I'm quite proud of what we did...so here it is.

We watched it at church. Our church invited friends and neighbors. We had tons of food and three big screens set up. It was fun. But here's the best parts(and the reason I'm bragging):

1. We blacked out offensive commercials. Yup. We had a dude in the back with his finger on a button. Sunday afternoon, I printed out a list of the commercials in the order they would appear. Because so many commercials are released ahead of time now, we had a pretty good idea which ones to black out... So all the stuff you had to sit through, or hope your kids didn't notice...we never even saw it. Awesome, right? But we did get to see the good commercials. ("Where's the cat?" LOL!)

2. For Halftime - we showed two video clips. (This one about how football points to something much greater, and this one about how Simon Peter experienced grace.) Then for the remainder of halftime we played "Scene-IT" 80's edition. We just played the video trivia questions on the screen and I threw a piece of candy to anyone who got an answer right. It was a blast and far better then whatever you all had to watch. Oh, and I read later about some singer flipping you the bird. I missed that too. :-)

Now for some commentary about those two reasons my watching experience was better than yours...

1. Offensive commercials - This really irks me. The NFL, NBC and yes, even the advertisers are total jerks for this. Can they not imagine when they are designing a "sex sells" commercial that parents might be watching football with their kids (ages 6-12). There were probably (at least, at minimum) a million children watching.

Seriously? Is this what these advertising company employees, commercial writers and directors, and company executives who ordered and approved and paid for the ads would want their own children to be watching? The sheer crassness of this offends me to the bone. It makes me wonder if they are even human. I think that we should all write letters to the offending companies and tell them that their offensive advertising GUARANTEES that we won't ever use their products. And then follow through. Do not support those advertisers. Jerks. I should be able to watch football with my ten year old son without having to cover his eyes.

2. Half-time performers that do something obscene. OK, so MIA or whoever flipping the camera the bird is the first incident since the wardrobe malfunction. It will happen again. And NBC is blaming the NFL who produces their own half-time shows ever since the wardrobe malfunction. (That half-time show was produced by MTV, surprise, surprise.) And the NFL is blaming NBC for not having better time-delay and censorship equipment. It will still happen again. The moron who flipped the bird is getting publicity and name recognition out of this. That benefit needs to be taken away.

I have a very simple solution for this problem. Have all performers sign a contract ahead of time. Think about it. For the performer, this is the single biggest audience they will EVER have. It's a huge opportunity for any singer to sell albums. So before allowing them to perform for half-time include in their contract a "no obscenity" clause that says that if they do anything obscene that they will pay for all fines and costs that their action costs. (for apologies that have to be issued, for FCC fines etc, the lawyers that have to deal with the FCC, the salaries of the guys that have to monitor the delay feed with their finger on the pixelate button etc...) In addition, if they do anything obscene they will have to give 5 million dollars to a children's charity AND 50% of all profit that performer earns for the next 12 months goes to a children's charity. And they will do 500 hours of community service for the children of incarcerated people.

If the NFL and NBC were serious they would do something like that. But they won't. Jerks.

First of all, yesterday was Thinkling Phil's birthday! (You may know him as Shrode.) Happy (belated) Birthday, Phil!

Also:
My new book Gospel Wakefulness is now available. (Apparently Oct. 31 was a "soft" street date.) It is now for sale via Amazon, B&N, LifeWay, etc. Cheapest price I've seen lately is at WTS Bookstore. It's also available in e-versions.

If you're so inclined to buy it, thank you and I hope you like it!

Long time blog-friend Scott Roche of Spiritual Tramp is offering to give away a copy his YA scifi novel Ginny Dare: Crimson Sands * to the winner of a competition/drawing here on Thinklings. Here's how this will work:

I am resurrecting the idea behind one of our most heavily commented posts from back in the day: Blog-free Association post. It's very simple; I am going to seed the comments thread with a single word. Feel free to comment with whatever word my word brings to your mind. Then the next person can free-associate off of your word. **

We'll do a drawing in one week to see who wins the book. The drawing will be random but weighted based on how many comments each person leaves.

* You can read the first couple of chapters of Scott's book online, here

** Yes, this is me shamelessly jonesing for a very large comments count.

This is Emma. She is awesome.

