{Music Review} Danyew [EP] by Phil Danyew

Good not Great

There is no doubt in my mind that Phil Danyew is a very talented songwriter, instrumentalist and overall musician. But I listened to this EP several times and not once did my ears perk up. The musical style of the artist is similar to much of the over-produced audio effects laden music we heard during the late 90’s and early 00’s. For me it didn’t do anything. Now don’t get me wrong the quality of the production itself is great, but I start to listen to the music and shortly after it just blends into background music. I really don’t enjoy saying this, because even when I read the lyrics to the songs on the CD insert they come off as really great God centered poetry, but set to his music they don’t resonate with me. Now I realize that this is just my opinion, I respect that musical tastes are very subjective, but Danyew just kind of left me flat, perhaps you will enjoy it more than me?

{Product Review} Caselogic Security Friendly Laptop Backpack

The only problem I have with this backpack is that it is a little dorky looking. Very plain looking, all black with matte silver zippers. Other then that, this is a great backpack! As someone who lugs around a decent sized widescreen laptop, this is exactly the kind of laptop you would like to have. The rear portion of the backpack contains a padded area for you to store your laptop. Padded as to not damage the computer and to not cause you any discomfort also the lining of this pocket is soft as to not scratch any of the surfaces of your laptop. The bag features a zipper that basically allows you to split the backpack in half and lay it down flat for scanning through the x-ray machine at airports. This of course is nice since you aren't pulling out your laptop and tossing it in one of those dirty gray bins and getting it scratched, etc.. The front half of the bag contains three other pockets, a smaller one on the front, a slightly larger one behind that which contains smaller pockets for pens, business cards and other small items, then you have one larger pocket which has room for things like power adapters, Cd's, etc.. A couple of other nice features: The bag is designed to hold it's shape and stand up right when set down. The shoulder straps are padded and curved, making them very easy and comfortable to use. And a nice little touch the adjustable straps that normally dangle after you adjust them, these straps have nifty little Velcro pieces that allow you to roll them up and keep them from getting dirty when you have the bag on the ground or getting caught on stuff as you walk around. Suffice to say, the bag may not be the coolest looking backpack out there, but you can tell that a lot of thought was put into it design, the designers remembered the little things that annoy you about backpacks that you wished you could fix. Glad I have it!

{Book Review} The New Christians by Tony Jones

“The best primer available for the emergent movement”


If you are even interested in reading this book I guess you may be one of three people. One, you could be an “emergent” and you are just wanted to learn a little about the movement you are involved in. Two, you have heard about “Emergent’s” and the “Emerging Church” and you wanted to learn more about what it was all about. Or third, you have heard about these heretic emergent devil worshippers and you were looking for a book that could reveal all the heresies and non-orthodox practices. Well I am glad to report that this book will satisfy the needs of all three people.

A little about Tony Jones, Tony has been at the forefront of the emergence for most of its existence and until recently was the national coordinator for the emergent village. He went to seminary at Fuller Seminary and is getting his Ph.D. from Princeton, he writes like a down to earth academic. Speaking to the normal everyday Christians who have never had a class in theology class, but every now and then he likes to drop his knowledge and you will have to break out your dictionary to look up a word or you have to scribble down the name of some obscure theologian so you can look them up later. Basically I am trying to say that Tony comes across as an everyman’s theologian. A guy you could go have a beer and talk baseball just as easily as you could discuss the early church father’s views on the doctrine of atonement.

As I mentioned above I see this book as being the best primer on the book shelf to the emergent movement. In fact if you want the full treatment, get Phyllis Tickle’s book “The Great Emergence” to tell you why the emergent movement is here and then get this book to fill in the details of what the movement is.

In the book Tony starts off by giving some background on his own personal story and where he is coming from and how he got where he is now. Then Tony gives his take of the story of how the emergent movement evolved and began from a few young pastors and theologians. Then we get a description of the kind of people that are drawn to the movement and why they are attracted to this new form of Christianity. Next Tony really shines as he lays out much of the theology of the emergence, and while it is no way a doctrinal statement or comprehensive description of what the movement believes, it is more like what they don’t believe and what they are open to. He also spends a good amount of time addressing the idea of truth and dispelling the idea that this is just relativism dressed up in trendy clothing and cool haircuts. Finally we get an inside view of several church’s that Jones feels fall inside this movement, a nice cross section of what is going on in various emergent churches across the country.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. I came in as a person who has had the thoughts of an emergent for the past few years I just didn’t know it. This book helped me see the others who feel/think about Christianity the way I do and understand how others got to this place. So if you are interested in this movement, (Although I don’t think “Movement” is a good word for it) or are just looking for something new in Christianity then I think you may like this book.

