Through out the week I post a lot more then the daily post you get in your feedreader or email. I post small posts called ‘asides‘ throughout the day. For now, you can only read the asides on the website, but they have a custom look so they are easy to recognize. I figured the best way to get you interested is to give you a little sneak peak of what types of things I’m posting. Below is the asides from the past week. If you find them interesting, then be sure to stop by throughout the week and check out the asides at Trying to Follow.

• Sam sent me this link discussing how renting is better then buying a home. (1) #
• Find out which Ten companies own almost all of the major media. (0) #
• Jon Stewart on Art, particularly Pollack (0) #
• “…ending poverty is essential to God’s mission in the world and our task as the people who participate in that mission. The fact that we carry on our ordinary lives consuming and participating in injustice must make God weep.” –Lucas (0) #
• “Giving oneself and one’s possessions voluntarily for the well being of others and without compulsion is a Christian duty of which organ donation is a striking example,” the Church of England’s statement says. [via] (0) #
• Here’s my short reply to Why Protest? (from my comment on Christy’s blog) We protest for two reasons: to stay true to our convictions by speaking them and to allow others to notice those values/convictions and possibly be compelled by them.
  1. Think of it like getting baptized, and outward expression of an inward commitment. Sometimes we need to protest not to change the world, but to keep the world from changing us. You can’t be neutral on a moving train, unless you are actively voicing your conscience, you are often passively agreeing with the majority.
  2. Regardless of how unlikely it seems, people do hear/see/notice you and other protesters. They’re response might not always be what you would like for it to be, but they do take note. Politicians take note of what the people think, polls, phone calls, letters, protest, etc. They might listen more to lobbyist, but they keep a careful eye on what the people think. I think it’s a credit to the many individual protesters who went out into the streets in the early years of the Iraq war that the general public was open to the idea of questioning the administration and war tactics. Protesting is simply taking a strong stance on something you believe strongly in and hope to compel others to believe in also.
  The truth is we protest all the time, it just takes different forms. We rant on our blogs, we critique in conversation, we choose not to shop certain places, we complain to customer service (apple maybe?), we march, call, write letters, lobby, we protest. It is not unusual, though in many ways it has become rather unoriginal. (0) #
• “John Perkins has been saying lately that “we have over-evangelized the world too lightly.” He is remarking on the contrast between the reported religiosity of the U. S. in comparison with the lack of fruit in the form of compassion, justice, and reconciliation. He is pointing out that the so-called evangelistic fervor of modern churches has asked less and less of the convert. A mere momentary statement of desire to know God becomes enough to be deemed “saved” or “Christian.” He challenges evangelical and evangelistic churches to review the Great Commission, which says to go and make disciples through teaching and training in the ways of Jesus. What we have is Christian Lite, Church Lite, Jesus Lite.” –Mike Broadway (0) #
• 7 Loving Challenges for Emergent, tips for white parents with adopted children of color, 5 Rules for listening to your spouse’s sermon, 10 Mistakes White People Make When Talking About Race. (0) #
• How I feel during most ‘worship’ services. (0) #
• The Anti-Advertising Agency pointed out these interesting ‘ad’ sites: LogoMotto and Ad Generator (0) #
• What if we took all our money and possessions and gave them all to God & had to ask to use them. Would we spend money the same way? –Keane (0) #
• Food Not Bombs is on trial in Orlando. For feeding People. (0) #
• Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except in a Popular Video Game at Church. [via] (0) #
• This should be the first statement of any church. thanks, Daley. (0) #
• Music: One problem of the church. (0) #