Emma goes to our church and we are very proud of her, because she was recently selected to join a Samaritan's Purse/Operation Christmas Child "SPY" team on a mission trip to Uganda this summer.

In Uganda, Emma's team will conduct six Operation Christmas Child shoebox distributions throughout the country. They will also work with the Samaritan's Purse project office on two projects:

Livestock Programs
After families are given an animal, they are required to reimburse Samaritan’s Purse with the animal’s offspring, allowing us to distribute animals to new beneficiaries. All families receive basic training in improved livestock production.

Household Water Program
Poor access to safe drinking water and a limited knowledge of hygiene and sanitation can negatively impact health. Bio-sand filters, shallow well protection, and rainwater harvesting used in conjunction with education and training has improved the quality of life in many villages in the Kamwenge district.



Emma needs to raise around $4,000 for this trip. Our church is paying the bulk of this expense, but due to some recent medical expenses, Emma's family is in need of help raising the remainder of the money needed. So she's fundraising. And this is where me and you come in. I want to help her raise money by giving you the opportunity to help her receive money. :-)

If you'd like to contribute to Emma's trip to Uganda, you can make a donation of any size via PayPal using our church's email address: MSCChurch AT gmail DOT com
Please indicate in the note portion "For Emma."

And if you give $25 or more to Emma via PayPal by next Monday (the 30th), you will automatically be entered to win an Abide Leader Kit ($70 value). I'm gonna give 2 kits away, so your odds of winning are good. Winners will be randomly selected and will be contacted on the 30th or shortly thereafter by email. (Note: If you've already given via PayPal, you are already entered for the drawing.)

The Abide Leader Kit includes:
- copy of the book Abide
- Enhanced CD (Includes: Leader Guide with step-by-step guide to leading discussion, including insightful questions that will help encourage authentic community; Articles from Biblical Illustrator to help you dig deeper; 5 songs off the Abide Playlist; and more.)
- DVD (Includes: Video sessions and promo segment)
---

If you'd prefer to snail mail a check, you'll miss out on the drawing, but can do it anyway to:
Middletown Springs Community Church
PO Box 1187
Middletown Springs, VT 05757
(please write in the Memo field "For Emma")

All contributions to Middletown Springs Community Church are tax deductible.

It's time for someone else to bask in their 15 seconds of fame. (After all, if you are acknowledged here, you know you've arrived...or at least that we're trying to ride on your coattails.)

Our own Daniel Ross, Thinkling friend and commenter, got himself up on the video screen at a Bon Jovi Concert. In his words:

Yeah, I did it. I'm a tiny bit embarrassed but it's also really, really awesome. Starts at about 3:27 through the chorus. I'm in the lower-right-hand corner.

To explain: I tired to win tickets to the Bon Jovi Nashville show I was going to (I was trying to get better seats). They had this "make your own 'Livin' On A Prayer' video" contest going on so I entered. I didn't see it on the screen in Nashville so I assumed it had gone into the ether. Lo and behold, it shows up on the screens when Bon Jovi played the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey in front of 65,000 people.

Like I said, it's cheesy and embarrassing (that I'm making the faces and whatnot, not that I like the band — I like who I like) but it's also pretty cool. :-)

Yes, Daniel, we agree. It's pretty cool.

I really liked what they did there, showing fans singing along on their home video cameras. Neat stuff.

Well, OK, maybe not all Jeopardy! champions do, but at least one does.

Our very own "The Calvinator" who has been a regular Thinkling reader and faithful commenter for years now, just finished his run as champ on Jeopardy!

(OK, maybe he doesn't read us for research. If he had he would have nailed the Scalia answer.)

I watched you today dude. I'm sorry that I missed all the other appearances. My wife watched with me and we were cheering you on.

I do have some sad news for everyone. Calvinator got robbed today. He lost to some chick who does classical music for ice skaters or something. (I think someone must have sabotaged your buzzer.) Did you hear me yelling the answers at you through the TV? (I was yelling, "Kennedy! Kennedy! KENN-AAAH -DEEEE"! and "Appalooooooooosa!") Well, I know that TV doesn't work that way, and that it was taped, but still, I was trying to coach you dude. If only you could phone a friend....that should be a new feature on Jeopardy! I can see it now:

"Yes, Alex, I know I buzzed. But I don't actually know the question. But I'd like to use my "phone-a-blog" option. I'll be conference calling "The Thinklings". I owe those guys a lot for all of my success, and if anyone can help me, it'll be them."

