readdB

Goodbye Blogspot, Hello Beliefnet

2010-11-12T08:16:00.002-05:00

As mentioned in my last post, over the next few weeks I'll be upgrading many of the ways I communicate with you. My goal is extend the number of people I reach and the quality of my communications with each of you.

As of this week, this blog will no longer be updated. The GOOD NEWS is that I am now blogging at Beliefnet.com, the Internet's largest spiritual website. This provides an outlet to communicate with a new audience, both Christian and non-Christian, on the faith issues that impact our everyday lives. I encourage you to read it and sign up for the updates.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/activistfaith/

P.S. I'll also be adding more content on Facebook. If you're not already a fan, join me at Facebook.com/readdB. Thanks for joining the journey!

The Latest

2010-10-25T09:31:00.004-04:00

My blog has been on hiatus for some time. With Facebook, Twitter, and a third kid, blogging has seemed a bit hard to piece together lately...

However, for those of you who actually take a moment to read my updates, I want to thank you and reward you with a few insider updates.

First, for those wondering what I've been up to, the latest book on the way is called "Undefending Christianity." Yes, I know "undefending" is not a word and is the polar opposite of most of my work in defending the Christian faith. The point is to highlight that our faith often needs more action and less reaction. Each chapter is written in a memoir-like fashion and hits all the controversial topics ranging from poverty to gluttony to pornography and far more. I even get to include a fair dose of humor in this one, so be ready to question everything you thought about my crazy life starting next March (including comments on The Shack, Oprah, and calling Barnes and Noble my "other church"; I might have even mentioned you!).

The next book in progress is called "Not in My Town" with my friend, film producer, and abolitionist Charles J. Powell. He's traveled undercover in some dicey places and hangs out with others who are going to the hard places around the planet to document and deter modern slavery.

If there's one issue everyone on this planet should agree on, it's that buying and selling people is a bad idea. Hopefully by the time this book and related documentary comes out next summer, more Christians will choose to get in on the effort to stop slavery, both around the globe and in their own communities (And yes, slavery still happens in America, too!).

Despite rumors that I've become a professional wrestler for a living or am funding a research project to fly to Mars, I'm still serving as staff writer at the John Ankerberg Show. We've been self-publishing a ton of new resources related to our programs, with 10 study guides or books in the past year and a half (That's way more work than just writing a book, since we not create the whole thing and sell it ourselves!). We're currently airing a series called "The Case for Traditional Marriage," which goes to show we're still taking on just about the most controversial issues we can find... (COMMERCIAL: Visit JAShow.org to see what we do.)

Though I'm not on the road much this fall, I'm still teaching some online courses for TN Temple and will be back in the classroom next semester to teach Apologetics. Some students and I are even going beyond the classroom and restarting the student-led Project Freedom prayer and worship movement from last year, taking it downtown. You've probably seen my posts about it every five minutes on Facebook.

And YES, I believe people praying together is about the best thing we can do to make a difference in our community and world. The next one is Thursday, Nov. 4th, 7pm on 412 Market St. in Chattanooga. Come and see what God is up to.

And some of you might have noticed about 3 trillion posts last week on Soddy Daisy High School's prayer situation. The short version is that the school was told to no longer allow prayer before football games over the PA system. I felt led to get involved to fight this and connected with some students at the school in the process. Thousands are now connected online, it made front page news in our local paper, was on the local TV networks, and was mentioned in dozens of papers, radio stations, and news programs across the country, even making FOX News.

The best part is that last Friday night, Soddy Daisy played an away game at neighboring Rhea County High School. That school invited anyone who wanted to pray to come down to the field before the game. BOTH sides of the stands emptied. A student from Rhea County led a prayer in the middle of the field surrounded by hundreds of people supporting prayer and standing for their faith. Amazing!

Over the next view months, I'll be completely revamping what I do in terms of blogging and online communications. The short version is that with over 100,000 people in various social networks I've developed the past two years, communicating is a bit out of control.

I had a plan all set up with FOX to launch a blog on Beliefnet, the world's largest spiritual website, and then the company got sold off and everyone I knew who worked there left for new jobs. I then planned to coordinate a new faith and action blog site with my buddy Dan King and didn't feel right about the timing at the moment. Now I have some people telling me to start some kind of blog about the rising generation of Christians or conservatives while other people are calling me to do interviews on Halloween and my kids just want to play at the park. For now, I'm praying and seeking God's will on just what it is that will glorify Him the most, since that's really the point of my life.

All that to say, pray a lot, hang out with your spouse and kids, quit skipping class, stand up for Christ, vote next week, eat chocolate, get outside and enjoy God's creation, drink a strong cup of coffee (especially if you can get to the Starbucks on Hamilton Place, the best coffee spot on the planet), sleep in sometime soon (unless you have an exam that day), read the Bible, quit calling people names, pray for our president, eat healthier, get a cat (Ours just showed up on our porch!), serve the poor, eat your vegetables, laugh more, turn off your cell phone, jump in a big pile of leaves just for fun, check out my crazy family pictures on Facebook (but not at work), and whatever you do, do it for God's glory, because we'll all soon see Him face to face.

That Jesus-loving guy who keeps sending you messages,

Dillon

Soddy Daisy Prayer in Local, National News

2010-10-22T11:17:00.002-04:00

Times Free Press today, front page news: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/oct/22/school-prayer-ban-ignites-backlash/?local

Channel 9 News: http://www.newschannel9.com/news/school-995546-prayer-stop.html

FOX News, the Tennessean (Nashville newspaper), ESPN radio, 92.3 FM, and many others are picking up this story. If you know anyone who would like to feature this issue of school prayer at public high school football games, please send me an email at dillonburroughs at hotmail.com.

You can follow the latest at:

SoddyDaisyPrays.com (links to Twitter)
http://facebook.soddydaisyprays.com (Facebook group)
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Keep-Prayer-At-Soddy-Daisy-High-School/135691353147768 (Facebook page)

Join over 8,000 people who are raising their voices on this issue of religious freedom!

Project Freedom Prayer Event Thank You

2010-10-15T08:49:00.002-04:00

A big thanks to everyone who showed up to pray and worship with us last night at our Greater Things/Project Freedom prayer and worship gathering. A generation changed begins as we did with students on their knees before God, confessing, weeping, and interceding on behalf of our community.

The big news...

Thursday, November 4th at 7pm, Project Freedom will be back in action again at 412 Market.

If you were there, you'll want to return and bring some people with you. If you missed our time together last night, you now have another opportunity to join in what God is doing among us.

In addition, if you are part of any college or young adult groups in the Chattanooga area, please help us spread the word about this gathering. We want to include those from across our region who want to join in praying and seeking God together.

For more information, join the Facebook page or email projectfreedom@gmail.com.

+++

Chattanooga Students Pray for the City

2010-10-14T14:13:00.004-04:00

---FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE---

CHATTANOOGA, TN--Chattanooga area college students will gather at the 412 Market at 7pm tonight for a time of prayer and worship for the city called "Greater Things." The gathering is nondenominational and all are welcome to attend.

"Chattanooga is a great city," shares Dillon Burroughs, Christian author and one of the sponsors of Project Freedom, the group organizing the event, "but it is far from perfect. Rising crime, increased poverty, and the recent murder of a local pastor all point to our desperate need to ask God's favor upon our community."

Colt Rhodes, a founder of Project Freedom, agrees. "Many college students are hungry for God. This gathering is designed to provide a place and time for students to unite as we worship and pray together."

For more information, see facebook.com/projectfreedom or email projectfreedom@gmail.com.

Additional event information can be found here.

[Permission is granted to republish in other media. More information about Dillon Burroughs can be found at www.dillonburroughs.org or by email at dillon@dillonburroughs.org.]

My Recent Fox News Channel Interview

2010-08-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

Fox News Channel Interviews New Hope Authors

By Ashley Stephens

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.)—August 23, 2010—New Hope Publishers authors Charles Powell and Dillon Burroughs were interviewed by Kelly Wright of the Fox News Channel on August 16 regarding their work with the Mercy Movement.

The Mercy Movement is an anti-human trafficking organization founded by Powell. Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery (978-1-59669-301-2, $19.99) will be released May 1, 2011. It will include an educational DVD. A separate documentary is set to release in spring 2011.

Burroughs and Powell were in Atlanta August 15–17 shedding light on human trafficking there. Their focus was on Asian spas and massage parlors, places where human trafficking often occurs.

Researchers estimate more than 27 million slaves exist worldwide. More than 17,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year, according to the Polaris Project. Sexual exploitation, forced labor, and agricultural slavery continue as the norm in many places in the United States.

Burroughs and Powell will be on several different programs of the Fox News Network within the next week.

About the Authors

Dillon Burroughs (readdB.com) is a best-selling writer of more than 26 books. He is best known for his collaborative works with faith-based leaders, authors, and athletes, though he has also earned a growing reputation within the social justice movement.

Charles Powell is a social justice activist, film producer, conference speaker, and founder of The Mercy Movement, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to abolish human trafficking and modern slavery. Over the past three decades Charles has trained in counter-terrorism, worked as a bodyguard for royalty, and lived undercover in the war on drugs.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 50 authors and more than 100 individual works, the mission of New Hope Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about Charles Powell, Dillon Burroughs, or New Hope Publishers, visit www.newhopepublishers.com. Copies of books may be purchased online or by calling 1-800-968-7301.

Uganda

2010-07-07T08:07:00.003-04:00

Uganda is situated in East Africa with a multi-ethnic population of around 33 million rich in culture, with fertile soils to support profitable agriculture; a largely pleasant climate; and a stable political society in most parts of the country.

However, this does not tell the whole story. Uganda is still one of the world’s poorest countries and poverty is widespread at household level. The latest World Bank data (2008) shows the following:

* Life expectancy - 53 years
* Gross National Income per capita - $420
* Infant Mortality per 1,000 live births - 85
* Adult Literacy - 74% of population
* Access to improved water source - 64% of population

Want to make a difference? I personally recommend reading more at Codewe.org (pronounced co-DAY-WAY) and donating to their cause. You'll find your dollar will go much farther there and help those trying to live on less than $2 a day.

Homeless and day laborers sponsor a Haitian child

2010-06-23T10:55:00.001-04:00

From my friends at New Hope Publishers. Amazing story!

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.)—June 11, 2010—Jimmy Dorrell, executive director of Mission Waco, recently held a Friday Morning Breakfast—the weekly group of about 100-plus homeless, day laborers, and low-income folks who eat weekly at First Lutheran Church. This breakfast group had voted to sponsor a Haitian child in Mission Waco’s program in Ferrier, Haiti. The cost is $195 per year (or $16.25 per month) and the group chose to donate weekly toward the sponsorship.

“The biblical story of the widow’s mite stands in stark contrast to those of us who have so much, yet share so little,” says Jimmy Dorrell. “When the Friday Morning Breakfast group of low-income persons made their decision to sponsor a Haitian child, they showed us again how a life of generosity is so liberating, even for the poor and homeless. I am constantly humbled to be around ‘the least of these’ who teach me basics in God’s kingdom!”

Sponsored children get to go to school (one of two Christian schools which Mission Waco works with), get a uniform, books, and one meal a day to eat. Mission Waco is empowering the poor to serve others instead of harbor feelings of entitlement or selfishness, even amidst their own relative poverty.

“The generosity of Mission Waco is inspiring and challenging. This congregation shows us what the gospel looks like. I am humbled by Jimmy’s ministry and the people with whom he serves,” says Andrea Mullins, New Hope Publishers director.

Mission Waco has almost 150 children now sponsored by its donors with a new group of 75 more children who have just been identified as wanting to go to school and needing sponsorships. Mission Waco does not charge any administration cost for its work in Haiti, which also includes clean water well drilling, micro-credit loans, a new women’s co-op creation, fair-trade items for sale in the World Cup Café, and medical clinics.

Jimmy Dorrell is the pastor of Church Under the Bridge and author of Trolls and Truth: 14 Realities About Today’s Church That We Don’t Want to See (978-1-59669-010-3, $14.99). Church Under the Bridge is an interdenominational church that grew from a Bible study with 5 homeless men in Waco, Texas, in 1992 underneath an interstate bridge. Today, there are 300 diverse people of many races and economic backgrounds who meet outside under the same interstate bridge each week.

2010-06-11T12:44:00.002-04:00

My friend Shaun Groves, recording artist and Compassion Blogging Director, asked me to share about a special need for immediate heart surgery regarding his son's sponsored child named Achile.

Achile is an 8-year-old boy (the same age as my own son) in Burkina Faso with a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of Fallot. Because of Achile's heart condition, he has been in pain for five years and hasn't been able to attend school regularly and receive the full benefit of sponsorships through Compassion International.  Compassion International has provided medical care for Achile for the last two years at the National Teaching Hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo in Burkina Faso in Western Africa. However, doctors there now believe his condition requires urgent heart surgery, which is not available in Burkina Faso.

Achile will be transported to a specialized hospital in India for a lifesaving operation that will cost an estimated $20,449. Please help by donating here: http://compassion.com/Achile

Any funds raised in excess of the cost of Achile's surgery and transport will be rolled into Compassion's Medical Assistance Fund to aid children in need of medical help in the future.

Thanks for all you do to help show compassion to Achile.

Extra Links:
More on how Compassion aids children with heart conditions: http://blog.compassion.com/holistic-child-development-civ-heart/

What Is God Calling You to Do?

2010-05-20T07:44:00.000-04:00

“It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis.” -Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

National WMU hosts WorldCrafts Fair Trade Coffee Break

2010-05-06T08:59:00.000-04:00

WorldCrafts will host a Fair Trade Coffee Break on May 11 from 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. at the national WMU building located in Birmingham, Alabama. The Fair Trade Federation celebrates World Fair Trade Day every spring. In honor of this day, WorldCrafts will be having a coffee break and informative presentation on human exploitation/sex trafficking by New Hope® Publishers authors Dillon Burroughs and Charles Powell.

Charles Powell is a social justice activist, film producer, conference speaker, and founder of Joshua’s Mission, a Christian nonprofit organization whose mission is to abolish human trafficking and modern slavery. Over the past three decades Charles has trained in counter-terrorism, worked as a bodyguard for royalty, and lived undercover in the war on drugs. Dillon Burroughs (readdB.com) is a best-selling writer of more than 26 books. He is best known for his collaborative works with faith-based leaders, authors, and athletes, though he has also earned a growing reputation within the social justice movement. There will be a special sale of 40 percent off and 75 percent off select WorldCrafts items. Kindly RSVP by May 7, 2010, by calling (205) 991-8100.

Help End Modern Slavery

2010-04-22T12:19:00.002-04:00

My friend Jolene at Free the Slaves needs your help. They're one of the main groups in the US working to end modern slavery. To improve their efforts and the efforts of many others, funding is required. The US government has some pending legislation that can help in this area, but THEY NEED TO HEAR FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU.

I've copied her request below. Please pitch in and help end modern slavery. Every action helps.

Thanks!

COPIED MESSAGE:

We urgently need your help to ensure that Congress continues to fund crucial programs that combat slavery in the U.S. and around the globe.

It’s a critical time in the annual appropriations process, and you can have a big impact. We must let Congress know that the fight against slavery has widespread public support. Federal programs help prosecute traffickers, assist slavery survivors, and ensure that U.S. foreign aid does not inadvertently promote trafficking and slavery.

In just three minutes, you can e-mail messages to your representative and the two senators that represent you. I have included a copy-and-paste e-mail below to make it easy.

You can quickly find your representatives’ e-mail address at: www.contactingthecongress.org

Take a stand against slavery today.

Thanks,

Jolene Smith
Free the Slaves CEO

COPY AND PASTE: (be sure to type in your name and city at the bottom)

I am writing to you, my Congressional representative, to let you know that I want you to take a stand against human trafficking and modern-day slavery. There are tens of thousands of slaves inside the U.S. today, and 27 million people in slavery throughout the world. I want the U.S. government to help prosecute traffickers, assist slavery survivors, and ensure that U.S. foreign aid does not inadvertently promote trafficking and slavery overseas.

I urge you to support the funding and report language in the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill.

Specifically:

1) Please support the president’s budget request of $6.8 million in funding for administration costs of the Trafficking in Persons Office/Country Programs/Trafficking in Person.

2) Please support the president’s $25 million request to be used for trafficking prevention, victim services and prosecution in International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INCLE) grants to fight human trafficking internationally.

3) Please include report language to ensure that foreign assistance does not inadvertently promote human trafficking and slavery.

Fighting slavery is important to me. I hope it is just as important to you.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

What are the biggest problems you would like to see addressed?

2010-03-17T10:12:00.002-04:00

Quick question: What are the biggest problems you would like to see addressed? I've been asked to tackle everything from Brit Hume's remarks about Tiger Wood to radical Islam to the emerging church, poverty, and a whole lot more. But what are the problems you wish Christians would really address that don't get much attention? I'd love to hear, and hopefully, respond, to what you write.

Let me know...

Help Haiti Live Event

2010-02-18T08:41:00.001-05:00

One month following the 7.1 earthquake that struck Haiti, an all-star cast of musicians is gathering for “Help Haiti Live,” a two-city ticketed concert event taking place on February 27th, 2010 to benefit Compassion International’s Haiti disaster relief fund. The concerts are sponsored by Gaylord Entertainment Company, They will be ticketed and also streamed live at HelpHaitiLive.com.

With extraordinary need still existing in the devastated country, Alison Krauss & Union Station (featuring Jerry Douglas), Amy Grant, Big Kenny, Mat Kearney, Jars of Clay, Rebecca St. James, NEEDTOBREATHE, Brandon Heath, and a to-be-announced special headliner will participate in two concert events, live from Los Angeles at the historic Wiltern Theater and at Nashville’s famed and Gaylord-owned Ryman Auditorium.

Produced to inspire live concert and on-line audiences to financially support the relief work of Compassion International in Haiti, all talent and production fees have been donated, along with streaming services (Livestream.com), allowing proceeds to go toward Compassion’s disaster relief fund.

