This week crowds of worshipers outside Apple Stores around the globe will finally be able to lay their hands on the latest object of their devotion: the iPhone 4. The public was given its first official look at the device a few weeks ago when Steve Jobs descended from his holy digital mountain with the updated phone in his hands. Reports have already circulated about spontaneous rallies of Apple fans, and we’ve seen the video footage of consumers reacting with fits of ecstasy as they hold their new purchase.

The frenzy created every time Apple releases a new product highlights a growing but under-reported phenomenon: the power of consumer brands to supplant traditional religions in peoples’ lives. Many Christians believe the greatest threat to the church today is postmodernity.…

Some time ago, the folks at Zondervan recorded a video of me discussing The Divine Commodity. I had never seen the footage, but recently discovered it on their site. If you’d like to know a little more about the book and why I wrote it, here’s your chance.

In other book news, my friend and colleague from Leadership Journal, Brandon O’Brien is close to releasing his first book The Strategically Small Church. I’ve already read an advanced copy and it’s really fantastic. Brandon does a great job of showing how intentionally small congregation may be the ideal instrument to impact our rapidly shifting culture. But he does this without discrediting the role of larger churches. What I especially love about the book is how much research he put into…

Rick McKinley is pastor of Imago Dei in Portland, Oregon, and the guy behind the Advent Conspiracy movement. I first interviewed Rick for Leadership a few years ago. We also serve together on the Origins Project. A few weeks ago Rick interviewed me about The Divine Commodity for one of the Advent Conspiracy podcasts this month.

I’m pleased to see that even Time Magazine has caught wind of AC. The recent article juxtaposes Advent Conspiracy with the Religious Right’s crusade to keep Christ at the center of the shopping and marketing frenzy of this season. Folks on the Christian and political right are blasting retailers who use “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” in their advertising.

McKinley and Advent Conspiracy seem to have a better grasp not only on the purpose of Advent,…

Episode VII: Halloween 2009It is a night of sibling war. Rebel kids, striking from a hidden fort, have won their first victory against the evil Parental Empire.

During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Parent’s ultimate weapon, the CANDY BOWL, an impenetrable receptacle placed high enough in the kitchen to thwart the greedy hands of any child.

Pursued by the Parent’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races back to her bedroom aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her sugar-addicted brother and ankle-biting sister and restore freedom to the household….

I’m in Atlanta this week for the Catalyst Conference. The blog I manage for Leadership journal, Out of Ur, is one of the official blog sites for the event. I’ll be posting regularly on the site, as will Marshall Shelley, Kevin Miller, and Drew Dyck. You can keep track of what’s happening at OutofUr.com.

If you’re at Catalyst, let me know. It’d be nice to see some friends and interact with Leadership subscribers and Urbanites.

Believe it or not, in the UK “Jedi” is a religious option listed on census documents. Believe it or not, there are over 500,000 Jedi adherents around the world. Believe it or not, a Jedi in Wales is accusing a supermarket of religious discrimination. Are we flying upside down, folks? Here’s the story from Gardian.co.uk:

Daniel Jones, founder of the religion inspired by the Star Wars films, says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following the incident at a Tesco store in Bangor. The 23-year-old was told the hood flouted store rules.

But the grocery empire struck back, claiming that the three best known Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies - Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker - all appeared in public without their hoods. Jones, from Holyhead,…

Earlier this year, we interviewed Keith and Kristyn Getty for an article about worship in Leadership Journal. The Getty’s are Irish songwriters that seek to write modern day hymns. Some of their more popular songs are “In Christ Alone” and Keith wrote “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” with Stuart Townend.

As outsiders, Kristyn and Keith had some interesting comments about their perception of worship in contemporary American churches and the value of remaining connected to the past. Here’s an excerpt from the conversation. You can read the whole article here.

Kristyn: In America, “new” is a positive word. The positive energy and desire to do new things in America is certainly wonderful. But the truth is life isn’t always just a blank page. The Christian life is about remembering,…