Author Archives: Clark Bunch

John Wayne, Robert Schuller, and Why I Read Snopes.com

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If you think that title is a little far out, just be glad I didn’t settle on “Will I Meet John Wayne in Heaven?”

Snopes.com is an incredible resource for fact checking urban legends and internet scams.  Remember the whole Veggie Monster debacle?  There are still plenty of people that think Cookie Monster has been removed from Sesame Street and replaced with a health conscious, veggie munching counterpart designed to combat childhood obesity.  There was an email writing campaign to get him back on the show.  Thing is, he never went anywhere.  He admits that “Cookies are a sometimes food” but there is not now nor has there ever been a Veggie Monster.  Sesame Street has denied rumors and even issued press releases, but the rumor is larger than life.  People repeat it without any confirmation whatsoever, making it the perfect example of what happens when we copy and paste total fabrications.  If people would spend 60 seconds on Snopes, such stories would die a quick death. Continue reading →

Sexperiment

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Chaplain Mike at Internetmonk was listing reasons the other day that he would not be reading Mark Driscoll’s new book on Christian sexuality.  Real Marriage is co-authored by Mark and Grace Driscoll, and promises an intimate look into their intimate relationship.  Here’s Mike’s post, noting that this book epitamizes all that’s wrong in the evangelical circus.  (Here’s an actual review, if you want one.)  Mark Driscoll has developed a reputation for speaking with a certain style.  It’s all about being frank and in your face.  Real Marriage will seem tame in comparison to what Ed and Lisa Young are about to come out with.  Chaplain Mike, you ain’t seen noting yet.

Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy with your Spouse is due out on Tuesday.  To promote the book Ed and Lisa will spend 24 hours in bed on the roof of their Texas church.   Continue reading →

Our Daily Bread

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Our Daily Bread is a daily devotional magazine and the signature product of RBC Ministries.  A few years ago I was a daily reader.  I will skip all the details, but it’s suffice to say that it’s been a while.  I’ve thought about subscribing again a couple of times.  Just a few minutes ago I searched Google for Our Daily Bread and was pleasantly surprised.

At odb.org you can read the text of each devotion, or click the player to hear the mp3.  Our Daily Bread is still available in print format, or you can subscribe to email or RSS feeds.  They are also on iTunes and I just liked their Facebook page.  As a fan of social media and a blogger, I don’t know why it never occurred to me that Our Daily Bread would have made the update to the Information Age.

This daily devotion can be read in under five minutes, but I found it a great way to put myself in the right frame of mind to face the day.  I’ve also packed it in my lunch and took just a few minutes in the middle of the day to recenter.  These are not the hard sayings of Jesus and there will not be any emotionally charged reviews of Mark Driscoll’s new book on sex.  It’s a few minutes in God’s word and a little bit of encouragement each day.  And I’m looking forward to it.

2011 in Review

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I don’t obsess over stats (or at least I try not to) but the WordPress.com stat helper monkeys created the following presentation.  The least I could do is share it.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 110,000 times in 2011. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 5 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

The Answer is Jesus

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“If God is the question, Jesus is the answer.”

That’s why I love Michael Spencer.  I still read Christian blogs, including Internet Monk.  I author a Christian blog, but haven’t found anything that gets my gears turning the way Spencer did.  Read this classic iMonk post to see what I’m talking about.

Michael Spencer was blogging before I knew what a blog was. He started internetmonk.com 12 years ago, really getting in on the ground floor of the Christian blogosphere. Chaplain Mike and others keep the dream alive at iMonk after Michael passed away in April of 2010.  I was a disciple of  Michael in real life for seven years, and he had a profound impact on the way I think about ministry.  The post linked above cuts right to the heart Christianity.

Here Comes 2012

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I haven’t posted anything in a few days, and there needs to something on the front page besides that Coffee with Jesus comic strip that’s been up since Monday.  That’s what this is really about.

Okay, we have one calendar year before the Mayan calendar ends in December 2012.  My first question is always this: if the Mayans couldn’t see the Spanish coming, why take their word for the end of the world?  It turns out their calendar had about 400 years they didn’t even need.  Their civilization had already collapsed and they were living in small farming villages when the first Spanish Conquistadors arrived.  If they could not hold their civilization together, nor predict the collapse of every South American civilization to European conquerors, why do we suppose they could predict the apocalypse?  They did some wicked math, but it’s leap in logic to assume they’re experts on the cosmos. Continue reading →

Coffee with Jesus: Give with your Mouth Shut

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Click the pic for full size.

Coffee with Jesus is a comic strip produced by Radio Free Babylon.  They’re for people with a sense of humor and this one helps teach an important lesson.

The End of Advent: Lighting the Christ Candle

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The Christ candle is traditionally lit during either a Christmas Eve service or perhaps on Christmas Day.  Christmas just happens to be on Sunday this year.  What ever you do this weekend is fine with me as long as you remember that Christ is the gift and God is in the manger.

Today is Christmas Eve, the last day of Advent.  Tomorrow is Christmas, the first of the 12 days of Christmas, which culminates in Epiphany.  An epiphany is a great discovery or revelation of prolific truth.  The January 6th Epiphany celebrates the wise men finding Jesus.

Advent is the season of waiting and preparation.  If we’re being technically correct in our worship (and I’m not one that cares as much as some do) we should have been singing Advent hymns up to this point, such as O Come Emanuel.  It is now time to sing Joy to the World, proclaiming that the Lord is come.

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

(Luke 2:10-14 ESV)

Can I Interest You in Hebrews?

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Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.  (Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

Jesus alluded to this truth in the parable of the tenants.  Colossians 1 describes the preeminence of Christ in all things, calling him the images of the invisible God.  Galatians 4 describes how God sent his son “when the fullness of time had come.”  Ephesians 2 elaborates on Christ making peace by the blood of his cross.  But this passage in Hebrews has a poetic quality to it.  This one paragraph encompasses all of these other references in one beautiful synopsis.  It’s about Old Testament prophecy and New Testament fulfillment.  It tells the reader who Jesus is and what he has done.  It describes the incarnation, ministry of Jesus and his current office as high priest.

I find this short passage simple, beautiful and powerful.  This is just the opening statement; have you read the rest of Hebrews lately?

Tebowing

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Okay, so here’s one more Tim Tebow blog post.  How can I talk about media saturation and then write another article?  Well, if it helps, it isn’t really Tim Tebow I’m ranting about/worshiping.

These kids are in trouble for Tebowing in their school hallways.  Some Christians are up at arms over rights of expression.  Some athletes are ranting about Tebow getting media coverage for either winning games and/or for being a Christian while their accomplishments and faith are overlooked.  My beef is this: kneeling on one knee and bowing the head is now called Tebowing.  Who gets the glory there? Continue reading →