“This cause has been something our employees have taken very close to heart in recent weeks, and they’re thrilled for Gaylord to be involved in such an inspiring event. We’re also proud to support the generous efforts of all the artists who are donating their time and talent to make this concert a success,” said Colin Reed, Chairman and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment Company.

Tickets for each event will range in price from $25-75 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations beginning Monday, February 15th, as well as through The Ryman box office: 800-745-3000 or ryman.com, and through Live Nation for The Wiltern at http://www.livenation.com/venue/the-wiltern-tickets
Nashville/Ryman Auditorium, 7:30pm cst:

Hosted by Big Kenny. Performances by Alison Krauss & Union Station (featuring Jerry Douglas), Jars of Clay, Mat Kearney, Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz, Brandon Heath.
Los Angeles/Wiltern Theater, 7:30pm pst:

Message from pastor Francis Chan. Performances by Special Guest headliner, Amy Grant, Leann Rimes, Rebecca St. James, NEEDTOBREATHE

All net proceeds from Help Haiti Live will go to Compassion International’s Haiti disaster relief fund. All money raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to re-equip Compassion’s local support structure and to provide for the immediate needs of Compassion-assisted children and families.

Compassion has been meeting the physical and spiritual needs of Haitians for more than forty years and will continue to serve them in this time of extreme need. Already Compassion International has supplied more than 15,000 families with clean water, food, blankets, temporary shelter, medical supplies and counseling. Donations will lay bricks, feed, educate, clothe, heal and rebuild Haiti for many months to come in Jesus’ name.

Compassion International is the world’s largest Christian child development organization that permanently releases children from poverty. Founded in 1952, Compassion successfully tackles global poverty one child at a time, serving more than 1 million children in 26 of the world’s poorest countries. Recognizing that poverty is more than a lack of money, Compassion works holistically through local churches to address the individual physical, economic, educational and spiritual needs of children, enabling them to thrive, not just survive. Charity Navigator, America’s largest charity evaluator, has awarded Compassion its highest rating “four stars” for eight consecutive years.

For more, see www.helphaitilive.com or Compassion.com.

Thanks!

Back from Haiti

2010-02-04T19:11:00.002-05:00

Thank you to everyone who prayed and gave toward my recent trip to Haiti. As soon as I heard about the overwhelming earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince, I immediately began to pray and sense God would have me soon stand on this nation’s soil once again.

On January 29th, 17 days following the initial earthquake, my friend Andrew Perry and I landed in Port-au-Prince on a relief flight with Missionary Flights International. We happened to travel on a Hendricks Motorsports airplane owned by Joe Gibbs and his NASCAR team and even landed in the Bahamas to refuel on the wait to our destination. Under other circumstances, this trip would have made a great vacation. But in this moment, all that was on my mind were the people of Haiti, many of whom had become friends during my previous visits to the nation.

We could see the military presence of the US, UN, Canadian forces, and numerous NGOs from the air, along with some of the destruction, even before landing. However, once we stepped from the plane onto the tarmac, we witnessed the beginning of a much deeper devastation.

First, we walked into the remaining terminal area to meet our ride. We had arranged for Marc Rubin, Haitian Executive Director of Mission of Hope, to meet us on the ground. Marc’s smiling face was a huge relief, as we had few other connections for travel once we landed. He called for his associate Servite driving an SUV while we stepped aside for other travelers en route to their various relief locations. Some of these workers were coming for only a few days like us; other, like Anna and her team from Canada, were staying for six months or more. During these few minutes, Andrew shot some video, we noticed many dangling ceiling tiles, and we wormed our way through the numerous Haitians attempting to carry our bags for a dollar. We left some tips, jumped in the vehicle, and snaked through the streets of Port-au-Prince in a daze.

Andrew and I both attempted to video some of the scenes, but through the bumps and pace of the drive, our clips did little to portray the reality of our surroundings. Building upon building destroyed; tents, people, and rubble littered the streets. And while there were no longer bodies along the main roads, many still wore masks to cover the odor oozing from flattened buildings where unreached bodied decayed.

Forty-five minutes later, our driver Servite pulled up to the gate of Mission of Hope, just three miles north of the mass graves covering over 110,000 corpses trucked from the nearby capital. Yet inside the safety of the mission, a different attitude existed. People still lived in tents, medical emergencies continued to complicate the situation, but the people remained upbeat and positive about what was happening on their 76 acre compound.

We began by dropping off our luggage at the guest house and having our medical supplies and infant formula dropped off at the orphanage. My wife Deborah had spent hours packing our luggage and wasn’t about to let her items not arrive immediately into the hands of those who could use them. Intending to work as soon as possible, we walked downhill toward the warehouse to help. To our surprise, the mission’s Haitian team was already unloading an enormous truck of boxed food marked “GAIN,” one of the 15-plus NGOs we encountered working in some way at Mission of Hope since the quake. With no English-speaking workers around, we headed further down toward the clinic where we knew many volunteers from Austin, Texas, had been volunteering.

A few minutes into our orientation, Dr. Cheryl, the long-term doctor from Canada who directed the clinic, received a call reporting that US military helicopters had patients on their way. Mission of Hope’s clinic, we had been told, was one of only a handful of medical facilities that General Hospital in Port-au-Prince was using to send their massive overflow of patients. Within less than 30 minutes from the time we had arrived, Andrew and I were carrying stretchers from military helicopters into the clinic for emergency treatment.

I cannot express how it feels to sprint up to a roaring chopper, reach out to pick up a stretcher, and realize the person I am picking up is missing a body part. Most of our eight patients flown in that day were amputees or had broken femur bones that had been untreated for over two weeks. Our medical team instantly began their process of treating amputations for infection, casting broken bones, and providing other necessary services to save the lives of those entrusted to our location.

Of course, the patients flown in via helicopter were not the only patients. Others were brought in with the clinic’s only ambulance or truck, with a few people simply dropped off at the front gate. That afternoon, a young man who looked about 17 arrived with his left arm missing just below his shoulder. While in otherwise excellent physical condition, the earthquake had left its permanent mark on this patient. His wound was cleaned, pain medication given, and we then moved him to the next building down, an elementary school now converted into what the clinic called “post-op” for treatment of patients after their initial treatment.

As the sun set that evening, Andrew and I joined the other volunteers returning from the region for a meal of gumbo, rice, and water. A simple meal, deep conversation regarding the number of meals distributed and particular patient stories from the day were the most common topics.

I had the opportunity to hang out with two Haitian sisters being adopted by Dr. Cheryl and her husband, Larenz. Their names were Anna and Amina. After our meal, they invited me to Friday “movie night,” which I found out was a big event at the House of Hope orphanage. I headed down with their big sister, a Canadian missionary girl named Tiegen, and watched Disney’s “Cheetah Girls” on a screen shot on the side of the orphanage building. The full moon, bright stars, and smiling faces helped myself and the 60 plus orphans with me forget that just down the road held the remains of more people than live in my entire zip code.

One of the highlights of this night for me was the joy of showing love to the children of the House of Hope. Though they are well-treated and physically fit, many are starved for personal attention, especially from any kind of male father figure. For the entire two-plus hours, I held and hugged little boys and girls, including a baby only a few months old named Matthew. He loved sucking his thumb and snuggling on my shoulder in the cool night air. I got him to laugh a few times, but soon had to give him up to one of the many preteen girls who enjoy playing big sister to him.

By the end of the film, one little guy who was about six years old had fallen asleep on the bench with his head on one of my legs while I had my left arm around another child who laughed with her friends throughout the movie. I picked up the little guy and carried him to his house mommy, found Anna, Amina, and Tiegen, and hopped on the forest green four-wheeler for a ride back to the guest house.

Andrew had turned down movie night and crawled into bed early that night, overwhelmed both by the actions of the day and the lack of any communications that evening. When I took the steps to the second floor, I ran into another volunteer who had just arrived. “Scott from Oklahoma” was how he had introduced himself. I discovered in our conversation he had spent a week driving from Oklahoma to Miami, Florida with tents for a thousand people, purchased through donations given through his home church. He then shipped the tents through DHL to Santo Domingo, flew to the Dominican on a commercial flight, took a bus ride to Mission of Hope, and found his tents arriving about the same time. I knew then I had found at least one adventurer just as crazy as I was and invited him to stay in our same guestroom.

After catching some much needed sleep, I awoke to the banging of pans from the Haitian cooks making breakfast downstairs. My phone read 6:37am. Without a real shower in the sense of American plumbing, I washed off in the bathtub faucet, changed clothes, and walked downstairs to join the other awakening relief workers. Some volunteers were headed to the airport to leave for the US and Canada, others were on their way in later that evening. Andrew, Scott, and I were assigned to sort medical supplies in the warehouse since the Haitian workers would not be able to read the French, English, and sometimes German and Spanish labels on the products. I could decipher the labels, Scott knew what the products were, and Andrew moved pallets and labeled them for easy access.

By late morning, we were closing in on completion of sorting 31 pallets of medical supplies that had been shipped from Austin (over 26,000 pounds of materials) when we again heard the familiar sound of a US military chopper approaching. We ran to the clinic where we carried more amputee and broken femur patients into the clinic’s triage area. One helicopter turned into two and then three, with I think eight total patients and their family members. On the last drop off, one military officer asked the name of our location to which I responded “Mission of Hope.” It appeared he had been pleased with our response both to carrying patients and the expertise of the medical volunteers at our clinic and wanted to keep us in mind for future flights. I later discovered this was exactly the case.

The remainder of that Saturday was a blur. We helped move amputees from stretcher to bed, from bed to their operations, from their operations onto either the ambulance or delivery truck to move into the “post-op” school building for recovery. At one point, I helped two other guys put five different people into a delivery truck who were either on stretchers or in wheelchairs because our ambulance was busy taking a patient into another hospital. The delivery truck was all that was available and new patients needed their space.

One of those patients happened to be a beautiful Haitian woman who we found out was a famous dancer. We only discovered this once two guys with the London Times arrived to hear her story. I talked with the main reporter named Ben for about 15 minutes while he waited to see the patient and walked him down to the post-op area to introduce him to the nurse in charge of patients. At that point, we had around ten patients plus some family members and medical staff in the school building, so we took some time to hang out with some of the orphans for a while. I again had a chance to hold baby Matthew, chat and play with some kids, and say goodbye before running into my friend from last summer named Samuel.

Samuel is 26. A Haitian native from nearby Titanyen, he is one of five children in his family and still lives with them to help care for his siblings and provide income for their needs. Samuel runs his own small business, selling souvenirs to the volunteers who visit Mission of Hope. We had bought a couple of items Friday, but didn’t have much time to stay and talk. This evening, however, we found out Samuel’s family are all sleeping in tents just two miles away from where we were standing. He had written me a short letter and asked me to take three other letters to mail to past missionaries he had met at Mission of Hope when I returned to the States. Andrew bought some more items and asked if Samuel could make a Haiti bracelet with his girlfriend’s name on it. Samuel promised to bring it to church the next day.

That night, I listened to every story I could at the dinner area. Doctors talked about their surgeries. Relief workers coordinated efforts for the next day’s deliveries. A filmmaker shared stories of the footage he had captured in the capital of a riot breaking out during food distribution and discussions from a meeting of NGOs in the capital. Everyone was tired. No one complained.

The next morning, Sunday, was church. With the exception of the night shift nurses who had stayed up until sunrise with patients in post-op, everyone attended the service. It was a much-needed break and spiritually necessary for many of the believers who had given so unselfishly of their lives since coming to Haiti.

Hope Church typically has about 500 people in an open-air building for its two-hour time of worship. This morning had over 700 hundred. Most were under 18, including several young kids who swarmed around me and Andrew either out of curiosity or in hopes of making a dollar. The service itself was amazing. The worship leader, Claudel, played many American Christian tunes on his keyboard using Haitian lyrics, though an occasional chorus in English or French popped up to involve the volunteers attending.

I had been practicing some Creole ever since before my last trip to Haiti the previous June, but had been limited to a few words and phrases until the worship service. The church used an LCD projector with the lyrics to the songs that allowed me to sing along in Creole, praising God in the local language in a very real and moving way.

During the sermon, a young Haitian tailor from Cabbare name Reginald sat between Andrew and I and translated for us. It made a huge difference to know the details of the message, which focused on living our lives with purpose. The recurring themes were living life like you have a mission, just as many of the relief workers who come to help for a limited time. The pastor emphasized that eternity is long in comparison with this life. We do not know when it will end, so we must live each day to its fullest.

At the end, to everyone’s surprise, about a dozen people walked up to the pastor when he asked people to do so if they would like to become a Christian. Even the pastor looked amazed at the response. In Haitian style, they asked the new converts to kneel in a time of prayer. An enormous cheer arose from the audience after the final “amen,” as these men and women started a new life in the midst of one of the most challenging times in Haiti’s history.

Afterwards, I fought off kids begging for money and candy after giving everything in my backpack away, and began walking toward the clinic, mentally considering whether I would grab some food before working or wait until later. Just then, a young man stopped me. His name was Michael, the brother of my translator Antony from the previous summer. We had been trying to connect, but kept missing each other due to poor cell phone coverage in the area. I was able to chat for about ten minutes and leave a small financial gift I had brought for him and Antony’s family. Michael had another brother of Antony’s there and one other friend who spoke a little English. All three men were in their 20s, I was excited to spend a few moments with some of Haiti’s young leaders who reminded me a lot of the students I teach back in the States.

But then it happened again. Another helicopter. I said my goodbyes and sprinted up the hill with my backpack bouncing each step of the way. As I reached the clinic, the first chopper circled to land. I dropped my pack and sprinted to the first stretcher, a young man with a missing foot being transported with his father.

Two additional helicopters arrived shortly afterwards, creating a near-frantic scene for many of the volunteers just starting work after the worship service. No one had eaten and beds were still being prepared with sheets when I arrived carrying the first stretcher with the help of another volunteer.

The original plan had been to eat lunch, see what work needed done, and then head into Port-au-Prince with our translator Rubin, Andrew, Scott, and I to check out the damages around the city to assess future work needs.

However, now Rubin was the only Creole translator and everyone else was quickly moving to keep up with the on-the-spot medical operations. After each surgery, I helped move patients to post-op, returning each time to assist with the next need. On one of my last runs, I saw a new Haitian girl weeping at the front entrance of the clinic. Lawrenz, Dr. Cheryl’s husband, stood beside her. I asked what had happened and discovered her dad had just died. He had been brought in with a broken leg with the bone sticking out. As they prepared to treat him, he died before the operation could even begin. The doctors believe he had a blood clot that had caused the sudden death. But I could only stay a few minutes before being called to transport another patient sitting in a wheelchair.
It was 4pm before the new team of volunteers from Austin had everything under control and were down to only a few remaining operations for the evening. Rubin, Scott, Andrew, and I jumped into the SUV of Rubin’s brother, who happened to be the worship leader Claudel, and exited the gate for the first time since our arrival.
We first stopped at the mass grave area three miles south of Mission of Hope near Titanyen. The earthmovers were not in operation that day, so we expected to simply wall around, pray, and snap a few pictures to say we had been there.
While walking with my flip video recorder, I noticed an area that had not been covered up. I thought a shot of an empty hole would be a nice addition to our footage and proceeded to walk toward it with camera in hand. As I neared the hole, I spotted something brown in front of a mound of rubble. At first I dismissed the idea that it could really be a body. Those would have all been buried by now.
But as I neared the area, the unmistakable smell of death entered my nostrils. I have seen dead bodies before, but I was not prepared for the lump of decaying flesh at my feet from an earthquake that had happened over two weeks ago. Today was January 31st, 16 days since the 7.0 earthquake that had started this tragedy. Andrew yelled out for me to stop, but I had already seen the rotting corpse by that point. I veered to the right as soon as the smell hit, shielding my face from the putrid stench.

There are no words to express how it feels to walk on rubble that covers over 100,000people who have died in one day. The biblical concept came to mind, “Weep with those who weep; mourn with those who mourn.”

The rest of our drive into the capital and surrounding area only heightened my grief. At first, I was in an odd way excited to capture photos and footage of flattened buildings. But after about twenty minutes of crushed structures, one after another, I was left speechless. What I had experienced in my original trip from the airport was only a portion of the destruction. Much of the capital was in ruin.

No other place illustrated this widespread devastation better than the scene outside the presidential palace. Haiti’s equivalent of the American White House had collapsed. The entire government building lay in ruins. We stepped out of our vehicle onto the sidewalk there alongside another film crew where we felt the safety of numbers near the sprawling tent city behind us. Here I experienced another smell

I will not soon forget—the smells of the living—food, urine, human excrement—all mixed together among the voices of thousands of souls living in conditions I would not wish on my worst enemy.

At this site, we spotted people bathing in buckets of water while completely naked. Children urinated on the sidewalk only steps away from where we stood. Most men and women simply walked around in a hopeless stare, not certain if they would live to see another day.

From there, we headed back to the mission, but not before driving through Cite Soliel, the poorest slum in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Rubin passed quickly through this area, admitting that he had been carjacked in this area several years ago. Mostly a multi-acre field of rusted corrugated metal shacks and sticks with tarps, we spotted only one water truck crowded by a line of bucket-carrying women hoping to survive another evening in the most extreme poverty imaginable.

We arrived at Mission of Hope just as the sun was setting, a gorgeous blend of yellow, orange, and gold over the waters of the Caribbean. Too shocked to process what I had seen, heard, and smelled during the daylight hours, I ate little, conversed only briefly that evening, and packed for our departure the next morning. My last thoughts of the night were simply, “God, heal this land.”

Monday morning, day four of our time in Haiti, was to be our return flight with our relief agency. However, we had been told Friday our return flight had been overbooked and that they could not be certain if they would have a plane large enough for us to return that day. In other words, we were flying standby in a city full of rubble. Not good.

Our backup plan had been the US military. We knew they had been evacuating US citizens via the embassy tent at the airport. Our new friend Scott took a chance and travelled with us and our friends from the relief agency Convoy of Hope instead of returning to Santo Domingo to lose another day of travel.

