Austin in August. The thermometer read 102 today, and our AC unit is just as busted today as it was yesterday when it was 100 degrees. It’s hotter than a Baptist preacher’s Hell. We’re waiting for a new unit. Waiting.

 Waiting is relative. When you long for someone or something, the time between now and the arrival seems interminable. You know time neither stops nor slows, yet a dozen glances at the clock tempt you to wonder. Pacing at the airport waiting for Stephanie (!), the vigil at the hospital waiting for word from the surgeon about Dad, the three eternities between when my baby son cries and the breastfeeding begins: the more I want the one or the thing the slower time moves.Read more

On a recent flight I sat next to a Phillip Yancey lookalike named Marc. At first blush I thought Marc a sharp and erudite hippie-ish lawyer from Northern California, because he is. As we talked, I learned that Marc grew up in the greater Atlanta area, attended one of the many First Baptists in what used to be town distinct from Atlanta, graduated from Furman in the early 1970s, got involved in Democratic electoral politics. Eventually he became an attorney-lobbyist in California, advocating for affordable rent and low income housing. He is now retired.Read more

Darrin Patrick, pastor of The Journey in Saint Louis, posted a simple, helpful reminder of what preachers need to do to be effective preachers.

Check out "A Preacher with His Bible"

Michael Spencer, who became a friend personally as well as a friend of Common Grounds Online, has died.

Michael's prodigious output as a blogger, both at Internet Monk and at the Boars Head Tavern that he started, relentlessly directed readers to the person of Jesus. His wide-ranging reading interests incurred the ire of some, but many readers like me found provocation of the best kind, inspiration and encouragement. Michael was captivated by radical grace, and now that Grace has captured him. Though he died, yet does he live.

Great piece at SportsProf about the contrast between the Tier 1 basketball program of Kentucky and the bus-travelling, no-scholarships-allowed program of Cornell.

Excerpt:
And he did it without basketball scholarships, without much help from boosters, without special living quarters or travel accommodations for his players, well, without a whole lot of hype, jazz, spectacle, or anything else. These kids play their league schedule on back-to-back nights, Fridays and Saturdays, in order not to miss too much class. They travel by bus for league play,Read more

Many of my friends are pastors and I regularly hear them lament the difficulty of finding "a right fit" for a position on their church's staff team.

A friend of mine, a former large church pastor, has been doing this the past three years and he excels at executive search. William Vanderbloemen just left the search firm where he was previously to launch Vanderbloemen Search Group

Thinking William's particular expertise might be useful to some of my clients, a couple of years ago I introduced some pastors to William. William has been exceptional at this task of confidential pastor search and my clients have been quite pleased with what he brings to the table.Read more

I am way overdue in posting this interview with Travis Prinzi. I read Prinzi's Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds last fall and LOVED it. For those who love all things Potter, in my estimation Prinzi's work is the best book I've read on the subject. Prinzi not only brings a wealth of learning about literature, and particularly fantasy literature, to bear on the J.K. Rowling's Potter oerve, but he also thinks interdependently. He avoids merely splicing quotes and others' insights, but rather he engages other writers and Rowling from his own point of view. The questions Prinzi asks in HP & Imagination kept me riveted, and he writes in a style that is a delight to read.Read more