Author Archive
Will Braun
Reduce, Reuse, Repent: Earth Day Revival Amuses and Transforms
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
We had gathered, the faithful and the curious, 300 strong, for an old-fashioned tent revival meeting with a newfangled “consumption sabbath” twist.
The blue-robed gospel choir — which had warmed up for the event with a daring (and brief) flash mob performance inside a Walmart — filed off the stage under the red and white tent while “Brother Aiden John” settled in behind the microphone. His big plaid bow tie framed a slight smirk.
The Sunday morning crowd in our usually staid little prairie city was expectant. We had already heard the rousing testimony of a converted climate change avoider. We had sung spirited gospel numbers. And we had shouted our “Amen’s,” reluctantly at first, then with rising gusto.
Evangelical School Cancels Breakfast with Bush
Sunday, October 16th, 2011
After news leaked that Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, Ontario was planning an invitation-only fundraising breakfast with George W. Bush last month, it only took two days for the event to be cancelled.
The Toronto Star got word of the unpublicized September 20 event and ran an article about it. The breakfast was to be held at the Toronto Hilton and sponsored by billionaire Prem Watsa, a supporter of Tyndale, an interdenominational evangelical school with 1,400 students. In the Star article, school president Gary Nelson acknowledged that Bush is a “lightning rod figure.”
Lightning struck quickly. The next day the Star – Canada’s most widely read newspaper – quoted Mark Groleau, Tyndale’s valedictorian from just a few months earlier, and Arthur Boers, a Tyndale professor, who both opposed the event. An online petition against the breakfast had also been started by three alumni.
Shane Claiborne on Rupert Murdoch: Bible Mogul?
Monday, July 18th, 2011
Most people know now that Rupert Murdoch presides over the News Corp media empire, and that he is fighting for his reputation after being forced to sink his scandal-laiden British newspaper News of the World, the most widely read English tabloid in the world. But few people know that Murdoch also owns Zondervan, the world’s largest publisher of Bibles. For 23 years, the News Corp family has included the leading seller of the best-selling book in history.
I know many Christians see the Bible’s publishing stature as validation of their chosen faith, but a savvy entrepreneur could simply see it as a business opportunity.