To our surprise, the military option was very user-friendly. We gave our fingerprints, signed some waivers, and sat with about 40 other Americans to wait for the next flight to wherever they were headed next. We were told Orlando, only 90 minutes from Andrew’s car in Fort Pierce, but better than JFK in New York where other planes had been traveling. During this time, I met Mara, an NBC reporter who was also flying out. I spoke briefly with another Haitian American family from Brooklyn who had returned to Haiti for the Christmas holiday and were still there when the quake had hit. Everyone had their own story; some were excited to share theirs; others were simply too exhausted to talk and thought only of a flight home.

An hour later, we were to board a military C1-30 transport. At the last minute, we discovered there was an elderly Haitian American lady there with a cane in need of assistance. I volunteered to push her to the plane, which happened to be over a hundred yards away and ended up separating me from Andrew and Scott who were seated in another part of the plane. I sat next to the same elderly lady between an Air Force captain and two other Air Force guys who handled the details in the back of the plane. We talked a bit, but they seemed just as tired as everyone else. The captain I spoke with had already made six trips to Haiti since the earthquake. Many slept. I prayed.

We landed at Orlando-Samford Airport a few hours later to a heavy downpour of rain. After passing through immigration, Scott, Andrew, and I headed to the car rental area, trying three companies before finding an available car. At the last minute, a guy named Bill told us his car was at the same agency in Fort Pierce we were driving to and joined us for the ride. Our first stop was McDonalds.

The other guys in the car were excited about some American fast food. I could still barely eat, but got a little something so I didn’t look too weird. I still had dust on my shoes from our visit to the mass grave yesterday. It was still influencing my lack of appetite.

By 2:30am Tuesday morning, Andrew, Scott, and I had said our goodbyes, and I was crawling into bed beside my wife after my first hot shower in a week. While thankful to be home, my mind continued to replay the tragedies and the changed lives I witnessed in Haiti as I drifted to sleep.

I know for certain I am no longer the same person I was before my trip. What remains to be seen is what God will do following the time I have spent there. I’ve returned from my third trip to the nation, have a list full of phone number and contacts in Haiti, have people emailing and calling me every day about getting people or supplies to some part of Haiti, and all I want to do is return. I’m not sure what this means, but God does, and I plan to keep following Him each step of the way, whether it means helping from my office or going back again and again until God’s plan for me in Haiti is complete.

+++
DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of faith and culture. For more, visit www.readdB.com or contact dillon@dillonburroughs.org.

The Numbers in Haiti

2010-01-26T07:20:00.003-05:00

The latest numbers compiled by CNN tell the tragic story of Haiti's recent earthquake. Many people and organizations are helping, including the place I'm planning to visit this weekend at Mission of Hope Haiti (www.mohhaiti.org):

THE TOLL

112,250: Latest official death toll
194,000: Number of injured
134: Estimated number of people rescued by international search teams since the quake

THE EFFECT

9 million: Population of Haiti
3 million: Estimated number of people affected by the quake
1 million: Estimated number of displaced people
800,000 to 1 million: People who need temporary shelter
235,000: People who have left Port-au-Prince using free transportation provided by the government. The number who left by private means is undetermined.
At least 50: Aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or higher that have hit Haiti since the January 12 quake

Full coverage

THE CHILDREN

300,000: Children younger than 2 who need nutritional support
90: Percentage of schools in Port-au-Prince that have been destroyed
263: Haitian orphans who have been evacuated

THE RESPONSE IN DOLLARS

$1.12 billion: International aid pledges
$783 million: Funds received as of Tuesday
$317 million: U.S. assistance as of Monday

iReport: Haiti's missing and found | Are you there?

THE RESPONSE IN MANPOWER

17,000: U.S. military personnel in and around Haiti
8 million: Meals the World Food Programme has delivered to nearly 400,000 people
300: Aid distribution sites that are up and running
130 to 150: Flights arriving every day at the single-runway Port-au-Prince airport with aid

EFFECT ON FOREIGNERS

12,000: U.N. workers in the country at the time of the quake
53: U.N. workers still missing
At least 82: U.N. workers dead
27: U.N. workers injured or hospitalized
11,500: Americans and family members who have been evacuated
4,800: Americans unaccounted for

Find aid locations

Sources: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Red Cross, the United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. State Department and the World Food Programme

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/26/haiti.by.the.numbers/index.html?hpt=T1

Change Haiti's Future

2010-01-15T18:48:00.001-05:00

From One.org. Please respond to this and change the future of Haiti.

The harrowing images and stories coming out of Haiti are devastating to watch. The incredible outpouring of concern, aid and assistance coming from the United States and all over the world offers hope, but for many of us the question lingers: “What else can I do?”

One way we can help Haitians build a better tomorrow is to convince global creditors to cancel Haiti’s $890 million international debt. Doing so will help make sure that every possible future dollar goes towards rebuilding a stronger Haiti, not to servicing old debts.

Thankfully, the United States has already forgiven Haiti’s past debts and now only gives assistance in the form of grants. We need Haiti’s other creditors—the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and countries like Taiwan and Venezuela—to follow our lead and do the same.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has the power to help make that happen. Please click the link below to join me and send Secretary Geithner this urgent message:

http://www.one.org/us/actnow/drophaitiandebt/o.pl?id=1398-3742327-9EcW5Yx&t=2As Haiti rebuilds from this disaster, please work to secure the immediate cancellation of Haiti’s $890 million debt and ensure that any emergency earthquake assistance is provided in the forms of grants, not debt-incurring loans.

Even before the earthquake hit, Haiti—the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere—faced tremendous challenges. But there was also hope. Recent years have brought a more stable government and tenuous gains in the fight against poverty.

Haiti needs an international effort to make sure that, as it begins the long road to recovery, it is not burdened with unpayable debts. We must also be vigilant that any new aid from the IMF and other sources doesn’t come in the form of loans that would create new debt for Haiti.

It all starts by calling on Secretary Geithner to use his influence to persuade international lending institutions and countries to do the right thing and drop Haiti’s debt.

Take action now:

http://www.one.org/us/actnow/drophaitiandebt/o.pl?id=1398-3742327-9EcW5Yx&t=3Thank you,

Sheila Nix
U.S. Executive Director, ONE

My Latest Info on Haiti

2010-01-14T11:49:00.002-05:00

I just sent this to a reporter asking for my information on Haiti and am sending the same out to all of you now. This is a huge tragedy. Please pray, give, and respond as you are able.

My friends at Mountain Top Ministries are in Gramothe in the mountains above Haiti and have a medical team from the US working with victims (they arrived for work before the earthquake). A few available photos from them are at http://www.mtmhaiti.com/read-our-blog.html.

Brad Johnson, director of Mission of Hope Haiti, just arrived in Port-au-Prince this morning and has a blog from today including pictures at http://disasterrelief.mohhaiti.org. They are mobilizing 1.5 million meals according to their US Office director I spoke with yesterday. Their medical facility is operating but overwhelmed.

I would love to get down there to help myself, but plans are still developing and may take some time.

My friend Megan's organization has updates at http://www.familyhm.org/index.html. Still no word. A picture of her is on my FB profile or here: http://www.familyhm.org/FamilyHealthMinistriesandMeganRohrmayer.html.

My Compassion sponsored child is still unaccounted for. His name is Wood and he is six years old. I had sent him a short letter the morning before the earthquake occurred.

Compassion International emailed me today the following (in part):

"The catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday has resulted in unfathomable chaos and devastation for hundreds of thousands of children and families.

"Compassion sponsors and donors serve more than 65,000 children in Haiti. At least a third of them live in the areas that were hardest hit.

"We know that you sponsor Wood Nelly Tipha and that you must be very concerned. Be assured that we are working to locate your child and determine his specific situation as quickly as possible. We will share this personal update with you as soon as we have that information."

There is so much more, just see CNN.com's videos for instance, but these are some of my stories.

Pray. Act.

To Be Free

2009-11-10T10:49:00.003-05:00

In 1845, American slave "Aaron" recorded the following story regarding the importance of freedom. I could not read it without weeping:

"A poor slave being on his death bed, begged of his master to give him his liberty before he died, 'I want to die free massa.' His master replied, you are going to die soon, what good will your liberty do? 'O master, I want to die free.' He said to the slave, 'you are free.' 'But do write it master, I want to see it on paper.' At his earnest request he wrote that he was free, the slave took it in his trembling hand, looked at it with a smile and exclaimed, 'O how beautiful, O how beautiful,' and soon fell asleep in the arms of death."

(from The Light and Truth of Slavery: Aaron's History; electronic text available at http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/aaron/aaron.html)

Praying for Obama

2009-11-06T15:18:00.004-05:00

My first article with the Presidential Prayer Team was posted today at http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/opinion. Please share your comments. The title is "Presidential Prayer: The Christian's High Calling" and is based on 1 Timothy 2:1-3:

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior…”

Please join the Presidential Prayer Team's Facebook Page now.

Calling All Wiccans

2009-11-04T09:25:00.002-05:00

In October, I was asked to share a few interviews for print, online, and radio publications related to my 2008 work on "Generation Hex," a book on Wicca from a Christian perspective. To date, my coauthor and I have conducted nearly 100 interviews on the topic, interviewed numerous current and former Wiccans, and helped foster greater understanding and awareness of Wicca among Evangelical Christians.

Some have begun to ask whether I would be interested in a book or conference to publicly discuss Christian-Wiccan issues with leading Wiccans. Why? In some of my radio interviews, Wiccans would call in with a comment or question that often turned into a fascinating spiritual discussion. I did not expect this. So my answer, after much prayer and consideration, is a definite yes.

So here's my request: If you are a Wiccan or are friends with Wiccan leaders or adherents who would be interested in such a discussion, please send them my way at dillon AT dillonburroughs DOT org. The door is open. Let's talk.

More Free Stuff

2009-10-28T10:46:00.003-04:00

What can be better than free? In addition to the free sample chapter of Generation Hex from my previous post, here are free samples of some of my other recent works. Enjoy!

Generation Hex

What Can Be Found in LOST?

What's the Big Deal about Other Religions?

Taking a Stand for the Bible

God in 60 Seconds (Coming January 2010!)

[If links do not work, see original post at http://readdb.blogspot.com.]

Generation Hex Free First Chapter

2009-10-26T14:32:00.001-04:00

For those listening to our KTIS interview right now nationwide, read the first chapter of Generation Hex here: www.harvesthousepublishers.com/generationhex. Thanks!

Faith in Action

2009-10-13T19:00:00.003-04:00

The words of James continue to echo in my mind today:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." -James 1:27

Two callings:

1. Care for orphans and widows (the fatherless and women in need)
2. Personal purity

Caring for orphans, widows, and others in need is a calling deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Personal purity is a moment-by-moment pursuit to live a life of faith pleasing to God.

May God give us the strength to do both--care for those in need and to live with integrity in His sight.

Are Gay Rights Right? Share Your Thoughts...

2009-10-12T12:19:00.005-04:00

Following President Obama's remarks at the Human Rights Campaign event and last weekend's march in Washington, everyone is talking about gay rights. But are gay rights right?

In other words, are there any additional rights gays lack in American society? The three big ones under discussion currently include:

1. Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Should the military discharge openly gay homosexuals?

2. Hate Crimes: Should a person who physically hurts someone due to their color or sexual orientation be punished for an additional crime?

3. Same Sex Marriage/Civil Unions/Domestic Partnerships: Four states have legalized same-sex marriage; one (Nevada) has approved domestic partnerships (for both same-sex and heterosexual couples). Eventually, the national level will have to make a decision. What decision is best for the nation?

As a person who follows the teachings of the Bible, I consider these three issues extremely important. For example, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is conflicting because it deals both with a person's personal actions and national security. There's a lot to debate here, but the numbers are already in favor of this law being ended soon, so I'm not going to dive into it more here.

Hate crimes are a second distinct category. Gay activists argue it is necessary, appealing to the case of Matthew Shepard. While his case was a tragedy, I see two problems with this bill. First, it is currently lumped in with the military spending bill. Does anyone else see this as a conflict of interests? Hate crimes are important enough to be handled separately, and I propose that they should be.

In addition, hate crimes appear redundant. If one person beats up another person, it is a crime (assault). But if the victim claims to be beaten due to racism or sexual orientation, it is suddenly two crimes: assault and a hate crime. Is this really necessary?

Finally, there is the same-sex marriage issue. As a Christian, I hold to marriage as a sacred covenant between a man an a woman. I've been married for 11 years and plan to stay that way. However, I understand there are legal and insurance issues at stake for same-sex couples. Couldn't a domestic partnership of some type (similar to Nevada's recently passed law) address this concern without changing the definition of marriage? If not, why not?

I realize in posting on this controversial topic, people from all sides will end up angry. I encourage you to comment on this issue in a civil way and not personally attack others who comment. Let's have a healthy debate on this issue and show the same respect Christ would for opposing views in the process.

How Would Jesus Treat Obama?

2009-10-07T09:20:00.003-04:00

How would Jesus treat Obama? The only way to really find out is to look at how Jesus treated the governing leaders of his day. How did Jesus respond to Herod, Pilate, and others who led his nation?

A quick summary reveals some mundane yet significant highlights:

1. Jesus paid taxes.
2. Jesus obeyed the law.
3. Jesus never mocked or made fun of his nation's leaders.
4. Jesus showed love to all without favoritism.

The first two (taxes and obeying the law) are usually understood by those who claim to follow Jesus (excluding music piracy and a few other so-called acceptable exceptions).

Number three, not ridiculing national leaders, has been a tough one for the Christian community. At some point along the way, I think Christians forgot that the President, Speaker of House, and others who serve in Washington are people who Christ died for as well.

Here's how I prove this point: When people think of Christians and politics, what comes to mind? Is it, "So many Christians are praying for our nation's leaders and have a high respect for their governing authorities. We should all strive to be more like them."? Unfortunately, this has not been my experience.

Christians+Politics usually ends up meaning conservative, white, Republican, talk-show loving, socialist-hating, Obama-administration bashing, rednecks and neanderthals (or worse). This stinks, but is too often true.

What can be done? Number four would be a great place to start: showing love to all without favoritism. If my Senator or President of Vice-President had a recording of your conversations for past two weeks about them, how excited would you be about meeting together face-to-face? I'm all for healthy debate on faith issues, but the basis for meaningful conversations with governing authorities, according to the example of Jesus, is prayer and love.

I'm planning to keep praying for and showing respect to my nation's leaders. If you want to laugh at late-night TV spoofs or spread gossip about your national leaders, please reconsider. There are plenty of people already doing that. Be like Christ. Pray for your leaders. Show some respect.

The Bible in Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol"

2009-09-17T11:21:00.003-04:00

[NOTE: This is a longer post than usual, featuring every occurrence of the word Bible/Bibles in The Lost Symbol.]

The Use of the Bible in Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol”

Disclaimer: This book is a novel and should be treated as such. Whether the author, Dan Brown, agrees or disagrees with the views of his characters is a completely different story. You can investigate Dan Brown and/or his works at danbrown.com.

This information is provided as a personal analysis of the times the word “Bible” is mentioned in The Lost Symbol. It is based on a keyword search of the e-book version after having read the entire book in its context. As such, it is certainly imperfect and clearly biased (I am personally an evangelical Christian seeking to understand the influence of this book on culture.).

However, it will be helpful to readers, pastors and otherwise, interested in what is said about the Bible in this The Lost Symbol.

[NOTE: I refer to chapters rather than page numbers due to the fact that the e-book version I used included different pagination and the future paperback version will as well.]

Summary:
The word “Bible” in singular or plural form is mentioned a total of 52 times in The Lost Symbol. The chapters most focused on the Bible are, in descending order, chapters 131, 111, 133, and 49.

How is the Bible used?
A complete listing follows, but readers may find the following classifications helpful:

Bible used in reference to a physical book: 13 times.

Commentary or comments about the Bible: 24 times, or approximately half of the times the Bible is mentioned. Of these 24 times, all or nearly all would be considered negative or exaggerated from the perspective of evangelical or biblical theology (Again, this is a novel.).

Other various uses (passing references, etc.): 15 times.

Of the times the Bible itself is mentioned (not including commentary on specific books of the Bible, views of God, and other aspects of theology), the following are, in my view, the most concerning:

1. God and humans as co-equals: Chapter 49 notes a character named Bellamy, who reinterprets God’s reference that “God created man in his own image,” to mean we are co-equals with God rather than only being made in God’s image. Chapter 82 references Psalm 82:6 as “proof” of this point.

2. A call to search the Bible for hidden meanings and allegorical interpretations: Chapter 111: “The prophecy of the Apocalypse is just one of the Bible’s beautiful messages that has been distorted.” The context later discusses that the “real” meaning of the Bible is allegorical rather than literal, a so-called hidden knowledge that sounds very closely related to Second-Century Gnosticism.

3. The Bible as only one of many holy books: Chapter 131 discusses the Bible, specifically mentioning it as a holy book alongside the Bhagavad Gita and Koran. However, if the Bible is true, then other so-called holy books are only “true” when they agree with the statements of the Bible. In other words, from a biblical perspective, all holy books are not created equal.

4. An unnecessary skepticism regarding biblical miracles: In chapter 131, Langdon expresses his skepticism: “You can point to the alleged miracles of the Bible, or any other religious text, but they are nothing but old stories fabricated by man and then exaggerated over time.” The novel unfolds to point out that Langdon’s view is not taking all information into account, but later points to a human source of power for miracles rather than a perfect, all-powerful God.

5. All religions are created equal: A theme woven throughout the The Lost Symbol is that all religions are basically the same in their core beliefs. Those who seriously study world religions could offer a thousand reasons why this is not true. If one religion believes in one God, the next believes in two gods, and the third believes in thousands of gods, they cannot all be equally valid.

6. We are God? Though the novel launches with a rapid and intriguing pace, the last page ends with equating God with people (Humans=God?).

