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.”

Everything I Know about Pastoral Ministry I Learned Riding with Pastors

Thabiti Anyabwile:

Nearly everything I think I know about pastoral ministry I’ve learned from someone else. Usually the learning has come in one-sentence statements mentioned in almost throw-away lines. Often it’s been driving along in the car talking about life and ministry.

I’ve been thinking about this recently and decided to compile a list of some of them. In no particular order, here are some gems that have served me for years in most cases.

A Few Words on The End of Our Exploring

Matthew Lee Anderson shares about excellent upcoming book, The End of Our Exploring: A Book about Questioning and the Confidence of Faith:

When I set out to write it, I placed on myself what appears in retrospect to be an unreasonable challenge: I wanted the book to be so well written, so well done, that it would “sell itself.” My inner logic was that if the words themselves didn’t move people to tell others, then no marketing technique or “platform” could save them. And even more damningly, such words wouldn’t be worth saving. I wanted the words themselves to be of the sort that might endure to eternal life and the process of writing to be an act of faith, a sign between me and God of my faith in him and in the calling I had once discerned to say things in public.

Get Not By Sight and The Shepherd Leader at Home for $5 at Westminster Books

Westminster Books has some fantastic deals on the following titles:

• Not by Sight by Jon Bloom is on sale for $6.50 per copy. When you order 3 or more, the price drops to $5 each!
• The Shepherd Leader at Home by Timothy Z. Witmer is also on sale for $6.50 for one copy, and $5 each when you order three or more.

One last thing: Alistair Begg and Sinclair Ferguson’s new book, Name Above All Names, is also on sale for $10 per copy—that’s a 50 percent savings!

The Three Worst Qualities about the Gospel-Centered Movement

Dave Moser:

There are three major failings the gospel-centered movement is prone to. From time to time I see them in myself and I want to warn you against them.

(HT: David Murray)

Get The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon in today’s $5 Friday at Ligonier.org

The hardcover edition of The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon by Steven Lawson is on sale in today’s $5 Friday sale at Ligonier.org. Also on sale:

• Crucial Questions bundle by R.C. Sproul (paperback)
• God Alone teaching series by R.C. Sproul (audio and video download)
• Contentment, Prosperity, and God’s Glory by Jeremiah Burroughs (paperback)

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

Confession as Idle, Lustful Babbling: 5 Errors

Jared Wilson:

The greatest temptation in Christian communities is to avoid confession altogether, to maintain the facade, the uneasy stasis of staying right near the surface and never getting too deep, too real, too honest with each other. But on the other side, another temptation, perhaps not as great but just as real, is what often happens in place of real confession. We might call it “confession as performance.”