» Chron: Walters Comes to Osteen's House

Just in case anyone missed the announcement last weekend, Joel's going to be one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People" airing tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 9 on Channel 13. Walters says she wanted to pick 10 who accomplished "something worthwhile" in the last year. Well, it took the rest of the world long enough to catch on to what Joel's been up to. His book came out in 2004. The new location opened the doors in 2005. Whatever ... we'll take the response, even if it is delayed.

UPDATE: More on the entire episode here on ABC13's website.

» LA Times: Manliness is next to godliness

Interesting article here on a movement that looks like an edgier version of the Promise Keepers. Not entirely sure what to think here. I mean, I take to Eldredge's writing like a dry sponge to water. And I definitely relate to some of the reasons offered under the "wussification" of church. But maybe it's Stine's brand of comedy (which I don't necessarily relate to) or the house band for the GodMen (which I consider a skosh wussy, but them's my standards). I will hand this to the group, though ... they have a blog, even if it is a bit out of date. Good thing, that ... because we all know real men blog ;-)

» Tennessean: Grammys look beyond sales charts

Gospel nominations went to rock band Red, bluegrass group the Del McCoury Band and other area acts, but judging by this year's nominations, Texas is making a bid as the gospel hotbed to beat. Three of the biggest names nominated in gospel — praise and worship artist Chris Tomlin and gospel talents Israel Houghton and Kirk Franklin — reside in the Lone Star state.

"I'm kind of watching this influx of artists and writers and even executives that are finding their way into Dallas and Houston," Houghton said. "Something about Texas, it just feels good. I would say when you think of huge churches, you think of Texas. You think of Bishop (T.D.) Jakes in Dallas and Joel Osteen in Houston, and some of these just really gigantic churches. And I think if you look at the thrust of Christian music and gospel music as of late, it's music that has been coming from the church. A lot of praise and worship music has really taken the industry over."

I love this article since it touches on a lot of my favorite musicians. Yeah, our very own little Israel Houghton among them. But add in Chris Tomlin, Carrie Underwood, Matraca Berg and I may have to develop a higher estimation of the Grammys. Maybe.

» Barna: Major Christian Leaders Are Widely Unknown, Even Among Christians

I'm more than a little late in mentioning this Barna study. Basically, the newsmaker in the results is that so many of the leading Christian names are so incredibly unknown ... even among Christians (as the title suggests). Good thing, I say. Even better that there's now some measurable proof behind this fact.

One of the great things about Christianity in America is the decentralized and even fragmented nature of it. That coming from someone who proudly notes his own nondenominational roots. 67% of Christians haven't heard of Joel Osteen. 68% haven't heard of TD Jakes. 72% haven't heard of Rick Warren. That would seem to deflate some of the criticism in some quarters that these folks are having too inordinate of an influence on the Body of Christ. Granted, it won't stop the criticisms of them ... that's a different story.

» Oh, back to Chris Tomlin for a moment ... if you haven't picked up his new CD yet, don't. Well, more precisely, look for the special edition of the CD that has acoustic versions of some of the songs on it. I learned this lesson the hard way as I stared in awe of the songlist. The pricetag is a bit higher, but it's worth it. I say that without having listened to any of the songs. I mean, do you really have to in order to know it's gonna be great? Also, Tomlin's first two CDs have been repackaged as a combined deal for re-release. I guess this way, you can get all his old (pre-Arriving) stuff in one shot.