This fallacy, popularized by the teachings from books like A New Earth (Eckhart Tolle) and The Secret (Rhonda Byrne) simply repackage ancient religious teachings and so-called new age ideas to claim that God is all things (pantheism) and we are God (or gods or goddesses). Therefore, we do not sin, do not need a Savior, and the biblical idea of god is unnecessary for life. Such a worldview is certainly concerning for Christians who desire that all people would embrace Jesus as Savior of the world and acknowledge that all humans fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

[On a side note, The Lost Symbol includes much information on Freemasonry. Though beyond the scope of this article, there is much to investigate on this issue. See more in the Freemasonry section at www.johnankerberg.org.]

The Full List (52 occurrences of Bible or Bibles)

Chp. 24: A reference to an illuminated Bible manuscript chewed on by a dog.

Chp. 46: A reference to the Giant Bible of Mainz.

Chp. 46: A reference to the Gutenberg Bible.

Chp. 49: “Even the Bible concurs,” quotes a character named Bellamy, who reinterprets God’s reference that “God created man in his own image,” to mean we are co-equals with God rather than only made in God’s image.

Chp. 49: “Because most Christians want it both ways. They want to be able to proudly declare they are believers in the Bible and yet simply ignore those parts they find too difficult or too inconvenient to believe.” This comment, though used to further the character’s argument in the novel, is often all too true.

Chp. 49: A reference to a Latin mistranslation regarding Moses having a “horned face.”

Chp. 82: “Even the Holy Bible cried out in Pslams 82:6: Ye are gods!” The idea in this context is the message of man’s own divinity or humans as divine. Not a biblical concept, yet Langdon reflects on this verse a connecting point at this stage in his adventure.

Chp. 96: A reference to a televangelist quoting Bible verses about angels, demons, and spirits that ruled in heaven and hell.

Chp. 111: Peter Solomon encourages his students to “Study the Bible. …Especially the final pages.”

Chp. 111: “The last book of the Bible tells the identical story as countless other traditions.” A clear comment blending the end-times account of Revelation with other religious end-times traditions. Not exactly accurate, although it is true that similarities can be found.

Chp. 111: “The Book of Reveal-ation in the Bible predicts and unveiling of great truth and unimaginable wisdom.”

Chp. 111: “The prophecy of the Apocalypse is just one of the Bible’s beautiful messages that has been distorted.” The context later discusses that the “real” meaning of the Bible is allegorical rather than literal, a so-called hidden knowledge that sounds very closely related to Second-Century Gnosticism.

Chp. 130: The Bible referred to as the sacred book or “word” for Christians.

Chp. 130: “For America’s Masonic forefathers, the Word had been the Bible.”

Chp. 130: “…he placed his hands upon the Word—a well-worn copy of his own Masonic Bible.”

Chp. 130: “This treasured book, like all Masonic Bibles, contained the Old Testament, the New Testament, and a trove of Masonic philosophical writings.”

Chp. 131: Reference to a hidden Bible.

Chp. 131: An index finger pointed toward a large open Bible.

Chp. 131: “Why do you think the Bible has survived thousands of years of tumultuous history?” Christians are not going to like this character’s answer.

Chp. 131: “…Christian monks spend lifetimes attempting to decipher the Bible.”

Chp. 131: A cloaked figure pointing at a Bible.

Chp. 131: “If the Bible does not contain hidden meanings, then why do so many of history’s finest minds—including brilliant scientists at the Royal Society—become so obsessed with studying it?” I could think of some other reasons than the one given in this chapter.

Chp. 131: “…a 1704 manuscript that claimed he had extracted hidden scientific information from the Bible!”

Chp. 131: A reference to the making of the King James Bible.

Chp. 131: Sir Frances Bacon’s conviction that the Bible contained cryptic meanings.

Chp. 131: William Blake quote: “Both read the Bible day and night, but thou read black where I read white.”

Chp. 131: America’s forefathers allegedly warning of interpreting the Bible literally.

Chp. 131: “…Thomas Jefferson was so convinced the Bible’s true message was hidden that he literally cut up the pages and reedited the book.” Partly true, but is only part of Jefferson’s issue with the Bible.

Chp. 131: A reference to the Jeffersonian Bible.

Chp. 131: Another Jeffersonian Bible reference.

Chp. 131: “Robert, the Bible does not talk openly for the same reason the Ancient Mystery Schools were kept hidden. …This information is powerful, Robert.” Interesting take on why the character claims the Bible must be interpreted allegorically and sought for hidden meanings.

Chp. 131: “Peter, I’m talking about the Bible. Why are you talking about the Ancient Mysteries?”

Chp. 131: SIX times the Bible is mentioned here. I would comment, but that would spoil the surprise ending for you. (An interesting total of seven times on this one highly-controversial page.)

Chp. 131: The Bible mentioned as a holy book alongside the Bhagavad Gita and Koran.

Chp. 131: Langdon’s skepticism: “You can point to the alleged miracles of the Bible, or any other religious text, but they are nothing but old stories fabricated by man and then exaggerated over time.”

Chp. 131: Another physical Bible is referenced.

Chp. 131: A reference to the Bible talking about the power of the human mind.

Chp. 131: “Your brother tried to convince me that the Bible is encoded with scientific information.”

Chp. 131: TWO additional references to the Bible as a commentary on the study of the human mind.

Chp. 131: SPOILER ALERT: “When the Bible tells us to ‘go build our temple’…a temple that we must ‘build with no tools and making no noise,’ what temple do you think it’s talking about?”

Chp. 131: Langdon replies, “I’m no Bible scholar, but I’m pretty sure the Scriptures describe in detail a physical temple that needs to be built.”

Chp. 131: Katherine: “Pretty good recall for a Bible skeptic.”

Chp. 131: The Bible referenced regarding the story of manna from heaven.

Chp. 133: “The Bible, like many ancient texts, is a detailed exposition of the most sophisticated machine ever invented…the human mind.”

Chp. 133: “We’ve been reading the Bible too literally. We learn that God created us in his image, but it’s not our physical bodies that resemble god, it’s our minds.”

Chp. 133: (Last page of the book.) A Bible reference to God as a plural being. The conclusion? “God is plural,” Katherine whispered, “because the minds of man are plural.”

Please submit corrections, comments, or other thoughts to dillon@dillonburroughs.org or www.readdB.com. Thanks!

NOTE: Also feel free to repost, so long as you include a link to readdB.com. Thanks!

The Lost Symbol Is Finally Here--Now What?

2009-09-15T09:42:00.003-04:00

After years of waiting, Dan Brown's friends and foes can finally read the latest adventures of their favorite character Dr. Robert Langdon. What will happen? What controversial secret will be revealed next?

On another note, I'm curious what religious leaders will say about this one. "Angels and Demons" infuriated the Catholic Church. "The Da Vinci Code" agitated everyone who cares about the life of Jesus. Rumor is that Freemasonry will be a target and Washington, D.C. will be the location. Maybe the Vatican and Jesus-lovers can breathe easy.

If you have any info on a faith perspective from your first day or advanced reading, I'd love to hear it. I've had several people and networks asking what response I'm planning to give. My response has been that once I've read my copy I'll let you know (No Harry Potter-like midnight party for me on this one, though.).

I'm hoping Mr. Brown has chosen to show a friendlier attitude toward Jesus this time. We'll see...

In the meantime, if you're still wondering about The Da Vinci Code, check out some free stuff here.

The 1,000-Mile Tour

2009-09-02T10:15:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, my family and I became temporary rockstars. Our little minivan with a quarter-million miles on it (affectionately named the Millennium Falcon) took off for my brother-in-law Doug's wedding in Indianapolis loaded with my wife, three kids, and enough luggage to clothe a small village.

Despite potty breaks, Starbucks stops, and McDonald's playgrounds, we made the seven hour trip in only eight and a half hours, a new three-kid record. We saw all of my wife's family (minus Marla, Cata, and new baby Evan), ate at BD's Mongolian BBQ, shopped at a toystore, and watched Doug and Courtney say "I do."

I wouldn't trade it for the world. Every road trip, my family and I both bond and argue. Relationships are like that. We argue, we laugh, and we share life together. Plus we now have Aunt Courtney, a great addition to the fam.

On the trip back, we even enjoyed an impromptu lunch at Chick-fil-a with my mom, my sister Tiffany, and her two girls in Evansville. We ate waffle fries, slid down the tube slide, and changed diapers together. It's still hard to believe I'm Uncle Dillon.

So it wasn't really a rockstar tour. More of a gratitude tour. As the miles passed by through Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, I praised God for my wife and kids, my family now living across the country, and a blessed life. Despite a global recession and increasing gray hair, God is good.

"Live life to its fullest, whether you're a rockstar or not." -John 10:10, New Dillon Translation

PATTERNS, Part 2

2009-08-24T10:27:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago, I shared a copy of my speaking notes from a series called PATTERNS. Yesterday I shared part two with the singles at Woodland Park. Here are the notes for your enjoyment.

“…take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” –Philippians 3:17

Following the Christ-Like Pattern (Philippians 3:15-17)

15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. 17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

The Christ-like pattern includes…

-Maturity (v. 15)
-Wisdom (v. 15)
-Perseverance (v. 16)
-Servant Leadership (v. 17)

Failing the Christ-Like Pattern (Philippians 3:18-19)

18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

How to Fail in Following Christ’s Pattern:

-Live as an enemy of the cross (v. 18)
-Be a taker (v. 19)
-Enjoy what is shameful (v. 19)
-Live for temporary pleasure (v. 19)

Ask yourself: Am I failing in any of these areas? If so, what must be done to follow Christ’s pattern?

Our Eternal Destiny (Philippians 3:20-21)

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Eternal destiny includes…

1. Remembering your destination as a believer.
2. Eagerly awaiting Christ’s return.
3. Acknowledging Jesus Christ is God.
4. Realizing Christ has everything under his control.
5. Anticipating our new existence with Christ.

For Discussion

-Which of the four Christ-like patterns do I excel in the most? Which is my weakest area?

-In what ways do you see those who claim to follow Christ failing to follow Christ’s pattern?

-How can we improve in living with an eternal perspective in everyday life? (Be specific.)

Tweets of the Week

2009-08-20T13:15:00.002-04:00

I've decided to have a little fun on Twitter and Facebook this week. Favorites based on friend reactions are:

Dillon Burroughs...

is trying to fix the flux capacitor.

is wondering why his daughter's diaper holds nowhere near the 22-37 pounds it promises.

has broken his record for consecutive days alive.

no one knows I'm really a Jedi.

IS CELEBRATING NATIONAL CAPS LOCK AWARENESS DAY! (I was later informed this really IS a holiday!)

is working on the hyperdrive.

I'm considering writing an Amish vampire novel about the end times. Definite bestseller. Just need a title.

always show up on time for meetings. That way the other person will feel bad and buy you coffee.

Retweet as you please.

If you haven't joined me on Facebook or Twitter, here's how:

www.facebook.com/dillonburroughs
www.twitter.com/readdb

Enjoying the journey together!

-Dillon

The Long Haul

2009-08-12T09:24:00.003-04:00

An old friend of mine stopped in town for lunch while traveling back from Florida. He was a student in a ministry where I served 11 years ago. We had a lot of catching up to do.

When I asked him if he was still sharing his faith in Christ with others, he said, "I've shared Jesus with just about everyone I've worked with for the past 12 years. At some of my jobs, my nickname is Preacher, even though I'm not one."

Would I have ever guessed that students I had served over a decade ago would be sharing Christ across the country, Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, and the Americas? Sure, I dreamed and prayed it would happen, but to experience it is something quite different. In a word, it is amazing.

All across the world today, people like you are pouring their lives into families and small handfuls of students, kids, classmates, or friends to make a difference for eternity. At this moment, you have no idea where you're efforts will lead.

In ten years, those you influence will likely be changing lives all around the world. What impact are you making in their lives now that will help them at that time?

Be the change you want to see in the world today.

Patterns

2009-08-10T09:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I spoke to a singles group on the issue of Patterns from Philippians 3. Here is the outline with a few application points you may enjoy.

The Human Pattern (Philippians 3:4b-6)

4b If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

Human Factors Used by Paul to Justify His Spirituality

1. Circumcision on the Eighth Day (followed the law)
2. An Israeli by Birth (citizenship)
3. From the Tribe of Benjamin (family connections)
4. Devout (“a Hebrew of Hebrew”)
5. Conservative (“a Pharisee”)
6. Anti-Christian (stood against competing groups)
7. Moral (followed the rules)

-What human factors do people use today to justify that they are spiritual? What are some of the human factors you tend to use?

The Christ-like Pattern

7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

The Christ-like Pattern’s Factors

1. Nothing Matters as Much as Christ
2. Dependence on what Christ Has Done Versus What We Do
3. Faith is the Focus
4. Knowing Christ, His Power, His Suffering, and Eternity with Him

-Everything is about Christ. He is not a priority; Christ is the priority.
-When do you tend to make Christ top priority? What would it take to make Christ your top priority every moment of every day?

Our Goal

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Applications for Reprogramming Our Patterns

1. Realize We’re Not There Yet
2. Focus on the Future Instead of the Past
3. Move Forward Toward a Lifestyle 100 Percent Focused on Christ.

A Few Quotes for the Day

2009-08-04T11:55:00.003-04:00

Here are some of my personal quotes I've rediscovered recently:

"True Christianity is more caught than taught."

"Gluttony is the most neglected sin in the American Church. If our bodies are the temple of God, then American Christians are the megachurch."

"Parenting is a full-time job with no paid vacations or holidays...or pay at all. But it's still the greatest job in the world."

"Every war is ultimately a civil war for we are all brothers and sisters, one to another." (This one is not original to me, but still a great one.)

"Prolife means I care about babies in the womb as much as babies out of the womb." (In defining what I mean by being prolife.)

"Church wasn’t designed by an architect (Technically, Jesus was a carpenter.). So why do we think of churches as buildings instead of groups of people who love Jesus?"

These are each short enough for your Facebook status or Twitter, so have fun.

If you have a good one to share, please do. It might just end up on my next blog.

+++
DILLON BURROUGHS is writer on issues of faith and culture. He is also an activist for Compassion International. He lives in with his wife and three children in Tennessee.

www.readdB.com
www.facebook.com/readdB

Obama at the NAACP

2009-07-17T09:53:00.003-04:00

Some inspiring words to end the week. President Obama, speaking to the NAACP, shared:

"We have to say to our children, yes, if you're African-American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher. Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that someone in a wealthy suburb does not. But that's not a reason to get bad grades, that's not a reason to cut class, that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school," he said, eliciting applause from the audience.

See the full article here.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-07-16T15:32:00.002-04:00

My dad would have been 59 today.

He died in May 2000 due to complications following multiple bouts with cancer. I saw him four days before he passed away. We didn't do much, but we ended our visit with a hug and said "I love you" to one another.

I never spoke to him again.

You never know whether your current conversation with someone will be your last. Make your words count. Say "I love you" a lot.

Hug your kids. And your parents. And your spouse.

These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Youth Worker Journal Review

2009-07-15T07:55:00.001-04:00

From http://www.youthworker.com/reviews/books/:

This is a well-written, comprehensive text that should be placed in each
Christian’s arsenal.

Thanks, Annie, for the great review!

You Never Know

2009-07-14T08:47:00.002-04:00

Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, was one of my spiritual heroes. I heard him speak, have read his books, and even interned for his organization during college. This morning, I discovered that my coauthored book Generation Hex was quoted in an article by Vonette Bright, Dr. Bright's wife. Small world.

You never know what will happen in this world, but you can know the Creator of this world.

What Is It Like to Be a Writer?

2009-07-07T14:08:00.003-04:00

"What is it like to be a writer?" People ask me this a lot. I never quite know how to respond. For those of you who like to write or are just curious about the mysterious world of creating books and other publications, here are five unique aspects from my life as a writer:

1. I read--a lot. Barnes and Noble is my other church. I don't subscribe to a single magazine, but I read hundreds of pages and screens per week (sometimes per day) on topics ranging from patristics to politics. Why? It's like food for the body; I cannot produce quality content without a constant flux of ideas flowing through my life. This starts with the Bible, then spills over into every imaginable area of print and digital material. New languages (Espanol, Francais, Kreyol, Deutsch, Latin, Greek, Hebrew/Aramaic) also help to refocus my mind on old ideas in new ways.

2. I type--extremely quickly. This is not to brag, but modern publishing's only handwriting includes my signature on book contracts. The faster I can type, the more I can write. Before writing, I transcribed sermons. This turned out to serve as the best preparation possible for my current work. As a result, investing in a quality computer keyboard is one the best investments a writer can make. On the downside, I am 33 and already require glasses and fight carpal tunnel.

3. I consume caffeine--too much. I could sponsor a small country on what I spend on coffee each month. In fact, the back of my Starbucks cup this morning read, "You bought 228 million pounds of responsibly grown, ethically traded coffee last year." How'd they know? I better cut back!

4. I pray--but not enough. Writing is part science, part art, all God. I know it doesn't add up. I'll never figure it out. I pray to thank God for the ability to write, ask him to help me write, pray as I write, and repeat. Somehow this is still not enough prayer, but I'm working on it.

5. I endure--no matter what. One writer has said, "Writing is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration." I don't sweat that much when I write, but you get the idea. Often, I feel like the only difference between me writing a book and the next person is that I get up early, stay up late, don't have cable TV, and don't own an Xbox (Though I really like writing for television and would really like to scriptwrite for a videogame someday.).

There you go--read, type, caffeine, pray, complete, repeat. My work life in five words.

If you have any additional ideas, send them my way. I'm always looking for ways to improve.

5 Quick Online Bible Study Tools

2009-06-29T07:14:00.003-04:00

Many people desire to study the Bible more deeply, but often lack the appropriate tools. Here are five quick online resources to help along the way:

1. Biblegateway.com: Search the Bible in any major version and several languages. Who needs a concordance?

2. Bible.org: Many of my professors from Dallas Theological Seminary are involved in this fresh Bible translation and 40,000+ pages of Bible study content. This is the first place I go to search many Bible topics.

