Jon Acuff's Blog, page 176

Baby Sunday School

(Recently we held a contest through Blog Tour Spot to find a new guest post. We got some great entries and this was my favorite. Fun stuff from a sharp writer named "Korin." Enjoy!)

Stuff Christians Like: Baby Sunday School

In the church nursery, babies are expected to eat, drink, and be merry. This is in stark contrast to the expectations of Baby Sunday school attendees that include activities such as listening intently to lessons, producing hand crafted items with speed and accuracy, and...

Not knowing how to tell someone their favorite book didn't completely change your life too.

Christians don't casually recommend books. When we read a book about faith that we like, we say things like:

"This book changed my life."

"That book spoke to my heart."

"That book taught me how to be a man."

We make wildly powerful statements about the wisdom shared between the pages of a book. And that's great. Passion is a good thing, but it does create a potential problem. What do you do if you read the book too and didn't have the same experience?

My middle brother is experiencing that right n...

Cause and effect.

The other day my 6-year old daughter L.E. and I were hanging out in our home office. I was writing and she was playing "Tap Fish," on my iPhone, a game that for the most part is just a way to teach your kids about death. Seriously, those virtual fish are more fragile than Bradford Pear trees and those things fall down in your yard if someone sneezes vigorously. (Home office? Daughter? Bradford Pear tree? Whoa, that was like a suburban dad reference hat trick!)

Out of nowhere, without looking u...

Pastors who read sermon notes from an iPad.

[image error]When I was in the seventh grade, there was a world of difference between a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt and a Knights of the Round Table shirt. To the average eye, the two logos might have looked similar, but to my low self-esteem, obsessed with what people thought about me eyes, they were wildly different.

My friend Dave Bruce and I used to talk about this all the time. The polo guy was on a horse and had a polo mallet. The Knights of the Round Table guy was also on a horse, but he was not...

Treating youth ministers like silver medal ministers.

"Do you ever think you'll be a real minister someday?"

If I had a dollar for every time someone said this to a youth minister I could probably train a worship eagle to hunt and kill the pigeon that pooped in the mouth of the Kings of Leon bass player, forcing them to cancel their St. Louis show this weekend after only three songs. (In pigeon society this event has already been labeled, "The greatest day ever.")

Alas, no one pays me money when youth ministers get insulted. That's a shame...

Short Saturday – What are you listening to?

Yesterday, my friend Carlos from RagamuffinSoul, asked me what I was listening to right before I spoke. The answer? Kanye West live performance of "Jesus Walks" and NeedtoBreathe, "Something Beautiful." Then some Muse and then some 30 Seconds to Mars.

But that's not all lately, and we haven't really talked about music in a long time. So below are 3 songs I've listened to a lot lately.

Jump in with a comment. What are you listening to?

Video 1: Kanye West, Common & Mase "Jesus Walks Remix."

Video...

Secretly being liberal.

(I don't write about politics that often because it's not a topic I can write about very well. There are so many good political blogs that I tend to avoid it. Plus, political comments usually get really ugly, really quickly. But my friend Rachel is going to change that. Today, she checks in with a funny look at the secret life of Christian liberals. Enjoy.)

Last month, Jon Acuff wrote a piece for CNN.com about Christians treating secular media like Satan's newspaper. A faithful reader of...

The most dangerous vehicle on the road.

Last weekend, my wife and I went to Nashville. It was a lovely time full of loveliness and lovely sights that we loved. But, on the way back to Atlanta, we almost got run off the road.

Out of nowhere, a powerful, possibly haunted, vehicle stormed up behind me. I shifted over into the right lane with my cat like reflexes and let them pass on the left. Despite the 85MPH blur that drove by me, I was able to identify the most dangerous vehicle on the road …

The church youth group van.

If you've...

One letter that changes everything.

"So why are you airing our dirty laundry in front of the world? They already hate us, why give them ammunition?"

Someone online told me that a few weeks ago about something I wrote concerning us Christians. Their fear was that I was adding more fuel to an already ugly fire. Their concern was that the world already feels we're hypocritical or fake or unloving, do we really want to agree with them? And I honestly thought they were asking a very smart, kind-hearted question. Should we really...

"Serenity Now," Seinfeld as a Thriller.

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a long, long time. What a difference editing and mournful music can make. Perfect, perfect Seinfeld clip. What if Seinfeld was a thriller? Video after jump.

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