Don’t miss this extraordinary report by NY Times columnist Joe Sharkey of his experience on the Embraer Legacy 600 corporate jet that collided with a Brazilian Boeing 737 airliner at 37,000 feet this past weekend. The airliner crashed in the Amazon jungle, killing all 155 people on board. Miraculously, the corporate jet — although heavily damaged — was able to make an emergency landing on a military base runway in the jungle, allowing Sharkey and his fellow travelers to survive.
Update: The two American pilots of the corporate jet have been detained in Brazil in connection with the investigation into the crash.

Texas is a land of many different cultures, one of the most endearing of which is that of West Texas. Many of the qualities that make West Texas such a special place shine through in this nine-minute video about a remarkable dog and his master. When you have ten minutes, watch the video and appreciate a wonderful part of this always intriguing state.

The Church Report has released its annual list of America’s 50 Most Influential (Protestant) Churches and, as with last year’s list, several Houston megachurches made the list.
Lakewood Church and the ubiquitous Joel Osteen come in again as the highest-rated local church at fifth, while Kerry Shook’s Fellowship of The Woodlands dropped from no. 17 last year to 41 this year, and KirbyJohn Caldwell’s Windsor Village United Methodist dropped from no. 43 to 49. Surprisingly, Ed Young’s Second Baptist Church — one of Houston’s original megachurches and arguably its most influential — dropped out of the top 50 list altogether after being listed at no. 33 last year.
The list is interesting in that it includes churches from both ends of the current political debate that is raging among Protestants regarding the core nature of megachurches. Osteen, Shook and a number of others on the list preach what traditionalists criticize as a feel-good gospel that views God as sort of a cosmic bellhop who exists to meet desires of humans and to make them feel comfortable with material wealth. Dallas’ T.D. Jakes (Potter’s House – 8) even denies the orthodox doctrine of the Holy Trinity, although the rest of his message has a harder edge than that of either Osteen or Shook. On the other hand, the list also includes a number of church leaders — including notably John MacArthur (Grace Community – 31), John Piper (Bethlehem Baptist – 42) and Dallas’ Tony Evans (Oak Cliff – 44) — who advocate the more traditional Christian theology that emphasizes Christ’s divinity, justification by faith, sacrifice and stewardship.
Meanwhile, the Catholics just shake their heads and go off to Mass. ;^)

This Ralph Blumenthal/NY Times article profiles the ubiquitous Houston-based mega-pastor, Joel Osteen (prior posts here) in a quite positive light:

After a warm-up of rousing original rock and gospel hymns with lyrics and videos flashing on jumbo screens around the arena, Mr. Osteen began to speak. “We come with good news each week,” he told the packed crowd at his gigachurch in his native Texan twang.
The news for Mr. Osteen has lately been very good indeed: two weeks ago he signed a contract with Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, that could bring him as much as $13 million for a follow-up book to his debut spiritual guide, “Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential,” which, since it was published by Warner Faith in 2004, has sold more than three million copies. “I believe God wants us to prosper” is the gospel according to Mr. Osteen, 43, who offers no apologies for his wealth.
“You know what, I’ve never done it for the money,” he said in an interview after Sunday’s service, which he led with his glamorous wife and co-pastor, Victoria. “I’ve never asked for money on television.” But opening oneself to God’s favors was a blessing, he said. “I believe it’s God rewarding you.
Mr. Osteen’s motto is: “God wants you to be a winner, not a whiner.” […]
He is not shy about calling on the Lord. He writes of praying for a winning basket in a basketball game, and then sinking it; and even of circling a parking lot, praying for a space, and then finding it. “Better yet,” he writes, “it was the premier spot in that parking lot.”

But R. Albert Mohler, Jr., the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the largest seminaries in the world, is a tad skeptical of Reverend Osteen’s message:

The first question is this — Would anyone watching his television program, or sitting in his vast church facility, hear in Mr. Osteen’s message a clear and undiluted message of Gospel proclamation? Would this person have any reason, based on hearing Mr. Osteen’s message, to know himself as a sinner and to understand how the cross of Christ is the only ground of his salvation? Would he come to know that Jesus the Christ is fully human and fully divine, and that He came in order that we might have everlasting life — not just a good parking space?

Ben Witherington has more.

On this Christmas Day, take a moment to read this heartwarming story (pdf here) about a daughter arranging the golfing gift of a lifetime for a father who gave of his life selflessly, and a member of Augusta National Golf Club who understands the true meaning of giving.
Merry Christmas and thank you for reading Houston’s Clear Thinkers.

Marginal Revolution’s Tyler Cowen has been eating Texas barbeque this week in Lockhart and he is finding it to be a very satisfying experience. Indeed, one of the many pleasures of living in Texas is taking a day to visit several of the charming small towns in the triangle formed by the cities of Houston, Austin and San Antonio, and sampling the local barbeque. One of my fondest memories from years ago is accompanying a client to several of these towns as we took a day to meet witnesses in a lawsuit I was defending for him. Each meeting took place in each town’s best local barbeque restaurant and, of course, we sampled the barbeque at every spot. To this day, I have not come up with a better way to prepare for a trial.