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Weekend A La Carte (April 22)

I am once again grateful to Children’s Hunger Fund for sponsoring the blog this week. “Across the US and in 29 countries around the world, faithful pastors and church volunteers from Children’s Hunger Fund church partners have dedicated their time to serving children and families in desperate situations.”

(Yesterday on the blog: The Gospel of Jesus)

Political Life Begins in the Church

Patrick Schreiner has an important article about the church’s primary (though not necessarily sole) political witness to the world.

Trusting God with The I-Don’t-Knows

“A mysterious curtain hangs just beyond this immediate present moment shielding our gaze from endless I-Don’t-Knows. Those I-Don’t-Knows are numerous, quite humbling, and often painful.”

Moses, the Mountain, and a Mass of Email

“Christians and non-Christians alike constantly talk about the need for ‘self-care’ these days. I wonder if farmers, working 80 hours a week in 1950s America, thought about ‘self-care.’ That is a rhetorical question.” Of course it is!

Once More, Church and Culture

There is a lot to ponder in this long article about the relationship of church and culture. “To ask about the church’s place in society while living in Christendom is redundant. The question answers itself. The question is genuinely new, however, when posed after Christendom.”

Freedom from the Burden of People Pleasing

Susan Narjala: “As a child, I learned to colour inside the lines. I do not mean just in art class, but that nature and nurture moulded me into a rule-follower.” She goes on to discuss how we can find freedom from people pleasing.

Could AI replace my pastor?

“The latest iteration of the chat bot can apparently produce sermons. You tell it your passage, how many points you want and point and shoot and away it goes. What you end up will be grammatically correct and may read well, though I think it comes across as a bit sterile. But to think that it is a sermon is to think wrongly about what preaching is.”

Just as evangelicals will fight their own individual sin as they keep in step with the Spirit, so we must fight the collective sin of allowing anything but the gospel to be the cause of our unity.

—Michael Reeves

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    A La Carte (April 22)

    A La Carte: Pope Francis / Yes, Jesus was crucified with nails / The mystery of “the call” / Just a little bit / The last of the four / John outran Peter / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Will You Be a Pillar?

    How do we lead in a culture shaped by performance, individualism, and platform? Platforms to Pillars by cultural commentator Mark Sayers offers a biblical alternative to the platform mentality that dominates our society. Drawing from the ancient world, Sayers challenges Christians to become pillars—people who provide strength and support for others, who live with character…

  • The Tallest Trees

    The Winds Blow Hardest Against the Tallest Trees

    Through the weekend had many questions about Christian leaders who fall. And I expressed that just as the winds blow hardest against the tallest trees, so temptations may press hardest against the leaders who rise the highest. Just as floods press against shallow roots, so seductive desires rise up against those whose fall would bring…

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    A La Carte (April 21)

    A La Carte: Toxic servant leadership / Taking our stress to the Lord / The problem with habits / Is it wrong for Christians to choose cremation? / Why does your church meet in a house? / Big book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • Expectations

    Why We Ask So Little of God

    Most Christians expect little from God, ask little, and therefore receive little, and are content with little. Though the Bible calls us to pray and though it promises that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,” we can still have very modest expectations of what God will accomplish through…

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    Weekend A La Carte (April 19)

    A La Carte: Why man needs God / Why nails matter / Kids’ picture books / MLK’s famous letter changed a DC church / How to mentor / A tearless eternity / and more.