Concord Hymn

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Photo: Kirk Heflin BY the rude bridge that arched the flood,  Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,  Here once the embattled farmers stood  And fired the shot heard round the world.  The foe long since in silence slept;  Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;  And Time the ruined bridge has swept  Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream,  We set to-day a votive stone;  That memory may their deed redeem,  When, like our sires, our sons are gone.  Spirit, that made those heroes dare  To die, and leave their children free,  Bid Time and Nature gently spare  The shaft we raise to them and thee. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) (The Battle of Concord was fought on April 19, 1775, the start of the American Revolutionary War)

Rob Bell, Yoga Masters and Jesus?

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Slipping In The Youth Door

I have been studying Rob Bell, author of Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (VE), for quite some time now. Unless you have been on another planet you’ve probably heard of this fast rising cultural icon and leader within the Emergent Church by the name of Rob Bell. In fact, Bell is virtually becoming the Elvis of Emergent.

Literally I have spent months reading much of his work, in VE as well as studying other sources, listening to Bell’s sermons and also watching his Nooma videos. So I can tell you that Phil Johnson of Pyromaniacs was quite correct when he said recently that “Bell’s message is completely and radically different from anything you would hear in a seeker-sensitive context.”

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