December 16, 2011

Now on Burnside: "Waiting for Baby Jesus"

Please read my Advent reflections upon the coming of Jesus on Christmas day on Burnside.

November 16, 2011

Now on Burnside: "God's Jury"

It's been a little while since I've updated this.  The following posts have been on Burnside Writers for the past couple of months.  I'd love to read any comments there as always.

"God's Jury" - Read a revelation I received about the nature of church while sitting in jury duty

"Losing My Religion" - My thoughts about R.E.M.'s calling it quits

"Forgiveness" -  A meditation on Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son

"An Interview with Aimee Maude Sims" - My discussion with the editor of RAW: A Poetic Journey

July 19, 2011

Now on Burnside: "Art & Faith: Spare the Son"

Last week presented a debate over masculinity between Pastor Mark Driscoll and author/blogger Rachel Held Evans. My latest post on Burnside examines this from an artistic lens. Rembrandt's Sacrifice of Isaac has particular poignancy when seen in its historical and contemporary contexts.

Please read and comment there.

June 25, 2011

Now on Burnside: "I Write Because"

photo © 2010 Sean MacEntee | more info   (via: Wylio)

"I Write Because" is an edited version of a series I did on this blog about what makes me write. Please read and comment on Burnside if you feel compelled. This is a very personal piece since it touches on the primal urges I feel when I take up the keyboard and write. I am self-conscious of it, but I believe it might strike a cord with some of my readers who also write.

June 21, 2011

Reannouncing Daily Burnsider

A recent idea I had sprouted and manifested as Daily Burnsider. I initially started it on my own, but Jordan Green liked it so it's been renamed and absorbed into the official Burnside Writers Twitter account. If you are interested in the contributors you can see the official list. 

Daily Burnsider is a daily collection of articles and links shared by Burnsiders that is refreshed every 24 hours. I hope that it is a blessing to see what others are doing. I know that I lack inspiration often, so this is an easy way to know how and what others write.

Read The Bobo Blog

June 17, 2011

Art & Faith: Whose Banner?

The second piece in the series is now on Burnside. This one examines Peter Paul Rubens' work David Slaying Goliath and discusses the religious tension of contemporary Christian culture wars. The moment of tension remains just as Rubens depicts in his brilliant work. I appreciate your comments there. 

Read The Bobo Blog

June 6, 2011

Blue Like Jazz Trailer

If you liked the book, you'll love this.

Read The Bobo Blog

June 5, 2011

Now on Burnside: Art & Faith Series

photo © 2006 joel kabahit | more info (via: Wylio)

Over the coming week, I have a series on Burnside entitled "Art & Faith" which will explore the ways that art speaks to us today as Christians. My first piece uses Edvard Munch's classic work The Scream to discuss the postmodern sense of isolation we feel in this virtual world. I welcome your comments there.

Read The Bobo Blog

April 28, 2011

Now on Burnside: "Book Review: Common Prayer"

My review of Common Prayer is on Burnside. This is great timing in light of yesterday's post.  There's also a great post by Enuma Okoro there, too. She collaborated with Shane and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove on this daily liturgy.

Read The Bobo Blog

April 3, 2011

Now on Burnside: A Reason to be Angry

In my youth, I was scared out of listening to non-Christian music. It was the "devil's music" and it had "no redeeming value." Names like Judas Priest and Megadeth proved the argument in my childish brain. After all, they did use the Lord's name in vain and a whole slew of other "heathen profanities."  Right? For years I shied away from rock music in general and felt comfortable hunkered down in my fundamentalist shelter. (I laugh and shiver inside remembering how Chicago was ground for trouble in my suburban Christian context!)

Much to my parents' disappointment, I gently eased in to the world of secular music during my junior high and high school years. R.E.M. and U2 used some religious references so I felt emotionally safe. This naïve notion failed to consider Michael Stipe's openly bisexual lifestyle, which should have immediately ruled out any acceptance of his music. Bono's alter ego Mephisto in the Zoo TV Tour didn't help the cause either. Consistency hardly motivated my choices. As I familiarized myself with the "worldly" music, I remember feeling so afraid of this new reality opening itself to me. Could it be that my parents and their friends were right? A fear-induced caution to music left me years behind the curve on the latest, greatest music. And for that, I feel robbed.

Continue...