the rearview mirror ii

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Bible study, Christian season, Christianity, humor, media, missiology, music, news, religion, sports, technology, the 7, worship
• Date: Dec 26,2006

Here is this week’s edition of “The Rearview Mirror,” where we peruse the past week’s best of the best in the blogosphere. Enjoy!

1. Online video becomes a real business. What does this mean for the church?

2. Missional churches, Epiphany, and squatters.

3. The history of religion in 90 seconds. Intriguing…

4. UNC-Wilmington criminology professor, Mike Adams, gives one of his students a lesson in integrity.

5. The ESV blog helps us visualize one-year Bible reading plans. Who knew there were this many ways to read the Scriptures?

6. Pamela Durso, associate executive director of the Baptist History and Heritage Society, writes on what we can learn from the long history of Baptist worship wars.

7. The recent Knicks/Nuggets brawl at Madison Square Garden was no doubt a black eye for the NBA. But ESPN Page 2′s Jemele Hill says don’t blame “thugs.” Blame false bravado, machismo and stupidity.

8. Get Religion’s Terry Mattingly voices his thoughts on the little semi-story The Greenville (S.C.) News missed last week and if experience matters when it comes to writing for the religion beat of a major newspaper.

9. The German Opera’s controversial production of Mozart’s Idomeneo went on in Berlin last week without incident, although it was two months late and with more than 100 German cops on hand. Paul O’Donnell of Beliefnet.com’s Idol Chatter discusses that though there is a controversial scene that is a protest against “any form of organized religion or its founders,” opera and organized religion face many of the same challenges…

10. It’s hard to believe that Mary was just a teenager [anywhere from 12 to 17 on who you talk to] when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in her womb. Scot McKnight “pushes back” Marko on the adolescent implications that Mary might have faced [or not faced].

11. The untold story of Southern Baptist Clarence Jordan via iMonk and the Bible Belt Blogger.

12. London, the new Jerusalem via Jonny Baker.

13. Moby tries to tells us the real meaning of Christmas. Nice try Mr. Hall, but there’s more to the Story: redemption of sin.

14. Shaun Groves lets us in on what happens when CPAs and artists breed together…hilarious!

the rearview mirror i

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: church, culture, media, movies, music, news, politics, television, the 7, worship
• Date: Dec 17,2006

Last Sunday, I started a feature called “The Week in Review,” where I highlighted my favorite blog entries of the week.

But here is the big question about the feature: Isn’t that title boring? I though so too. It’s like a bad, recurring article in a stodgy news journal. Stodgy I am not.

So I thought long and hard about a really smart, creative title and I came up with [drum roll please...] “The Rearview Mirror.” Okay, it’s nothing revolutionary, just an attempt to be a little more clever than the next guy.

With that aside, be sure to check in each Sunday as we peruse [IMHO] the past week’s best of the best in the blogosphere on the “The Rearview Mirror.” Here is this week’s edition:

1. So why did The Nativity Story fail at the box office? It didn’t follow the ‘Passion’ Playbook a.k.a. the 10+ commandments of the new Hollywood.

2. Maybe numbers in church aren’t bad after all. Fuller’s Ryan Bolger ruminates…

3. Refuting the myth of guilt only for particular sins.

4. Crunchy Con balks at a couple of things that have been on my mind lately: the pursuit for homogeneity in public schools and yes, Bratz.

5. Cage match: Wal-Mart vs. Kentucky Baptists.

6. The Bible Belt Blogger tells us how a TV evangelist sent him money.

7. Jesus Christ, Cover Star.

8. Is advocating gay rights replacing advocating abortion rights as the new standard by which Republicans are measured by? Terry Mattingly weighs in…

9. The solution to permanently solving the issue of substance in new worship songs: Evangelical Mad Libs.

10. What are your boundaries in movies and TV? Over 200 people voted on this issue over at philcooke.com. You may the results surprising…

11. DJ Chuang notes a new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project that says blogging is gaining in its popularity, especially for those under 30. Blogging is a fad no more..

12. Are ‘seekers’ poor judges of their needs? Oldtruth.com quotes the late Ichabod Spencer…

13. The venerable Jeff Tweedy is not ready to take a break from the road. Via Pitchfork, Mr. T announces a solo tour…

14. Common grace in the form of the best music video of the year. Well said Steve!

rules of video engagement

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: church, culture, media, technology, worship
• Date: Dec 10,2006

There is no question that we are a part of the visual age.

Look at the myriad of unbelievable TV options and the flurry of advancement in its technology. Blogging is a worldwide trend [and isn't going away...] And can anyone say You Tube?

It’s even infiltrating the ministry realm with phrases like “multisensory worship” and people like William Dyrness writing about it.

If we are a visual age, what impact does it have on our worship? Phil Cooke speaks ‘globally’ about this issue:

In a media-driven culture, we are bombarded with advertising messages on a regular basis – some say as many as 3,000 per day. It’s a complex media jungle out there, and the truth is, that clutter is why so many programs fail today – they just can’t get noticed…Today, to “cut through the media clutter,” the best method is often a whisper, rather than a scream.

Read the entire article here: Style Guidelines For Media Producers And Video Editors.

ted haggard: a media perspective

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: culture, media
• Date: Nov 10,2006

One of my favorite reads is Phil Cooke’s blog, philcooke.com.

Cooke is a successful producer and director in the entertainment industry, as well as a highly respected consultant and advisor to a wide range of international organizations. He is possibly the only working producer in Hollywood with a Ph.D and just happens to be a Christian.

Cooke has written an insightful article on how the media influenced the Ted Haggard scandal or better, how Haggard seemingly lacked real care [or oversight from New Life Church] in talking with the media. As the whirlwind of events were unfolding, I thought many of the same things Cooke mentions in his 11.5.06 entry.

Here is a quote from the article:

…for the church as a whole, we need to get our act together when it comes to living and sharing our witness in a media driven culture. The way the mass media exposes, uncovers, and tells the story is vastly different from anything the church has experienced in 2,000 years of its history, and if we don’t understand how the media works, it will forever damage our witness to the world.

It’s not about covering up, deflecting, or denying. On the contrary, it’s about being truthful, and confronting the media in a way that allows the real story to be told, without allowing denials, information scraps, inaccuracies, and falsehoods color the story. The stakes are remarkably high here. It doesn’t take much to see that anti-religious and extreme left bloggers and writers are descending on the story like sharks to blood. The hypocrisy, denials, and botched releases have amped up Christianity’s critics, and it’s hard to blame them.

Read the full entry entitled: “Ted Haggard: From a Media Perspective.”

the couric effect

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: media
• Date: May 31,2006

I admit it. I like watching the major network morning news shows. Maybe that makes me corny…

I don’t want to be corny…

This morning, Katie Couric, 15-year host of the Today Show on NBC, said goodbye to Matt, Al, and Ann and enters a revolutionary new season in her life: anchor and managing editor for CBS Evening News.

At CBS, she will become the first female solo anchor of a major evening network newscast in the United States. The first female evening news anchor was Barbara Walters, who shared anchoring duties with Harry Reasoner on ABC from 1976 to 1978. Couric will also be the highest-paid news anchor at $15 million per year.

I think we are witnessing a shift as we think about ‘serious’ media, but what effect wil this really have on the news world as we know it?

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