Blogging Theologically

Theology for real life

Links I like (8/10)

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Links I like

Seeing and Preaching the Gospel of Jesus in Jonah

Ian Conrey:

Several years ago I heard a sermon series through Jonah and the main point was a typical, principle-seeking approach, and its main focus was why we should not be like Jonah. The argument was that Jonah’s life would have been better if he had just obeyed. If Jonah only listened, the sailors would not have been put in danger, and he would not have been swallowed up by a fish, and so on. This is a common way the Old Testament is preached and interpreted today, but let’s pause here and not make the mistake to isolate this story from God’s overall redemptive work, which Christ graciously tells us to do (Luke 24:44-47, John 5:39).

On Coming Out as Fat

This is an interesting piece from Trevin.

4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Teach Your Kids To Be Colorblind

Trillia Newbell:

Although people confidently make the claim, I’d like to suggest that we are not colorblind, we don’t need to be colorblind, and we actually should strive to not be colorblind. Because it leads us in the wrong direction. Instead, I want to encourage us to be colorsmart. Here’s why…

Beholding Jesus in the Beginning

Mary Wiley:

I’ve read this passage dozens of times, but reading it aloud let the words resonate with a distinct freshness. As I read, the words Philippians 2 rang in my heart, “he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of men…obedient to the point of death…” (Philippians 2:7-8). The dichotomy of Jesus’ God-ness and His humanity astounded me.

The opioid crisis is the pro-life issue evangelicals aren’t talking about

Phillip Bethancourt:

Until evangelicals embrace the opioid epidemic as a pivotal aspect of championing a whole-life pro-life social ethic, the church will continue to overlook the crisis all around it. The Bible calls Christians to embrace a holistic view of life that defends the most vulnerable from conception to resurrection. Ministering in the midst of the opioid crisis is a key area where churches can protect human dignity, by embracing the many ways in which this epidemic is a pro-life issue.

4 Indications a Longing for Approval Is Hampering Your Leadership

Eric Geiger:

The longing for approval can creep into a leader’s heart and cripple the leader’s effectiveness. But how can we recognize a longing for approval in our own leadership? Here are four indications.

The single best reason we should thank God for criticism

A favorite from the archives:

Because we’re all limited by the information available to us—whether that’s due to our experience or our accumulated knowledge to date—we’re all going to gaff sometimes. Whether in large or small ways, we’re going to get things wrong. We’ll back the wrong the wrong horse (figuratively). We’re going to sin against people we don’t intend to.

And when we do, we need to do something about it. But doing something requires one thing: humility.

Weekend reading (8/05)

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Weekend Reading

8 tips to help you disciple your kids

Great stuff from Brian:

I think that is how many parents feel when it comes to discipling our kids. We know that we should disciple our kids—it is one of our primary ministries as parents (Deut. 6:4-9)—and we want to, but when it comes to actually doing it, we feel lost. Where do we begin? What do we say? Do I really know enough myself? And so, because of our overwhelming feeling of inadequacy, we tell our kids to listen to their leaders at church and do what they say.

This is understandable, but it doesn’t have to be this way. It can’t be this way. Discipling our kids is far too important to hand off to others—as godly and loving as they may be. And that takes us back to our primary concern—we know we need to disciple our kids and we want to do it, but how do we actually do it? Here are eight tips to help you disciple your kids.

A Millennial Anomaly? Why I’m Still In Church

Emily Gehman:

Hi, I’m Emily, and I’m an anomaly. (Hiiii, Emily.) I’m a Millennial who’s staying in church. I understood (and believed) the gospel when I was just 4, and I’ve been going to church ever since. Sure, I’ve thought about leaving more than once. But let’s just be honest—we all have, haven’t we?

So what’s keeping me, a Millennial—The Generation of Lost Sunday School Boys and Girls—in church? Three things, really. While I can’t speak for all Millennials everywhere, I can tell my story.

