Wired Parish Blog

Beating a Dead Horse

Suppose you Googled 'bachelor rome update.' Guess who's at the top of the list? That would be wiredparish. One post. Two lines. Calling the first episode a train wreck. Season finale (according to Megan) occurs and we're getting HUNDREDS of hits on that one blog post. I've mentioned this before, but let me tell ya, come season finale time, there are a BUNCH of people Googling for updates.

So in the spirit of such searches, let me make a prediction: The Bachelor and whoever he chose will not stay together. Won't happen. I'm feeling secure in my prediction.

Now I'm going to sit back and wait to see if the title to this post shows up when someone searches for information on PETA.

How (Not) to Speak of God

Just finished an interview with Irishman Peter Rollins re: his new book How (Not) to Speak of God. If you're a wiredparish.com subscriber, you'll get it in a few weeks.

I was profoundly moved by this book and by the interview. I got to the end and thought, 'I don't know what to say . . . I don't have the words to express how this is impacting me.'

Brian McLaren wrote the foreward, and I actually called him before the interview to say, 'Help! I'm interviewing Rollins in an hour, and I don't want to screw it up! Give me some great questions to ask!' Alas, I got voice mail. Thankfully, Greg Horton was available to give me a little ammunition. Between his suggestions and my own fumbling questions, I think we did okay.

(Actually, we did exceptionally well, but that speaks more to Peter than to me.)

I won't try to detail the book here. I'll let you read the reviews yourself and listen to the 'cast when it's live. (At the very least, you need to check out the Irish accent when he repeatedly says 'painted on the canvas' in a way that makes it sound like he's saying 'peeing on the canvas.' Brilliant.)

But let me recommend STRONGLY that you read this book. It will challenge the way you see God, faith, yourself, the world . . . in some dramatic ways.

I'm a different person after reading this book.

Why I Love What We Do

There are a million reasons why I love what we're doing at wiredparish.com. One of the chief reasons, though, is being able to work with our hosts. Truly, they are some of the coolest people in the world. Without exception (really!) everyone we work with is exactly what you would expect if you've read their books or listened to them speak. That consistency between the way they come across 'on stage' and the way they are 'off stage' is unbelievably refreshing.

I Am Not Making This Up

I played this game tonight. It's called the Lightning Xtreme Shock Game, and it's exactly what it sounds like. If you lose, you get shocked. It's straight out of the scene in 'Ghostbusters' when Bill Murray is doing the ESP study.

The problem was that I was laughing uncontrollably, and I was working on a second glass of wine; so the results were less than optimal.

How in the WORLD did this ever get approved in the U.S. as a toy??????

Getting the Word Out: An Offer

If you have a blog or website and you want to work some wiredparish.com mojo, we'd love your help.

We're searching for bloggers who would like to post sample wiredparish episodes on their sidebars or in a blog post.

You pick a host you'd like to feature on your site, we give you a link and a graphic (and pick up the bandwidth bill), and you look like a hero as well as a person with refined theological sensibilities. :)

If you'd like to get on that train, send me an email, and we'll make it happen. There may even be a free month or two of wiredparish.com in it for you . . .

shane hipps and third way faith

If you're not listening to Shane Hipps' cast, you're REALLY missing out. Shane is an incredibly gifted thinker and a wonderful communicator. If you haven't already subscribed to wiredparish.com, his cast is featured on our free podcast through iTunes this past week. If you're already a subscriber, make sure you tune in to him. It's really strong stuff.

if i did it

i really don't know what to say about this. like, i really have no idea. i'm speechless.

threadless.com update

thank you to all of you who voted this shirt out of retirement. i received an email a couple of days ago that it was being reprinted. i promptly ordered it. if you follow the link, you'll note that the large is already sold out again. it's a popular shirt, i tell ya. i really appreciate your help in voting it back into circulation!

one of my friends looked at the shirt and said, 'um, i don't get why it's funny. it doesn't make any sense.' to which i replied, 'exactly.'

show notes now available

you can now view podcast show notes for most of our hosts on wiredparish.com. just visit the host page and click on 'show notes.'

recommendations

1. you gotta check out blue merle. great band that sounds something like a convergence of coldplay, the counting crows, and dave matthews. was introduced to them while in seattle for the revolution conference. exceptional band.

2. the fo (who is on sabbatical with the lego edward james olmos) sent me an email of this from voltaic systems. expensive? yep. but IT'S A SOLAR POWERED BACKPACK! COME ON! HOW COOL IS THAT???