Reflections of a Jazz Theologian

Transition to Beliefnet.com

We're moving...virtually that is.

The transition of this blog to Beliefnet.com will take place this coming Tuesday.  This opportunity to compose a jazz-shaped faith with a wider context feels like an open door from God and I'm excited about it.  Thanks in advance for making the switch with me and your willingness to put up with the advertisements that are a part of the Beliefnet.com environment. You'll see though, they're really not that bad.

If you normally come to this blog through my website jazztheologian.com then you won't need to do a thing...just keep clicking through as usual.

If you come directly to this blog then you are going to want to update your URL to the new address: http://blog.beliefnet.com/jazztheologian/

If you read via RSS Feed here's what you need:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/beliefnet/jazztheologian

My interview with Brian McLaren will post at the new site on Tuesday...see ya there!

Did Tiger Choose the Right Faith?

My commentary on Tiger Woods is now on UrbanFaith.com.

"Fatwa" Against Al-Qaeda!

Muslim Scholar Issues "Fatwa" Against Al-Qaeda Terrorism

Update on Exciting Changes coming to JazzTheologian.com

Here's an update on the changes coming to this blog...

1)  Hope you like the new design on jazztheologian.com...

2)  I have decided to move my blog to beliefnet.com.  I appreciate all of your input and encouragement in this process.  The switchover is just around the corner as we we are finalizing the details of the partnership and the new blog design (as you can see, the new blog banner looks rather familiar).

Can't stop thinking about this weekends services.

Driving to members class...can't stop thinking about the services this weekend.

As Lent begins...

Let us follow Jesus into the desert.  

As Christ went without food for forty days let us consider what we could do without as well.  Oh, not for the purpose of seeing how strong we are, quite the opposite...to reveal our weakness and need for God.  

An ancient rabbi, Rabbi Eliezer, once told his students, "Repent one day before you death."  Surprised at his statement they responded, "No one knows when they are going to die."  Eliezer replied, "Then all the more reason that we should repent today!"

On this Ash Wednesday, in light of our mortality and that from the ground we come and the ground we will return...let us follow Jesus into the desert.

A Good Valentine's Day at Church

Why the Leno experiment didn't work?

Why wasn't The Jay Leno Show successful?  

I watched Leno regularly on the Tonight show but not as much in his new times slot.  Actually, if I'm honest, I rarely watched a full episode of The Tonight Show, rather, I would watch the news and then tune in to see the monologue, headlines (on Monday nights), and then I turned off the TV unless there was a must-see guest.  And therein lies the reason why I think Leno didn't work at the earlier hour:  Variety may be the spice of life but story keeps our attention--story is what we were made for.

NBC makes it money from viewers staying through the pre-news hour and then carrying over to watch their local news.  But with Leno that wasn't happening, at best, people were only watching portions rather than the whole of The Jay Leno Show.  What is needed to to keep people late into the pre-news hour to hear the local news teasers and then then watch the news is a story--drama, mystery, narrative.

That's why this week a rerun of a rerun had better ratings than The Jay Leno Show.  

We were made for story.  We crave beginnings, middles and endings.  We need dilemmas created, mysteries revealed and endings resolved.  It's the way God made us.

Could that be why the majority of the Bible is in story form rather than a series of propositions?

I think so...what about you?

Exciting Changes Coming to Jazztheologian.com--Need Your Input

As I posted earlier there are two big changes coming to jazztheologian.com:

1)  New Design:  A new, sleek look is just around the corner.

2)  I have been asked to blog for Beliefnet.com.  Beliefnet is the worlds largest religious website with an average of over three million unique hits a month.  I'm excited about this opportunity though there is one big difference--advertising.  This is where I could use your feedback:  Will the presence of advertising on my blog effect your willingness to visit?  It's tastefully done and is not that intrusive...sometimes you just need to close a pop-up for World Vision before you can read the post.  (Check out Scot McKnight's blog for an example of what my blog will look like)  Let me know what you think.

Stay in the groove,

robert

Super Bowl Commercials Upon Reflection

Upon reflection, here are my thoughts on the Super Bowl commercials.