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	<title>Provoketive Magazine</title>
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	<link>http://provoketive.com</link>
	<description>Provoking The Imagination With Conversation</description>
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		<title>David Bowie: The Next Day Video Review</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/15/david-bowie-the-next-day-video-review/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=david-bowie-the-next-day-video-review</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/15/david-bowie-the-next-day-video-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 15:00:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jake Kampe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Music]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8917</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[David Bowie is not an artist without controversy. Since the release of his first album in 1967, the sometimes androgynous performer has always possessed the ability to stir the pot, especially when rock and roll needed it the most. One of the first patrons of Glam Rock, if not the first, Bowie has taken music to another level that has satisfied the ears as well as the other senses. Unlike many of the transparent musician-songwriters of today, Bowie cannot be contained to a particular box of genre. In fact, just when you think you have him figured out, you find that he is just as much a mystery as he ever has been. When you ponder his lengthy career, the only time that you might find Bowie without controversy is when he is absent from the music scene. Since the  release of his 2003 album Reality, a few live endeavors and the appearance in the 2006 British film, The Prestige, not much has been heard from Bowie save a few occasional mentions guaranteed an artist of his status. But with the release of his new album, The Next Day, and the accompanying video for the title track, the 66 year... ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Imran Khan &#8211; An Ideology; A Hope</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/10/imran-khan-an-ideology-a-hope-3/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=imran-khan-an-ideology-a-hope-3</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/10/imran-khan-an-ideology-a-hope-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 15:00:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rao Jahanzaib Saeed</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Now]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8905</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Imran khan; a former sportsman, philanthropist, an active politician and 3rd most influential leader of 2012 according to the Global Post is the only hope left for the people of an economically diminishing state as such as Pakistan . By so far, Imran Khan is considered as the most popular leader in the country’s history. In 1996 Khan formed his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). It was founded initially as socio-political movement which envisioned to embody anti-corruption policies and to put an end to the endless corruption in the country. However, the road towards success is never easy. His party was not even able to secure one seat in General Elections of 1997. It was only then in 2002 National Elections, when Khan ran for office and became a Member of Parliament. However, he continued to profoundly criticize the entire political order of Pakistan, which he reckoned as dishonest and ineffective. This is where Khan began the grassroots of his campaign in order to create awareness among people about his political party or his ideology towards a New Pakistan, as his wholehearted supporters would like to call it. Imran Khan enunciates and influences out the vision of a Modern Islamic... ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/10/imran-khan-an-ideology-a-hope-3/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>New Reality Show Pitch: Church Rescue</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/08/new-reality-show-pitch-church-rescue/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=new-reality-show-pitch-church-rescue</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/08/new-reality-show-pitch-church-rescue/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 15:00:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ray Carroll</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8860</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I cannot stand reality television. Well, I take that back. There are a few shows I like. I can handle Storage Wars, Pawn Stars and Auction Hunters (before they added the pawn shop.) But my favorite show is Bar Rescue. On Spike Network’s Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer, nationally known bar expert, scouts out failing bars for weeks in advance, then goes in and tries to save them. Typically, an episode has him doing a lot of yelling at the management, questioning their motives, not allowing them to make excuses, and bringing in experts to show the kitchen and bartenders how awful they are. At the end, he rebuilds the bar, usually renames it and everything is better. Before the credits roll, they give an update telling how the bar is doing two months later. Typically, the bar follows the new changes and is saved. On a few occasions, the bar returns to its original theme and name and goes right back to doing terrible. I know, great stuff, right? Nice to know the bars of America are being saved. As I was watching the other day, I started thinking about our declining American churches. On top of that, I started... ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>On Sexism, Patriarchy And Strange Ways To Lose Body Parts</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/02/on-sexism-patriarchy-and-strange-ways-to-lose-body-parts/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=on-sexism-patriarchy-and-strange-ways-to-lose-body-parts</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/02/on-sexism-patriarchy-and-strange-ways-to-lose-body-parts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 15:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tim McCollum</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gender Equality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[body parts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gender]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[patriarchy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8607</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There is a remarkable statement in the Hebrew Bible about two men brawling: If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to the rescue of her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity. (Deuteronomy 25v11-12) The rule goes something like this: if two men are fighting, and the wife of one of them (who apparently is getting his butt kicked) comes over to rescue him from his attacker, and she reaches out and grabs him by his private parts, you are to cut off her hand and show her no pity. A few sentences before this rule is another one which says an ox gets to eat while treading out the grain. Just below is a warning that God doesn&#8217;t like anyone who uses false weights and measures. But apparently the woman who rescues her husband with an effective self-defense technique is left with a missing body part and no emotional support. Sound familiar? The other day a friend told me about her awful treatment by the men in her workplace. She told me about receiving sexist... ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://provoketive.com/2013/05/02/on-sexism-patriarchy-and-strange-ways-to-lose-body-parts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Cooking Community: A Review of the Irresistible Table by Mary DeMuth</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/26/cooking-community-a-review-of-the-irresistible-table-by-mary-demuth/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=cooking-community-a-review-of-the-irresistible-table-by-mary-demuth</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/26/cooking-community-a-review-of-the-irresistible-table-by-mary-demuth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jake Kampe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mary DeMuth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Irresistible Table]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8834</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As an aspiring writer, there are not many opportunities that I would turn down to translate my thoughts to words. I’ve written for children’s ministry magazines, news publications, online devotionals, book compilations and currently working on my own book. I’ve written music reviews, commentary on current events, book reviews, conducted interviews and posted literally hundreds of blog entries. But as I envisioned my career as a writer and pondered the possibilities of literary endeavors, reviewing a cook book never came to mind. When I heard that my friend and fellow writer, Mary DeMuth, was looking for folks to read and review her latest book, I was honored to have the opportunity. When I discovered that it was in fact a cook book, my excitement quickly turned to anxiety. I had no idea what to expect in reading a cook book from beginning to end and had even less of an idea of how I would develop a book review worthy of Mary’s status as a writer. So, as is my usual reaction to anxiety-inducing situations, I did what I commonly do: I ignored the task, hoping it would eventually go away. This works quite well with typical avoidances such as... ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/26/cooking-community-a-review-of-the-irresistible-table-by-mary-demuth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Relevance: A Youth Minister Answers (Part 2 of 2)</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/24/relevance-a-youth-minister-answers-part-2-of-2/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=relevance-a-youth-minister-answers-part-2-of-2</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/24/relevance-a-youth-minister-answers-part-2-of-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:00:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexander Marshall</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[questions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Youth Ministry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8738</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My first experience in youth ministry while in college was in a poor, rural community in Alabama at a Baptist church where the overwhelming majority of the 50 or so regular attendees were over the age of 65.  At some point, kids who lived in the small houses and trailer homes nearby discovered that every Wednesday night this church offered a free, warm meal and they started coming in droves.  Suddenly there were 20+ kids aged 7 to 15 at this church.  None of their families were involved in the congregation.  No one in the church had any youth ministry experience.  So they recruited a few students from nearby Southeastern Bible College to come start a youth program.  Eventually the leader of that program recruited me. We didn’t know what we were doing any more than the people who had called us did, and I’m still not sure how effective we were in our ministry with these kids.  But we played a lot of ping-pong and basketball, did our best to teach a few things about God and the Bible, and learned as much as we could as we went along.  Since that experience I’ve had plenty of other opportunities... ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/24/relevance-a-youth-minister-answers-part-2-of-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>No Matter What</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/24/no-matter-what/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=no-matter-what</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/24/no-matter-what/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joy Wilson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doubt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8725</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes I perform the popular, seek to satisfy the status quo because it’s socially easier to pretend to be like “them”. Sometimes I crave acceptance, even though it costs my soul. &#160; I was created custom-made by God, with ideas unique to me, perceptions that fit no one else that I alone can abdicate. &#160; Then I think of Jael in Judges 4 who defied her husband’s allegiance to follow the God of Israel, risking absolutely everything in response to God’s command. I think of Paul and Peter and Martin Luther King, honoring their beliefs over rational safety. &#160; Am I willing to honor common approval over confirmed conviction to follow Jesus’ call? Dangerous devotion to the only one who gave all for me? &#160; Am I such a coward? Yes. Am I committed to God? I wonder. And yet my heart is drawn to love without conditions or demands, a God who accepts me as I am, stays with me, no matter what, irrevocable, illogical to my finite mind. &#160; Jesus, help me to risk resistance, resentment, my own reticence to stand for what I believe perhaps alone except for you.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Is Your Pastor Holding Your Church Back?</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/23/is-your-pastor-holding-your-church-back/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=is-your-pastor-holding-your-church-back</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/23/is-your-pastor-holding-your-church-back/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Henry Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pastor]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8602</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Imagine yourself and a group of people in a meeting with your church&#8217;s pastor. The church has been changing and seeing new life as people explore what it means to be a church in the early 21st century. The group presents a concept for a phenomenal new ministry connecting the community and congregation, leading to radically transformed lives. Excitement grips the group as they explain the concept to your pastor. You are elated when she says &#8220;yes!&#8221; and you start planning the roll out. As the group finalizes the plans, you find out about newly imposed guidelines and limitations that cut out the core of the ministry. Influential members of the congregation complain (&#8220;We&#8217;ve never done it that way, what will other people say?&#8221;) and the pastor sets limits out of fear that the church will lose major contributors. Indirectly you hear that the elder board or denominational hierarchy is afraid the ministry will reflect poorly on the church, thus reducing the weekly attendance. Maybe the group decides on what they believe will be an optimum structure, but the pastor tells them to run it a different way. The mandated changes are not just an alternative way to accomplish the... ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/23/is-your-pastor-holding-your-church-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why Every Christian Should (Legally) Support Gay Marriage</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/19/why-every-christian-should-legally-support-gay-marriage/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=why-every-christian-should-legally-support-gay-marriage</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/19/why-every-christian-should-legally-support-gay-marriage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jeremystephens</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Humanity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Now]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8599</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After the passionate back-and-forth on the news yesterday, with the looming possibility of federal legislation on the issue of same sex marriage, I quietly logged into my account, and with a few clicks of the mouse replaced that picture of my gorgeous wife with one of a simple red background and a white equals sign. Marriage equality, is what it represents. I had a feeling it could be divisive, specifically among my Christian friends. Many clicked that little thumbs up picture, showing their support. Many have been silent thus far, perhaps marking their indifference. But following an amazing conversation with a co-worker minutes ago, I felt like this should be written so that I can take the opportunity and clarify my decision before wrong assumptions are made. To my friends outside of Christianity: It was devastating to me that, following my reawakening in faith, I had friends in same sex relationships that had already predicted the downfall of our relationship. So hatefully has the Church responded to the issue of your sexuality that you assumed I would follow suit and disregard the depth and breadth of the precious time we have been allowed to spend together. For that I am... ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/19/why-every-christian-should-legally-support-gay-marriage/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Review of Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim&#8217;s Tale by Ian Morgan Cron</title>
		<link>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/18/review-of-chasing-francis-a-pilgrims-tale-by-ian-morgan-cron/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=review-of-chasing-francis-a-pilgrims-tale-by-ian-morgan-cron</link>
		<comments>http://provoketive.com/2013/04/18/review-of-chasing-francis-a-pilgrims-tale-by-ian-morgan-cron/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:26:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jake Kampe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chasing Francis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Morgan Cron]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[St. Francis]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://provoketive.com/?p=8783</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Few books have been radically instrumental in changing my perspective of the Kingdom of God. Some caused me to think. Some caused me to ask questions. Some caused me to change opinions and some changed the course of my personal ministry as a whole. One in particular has accomplished all of these, and more surprising; that book happens to be fiction. I don&#8217;t read a lot of fiction and consequentially, I don&#8217;t write a lot of fiction. It&#8217;s difficult to write, takes more time and discipline and requires more patience than I posses. Reading fiction is just as difficult because when we give our selves and our time to fiction, we take on a huge responsibility. We can read fiction at face value, skimming through the pages, simply for the purpose of entertainment. Or we can allow ourselves to enter fiction, being taken deeper than the surface. We become part of the story, an observer that sees the details of every aspect. When we do this, we open ourselves up to the imagination, and sometimes the imagination is more powerful in spiritual transformation than reality itself. So it is with Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim&#8217;s Tale by Ian Morgan Cron. In reading... ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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