I’ve raved about Godin’s book Tribes before and spoken about it in a double header on the Something Beautiful Podcast (part 1 and part 2).  Here’s his TED talk about what tribes are and why they matter…

The new issue of the OneKirk Journal is now available online.

It has some great stuff including:

• reflection on the use of torture
• a guide to some of the notable events at General Assembly
• ‘champagne bubbles’ by Roddy Hamilton
• A conversation with Scott M Rennie
• and an Introduction to Emerging Church by some guy called Stewart Cutler

Have a look.

OneKirk is not a club, pressure group or party. Rather it is a network of Church of Scotland people that is being developed to support, enable and facilitate one another in our various ministries, whether they are lay ministries or ordained. OneKirk seeks to help us discern the meaning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our generation.

This week on the Something Beautiful Podcast we chat with BWG* Eric Bryant, author of the book Peppermint-Filled Piatas: Breaking Through Tolerance and Embracing Love, stand-up comedian, speaker, and a pastor on staff with Mosaic in Los Angeles.

from his blog ::

We live in a diverse world filled with unprecedented opportunity. There is a call to move past the barriers that stand between us and those who may be different. Eric Michael Bryant has seen tolerance shown to those who are different than us — racially, religiously, sexually, politically, economically — and believes there must be more. After all, Jesus didn’t just tolerate people; he embraced them all with love.

Using lighthearted humor, engaging personal stories, and a “party theology,” Bryant shows us how to love our neighbors and fulfill the vision Jesus had for the church from the beginning.

Whether that is through building relationships with the help of bounce houses, stand up comedy, or piñatas, followers of Christ will be inspired to actively engage the world around them.

Eric shares about his time growing up in the buckle of the Bible belt, some of his ministry experiences in Seattle and LA as well as the lessons he’s learned about tolerance and love along the way.

(*see the book for more info)

Adele Sakler (part 2)

If you missed part 2 of Adele Sakler’s (Existential Punk) story then have a listen!

Sir Ken Robinson talks about his new book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything in the film of a talk at the RSA below.The book dropped onto my doormat yesterday morning and I’m really looking forward to reading it.  But for now have a look at a man who has clearly found his passion talking about how others can be helped to find theirs, and why that matters.

For further and probably much more informed thought than you will get here have a read at Ewan’s great post on the issues raised in the book.

Peter Johnston and Scott Rennie have the first part of a fascinating conversation about the book ‘Why Liberal Churches Are Growing’.  Listen HERE to their discussion about the challenges facing the ‘progressive’ church, creating community, the church and young people and much more.

Last night I had the privilege of filling in for Thomas, the regular co-host of the Something Beautiful Podcast. Thomas is ill and so asked me if I could step in and chat with Jonathan about his interview with Dave Schmelzer, author of Not The Religious Type.

Jonathan and Dave talk about stages of faith, signs and maths, then Jonathan and I have a chat about some of the issues raised in the interview.

This episode of the Something Beautiful Podcast is now avaialable HERE!  Have a listen and let us know what you think!

The second part of my chat with Thomas about Seth Godin’s new book ‘Tribes’ on the Something Beautiful podcast HERE.

We talk about change, cycles, leadership and faith in a Starbucks… complete with coffeehouse sound effects!