Webcast: We’re gearing up for the next webcast with The Gospel Project, The Gospel at the Center. Recently, Matt Chandler joined us to invite you all to this event:

Learn more at live.gospelproject.com.

What I Didn’t Know Before I Wrote a Book

Chris Martin:

In the spring of 2014, Trevin Wax and I were having lunch in the LifeWay cafeteria when he said I should write a blog on how evangelical pastors can better minister to Millennials.

I balked at the idea…hard.

“It’s so cliché to talk about Millennials,” I remember saying to him, “I just don’t wanna be ‘the Millennial guy.’”

Well, here we are.

Racial Reconciliation: What We (Mostly, Almost) All Agree On, and What We (Likely) Still Don’t Agree On

I think Kevin DeYoung does a good job of summarizing the big ideas of what we do and don’t disagree on.

Why good theology is the answer to bad technology

David Murray:

The longer I’ve wrestled with the challenges of digital technology in my life and in the lives of others, the more convinced I’ve become that the ultimate answer is not “no technology” or “more technology,” but “more theology.”

Who Will Save Superman?

Russell Moore:

I do not write this as a neutral observer, but as a fan of the character—and the larger DC universe—since before I was even able to read. The stories from Smallville and Metropolis (and Gotham and Central City and Paradise Island) populated the Fortress of Solitude that was my childhood imagination in ways that, looking back, I think pointed me onward to the writings of Lewis and Tolkien and beyond. But why did I, along with millions of others over the past eighty years, want to put that red blanket over my shoulders and pretend to fly?

4 Reasons Why Pastoral Honeymoons Are Shrinking

Eric Geiger:

If you aren’t familiar with the term or concept of a “pastoral honeymoon,” it refers to the period of time after a new pastor arrives. It can refer to other pastors and leaders on staff too, not just the senior pastor. During the pastoral honeymoon, the leader enjoys a season of support and grace. The people want the leader to be able to make decisions, set direction, and build the team he would like to work with. During the honeymoon period, the church as a whole is committed to assuming the best about the pastor’s motives and about the decisions that are being made.

Be Countercultural and Enjoy Your Work

Russell Meek:

The Bible in its ancient context was a profoundly countercultural document. Its creation account revealed a single, omnipotent ruler. There were no shenanigans; there were no death matches with other gods. There was only Yahweh. It presented a lofty vision of humanity created in God’s own image for the purpose of ruling his creation as his emissaries, a far cry from other ancient Near Eastern accounts in which humans were slaves created to serve the needs of the gods. Its laws valued life over property in distinction to other law codes, such as Hammurabi’s.

On hope, joy, pain, and false dichotomies

A favorite from the archives:

How many of us would say we are joyful people? Chances are, probably not that many.

And we all have reasons, probably really good ones. Maybe we’ve been lied about by someone we thought was trustworthy. Perhaps we were abused verbally, physically, or spiritually. Maybe we deal with depression, or struggle to make sense of the loss of someone close to us. Maybe it’s just that God seems to have abandoned us… or at least that he’s got better things to do with his time than to deal with you and me.