3. Ref.ly: Like to Tweet? This nifty little service shortens URL's automatically. It's an easy method to send Bible verses to friends via Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks.

4. BibleStudyTools.com: Lots of free public domain Bible study tools for free.

5. CCEL.org: All the church history you can read and more! Read the Puritans, early church fathers, and many Reformation works with searchable contents.

Have another online Bible study resource you'd recommend? Send it my way. I'm always looking for more.

Pictures from Haiti

2009-06-15T07:29:00.001-04:00

If you haven't seen the Haiti pictures from Facebook, click the links below. You don't have to be on Facebook to view them. Thanks for the prayers!

Part 1: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=82497&id=710828874
Part 2: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=82683&id=710828874

Headed to Haiti

2009-06-05T13:56:00.003-04:00

Next Monday, I'm headed out for a quick trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I'll be working with an organization called Mission of Hope Haiti that serves via a church, school, orphanage, medical services, food/water assistance, and much more.

Why Haiti? In the US, over 85 percent of high school students graduate. In Haiti, the average is one percent. ONE! How can a nation experience positive change it lacks food, water, and education?

Of course, as a follower of Christ, I note that these services are provided by people who love Jesus and want to share his love with others in the process. The letter from James tells us that true religion is to help orphans and widows in need in addition to keeping ourselves pure (1:27).

From the beginning, the church has included a mision to the poor along with its message of hope in the resurrected Jesus (see Acts 11:29-30, Galatians 2:10). That's my goal.

So as you think of me or read this over the next week, pray for my travels and that Christ's love would be evident to those I encounter along the journey.

Thanks!

Why I Hate Hate Crimes

2009-05-15T08:46:00.003-04:00

Last November, I posted the following article on hate crimes. Little did I know it would be such a big deal this week. I've reposted it here for your reading pleasure:

Why I Hate Hate Crimes

I don't usually use the word "hate." But it's hard to talk about hate crimes without using the word. So I freely admit: I hate hate crimes.

"What is a hate crime?" you ask. Hate crime is a potential piece of legislation that would make certain speech punishable by law. In other words, if I made a comment about Muslims or Native Americans or Homosexuals that someone considered offensive, I could be fined, arrested, or even jailed.

This could be applied to conversations, but typically is used in public communications, which even includes sermons by ministers. In other words, a pastor could say a person who is a Buddhist will go to hell when he or she dies and later be arrested for it.

"Aren't you blowing this out of proportion?" you may be thinking. Consider this: In Canada, where hate crime law is already in place, a pastor said some words about Muslims that some Muslims didn't like. They took it to the law and the pastor was sentenced (yes, "sentenced") to 300 hours of community service in a local Muslim community.

In other Western nations where hate crime laws are in effect, there have been cases where ministers have called homosexuality a sinful practice and have been sued. This could even be applied to speaking out on issues such as premarital sex being sinful for Christians to practice or speaking out on a biblical view of divorce or church leadership standards.

America cherishes free speech. However, there are ratings on movies and video games for a reason. Americans can say what they want, but I can't yell "Fire!" in a theater or "Bomb!" in an airport without getting into trouble. However, both free speech and religious freedom is in trouble if people of a particular religious persuasion (Christian or otherwise) cannot say what their religious teachings teach during their assemblies.

Why am I talking about this now? Because as new political leaders take office in 2009, hate crime bills will once again be in discussion. It will be pitched as helping end racism and discrimination, issues I do care deeply about (and you probably do, too).

However, hate crime law will end up hurting religious free speech. I want anyone who cares about religious freedom to know NOW so we can help people understand this issue when it hits FOX and CNN in a few months.

So when hate crimes start coming up in conversation or on the news, tell people you hate hate crimes.

Why? I tell people it's because I love Jesus and want to be able to tell other people what His favorite book says about life. But even non-Christians can often agree that they don't want a law telling them they can't comment on controversial areas of life.

And that's why I hate hate crimes. My name is Dillon Burroughs and I approve this message.

Original post link: http://readdb.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-i-hate-hate-crimes.html

IMPLICATIONS:

-The John Ankerberg Show recently aired a series on Islam and Jihad. If this is rebroadast after a hate crimes bill is approved, who knows what would happen?

-What would happen when I speak on Wicca and communicate that Wiccans (and anyone of any other religion) who refuse to trust in Christ by faith will spend eternity in hell?

-What will happen if I claim that homosexuality is condemned as a sinful practice in the Bible and that Christians are called to live with a higher standard that includes sexuality expressed only between a husband and a wife?

-What will happen if I (or any other Christian) claims that Jesus is the only way to God?

-What happens when American religious liberty clashes with moral issues of the Bible?

I'm not completely sure, but if current legislation continues, we'll soon find out.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel,

because it is the power of God

for the salvation

of everyone

who believes."

-Romans 1:16

Cool Versus Effective

2009-05-12T11:28:00.003-04:00

Sometimes cool doesn't get the job done.

For example, I haven't posted an update to my blog since late March. It's considered cool or relevant to regularly update your blog, Facebook, and Twitter a few times per day, complete with pictures and videos and links and mobile shots of behind-the-scenes, exclusive content. I enjoy doing these things. But sometimes...

...well, since my last post, I have nearly disappeared from the Internet.

Why? I finished one book, two study guides (each the length of a short book), wrote some radio scripts, helped write a TV series, gave finals, posted grades, signed up for a mission trip to Haiti, wrote a couple of book proposals, finished the New Testament in Spanish, restarted studying Creole, developed a May Apologetic class, and, more importantly, spent any moments of free time with my wife and kids.

It wasn't as cool as sending mobile updates from my latest conference, but that's what it took to get the job done.

What about you?

In what area of life do you need to stop trying to be cool in order to be more effective?

Reminder: Life is about the Great Commission, not the Great Blog Update (or Facebook, Twitter, or otherwise). I needed to hear this from God recently. Maybe you do, too.

The People Behind the Books

2009-03-24T09:59:00.004-04:00

I spent last weekend at the Christian Book Expo in Dallas, Texas.

The best part was the time with some of the authors who have written the books that have shaped my life.

For example, I have used a Ryrie Study Bible since the age of 19. I'm on my second one and have been trained through its notes. Saturday, I had a chance to personally thank Dr. Ryrie for his time.

Last Christmas, I was given a copy of Same Kind of Different As Me. It's a powerful story, but not as powerful as talking with the men who wrote it. They are the real deal and a joy to meet.

There were many more, but I'll share just one more. J.I. Packer is considered one of the 20th Century's top theologians. He happened to be signing books and I caught him at a moment when we could chat for several minutes about life and Knowing God (his most well-known book). His writings are great; it's even better to talk with him and discover he's the same in person.

Other big names were there, including Max Lucado, Stormie Omartian, and Jerry Jenkins, but there were too many people to talk with them all. In the end, it was worth the trip to share time with those God has used and is using to impact millions around our world today.

Road Trippin'

2009-03-16T06:54:00.004-04:00

This morning I'm writing from Java Haute, a local coffeehouse in Terre Haute, Indiana. Over the weekend, I enjoyed a great book signing at Darlena's Holiday Gift Shoppe in Rockport, Indiana where I reconnected with several friends and relatives, including my high school friend William who found out I was coming to town because he stopped at my mom's shop with his girlfriend. Small world, big God.

Sunday, I experienced worship at First Baptist, Nort Terre Haute with my buddy Mark Tobey. He's a great preacher and clearly has a deep love for his people. For a small-town Indiana church, they're leaving a huge mark on the world. This year, two teams have already traveled to Haiti, where several people are in the process of adopting children from the orphanage they've helped build and fund in recent years. One friend, Nick, told me his coworker got involved and is now in the process of adopting a kid. You know you're making a difference when your coworkers are adopting children where you are going on mission trips. God is at work all over the world.

Today, my family and I head to Amish country in Central Indiana to spend time with my wife's grandmother who is 92. Tuesday, we head to Indianapolis to visit my brother in law Doug, my brother and his family on Wednesday, and then head to Dallas for the Christian Book Expo on Thursday evening where I'll reconnect with my friend Jarod from my days in Sherman, Texas. Again, God is at work all over the world.

If I haven't heard from you in a while, I'd love to hear how God is working in your life lately. Send me an email at dillon at dillon burroughs dot org to let me know.

I love all of you and appreciate your prayers and support.

SermonCentral.com, Logos Software, and a Road Trip

2009-03-10T13:24:00.003-04:00

Lots happening lately...so much that I'm falling behind on this season of Lost.

First, I started using Logos Bible Software more seriously this week as I've migrated to a MacBook and stopped using my previous Bible software program. An amazing little thing in Logos is that every verse search links to a database of sermons in SermonCentral.com.

SermonCentral.com is basically Wikipedia for pastors. Pastors can add sermon notes, manuscripts, illustrations, drama scripts, and other resources for others seeking help in sermon planning (They also have a Bible study version at BibleMaster.com.). I added an old sermon I did in Terre Haute, IN in 2006 to see what would happen.

24 hours later I searched for Ephesians 6:12 in Logos. First sermon? "Supernatural Encounters" by Dillon Burroughs. Technology is great! (Now if someone would leave a positive comment. That would be so Amazon-like!).

I added two more sermon outlines today, with one audio message on the way. We'll see what happens.

In other news, starting this weekend my family and I will be on the road for a long-overdue trip to see family in Indiana and Illinois. Along the way, you can catch me at:

-Darlena's Holiday and Gift Shoppe Rockport, IN Sat. Mar. 14th from 11-12:30 local time for a book signing. This is my mom's store, so come by and buy something. Free book to the first 100 customers.

-First Baptist, N. Terre Haute, IN Sun. Mar. 15th 10:30am. I'm not speaking, but will be there to catch up with friends and family. If you're in or near Terre Haute this weekend, stop by and say hi.

-Christian Book Expo, Dallas, TX, Dallas Convention Center, Fri-Sun, Mar. 20-22nd. Over 200 authors will be there to sign and hang out. If you're in Dallas, find out more at ecpa.org.

Thanks for the prayers and support. Hope to see a lot of you on the road! (And if not, let me know how you're doing on Facebook or Twitter.)

Next time...

...my other new kid.

3.5 Random Things about Me

2009-03-02T14:16:00.003-05:00

I read an article last week that suggested Facebook's "25 Random Things about Me" is the first truly viral movement of 2009. I'm all for cutting edge ideas, but 25 random things about my Facebook friends? At 1,300+ friends, that would equal over 32,500 random things to read.

So here's my simple request. I love you, but I would really rather read about 3.5 random things from each of my friends.

Here's my list...help me start the micro-movement of "3.5 Random Things about Me."

1. My first name is not Dillon; it's really Christopher. Full name: Christopher Dillon Burroughs.

2. I was once interviewed as a possible participant for "I Survived a Japanese Game Show."

3. I own and have watched all three High School Musical DVD's, including many of the bonus features. This means I really love my kids. I think they're FABULOUS.

.5 I have eaten a live earthworm.

And if you start a "3.5 Random Things about Me" group on Facebook, I'll be the first to join.

The Obama Speech: What Did You Think?

2009-02-25T07:49:00.003-05:00

I just read the Obama speech transcript at CNN.com and am curious what you and your friends are talking about this morning on the issue.

Is it the tax check in the mail (I must admit, I like that one.)? Is it the mortgage help? Is it the part on ending the War in Iraq?

Here is my favorite: "In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent, for a mother or father who will attend those parent-teacher conferences, or help with homework, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, read to their child."

The creators of Microsoft's X-box, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's Playstation 3 won't like the suggestion, but Obama makes a wonderful point. There is no subsitute for an involved parent.

Or, to expand his wording, there is no substitute for an involved person. We're all busy, but I think we could all also admit there is at least one time waster we could stop to make a greater difference in the lives of other people.

Jesus, God in human form, said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:27). He is our ultimate example. This life is not about what we get, but what we give.

So make a difference, like Obama challenged. But let me challenge you to take it one step further: serve following the example of Jesus. He is the One who continues to change lives both today and for eternity.

Thousands Pen Traveling Bible

2009-02-17T11:53:00.002-05:00

Call it a project of biblical proportions: 31,173 verses, 90 cities, one Word.

According to CNN, Zondervan is sponsoring an RV tour where people can handwrite a verse of the NIV Bible in a special handwritten edition with one person writing each verse.

Not a bad idea; check it out at BibleAcrossAmerica.com

THE IMPOSTER Movie Showing Tonight in Nashville

2009-02-08T10:10:00.003-05:00

Tonight only: The Imposter movie starring Kevin Max (formerly of DC Talk) and Jeff Deyo will be showing for FREE at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, TN at 7:30pm. This location is adjacent from Opry Mills and is showing the weekend of the National Religious Broadcaster's Convention.

And did I mention I am in it? It's a small cameo role, but my first feature film appearance. Check out more at theimpostermovie.com.

NBC Refuses to Air Pro-Life Ad during Super Bowl

2009-01-31T07:54:00.005-05:00

According to Friday's Citizen Link article, NBC has refused to air a controversial pro-life ad during the Super Bowl. If you care about this issue and want to do something about it, here's how to act:

1. Watch the ad online: This increases publicity and awareness.
2. Let NBC know how you feel: Here's the link.
3. Tell somebody: The pro-life issue needs your voice. Speak up for the unborn who cannot speak out for themselves.

From the article:

The pro-life ad, created by CatholicVote.org, portrays President Barack Obama as a preborn baby. It features images of a child in utero set to music and reads: "The child's future is a broken home. He will be abandoned by his father. His single mother will struggle to raise him.

"Despite the hardships he will endure, this child will become the first African-American president."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said: "In reality, these 41 seconds do more to inspire than the hundreds of other Super Bowl ads that use sex and alcohol to wow viewers. It's ironic that producers pull out the rule book when they want to police traditional values."

Survey Reveals Americans’ Feelings about Wicca

2009-01-28T09:22:00.003-05:00

This week, my friends at the Barna Group released the finding of the largest study to date on Americans' feelings about Wicca, America's most popular form of witchcraft. Here's a short quote:

As Americans make lifestyle transitions needed to restore the nation to stability, the nation’s adults are demonstrating their willingness to accept religious perspectives and groups that conflict with some of their core beliefs and lifestyle practices. A new national survey conducted by The Barna Group shows that while many adults are not familiar with Wicca, nearly half of the adult population has reserved having an opinion on that religious group even though its best-known practices directly contradict the religious faith that they personally embrace.

This study hits so much of what my coauthored book Generation Hex discusses from both research and personal encounters with those involved in Wicca.

If you're one of the 55% of Americans who have never heard of Wicca or are among the many others who know little about it, check out Generation Hex. It's a short read that will challenge your faith in a whole new way.

Click for the full Barna update.

The Truth about Competition

2009-01-23T09:13:00.004-05:00

Today, the L.A. Times and other news sources decried the decreased viewership of ABC's season premiere of Lost. But what really happened?

In a word, competition. American Idol played head-to-head (with more than double the number of viewers), as did Wednesday night church activities (for many Christian viewers of the show), plus the ever-competing Wii, Xbox, Playstation 3, text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, DVDs, NetFlix, and about 10,000 other competing life events used by Lost's core audience.

(CONFESSION: I just finished the premiere this morning from my laptop.)

What the L.A. Times fails to mention is that TV, for the audience that watches Lost, is an on-demand activity. In other words, viewers watch it when we want to watch it. The only exceptions are live events, which includes American Idol (kind of), the Inauguration, sporting events, and many reality shows.

(Many of my friends even watch their favorite football teams via DVR and try not to see who really won to make it "feel" live.)

Lost's creators are probably not too worried about the premiere's rating. Why? Their competition is not really just American Idol. If it was, they could have changed the time of the premiere long before the broadcast.

After about two weeks, they'll see how many people watched it at ABC.com (a significant revenue stream for the series), see online comments from people who watched it over the weekend from their Tivo or DVR (sources not typically included in TV ratings), see how many times it was purchased in iTunes or on Amazon, and look at how many people in their audience are really still watching.

Competition is only competition if it's your competition.

Huh? In other words, competition only counts if the categories are the same. In real life, if I compare myself to someone else, I will feel either proud or insignificant, neither of which is a healthy attitude. Competition is fun on the football field or the basketball court, but stinks in most areas of life.

For those who follow Christ, our goal is to become more like Jesus. This is a far healthier goal than competing against one another. Or getting upset about how many people watch your premiere.

Plus, in real life time travel doesn't work (even if it does on Lost).

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of faith and culture. He also likes Lost so much he co-wrote the book What Can Be Found in LOST? He lives with his wife, Deborah, and three kids in Tennessee. For more info, see readdB.com.

30th Anniversary of Rov v. Wade

2009-01-22T08:32:00.004-05:00

30 years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow women to legally choose abortion. 49 million abortions later, we stand at a new crossroads on the issue of the sanctity of life.

Newly sworn in President Obama promises to sign an act that will reverse the previous administration's legislation to prohibit U.S. aid to international organizations that perform abortions or refer women to abortion clinics. This means your U.S. tax dollars will help fund international abortion referrals and potentially the actual abortions themselves.

On the flip side, there are now more pregnancy resource centers working to decrease the number of abortions and more abstinence programs than any other time in American history. Millions are helped each year through these and similar organizations.

Like many people, you probably care about the issue, but are unsure what you can do to help. I don't have all of the answers, but here are a few ways you can make a difference on behalf of the lives of the unborn:

1. Pray: Yes, prayer changes things. See James 5:16 for a great example of prayer's power. How often are you praying for the lives of the unborn?

2. Promote: By promote, I mean to speak up whenever possible for the rights of the unborn who cannot speak for themselves. You don't have to call people murderers or get violent about it. The idea is to create awareness and help keep people thinking about the issue and the lives of those involved. This can happen over coffee or on Capitol Hill. Start somewhere.