Seriously though Calvinator, that's a big deal and we're proud of you. You know lots of stuff...and I can't imagine the pressure, plus timing the buzzer right... You were a worthy champ. Excellent job!

If you're game, I'd like to interview you for this blog and post it here. Will you let me know under comments if you are up for it?

Congratulations Calvinator!

(If any other Thinklings readers get on a game show, I want to know about it so we can brag on you!)

If you're heading to the Together 4 the Gospel 2010 Conference in Louisville, KY next month, I hope you will make room in your schedule to join the Band of Bloggers for their annual symposium and luncheon.

The panelists this year are Jon McIntosh, Justin Taylor, Trevin Wax, and myself, speaking on the subject of Internet Idolatry & Gospel Fidelity. A mere $25 gets you lunch, quality speaking, Q&A and discussion with the panel, and a stack of books. Quite a deal, I'd say. :-)

Details:

“Internet Idolatry and Gospel Fidelity”
2010 Band of Bloggers Fellowship
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 :: 11:00am
The Galt House, Downtown Louisville, KY
(in conjunction with Together for the Gospel)

Check out the Band of Bloggers website for more info and to register. Satisfaction guaranteed.*

(* This guarantee of satisfaction is not guaranteed.)

You won't be able to do it.

From Tim Challies - Rich Daddy God Board Game

I triple dog dare you. You won't be able to do it. I laughed until my gut hurt.

A taste...

Timothy (in the yellow robe) is my personal favorite (and be sure to check out the picture of him on the box). This must be the face he made while Paul circumcised him. Philemon (second from the right) looks like a Mafia hit man while Barnabas (far left) looks inebriated and Paul (far right) looks like a televangelist.

But you'll have to go to the original post to see the picture.

Possibly the funniest thing I've seen in a year.

Just sayin'. :-)

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Borders
Christian Book Distributors
LifeWay

Bethany is a missionary sent by our church. She is currently working with Heather Mercer's organization to reach Muslim immigrants in the Nashville area but will be transitioning back to in-field ministry among Muslims in the Middle East in 2010. She is one of the few willing to risk her life -- and that is not an overstatement -- to reach the frequently hostile unreached with the gospel of Jesus.

Bethany's computer recently went kaput and she is in need of a new-to-her laptop. Because she's a missionary she has no money. :-)

Can you help us help her get a "new" laptop?

If you are interested in contributing to our Buy Bethany a Laptop Fund, you can go to PayPal here and make a donation using mscchurch@gmail.com as the "To" email. You don't need a PayPal account; just a valid credit/debit card. Make sure to use the Personal form, click Gift, and include a note in the applicable field that your contribution is for Bethany.

Can you help?

Once upon a time, in the days of yore -- oh, say, about 7 years ago -- The Thinklings were the 7th most linked to evangelical Christian blog. We were a top ten staple. This was, of course, before every megachurch pastor, Christian author, scholar, and other Christian culture personality started blogging. :-)
But we were big fish in a small pond. It was a tighter community then. Michael Spencer and The Boar's Head Tavern guys had been around a while before that, of course, but they were big, and so was Challies, Dan Edelen, Adrian Warnock (who tried (and failed) to make everybody big with his constant blogroll entrepreneurship), Eric Siegmund of The Fire Ant Gazette, and a guy who ended up on top quite a bit, Joe Carter of the Evangelical Outpost.

It pays to have been there in the "beginning." Most of the endorsements on my book came about from our having been compatriots in the early Christian blogosphere trenches with these fellows.
But times change. The Thinklings are not only not in the top 10, we're not in the top 100. There's the top 100 and then there's "everybody else," and we are these days everybody else. But never count out nostalgia, which is what I think was at work in Joe Carter's heart last week when he invited me to join some actual, current big guns in launching Evangel, a new group blog under the banner of the renowned First Things magazine that is designed to be sort of an evangelical doppelganger of NRO's Corner. I am honored and humbled to be in the company of the other names on the Evangel masthead and grateful to Joe for the invite.

My first post for the site is in response to an introductory question -- "What is 'evangelical'?" -- and is titled People of the Gospel.

