Miscellany

So what personality type are you? Here’s an interesting way to get your Miers-Briggs letters. They say I’m an ISTJ.

Tim Challies has a post about organizing a personal library. He’s using LibraryThing. I wrote about this site in a post two years ago and wasn’t sure I wold find it all that helpful. Now I use it all the time. My library is listed here. Some users are using it to list books they want to purchase/read. It is a flexible tool for bibliophiles. I might even get rid of my Amazon wish list …

This is why I will probably never enjoy Korea (at least Korean buffets?).

Netflix for Books? I think the public library works just as good … and it is free.

This might be an interesting tool to put on a website. It doesn’t tell how many may die because of reading my stuff. It might be kind of creepy, but it does make one think.

Stuff I’ve Been Collecting That Probably Won’t Change Your Life

It has been one of those seasons where writing blog posts has been a bit tough. Motivation, ideas, and time has been a bit hard to come by so it is a good day to share some links I’ve been collecting for these days: 

• There might be a lesson for preachers and teachers somewhere in this video. If not there is at least a good chuckle. 
• Thanks to the guys at eMinistry for pointing us to this helpful presentation that should improve the use of PowerPoint in ministry presentations.
• Crosswire is an interesting project creating free, open source Bible study software for diverse platforms.
• What would you do with this high speed internet access? I know I’m just a bit jealous…
• You could create some really awful publications with these free fonts. Go ahead, add to your collection. You know you want to.
• Weird facts and unusual uses for products you probably use. This site could be addicting for trivia addicts.
• Signs that you are not in Kansas anymore.
• How Gullible are We?

OK, that’s enough. I’m considering serious and spiritual posts for the next few days. Anything you want to read about?

Stories from Russia

I really enjoyed getting to know the Russian church leaders at the conference in Moscow a couple weeks ago. Their stories are varied, often amazing, unique, and always a testament of God’s grace. Linda found ways to draw them out and she has begun to record them (without names) on her blog.

It really helped that we had such great personal translators. These two young women were kept quite busy with all the story-telling, counseling, and encouraging going on throughout the week. Of course their stories were pretty interesting too.

Man Hug

Thanks to Challies for pointing men to this very helpful “how-to” video.

How to Annoy People and Ruin Your Faith

11 Things to Make Everyone Dislike You and Shipwreck Your Faith  

Pulpit Magazine Online

Pulpit Magazine is now available to the general blogosphere. It began as an online magazine primarily for pastors who were members of the Shepherds’ Fellowship which is “a ministry to church leaders who are committed to the purity of the Gospel, the inerrancy of Scripture, and a biblical philosophy of ministry.”

This is the only place online (that I know of) where John MacArthur weighs in with his writing. John is one of the great Bible teachers, with whom I had the privelege of serving for 14 years. He has continued to be a model and a mentor from afar. I appreciated his insights here on the difference between “what a passage means” and “what this verse means to me.”

The editors explain their intent: “Instead of just limiting Pulpit Magazine to pastors, we now want to make the contents of Pulpit accessible to everyone. And, instead of posting a group of articles every eight weeks, we now plan to post one new article every weekday. We also hope that our readers (meaning you) will interact with the articles, and that profitable discussions will result from what is written.” I’m looking forward to joining in. Read more about Pulpit Magazine and contributors here.

A Freebie from Phil the Head Pyro

Who can pass up a free, collectible, Charles Spurgeon photograph!?

Theopedia

Theopedia is a Wiki (as in the well-know Wikipedia) for the evangelical, reformed christian theological community. It looks to be a helpful resource for all, and the wiki format should keep things lively. There is a helpful article describing the concept. It might even be an opportunity for budding theologians and researchers to get their feet wet and learn from the process. I have a feeling I’ll be linking to here more and more.