​If you've ever wondered what my husband is up to while I’m hammering away at the keyboard, check out the series introduction to “Learning With Lawrence,” a comedic Web series he created with our good friends Quentin McCuiston and Brian McKenney. Quentin plays Lawrence, the endearing but clumsy host of a low-budget Q&A show. The voice you hear off-camera is Dan’s.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing some of the footage that is to come, and I can assure you that it is absolutely hilarious...so stay tuned.

Interesting Stuff on the Web

Jason Boyett wrote an interesting article for The Daily Beast about speculation regarding Michael Jackson’s eternal destiny. I’m always surprised when anyone goes on the record claiming to know with certainty what happens to an individual after death, but several folks did just that in this story. Goes to show how many conflicting perspectives there are about the afterlife within the Christian community.

The Jackson story was so big this week that you might not have heard that Barack Obama nominated Francis Collins to head up the National Institutes of Health. The New York Times reports that some in the scientific community have concerns about the pick because of Collins’ “very public embrace of religion.” Collins, who coordinated the Human Genome Project, is a Christian. He wrote one of my favorite books,The Language of God.

If you have some extra reading time this week and are curious about N.T. Wright and the New Perspectives on Paul, check out this lengthy (and older) article by Wright that clarifies his position on substitutionary atonement. It really irks me that Piper and others have cast doubt on Wright’s commitment to atonement when he makes it abundantly clear time and time again that he wholeheartedly embraces it, just with a different emphasis. Warning: At least for me, this article took a good deal of concentration. If you try to scan it, you can get confused about which position Wright is talking about.

And finally, friends of the blog Peter and Adele were so inspired by Peter Rollins’ challenging words aboutarguing from a position of weakness that they have decided to attempt it themselves! Keep an eye on their blogs for some interesting posts to come.

Finish the Sentence Friday

Okay, finish the following sentence:  The most important news story of the week was...

(See my response in the first comment.)