There is one company on this earth that I follow with almost the same gusto as I follow Jesus (or at least I hope I do). And that's Apple. 

In Ken Segall's book Insanely Simple, the overwhelming idea that he tries to paint is a picture of simplicity in Apple's business decisions. Everything, not just their design of products and marketing, but everything that Apple stands for exudes simplicity. Many times in the book Segall makes a point to remind readers that simplicity may seem easy to achieve, but in practice is anything but.

Contrast that with a recent discussion I had with two teens, older teens who were going off to college soon. They called me over after church and one said that he wanted to be baptized. I was, as anyone should be, overjoyed. Without thinking, I suggested that his close friend next to him (who was a Christian) baptize him.

If you could have seen the look of terror, confusion, and bewilderment on his face at that moment you would have been astonished. His eyes got big, he raised his eyebrows and said, "I don't know about that. I don't know what's all involved with that."

This was a kid who had grown up in the church, who had been baptized years before, and didn't understand how simple it was to baptize someone.

Find some water, ask them to confess Jesus as their Savior, and then dunk them! is what I wanted to say to him. It really is that simple. 

That got me thinking - is the church really so simple that people can't understand it? Even people in the church?

In his excellent article entitled 10 Things I Love About The Church of Christ, Michael Hanegan states that one of the things he loves about the church is An intrinsic commitment to simplicity of worship. He says that by and large we have chosen to engage in worship instead of a "production." In other words, we've chosen to put the focus on the worship of God rather than our own entertainment. 

But think about it. Our worship is incredibly simple. Songs. Prayers. Scripture readings. Sermons. The Lord's Supper. 

Baptism, the required means to gain entrance into God's fold (Acts 2.38, Matthew 3.13-17), is also simple. Water. Confession. Immersion. 

Is the church too simple? Is there such a thing? 

I would say that it is not. Our society has become more complex. Business has become more complex. Technology has become more complex. The church, in my opinion, is largely the same church I read about in the New Testament. It's the same church I've read about in the 1950's. Simple. Effective. Genuine. 

I guess the real question is: is our simplicity and adherence to the New Testament tradition turning out to be to our detriment? Are people so bored with the simplicity of the original idea of the church that we're losing ground to other denominations and religions? 

I've done no research, and I have no statistics, but I see the church as a healthy organization. We don't see record growth, and maybe we shouldn't. What we do need to do is not be confused and swayed by the complex ways of the world. The New Testament vision for the church is something that very few abide by these days. And I'm proud to say that I belong to a church that has respect for the scriptures to adhere to that vision. 

I have a lot of Bibles. I kind of collect them. All different form factors, all different translations. Big ones, thick ones, thin ones, small ones (and some as big as your head, haha). But I have never come across a Bible that I love as much as the one I purchased three weeks ago. 

I'm a Bible design newbie of sorts, so some of you that are more experienced with Bible design, binding, layout and text may find this review a bit elementary. I think it lets me look at design with a fresh perspective. 

I've been looking for the perfect Bible for me for a long time, probably about 3 years. I had some requirements for my perfect Bible:

1) It had to be an ESV. I've been using the English Standard Version for over 10 years, and it, to me, reflects a "best of both worlds" kind of approach. It has complexities and tradition of old King James Bibles, but nuances and flair of modern English like newer translations. Plus, I believe it to be the most accurate of the translations, along with the 1901 ASV. 

2) It had to be black. Not super-hard to find I know, but I think you'd be surprised if you looked at certain styles of Bibles that weren't available in black. 

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The Cambridge ESV Bible (bottom) in size as compared to other objects. Click for larger view.

3) It had to be thin and compact(ish). I didn't want a super-small Bible, but I didn't want one that was big and thick either. Finding a thin and small Bible was challenging. For the past ten years I've used an ESV Thinline, which has been great. The only problem was that it was bonded imitation leather and didn't last very long (yes, I'm aware I could have just re-bound the cover for my current ESV, but I wanted something different). 

4) It had to have cross-references. Not a lot, but I wanted at least a good number of cross-references, whether at the bottom or in a center column on each page. 

My search finally ended while perusing through a Lifeway Christian store while looking for some study Bibles for some recent young men who had been baptized. 

I came across the Cambridge ESV black goatskin Bible. I had seen Cambridge Bibles before - there were some for sale at the FHU Campus Bible Bookstore that I could never afford, at least at the time - but never one that met all my previously stated requirements. 

The Cambridge Bible wasn't cheap - mine retailed for over $100 on Amazon - but it is the highest-quality Bible I've ever used. 

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A sample of the inside. The font is small but not so small that you can't read it. 

The first thing you notice is the feel of the leather. It is actual goatskin, no bonded leather that you find in 95% of other Bibles. It's soft and great to touch. The spine is sewn rather than glued, giving the binding great flexibility. It lays flat on a desk from the first time I opened it. The pages are thin but opaque, and they're lined on the outside with a red-gold color, giving it a very old-school look. 

Moving inside, the page layout is wonderful, with a serif font that's easy on the eyes. Some might find the font too small, but for me it's just right. Cross-references are at the bottoms of pages as well as in the center column - a lot of references for a Bible this size. At the end there are 10 full-color maps as well as really good concordance. 

Overall, I think this Bible is perfect for me and I look forward to using it for many, many years to come. This won't be my reading Bible (I can thank Bibliotheca for that soon), but it will be my working Bible. 