3. Participate: It's easier to complain than to act. Find a pregnancy resource center and volunteer to help out. Encourage pro-life politicians in your area with a note or email that thanks them for their efforts (Democrat and Republican). Write polite but firm communications to your local, state, and national politicians who do not stand for the sanctity of life. Personally champion the issue in your school, workplace, church, or community organization.

Psalm 82:3 stands as the purpose for our efforts in this area: "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed." This applies not only to the poor and
oppressed in our world. It also applies to the unborn whose lives are in jepeorady due to current laws that allow legalized abortion.

Ultimately, it's not about the law; it's about lives that need rescued. Speak out. You may rescue a life today.

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of faith and culture. He lives with his wife and three children in Tennessee. For more, visit readdB.com.

LOST Returns Tonight!

2009-01-21T08:43:00.005-05:00

LOST returns tonight! Are you ready for the launch of Season 5?

It all starts tonight at 8/7 central on ABC.

And, of course, it wouldn't hurt to know about the spiritual implications of LOST by reading my coauthored book (with Dr. John Ankerberg), What Can Be Found in LOST?

In other news...

My official website www.readdB.com is now live with its new 2.0 look (Thank you, Josiah!). I guess I'll now have to update my events and Twitter feeds.
Sunday night at 9-10pm Eastern I'll be talking about LOST on M88 Radio in Albequerque, NM. Listen live at M88.org.
Monday night at 7-9pm Eastern I'll be on Atlanta Live TV on WATC 57. If you're in the Atlanta area, please check it out. It also re-airs at 8am Eastern the following morning for those of you with DirecTV on the NRB Network.
And if you're in Nashville Feb. 7-9, let me know as I'll be there for the National Religious Broadcaster's Convention. I'd love to connect in person.

Please keep me in your prayers and share any prayer requests you'd like to pass along as well. We're in this together.

I love and appreciate all of you.

Ready for LOST?

2009-01-12T09:03:00.003-05:00

Ready for LOST? Only nine days and counting. Until then, you can get caught up on all of spiritual insights in What Can Be Found in LOST?

My friend Daniel Hall took a moment during his recent trip in Israel to peruse its pages. If you have a picture of you checking out this book or one of my other written works, please upload it to my Facebook page. Do it by January 17th (my birthday!) and you could win a free autographed book.

In other news, some of you have been asking about my recent interviews. I'm keeping the most current list on my Facebook page along with links to listen live online when possible. I do my best not to send you email every other day, so go here if you want to listen or even call in on live shows to ask a question.

This Wednesday, I'll be on Chris Fabry Live at 3pm EST talking about LOST. Check it out online or any Moody Radio station.

If you think of it, please keep me in your prayers. I've been asked to share on several stations recently (at least 12 this month!) and really want to do my best to speak truth on issues of faith and culture. Pray that God would give just the right words to speak and that listeners would respond to God with a heart that seeks to follow Jesus.

Please let me know if I can do anything for you. Thank you for all you do.

Seven Years Ago Today

2009-01-08T13:48:00.006-05:00

<--Ben eating his first quarter-pound bacon cheeseburger at Five Guys.

Seven years ago today I held my first child, Benjamin, in my arms at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, TX. Today I made sure to give him a big hug before he walked into school. Why? Because in seven more years, he'll almost be able to drive to school himself!

Does your life ever feel like it's flying by? The Bible says our lives are like a vapor, here today, gone tomorrow. What can we do about it?

The Bible answers this question, too. We're told to make the most of every opportunity, to show love, do justice, and live humbly.

In fact, if life is zooming by too quickly for you, remember that life is followed by eternity.

The bigger question is whether you're ready for life after this life. If you're not sure, here's God's solution: believe and receive.

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

And if you've already chosen to follow Jesus, tell someone. Because life will pass by before you know it and there's no better time to prepare for eternity than right now.

P.S. If you're really shy about sharing your faith with someone, just send them the link to this post. Then they can get mad at me instead of you. But at least they'll hear about what it means to know Jesus. And maybe, just maybe, you'll be part of changing someone's eternity today.

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He lives with his wife, Deborah, and three children in Tennessee.

Faith and Film: What's Working, What's Not

2008-12-22T08:22:00.006-05:00

I was recently called to share some thoughts on Christian film and its impact on culture. While you can hear the summary at the Moody Radio archives (my quotes are at the 20 minute mark), I wanted to share two insights on spirituality in today's films.

First, the message counts. In other words, there must be a significant issue at stake, regardless of whether the film is Christian or otherwise. And if a film is presented as a Christian film, the audience deserves to see something distinctly Christian in its message.

Fireproof presented a clear struggle of a guy attempting to succeed in his marriage without Jesus and how he ended up much better with the power of Christ in his life. House (the R-rated film based on the novel by Peretti/Dekker) failed to offer a clear Christian message and frustrated many Christian fans while not offering enough firepower to dominate at the mainstream level.

Second, quality counts. Bella succeeded as a pro-life film among a broad audience in large part due to its astounding quality. It lacked sci-fi special effects, but was a finely-crafted drama that deeply touched the emotions. When Christian filmmakers produce films with a striking message at the same quality as Hollywood, the true potential of Christian message can leave a deep impact.

Case in point: Sony + Grassroots films from Albany, GA = box office success. It takes the quality production (and marketing!) of Hollywood combined with the grassroots efforts of Christians to truly create a successful Christian film in mainstream culture. Mel Gibson, Sony, The Ultimate Gift, Expelled, Disney's Narnia films, and Veggie Tales have each figured out this formula.

One final note: There are lots of good Christian filmmakers out there without a Hollywood budget making films that help people without making millions of dollars. For example, I appeared in a cameo role in The Imposter, a film starring Kevin Max (of DC Talk) that may not be in next weekend's Top 10, but has helped touch some lives.

My friend Matt Mitchell produced Pray, Pray 2, and has more on the way, creating solid faith-based films to encourage teenagers. And if you've never watched a Rich Christiano film, you're missing out.

If you haven't rented or purchased a quality Christian-film recently, buy one to watch this Christmas break (I highly recommend my friends at ChristianCinema.com. Your purchase is your vote for future Christian films that will influence today's (and tomorrow's) culture.

Say Merry Christmas!

2008-12-19T09:07:00.004-05:00

In the battle over Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, I've noticed that those who cherish Christ's birth are forgetting something...to say Merry Christmas.

Christmas is only a week away and I have been greeted with very few "Merry Christmas" shout-outs, even from people who clearly love Jesus. I asked a few other friends and they shared the same concern.

So here's my recommendation: say Merry Christmas.

From now through December 25th, include the phrase Merry Christmas in every email, phone call, text message, Facebook update, Twitter status change, and personal conversation.

Because if those who love Jesus don't say Merry Christmas, who will?

No one. It's not the job of Wal-Mart or your business or local school or the government to say Merry Christmas. It's yours.

And one final thought: after you say Merry Christmas, make the most of every opportunity to share why you are wishing others a Merry Christmas rather than Happy Holidays.

Tell them it's because you love Jesus. And you love them. And that Jesus loves them.

And if they get offended, blame it on me. Tell them there's this guy who wrote a blog that challenged people to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays.

Then send me a message at dillon at dillonburroughs dot org and let me know about it.

Merry Christmas!

Blogging from Anywhere (And Reading Blogs Anywhere, Too!)

2008-12-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

I can now blog from anywhere.

I once blogged during a haircut. I've blogged during radio interviews, during class (when I was teaching), and have even micro-blogged via Twitter a few times during church (I know, I know, not a good idea!).

But many people don't realize you can READ blogs from anywhere, too.

If you have a web-enabled phone, you can read this blog at Blogger, Facebook, Myspace, RSS (for your iPhone, Sony Reader, or Kindle), or via email.

And if you follow me on Twitter, you can receive a text message each time I blog.

I know, you already have more to read than you could ever finish.

If you're going to read one book, I highly recommend the Bible first. You can read it on your phone or online at BibleGateway.com.

But I try to write stuff to help you know God and the Bible better, too. So subscribe to the email version. Or get the RSS on your iPhone. Or just read it when you're in line at Starbucks when you get a text message letting you know I just finished this.

Hopefully it helps.

And if it does, blog or write or text or tweet back.

So I know you're there.

And so I can blog more about it later.

Merry Christmas!

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as an activist for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.

Dillon Burroughs and High School Musical 3?

2008-12-11T11:23:00.003-05:00

Courtesy of my lovely wife Debbie, the two of us are now High School Musical 3 stars via JibJab. For anyone who knows us well, this is sheer entertainment pleasure:

Let it begin!

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as an activist for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.

Blogging in 35 Languages

2008-12-10T07:16:00.005-05:00

How would you like to write in 35 languages?

I love to write, but realize English is only one of the many languages people use to communicate in our world. As a result, I've studied other languages over the years, including Spanish, Creole, and German, always wishing I could do more.

Yesterday I added a little gadget to my blog from Google that now allows readers to view my blog in 35 languages. I checked out the Spanish version and was quite impressed. My best effort to date had been translating a basic Myspace page that I rarely update (Facebook provides its own multi-lingual interface.) .

But that's now all.

Check out this link at Google and you can drag a button for your browser to instantly translate any website into your preferred language. It even works on PDF files and on YouTube (Though buttons, emails, and other graphics often do not translate.).

Try it out.

Then tell someone you are multi-lingual. You can truly write to over 90 percent of the people in the world.

And that you discovered it from your friend Dillon who writes this neat blog they need to read.

Enjoy!

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as an activist for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.

GENERATION HEX Nominated for Outreach Resource of the Year Award

2008-12-05T09:28:00.003-05:00

My friend Jonathan Howe at New Life Publishers in Birmingham posted a message to me on Facebook yesterday congratulating me on my nomination. I thought he was joking.

This morning, I discovered that Outreach Magazine nominated my co-authored book Generation Hex (with Marla Alupoaicei) for an Outreach Resource Award in the area of Apologetics.

If you want to help make the difference from nomination to a possible award-winner, send a quick email here to tell Outreach magazine why you think it should win (It also helps if you say you really like Outreach magazine.).

And here's the 411 on Outreach for those of you unfamiliar. It's a really good how-to magazine on church outreach that is best-known for its annual lists of the top 100 largest and fastest growing churches in America. Plus, they are the same company that makes those really easy-to-use bulletin shells, banners, and mailers your church might be using.

About OUTREACH:
Award-winning OUTREACH magazine offers insights from nationally recognized church leaders, articles examining outreach trends and challenges churches are experiencing, profiles of innovative ideas in use, and practical guides for implementing new outreach efforts. Based in Vista, Calif., and published by Outreach, Inc., OUTREACH has a circulation of 30,000, and a readership of 80,000.
-from Outreach magazine

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as an activist for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.

likewise.

2008-11-26T09:35:00.003-05:00

I love Jesus. Jesus loved stories.

One of His best stories was about a guy who had been robbed and left for dead on the roadside. Two religious leaders walked by, noticed the body, and kept walking.

A third guy, with a reputation despised by his contemporary culture, stopped to help.

He changed a life.

Jesus asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The religious leader listening answered, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus answered, “Go and do likewise.”

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DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as an activist for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.

Twitter feed changing

2008-11-25T14:29:00.002-05:00

If you follow me on Twitter, you will now get a "tweet" each time I post a blog. However, my Facebook status will now be separate so my Facebook status updates won't read "New blog post:..."

If you're one of those web-savvy types who wants a text message when I post a blog, "follow" me.

You can also subscribe via email here.

Or you can just email me at dillon at dillonburroughs dot org.

Thanks!

Focus on the Family's Focus on the Family

2008-11-25T08:31:00.005-05:00

Yes, you read it right. The title is not a typo.

Focus on the Family, the organization founded by James Dobson, is often criticized by the media for its stand on political issues. However, their latest effort is one I highly applaud.

From their news release,

About 1,300 people flooded into New Life Church in Colorado Springs on Saturday. Their mission: To learn more about the 700 kids in Colorado’s foster care system waiting for adoptive families.

Focus on the Family and the other sponsors of the Wait No More event had hoped 100 families would feel led to welcome a child home.

“We are thrilled that nearly 250 families started the process of adoption from foster care, and we will continue our efforts until we are the first state with no more waiting kids in foster care," said Kelly Rosati, Focus on the Family’s senior director of Sanctity of Human Life.

Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, knows what it's like to be an orphan. He shares his story in his book, Finding Home.

Daly said the momentum needs to continue.

"The vision is clear from the Lord to take care of the widow and the orphan," he said. "I don’t want to turn my back on that. We’ll do what it takes to use Colorado as an example.

"I think the Lord will honor us because we’re taking care of the least among us, and for that reason I’m excited about it."

When Christians choose to step up and care for children in need of a family, it is a cause for celebration.

Great job, Focus on the Family!

For more information, see http://www.icareaboutorphans.org.

"Obama and Young Evangelicals" Interview Follow Up

2008-11-21T08:24:00.002-05:00

Thanks again to everyone who listened in and provided feedback leading up to today's interview. I wish I would have had more time to communicate on some of the issues involved, but did my best in the time allowed to speak intelligently on major points of concern.

If you listened in and enjoyed the discussion, please let someone at WMBI know by emailing mornings@moody.edu or calling 312-274-9624. Thanks!

Interview Time Change!

2008-11-21T07:19:00.001-05:00

My Friday interview (today) on WMBI Moody Radio Chicago is at 8:10am EST. This is different from my previous postings.

I'll be talking about “Obama and Young Evangelicals.” Listen live at wmbi.mbn.org and maybe even email or call the station to tell them you liked the show (That is, if you actually like it.). Also, please pray for God’s wisdom and blessing for this one. I’m going to need it.

Let Me Hear from You

2008-11-19T07:50:00.006-05:00

Friday I'm supposed to talk about "Obama and Younger Evangelicals" on a radio program. I need your help.

If you are a college student or college-aged (18-29ish), please let me know your thoughts on any of the following:

-Why do you think many young evangelicals voted for Obama? (I'm especially interested if you did.)

-Why are young evangelicals willing to overlook some serious Christian social or moral issues to vote for Obama? (Including the big ones like abortion and same-sex marriage.)

-How big of a factor do you think race was in the election? Was it the deciding factor, or only one of many?

-What positives could an Obama administration provide for young evangelicals? (Such as health care, bringing troops home from the Middle East, economy, jobs, education, racial issues.)

-What concerns should Christians (of all ages) have about Obama’s popularity among young evangelicals (if any)?

-What practical steps can people take to support our new president while standing strong on Christian convictions?

You can email your comments via this blog, via facebook, email me, or even text me via email (if it's short).

Thanks for your help on this. I intend to post a follow up after the Friday morning interview (details here).

DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as a social justice advocate for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.

Obama Spirituality

2008-11-18T12:30:00.003-05:00

As a Christian, I had never spoken out on politics. I just didn’t get too fired up about it. I was more concerned about making it to church on time and taking care of my own family than stressing over which bill was bogged down in Congress.

But then someone asked me to talk on the radio about Obama and evangelicals. I said, “Sure, why not?” I had no idea what I was getting into.

I found out after accepting the interview that many Christians don’t like Barack Obama. It’s not because he’s African American; it’s because of abortion, his views on same-sex marriage, war, and a whole lot more. But then I said the Bible gave two clear concepts for relating to our president: pray and submit.

People didn’t like that. They wanted me to call Democrats the devil and lead a movement to impeach Obama and make Jesus president. But I didn’t.

So now I’m the bad guy.

I get hate mail, hate Facebook-mail, hate email, and hate-blog comments—mostly from Christians.

Let me be honest for a minute: that just sucks. Jesus said A) love God, B) love your neighbor, and C) love your enemies. I don’t consider Obama my God nor my enemy but he’s my neighbor (not literally, but I’m originally from Indiana, so close enough). So I love Barack Obama. If you’re a Christian, pick options B or C and do likewise.

Then pray for him. He has a tougher job than you do and if he does blow it, it won’t help any of us. Plus, if you keep making Christians look stupid, we’ll eventually become the bad guys (we often already are) and people will ignore us completely instead of listening to our ideas to make this country a better place.

You don’t have to vote for someone to love them.

But if you’re a Christian, you have to love Barack Obama.

Whether you like it or not.

DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as a social justice advocate for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.

Dillon Burroughs on Moody Radio about "Obama and Young Evangelicals"

2008-11-18T08:40:00.003-05:00

Friday I’ll be on WMBI Moody Radio Chicago from 8:30-9am EST to talk about “Obama and Young Evangelicals.” Listen live at wmbi.mbn.org and maybe even email or call the station to tell them you liked the show (That is, if you actually like it.). Also, please pray for God’s wisdom and blessing for this one. I’m going to need it.

Why I Hate Hate Crimes

2008-11-14T07:51:00.002-05:00

I don't usually use the word "hate." But it's hard to talk about hate crimes without using the word. So I freely admit: I hate hate crimes.

"What is a hate crime?" you ask. Hate crime is a potential piece of legislation that would make certain speech punishable by law. In other words, if I made a comment about Muslims or Native Americans or Homosexuals that someone considered offensive, I could be fined, arrested, or even jailed.

This could be applied to conversations, but typically is used in public communications, which even includes sermons by ministers. In other words, a pastor could say a person who is a Buddhist will go to hell when he or she dies and later be arrested for it.

"Aren't you blowing this out of proportion?" you may be thinking. Consider this: In Canada, where hate crime law is already in place, a pastor said some words about Muslims that some Muslims didn't like. They took it to the law and the pastor was sentenced (yes, "sentenced") to 300 hours of community service in a local Muslim community.

In other Western nations were hate crime laws are in effect, there have been cases where ministers have called homosexuality a sinful practice and have been sued. This could even be applied to speaking out on issues such as premarital sex being sinful for Christians to practice or speaking out on a biblical view of divorce or church leadership standards.

America cherishes free speech. However, there are ratings on movies and video games for a reason. Americans can say what they want, but I can't yell "Fire!" in a theater or "Bomb!" in an airport without getting into trouble. However, both free speech and religious freedom is in trouble if people of a particular religious persuasion (Christian or otherwise) cannot say what their religious teachings teach during their assemblies.

