Thanks for all the love and continuing prayers. Am I wrong to ask for more, more and many more?

I have a cancer diagnosis. It’s complex, but has been quickly diagnosed once I was in the Markey cancer center. We know have a plan. Many weeks as some of you know, but that is my life for now.

God is meeting our needs in every was. Enjoy his love and upholding power. This is all working a mighty work in me.

It will be weeks + before I can think about regular work. I love chaplain Mike. You do the same and keep it together here at IM.

Needs now: Pray for healing of brain surgery and successful further work.

I am almost too dizzy to walk. Should improve slowly, but all that is unsure.

I need appetite. Mine is severely limited since T-giving. I have experienced some slight improvement. All food is hard. Meat and bread almost impossible. I am improving. Four cups of broth/soup today.

Denise is an angel, but this is very hard on her. Pray for Noel, Clay and spouses, all co-workers, OBI, the blog.

If you feel bad or are having signs, listen and go get evaluated

The book remains close to schedule. Pray that when time comes, it will be ready and will help us with resources and you with motivation.

Pray for me. My head is awkward. I use a walker. I sleep with many bad dreams. This is a time of dependence, faith and humility. There are millions who are living out this road. I’m just one. Thank God for all of you and God’s great blessings.

I believe the number of comments on the front page right now is easily a record. There are more 100/200+ comment threads on the front page today than any day I can remember. It’s not only extraordinary conversation, but I have rarely needed to engage in any moderation at all. So thanks to everyone for making this a great blog with the most diverse conversation in the blogosphere.

Coming Up? Well, I sent out a new Liturgical Gangstas question on spiritual warfare in ministry. I’ll do a podcast tomorrow. I hope to have a sermon in “Preaching for Grown-Ups” posted before the Monday. I’ve been writing more than usual, so expect a bit of a break, but you never know.

Some of you have asked my opinion of the FTC ruling regulating blogs receiving compensation for product endorsement or review. The only thing I accept for product review is a sample of the product, i.e. a book or a dvd/cd. I have never received any other compensation for reviews or endorsements. I’ve been offered an array of things, but I don’t consider that to be ethical. If I receive a book to review, I’ll tell you in the review. So the FTC is welcome to stop in. I’ve gotten a pile of free books, a handful of cds/dvds, and a couple of t-shirts.

Those of you who would like to be involved with Internet Monk.com in a material way always have the Amazon list or Paypal button. There are other ways some of you have helped and there’s always a way to replace technology or purchase materials for my students. Many thanks to those of you who have been tangible encouragements to what I’m doing.

Book news? OK. Right now, nothing is happening or has happened for a couple of weeks. My official deadline is in less than 2 weeks, but the book is basically done. There will be some changes when we get an official title and a final run through to get everything finalized, but my editor is very happy with the book. Happy enough to be on vacation. Publishing date is still fall of next year.

One final thing: I’m interested in knowing about any evangelical churches that are using the Book of Common Prayer or other liturgical resources on a regular basis in spiritual formation. I’ve become aware of several Vineyard churches that have gone liturgical and I’d like to know of others. Is this a “movement” within the Vineyard/Third wave? I’ve heard similar stories about groups in the IHOP movement going to more liturgical prayer. So I’m looking for those “non-liturgical” evangelicals who are using liturgical resources. I’d be interested in churches, pastors, etc.

Just for your continuing information, there is a Bio tab and a site FAQ tab at the top of the page. At the bottom of the page you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter. Subscribe to all the relevant feeds on the sidebar. If you have any technical issues, let me know so I can tell Joe the plumber.

I’m enjoying new music these days by Jeremy Casella, Rosanne Cash and Indelible Grace. Missing the Reds, but listening to the playoffs on Gameday audio. Vin Scully on the Dodgers is a voice about to retire, so I’m enjoying every inning of Vin.

UPDATE: THE CONTEST IS CLOSED. Congratulations to winner Brian Ladd.

For those of you interested in the New Living Translation of the Bible, there will be some excitement at the release this week (9/22) of the Holy Bible: Mosaic Edition, a unique edition of the NLT that combines a year’s worth of weekly devotional material shaped around the Christian Year and expressions of various traditions with an NLT reference Bible. The Mosaic Bible is now available for order at Amazon.com.

The devotional side of this Bible has a large collection of diverse Christian art, quotes, stories, Biblical observations and other materials from every continent and every age of Christian history. It truly does present a “Mosaic” of the Christian church. I believe many of the IM audience will have a particular appreciation for this Bible.

A wealth of material from the publisher is available at HolyBibleMosaic.com.

I’ll be sponsoring a Question and Answer session with Mosaic General editor Keith Williams on October 14th.

Inexpensive: You can’t beat $100 per course! If you need a scholarship, our generous donors have provided some. Contact carrie@reclaimingthemind.org for more information.

Serious: We take theological education serious enough to say that you are joining a program that is not simply intended to make you look like us, but to teach you how to think with integrity. No matter whether you are a new Christian, seeker, or a seasoned believer, this course will help you work through every major issue in the Christian faith. It will help you to know not only what you believe and why you believe it, but how to think through the most important issues of life.

Convenient: If you can’t make every session, we have multiple ways for you to make it up, both online or on-site. We have done everything we can to combine convenience with serious studies.

