Yeah, so no YouTube this week. I guess I could consider that a fasting of sorts.

Just a minor note for what's ahead this week. There seems to be an interesting confluence of events that mean I've finally got to break down and write up a bit on Phil Cooke's "Branding Faith." For one, Greg Boyd's sermon from this past weekend was on celebrity culture and how it's even affected the church community. As always, loads of thought-provoking material from Boyd. And it's obviously a topic that ought to register with anyone familiar with Lakewood & Joel Osteen. Going through the sermon for about the third time overnight to pick out a snippet to use. Bear with me while I attempt to do what might seem like work when it comes to this mere hobby of blogging.

Another tie-in was a guest-message at Rob Bell's church this past weekend. Shane Hipps gave a message entitled "Spirituality of the Cellphone." What caught my attention in the first listening was that Hipps was a marketing professional in his previous life (pre-seminary). Loads of adverts and cultural references woven into his message, so the connection to both Boyd and Cooke.

So with material like that, I've gotta get cracking.