Oh My, Another Meme

Look out, here comes another meme.

More specifically ME has nominated me for a so-called “Thinking Blogger” Award which begs the question of what ME was possibly thinking (or smoking) when he did that.

But who am I to argue with His Lameness when a simple “thank you” should suffice? Of course, there are certain obligations to humanity which come with such heady accolades, and naming five more “Thinking Bloggers” is one of them, so here goes:

1. Bill Gnade at Contratimes. Bill was one of my early acquaintances in the blogosphere and you’d be hard-pressed to find another wordsmith who paints such beautiful pictures with lyrical and soaring prose (and occasional poetry) like his. Bill leaves no stone unturned as he offers his takes and critiques on politics, religion and culture. And he does it with such mirth and grace; if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that G.K. Chesterton had been reincarnated in the body of a wickedly bald guy in New Hampshire with an incurable taste for Black Diamond ski runs.
2. Dr. Richard Beck at Experimental Theology. Just the thing for an old psych major like me. Beck, the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Abilene Christian University, goes places where no professional psychologist/amateur theologian has ever gone before and is not for the faint of heart. I’m just getting into this one, but I have read his series “Freud’s Ghost” and was captivated. I’ve always considered myself a “grumpy Christian,” but I like Beck’s “Winter Christian” better; much more elegant.
3. Matt Ritchie at Running With the Lion. Anyone who makes so obvious a reference to C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia is going to get my attention immediately. Another recent discovery, Matt is a professional guy like me with a family who’s just out there in the trenches trying to put things together and figure out how to walk with God in this sometimes confusing and topsy-turvy postmodern world. I especially grateful to him for his recent series “Why Resurrection Matters” which he wrote during Holy Week. I borrowed from it heavily when I taught our adult Sunday school class on Easter, and I’m forever grateful.
4. Scott Freeman. I believe this may be Scott’s second nomination recently, so at the risk of him getting the big head, I’m going to tag him with another one. Actually, there’s very little chance of that; Scott is a humble and genuine seeker who’s not afraid to ask difficult questions and fearlessly seek out the answers. He’s also got a great sense of humor and is a lot of fun to joke around with. That little Church of Christ in Texas that he helps pastor is very blessed to have him, and if I can ever figure out my new iPod, I hope to soon be listening to some of his Podcasted sermons. Yeah, he hates Duke, but nobody’s perfect.
5. Matt Tapie at Two Cities. Matt is a Church of Christ minister and graduate student in ethics at Catholic University. The title of his blog is a reference to St. Augustine’s book The City of God, and Matt is a superb guide for traveling that sometimes tricky path that cuts through both the heavenly and earthly cities. As a “little c” catholic like me, he’s not afraid to draw upon that treasure chest of tradition which is sitting there, available and potentially nourishing, but unfortunately often untouched by many evangelicals.

Believe me, all of the above are better thinkers than me despite the meme, so check them out.

Of course, the aforementioned nominees can feel free to just say no-no to passing on this meme. But be warned: failure to do so can lead to blindness.