How I Changed My Mind about Abortion

Julia Herrington:

My thoughts and feelings on abortion have almost always been rather laissez–faire. I felt apathetic because the topic is so abrasive. Secretly, I’ve always felt that abortion wasn’t ideal and maybe not even right. But it’s complicated to believe that when you’re a feminist, and it’s certainly not something you profess publicly. Who am I to presume to know what is right for another woman? Am I, as a feminist, willing to assert that abortion isn’t right? Would I not be robbing women of authority over their own personhood, something women have fought arduously for, for far too long? A year ago, I would have rather been caught barefoot in the kitchen, in an apron with red lipstick on my mouth, baking for all the boys, a caricature of the “problem without a name” rather than to be found in close proximity to the pro-life camp.

An Alternative to the TGC and T4G Statements about SGM

David Murray:

I love and respect the T4G and TGC men who recently put their names to statements about the sexual abuse cover-up and conspiracy allegations surrounding C.J. Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries. Each of these gifted and godly men have played a hugely beneficial role in my Christian life. I’ve met some of them and know a couple of them quite well. I fully expect to profit from their ministries in the coming years.

But I have to say with heavy heart, I strongly disagree with some of the content in their public statements.

Cruciform Press sale at Reformation Heritage Books

Reformation Heritage Books has 12 books from Cruciform Press on sale for $6.00 per copy, including Brass Heavens, The Two Fears and Torn to Heal.

Kindle deals round 2

Yesterday I shared a bunch of Kindle deals; here are a few more you should check out:

• The Second Coming: Signs of Christ’s Return and the End of the Age by John MacArthur—$4.99
• Twelve Unlikely Heroes by John MacArthur—$4.99
• How to Study the Bible by John MacArthur—$4.62
• The Truth About Forgiveness by John MacArthur—$4.99
• Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God by Bob Kauflin—$4.99
• I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Geisler and Turek—$4.99
• The Church: The Gospel Made Visible by Mark Dever—$5.06
• Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever—$4.99
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 1—99¢ (US only)
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3—99¢ (US only)
• ESV Study Bible—$4.91

My Take on the “Baptist Battle of Calvinism”

Tim Brister:

I am one who grew up in the middle of this battle. My first four years of ministry witnessed a surge of Reformed theology in college (1997-2001), followed by four years in the revivalist/anti-Calvinist culture (2001-2004). The third set of four years was spent at Southern Seminary when the term “young, restless, and reformed” generation was coined (2004-2008). In fact, in many ways my journey biographically was a microcosm of the larger narrative such that Collin Hansen (who wrote the book) shared a portion of my life story in his book. The fourth set of four years has been as a pastor of a confessionally Reformed church (2008-2012), where I continue to serve today.

As I mentioned in my reflections on #SBC13, the tone and conversation regarding Calvinism is perhaps the best it has been since I’ve been involved in Southern Baptist life. I took some time to reflect on the past 15 years, and I thought I’d share my big picture take on the “Baptist Battle of Calvinism.

When Reporters Roll Their Eyes at an Abortion Bill

Trevin Wax:

As expected, the House of Representatives voted today to ban abortions after 22 weeks (the point when a fetus can feel pain). The Senate will probably ignore this bill, and the president will definitely veto it. But the symbolic power of the House kicking against the goads of Roe v. Wade is certainly newsworthy, which is why media outlets are devoting attention to the bill.

Unfortunately, in reading the news stories, one gets the impression that most journalists are rolling their eyes at Republicans for even attempting such a laughable, backwards piece of legislation.

Should We Stop Saying, “The Church Hurt Me”?

Thabiti Anyabwile:

I hear the statement quite often. Usually it’s raised in discussions of church membership. People want to know how to help a wounded friend or family member re-engage the church. Or, they’re the ones who have been hurt and they’re wrestling with whether church is worth it. Some want to be convinced to join a church and others want to be told it’s okay to leave. Answering well depends, in part, on knowing which way the person leans.

Young pastor, obscurity is your friend

David Murray:

Lots of fascinating insight and helpful advice in this interview with Internet entrepreneur Jason Fried, President and co-founder of 37 Signals. His caution to those just starting out in business is so transferable to those just starting out in ministry.