Fighting with Ed Stetzer, Becoming Friends Again, and Lateral Leadership

Eric Geiger:

Ed and I were friends before I moved to Nashville. When I served as an executive pastor in Miami, I brought him to our church several times to teach and train our staff. We wrote articles together and enjoyed meals together in different cities where we happened to be speaking alongside one another. Ed was also one of the vice presidents at LifeWay, so when I joined the team there, I was excited to be working alongside him.

But we clashed early on. Pretty hard. I could tell he was frustrated with me, and I was frustrated too. There was tension in the air and it was not fun like I envisioned it being.

The Altar of “Progress”

John Knight:

The desire to alleviate pain and suffering is, of course, laudable. My family (and yours) has experienced the common graces found through medicine, surgeries, and therapy. For centuries, curious doctors and scientists, many of them Christians motivated by a desire to help people, have explored the causes of disease while searching for cures. Ultimately, human subjects must be part of these experiments.

Preaching Under Pressure

HB Charles Jr:

On the other side of leadership challenges over the years, I believe that you have not really learned to preach until you preach through a storm. Unending sunshine creates shallow pulpits. Preaching through a storm anchors the pulpit to the tried and proven word of God.

A Stolen Frog and the Future of Free Speech Online

Chris Martin:

The internet hate and bigotry that gained mainstream attention in the 2016 presidential has existed for years in the deep, dark corners of the internet. But its newfound fame has drawn attention toward the matter of free speech and the internet. What is permissible, what is not, and how do we proceed into the future?

Accidental double agents in the pulpit

A favorite from the archives:

One should quickly and easily see the problem with this kind of thinking. Whether we’re using this concept in thinking about our own growth in godliness, encouragement to fellow believers, or in ministry to the lost, it is a failure to recognize that everything does depend on God, both in prayer and in practice.

Praying as though everything depends on God is right and true—but we also must work as though everything depends upon Him. Because everything does.

Weekend reading (7/29)

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Weekend Reading

Paleo, Kale, Crossfit, and the Glory of God

Katie Hughes:

It’s this trend that I’ve got something to say about. However, lest you think I’m going to be one of those “I’m too cool for all of these trends and you should be, too” types, let me assure you that I respond to these things from a place of experience, not judgment, by listing a few of the health and fitness trends I’ve attempted (with varying levels of success) in the last several years.

Doing More Harm Than Good

Joel Rainey:

What started out as disagreement over the way this new church would be structured and how decisions would be made (issues which had been addressed repeatedly and clearly over the previous six months) quickly escalated to a flash point, and I was presented with a hard choice: either compromise our identity and mission, or bid farewell to an otherwise faithful family and watch our offerings plummet by approximately 30% in the process. I stiffened my lip, bid them farewell, assured the rest of our team that we would be fine, and then went home and wept.

What I Believe About Ministry

Darryl Dash:

Here’s a list of what I stand for. It’s still a work in progress. I expect to add to it and improve it over the years. But I don’t expect that many of the convictions I articulate here will change. I wish I’d held to them 25 years ago. My service to those I’ve pastored would have been richer for it.

3 Spiritual Reasons To Do Something You’re Not Good At

Michael Kelley:

This is a hard thing for us especially as we grow older for obvious reasons. We don’t like to look foolish. And we know at this point in our lives where we usually succeed and where we fail. And typically it’s less fun to fail. So why do this?

I can think of at least three reasons why I, and maybe you, ought to do something every once in a while that probably won’t go well.

The Pastor as a Church Member

Jared Sparks:

One of the greatest gifts a congregation can give to a pastor is allowing him and his family to be members of the church. That’s right. The pastor and his family are church members. Too many pastors have been crushed by the weight of a congregation unable see the sheep inside the under-shepherd. And too many congregations have been robbed by pastors who refuse to seem themselves as sheep.

When Husbands Die Young

Ami Wickiser:

Anxiety was a fixture of my new life. I was 30, and my husband had died. Sometimes I awoke to the sound of my own voice screaming his name, drenched in a cold sweat. Other nights were sleepless, the pain visceral. I lived in a fog, and then reality began to settle. He wasn’t coming back.

