Since our first installment of Holli singing “Imma Be” was such a hit, here is round two. This time, Holli shows her rap skills as she sings Eminem’s part to the B.O.B. song “Airplanes.”
Click the link below to unzip the file and listen to it on your computer.
Thanks to all who entered into my first book giveaway! I had Michelle and Gavin each draw a name and the winners are…
Emily Marney and Katie!
I need each of you to email me your addresses and I’ll send you each an autographed copy of Brett’s book when I get it in the next few days. Thanks to all for playing and for reading this blog!
I subscribe to Relevant Magazine and last week I read an article that gave a fantastic Biblical answer to the question of how Christians should determine what movies are appropriate for us to watch. You can read a short version of that article here. The author is a guy named Brett McCracken and I was instantly intrigued by him. He works as the managing editor for Biola magazine, of Biola University in California. He also writes for Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, and has his first book is coming out August 1st called “Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide.” He’s also a movie critic.
Brett is sending me a few autographed copies of his book to give away. Here’s how it will work. For every time you promote this interview with a link on your Facebook, Twitter, or blog, you can let us know by leaving a comment here. For every comment you will get your name entered into the drawing (up to 3 times per person – 1 twitter, 1 Facebook, and 1 blog post). So promote this interview and then let us know where you promoted it and you’ll get your name entered into the drawing for Brett’s new book that isn’t even available yet. (BTW… we are using the honor system here so if you post a link saying that you posted this interview on your Facebook, I’m going to take your word for it). I’ll announce the winners on Friday so you have till Thursday night to figure out how to get your name in up to 3 times.
Jeremy: Tell us something odd/unique about you.                                                                                                                           Brett: No matter how hard I try, I simply can’t whistle.
Jeremy: What are 5 movies that most Christians probably haven’t seen but that you think they should because they contain truth?
Brett: The Son (dir. by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne); Days of Heaven (dir. Terrence Malick); Bright Star (dir. Jane Campion); Late Spring (dir. Yasujio Ozu); Munyurangabo (dir. Lee Isaac Chung).
Jeremy: Do you think people are born leaders or develop into leaders?
Brett: As with everything, it’s probably a bit of both–nature AND nurture. I think leadership develops first and foremost out of conviction–for a belief, a cause, an idea. The people who become great leaders are often the ones who are driven the most by something outside of themselves.
Jeremy: How can people put themselves into a position to influence culture?
Brett: Read a lot. I really think this is fundamental. If you are trying to influence culture, but are unaware of the ideas shaping it, you won’t get very far. Spend all your free time reading books, newspapers, magazines. Mostly books. Make time for it. Become educated on a diverse array of subjects–everything from history to theology to pop culture–and find an area that particularly interests you that you can go deep with. Feed yourself with ideas from others. Only after you know what has been said and done will you be able to say and do things to shape and influence the culture.
Jeremy: Why are you a follower of Jesus Christ?                                                                                                                                                                                            Brett: Short Calvinist answer: God sought me and saved me by grace. Longer Arminian answer: I choose to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I choose to believe that because of Christ’s sinless life, death on the cross, and resurrection, the world has hope of redemption and renewal, and I–by grace–am absolved of my sins.
Jeremy: What do you do personally to fuel your spiritual life?
Brett: I try to read the Bible every day, as well as other books that contain spiritual insights. Also, because I’m a very busy person and have a hard time sitting still and not “being productive,” I’ve tried to force myself to have periods of stillness in my life, where I can just dwell on God’s glorious attributes.
Jeremy: What is your hope for the future of the Church in America?
Brett: I hope the church in America can become more unified–across denominations, across theological disputes (Reformed vs. non-Reformed), across racial and ethnic lines. Unity in the church can be such a great witness, but sadly when most outsiders look at Christianity today they see a lot of disunity. They see a lot of “progressive” Christians pointing fingers at the Pat Robertson types saying “I’m not one of THOSE Christians.” And you have Korean churches that meet down the street from white churches and the two never collaborate on any community activities. I long to see a more unified front in the church in America, and in the world.
