2007 was my first full year of blogging and its interesting to look back at all that I’ve experienced and written about. I’ve really enjoyed this outlet for my thoughts as well as the connections I’ve made as a result of this site.

Without further ado, here are the top ten posts on thinkinginprogress.com in 2007.

1. Life as a Beer Commercial - This post about a Coors beer commercial is by far the most widely-read.
2. Love and Marriage - Who knew a simple recap of a conversation with a buddy would resonate with so many dudes?
3. Overcome Evil With… - My take on the surprising message in the film, “Blood Diamond.”
4. 5 Things a Leader Must Do from Perry Noble - I can’t take credit for this one. These are notes I took at a conference while listening to the passion and wisdom of Sir Perry Noble. He’s one of the best Christian communicators alive today.
5. Presidential Campaigns Begin at Birth - I rarely write anything political, but this one set-off all of the right and left wing nutjobs. Emails and comments abounded. Thank God for moderated comments.
6. Review of “Vintage Jesus” by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears - This was recent but I must have written this book review at just the right time because it got a ton of hits. I’ve discovered that Mark Driscoll is as polarizing as Hillary Clinton.
7. National Guard and 3 Doors Down - Another simple post that set off a firestorm from those who oppose the war. I wasn’t even making a statement about the war.
8. Caveman Theology - This is just what the title says it is. My attempt to simplify my theology.
9. Opening Myself to Ridicule and Mockery - I listed songs I secretly liked and I haven’t let it down since. You know you like “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly and Kenny.
10. The Infamous Gary Lamb Session - You’d be surprised how many people type, “Gary Lamb” in Google and find this post. I love Gary and his all-out, unapologetic approach to leading a church. The church needs more pastors like Gary Lamb. These were my notes from his session at the churchplanters.com Conference

Thank you to all of you who read the mere words I write. I hope you all have a great ‘08! Happy New Year! It should be one wild ride.

Jason Salamun

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If you like this picture, then you’ll enjoy the website, The Brick Testament. It’s run by a dude (“The Rev.” Brendan Powell Smith) who takes legos and creates parodies of Biblical events.

Quite funny and clever. It’s not disrespectful but just because it’s done with Legos doesn’t mean its designed for kids.  He gives ratings for the scenes based on the content- N= nudity, S= sexual content, V= violence, C= cursing.

Here’s one based on Exodus 20:16. Check out the site for yourself.

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“A Chronicle of Redemption” 

A Reflection on Exodus Thirty Nine and Forty

The book of Exodus began with a reluctant leader, Moses. Born of Hebrew slaves in Egypt, he was sent down the Nile River as a baby only to be picked up by the daughter of the Pharaoh.  He would live as royalty until one day, everything changed. After witnessing an Egyptian laying a smackdown on a Hebrew slave, the urge for justice overwhelmed him and he killed and buried the Egyptian.  Confused and afraid, he fled to the desert.

It was in the desert where Moses would have two significant encounters.  First, he meets his future wife at a well where he ran off some dirtbag shepherds who were harassing her.  Then Moses would also encounter God Almighty in a burning bush.  It is here where God calls Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, out of slavery, and into freedom.  Moses is reluctant, God is insistent.  God wins.

Moses passes on God’s demand to the Egyptian leader, Pharaoh, to let his people go.   Pharaoh resists. But after a series of only-can-be-explained-by-God, signs and wonders, Pharaoh relinquishes and allows the Israelites to leave Egypt.  He would second guess that decision and chase after Moses and God’s people only to fail. God had their back and parted the Red Sea.  God showed who was really in control.

God stretched and used Moses until he was the leader he was destined to be.  Moses would discover that leadership has its ups and downs as he listens to the constant whining, complaining, and immaturity from God’s people.  Moses stayed close to God through it all and experienced an intimate relationship with the Lord.  During this journey, God gave Moses commandments for the people because they were his family and He wanted to guide them to maturity.  Also, Moses was given blueprints for the Tabernacle and everything in it as well as a heavenly GPS to guide the people to the promised land.

