Over at Azusa Remix, Simon Chan talks about the Pentecostal church in Asia and the challenges faced by the arising charismatic movement. He also talks about the strength of the church, "Pentecostalism broadly conceived proves to be highly adaptable despite the wide diversity in Asia. It penetrates all strata of society. It appeals as much to the rural folks steeped in primal religious beliefs as well as educated people in urban contexts.

- Chuck Warnock writes a synopsis on John Zogby's new book, "The Way We'll Be" on how the U.S. will look in the future. One difference is the rise of the house church and away from the mega-church.

- Well haven't we all thought of doing this? A man tries to pay tithes on his lottery winnings yet his local church decided against accepting.

Barna Report on Evangelicals and the '08 Presidential Election - The Democratic Surprise. The 2008 presidential election is heating up, and the Obama lead has dwindled by a few points since early June. The portion of the electorate that may again decide the margin of victory is the committed Christian segment. While most voting blocs have remained stable over the past two months, the Christian community is showing signs of restlessness. This year could be a first for Christians and how they vote.

Recommendation and Review: The NLT Study Bible
Michael Spencer of the Internetmonk.com gives a thumbs up to the New Living Translation. Spencer writes, "NLT user who wants a set of study tools to translate into personal growth, teaching, preaching and more knowledge of the Bible, the NLT Study Bible is the obvious choice." You can find the NLT Study Bible by Tyndale on Amazon.com.

I have an iPhone. My iPhone rocks (have you tried playing Jirbo Match [iTunes], pretty awesome!). Now Google has released their Reader for the iPhone and I'm beginning to catch up to some of the blog feeds I subscribed to, here's what I caught this week:

Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill church, Seattle, WA) has been writing on Charles Spurgeon and the 140 books and 1,500 book reviews he wrote in his short life. Along with leading a church of thousands, Spurgeon suffered from poor health, took care of a bed ridden wife and withstood constant attacks against his ministry. I like Driscoll's take on how Spurgeon's sufferings still apply to church leaders today.

Priority Drift and How To Fix It. This week Chuck Warnock writes on the 4 things he does to keep himself focused on the ministry (no TV, doesn't preach revivals, doesn't lead everything, sticks to regular prayer and work).