Kindle deals for Christian readers

A few recent Kindle deals:

• Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole by Eric Mason—99¢ (US only)
• Identity by Eric Geiger—$5.05
• Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance by Bruce Ware—$4.00
• New Geneva Introduction to the Old Testament edited by R.C. Sproul—99¢
• What Does the Lord Require?: A Guide for Preaching and Teaching Biblical Ethics by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.—$3.92
• Saved Without A Doubt: Being Sure of Your Salvation by John MacArthur—$2.47
• The Cross in the Shadow of the Crescent by Erwin Lutzer and Steve Miller—$3.74

Seven Things Pastors Would Like Church Members to Know about their Children

Thom Rainer:

I was serving a church in St. Petersburg, Florida, when it hit me hard. One of my young children had playfully fallen on the floor in the foyer after a worship service. A deacon in the church came up to me and spoke forcefully: “You need to tell your kid to get up. Pastors’ children aren’t supposed to act that way.”

Barnabas Piper interacts with the post here.

The Trinity as Old Testament Book Club

Fred Sanders:

We can learn to read the Bible so well that we overhear in it what the Father and Son say to each other. Does that sound too mystical? Learning to overhear the Trinity’s conversation? Don’t worry: It’s very high, but it’s not mystical. Mystical means, among other things, secret. And there’s nothing secret about this trinitarian conversation, because the whole thing is published, and has been for a long time.

Don’t go right to the commentary!

Brian Croft:

We live in a blessed day as pastors.  We have easy access to the thoughts of some of the most brilliant theological minds in history and can find them addressing just about any passage in the Bible.  The temptation with access to these kinds of scholars, is to seek their thoughts too soon before we have formulated our own thoughts about the passage we seek to preach.  When should a preacher consult the insightful words of these scholars?  I think the wisdom of English Pastor Andrew Fuller given over 200 years ago is still just as sound in our commentary-saturated time today as it was in his day when the resources were much more sparse.

Common Fault Lines in Maintaining an Evangelical Approach to Homosexuality

Kevin DeYoung:

On June 11, [Peter] Wehner authored a guest post at Patheos entitled, “An Evangelical Christian Looks at Homosexuality.” The context for the piece was a recent exchange Wehner had with a Christian acquaintance on the matter of homosexuality. This unnamed interlocutor was advocating that Christians “speak out more boldly and forcefully” and “vehemently oppose homosexuality and same sex marriage.” Not knowing the details of the exchange, it’s possible I would disagree with Wehner’s Christian acquaintance just as Wehner did. I certainly agreed with Wehner’s contention that applying the laws of ancient Israel to the United States is tricky business and that determining “how the Scriptural injunctions against homosexual behavior should manifest themselves in modern American law and society are not self-evident.” That is to say, our political and legislative positions cannot be determined simply by noting that the Bible calls something a sin and therefore that sin should be illegal.… My reason for noting Wehner’s article is because he is a thoughtful Christian who—despite some good points—has, in my estimation, repeated many of the worst arguments Christians often use when equivocating on homosexuality in general and gay marriage in particular. Let me mention four of these arguments.

Feeling Unappreciated at Work?

Andre Yee:

There are few things more difficult than giving our best labors daily in an environment where we feel unappreciated. You know the feeling, and it’s not a good one. No matter how good our work environment might be, from time to time we have all felt the sting of our contributions taken for granted and our mistakes magnified.

The sad reality is that this condition is almost inevitable in this broken world. So how do we sustain joyful work in such a situation?

Want to Change the World? Sponsor a Child

Bruce Wydick:

The truth was that I hadn’t the slightest clue about the effect child-sponsorship programs had on children.

Dissatisfaction with my pat answer began to inform conversations with my graduate students. “Have you considered researching the impact of child sponsorship?” I would ask. One student was interested, and she followed the topic long enough to find out that no one had ever investigated the topic, despite 9 million children sponsored worldwide, and the more than $5 billion per year being channeled into sponsorship programs from ordinary people wanting to help. But we were having trouble finding a sponsorship organization willing to work with us. What if the research discovered that sponsorship didn’t work? This was the risk that some organization out there had to take.

I Hear Voices…Do You?