In other news, I am pleased to share that I have recently signed on to produce a Bible study resource (with multimedia leader kit available) called God vs. Suburbia which will release from Threads sometime in the Spring of 2010. The study can be done by individuals but is designed mainly with small groups in mind, and it will highlight gospel-centered spiritual formation. Specifically, the book will be about how to subvert the idols of our age and culture (e.g. comfort, convenience, conspicuous consumption, individualism) with the rhythms of the kingdom of God (prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, generosity and service, community). I hope it will be a blessing to many.

In the meantime, I have completed the outlining stage of my next trade book, which is tentatively titled Postcards from the Revolution: Parables as Sabotage. I hope to have a submittable manuscript for it sometime in the next few months.

I want to thank everyone who has bought, received, read, reviewed, blogged about, glanced at, or even spit on my book Your Jesus is Too Safe. I hope it has blessed you.

Btw, Spring is currently wide open for me right now, so if your church or group might be interested in having me speak, preach, or yell at somebody, go here and let me know.

Thus ends the commercial. Fuh-givah-ness, please.

We're putting together a blog tour for the book (tentatively scheduled for first week in August), and while some copies have already been assigned, I've got some left over. (21 to be exact.)

If you're interested in participating in the blog tour, email (1) your name, (2) your blog name, and (3) your blog url to jaredcwilson AT yahoo DOT com.

Fine Print:

As I said, the number of slots open is limited to 21, so there's no guarantees in the (unlikely?) case of overwhelming response. But you never know. :-) (Btw, if we kinda sorta know each other in the blog world, chances are that your name is already on the list for an invite, but feel free to check.)

If your blog is selected, I'll contact you via email for your preferred mailing address, and then you'll receive a free copy of the book after its release in July. The only catch is you have to post a review of the book on your blog on your assigned day in the week of the tour. It doesn't even have to be a positive review. :-)

In lieu of a review, I'd be happy to answer a few interview questions for you, provided you send them to me well in advance and you of course mention the book and display a picture of the cover.

I can answer further questions and concerns via email.
So let me know if you're interested in participating!

(If you're not interested in the blog tour but would still like a shot at getting a free copy, join the fan page for the book on Facebook or follow me on Twitter. I will be doing random drawings from those lists as soon as I've got copies to give away.)

...And A Horn!!!!

For those of you using Bloo for your blogging software: Three new themes have been deployed to the Bloo Themes site and can be downloaded from there. More are coming - the hope is to start releasing more themes and extension SnapOns in the near future.

Note: for those of you who are blogging at the Bloo Community, these are available there too. Just login to your admin panel, select Look and Feel, and set the desired theme as your default.

Here are the themes.

Flower Power, based on the Wordpress theme by Mark Hoodia.




Japan Style, based on the Wordpress Theme by Good Design Web




Old Type - an original Bloo theme.



In addition, some problems that have been discovered when browsing with IE 6 have been fixed in the following themes:

Field of Dreams




Red Train



There are other themes, some in the core product, that don't render correctly in IE 6 (bleaugh on that browser). These will be fixed in the next version of Bloo, coming soon!

TV Spot #3 - "Liberty"

(Me lounging behind a desk with my feet propped up and a pillow behind my head. A computer screen behind me shows "Solitaire")

Too many politicians say they want to work for you. But their version of work is finding ways to regulate you, tax you or spend your money. Virtually every law passed does one of those three things. If that's the kind of thing that politicians consider work, than I would rather they would do nothing. Wouldn't you?

I won't be your nanny. I won't give you more rules to follow or take your neighbors' money to give you a handout. You only need one momma.

If you elect me, I promise that I will stay out of your way. I promise that I won't write, work for or vote for any law unless it protects your Life, Liberty or Pursuit of Happiness. I promise to leave you alone because I believe that you will do better if government stays out of your way.

My name is Philip Schroeder and I believe that the best government governs least so you can bet I approve this message."

(I lean back in my chair and close my eyes for a nap. Fade to black)

Over screen that says "Vote Phil", announcer says, "Vote Phil. He won't work unless he has to. And that's a good thing."

TV Spot #2 - "Life"

(Me standing in front of a giant picture of an 8 week old unborn child, or maybe in front of a woman receiving a sonogram where the 8 week old baby is clearly visible on the screen)

"The creature you see behind me came into existence 8 weeks ago. It has two human parents, and human DNA. It receives nourishment from the mother who gave it life and it is growing. It has a head, arms, legs and fingers.

