A long time ago, we were going to do an interview with Rob Bell but for a number of reasons it didn’t work out. (Most of them because I’m not good at that kind of thing.) But recently, the Newsboys offered to stop by Stuff Christians Like and talk about  their new album Born Again, their 400 previous albums and what it’s like to make music. (The crazy thing is that their new album was their biggest release ever. That’s a big deal considering they’ve made music for 25 years.)

I really dig the Newsboys and once said that they were one Fergie short of making highly danceable Black Eyed Peas type music. Which as a hip hop/dance fan I would love. If you dig the Newsboys too, please submit a question you’d like to ask them. I’ll pick 5 on Tuesday, August 3. If your question get’s picked to be answered by the Newsboys you’ll automatically win their new CD.

So, what do you want to ask the Newsboys?

I’ve got a post I’m working on for Monday that I’d love your feedback on. It’s a pretty simple question. Jump in the conversation on my Facebook page. Click here to friend me.

And if you’re around on Twitter, I’m @prodigaljohn. Let’s connect.

(Recently we held a contest through Blog Tour Spot to find a new guest post. We got some great entries and this was my favorite. Fun stuff from a sharp writer named “Korin.” Enjoy!)

Stuff Christians Like: Baby Sunday School

In the church nursery, babies are expected to eat, drink, and be merry. This is in stark contrast to the expectations of Baby Sunday school attendees that include activities such as listening intently to lessons, producing hand crafted items with speed and accuracy, and memorizing Bible verses. However, the only distinguishing characteristic between the nursery and Baby Sunday School is that Sunday School babies are allegedly potty trained. This must mean that in the eyes of God, if you can use the toilet, you no longer get a free pass into the kingdom of heaven based on youth.

Note: I used the term allegedly potty trained, because in my experience, some parents define potty trained as “There is a distinct possibility that my child will pee his pants, but I am in the denial phase and am thus refusing to provide a diaper bag.”

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Christians don’t casually recommend books. When we read a book about faith that we like, we say things like:

“This book changed my life.”

“That book spoke to my heart.”

“That book taught me how to be a man.”

We make wildly powerful statements about the wisdom shared between the pages of a book. And that’s great. Passion is a good thing, but it does create a potential problem. What do you do if you read the book too and didn’t have the same experience?

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The other day my 6-year old daughter L.E. and I were hanging out in our home office. I was writing and she was playing “Tap Fish,” on my iPhone, a game that for the most part is just a way to teach your kids about death. Seriously, those virtual fish are more fragile than Bradford Pear trees and those things fall down in your yard if someone sneezes vigorously. (Home office? Daughter? Bradford Pear tree? Whoa, that was like a suburban dad reference hat trick!)

Out of nowhere, without looking up from the iPhone, L.E. said, “Oh hey, I became a Christian yesterday. I forgot to tell you.”

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When I was in the seventh grade, there was a world of difference between a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt and a Knights of the Round Table shirt. To the average eye, the two logos might have looked similar, but to my low self-esteem, obsessed with what people thought about me eyes, they were wildly different.

My friend Dave Bruce and I used to talk about this all the time. The polo guy was on a horse and had a polo mallet. The Knights of the Round Table guy was also on a horse, but he was not carrying a mallet. In his hand was a flag, a flag of shame if you ask me.

One shirt said you were cool and probably would slow dance to Milli Vanilli’s “Blame it on the Rain” at the next dance with Lindsey Newton. The other shirt said your family was thrifty and you weren’t cool.

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“Do you ever think you’ll be a real minister someday?”

If I had a dollar for every time someone said this to a youth minister I could probably train a worship eagle to hunt and kill the pigeon that pooped in the mouth of the Kings of Leon bass player, forcing them to cancel their St. Louis show this weekend after only three songs. (In pigeon society this event has already been labeled, “The greatest day ever.”)

Alas, no one pays me money when youth ministers get insulted. That’s a shame because it happens. We think youth ministers are goofballs. They’re good at kickball and pranks that involve whipped cream. And once a year we let them preach on youth Sunday.

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Yesterday, my friend Carlos from RagamuffinSoul, asked me what I was listening to right before I spoke. The answer? Kanye West live performance of “Jesus Walks” and NeedtoBreathe, “Something Beautiful.” Then some Muse and then some 30 Seconds to Mars.

But that’s not all lately, and we haven’t really talked about music in a long time. So below are 3 songs I’ve listened to a lot lately.

Jump in with a comment. What are you listening to?

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(I don’t write about politics that often because it’s not a topic I can write about very well. There are so many good political blogs that I tend to avoid it. Plus, political comments usually get really ugly, really quickly. But my friend Rachel is going to change that. Today, she checks in with a funny look at the secret life of Christian liberals. Enjoy.)

Last month, Jon Acuff wrote a piece for CNN.com about Christians treating secular media like Satan’s newspaper. A faithful reader of both SCL and The New York Times, I laughed along until about midway through the article when Jon joked that Christians are “pretty sure Fox News is baptizing people in their lobby,” at which point I completely lost my sense of humor.

It is an unspoken rule among liberals that only one Jon is allowed to make us laugh about Fox News—and it’s Stewart, not Acuff.

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Last weekend, my wife and I went to Nashville. It was a lovely time full of loveliness and lovely sights that we loved. But, on the way back to Atlanta, we almost got run off the road.

Out of nowhere, a powerful, possibly haunted, vehicle stormed up behind me. I shifted over into the right lane with my cat like reflexes and let them pass on the left. Despite the 85MPH blur that drove by me, I was able to identify the most dangerous vehicle on the road …

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