Every single year an inordinate number of my friends attend either San Diego Comic Con, or New York Comic Con. While I have lived in both NY and LA, I have never attended either.

And this makes me sad.

Year after year, I vicariously experience the cons through the photos and blog posts of my very geeky and very cool* friends!

But this year is different. This year, everything changes. No more will I have to sit in envy of my friends, because tomorrow . . . a mere twelve hours from now, I shall be attending:

BapMi Con!

What is BapMi Con? Well, let me tell you… it’s the Baptist State of Michigan Convention!

And I don’t know a single person who’s going!*

That’s right I am going to be the envy of all my friends! Now, they will have to follow all the awesomeness online! (Stream it live here!!!)

There is one drawback, though. I hear there isn’t a lot of cosplay at these things.

So, I’m working on my costume tonight! Here’s what I have it narrowed-down to:

I was thinking about going as Jerry Falwell (Zombie-Style) but I was told it was in poor-taste!

BapMi Con!!!!!!!

*This statement has not been reviewed by the FDA.

So,  I’m now a contributor over at Geeks of Doom! So far, I’ve done reviews on comics and trade paperbacks. I’m really excited to be a part of this community of writers from all sort of walks of life.

I write over there under the name “RevN4” (because I’m a Reverend AND I have four Ns in my name)!

But there are weightier issues to be considered… like, what exactly do they mean by “Geeks of Doom?”

Being the hyper-mediocre Greek student that I am, I know enough that this is in the genitive-form and that this translation “of Doom” is the simplest of possible understandings. So, what does the “of” mean?

Here are some options:

Geeks characterized by Doom

Geeks described by Doom

Geeks belonging to Doom

Geeks possessed by Doom

Geeks family relationship to Doom

Geeks whom are a part of Doom

Doom Geeks (Attributive Genitive)

Geeks made out of Doom

Geeks consisting of Doom

Geeks full of Doom

Geeks containing Doom

Geeks whom are Doom

Geeks destined for Doom

Geeks produced by Doom

Geeks who produce Doom

Geeks away from Doom

Geeks out of Doom

Geeks originating from Doom

Geeks related to Doom

Geeks in association with Doom

I, for one, prefer the “Geeks originating from Doom” interpretation myself.

Head on over to Geeks of Doom to see what it’s all about.

It is no secret that I have the best mother-in-law ever!

(You might have a really great mother-in-law, but in a cage match, mine wins. Hands down. No contest. And why are you trying to put your mother-in-law into a cage match with my mother-in-law? You know she's going to lose . . . so you must not love her all that much . . . because she's not as awesome as mine!)

Back in June, she bought me this gigantic action figure set with all seven members of the new Justice League!

I set the box on my desk, knowing that one day I would release them from their containment units and display them in my office.

That day finally came!

But instead of just setting them on top of my desk so that one day batismal candidates can make fun of my geekiness (true story), I decided to put them to "good use."

I am a book reader. I somehow procure books faster than I can read them. So, both at home and at church I have rather unsightly "to read" piles.

This is what my office "to-read" pile looked like moments ago:

But struck with Kryptonian genius, I not only displayed my action figures, but ALSO created categories for my "to read" books.

Here's what it looks like now:

Wonder Woman/Superman: Beefy theological books that I'm going to have to be strong to read!

Batman/Cyborg/Aquaman: Important, contemporary books that I will have to read with a critical mind. Also, possibly lame books (that's why Aquaman is there!)

Green Lantern/Flash: Popular level books that I need willpower to get through... but can be finished in a flash.


So that's my "to read" pile now!


p.s. Just kidding about Aquaman. His comic is one of the best things DC has going right now!

Summary: King Silas of the modern-day kingdom of Balboa struggles to keep the peace as the voice of God turns against him and a heroic young captain, David Shepherd begins to capture the hearts of Silas’ subjects. Following the biblical narrative of Saul and David, this short-lived series explores the story in a present-day setting.

Review: More-so than any other prematurely cancelled series (I’m looking at you Firefly) I wish this series lasted beyond the thirteen produced episodes.

The portrayal of the Silas/Saul character by Ian McShane alone is worth the price of admission. McShane perfectly captured the emotionally volatile character of Silas/Saul. His constant flip-flopping between loving and hating David would have seemed ludicrous if portrayed by a lesser actor, but McShane brings the biblical character to life. We, at once, love and loath this king.

The rest of the extensive cast is equally stellar. So much so, the show feels more like an epic film rather than a weekly series.

The setting of the show is utterly unique. It is a modern-day, absolute monarchy, surrounded by other monarchies. The show-runners went all-out creating a believable setting, and wove modern-spins into the biblical narrative.

