Write a praise song in 5 minutes

If you have been to a large number of Praise and Worship servies (as I have) or (better yet) if you have been in a Praise Band for such a service, then you will probably appreciate this video.  I don't believe the makers of it mean to "bash" or discount the value of Praise and Worship music, in fact, I rather suspect they worship singing praise songs quite regularly, but they do humorously point out some of its potential short-comings and (ironic?) banality.  This can serve as a call to a deeper excellence for all of us.




I originally saw this post at the Theological Scribbles blog.

Why our youth leave church AND the pope

Two completely unrelated topics.  First I wanted to share this excellent post on the top 10 Reasons Youth Leave our churches.  The author is writing particularly from within American Evangelical Protestantism.  I think this is an important article and it is worth your reading all of it. 

Secondly, you no doubt heard the big news yesterday: Pope Benedict XVI will step down from the role of pontiff at the end of this month, becoming the first pope to do so since the 1400s.  What are your thoughts?  Did he do it to avoid deteriorating in office as his predecessor did?  Is there some huge scandal lurking behind all this?  Is he setting a healthy precedent that will mark a huge shift in what it means to be pope?  What will it mean to have a "pope emeritus" running around with a new pope sitting on the cathedra?  Will we still call him Benedict - or will it be Ratzinger again?  Will the out-going pope spend his days hanging out and debating with Rowan Williams who recently stepped down as Archbishop of Canterbury?

Life is always interesting.

Games with theology people

How would you act that one out?  It was originally shared with me from this site.