Another installment of my “random acts of linkage” means I get to mess with your heads again by pointing you in umpteen different and completely unrelated directions all at once. Again. Eeeeeexxelllent….

To kick off, I’m going to offer you something new, a “Top Ten List that Cuts to The Chase.” So, the number one sign that Sunday School isn’t having the impact you thought it would: you pick up your kid after the service and he hands you a picture he drew of “Joseph and the Goat of Many Colours.”

Truism of the week, a new observation of mine: if you find yourself choosing between serving God and serving your brother, you are doing neither.

1. To take part in a synchroblog on a topic about which you know nothing… you can pass, or you can do what seems obvious to Paul Walker, who joined a Pagan forum to find someone to help him out with posting something on Christian-Pagan dialogue. Paul recounts lessons learned from his Walk on the Wild Side. I think some Christians I know should be more Pagan.
2. From the Ottawa Citizen, Anglicans look to ’emerging church’ to heal wounds — but apparently it’s just possible Brian McLaren may not be the saviour of the Anglican Church in Canada. (Via Jordon)
3. Speaking of Brian McLaren, his newest book is out this week (reviews are starting). Alan Roxburgh reflects and interviews the man. As I watched the interview, my respect for McLaren only grew — and for that reason, it’s recommended viewing. Take note of his comments on fear.
4. If you need more Driscoll-response, Tony Jones and The Emergent Blog both have posts on the matter, including an around-the-room on other responses.
5. Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 500 sounds like enough that they barely have to make any choices, but the list is ordered. Number one: Sgt. Pepper, of course. Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited is the only non-Beatles entry in the top five. Marvin Gaye, The Clash, and the Rolling Stones — and I’ve just listed every artist in the top ten. That’s right, Elvis peaks at number 11, just ahead of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. A list like this is made for feeding arguments.
6. Okay, Rolling Stone also lists the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time… number one: Bob Dylan, Like a Rolling Stone. And I remember the lists like this where the top few songs always included Don McLean’s American Pie, Hotel California, and in top spot, Stairway to Heaven. See? The stuff of arguments.
7. Alan Hirsch on inspirational v. institutional leadership — what I distinguish between as positional versus relational authority in leaders.
8. Launched this week: HouseChurchResource.org
9. Also new this week: Chris Erdman’s new site
10. Opened in theatres last week: Dallaire Movie, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Movie
11. Ed Stetzer resumes his series on the meaning of missional — this one is excellent, even if you haven’t been following along the series.
12. Two weeks ago I was “A Rhyme Torn Bard,” last week I was ‘Destitute’ Liver Woodcock. This week it appears I’m Lorne Greene. I can’t tell whether this is getting better or worse… but for better or worse, as I responded, “Some days I feel as old as Lorne Greene, and as out of place as a displaced man in a cowboy hat attempting to navigate the star systems in search of earth.” This will also be the permanent record of how Missional Hoss got his nickname.
13. ASBO Jesus… probable outcomes and chillingly accurate toons, favorites for the week.
14. J.R. Woodward interviews Scot McKnight on blogging (two parts).
15. Everything Must Change: The Title – Top 10 Titles Rejected For Brian D. McLaren’s New Book
16. “Your eyes glow like naked livers burning in the sun.” — The Surrealist Compliment Generator
17. The Velveteen Rabbi on The pause of the 8th day, referring to the seven-day festival of Sukkot, ended this week. The 8th day is called “Shemini Atzeret [, which is] a kind of lagniappe, a bonus, an extra. Shemini Atzeret is the moment when, after a week of hanging out together, God says ‘wait, no, you don’t have to go yet, do you? Stay for a snack! One more cup of tea!'” I love this idea God bidding me to stay an extra day for a snack and and a cup of tea.
18. Donald Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz” is going to be a movie… or at least, there’s going to be a movie with the same title that shares some of the same characters. Donald Miller and Steve Taylor and some others sat down to write it… click through to the MP3 of Miller talking about it.
19. Would you believe… Darth Simpson?
20. Try the Eats, Shoots & Leaves punctuation quiz — go ahead, try to beat MarkO or me.

Quiz of the week: