Recommendations, Consumerism, Culture, Hospitality, Leadership, Relationships
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The quiet grief of adult friendship: Pranav Jain reflects, “Somewhere between “Let’s catch up soon” and “Sorry, life has been hectic”, adult friendship became one of the most emotionally significant and least discussed losses of modern life.

  2. Created to play: Brianna Lambert says, “Scientists admit that of all creatures, humans play the most, noting, “We are built to play and built through play” (Stuart Brown, Play). And God does just that. He builds us through our hobbies and gives us his own titles.”

This Week's Recommendations
Biblical Studies, Faith, Suffering
John Beeson
Faith Is Not Anonymous

She was desperate. The bleeding started 12 years ago. It began as a typical period and then just didn’t stop. The perpetual loss of blood left her weak and with constant cramping. Ceremonially unclean, she couldn’t go to the temple or the high holy days. She wasn’t allowed to touch her friends or family as she would make them unclean. Loneliness crept in. She went to doctor after doctor. She took herbs and minerals and oils. Her finances diminished as her desperation increased. She was lonely and depressed.

And then she heard about him: Jesus of Nazareth.

Faith Is Not Anonymous
Family, Faith, Parenting, Prayer, Wisdom
John Beeson
The De-Centering Joy of Parenting

Back in our children’s hometown of Princeton, New Jersey, our son Soren and his girlfriend, Viki, walked hand in hand down streets he had not visited in a decade. When they first started dating, he promised her he would take her there one day. On this rainy afternoon, that promise was fulfilled.

We sipped local coffee… as we wandered through familiar streets, greeted by linen-white dogwood blossoms. We shared memories as we passed childhood homes, old landmarks, and favorite gelato shops... We pulled over at the Princeton Battlefield and let Soren and Viki walk ahead as we hung back.  

The De-Centering Joy of Parenting
Recommendations
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Do Americans think spiritual revival is coming? Barna’s report says yes: especially among young people. “Nearly 3 in 10 U.S. adults (29%) say a spiritual revival could be coming, with Gen Z the most likely of any generation to anticipate such a movement (38%).”

  2. Am I defined by who I am or what I do? Justin Poythress says, “Is your identity a deep and settled persona? Or is it what you do—the sum of your choices which you can always redirect? It’s both. The errors of these two identity convictions are self-determination and fatalism. Neither is true because internal and external identities interconnect.”

This Week's Recommendations
Church, Culture, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Diversity, Pentecost, and God’s Glory

There is a temptation for Christians to reject what the world values. Understandably, we would be suspicious of those things which secularism honors. But sometimes there is a baby in the bathwater.

There are few things more sacred in the modern West than diversity. But this is a baby worth preserving. Diversity was God’s before it was the world’s.

Let’s consider God’s glorious plan for diversity.

Ethnic diversity enters the biblical picture in a strange fashion, with the odd story of the Tower of Babel. As the descendants of Noah multiply, they form plans to protect their legacy.

Diversity, Pentecost, and God’s Glory

Stacy MacLaren

, , , , , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , , , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. When fear dresses up like help: Loads of parenting wisdom packed into this post from Stacy MacLaren, “He was not only trying to become his own person. He was also trying to do that without hurting me. And at some point, I think he realized that in order to do the next right thing, he was going to hurt me no matter what.”

  2. Stop keeping score: Andrew Noble says, “Envy is at the root of modern comparison games. When someone does a good moral act toward us, such as paying our bill, driving our kids, or folding our laundry, we should receive and enjoy their good gifts.

, , , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Blessing the voyage: launching them without losing them: My friend and colleague Stacy MacLaren with a timely piece, “We don’t raise our children to keep them. We raise them to release them.”

  2. An unremarkable life: Jonny Pollock says, “The modern mantra appears simple. Be remarkable. Whether through career achievements, our social media feeds, or our personal brands (don’t roll your eyes, we all have them!), the pressure is relentless.”

, , , , , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , , , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. What comes after expressive individualism? Trevin Wax says, “More and more people are shaping their sense of self through powerful group affiliations rather than as independent individuals. This isn’t a rejection of expressive individualism so much as its evolution…

  2. The surprising importance of shallow Christian friendships: Danny D’Aquisto with a helpful contrarian perspective,

, , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Returning, not performing: My friend and colleague Stacy MacLaren says, “And here’s the point: the fast is not the goal. The fast is simply space-making. It’s a way of loosening our grip so God can have more room. And if the practice makes you meaner, prouder, sharper, or more self-righteous…that is not the Spirit of Jesus. A Lent that doesn’t move us toward love is not the Lent God is inviting us into.

  2. How to fast: Cassie Achermann concludes, “Start with just one meal. Use that usual mealtime to pray, and let the hunger teach you about your need for God. Do it on your own, or invite a few friends to join you in praying for a mutual need or concern. Call out to God, asking him to use this practice to bring you to prayer. And see how he works.”

, , , ,

The Return of Apologetics

, , , ,
The Return of Apologetics

Approximately 30 million people watched and listened to a recent Joe Rogan podcast with New Testament scholar and apologist Wes Huff (Wes Huff on the Joe Rogan Experience: warning: Rogan curses quite a bit). Huff was invited onto Rogan’s podcast after a debate with agnostic Billy Carson went viral (Wes Huff vs. Billy Carson debate).

Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent a fair chunk of time digesting these two appearances (the Rogan show alone is over three hours) and the reactions to them across the internet. I think Huff’s popularity is a cause for great encouragement and also a challenge to us as Christians.

Sign up to get The Bee Hive delivered to your inbox and receive a free 50 Books That Changed My Life (and Might Change Yours, Too) download!