Links to Your World--Tuesday January 30

As the Colts and Da Bears face off against each other in Super Bowl XLI this week, their head coaches remain good friends. In this article Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith say that the fact that they are African-American is not the most important thing about them. They are Christian mean who “both operate without regarding football as the most important aspect of their lives. They don't yell and curse at players; instead they are known for the calm demeanor that Dungy suspects cost him a chance to become a head coach earlier. ‘For two guys to show that you can win that way,’ Dungy says, ‘I think that's just as important for the country to see.’” In this Lifeway article, the executive director of Athletes in Action said, “We could not have picked two better coaches to represent all that is good about sports.”

Attention Austin-Area College Students! Join me for a small-group study of The Anchor Course at the Baptist Student Ministries building on the UT campus. For the next couple of months we’ll meet with other students every Monday. The event is called “Matrix,” and it includes a free meal at 6pm, with the small group studies starting at 7pm. Jennifer Adams from our church teaches one course called “Habitudes,” and I teach “The Anchor Course.” There is a small cost for the book. Find more information about the BSM and a map to get their building here.

In “A Mom's Guide to MySpace,” Connie Neal tells you what you need to know about this popular website.

See the New York Times article (here) on changing attitudes toward dancing in conservative churches. Most of us have known about this change in attitude for a long, long time, but it’s good to see the Times explain how tired and old the jokes sound regarding Baptists and dancing.

“What is antiseptically called ‘screening’ for Down syndrome is, much more often than not, a search-and-destroy mission: At least 85 percent of pregnancies in which Down syndrome is diagnosed are ended by abortions.” Read George Will’s moving reaction to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recent recommendation here.

You have probably heard of Jim Elliott’s famous quote: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Now look at the actual journal entry in the famous missionary’s own handwriting as found in the Billy Graham Center archives here.

Visit Herb Ingram’s new blog, “Herbal Essence.” Currently, he’s introducing the six steps of our “INVITE Strategy.” Learn more about how the INVITE Strategy got started here.