Josh Blount:

Sometimes I hear voices. Voices talking to me. Voices in my head. Do you? (Cue the creepy music.)

No, I don’t have a Gollum-like split personality, and no, I don’t need to be locked in a padded room with basket-weaving supplies. But I do hear voices, or at least a voice, and I bet you do too. I’m talking about the incessant internal dialogue going on in our heads, the voice that sounds like your voice but comes up with all kinds of suggestions, ideas, evaluations, critiques, or judgments. I don’t care what kind of chatterboxes you live with, no one talks to you as much as you do.

The Truth We Are Too Blind to See

Staci Eastin:

A woman was accusing me of lying about her prescription copay (the internet was new back then, and people didn’t understand that we were just passing on the insurance claim, not coming up with the prices ourselves). She was mid-tirade when she realized that my husband and I were clients of her business, and that if I decided to take my business elsewhere, she was going to lose a lot more than the five dollars she was screaming at me about. Watching her try to backpeddle and soften her words was interesting. But what was especially interesting was her apology when she realized she couldn’t gloss over what she’d already said. “And here I was thinking that it was my turn, only to be yelling at one of my own customers.”

7 Reasons God Might Not Heal Somebody

Derek Rishmawy with a bit of help from Sam Storms:

Now, I’ve prayed, I’ve gone to doctors, changed up my practices, and for some reason it just seems like one thing after another keeps coming up. I know this isn’t the greatest tragedy in the world; we have members in our congregation and friend in our lives who have struggled through much worse. Still, there have been times when I’ve wondered, “God, what are you doing? Why haven’t you healed me yet? I know you can.” … That’s why I was particularly interested in reading Sam Storm’s chapter “Why Doesn’t God Always Heal the Sick?” in his new book Tough Topics: Biblical Answers to 25 Challenging Questions. I had my own range of responses to the issue, but I wanted to see what someone who had actually devoted some research to the question had to say.

Kindle deals for Christian readers

• Not by Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith by Jon Bloom—$5.87
• The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan—$3.15
• Doxology and Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader by Matt Boswell—$5.05
• Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones—$3.35
• The Life and Diary of David Brainerd edited by Jonathan Edwards—$3.99
• Fit to Burst: Abundance, Mayhem, and the Joys of Motherhood by Rachel Jankovic—$5.90
• George Muller of Bristol by Arthur Pierson—$3.92

Should Unbelieving Musicians Lead Worship?

Ronnie Martin:

Today I happen to be surrounded by ten or so worship leaders from surrounding communities who were invited to come together to share their trade secrets and insider knowledge about all things related to the ministry of worship arts. It’s no surprise that the conversation moves from light chit-chat about media and tech, to horror stories involving computer crashes, bad drummers and why church organs are actually ironic and awesome again. Up to this point, I’ve admittedly been a quiet, distracted observer, checking my I-Phone in between sips of my Psalted Caramel Mocha when suddenly the conversation shifts to who among us brings in musicians to lead worship who are not….well…saved.

Ok, now they have my attention.

When You Can’t Even Pray

Ray Ortlund:

Christians are not always on top of things. Where in the Bible are we taught to expect unruffled composure and unbroken victory? Sometimes life is so troubling, we feel defeated even in prayer. And if we cannot pray, we are really in trouble. At that very moment when we most need to draw upon God’s promises through prayer—what if we fail at that vital point of connection, when it really counts? Will our weakness bungle the purpose of God? Under normal conditions we tell ourselves that, when all else fails, we can fall back on prayer. But what if we do come to the end of ourselves and our own devices only to discover we don’t even know what to pray, we don’t understand how to connect the Bible with our experience, and God himself seems far away? What then? What encouragement can we look to beyond our own radical weakness?

How can something so destructive be so beautiful?

HT: David Murray

Trusting God vs. Using Our Brain

Amber Van Schooneveld:

I fear that sometimes we give so much lip service to trusting God – which is a good thing – that we fail to acknowledge the part wisdom plays in decision making.

We have created a false dichotomy between applying wisdom and trusting God.