It isn't cheap, but it's a little more manageable cost over at Amazon. For a Bible you might use for the rest of your life, I'd say that the price isn't all that bad. 

Excellent thought-provoking video from Jon Acuff. 

My favorite:

It's the job of entire companies now to do background checks on potential employees. You've got to be really deliberate about how you live your life online...would I want to talk to a future boss about this thing I'm going to post?

Be sure to check out the short video below. 

Bibliotheca is a great Kickstarter project started by Adam Greene. It's the Bible, American Standard Version (modified), in four volumes. It's a "readers Bible," meaning it doesn't have the typical cross references or chapter breaks of a regular Bible. It looks more like a novel that one might read here in 2014. The custom typography is beautiful and the cloth binding looks amazing. 

Apparently the project has already met its threshold, which is great. I'll be picking these up as soon as they're available, if I don't already change my $5 donation to get the four-volume set right now. 

With a culture that is increasingly making the Bible irrelevant, it's very refreshing to see someone making the Bible more relevant. Greene explains in the video about his choice of the ASV as the translation - and to me, the coolest part is that he's replacing some of the terminology (thee, thou, hast, etc.) with up-to-date terms such as you, I, and me. Some conservatives may balk at this - especially since he's also stated he's replacing and augmenting some of the text with Young's Literal Translation - but I see it as a step forward. 

This argument is a microcosm of the church as a whole today - how can we make the Word of God more relevant without changing the message? 

Anyways, I implore you to check out the video below. It's got some really cool stuff and it will have you saying "Take my money" in no time. 

Update: After seeing this post, Adam emailed me. He wanted me to make sure that this is a limited edition kind of thing, and may not be available after the initial run. He says:

A lot of people are wondering if this product will be available to purchase after the Kickstarter campaign. Although I would be thrilled to make a second printing available for purchase after the campaign, I cannot guarantee it by any stretch. I am trying to get the word out that this is not a campaign to make the product available to buy indefinitely. Rather, it is essentially a limited pre-order that will end when the campaign is over. As of now, the only guaranteed way to own the set is by pre-ordering on the Kickstarter page.

Thanks, Adam!

Let's face it. For the most part, the retail experience in this country is horrible. 

Save a few - Apple, Target, and a few high-end others - retail experiences are absolutely horrible for the most part.

Case(s) in point: my last few retail experiences. 

Electronic Express. Never mind the horrible name, this seems to be a relatively small chain on electronic and appliance stores in the area where I live (middle Tennessee). The store is actually not that bad - except for the staff and prices. The staff when I entered has always seemed preoccupied and misinformed. Every time I’ve been in a store they are all huddled around the front laughing and joking with one another. They seem more interested in horsing around than helping customers - which I have barely seen since I’ve been in there. They’re not experts either. I’ve heard the salespeople talk very generally about products in the store. They don’t give good reasons for purchasing that product or try to sell it to you. Unfortunately, most Electronic Expresses are in smaller towns and for some reason, I get this air of superiority when I walk in as if they’re saying, “Well, if you don’t get it from us then you just won’t get it.” Uh, yes, I can get almost anything somewhere else, thank you very much. Also, when I’ve tried to check tablets and use them and navigate around them to play with them, some of them don’t work because they’re either locked out or not charged. Oh, and they don’t match prices with competitors or the internet - at least according to the sales rep I talked to. 

Office Depot. I actually like Office Depot a lot, but I can’t understand how they’ve stuck around so long. Every single time I go into one of their stores it’s like a ghost town. I mean, literally, no one there. Sales reps are hard to find if you have a question. Products are arranged neatly, but you can’t play with some of them because they won’t turn on (not charged) or they have a password on them. 

Best Buy. Ah, the kings of American electronic stores. And probably the worst. On two separate occasions, I have heard sales reps giving false information to a customer. Once I stood up and called out the rep, who then proceeded to argue with me on the wrong point. I'm no tech expert, but what he was telling him was wrong (he basically was saying that SSDs weren't all that great and were a "fad" that would probably disappear in a few years). But all that aside, the retail experience at a Best Buy is horrid. I took a picture of what a certain tablet display looked like: a mangled mess of cords with tablets stacked messily on top of one another. Near closing time I would have expected this. Not at two o'clock in the afternoon. If you’re selling something, you need to be constantly arranging it in a nice, presentable way, no matter how many times a day you have to do it because people come in there and just play with a device and throw it down anywhere. Target understands this - they have people on staff who do nothing but arrange things on shelves all day. I’ve seen them do it, and if you look hard enough, you will too. Target understands that whether you’re selling garbage bags or high-end tablets, presentation is everything. Perception is reality to a customer, and it helps Target because their stores are always neat and clean, their shelves are always tidy, they have great prices and they have a better image than some bigger chains do. 

I have bought an astounding number of things on Amazon since signing up for Amazon Prime last year - which gives you access to Amazon Instant Video on a variety of devices AND free two-day shipping on most items. Amazon is beating retail stores primarily because of prices, but also for convenience. I live in a small town an hour away from the nearest large city. Why would I drive up to Nashville to hope that I find what I need, when I can just pull it up on Amazon and have it purchased inside 30 seconds and at my door 48 hours later? The answer is that I wouldn’t. 

Amazon has figured out the formula, while it seems that other retail chains aren’t even trying. Never before in the history of retail has a company carved so much out of the market. Amazon is the future, and sure, while you can’t shop for things like clothes and shoes on Amazon, I’m sure they’re working on a way to figure that out as we speak.