13 Times Around Jericho

I grew up in a church congregation that was named after the road where the building was located. The congregation dropped "road" and went by the description of Jericho Church of Christ.

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One Sunday as a small boy, I recall learning about the Battle of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27). After services I went outside and ran around the building 13 times and then yelled at it to see if it would fall down.

Of course, it did not fall.

The more I thought about my plan, there were two problems. One, I needed seven days to carry out the plan effectively. Second, I needed a trumpet to blow and being a church of Christ, trumpets weren't an option.

I wonder, did any of the other kids try this?

Stuff Christians Like

A few years ago several of us in the office stumbled upon two blogs that were pretty funny. The first was Stuff White People Like, and the other is a spin off called Stuff Christians Like.

Jonathan Acuff, author of Stuff Christians Like, has spoken at our company devotional on several occasions and during his most recent visit, we all received a copy of his book which is adapted from the blog. If you've grown up in American "church" culture, you'll find Jonathan's observations and sarcastic commentary either very refreshing and humorous or you'll ask God to take a break from ruling the Universe for a moment so you can condemn him straight to Hell.

If you are new to the "church" scene, this book can be a very useful field guide to learn how to fit in with the congregation of your choice.

In addition to the book, Jon is a great speaker with a good heart. His humor addresses the nuances we all struggle with from time to time and frees us to return our minds to the core of what it means to be "Christian."