Get In Christ Alone in today’s $5 Friday at Ligonier.org

The hardcover edition of In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel-Centered Life by Sinclair Ferguson is on sale in today’s $5 Friday sale at Ligonier.org. Also on sale:

• The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism by Craig Brown (paperback)
• God Alone teaching series by R.C. Sproul (audio and video download)
• God the Real Superpower: Rethinking Our Role in Missions by J. Nelson Jennings (paperback)

$5 Friday ends tonight at 11:59:59 PM Eastern.

Reflections on #SBC13

Tim Brister:

I have been attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention for 5 years, which is not a long time. Yet, there is much that has changed in this short period of time. In 2008, there were numerous motions against Acts 29, Mark Driscoll, and Calvinism. In 2013, not one motion or resolution was against Acts 29 or Calvinism. In fact, NAMB and Acts 29 were on the same IX Marks stage encouraging one another in planting gospel-centered churches. AND the Calvinism Advisory Committee produced a healthy and constructive document which has changed the tone of the convention regarding this controversial issue. Instead of talking about one another, Calvinists and non-Calvinists are talking toone another and standing shoulder to shoulder (differences notwithstanding) in a spirit of voluntary cooperation forwarded by meaningful theological consensus.  In fact, I did not hear one derogatory statement about Calvinists the entire time in Houston (Louisiana College excluded). These changes are no small thing.

And What Remains film + study guide

Marc Havener, maker of the short film, And What Remains, has made a study guide available for use in a small group or family setting. Head over to the film’s site for details.

God Rules the Mundane

Gloria Furman:

 I’m the wife of a busy church planter and mother to three kids, four years old and under. We live in the Middle East where sand seeps into every crack in the windows and doors and leaves a gritty film all over the floor for me to sweep. I do eight loads of laundry and clip four sets of fingernails and toenails each week.

My life is all things ordinary.

Bold, Daring Audacity Vs The Pretty Boy Preachers

Colin Adams:

Dr Steven J. Lawson spoke yesterday to a group of Irish pastors. His subject was “The Gospel Focus Of Charles Spurgeon.” Some of the content was encouraging. Much of it was tremendously challenging. However my ‘personal takeaway’ was Dr Lawson’s discussion of Spurgeon’s bold audacity in the pulpit.

Marriage Is Not Ultimate

Phillip Holmes:

It’s easy for Christians to point the finger at our neighbors and accuse them of misunderstanding and devaluing marriage. But we are also guilty. We often worship marriage and (therefore) devalue it, too.

Kindle deals round three!

The Kindle deals just keep on coming:

• Gods at War by Kyle Idleman—$3.99
• Disciplines of a Godly Man by Kent Hughes—$3.99
• The Shepherd Leader at Home by Timothy Witmer—$4.99
• No More Excuses by Tony Evans—$2.99
• Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Bruce Ware—$2.99
• Date Your Wife by Justin Buzzard $3.99
• The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel $2.99
• Who Is This Man? by John Ortberg—$3.99
• When a Nation Forgets God by Erwin Lutzer—$5.10 (reviewed here)
• Gospel by JD Greear—$5.05

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (trailer)

Despite the ridiculousness of turning The Hobbit into a trilogy, I still had fun watching An Unexpected Journey. The Desolation of Smaug could be a lot of fun as well:

5 People We Should Pray For Even Though We Don’t Want To

Dan Darling:

Let’s be honest. There are certain types of people we are conditioned, by our culture, to not like. These are the people that nobody is going to give us credit for liking, the people we tend to distance ourselves from. For good reason. And yet, these are the sinners Christ most likely would have sought out to save, the people we should, at the very least, pray for. So here is a list of 5 People We Should Pray For Even Though We Don’t Want To.

Is She Up for This? Questions for a Potential Pastor’s Wife

Bob Johnson:

Before you pursue the office of pastor, you know that you need to be ready. But have you asked whether your wife is ready?

Formally, I don’t believe there should be extra expectations placed on a pastor’s wife. There is no office of “pastor’s wife” in the Bible. But practically, being married to a pastor is a tough role. Does your wife have what it takes? Is she up for it?

Haters Gonna Hate: How to Deal with 3 Kinds of Hate Mail

David Murray:

If you want to avoid hate mail, simply avoid any public leadership role. Yes, pastors receive their “fair share” of hate mail, but so also do politicians, business owners, teachers, and many others.