In short, God called an unlikely man to lead a group of slaves through a journey of redemption into a land of freedom.

The key to Moses’ success is found in the final two chapters of Exodus in the repeated phrase, “as the LORD commanded Moses.”  Moses really isn’t the hero of the story, it is God.  Specifically, it is the God of the Bible, Jesus.  It was him who called Moses, him who worked wonders, him who paved the path, him who set boundaries, him who gave second chances, him who provided, him who drew the plans, him who led the way, and him who saved Israel into freedom.  It was Jesus all along.

This is a chronicle of redemption. A true story of a people who were lost and now are found. A people who were nothing to the world but were in fact, God’s chosen people. A people who were in chains and now have liberty.

That’s my story too.

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Scanning through some values of innovative businesses, I ran across this interesting site from Yahoo!

Their values statement is Excellence, Innovation, Teamwork, Community, Customer Fixation, and Fun.  While those are great, it didn’t really stand out from any other business.

But what did catch my attention was what they don’t value.

I loved it! It says even more about the mission, people, and culture, and personality of the organization than the values statement. What else would we expect from a company that has a “Chief People Officer.”

Here’s a snapshot.

Yahoo!’s “What We Don’t Value”

	Bureaucracy		Entitlement
	Broken links		Too big for your britches
	Ho-hum		All work, no fooz
	Decaf		ALL CAPS
	Losing		Closed doors
	Good enough		Same ol’ same ol’
	Boring		Vaporware
	Arrogance		20/20 hindsight
	A stick in the eye		Fads
	Discrimination		Swashbuckling
	Status quo		Early meetings
	A cog in the wheel		Missing the boat
	Formality		Behind the curve
	Bugs		Head in the sand
	Irrelevance		Following
	Sloth		Bad apples
	CD-ROMs in the mail		High horses
	Pop-ups		Impossible
	Quick fix		One size fits all
	Passing the buck		Playing catchup
	Shoes worn at all times		Yesterday’s news
	Micromanaging		All bark
	90%		Spam
	Additives & preservatives		Shoulda Coulda Woulda
	Hurry up & wait		Typos
	Bad grammar		Rear view mirror
	Monday morning quarterback		Punching the clock

Thanks for the inspiration Yahoo!

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Provocative, offensive, and brilliant. This is the best way to describe the book, Vintage Jesus, by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears.

Vintage Jesus is provocative
The authors push the comfortable boundaries of many Christians. They challenge self-centered theology with a saturation of Scripture dashed with clever cultural quips. The exclusive claim that Jesus is the God of the Bible will should resonate with Christians. If nothing else, it should provoke some soul searching about who Jesus really was and is. Also, Driscoll’s use of pop culture references will leave many cultural retreatists and fundamentalists scratching their heads wondering, “What does Jenna Jameson have to do with Jesus?” Since these are usually the people who have picket sign kits on standby, I expect some sort of boycott.

Vintage Jesus is offensive
It seems most books written about Jesus are either designed to debunk his divinity or “reveal” him as some sort of heavenly ATM machine. Breshears and Driscoll buck the trend and contend for unchanging truths such as the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus alone, the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement, and the audacity of his resurrection. Of course, these claims will be offensive and foolish to those who don’t believe. But the book also pokes fun at self-righteous people ensuring it will also offend the religious nuts. Protest blogs will be written.

Vintage Jesus is brilliant
The authors thread the timeless truth about Jesus Christ within the framework of FAQ’s about Jesus. This format allows for the questions to be wrestled with by the reader and answered with a mother-load of Scripture. I found myself pausing many times to digest what I just read. In other words, this book helps you eat the proverbial elephant one bite at a time until you’ve consumed the whole thing. That’s why it’s brilliant. It’s depth is matched by its simplicity.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a seasoned theologian, a brand-new Christ Follower, or an agnostic seeking answers- Vintage Jesus is the book for you. It’s deep enough for those who enjoy diving headfirst into Christology yet it’s understandable enough for those wading in the kiddie pool.

Outside the Bible, this is one of the best books on Jesus I’ve ever read.

