You Decide...No, Really!

I love Presidential campaigns. I love watching the news each night this time of the season, catching up on the big moments and hot sound-bites of the day. It's fun to sort through the various outcomes of each debate, caucus and primary, imagining all the while what the final ticket might look like. To me, the primary season is better than March Madness.

In recent years I have noticed that the evangelical church in America has become consumed with the political process. More and more we see denominational leaders, pastors, and other respected individuals in evangelical Christianity putting tremendous effort and resources into the political arena. In my next blog I'll share some thoughts on the Church's role in American politics, but today I would like to hear from you.

Does the Church and/or its leaders put too much energy/attention into the political process in America?

Looking Forward

Here's a few quick predictions for 2008:

1. Neither of 2007's Presidential frontrunners, Rudy Guiliani and Hillary Clinton will end up winning the White House. Guiliani won't even get the GOP nomination.

2. Packers QB Brett Favre will win one final Super Bowl over the New England Patriots.

3. The Major League Baseball steroid scandal will spill over into other sports, particularly hockey and basketball.

4. The Arkansas Razorbacks Men's BB team will make it to the Elite Eight.

5. Providing all the rest of these come true, I will pick up a part-time gig as a fortune-cookie writer.

A Look Back

While we live each passing year one day at a time, history has a way of compressing the calendar into cliff-notes form. For this entry, we'll survey a few of the big stories of the past year, and then vote on which one is most likely to be the key moment for which 2007 will be remembered. In no particular order:

1. Filmmakers claim to find the tomb of Jesus Christ, along with his wife and son. This "discovery" was based on names inscripted on the ossuaries (bone boxes). The story was later debunked by a number of theologians, historians, and archaeologists.

2. Al Gore awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to raise awareness about Global Warming.

3. Barry Bonds breaks (*) the all-time Major League home run record. Because of his involvement in the steroid scandal and facing possible perjury charges, Bonds achievement is met with cold recognition. The ball was later branded with an asterisk and sent to the Hall of Fame.

4. U.S. Senator Larry Craig claims to have a wide stance. Enough said.

5. In one of the craziest college football seasons ever, 2007 saw the #1 ranked team fall 4 different times. The "year of the upset" began with #5 Michigan's loss to Division 2 Appalachian State. In the 15 weeks following, a slew of upsets would keep the top 5 rankings in a state of constant change.

So, which of these is the story most likely to go down as the historical marker for 2007?