That said, there are seasons when pastors receive more hate mail than normal, and now is probably one of them, when churches and pastors are taking courageous yet unpopular stands on numerous moral issues. So what should we do when the haters start hating?

The Dangers of Online Christianity

Chris Crane:

Living in the 21st century, we have become overwhelmed with the advances of technology and how literally every part of our lives now seems to be using some sort of technology that wasn’t available 10 or 20 years ago. Many of these things have been quite helpful and I’m thankful that God has given them to us. However, like any good gift, it can become a danger if we let it. This is especially true when it comes to the gospel and our lives as followers of Jesus. There are countless podcasts, books, videos and websites dedicated to our favorite pastor/theologian and that feature countless theological topics. While I celebrate the diverse availability of the gospel, I also find some dangers that I think we need to be mindful of and fight against.

Should Christians legislate morality?

Great discussion between Trevin Wax, Collin Hansen and Kevin DeYoung:

Truth, Trust, and Testimony in a Time of Tension

Albert Mohler:

As the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention convenes this morning in Houston, theological issues will be ever close at hand. This is as it should be, for Baptists are a theological people. The history of the Southern Baptist Convention has been a legacy of significant doctrinal debates and controversies — most of them over issues that matter. There is no embarrassment in this, for the only way to avoid doctrinal debate is to assume a lowest-common-denominator level of doctrine that is unworthy of a people committed to the Gospel of Christ.

How To Be A Weird Christian Without Being A WEIRD Christian

Stephen Altrogge:

Being a Christian means being weird. I don’t mean dances with snakes weird, although Dances With Snakes could be a great movie, especially if it starred Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall. No, I’m talking about true, holy weirdness. If we truly follow and obey Jesus, we will strike the world as being weird, odd, possibly even a bit unstable. After all, what “normal” person seeks to fight against sexual lust? What “normal” person wants to give away a significant portion of their income? What “normal” person forgives their enemies and does good to those who mistreat them? What “normal” person stakes all their hope on a dying and rising Messiah? Following Jesus means saying “no” to many of the things the world loves and considers normal. It often means offending others for the sake of obeying Jesus.

Reading The Bible Narcissistically

Tullian Tchividjian:

We often read the Bible as if it were fundamentally about us: our improvement, our life, our triumph, our victory, our faith, our holiness, our godliness. We treat it like a book of timeless principles that will give us our best life now if we simply apply those principles. We treat it, in other words, like it’s a heaven-sent self-help manual. But by looking at the Bible as if it were fundamentally about us, we totally miss the Point–like the two on the road to Emmaus. As Luke 24 shows, it’s possible to read the Bible, study the Bible, and memorize large portions of the Bible, while missing the whole point of the Bible. It’s entirely possible, in other words, to read the stories and miss the Story. In fact, unless we go to the Bible to see Jesus and his work for us, even our devout Bible reading can become fuel for our own narcissistic self-improvement plans, the place we go for the help we need to “conquer today’s challenges and take control of our lives.”

More Kindle deals for Christian readers!

As if yesterday’s list wasn’t enough, here are a few others to fill up your Kindle:

New Geneva Introduction to the New Testament edited by R.C. Sproul—99¢

Lectures on Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper—$1.00

Get Rid of These 6 Things

Tim Challies:

Getting things done has always been difficult. Whether it is more difficult today than in days past is a matter of speculation and hardly worth the effort. What is clear, though, is that we have many things, some good and some bad, competing for our time and attention. I believe a key to productivity today is a willingness to exercise self-control by refusing a lot of the capabilities our devices offer us. Maybe you should consider getting rid of these 6 things.

15 Christian clichés

Yep:

“Song of Solomon” and 9 Year Olds

Thabiti Anyabwile:

Yesterday at FBC we began a new sermon series entitled “True Romance.” It’s an exposition of the Song of Solomon.

To be honest, I felt a mix of excitement and trepidation as Sunday morning drew near. I kept wondering, Why on earth did you choose this book? Do you know how many things could go wrong?