Only 0.6 percent of American women are widowed when younger than 35. I’m a major anomaly, and people haven’t always known what to do with me.

Your limits are God’s kindness to you

A favorite from the archives:

Some of the healthiest people I know are the ones who know how to say “no”—especially to good things. They realize that they have limits: They’re human and need sleep. Maybe they want to spend time with their families. They have full-time jobs and ministry commitments. Perhaps they even recognize they’re only gifted in so many ways…

They are limited by time and place. They know it, and they embrace it.

Links I like (7/27)

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Links I like

Church, Slow Down The Video Crew

Jeff Medders:

Everyone loves a good story of redemption. Our joy swells when we hear how someone came to believe in Jesus. Add some candid footage, spacey guitar riffs, and it’s gold. I love it. I’m sure you do too. But I have one bit of counsel when it comes to the video crew.

Slow them down.

Fresh sprouted stories come with a higher risk profile. It could derail before you know it. The story could be dead by next year. I’ve seen it firsthand.

Three Problems with the Claim, “God Is Like a Mountain”

JD Greear:

The point is pretty clear. We’re the blind men groping in the dark, and God is the elephant. We’ve got to stop being so narrow-minded and dogmatic and open up our minds a little bit.

Respectfully, as the saying goes, “It’s good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out.” I worry that many of the well-intentioned “wise” of our day may have loosened the hinges on their mind a little too much.

Study Guide for The Imperfect Disciple

Go download a copy of this study guide, and a copy of The Imperfect Disciple if you haven’t already.

C.S. Lewis Warned Us About Non-Denominationalism

Aaron Earls:

While most branches of American Christianity are shrinking, one strand continues to grow—non-denominationalism. But is that the most healthy situation for the faith?

According to a newly released Gallup poll, the percentage of Americans who identify with a Protestant denomination has fallen 20 percentage points in just 16 years, from 50 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2016.

Loneliness is Killing us

David Murray:

We all know loneliness is not a good thing. At the very beginning, God told us that it is not good to be alone (Gen. 2:18). But perhaps it is beyond “not good,” – harmful, detrimental even.

That’s what Billy Baker from the Boston Globe discovered as he researched the effects of loneliness in his article, The biggest threat facing middle-age men isn’t smoking or obesity. It’s loneliness.

Two Views a Pastor Must Have

Casey Lewis:

What do all businesses, schools, non-profits, and churches have in common? They all have leaders. Leaders are important. They are the ones who determine the vision and set the direction for the future. They are also the ones making sure everyone is equipped to play their part in the organization. Without leaders, organizations flail. They meander around until they disappear. Good leaders are important.

A key point we miss in defending the faith

A favorite from the archives:

One of the classic texts for apologetics is 1 Peter 3:15, where we read that we should always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you”. Certainly this is true, but we’re missing something kind of important. I was reminded of this afresh as we studied this text together at church on Sunday, and our local missions pastor made an important point:

The primary action in this text is not to make a defense, but to honor Christ in our hearts. Remember, the verse in full reads, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (emphasis added).

Links I like (7/25)

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Links I like

Superhero movie trailers from SDCC 2017

This past comic book fans, gamers, and media enthusiasts from around the world convened in San Diego for Comic Con, where a couple of pretty rad new movie trailers were released:

First, Justice League:

Second, Thor: Ragnarok:

As far as trailers are concerned, both are excellent. Hopefully the movies will be, too.

The One Place Where All Leadership Principles Fall Apart

Michael Kelley:

Long before Hal Moore embodied this and certainly before the principle was recorded in book form or dramatized in film, Jesus showed us the same philosophy. Consider if you would the parting words of the Son of God before He ascended into heaven, the words we now call the Great Commission.