Jeremy: Should we abandon the use of the word “Christian” for a better term? If so, what?
Brett: Absolutely not. Just because a word has some baggage doesn’t mean we should abandon it. Every word has baggage. All these “I Love Christ but not Christians” books really annoy me… you can’t have Christianity without the church, and you can’t have it without a whole lot of fallible screwups who you might be embarrassed to associate with. Luckily, the gospel can withstand all that, and Christ’s name will reign supreme in spite of his followers. I say we own the term proudly, on account of the power of the name of Christ and our humility as his imperfect followers.
Jeremy: What blogs/websites do you regularly check?
Brett: ChristianityToday.com, Lookingcloser.org, EW.com, scriptoriumdaily.com, pitchfork.com, thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/, firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/
Jeremy: Which books have shaped your thinking?
Brett: Marilynne Robinson, Gilead; Neil Postman, Technopoly and Amusing Ourselves to Death; George Steiner, Real Presences; Martin Buber, I & Thou; N.T. Wright, Surprised By Hope and After You Believe; C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory; Os Guinness, Prophetic Untimeliness; F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; Anything by Dostoevskey.
Jeremy: What music moves you?
Brett: Over the Rhine, Sufjan Stevens, Innocence MIssion, Denison Witmer, Damien Jurado, a lot of classical music, anything by Chopin.
Jeremy: Any other thoughts or advice?                                                                                                                                                                                                             Brett: Read N.T. Wright’s After You Believe as soon as you can.
Read other Off the Record interviews here.
“There’s certainly a war against the prevalence of visual pornography in many corners of our society—especially in the Christian culture. There is an attempt to expose pornography for its promotion of unrealistic sexual expectations and exploitation of human sexuality. And that attempt is a very necessary one. But what about the unhealthy emotional and relational expectations portrayed in so much of our media? Is there really much of a difference in the hyperbolized sexual imagery of typical pornography and the hyperbolized momentary emotional high felt in a romance film or romantic comedy that sends us looking for a “love†that doesn’t exist?” Cole NeSmith, pastor at Status in Orlando, creator of Uncover The Color
I’ve long since thought that we are quick to label visual porn, but are almost inept at labeling it’s equivalent (for the typical woman) in emotional porn. Here is a great article that Relevant Magazine recently posted about this very controversial idea.
I just finished the book Rework, by Jason Fried. It was an extremely easy read, but that’s not to say it has surface level content. It is written in an artistic way, yes even including graphics, but it takes a look at business and challenges some commonly shared beliefs. In that regard, it reminds me of my favorite leadership book, The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership. Whatever your business is, it could probably be improved by rethinking and reworking some of the ways you do things. If nothing else, it will challenge you to find reasons why you disagree with what they are saying. Here are some of the ideas that stood out to me:
“Workaholics aren’t heroes. They don’t save the day, they just use it up. The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.”
“Ideas are cheap and plentiful. The original pitch idea is such a small part of a business that it’s almost negligible. The real question is how well you execute.”
“When you want something bad enough, you make the time–regardless of your other obligations. The truth is most people just don’t want it bad enough. Then they protect their ego with the excuse of time. Don’t let yourself off the hook with excuses. It’s entirely your responsibility to make your dreams come true.”
“Constraints are advantages in disguise. Limited resources force you to make do with what you’ve got. There’s no room for waste. And that forces you to be creative.”
“It’s better to have people be happy using someone else’s product than disgruntled using yours.”
“How long someone’s been doing it is overrated. What matters is how well they’ve been doing it.”
I get very excited whenever someone tells me that they used my reading list on my blog to pick a book to read. I obviously love reading and love to be a conduit to connect people with good books.
My sister recently told me that she has been using my reading list but that she wanted a few sentences of my thoughts on each book on the main page where I rate them. This way you can get an overall feel for my yearly reading at a quick glance. I thought it was a good idea so I’ve taken the time to write my thoughts on each one. Thanks to Amy for the idea.
Click the link at the top of the page that says “Reading List of 2010” and check it out. I hope it’s helpful to you as well.