Evangelical: We are committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his glory. All of our plans center around our belief that when the truth is known, there is nothing that can challenge the reality of Christ’s Lordship. While we may committed believers challenge your beliefs, you can trust us that the glory of our Lord is the top priority.

Safe: We know that many of you have a lot of questions and struggles, even with some of the basics to the Christian faith. This is a safe place to come to help work through these issues. You will not be looked down upon by anyone for asking questions that need to be asked.

Moms and dads, this program is often used to prepare kids for college. Don’t hesitate to take the courses as a family!

Pastors, don’t forget that this program is an excellent resource in training your leaders and Sunday School teachers and catching up on theological education yourself!

With endorsements from the likes of Chuck Swindoll, J.P. Moreland, Dan Wallace, be confident that you can entrust us with your education.

You can enroll right here (and support Internet Monk.com) by way of the Theology Program icon on this page.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us:

Carrie@reclaimingthemind.org 405-748-4288

Headed for 700,000 unique visitors this year, with a current Technorati rank of just over 2000. That’s in the world. (There is an error at Church Relevance. Alexa says I had 20,000+ unique visitors in July. That’s not correct. In July I had 58107 uniques and 454,000 unique visitors as of today.) That’s with 29 million hits. Last year: 44 million. Almost 6 million page views so far this year.

We have the most diverse audience in the blogosphere. No mere echo chamber, but independent thinkers from every tradition.

I can’t promise your ad will result in anything for you, but I can promise that associating with Internet Monk.com is an investment that places your product, ministry or cause in one of the best possible places to raise your visibility. You’ll get great placement on the front page and weekly plugs on the podcast.

So come on New Living Translation You know you want to

This is the practical follow up to all of Viola’s other books. It’s also a stand alone book exploring the subject of organic church planting in great detail. Here’s an early review:

The author of “Pagan Christianity?” (with George Barna), “Reimagining Church,” and the bestselling “From Eternity to Here” has written a detailed manual on how to start and sustain an organic church. Everything from what to do with the children, to the developmental stages of church growth, to the diseases of an organic church and their cures are all covered in this comprehensive volume. Church planting principles for organic styled churches are packed together with the author’s practical experience of living in and starting such churches. Each chapter is full of advice, outlining the unique problems that such churches will face and their solutions. Church planters of all types will benefit from this book as well as those wishing to explore an alternative way of church gathering. — Christian Book Reviews, 2009

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You’ll see a Theology Program ad in the “Endorsed” section under this post. I know that Michael Patton’s Theology Program has received many students from this website and I hope that it will receive many more. And here’s why: As a new theology program affiliate, I will receive a nice affiliate fee for everyone who enrolls in the program or buys the entire DVD/workbook set from Renewing the Mind using that icon. So click, enroll and help me buy new tires.
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You will also see a new ad from Modern Reformation magazine. I have an article on discipleship in the current issue and they have a nice introductory offer for IM readers who click through from the ad. This is a great time to subscribe to the magazine. Liturgical gangsta Eric Landry is editor and I appreciate his support of IM and of the opportunity to contribute to a journal that is way above my pay grade.

Remember that there will be 23 posts in this series. There is also a “Church” category here at IM, and also a “Baptists” category.

Despite the impressive name, The Marin Foundation is a small operation with a very small budget involving a very small number of churches. Staff is very small, but I can’t possibly over-emphasize how important that staff is for Andrew’s work. They have an ambitious agenda to serve the church. They want to make a tremendous difference in what the church knows and how we relate to the GLBT community.

If you would like to support the Marin Foundation, now is a critical time. Church support and individual support are both important. I can’t think of a more deserving ministry. Contact the Marin Foundation at their web site or via email. Andrew would love to correspond with you about what The Marin Foundation needs now and in the future.

2) A few months ago, when we first unplugged the cable tv, I recommended the board games from Yellow Mountain Imports. You can read my post here, or you can visit their site here.

Today they wanted to say thanks, so they sent a 10% off code to all IM readers. Just use InternetMonk(just like that. capital I and M) as the coupon code on checkout. It’s good for a while.

3) Credo House of Theology in Edmund, Oklahoma is having an Open House Thursday, July 31st, 5 -9 p.m. Go by and say hello to Michael Patton if you are in the area, and eat lots of his free snacks.

Please notice that the Primary post is now larger than all secondary posts. Recommended ministries and sponsors are easy to find. Amazon Wish list and Pay Pal are easy to see.

All RSS, podcast and comment feeds can be found on the sidebar, in the meta and at the bottom of the page. Facebook, Twitter and iTunes subscriptions are all available at the bottom of the page.

The Archive tab contains IM by the month and the last 100 posts. This is useful to many of you, I think. Also, comment threading is now enabled.

Once again, thanks to Joe and welcome.

First, Alan Creech Rosaries Aids to Prayer, like Ropes and Little Beads, has a new web site. Easier to navigate, RSS feed, all the whistles and bells.

Second, Alan is doing a podcast on spiritual formation. It’s called Oremus and many of you who pray the hours, etc will enjoy it. You can subscribe via iTunes.

Finally, if you like what you see on Alan’s pages, remember that he’s doing freelance web design for a living. He’s got a very distinctive style that’s clean and elegant. He’s a real artist in this medium. Consider employing him for your site. He does personal and commercial work. You can see his work and business here.

For those of you who wonder, the Liturgical Gangstas and the Evangelical Untouchables will return as summer ends.