Elitist bloggers snub bloggedy blog; overlook this blog for list of 'most influential'
This just in: a conspiracy of influential bloggers have snubbed bloggedy blog from the Online Journalism Review's list of influential blogs. How could so many influential bloggers overlook my contributions to the blogosphere? Chuck's Blogumentary was also overlooked. (Link via Chuck, whose pain I share.)
:: Andrew 14:28 + ::
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One reader's treasure, another reader's trash
Authors reveal the worst books they've ever read. If they were to ask me, I'd have to share these treasures:The God of Small Things, by Arundahti Roy -- a book so terrible I never even finished it. Left Behind, by Jenkins and LeHaye. I read it at the urging of an evangelical preacher who is very close to me. I read it as a favor to him, although my mind was already made up. I really didn't want to read it. I wish I hadn't. Truth Decay, by Douglas Groothuis. Paranoia about postmodernism. My business law text from college. Can't remember the title of it, or the author, but I got a D in business law. It had to be because of that damn boring book.
What are the worst books you've ever read? (Link via BookFilter, which also linked to a online book club for bloggers.
:: Andrew 14:23 + ::
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:: Friday, June 20, 2003 ::
Alas, not coming soon to a Christian bookseller near you...
Harry Potter gets saved and becomes a fundamentalist Christian in the latest from J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter in the Lake of Fire.
Thanks to Christian satire magazine The Door, we can get an exclusive sneak peek at the first Harry Potter book for evangelical Christians. An excerpt from the excerpt:
"What?" said Ron Weasley in astonishment, "Have you gone off your bloomin' rocker? You're going to burn all your books of magical incantations, and destroy your wizard's wand, and your cloak of invisibility? You must be mad!"
"Not at all," shot back Harry, with a fiery glint of righteous boldness in his eyes. "Through the anointed ministry of Bob Larson, I have come to see that these things are all tools of Satan.
And a bit of an explanation about the book, from the editors of The Door:
Over the last several years, devout Christians have watched longingly as their unsaved neighbors have devoured the adventures of the intrepid Harry Potter. Sadly, they could not partake of these magical books because of the rampant witchcraft and occult themes that permeated the stories.
Some have even secretly read the books and suffered under a crushing burden of guilt and shame.
Entire families have been ripped apart by the controversial series.
But now there may be good news for Christian families.
Author J. K. Rowling is no dummy. Over the years she has watched Tim LaHaye churn out shlock novels that became bestsellers without the compelling plot or vibrant characters of her Potter series. Evangelical Christians bought them simply because they thought they OUGHT to.
With a slight change of direction in her ongoing story and by co-opting the plot of the Left Behind series, she could capture the Evangelical Christian market and, as a side benefit, perhaps put LaHaye out of business.
Isn't it great that evangelical Christians can now enjoy this literary phenomenon without fear of eternal damnation? Read away, muggles...
Link via blogs4God, which posts links galore about Pottermania. And if you can't get your fill there, try CT Weblog.
:: Andrew 11:30 + ::
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:: Thursday, June 19, 2003 ::
Friday photo
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to my right... That's me, stuck in the middle after a feast at Cafe Brazil with David Hopkins to my right and Dan Hughes to my left. I was in Dallas for a meeting in February and David and Dan were kind enough to sup with me. David's wife Melissa, an accomplished photographer, snapped the photo. Dan's eyes always have that red glow, by the way, but I don't always look so spaced out. I was puny from the flu and doped up on antibiotics.
:: Andrew 09:33 + ::
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:: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 ::
We're Numero Uno! We're Numero Uno!
Pardon the exhibition of pocho pride here, but it's nice to be part of something that's Number One in this nation that measures everything by the "est" factor -- biggest, fastest, bestest, etc. 39 million make Hispanics largest U.S. minority group. There are 38.8 million Hispanics in the USA, according to the latest Census Bureau estimates released Wednesday. The figures, as of July 1, show a 9.8% increase since the Census was taken in April 2000. The Hispanic population's move to the majority minority position is "a symbolic milestone for a nation whose history has been dominated by black-white racial dynamics. Increased racial and ethnic diversity is adding a new dimension to everything from product marketing to political campaigning," writes USA Today reporter Haya El Nasser. Hispanics are also the largest minority group in baseball, and Alex Rodriguez, a Hispanic, is the game's highest-paid player. Unfortunately, as a group we have a loooong way to go before we reach even a fraction of that income level.
I don't know whether it's still true or not, but not too many years ago it was said that only one of every 20 Hispanics who enrolled in kindergarten would ever graduate with a bachelor's degree. That's a sad commentary about la raza.
