I’ve been schmoozed. I’ve managed to avoid the memes afflicting most blog writers, but that ended this week. I was nominated for the following by my good friend Beverly:

That’s right folks, this blog has now been certified as having the Power of the Schooze. Here are the rules:

“The Power of Schmooze” award was created by Mike at Ordinary Folk and Danielle at Pink Reviews to help “recognize those people that were [are] exceptionally adept at creating relationships with other bloggers by making an effort to be part of a conversation, as opposed to monologue.”

The rules:

  • If, and only if, you get The Power of Schmooze Award, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think, or have schmoozed you into submission.
  • Link to this post and Mike so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme
  • Optional: Proudly display the ‘The Power of Schmooze Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

So here goes. First, even though I can’t reciprocate because the schmoozer cannot become the schmoozee, I would encourage you to check out Perpetual Expressions. The honesty with which she writes is refreshing and encouraging. Beverly, keep up the good work (and yes, I will try to blog more).

I have lots of blogs I read regularly on a number of wildly diverse topics. Those who know me won’t find that hard to believe, but I will limit this list to blogs of similar kind to that for which I’ve been nominated, meaning blogs that encourage you to think and meditate on worldview issues and how we weave our daily lives in our culture. Here is my list in no particular order:

  • Truth Observed—Coming in contact with The Truth Project has done more to awaken my spirit than anything that has happened to me in the last 20 years. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Tackett for his teaching style which has kickstarted me in a number of directions. If you haven’t yet checked out the Truth Project or Dr. Tackett’s personal blog, I strongly encourage you to do so.
  • Mark Batterson’s Evotional—When I first started traveling to DC for a contract job last year, I picked up an interesting book entitled “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” that really challenged me to quit loafing and chase a lion or two. Imagine my surprise when I found out the author was in DC. I emailed Mark a few times and he was gracious enough to meet with me. He is one of the most energetic, God-fearing men you’ll ever find anywhere, and I’ve never walked away from him without being more encouraged and courageous than I was when we started. He pastors National Community Church in Washington DC. If you are ever in town for the weekend you won’t be disappointed you stopped by to worship there.
  • Lifechurch Swerve—Craig Groeschel and Bobby Gruenewald are doing an incredible job of leveraging technology and confronting people to live a pure life through very creative ministry. If you haven’t checked out Lifechurch, now is the time. They have several campuses across the midwest, they have an internet campus, they even bought their own island in Second Life, a virtual reality world where they constructed a church, hold regular services, and have seen people come to Christ. I love their sincerity, their boldness, and their willingness to use technology in whatever means they can to reach the unreached. Check them out.
  • Don’t Eat Alone—I don’t know Milton personally, but I’ve been reading his blog for long enough that I feel we could chat as if we were old friends. He is devoted to issues of the church, he is devoted to food, and often he pulls lessons from one that are entirely relevant to the other. I won’t say we agree on all issues, but he definitely gets me thinking and I’m stronger for reading his blog.
  • Slice of Infinity—Ravi Zacharias has one of the most keen minds I’ve ever been privileged to listen to. He has collected a very talented staff of writers at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries who all contribute to this blog. My favorites (other than Ravi, of course) are Jill Carattini, Joe Boot, and Stuart McAllister, but they are all good and the content is first rate. It’s usually a little deeper than your standard blog fare, but you come to expect that from anything with Ravi’s name attached. It’s worth the brain power required to plum the depths.

There. Now I’ve fulfilled my debt to the award and I can sleep again. Thanks again to Beverly for the props and the mention. I think if you’ll find these blogs thought provoking and worthy of your time. The other good thing is they all post more regularly than I do :)