Why am I talking about this now? Because as new political leaders take office in 2009, hate crime bills will once again be in discussion. It will be pitched as helping end racism and discrimination, issues I do care deeply about (and you probably do, too).

However, hate crime law will end up hurting religious free speech. I want anyone who cares about religious freedom to know NOW so we can help people understand this issue when it hits FOX and CNN in a few months.

So when hate crimes start coming up in conversation or on the news, tell people you hate hate crimes.

Why? I tell people it's because I love Jesus and want to be able to tell other people what His favorite book says about life. But even non-Christians can often agree that they don't want a law telling them they can't comment on controversial areas of life.

And that's why I hate hate crimes. My name is Dillon Burroughs and I approve this message.

Racial Slurs toward Obama at Tennessee Temple

2008-11-13T15:10:00.003-05:00

For those who haven't heard, the university where I teach youth ministry courses, Tennessee Temple, made the local Channel 12 news last night because a student wrote a racial slur (a variation of the "N" word) about President-elect Barack Obama recently. You can view the clip yourself here.

I spoke with my students about it this morning and felt the need for someone to respond with what my university is really all about and inject a little truth in love in the process. I've copied my post to Channel 12 below which you may end up seeing on other online news sources. Please feel free to comment or tell Obama I'm praying for him today.

ORIGINAL COMMENTS AS POSTED AT NEWS 12 Chattanooga:

Racial Slurs toward Obama at Tennessee Temple

Submitted by Dillon Burroughs (not verified) on November 13, 2008 - 12:41pm.

I teach at Tennessee Temple and need to share a couple of comments on this Obama racial slur debacle.

First, Tennessee Temple has made significant gains in minority student enrollment and involvement in recent years and has a clear desire to increase diversity on its campus.

As a school, it is improving in its fight against racism. If it wasn't, I would not teach there. If it stops improving, I will personally quit my job so an African American professor can teach in my place. I care that deeply about ending racism.

Second, Tennessee Temple consists of hundreds of students from many cultures and maturity levels. Sometimes students do dumb stuff like call the President-elect N*#%&.

I'll apologize for the whole school on this one and say I'm sorry it happened. Every person I know on Tennessee Temple's campus is sick that this event took place. We are students and faculty who love Jesus and love people, including Barack Obama.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding who wrote the comment, whether white, African American, or otherwise, it was highly disrespectful and inappropriate.

It ultimately doesn't matter whether a student did it to get attention or whether the offender was white or African American. The fact is that a student wrote a highly inappropriate comment about our nation's President-elect. That sucks and should not continue.

So guilty student, whoever you are, stop making yourself, your school, and Jesus look like redneck racists and Klan member wannabes by your racial slurs.

Instead, let's agree to pray for our nation's new leader and do all we can to help promote the love of Jesus.

And stop calling people Nigga because Jesus hates racism. Plus, I think He even likes good grammar.

What's Next?

2008-11-03T08:43:00.002-05:00

Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word, buy a book, blog a review, or say a prayer for the impact of Generation Hex. While I still have a couple of upcoming speaking opportunities on the topic, I am for the most part done with the publicity that ran from July through Halloween.

The level of buzz was terrific. Marla and I shared over 70 media interviews, including interviews in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. We also traveled several parts of the country, including Tennessee, Indiana, Texas, Georgia, and Florida.

Our book was at one point one of the most talked-about books on the Internet according to Technorati.com. In a strange twist, Generation Hex became one of Amazon.com's top-selling books on Wicca. The book was even featured on WitchVox.com and WiccanWeb.ca, two of the most-popular Wiccan websites in North America.

So, again, thank you for making the Generation Hex movement possible. It would not have happened without God or without you.

Now...what's next?
To begin, I'm piecing together the final portions of a manuscript I'm collaborating on for the organization where I work. Complete with documentary and two other authors, it has been daunting to say the least. Fortunately, this book is nearing completion for its next-summer release.

Plus, I'm trying to find a new vehicle (but it's not becuase of all the money I made on Generation Hex; a common misconception about what writers get paid). My 1997 minivan with 217,000 miles on it was hit last month and I'm in the process of finding a replacement. Give me a shout out if you can help in the minivan department.

But in terms of the future, I'm now in a season of much prayer. There are many directions I could go, but only one God wants me to pursue. I'm attempting to pursue His plan rather than my own.

In the meantime, I'm not sitting around and chanting and lighting candles, though (No offense to those who like chanting and playing with matches.). I've written up a few project ideas and am pursuing the appropriate channels. But books aren't contracted in a day (even if I could write one in a single day), so I may have little to blog about for a couple of weeks.

I'm already taking a Twitter and Myspace Sabbatical. Facebook is also becoming a once in a while communication form.

I'm not avoiding you.

I'm not disappearing.

I'm just praying.

Please join me in praying for God's next project to pursue.

Generation Hex came about from a ton of prayer and a mountain-sized spiritual hike; yet it has changed more hearts than perhaps anything I have written to date. God is good.

I'll keep you posted as soon as I get a blog or text message from God or some other clear answer on what's next.

In the meantime, pray.

Generation Hex on American Family Radio TODAY

2008-10-31T10:08:00.002-04:00

11:30a.m. EST I'm scheduled for a last-minute interview on Christians and Halloween on American Family Radio. Tune in online at www.afr.net or listen to your local station. Thanks!

About American Family Radio:

American Family Radio has over 200 stations & 19 affiliates in 34 states and Canada. It is owned and operated by the American Family Association with Don Wildmon as President & Founder. Today’s Issues is a live call-in program aired each weekday at 10 am. central which deals with the moral, social, and political issues of the day. Today's Issues approaches these issues from a perspective of biblical, traditional, conservative values. Usually, each Today’s Issues program features an interview with a guest. In the past this list has included well-known authors, political figures and nationally known ministers. The program is hosted by American Family Association Vice-President and author, Tim Wildmon, and the General Manager of American Family Radio, Marvin Sanders. TI is produced by Cindy Barnett and engineered by JJ Jasper.

Chattanooga Times Free Press, Janet Parshall, and the Ugly Side of Wicca

2008-10-26T07:11:00.004-04:00

Saturday my local newspaper ran a story reviewing my coauthored book Generation Hex. Faith editor Clint Cooper did a great job providing a summary of some of its ideas and introducing my local Starbucks barista to some of the work I do. In his words (my favorite barista's, not Clint's), "I didn't know you were a writer." Now he does.

Also on Saturday, my coauthor Marla and I had the opportunity to share an interview on Janet Parshall's radio program (www.jpamerica.com). One of radio's top talk show hosts, she had people calling and emailing in live from Alaska, Bermuda, Belgium, and everywhere else you could imagine. People dealing with witchcraft among their friends and family are really searching for answers. Hopefully, we were able to help some of the show's listeners along the way.

On the ugly side, I had the mixed blessing of having the Chattanooga Times Free Press article mentioned above being picked up at WitchVox.com. For those unaware, Witchvox.com is considered the leading social networking hub for all things Wiccan and pagan. Unfortunately, within 24 hours I found some very hateful and inaccurate comments thrown around. For example:

Yeah, these guys aren't really "tolerant". They use softer language than most, sure, but it becomes pretty apparent when you read their crap that they have the same goal as any foaming-at-the-mouth fundie; eliminate the competition and convert everyone to their particular brand of Christianity.

The tactics that both Cooper and Burroughs detail here look suspisciously like some of the trolling tactics I've seen in WitchVox; in fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Burroughs posted here under an alias.

Of course Wicca is still a "danger". It's competition.

I'm not sure what such comments are hoping to accomplish, but let me ask: Who is the one being intolerant and critical here? From what I've gathered, none of these commenters have read the book that notes my specific reasons for not signing up for participation on WitchVox. The "Cooper" they mentioned was the guy interviewing me. I had no say on what he wrote. I was just happy he mentioned my book. And I've yet to view Wicca as competition. I simply share my concern for Wiccans to experience the love of Jesus; a love much greater than the spirit of the above comments.

Fortunately, many Wiccans I have met do not share such an attitude. They simply crave a spirituality that helps them deal with the pressures of everyday life. My prayer is that more will find their fulfillment in Jesus.

[P.S. As of Sunday morning, less than a day from when the Times-Free Press article ran, my article has been viewed over 1600 times.]

Listen to Generation Hex Interview on Chris Fabry Live! Archives

2008-10-23T11:15:00.002-04:00

Check out our interview on Chris Fabry Live! (Moody Radio) where we answer some tough questions about conversations between Christians and Wiccans. Approximately 54 minutes.

Link: http://www.moodyradio.org/brd_programarchive.aspx?id=18894.

About Chris Fabry Live!
Chris Fabry Live! is a live 54-minute call-in program designed to build up the spiritual immune system of the Christian man and woman. As you walk through the journey of faith called the Christian life, you meet new people, learn new things, laugh, cry, and most importantly, you grow in your understanding of God. With his sense of humor, sense of people, and no sense of direction, host Chris Fabry treks that journey with you each weekday. Current events and issues, caller interaction, special guests, and a few surprises all complement each other on this program. Chris Fabry Live! challenges and encourages listeners in his or her journey of faith.

Dillon Burroughs and Matt Mitchell on FamilyNet TV

2008-10-13T10:16:00.004-04:00

For Immediate Release:

Dillon Burroughs (coauthor of Generation Hex) and Matt Mitchell (director of Pray and Pray 2) will be interviewed on FamilyNet TV (www.familynet.com) Tuesday, October 14th, on the topic of Positive Christian Responses to Halloween.

Second only to Christmas in holiday spending, Halloween now dominates the culture's attention through films, costumes, books, and more. But how can Christians respond to a night often associated with a dark message?

"Halloween is historically and culturally a dark night that celebrates ideas inconsistent with the Christian faith," says Burroughs. "However, we are called to make the most of every opportunity, including Halloween. We have a unique night in which many are likely to stop by our homes or attend an event. It is a perfect time to build new friendships to share the light of Jesus."

Churches offering children's events, candy with Christian messages attached, and "trunk or treat" alternatives are only a few of the many ways people are responding to communicate Christ during Halloween.

One unique alternative is Matt Mitchell's latest film Pray 2: The Woods (praythemovie.com). Shown in select theaters and now available on DVD, this Cross Shadow Productions motion picture provides a Dove-approved, PG-rated alternative to the graphic content often highlighted during the Halloween Season.

"Ultimately, it's about pointing people of all backgrounds toward the light of Jesus," shares Burroughs. For more information, see www.readdB.com or www.praythemovie.com.

###

‘Wicca Awareness Month’ Launched by Harvest House Authors

2008-10-08T15:54:00.001-04:00

‘Wicca Awareness Month’ Launched by Harvest House Authors

EUGENE, OREGON—October 8, 2008—It may come as a surprise that the “Church of Wicca” was officially declared a religion by a US Federal appeals Court in 1986. Alarming, yes, but two Harvest House authors now provide answers to the facts surrounding Wicca and other Pagan religions.

Dillon Burroughs and Marla Alupoaicei, authors of Generation Hex—Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca, have launched Wicca Awareness Month to help concerned Christians bring light and hope to those within the Wicca religion.

As part of their goal to raise awareness, the authors will discuss Christian perspectives on Wicca in numerous media interviews, including: Faith Broadcasting on October 8; Moody Radio’s Chris Fabry Live! October 22; and Janet Parshall’s America (Salem Radio) on October 30. The authors will also post new articles and information on marriageleap.com, including quotes and feedback from Wiccans and former Wiccans, throughout the month.

Wicca is America’s most popular form of witchcraft. Its attraction is skyrocketing, with membership doubling at least every 30 months. Yet many still don’t know what Wicca is or how to interact in meaningful spiritual dialogue with a person involved in the Wiccan, Pagan or New Age belief system.

Alupoaicei says that she and Burroughs were able to get firsthand information and testimonials from Wicca practitioners themselves, giving the project just that much more credibility and strength.

“We interviewed many Wiccans and pagans, and we include their powerful personal stories in the book,” says Alupoaicei. “We’ve received fantastic feedback from many Wiccans and pagans, and we know of several Wiccans who have already accepted Christ after hearing our radio interviews.”

The book provides a simple overview of what Wicca is, what Wiccans believe, how influential it has become, and more. Wiccan teachings are also compared and contrasted with Christian beliefs.

Generation Hex has been featured as one of the top Wicca books at Amazon, ranked as the top witchcraft book at Christianbook.com, noted as the third most–talked–about book on the web at Technorati.com, and featured in over 60 media interviews since its release in August.

The book has been featured in Christian and mainstream interviews in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and New Zealand, and it has also been reviewed on numerous Christian and Wiccan websites in the U.S., Canada, and in Europe.

Print quality images to accompany this press release are available in digital format. Available images are: cover art, author photo, Harvest House logo.

# # #

GENERATION HEX Continues to Touch Lives

2008-10-03T11:51:00.002-04:00

Recent readers have shared their thoughts on Generation Hex. Here are a few of their comments:

“In serious desperation, I picked up a copy of your book this past weekend. I was happy to get it, as it was the only copy of its kind on the shelf. Words cannot express how much it has helped me, and I want to sincerely thank you both… I want to commend you for talking about this subject and encourage you to do more. I’d love to see another book about people who have come out of the craft… Bless you for having the love and courage to write the book Generation Hex.”
-former witchcraft practitioner, California

"I want you both to know that I loved the book. It was great to get the sense of compassion in your hearts for ALL of God's children!"
-Cheryl

Generation Hex also continues to receive significant news coverage. Recent mentions include The Dallas Morning News religion blog, The Christian Post, Prime Time America (Moody), Not Just Talking the Talk (mainstream radio), Bible.org, and more to come as Halloween approaches.

Currently approximately 60 media outlets (not including bloggers) have interviewed Marla and I about Generation Hex. It has been an overwhelming response to a topic many publishers have been hesitant to touch.

I'm extremely thankful for the team at Harvest House supporting this project from the start and helping us provide awareness of Wicca's growth and encouragement in showing Christ's love to Wiccans in the lives of many.

As you walk through the candy-filled aisles at your local stores this October, please remember that the Halloween Season is not about candy and costumes; it is an opportunity to point people toward the light of Jesus on a dark night.

Chat Transcripts for Generation Hex Interview with Abunga.com

2008-09-22T07:11:00.004-04:00

We've had some requests for the transcript of the Abunga.com chat interview we did last week. I've included the link below for the full 17-page pdf at Abunga's website. This is an excellent, family-friendly book retailer I highly recommend (Of course, it helps that they made me one of their featured author's this week. Thanks, Abunga!).

Thanks again for all of you who have encouraged Marla and I on Generation Hex in recent weeks. And if you're reading this and haven't had a chance to share your feedback on the book, please email me at dillon@dillonburroughs.org. I appreciate it!

Film and TV News...
In other news, the film The Imposter I appeared in starring Grammy-award winning Kevin Max (of DC Talk) will be released in theaters in Texas next month! If you live in the area, please check it out.

In addition, Matt Mitchell's latest film Pray 2: The Woods held its premiere release in Raleigh, NC last weekend to much acclaim. I mention this for two reasons: 1) I love his style of Christian filmmaking, and 2) I helped write the film's study guide. The DVD releases today. You can order a copy at ChristianCinema.com, my favorite Christian film website.

Plus, if you haven't heard about the film Fireproof (by the Facing the Giants guys), you have to see it. It comes out this weekend nationwide. I viewed an early edition of it this summer and highly recommend it.

Online Chat Today with Abunga.com on Generation Hex

2008-09-17T06:51:00.002-04:00

Marla and I would like to invite you to join us TODAY (Wednesday, Sept. 17) for an exciting online chat on Abunga Books! From 2-3 p.m. Eastern Time (1-2 Central) on http://abunga.com/?d=authorsatabunga, Marla and I will be giving an online interactive chat interview for our new book, Generation Hex.

To join the chat, just click on the link above and then click on “Authors@Abunga” under the heading “Cool Stuff” on the upper left-hand side of the page. Please join the conversation and ask questions! We’d love to hear your perspective on the issues related to Wicca, Christianity, and the dialogue between the two.

Chat with you then!

PRAY 2 Coming Soon...

2008-08-29T15:20:00.003-04:00

I don't often mention films on my blog, but I'm making an except for my friend Matt Mitchell's new film PRAY 2: The Woods. Please check out the trailer and consider picking up at copy at christiancinema.com. If you like scary movies but also appreciate family-friendly content, this is the film for you!

Buy at ChristianCinema.com
Haven't seen Pray 1 yet? Find out more.

A Reader Who Gets It

2008-08-29T07:14:00.003-04:00

When I write on controversial issues, I expect to receive notes from people who disagree. What I don't expect are people who write to encourage me. The following note from one of my readers was such a help that I wanted to post it here as well. Deena's words specifically express my goal in all of my books. It was a treasure to have her write them, as I have never even met her before.

Dillon,

I've read several of your books, and the one thing that strikes me in ALL of them is your love and compassion for people, especially those who don't know Jesus Christ as Savior yet. I'm so impressed with your writing, and I am always eager to read and tour a book with your name on it, because I know it will encourage me as a believer to be what Jesus wants me to be...."It's Your kindness that leads us to repentance, O Lord".

Thanks for your interview responses. I can't wait to begin the tour with you and Marla! Many of God's richest blessings for You, my brother. May He anoint the work of your hands as you labor for Him.

Who can you encourage in a similar way today?

Barna's Survey of Psychic and Witchcraft-Related Activity among Teens

2008-08-26T15:44:00.002-04:00

We've had lots of people ask about the 2006 Barna study on teenagers involved in witchcraft related activities. I've copied the article below along with the link for those interested.

New Research Explores Teenage Views and Behavior Regarding the Supernatural

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=216

Helping Christians Understand Wicca

2008-08-25T09:19:00.002-04:00

I just got off the phone with Chad Bresson from CDR Radio in Cedarville, Ohio talking about my new book Generation Hex. Chad's an awesome interviewer and right on target with his questions, so he's a good gauge for how Christian media are understanding the issues of Wicca and witchcraft from a Christian point of view.