Thank you Gerry Breshears and Mark Driscoll for writing this much needed book. In an age where we attempt to make Jesus whatever we want him to be, it’s encouraging to read the unchanging truth about the most important figure in all of history, and my God, Jesus!

Note: If you want an advanced pdf copy, you can pre-order it here.

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“It Takes a Community” 

A Reflection on Exodus Thirty Seven and Thirty Eight

God designed us for community.

The Israelites were becoming a community during their Exodus from Egypt. When God gave Moses plans to build the tabernacle and everything it encompassed, he knew it was going to take more than Moses to make it happen.

The result was people gave whatever they could for the cause.  They gave their wealth, possessions, talent, and time to carry out the plans God gave Moses. The finished product was nothing short of amazing.  From the ark of the Covenant to the Tent of the Meeting, everything was as it should be.

I dare say that the greatest feats of our lives aren’t the ones we do alone- it’s what we do together.

God himself is in community within the Trinity. When Jesus began his public ministry one of the first things he did was gather twelve guys around him. We’ve also seen it after the September 11 attacks.  People came together and gave money, spent tireless hours in the wreckage, and comforted one another.  We watch it on television when “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” comes to a town and builds a new home for a deserving family in less than a week.  What ends up happening is the community pitches in.  We see this when it’s time to move to a new home and friends and family come to help.  We need each other.

Community comes in the form of family, friends, churches, teams, organizations, cities, and nations. We were never meant to do life alone.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  - Ecclesiastes 4:12

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This is the final installment in this series. Read part one and two.

1. Live free, be real, laugh often.
2. Everybody hurts…sometimes.
3. Enjoy God’s creation- but don’t worship it.
4. Complacency sneaks in through the back door.
5. Einstein was right, “If you can’t explain it simply, you probably don’t understand it.”
6. The recipe for growth is to pray, read, listen, and serve.
7. Moderation.
8. Choose your spouse, career, commitments, and heroes wisely.
9. It’s not about me.
10. I’ve got a long way to go.

I’ve learned so much and have so much more to discover. My hope is that the valve of learning is never turned off.

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This is part two of a series of posts about thirty things I’ve learned in (almost) thirty years. You can read part one here.

1. I appreciated my parents much more when I became one.
2. Unforgiveness rots and forgiveness heals.
3. Love has hands and feet.
4. To have friends you have to be a friend.
5. God never says, “oops.”
6. Attitudes are contagious.
7. Always wear your wedding ring.
8. Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all you do. (Thanks Air Force)
9. We all center our lives around one thing. What sits in that spot makes all the difference.
10. Every parent is a leader.

The final ten tomorrow.

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“When the Ordinary Are Extraordinary” 

A Reflection on Exodus Thirty Five and Thirty Six

This weekend, every retail store will have a person ringing a bell and accepting donations for the Salvation Army.  The dollar bills and change collected represent the cheerful generosity of the community.  It’s always encouraging to see the Salvation Army bucket full of money.  It reminds me that the spark of generosity still exists within our me-first, take-take-take, comfort-seeking society.

When we think of generosity, we tend to think about the very wealthy who make donations and set up foundations for various causes. After all, that’s what makes this news (as it should).  But it’s so impressive when ordinary people give.  There is no press release, no buzz, no fanfare.  Simply generosity- like the Salvation Army buckets.

Back in Exodus, ordinary people were giving with extraordinary results. They not only gave their pocket change, they gave the best of what they owned to help build the tabernacle and everything in it. Now that’s generosity!

This continued morning after morning until there was too much stuff. The response was so great that Moses had to send out an order for people to press the pause button on their giving. They had more than enough to carry out God’s plan.

It’s remarkable what happens when people give cheerfully. Lives are changed- not just for the recipient- but for the giver.  True giving has it’s own reward.  Something that can only be experienced by being generous.  Pure joy.

If we want to make an impact. Let’s look beyond ourselves and be people of generosity. Not just this Christmas season but all year round.

It’s remarkable when the ordinary do something extraordinary.

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