Folks, I am beat. Worn out. I have been trudging through the annals of human history all night, hoping against hope that I could find a case of a more idiotic example of consumer insanity than the new Dell Adamo.......

"When we consume the Eucharist, we become one with others and share their fate." - William Cavanaugh, Being Consumed, 95.  It is tempting in our culture to see most of what happens in churches as "spiritual commodities" that are served to individuals seeking some kind of spiritual need met. They ne...

Just curious… to those artificial sweetener users out there: have you ever actually purchased a box, bag, etc. of the sweetener you prefer? Or are your stocks at home, office and in purse solely filled by grabbing–either a few extra or a gross amount of–packets from your local coff...

A friend of mine just started a new position with a church.  The Sr. Pastor wanted him to read Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity by Eugene Peterson.  So, I lent him my copy.  He just gave it back, and I decided to re-read it.  It has been nearly a decade since I read this book....

All photography by Simon Sellars. Bizarrely, it has been almost a year since I posted the first part of this photo essay. There are so many loose ends dangling from this site, frayed and incomplete due to the mad scramble to complete my PhD in the latter half of 2008. Now it’s my mission to cl...

Liz Kinnmark (right) and Kegan Fisher (left), Co-founders of Design Glut, wearing respectively earrings and a necklace from their Currency Collection The delectable creations by Design Glut have much in common with the scrumptious confections conjured by Willy Wonka.  One can almost imagine that th...

Anthropologist and author Grant McCracken looks at the state of our economy and asks the question “What will the current downturn mean to consumers?” He then offers up various models to explain the possible lasting impacts this trip through the recession looking glass might have on our s...

So you lost your home. Now, what do you do about all the crap you’ve kept with you for years? The pictures, furniture, kitchen stuff, office stuff. Do you donate it? Do you pile it into your relatives’ house, or your new apartment? Do you Craigslist it? In the following video, you can se...

I am not a huge fan of Willow Creek's concept of church leadership, which must be a shock to many of the folk who regularly read me. Please note that this post is not an attack on Bill Hybels. I bet he's truly a swell guy. I just think what he models and promotes as ecclesiastical leadership has bee...

It’s great to buy green gadgets that are earth friendly or promote sustainability on some level but while buying green stuff may help you feel better about your purchase ultimately it likely won’t really do much to help the environment or change our culture of over consumption and unsust...