New stuff about being hidden in fields and gold and why that thing you want to happen might not have happened yet.
Check it out if you get a chance.

I wrote a wicked short idea about that on my site, prodigaljon.com today. Check it out if you get a chance.

(Didn’t the title of this post sound kind of depressing like a Counting Crows song? Can’t you hear Adam Duritz singing, “Round here, apathy is easy. Round here, it costs you oh so much.” Is that just me? Am I the weird one?)

Recently, Church Relevance.com created a list of the top 60 church blogs. The list was based on six different numerical stats (Number of sites that link to you, number of subscribers, Google page rank etc.). It included blogs from John Piper to Mark Driscoll, Christianity Today to Relevant Magazine and everyone in between. (The list is actually a great way to find great blogs like the ones mentioned above and much more. Check it out.)

Here is how Church Relevance described the list:
Regardless of how you label them, these are the world’s most popular church blogs written by many of today’s most influential church leaders, theologians, and Christ followers.

Stuff Christians Like was ranked 3rd.

That this site even made that list was pretty surprising. That it was 3rd is what the French call “ridiculous.”

But in looking at the list I realized something. That ranking isn’t just about me and what I write.

It’s also about you.

The stats that were used to build the list measure reader activity. Readers subscribing. Readers visiting. Readers linking. That’s you, not me. So what that means is not that I’m the third most influential Church blogger online, it means you are the third most influential group of Christian readers online.

So wow, you guys are awesome. I hope we can all enjoy our bronze medal.

I promise that I’m going to do everything I can to make this the best darn Christian blog ever. (See that, perfect example of today’s post about swearing. I close this post with a swear and people are probably going to run out of their front doors and sing the song “Open the Gates and Seize the Day” from the movie Newsies. Instead I said “darn” and you’re thinking, “ahh, that post was OK.”)

I wrote a short piece about hate mail on 97secondswithGod.com.

Check it out if you get a chance.

I sent the manuscript of the book version of this site to a few friends last Wednesday. I wanted to throw up a little or a lot but I think that’s to be expected to some degree. It’s a little scary to say, “ta da, here’s what I’ve been working on at 5 in the morning for the last three months.”

I turn it into my editor at Zondervan in March. One of the things I’m still playing around with is the title. Since I’ve published approximately 0 books before, I’m not sure if there’s someone that works at Zondervan whose sole job is to come up with wicked awesome book titles all day long. Like maybe I call him up and say, “My book is about _____” and he instantly spits out the most ridiculously cool book title ever and then I go about my way. (This person has a handlebar mustache in my mind.)

But regardless, I still want to turn the manuscript in with a fantastic title.

So that’s the question today. No “should this chapter go in the book.” No “what movies are you watching.” Just straight up simple.

I think the title of the book should be “Stuff Christians Like: and then some sort of witty subhead that captures the funny outer shell and chewy nougat of honest faith center.”

What do you think? Any ideas on what the title of the book should be?

Bear in mind that you are often funnier and in most cases, taller, than me. I’d love to hear your suggestions, no matter how off the wall. (And thanks for getting in the sandbox with me on this thing.)

What should the title of the Stuff Christians Like book be?

I wrote a really short idea called “the cause and the source” today on 97secondswithGod.com

Check it out if you get a chance.

The first session of the Stuff Christians Like Book Club is meeting today. We’re reading Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love.” Come join the conversation at prodigaljon.com.

(Francis Chan said he wouldn’t do an interview for the book club. OK, he didn’t say that but I thought it might be good to start this thing with a little controversy. So let’s pretend that Francis Chan reads this site and is going to punch me in the left kidney when he sees me at the Orange Conference.)

I once told a group of bloggers that my goal was to become the male Anne Jackson. I’m not sure I was joking. Anne is a Christian blog pioneer with flowerdust.net, one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met and 88% cooler than me. (I would have said 89 but I’m getting a haircut this week and I have high expectations of what the people at Sports Clips can accomplish with my head.)

Anne’s first book, Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic, is coming out soon and is poised to do some wonders for anyone that has ever worked at a church, volunteered at a church or thought about working at a church. She was kind enough to include me on her blog book tour. (To pre-order the book, click here)

Here is my question and Anne’s answer.

I asked:
Your book, Mad Church Disease, is the kind of book that should be handed out with every diploma from seminary. Given the potential and deserved success of it, what plans have you put in place to avoid burning out from the promotion of a book about burnout? What are some ways we can expect you to be living out the great truth of this book as you hit the road, virtual or paved, in support of Mad Church Disease?

Anne replied:
That is such a great question!

It would be a terrible irony to burnout promoting a book on burnout. And to tell you the truth, I nearly burned out writing it. I have a full time job on staff at a local church, do the blog thing, and decided to throw a book in my schedule as well. Why not?

It takes an INSANE amount of self control, which I have learned I do not exhibit well. So, I’ve learned to listen to what it is God wants me to focus on, and then lean into the people around me to tell me when I’m being stupid and over committing myself…Oh, and I am learning how to accept help from others.

Several close friends have access to my calendar (which I put EVERYTHING on) so they can see where I am spending time and if I’m not taking adequate time to recharge or be with my husband. They can say things like “looks like you’re traveling a lot in February, so don’t even think about doing anything in March, little missy” or “Who is Joe and why do you have a four hour meeting with him?”

I also have enlisted the help of a friend who manages all my speaking opportunities — from travel to the contracts — and that takes a HUGE load off me. Another friend of mine has offered to help me manage some of my email. I realize not everyone gets this lucky (trust me, I am SO grateful!) so in the times where I didn’t have help, I would simply make rules for myself and follow them as best as I could. Sometimes that meant not emailing someone back right away. That means not following everyone on Twitter, or getting caught up in blog conversations. It means saying no to some opportunities I’d like to say yes to. It really takes a hard core commitment to focus on the big picture of what God is calling me to do in this season and..don’t get me wrong…it’s been tough (and still is)…to not be a people pleaser.

All that rambling to say…heck, pray for me. I’m not totally immune from burning out and I have NO idea what the next few months will look like. So to be totally honest with you and your readers…it’s great to have all these boundaries up and really good intentions…but without a ton of protection and prayer from other believers…I could be in big trouble. So send a little love up for a sister?

You can pre-order Anne’s book here.
You can read her blog and get a free sample chapter at flowerdust.net.

I wrote a new piece about what happens at 5:09 AM on my site 97secondswithGod.com. Check it out if you get a chance.

Recently, my cousin asked me to think about writing for his film based website, wired4film. I’m going to, but first I need to figure out how to get Christopher Walken and Christian Bale (I’m a huge Newsies fan) to star in the Stuff Christians Like movie.

That sounds completely ridiculous, but a few months ago someone that works for Universal Studios contacted me about what a SCL screenplay might look like. I immediately said, “You’re going to need a lot of eagles, Skittles and a character named ‘leg dropper.’” I didn’t say that, but I should have. I doubt anything will come of it, but it was still a blast to brainstorm a little with this person about what angle we could take if we turned this blog into a movie.

So that’s what I’d love to talk about today, movies. What have you seen lately that you love? What are your favorites? (You have to say Princess Bride for at least one of your answers.) If you were going to craft the ultimate Christian movie what would it contain?

Let’s talk about movies.

(My favorites)
1. Good Will Hunting
2. Princess Bride
3. Beautiful Girls
4. Dead Poet’s Society
5. Love Actually (On television)
6. Fight Club (Although I regularly throw that one away after a retreat)
7. Boondock Saints
8. Man on Fire