Kindle deals for Christian readers

The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men by Richard D. Phillips—FREE

Doxology and Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader by Matt Boswell—$4.99

Crucifying Morality by R W Glenn—$3.99

The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan—$3.37

Preach: Theology Meets Practice by Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert—$4.95

Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole by Eric Mason—$5.99

I Am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference by Thom Rainer—$4.99

Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation by Ed Stetzer—$4.99

Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith by Scotty Smith—$1.99

Spiritual Warfare and Missions by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer—$2.99

Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus’ Name by Bryan Chapell—$4.99

Scandalous by D.A. Carson—$3.99

Jack: A Life of C. S. Lewis by George Sayer—$4.99

The Primacy of the Word in Worship

Ron Man:

…the astounding observation has been made as to how little use is made of Scripture in the worship services of most evangelical churches. The irony of course is that those who claim most strongly to stand on the Bible have so little of it in their worship. While the sermon of course takes a prominent role in our services, even preaching consists mostly of talking about the Scriptures (often after reading just a very few verses). It must be said that liturgical groups (whether on the more liberal or the more conservative end of the spectrum theologically) have probably ten times as much actual Scripture in their services (because it is built into their liturgies) as most evangelical free churches!

Fighting the Tyranny of Ministry Success

Ben Stuart:

What is the most loving thing God can do for a 22-year-old minister?

In my case, it was ordaining that my inaugural, epic, game-changing, well-publicized ministry event be attended by one kid.

One single human being. A junior high boy named Austin.

Experience: An Eventual Black Hole into Nirvana?

Peter Jones:

A week ago I spent a fascinating day in a San Diego courtroom hearing arguments for and against the teaching of yoga in schools. The question is: can yoga ever be a non-religious exercise?

Seven Ways to Wage War Against Sin

Chris Poblete:

Seldom is written these days about how to “put to death the deeds of the body.” Thankfully, the Puritan writers were not silent on the issue. John Owen called it the mortification of sin.… If sin is out to kill me, then I ought to know how to kill it first—mortify it. Consider these seven ways we can wage war against sin.

The Practical Calvin: Holiness and the Christian Life

Brandon Smith:

John Calvin. This name is has different meanings depending on one’s theological framework, denominational upbringing, or knowledge of church history. He is loved by many, hated by many, and surely unknown to many others. Regardless of one’s opinion of Calvin, he is often seen as the rigid theologian who wrote extremely lofty thoughts about the sovereignty and glory of God.

Linguistically Describing the Sounds of Teenagers

HT: Michael Kelley

Books for a Summer Season — Some Recommended Reading

Albert Mohler’s posted his recommended summer reading list. Here are the books he recommends:

1. The Last of the Doughboys: The Forgotten Generation and their Forgotten World War by Richard Rubin
2. Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
3. Storm Kings: The Untold Story of America’s First Tornado Chasers by Lee Sandlin
4. Born on a Mountaintop: On the Road with Davy Crockett and the Ghosts of the Wild Frontier by Bob Thompson
5. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 by Rick Atkinson
6. The Wrath of Cochise: The Bascom Affair and the Origins of the Apache Wars by Terry Mort
7. Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo
8. The Feud: The Hatfields & McCoys, The True Story by Dean King
9. A Higher Callby Adam Makos
10. Geronimo by Robert M. Utley

Creative Orthodoxy

Ben Stevens:

What is the place of creativity or innovation in theology? This question has nagged me for years. How can one innovate while both remaining inside of, and even bolstering the case for, orthodoxy? The idea seemed conceptually possible, but I had always lacked a metaphor to explain how. Though I didn’t realize it until recently, there happens to be an entire craft that illustrates this dilemma and suggests its solution: typography.

Lay Aside the Weight of Sluggishness

Jon Bloom:

The best coaches don’t just encourage; they also exhort. They come on strong. They get angry if they must. They warn against the dangers of foolishness, indolence, or losing resolve. And that’s because they know that humans are not only motivated by reward, we are also motivated by fear. It’s how we are designed. God is the ultimate reward (Hebrews 11:26) and the ultimate terror (Luke 12:4–5) and we are equipped to understand, be awed by, and be motivated by both aspects of him.

The Fine Art of Selection

Randy Alcorn:

We sometimes mistake Christian busyness for true spirituality, failing to realize that over-commitment is no more honoring to God than under-commitment. In our relentless pursuit of spiritual success, we drag ourselves through a dizzy, busy, barren life. Our unspoken motto seems to be “Weariness is next to godliness.”