A few issues I keep noticing from Christians when I mention Wicca or witchcraft are:

-What do you do if you find out someone you know is involved in Wicca?
-Why should we be concerned about Wicca?
-Wicca and Harry Potter, Stephanie Meyer, fortune telling, or any other paranormal experience Christians don't understand...

I don't claim to know all of the answers, but here are a few comments:

1. As a Christian, if you find out a friend or family member of yours is involved in Wicca, here's my advice:

-Pray.
-Ask them about their involvement: "How did you get involved in the Craft? Tell my your story." (As a parent of a child or teenager, you can be more direct in ending future participation if you choose to do so. This statement is for friends.)
-Share your story of faith in Christ as the person is willing to listen (In other words, if the person shuts down, that doesn't mean to push for a decision. It means to stop, and move to the next step.).
-Learn more about Wicca from a Christian perspective through Generation Hex or another Christian book on Wicca.
-Be a friend regardless of whether the other person ever chooses faith in Christ.
-Repeat.

Jesus called us to love our enemies, love our neighbors, love those who persecute us, love our spouses and children...your Wiccan friend should fall in at least one of these categories.

2. Why Should I Be Concerned about Wicca?

-It's growing--fast! Some say it will be America's third largest religion (following Christianity and Judaism) by 2012. The New York Times mentions it as America's fastest-growing religion (by percentage). Even if these stats aren't exact, the point is that it's on the rise.

Most Christians don't know about Wicca for two reasons: 1) They are disconnected from the surrounding culture and 2) Wiccans don't build church buildings and therefore its growth is less noticeable in our communities.

-As Christians, we should also be concerned about any religious movement that teaches there are other ways to know and worship God other than through faith in Jesus Christ. This is basic to all evangelism (Matthew 28:18-20).

3. Wicca and Harry Potter, Stephanie Meyer, fortune telling, or any other paranormal experience Christians don't understand...

Okay, so this last category is not really a question. However, the point is that Christians often lump anything paranormal into witchcraft. This is unhelpful on many accounts. What if non-Christians lumped anything with the label "Christian" on it as what Christianity is really like (Actually, many do!)? As Christians, we don't like such sweeping labels that include the Crusades, racist movements with Christian names, and other non-biblical extremes as part of Christianity.

Neither do Wiccans. Wiccans don't even believe in the existence of Satan, yet are often called Satan-worshippers by outsiders. The Pentagram or Pentacle is often called Satanic, yet is simply a religious symbol used by Wiccans that represents the five elements.

Harry Potter, The Twilight Series of books by Stephanie Meyers, TV's Supernatural, and other media are not Wiccan media. Fortune telling or psychic advisors are not practices of all Wiccans. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not responsible for the growth of Wicca.

Media does influence thinking, no doubt. All this is to say that there is still much room to go in helping Christians (and many Americans in general) to understand Wicca is a specific religious movement rather than a catch-all category for all things paranormal.

Harry Potter film moved to Summer 2009

2008-08-18T08:36:00.003-04:00

Even though Entertainment Weekly featured a cover story of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as coming to theaters November 21, it has been noted that the film has now been moved to next June, 2009. Interestingly, Stephanie Meyer's film adaptation of Twilight has been moved into the same November 21 release date.

In other news...
Last night, my coauthor Marla and I enjoyed a great radio interview on M88, Albuquerque's hit Christian radio station regarding Generation Hex. You can hear the hour-long podcast starting later today, including some amazing questions from callers about their experiences concerning Wicca and witchcraft, at m88.org.

Also, Generation Hex was featured on the Debbie Chavez Show last week in addition to the shows from my previous post.

Generation Hex on radio and TV

2008-08-13T11:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I did an interview on Generation Hex on WDCX with Neil Boron in Buffalo, NY and Southern Toronto. Neil is awesome and his program is well well worth checking out. I also heard from my first callers on the topic from Canada, including questions for a married couple in which one spouse is Christian and the other is Wiccan and understanding an employee who is a devout witch.

Today I'm in Atlanta where I interviewed on Family Net TV and Sirius radio with some intense call-in's on Wicca. People chimed in from Ontario to Louisiana this morning with their questions about Wiccan symbols, how to discuss Christianity with Wiccans, and where the movement is most popular.

Later today, I share one live and two taped segments for WATC TV 57 in Atlanta on Generation Hex, What's the Big Deal about Other Religions?, and What's the Big Deal about Jesus?

I also received an email telling me Generation Hex cracked Amazon's Top 100 books last weekend in Religion and Spirituality. It's a little strange to see my book listed among Sylvia Brown, Chopra, and popular New Age writers, but that's the group of people we're trying to communicate with, so at least the book is connecting with it's target audience (Also, a big thanks to our first online review from armchairinterviews.com.).

Finally, I'll continue the media tour tomorrow with an interview on the Debbie Chavez Show in the Seattle area tomorrow. Listen in online if you can at 3pm EST.

If you have your own questions about Wicca and witchcraft, send them my way at dillon@dillonburroughs.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks!

LIFEwords Radio Press Release

2008-08-12T07:04:00.003-04:00

Below is a copy of the press release sent yesterday regarding my new radio program, LIFEwords Radio.

Harvest House Author Launches New Radio Program

Contact: Dave Bartlett, Harvest House Publishers

Phone: 877-307-0662

Fax: 541-302-0732

Email: dave.bartlett@harvesthousepublishers.com

Web: www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Eugene, Oregon—August 11, 2008—LIFEwords (LIFEwordsRadio.com), a new radio program launched by Harvest House author Dillon Burroughs in July, has been picked up by over 130 stations on major networks throughout the U.S., New Zealand, as well as Sky Angel TV and IPTV. For stations and air times, visit www.readdb.com/radio.html

Designed to explore the spiritual issues of the emerging generation, Dillon developed LIFEwords as an overflow of his extensive social networking, now reaching over 12,000 “friends” and 300,000 views on his MySpace page alone in 2008.

“I didn’t expect LIFEwords to take off the way it did,” Dillon says. “I just started doing media interviews for some of my books and the next thing you know I’m hosting my own program. It’s definitely a God thing.”

Dillon also notes that LIFEwords is designed not only for a Christian audience, but includes segments for airplay on mainstream rock and hip hop stations.

“Some people get upset when they hear about God on a rock station,” Dillon shares, “but my goal is also to communicate spiritual truth with those who listen to The Killers or Coldplay rather than attend church.”

“We are quite enthusiastic about Dillon’s new radio program,” says Barb Sherrill, VP of Marketing at Harvest House Publishers. “It is exciting and encouraging to see how well networked he is, and to watch that network grow as it influences and impacts people around the world with the gospel message.”

Generation Hex (August) is Dillon’s latest release with co-author Marla Alupoaicei. Other recent titles include What Can Be Found in LOST? (an ECPA bestseller and Crossings Book Club selection) and What’s the Big Deal about Other Religions?

Print quality images to accompany this press release are available in digital format. Available images are: cover art, author photo, Harvest House logo.

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Generation Hex Quoted on WiccanWeb.ca

2008-08-11T15:53:00.002-04:00

A recent post on my blog http://readdb.blogspot.com ended up highlighted on WiccanWeb.ca, one of Canada's leading Wiccan websites, including over 23,000 pages of articles.

If you haven't checked out Generation Hex yet, check out a sample chapter online. It's being carried at Books-A-Million starting this week nationwide.

Thank You for Supporting Generation Hex

2008-08-08T13:49:00.002-04:00

A quick note to say thanks to everyone who purchased a copy of Generation Hex at ChristianBook.com. You helped already make Generation Hex the #1 Christian book on witchcraft and #11 overall in the Occult category on its first day out.

And if you haven't ordered a copy yet, why not now?

We're looking forward to your feedback!

Thanks again. We couldn't do it without you!

8.8.08--Generation Hex Day

2008-08-08T09:25:00.006-04:00

Just a friendly reminder--today is the launch day for Generation Hex. Please help us out by purchasing a copy on Amazon or other location. We look forward to your feedback and reviews.

Thanks!

Dillon

“Every once in a while I am pleasantly surprised to discover a true jewel of a book. Generation Hex is one such book.”
-Dr. Ron Rhodes, bestselling author

Wicca on BBC News

2008-08-07T07:23:00.003-04:00

If you haven't heard, BBC News reports that the Birmingham city council (in the U.K., not Alabama), began using a web filter to block mysticism/occult on corporate computers. However, since the organization (organisation in the U.K.) permits usage of Christian, Muslim, and other religious sites, the Wiccan community has responded with legal action. You can check out the full story on BBC News.

A similar debate has been debated in the U.S. at one of my favorite cafe's, Panera Bread. The Wiccan community has (in some segments) shown outrage that all witchcraft-related sites are blocked on their free wifi servers nationwide. In fact, I worked on some material about Wicca for a book while typing at Panera and discovered the filter is really tight on anything related to mysticism and the occult, including Wicca.

What is a Christian approach to this postmodern cyber-scenario? Should Wiccans be allowed to surf their sites at work or in public wifi spots like Panera Bread?

Two thoughts: First, work is different from free wifi at a restaurant (though many, like me, have often worked from Panera Bread). A company offering free services has no obligation to allow "anything and everything" for free. Free wifi providers can give what they want because they are paying for it.

But what about at work? Should we all be able to surf whatever religious sites we want? This is a more complex issue. If we believe in religious freedom, the rules necessarily apply to all. If Christians, Muslims, and Jews can view sites about their faith, so should Wiccans.

The other options are to exclude all sites (something Christians would not prefer, though it's not necessarily illegal to block internet surfing that is outside of work responsibilities; think Facebook) or, second, to exclude sites based on reasons other than religion. What reasons? Sexual content, language, relevance to one's prescribed work duties, and other reasons could all apply.

None of these decisions is easy or without controversy, but these are the very issues we discuss in Generation Hex. Order your copy today and be informed about Wicca, the movement the New York Times calls America's fastest-growing religion.

Send questions or feedback to dillon@dillonburroughs.org.

What Is America's Fastest-Growing Religion?

2008-08-06T08:20:00.005-04:00

Christianity? Islam? According to the New York Times, the answer is Wicca. By percentage, Wicca, America's most popular form of witchcraft, is the fastest growing religion in the country. By 2012, it is on pace to become America's third-largest religion, following Christianity and Judaism.

But what is Wicca? Why is it growing? What do Wiccans do? That's what Generation Hex is all about. My coauthor and I interviewed over 20 people involved in Wicca for a unique look on what they believe, practice, and their attraction to the Craft.

For Christians, we've also provided helpful charts to compare and contrast the two spiritual movements, along with insider advice from Wiccans on how to discuss faith in a way that makes sense.

Do you know someone involved in witchcraft? Curious about it yourself? Read a free chapter online now. You can also pre-order the book now before the 8.8.08 release date.

You can even still get in on a free copy of Generation Hex by joining the blog tour (see previous post).

4 Days and Counting

2008-08-04T11:13:00.005-04:00

Generation Hex launches in four days! If you haven't ordered a copy yet, please help the cause and order now at Amazon or your favorite retailer. Any reviews or comments on your book-buying sites or blogs would also be greatly appreciated.

In the past week, my coauthor and I have discussed Generation Hex on:

-Point of View with Kerby Anderson
-The Bob Dutko Show on WMUZ Detroit
-Not Just Talking the Talk on KKYX.com San Antonio

To date, we've shared over 20 interviews to promote the book. Please help us get the word out.

One way you can help is through our upcoming Blog Tour.

Harvest House will be sending out FREE copies of the book to all bloggers participating in the tour. If you join the blog tour, you can also qualify for entry of the free Starbucks giftcard giveaway. Simply add a comment or review for Generation Hex on any of the following: Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Borders.com, Booksamillion.com, GoHastings.com, Christianbook.com, FamilyChristian.com, Lifewaystores.com, Mardel.com, or Parable.com.

Each review equals one entry, so the more the merrier (This ONLY APPLIES to those involved in the blog tour)! Please email links and blog tour interest to toddntinahoward@gmail.com. She will be sending out more detailed instructions to make posting as streamlined as possible.

Also, please feel free to pass this email on to any other bloggers who might be interested. Please respond now, as we can only allow a certain number of free books for the blog tour.

Thanks so much!

What others are saying: "Every once in a while I am pleasantly surprised to discover a true jewel of a book. Generation Hex is one such book." -Dr. Ron Rhodes, bestselling author

A Free Book and Free Starbucks?

2008-07-29T11:07:00.008-04:00

How would you like a free book and a chance at a free $25 Starbuck giftcard?

On 8/8/08, my latest book, Generation Hex will be released by Harvest House Publishers. The book investigates the growth of Wicca, America’s most popular form of witchcraft and currently America’s fastest-growing religion. To help kick things off, my co-author Marla and I will be going on a little blog tour September 2-12.

Harvest House will be sending out FREE copies of the book to all bloggers participating in the tour. Our blog tour coordinator will be setting up a centralized website which will contain all the information you need for posting: bios, photos, media releases, and some canned interviews. Marla and I are also happy to conduct personal interviews as well.

To qualify for entry of the free Starbucks giftcard, you simply need to add a comment or review for Generation Hex on any of the following: Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Borders.com, Booksamillion.com, GoHastings.com, Christianbook.com, FamilyChristian.com, Lifewaystores.com, Mardel.com, or Parable.com.

Each review equals one entry, so the more the merrier! Please email links or copies or reviews to toddntinahoward@gmail.com by September 12, 2008, to increase your chances of winning.

If you are interested in participating please email our blog tour coordinator, Tina Howard toddntinahoward@gmail.com, with your mailing address and blog link. She will be sending out more detailed instructions to make posting as streamlined as possible.

Also, please feel free to pass this email on to any other bloggers who might be interested. Please respond now, as we can only allow a certain number of free books for the blog tour.

Thanks so much!

Dillon

Experience Generation Hex online at http://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/generationhex.

GENERATION HEX Is Here

2008-07-22T12:28:00.003-04:00

In 17 days, Generation Hex (with Marla Alupoaicei) hits bookshelves on 8/8/08. But what is Generation Hex?

In short, the book investigates the growth of Wicca, America's most popular form of witchcraft and currently America's fastest-growing religion. It includes interviews with over 20 people currently or previously involved in Wicca and compares its beliefs with Christianity in an honest and engaging format.

Bestselling author Dr. Ron Rhodes notes in the foreword, "Every once in a while I am pleasantly surprised to discover a true jewel of a book. Generation Hex is one such book."

At the recent International Christian Retailer's Show, my coauthor and I were interviewed over a dozen times by major Christian radio, television, and print media.

In addition, over 30 total interviews have already been scheduled for August and September, with numerous invitations for October pending (See myspace.com/readdB for a complete schedule.). We'll even take the tour on the road to Dallas, Atlanta, Terre Haute, Spartanburg, and Chattanooga.

In other news...LIFEwords Radio has begun! It launched on 25 stations July 21st nationwide. If you know anyone who would be willing to play the program, please let me know. I'm hoping God will continue to open new doors for this radio program.

This month, I'll be cranking out Taking A Stand for the Bible and doing interviews. In less than a month, classes begin at Tennessee Temple University. I'm scheduled to teach Introduction to Youth Ministry and some online classes. If you're looking for a place to attend college or just take an online course to sharpen your faith, you have to check it out.

I always love to hear how you're doing too, so please send me an email when you can. Thanks for the prayers and support!

P.S. I should have some new videos up shortly. I'll keep you posted.

More Than I Bargained For

2008-06-26T11:32:00.010-04:00

In the 23 days since my last post, more has happened that I could ever highlight in one quick note. Instead, let me simply share what God has been up to in my life recently to offer a glimpse
at the magnitude of recent events:

My four-book small group series The Contenders Series (with John Ankerberg) is now shipping nationwide, complete with related web content at www.contendersseries.com (available soon).

I interviewed on Moody Radio's Prime Time America yesterday regarding What's the Big Deal about Other Religions? that broadcast live to over 250 stations. If you haven't picked up copy, check it out.

Generation Hex (with Marla Alupoaicei) hits bookshelves 8/8/08. Why? Is it because 8 is the number of people who were on Noah's Ark? Is is because there are 8 lunar months in the year? Or is it becuase Jewish males were circumcised on the eighth day? Answer: none of the above. It's just a cool date that leads into the Halloween season. Pre-order a copy or ten right now at Amazon (Plus, it has a sweet cover hand-picked by my lovely wife!).

Completed editing on The Truth about Islam and Women with John Ankerberg and Emir Caner. This book will be highly controversial and packed with details regarding the comparisons between Islam's view of women and how the Bible defines true womanhood (January 2009, Harvest House).

Did you know that John Ankerberg's Facts On Series has sold over 2 million copies in English and has been translated into over a dozen languages? Now revised and updated, The Facts on Halloween, The Facts on Islam, and The Facts on Jehovah's Witnesses are returning to bookstores beginning in mid-August.

I also finished several new radio scripts for the Ankerberg Minute. I'm also nearing completion of a pilot for LIFEwords Radio, a daily 60-second commentary targeting the next generation with today's issues from a biblical perspective.

Continue to work on two upcoming books, Taking a Stand for the Bible (with John Ankerberg, winter 2009) and a book and DVD documentary on Bible prophecy with John Ankerberg and Jimmy DeYoung (coming summer 2009).

Extreme Exploits, a book inspiring students to live with passion for Christ in this generation, has a draft of the cover available and is coming next March from B&H Publishing. I'm thrilled to see my friend and president of Tennessee Temple University Dr. Danny Lovett get some of his dynamic communicating into print with these guys!

The Faith of HEROES, a book exploring the spirituality behind the super abilities in the NBC hit series, is slated for an August 2009 release with Harvest House. I can't wait to tell you more about this one, but just know it's coming. Heroes fans, unite!

Monday I interview live at 8am EST on Atlanta's FamilyNet TV network regarding other religions and their impact in our world today.

I always love to hear how you're doing too, so please send me an email when you can. Thanks for the prayers and support!