw in Theology, News, and Notes

> "The Royal Spanish Academy is lopping two letters off the Spanish alphabet, reducing it to 27." The Spanish grammar cops are trying to get rid of “ch” and “ll,” along with some accents and hyphens. The real question is, what will the Google translation software do? They may be the ones who get to say what is acceptible. ~ WSJ

> Are cosmic rays associated with fluctuations in sun's electromagnetic field behind global warming? Yet another theory. Who knows if it can stand up to scrutiny. Ten years ago we were arguing over whether global warming is a reality. Now we're mostly arguing over the causes and the effects. So, we're making progress. But the jury is still out and all options should be examined -- even if they're reported in Pravda.

My sense is that even if Chicken Little is wrong we're still better off politically and health-wise to take some extreme steps to clean up our act. In the long run it will be good for the economy, too. Environmental stewardship is a win-win -- no matter what. This is traditional conservative (conservationist) thinking. If we could all back off from the posturing and look at the big picture everyone would benefit.

> I pulled our most recent Facebook ad because of the dismal response -- 1 click on the ad out of 61,000 impressions. Maybe people aren't interested in second chances -- perhaps they don't think they need a second chance -- or maybe they suspect that successful second chances involve judgment, chopping, and repentance -- Isaiah 11:1-10 and Matthew 3:1-12. Hey, it's the second Sunday in Advent, when John the Baptist always makes an appearance. Here is the ad no one likes. I am thinking of replacing it with one that starts out, "You brood of vipers!"

> The Wall Street Journal now has a Hong Kong focused Twitter feed. ~ link

> "Top 25 Failed Tech Predictions on Computers" ~ link

> "Ball lightning 'may explain UFOs'" according to an Australian astrophysicist. Next he's going to start working on the alien abductions. ~ BBC

> Work opportunity in another field that didn't exist five years ago -- "Need a job? Consider Health Information Technology" ~ link

> Poor Emperor Constantine get's blamed for a lot of the church's troubles. Peter Leithart is trying to set the reord straight. ~ link