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.