From Selling Drugs to Selling Bibles

Brandon Smith:

If I told you this show was loosely based on my life story, you wouldn’t believe it. And you shouldn’t—mine isn’t near as eventful. Ten years ago, though, I was selling marijuana and prescription pills. My client base was mostly other 20-something guys like myself. I’d make deals that were $30 here, $5 there. And I wasn’t doing so for some faux-altruistic cause like battling medical bills or trying to feed my family. There were no police standoffs or territorial drug wars; I just liked making a little extra money. Becoming a two-bit drug dealer in my neighborhood wasn’t too difficult, either.

The Gospel is Like an Old Hymn

Jared Wilson:

The gospel is an old hymn. The gospel is sheet music printed in antiquarian typeface on a yellowed page in a dusty book. It’s the “old, old story” and the “old rugged cross.” It is four verses–and please don’t skip the third verse to expedite the invitation! The gospel is an invitation to a bygone time that feels new again, even in our age of ever-dawning progress and modernity. The gospel gets “dug up” and “trotted out” and sung ironically and apologized for by leaders too clever for their own good. But then it lands in the ears of those led as sweetly familiar, warms their souls like celestial comfort food, and it always gets sung louder than those Jesus-is-my-boyfriend ditties.

A Brief History of the Altar Call

Thomas Kidd:

By the mid-20th century, altar calls had become a staple of evangelical and Baptist life in America, especially in the South. Many evangelical and Reformed-leaning churches in recent years have stopped doing altar calls, for a variety of reasons. Critics of altar calls have pointed out that they have no strong biblical basis, and that they were part of the “New Measures” introduced by Charles Finney in the later stages of the Second Great Awakening.

When Serving The Local Church Isn’t Fun

Bethany Mathis:

I am going to be very honest here: I’m not a fan of serving in the children’s ministry. I dislike that I miss the service. I leave worn out and with a renewed thankfulness I didn’t choose to go into education like I had planned! God bless the women and men who teach our little ones every day!

The only truly good sermon you will ever hear

A favorite from the archives:

Truly, there is no worse sermon than one that misses Jesus. By that, I don’t mean ham-fisted attempts to force him into the message, or a tacked-on memorized gospel presentation at the end of the message. What I mean is to always show the connection to Christ.

Five quick personal/professional updates

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The last few weeks have been kind of hectic. I’ve been traveling a lot, working on big plans at work (big plans, I say!), and attempt to take a day off here and there this summer. There are a lot of irons so today, I wanted to give just a few personal and professional updates:

Seminary: Yesterday, I applied to a seminary affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Lord willing, I’ll be starting again in the Fall or Winter, which would be pretty great. I would love to get back to continuing my education.

Podcast: Reading Writers is on a brief hiatus while I record some new episodes. I have one already completed and a few more on the way. Look for that to start up again next week, if all goes well.

Family: The past year has been both amazing and extremely difficult for us for a variety of reasons. We all love being here and definitely feel like this was the right move, but I’d be lying if I said it’s been an easy transition. The hardest part? Developing friendships and dealing with feelings of loneliness for us grown-ups.

Church: This past Sunday, was my first time serving in Kids Ministry since we left Harvest. My teammate and I taught through the aftermath of Elijah’s battle against the prophets of Baal. I loved being able to do this again. Young dudes out there, if you’re looking for opportunities to make disciples, contact your children’s ministry directors today.

Work: We’ve got a big year coming up with The Gospel Project, as you’re going to see in the coming months (nothing more can I say now). We’re entering the final year of the current study plan, which is exploring the formation of the early church, the spread of the gospel throughout the mediterranean, and the promise of the kingdom to come. And then, we head back to Genesis with an all-new study plan in Fall 2018. All the planning for that is what’s eating up a significant amount of my brain power. I love it, but it’s hard.

There’s a lot there and lots more going on besides, but that’s a quick glimpse into what’s been going on lately. If y’all are inclined, I know Emily and I would certainly appreciate your prayers as we continue to make this place feel like home.

 

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