For instance, just like in the Bible, mid-season we see Silas meeting David for the first time (unknown to Silas), playing a piano that soothed Silas in a flashback that occurred after David destroyed a “goliath-tank.”

The spiritual center of the story is Reverend Samuels who used to be a friend to the king, but because of the king’s corruption has now become his enemy as he gives Silas oracle after oracle of God’s displeasure.

Christian authors need to take note of this series because, with only a few exceptions, the way conversations with God, prayers and theology is handled in this series is very effective and powerful. There were several moments throughout the series where goose bumps formed on my arms as I listened to words of Silas, David and Reverend Samuels.

There are, of course, imperfections in the show.

The Jonathan/Jack character is portrayed as a closet homosexual (a decision based on a very poor exegesis of the text). But the show seems to both identify Jack’s homosexuality as his core identity, while simultaneously communicating that Jack, at the same core, is a very dark person. It is a very complex situation… at the very least worth pondering even if you don’t agree with the show’s view (whatever that is). Additionally, Jack is neither David’s friend, nor heroic at the beginning of the series.

Another imperfection is the sexual ethic of the world. Mid-way through the series, the ethic seems to be “sex is good if you love the person” but later on, Reverend Samuels seems to say that two characters were married long ago because of their depth of their love (or perhaps recognizing they belonged together). So, the sexual ethic is odd to say the least.

Despite these issues, Kings is a marvelous achievement. Each and every character is imperfect and must work through their imperfections under God, or be destroyed by their own sins. Even Reverend Samuels finds himself disobedient to God mid-season and needs to repent.

Wonderful storytelling, great sets, great locations, near-flawless acting and top-notch writing combine to re-tell a timeless story.

Discerning individuals should watch this show. It is, by no means perfect theologically, nor line-by-line faithful to the text… but it is faithful at its core.

I suggest reading the biblical text (1 Samuel 1-21… or 8-21 if you’re in a hurry) in conjunction with watching the show.


Rating: 5/5 (I Loved It!)

Summary: Daniel Overdorf, professor of preaching at Johnson University, gives pastors a full year’s worth of Homiletical exercises and tools to sharpen their craft.

Review: Preaching is an art-from. It is a skillful craft. And like any craft the craftsman needs to both possess and master a large number of tools. The more tools at the craftsman’s disposal creates better pieces of workmanship.

The more tools a preacher has at his disposal, the better his sermons. And Overdorf’s One Year to Better Preaching is like a hardware store multi-tool-bundle-pack! The vast majority of the tools offered in this resource are extremely helpful for serious preachers.

The negatives on this book are very low. A few of the exercises are only somewhat helpful (“Write in E-Prime” is a concept to be aware of, but may potentially cripple a writing session). Also, going through the exercises week-by-week, one at a time may not be terribly helpful for some. A pastor preaching through an entire book, for instance, will not be able to reconcile some of the exercises with his current text.

These criticisms are minor, though. One Year to Better Preaching simultaneously sharpens preacher’s abilities and gives them new tools to add to their trade. It’s not a “basics of preaching” text, though. It’s a text to supplement the foundational works out there.

Some exercises will be more helpful to individuals preachers than others, but even the most seasoned teacher will find inspiration to effectively preach the Word of God.

Rating: 5/5 (I Loved It)

Find it on Amazon.

Note: I received a physical copy of this book for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

A letter has recently gone viral on the Internet. I saw it on Yahoo! News first. In essence, it is a letter from a Dad disowning  his daughter  for kicking out her homosexual son.

This letter is receiving praise in nearly all the articles I’ve read. This morning I also saw George Takei  (yes, I follow him on Facebook) had posted the letter and wrote “This grandfather is amazing.”

Here is the entire text of the letter:

I think the wide-spread praise of this letter reveals the culture’s current philosophy: “Hate those who hate.”

Now, what the mom did was wrong. If this letter is accurately portraying what happened, this mom hated her son… and that’s wrong.

But then the grandfather turns around and pours hate on his daughter for her hate. He criticizes his daughter for disowning her son, then turns around and disowns her . This is also wrong.

The current philosophy of our culture is “hate those who hate.”

But Jesus said “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44 HCSB).  

This letter breaks my heart. It breaks my heart that a mother would disown her son. It breaks my heart that a grandfather would return hate with hate. It breaks my heart that so many people praise returning hate with hate.

We all need to be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ . . . so that we can return hate with love. Love for this mom. Love for her son. Love for this grandfather. And love for a people who celebrate the things that should break their hearts.