Osama Loves Brian McLaren?

I don't think I've ever written a post specifically related to the "emerging" church movement/conversation. There is so much out there on the Internet about it by people more knowledgeable than me. But this article by Frank Pastore (i.e. pot-stirrer extraordinaire) has not surprisingly hit a button with me.

Read it and you will see the deepest flaws of hyper-politicized conservative Christianity in America in bright colors. Read it and you will understand why some Muslims refuse to acknowledge a distinction between the way of Jesus and the American way. Read it and remember that for some, even in America, the Crusader mentality is alive and well. Read it and pray for those Christians who will surely be persecuted in the Muslim world as a result.

The ruffled feathers of emerging church afficionados are the least of my concerns. And they will surely respond with lengthy blog entries. But realize that for Pastore, the "emerging church" is just a convenient face for all things "liberal," which must mean all those who do not worship at the blood-stained altar of the American dream.

To All the Would-Be Saviors

Joel Wickre, of the Blood-Water Mission has an incredible article about mission in Christianity Today. He reminds us that "going to them" can sometimes have unintended effects like creating dependency among the "served" and a savior complex among the "servants." He reminds us, as does the Scripture, that we are all equals in Christ. The wealth divide is really an illusion that shadows what it means to be human. But when the "haves" meet the "have-nots," that sort of worldview seems to be lost in translation.

Forgive us, God, for only going because we are "needed" and not because we are called.

Why Didn't I Think Of That?

So maybe whining does get you places after all.

This just in. Sprint-Nextel has decided to drop 1200 cell phone customers for excessive complaining to their customer care line. These dropped customers allegedly called the hotline 40-50 times a month to complain. They now have one month to find a new provider, and they will not have to pay a contract termination fee.

What??!!!!????

Can I share with you that I called Sprint once asking them to waive a contract termination fee when I moved to China. What do I have to show for it? An empty promise and a big ugly stain on my credit report. And a lot of bad memories of cheer-less collection agents calling my parents' house at all hours.

If only I would have known how to make them back down.

Is that the sound of a squeaky wheel I hear? Or make that 300 million squeaky wheels. It couldn't happen to a more deserving industry. The airlines are next.