http://www.faithd.com Youth, Church and Culture Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:28:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "While past generations may have described their developmental hopes for teenagers through words such as holiness, faithfulness, and maturity, there seems to be a contemporary preference for authenticity. We want teenagers to be real." Pizza Cheese and Christianity: Everybody Wants to be Real In the 1980s Domino’s Pizza rose to national prominence ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/24/made-real-toward-a-theological-model-of-adolescent-authenticity-part-1-of-6/ When my wife gave birth last month she received a copy of Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions as a gift and took to reading it while feeding the baby.  You have to know my wife, but I figured she'd hate it.  Swearing doesn't go far with her, whereas Lamott sprinkles the ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/23/anne-lamott-in-princeton-feb-28-2/ That's the headline this afternoon on an undoubtedly sensationalized Marketwire press release with a dateline of Jerusalem, Israel. Actually the full headline is: Princeton Conference Vindicates Associated Producers James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici on "Lost Tomb of Jesus" (Which is actually significantly different and somewhat more comical, but wouldn't fit in ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/17/princeton-conference-vindicates-lost-tomb-of-jesus/ On Friday, for the first time in 100 years, snow fell in Baghdad.  Apparently violence in the city nearly ceased Friday as well. I'm in the middle of writing final papers, so postings will continue to be sparse in the days to come.  But my paper-induced doldrums were lifted for ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/13/it-snowed-in-baghdad/ I picked up a copy of Bill Hybels small group Bible study, Authenticity, this morning. I'm currently researching the Christian fascination (or infatuation) with the word authenticity. Hybels' Bible study seemed like one obvious avenue to explore in trying to figure out how Christians employ the word with ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/08/saddleback-magic-and-willow-voodoo/ [googlevideo:http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-471165700572371307] Update: The entire documentary is now available for online viewing! Rarely do I get excited about documentaries, but last night I stumbled across one that is a "must watch" for youth ministers. 21 Up in America is the third installment of a little-known documentary project following the lives of 14 ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/07/21-up-america-a-must-watch-documentary/ [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_I8aR8pbiE] I have to admit this commercial is terribly funny and rather brilliant (props to YSMarko). And, yet, how odd it is that we all get the cultural references being made; it's still further evidence that pop culture has been transformed by YouTube. Meanwhile, I'm intrigued that this is a commercial ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/06/dont-tase-me-such-as-leave-her-alone-when-life-is-a-youtube-video/ Andy Rowell posted an interesting commentary yesterday noting that pollsters did not take measure of how many evangelical Christians voted in the Democratic Caucus in Iowa. Of course, we all know this was a major question on the Republican side of things. Now, Rowell's question is important but ... http://www.faithd.com/2008/01/05/evangelicals-vs-youth-in-election-08/ I lost my cell number a few weeks ago (long story) and have been wondering what number to tell people to call me on. Number portability is nice, but not always the perfect solution, and I've been wanting to give people a number that won't change in six months. ... http://www.faithd.com/2007/12/29/want-a-grand-central-beta-invite/ This personal reflection on the Lord's Supper served to jumpstart my interest in Communion and forms the basis for research I'm currently doing on youth, young adults and the Eucharist. Fast Food: Running with Jesus We waited and salivated as we watched the huge chunks of soft French bread being unloaded from ... http://www.faithd.com/2007/12/26/guerrilla-ecumenism-the-bootleg-eucharist/