By the eighth week of pregnancy, every organ is present and in place. The embryonic period is now over. Ninety percent of the structures found in an adult human being can be found in this tiny embryo (now called a fetus) which is only about an inch and a half long. The brain, at this point, accounts for almost half of the body's total weight, and 75% of 8-week fetuses demonstrate right-hand dominance. Intermittent breathing motions (though there is no air present in the uterus) occur, and male testes are releasing testosterone. As the skin thickens, it loses much of its transparency.


"Measuring one-and-one-fourth inches from crown to rump and weighing about one-thirtieth of an ounce, the (56-day-old) embryo is now all but fully formed. All body systems are in place and elaborated. Architecturally, the organism is more or less whole... Though the energy output is about one-fifth that of an adult, the heart is functionally complete... A great passage has been made."

Alexander Tsiaras, From Conception to Birth. New York, NY: Doubleday, 2002. p. 183.

88% of all abortions happen during the first trimester, prior to the at 13th week (AGI/CDC).

I believe that all human beings have the right to live.

My name is Philip Schroeder and I don't want anyone to choose to end your life no matter how old you are, how big you are, or how difficult you may be to care for so you can bet I approve this message."

Update: I apologize that some of the "facts" I originally included about fetal development were biased, and some actually turned out to be false. I did not intend to mislead, nevertheless I offer no excuses. I'm sorry.

So this is what it feels like to be a politician... :)

I replaced the misleading paragraph with a direct quote from here. If anyone has any suggestions about how to reword it to make it less sterile, yet still factually accurate, I'm open.

...which is a dream of mine that will never happen...

I would run the following ads.

Spot 1- "Pursuit of Happiness"

(Me standing in an automobile plant with people working.) I say,

"Most politicians seem to think that if they let you keep more of your own money that you will go bury it an a hole somewhere. But they just don't seem to understand basic economics. If you suddenly had say a million dollars, what would you do with it? You'd spend some of it, maybe to buy a nice car. And that money would go where? To support the jobs of the good hardworking people you see behind me. And some of it you'd save perhaps in a mutual fund. Where would that money go? It would buy stock in a company like this one that pays the salaries of the hard working people behind me. And if they in turn got to keep more of their own money, they would spend or invest it, also helping other hardworking people. In the real world, what goes around, comes around. The government needs to take their hands off your money and let it go to work.

My name is Philip Schroeder and I believe that you can put your own money to better use than the government can, so you can bet that I approve this message."

Facebook peeps:

Would you do me a favor and go to the page for my book (which is coming out this July) and become a fan?

You don't even have to be one of my Facebook friends, but you're welcome to send me a friend invite if you'd like.

Thanks so much ahead of time!

UPDATE: I should mention that there will eventually be giveaways of free books.

On the radio this morning Brant Hansen was talking about some national parents' group that is trying to organize a protest against toy companies to get them to stop advertising until after the holidays. The parents are saying that all the commercials are making their kids want stuff they can't afford, and the parents don't want to have to explain to their kids that they don't have the money.

Brant's response, and I think it was a good one, was basically that "It's a good thing to explain to your kids that you can't afford everything."

He was kind of exasperated that parents would resort to protesting businesses advertising simply because they're too ________ (lazy? scared? weak? embarrassed?) to tell their kids money doesn't grow on trees. "Are you trying to get elected?" he said.

Seriously.

I know it's never fun to tell your kids they can't have something they want. Because we love our kids and want them to be happy. But because we love our kids and want them to be happy we should explain to them where money comes from, that it is finite, and that, above all, getting everything you want isn't the source of happiness anyway. Having this conversation these parents want to avoid is a prime catalyst for training our kids to think more selflessly and less consumeristically and to exercise moderation and self-control.

I ain't praying for no depression or anything (;-), but I do think hard(er) economic times can be fertile ground for cultivating less consumerism in the Church.

I got the signed contract back in the mail today. So I guess now it's really real.

My book The Unvarnished Jesus will release from Kregel in Fall 2009.

I'm pretty pumped.

Of course, I won't think it's REALLY really real until I'm holding a printed book in my hand, but that's me being me, I guess. :-)