By Stan Friedman

CHICAGO, IL (January 17, 2014) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement of any views expressed.

Ask an Open Theist Greg Boyd Questions, Response

This is a two-parter. Rachel Held Evans invites her readers to ask questions of theologians and other guest interviewees. There was a huge response to the opportunity to ask Boyd about his views on open theism. This actually is a feature idea I might steal—I mean, flatter her through imitation. Who would you want to ask questions of?

The Leadership Revival

I love David Brooks. This article has no direct link to religion, but it impressed several Covenanters enough to share it. Brooks calls on leaders to “apprentice yourself to a master craftsman,” He adds, “Second, take a reality bath. Go off and become a stranger in a strange land.” Although he is talking primarily about traveling to a foreign country here, his point can be adapted to mean spending time with people who think differently than we do. His final point: “Close off your options.”

Why Am I Not Poor?

Dale Hanson Bourke proves Brook’s second point. After traveling to impoverished countries around the world, she suggests a better way to combat poverty. Instead of asking why others are poor, maybe we should consider why we’re not.

Survey: Half of American Fans See Supernatural Forces at Play in Sports

The Public Religion Institute released a survey revealing that 25 percent of fans pray for their sports teams or engage in some ritual. I confess, I’m guilty—but that doesn’t mean I pray in the same way as I do for the end of human trafficking. Nor do I seriously believe that God cares a great deal about what I want regarding my team (that the Cardinals lost to the Red Sox again is my proof). I wonder if Greg Boyd prays for his teams. I did think the study seemed a bit silly until I watched this.

Commercial with Deaf Seahawks Player Inspires

There is no religious aspect to this story, but Covenanters—especially those who are Seahawks fans—kept sharing it. The commercial is indeed inspiring. As for probably meaningless observations, Covenanters who are Seahawks fans seemed to post on Facebook a lot more about their team than did the fans of other teams. I have no idea whether they prayed more.