But the Hispanic influence is being felt in many ways, as the USA Today report documents:Nickelodeon's bilingual Dora the Explorer is the No. 2 pre-school show on commercial TV, leading Anglo as well as Hispanic tykes to sleep on Dora sheets that say Buenos noches. A fraction of the audience for George Lopez, one of ABC's top comedies last season, is Hispanic. And Fox, already the top major network among Hispanics, is adding two Hispanic family comedies this fall.
Hispanics represent 15% of movie-ticket sales, higher than their share of the population. The box-office careers of Cameron Diaz (Charlie's Angels), actress-singer Jennifer Lopez (Maid in Manhattan) and director Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids) are evidence of Hispanics' broadening appeal. The 2002 Academy Awards celebrated the year of the Hispanic, after Latin artists and Hispanic-themed work collected 10 nominations, including six for a biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, played by Salma Hayek, a Mexican.
Latin radio stations account for 7%-8% of the radio audience, up from 5% five years ago, according to Airplay Monitor editor Sean Ross. More stations are sprouting in places outside Florida, Texas, California and New York. There's a Latin FM station in Raleigh, N.C.
The Latin explosion in mainstream pop music is evident in the success of Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony, who began their careers as Spanish-language singers. Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are multi-platinum sellers.
Time Inc. launched People en Espanol in 1997. Circulation has since doubled to 414,000 to make it the top-selling Spanish-language magazine in the USA.
Hispanics are starring in sports they had never been associated with before. The National Hockey League has its first Hispanic, Scott Gomez of Alaska, rookie of the year three years ago. Last year, speedskaters Derek Parra and Jennifer Rodriguez became the first Hispanics to win Winter Olympic medals. Parra is Mexican-American, and Rodriguez is Cuban-American.
:: Andrew 07:45 + ::
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:: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 ::
We have a winner!
Fred Peatross was the first to comment on my draft intro to E-vangelism 2.0 -- and he actually wrote a review of it. The book's in the mail, Fred. Thanks!
Thanks, too, to many other bloggers, newsletter readers and other buzzers who wrote to me privately with their comments, criticisms and suggestions. I appreciate all of the feedback.
P.S. - When you read the intro, don't forget to check out AC4, a terrific ministry that is working to bridge the digital divide in the USA. Please consider donating to this great cause.
:: Andrew 08:29 + ::
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Evangelism is a four-letter word
I've been soliciting comments about the draft introduction to the revision of my book E-vangelism: Sharing the Gospel in Cyberspace, and frankly I'm disappointed in, but not surprised by, the lack of interest among the Christian blogging community. Evangelism doesn't seem to be a topic of much discussion among Christian bloggers. There are exceptions, of course. Fred Peatross addresses evangelism in his post of a table from The Emerging Church. Todd Hunter broaches the subject, quite thoughtfully, from time to time. And Dean Peters, a former Orthodox Christian, engages folks from that tribe on the subject of evangelism from time to time.
But usually, we keep quiet about evangelism. It's almost as if it's a dirty word. I know we've gotten a lot of things wrong in the past. And maybe it's a word we should purge from our lexicon. Does it really conjure images of forced conversion? Does it smack too much of pulpit-pounding, firebrand, backwoods preachers? Or is it the door-to-door "witnessing" that comes to mind? When you hear evangelism, do you envision Elmer Gantry? Josh McDowell? The Four Spiritual Laws? Or (dare I say it?) modernism?
After all the troubles I had with the first edition of E-vangelism, I've seriously questioned whether to even attempt a second edition. I've been struggling with it for more than a year. I've been struggling with writing about it for five months. I've been wondering whether a market exists for this book. (Which is not always the best reason to write a book, I know.) I don't know whether a sizable market exists. But I still believe in evangelism. That is, I believe in it as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary -- that is, the ism (or carrying out in practice) of the root word "evangel," which means "1. The ‘good news’ of redemption to the world through Jesus Christ; the religious teaching contained in the New Testament; the Christian religion."
Jesus left his disciples with two "greats." One is the Great Commandment: Love one another. The other is the Great Commission: go, and make disciples. When I think of evangelism, I think of the two greats. When I think of "e-vangelism," I think of the two greats in the virtual mission field God has given us. I see the Internet as part of God's unfolding creation. I see it as a place where we can live out those two greats. I wish to communicate these insights to others. But maybe they're not insights at all. Maybe I just have a flair for stating the obvious.
Anyway, if you're going to comment on this post, would you do me a favor and peruse the link to my draft intro in the post below? And then get back to me, either by email or with a comment on this blog? I know that many of you read books. So I really want to know what you people think. Am I wasting my time here? Is this a book you would read? Is this a book that is needed? Any input? In the words of Dr. Evil: Throw me a bone! Thanks.
Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell;
I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.
... C. T. Studd (1860-1931)
(From Christian Quotation of the Day)
:: Andrew 08:34 + ::
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Simon Dawes, 
