If you use the internet, you've probably heard by now about the controversy over Deadly Viper Character Assassins from Mike Foster & Jud Whilhite.

They are both friends of ours & we gave their book away at Catalyst 2007.

If you're not aware, briefly, some figures from the Asian American community were offended by their marketing. There was a semi-public fuss between Mike & Jud & the offended parties. Then there was humility and openness from Mike & Jud and a moderated conference call. Things seem to be resolved and last week Zondervan pulled their book from stores.

Blog posts detailing the dialogue & controversy:
Soong-Chan Rah's Open Letter to Zondervan...
How a Conflict Played Out in Social Media - Dj Chuang
Deadly Vipers - Reflections on our Conversations - Dave Gibbons
Unseen Privelege: the Overlooked Gender Dimension... - Kathy Khang
Eugene Cho's thoughts
Deadly Viper: Character Assassins - Jenny Clayville

I (Jesse Phillips, moderator of this blog) feel sorry for Mike & Jud to have lost all their investment in this project, especially after helping lots of people. But I recognize the offense & concerns as valid.

What someone else pointed out & I thought more interesting is that this controversy highlighted the problem of cultural insensitivity in the Body of Christ. I hope that as a result of this very public controversy (public to Church leaders), that we can build a dialogue on this issue & help solve/address our cultural conflicts.

So this is a call to talk about cultural conflict in the Body. Let's do it, openly, with love, without fear of reprisal, this is a good opportunity. This is sad, but I feel like Mike & Jud are somehow the sacrifice needed to jumpstart this conversation.

Also, I'm wondering if a new Phoenix can rise from the ashes of Deadly Viper - perhaps a new direction for Mike & Jud: tackling the issues of cultural sensitivity & unity in the Body of Christ?

Grace and peace to all. We love each other. Let's start talking about this.

We all know that global poverty is a huge problem. But often, it seems desperately paralyzing. The problem is so big and there are so many people who need help ... and each of us is only one person who's possibly not making very much extra money anyway. To add to the confusion, there are so many organizations doing so many worthy projects, it’s hard to even know where to start with your support, financial or otherwise.

Well, we like you. So we’re here to help. We’ve partnered with ONE, a great organization that works with world leaders and governments around the world to advocate for the poorest among us. They help pass laws that make it easier for non-governmental organizations to work on the ground, and also work hard to fight corruption and for transparency in governments all over Africa.

But the way that ONE works is that they need voices, not money. We’re joining with them to raise 35,000 of those voices to stand up for justice in solidarity with people who don’t always have a voice of their own. Our voices together make up a choir of people passionately engaged with the stance of Christ toward the impoverished, a choir that can be used to pressure governments and supranational organizations to pass laws and enact policies that protect and care for the most helpless among us. Join us today and help eradicate extreme poverty in Africa.

You can add your voice at www.relevantmagazine.com/addyourvoice.

Ryan Hamm | Associate Editor
RELEVANTMagazine.com

Tim Keller, the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York city, sits for an interview with Ed Stetzer.

He has been very popular with atheists and non-Christians and many have come to hear him give apologetics for the Christian faith.

His strategy is in his tone. The tone of some Christians & The New Atheists is harshly critical "take no prisoners" demonizing the other side.

Keller says "We need to respect doubts because they have something in them that needs to be addressed."

Listen to the full interview here

Fri & Sat in Portland there's a very important conversation going on. It's IDEA CAMP Pacific North West & they're talking about "Being Present with the City."

Instead of approaching cities with a mentality of the Church "conquering" or "taking-over", we hope to embrace our cities by first listening, learning, and loving our neighbors.

As a Christian leader, how are you making friends with your city? Do you agree that this is even important? Even if you're not a "leader" what are you doing to love your city/neighbor?