{Book Review} Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

“A Bit Much for a Newbie”

To be honest I have never been much of a reader of fantasy books. I read a little bit of science fiction here and there, but typically my interests lie in other fields. I was interested to read this book because first, from what I have heard and read Sanderson is a fairly well respected new author on the fantasy scene. And secondly I was interested in this book in particular because it was being released in drafts on the web for free before its final publication. Knowing that I was reading a relatively unfinished product interested me, to see if it affected the author’s process knowing that rather than keeping his work isolated from the public until completion, instead we have more of an open progression.

In saying all that I am happy to say I was pleased with, and did enjoy reading this book, even though it got to be tough by the end. Many have called Sanderson Tolkien-esque, in that he created whole new worlds full of new physics, myths, legends and laws. I have to admit any author I see do that deserves some credit, because it takes a very creative mind to do that, and then to be able to articulate that word on the page, I have to give Sanderson credit he does his job here.

Without getting into the plot (I mean you can read the book online) Sanderson does a great job of creating this magical new world and all of the things that make an interesting canvas on to which paint his story. But there is just so much to explain that half way through the story you are taking some things for granted even though you don’t really know how or why they work. The plot is decent, and kept me interested, but it all just got to be a bit much by the end. I would think if you are a fantasy fan you could really find a lot in here to enjoy, but as for me it was just a bit too laborious to really allow me to really love it, but I did enjoy the book, and hoe you will too.

Review: The New Media Frontier

As my Grandparents became young adults they had the opportunity to witness the dawning of the Space Age. As a teen and young adult myself I have had the opportunity to see the beginning of and explosion of the Information Age. This new era we have been ushered into presents us with many new ways to absorb, present and produce media and information. John Mark Reynolds and Roger Overton has compiled what I would think to call a collection of articles/essays introducing, explaining, and providing advice for how to engage this new age with a Christian conviction.

At the beginning of the book, titled “The Landscape of New Media” Reynolds and others provide a great background and lay a foundation for the place of new media in society. A great read for beginners or those a bit unfamiliar with the internet. Here all the basic are covered including blogging, podcasting, etc... The second part of the book “Engaging New Media” brings in experts to discuss topics such as theological blogging, pastors and new media, facebook and myspace use with youth ministry, evangelism and apologetics in new media, virtual classrooms, and many more. Almost of the articles/essays are thoughtful, well written and very up to date with their references.

As fast as the internet evolves some of this information may be outdated in as little as year, and in five years even more of it will be considered dated, but right now I don’t think there is a better book addressing these issues and ideas. I would highly recommend this book for today’s pastors and church leaders. Even students who have grow up with access to computers and the internet all their life would benefit from a close read of this title.

Rob Bell's New Book

I finished this book last night, and I continue to hold to my stance that even if you do not totally agree with Rob Bell’s theology he always brings up some very good points that are worth think about and discussing. This book is a collaborative work of Rob Bell Teaching Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids and the former Lead Pastor of said church Dan Golden on the current exile of the Church in America.

The point and ideas that Rob and Dan make in this book are clear and simple enough that I do not want to ruin it with a shoddy summary but I do encourage you to read this book. Bell is known to sometimes make links and correlations between New and Old Testament that are sometimes thin at best. And there are a few of those, also in one biblical reference he confuses Philip the Evangelist with the Apostle Philip, but small little things like this do not take away from the fact that Rob Bell & Dan Golden bring forth some very interesting ideas that can really make you reevaluate what you think your position in the world is. There are people who love everything Rob Bell writes or speaks about, they will enjoy this book.

There are people who hate everything thing Rob Bell writes or speaks about, they will dislike the book and probably find hundred’s of things wrong with it. Then, there are those of us to listen to Bell, and agree with him on some things and disagree with him on others. I get the feeling that is the kind of reader or listener he enjoys the most. Bell & Golden don’t ever claim to have everything right, but they do want to ask questions and encourage people to think and do. If you read this book with an open and without preconceived notions this book should deliver that for you.