Discipling 101 -- Larry Chouinard lists fifteen examples of "How Jesus Trains Leaders." (HT: SmartChristian)

10 Marks of the Early Church -- David Fairchild also has a great list, detailing "10 values of early Christians that stood in stark...contrast to the pluralistic pagan culture of Rome." (HT: Jollyblogger)

Prayer Request -- Ethan Isaiah Powell isn't even three months old yet and has already endured more medical procedures--surgeries, spinal taps, chemo--than many adults will face in their lifetime. Ethan came out of surgery yesterday and started chemo to treat the leukemia. Please pray for this precious baby and his family as they go through this heartrending crisis.

Not Ready to Make Classy -- Wanna win a Grammy? Bash President Bush. That seems to be the winning formula for the Dixie Chicks who swept all five categories for which they were nominated. The Chicks are talented, no doubt about that. But how many Grammy voters cast a ballot for them without ever hearing their album? Maybe next year the girls can win a Grammy based on their merit rather than their politics. (Just for fun, put a pro-Bush song on you album ladies and see how many trophies you take home.)

McCain Does Streisand -- "I've been in politics over 20 years, and for over 20 years I've had Barbra Streisand trying to do my job," says McCain. "So I decided to try my hand at her job." I'm not a fan of McCain but I have to give him credit where its due. He knows you don't have to put on a dress and kiss The Donald to get a laugh. (HT: The Anchoress)

Get Medival On Their Blogs -- I stumbled across a post by Richard Nokes, my favorite living medievalist, about the lack of traffic that blogs covering this micro-niche attract. It appears that a professor from Michigan is having her freshman medieval history class post their essays online for public critique. "I want them to see that more people than just their professor care about the Middle Ages," says Ms. Laing, "but I am not getting much/any traffic to comment on their essays." If you've been waiting to read more about Charlemagne or Beowulf (the two topics so far), drop by and leave a comment.

Gotta Surrender to Somebody -- The Guardian reports that, "Newly uncovered documents have shocked historians by revealing that in the 1950s, Britain and France discussed the possibility of uniting and Queen Elizabeth II becoming France's head of state." The British, unfailingly polite as always, noted that since France was not at war with England there was no reason for the frogs to surrender. (HT: In the Agora)