More Than Last Year

The goal this year for the blog is to have more entries than last year.  In 2012, I posted 11 blog entries, 3 more than in 2011.  With a little focus and effort, I should easily be able to make this year the bloggiest year ever for me. Not that it's some huge accomplishment; my all-time high for blog posts in a year is 37.

So as not to make this post a "filler" post to pad my numbers, I'll actually include some substance.  Here's a list of what I'm reading(and have read recently):

• The Furious Longing of God (Brennan Manning) - In classic Manning style, God's love for us is explained through story, insight, and numerous quotable blocks of awesomeness.
• You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church...and Rethinking Faith (David Kinnaman) - 18-29 year-olds are the leaving the church (and sometimes the faith) faster than any other age group.  Kinnaman's book explores how why people are leaving (and why he categorizes them on a spectrum of exiles, nomads, and prodigals).
• The Most Misused Verses in the Bible: Surprising Ways God's Word is Misunderstood (Eric J. Bargerhuff)  I enjoyed almost every chapter in this book.  His chapter on Acts 2:38 was an embarrassing exercise in begging the question (in this case, he assumed Calvinism; therefore, any hint of the individual's faith that isn't caused by God is horrific).
• Shock and Awe (Episode #1) (Celebrity Pastor) - I laughed hard several times while reading this satirical look at what it means to be a pastor at a new church and how to effect change in the local congregation.  He gives 7 principles to his leadership style; "Principle #5: Be Awesome First, Apologize Later" is a good example.

I've Been Featured . . . Sort Of

On one of my favorite blogs, Apostrophe Abuse, I've had two photos displayed in their latest entry, "Resident's, Balcony's, Patio's, and Case's." If you've never seen this site, it's a funny collection of instances where people use unnecessary apostrophes. This would be a good time to go over some basics about our friend the apostrophe:

1. An " 's" never makes a word plural. So please don't write stuff like "Case's of cold Red Bull for sale."
2. An apostrophe serves a few purposes: signaling contractions (don't, can't, etc.), signaling possession (Mike's book, my parents' names), and, rarely, to indicate the shortening up of a word, usually to represent in writing an accent or unique use of word ('twas, buggin', " 'allo there, 'ow are you?" some Irish guy asked me).
3. Though not officially an apostrophe rule, its misuse in "its" and "it's" deserves special mention. "It's" always means "it is" or "it has." "Its" always means "belonging to it." It's time for its uses to be clear.

There may be more uses as well as better explanations for the three above (those were off the top of my head). For now, though, class is dismissed.

New Name, Same Stuff

As is obvious by now, "Preaching to the Choir" is now "Have Another Think." I always get irritated at bands that constantly change their names, especially when they are relatively new and growing in popularity (Tried By Fire, anyone?). But I'm not worried about people hating me for changing the title here, because 1) It's just a blog, people, and 2) No one reads it, anyway (except for a few sympathetic souls out there, God bless you!).

Here's why I changed the title: Where I'm at in life, "preaching" means something different to me than to someone who does not go to (or enjoy) church. To me, it's a good thing: the proclamation of what God has to say to mankind (at least as understood by the preacher!). To many others, though, it conveys an arrogant or belligerent, guilt-trippy diatribe forced upon generally nice people by some sweaty, overweight, red-faced guy who pronounces "Jesus" with three syllables: Jeeeeezusssss-ah! Gawd-ah sayeth unto thee, "Jeeeezussss-ah...is a-comin' back, so git right with the Lawrd-ah!" That's not me.

I like "Have Another Think" because it is more descriptive of the intent of this blog: to get people thinking and talking about various issues regarding religion (mainly Christianity), philosophy, culture, ethics and morality. Too often, we accept or reject things based on whether we "like" them or not, not by whether they are true or good. I want to challenge us to pause and think about the things we do and say as Americans and (for some of us) as American Christians. We say and do a lot of things; do we ever wonder why?

So I'll be serving up thoughts for a while. Think up; no designated driver needed!

(PS - thanks to Kerri for the helpful comment on "Considering a Blog Name Change." Welcome aboard!)