John Beeson

July 23, 2020

Recommendations, Marriage, Nature, Christian Living, Culture

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

July 23, 2020

Recommendations, Marriage, Nature, Christian Living, Culture

1. Should Christians Use Recreational Marijuana? Kevin VanHoozer offers wisdom to Christians in a nation with broadening availability to recreational marijuana. VanHoozer explains that we need to have an understanding of what marijuana does as well as a biblical understanding of recreation. He says, "'Recreation' originally referred to the process of spiritual refreshment: the act of restoring or reviving the soul. Today, it usually refers to things people do to relax or have fun. Recreation is an activity of leisure—leisure being “free” time. It can be solitary or communal. In either case, it is formative, either spiritually or socially."

2. It's True! Stress Makes Your Hair Grey: Sometimes old wive's tales are real… and I’m living proof of this one! Jennifer Walter reports, "Scientists knew losing these cells in hair follicles robs hair of its luster, but they had yet to pin down the mechanism responsible for triggering the depletion of melanocytes. Now, scientists finally have an answer: the fight-or-flight response."

3. Marriage Was Never Meant to Fill the Empty Spaces: An excellent and intimate reflection by Lauren Washer. She reminds us, "Marriage cannot fill the empty spaces but it helps point us to the God who emptied himself so we could be filled up with the knowledge of him. As we continuously seek to fill ourselves up with the knowledge of God, through his word and through prayer, he fills us with everything we need for life and godliness."

4. Respectable Sins of the Reformed World: Tim Challies offers an important critique of the sins that can go unchecked for Reformed Christians. He concludes his list with this doozy: “Impugning. To impugn is to dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of another person’s motives. And closely connected to disputing another person’s motives is suggesting that you know the truth behind them.”

5. Kangaroo Rats are Furry, Spring-Loaded Ninjas: As an Arizonan I particularly enjoyed these four-minutes. Our Creator has quite the imagination, don't you think?

John Beeson

July 21, 2020

Church, Christian Living

Character Outlasts Charisma

John Beeson

July 21, 2020

Church, Christian Living

My youth group was great, but I had never seen anything like this. Teens spilled out from the Youth Center into the lawn. Big-eyed, I wormed my way through the crowd toward the door where fog billowed out and the music boomed. The hip youth pastor emerged, smiling ear to ear with an entourage in tow. He greeted me and then moved past to welcome the mass of teens on the lawn.

The band launched into worship and the youth pastor jumped onto stage, delivering a powerful and passionate message to the hundreds of gathered teens.

Little did any of us know that the days of this thriving group were numbered. Over Christmas, the youth pastor would pack his bags for another church after a power struggle with the senior pastor and a moral failing came to light.

I didn’t have any relationship with the pastor, but it was the first pastoral failing that struck so close to home. Several of my friends struggled as they tried to reconcile this pastor’s outward ministry with his inner life. His words had moved them, but they seemed hollow now that his internal struggles came to light.

MORAL IMPLOSIONS

Every month another national Christian leader comes crashing down. Flagrant abuses of power, sex addictions, hateful outbursts, and misogynistic words exposed. How many souls are left struggling in the wake of their exposed sin?

John Beeson

July 16, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Racism, Theology, Nature

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

July 16, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Racism, Theology, Nature

1. The World as 100 Christians: Fascinating breakdown of what global Christianity looks like today. The researchers report that, "A typical Christian today is a non-white woman living in the global South, with lower-than-average levels of societal safety and proper health care. This represents a vastly different typical Christian than that of 100 years ago, who was likely a white, affluent European."

2. The Economics of All-You-Can-Eat Buffets: How do all-you-can-eat buffets make money? What happens when someone tries to trick the system? It’s particularly interesting to read this during COVID-19. I wonder if buffets will ever come back?

3. What if Tolkien Lived in Middle Earth Too? I’m re-reading The Lord of the Rings right now, so I particularly enjoyed this analogy of the Trinity.

4. The 100 Most Spoken Languages: Loads of fascinating information in this infographic.

5. The National Parks Illustrated Based on Their Worst Review: This is pretty funny. "There are bugs...and they will bite you on your face." Ha!

John Beeson

July 14, 2020

Christian Living, Consumerism

We are Contributors, Not Consumers

John Beeson

July 14, 2020

Christian Living, Consumerism

What do you look for when you look for a church that is a good fit for you? Maybe it’s the music? Maybe it’s the preaching? Maybe it’s the children’s ministry?

5 STARS!

A quick scan through Google reviews of churches will give you a sense of how most people judge churches.

Here is a sampling of real reviews from churches around Tucson:

· I have two small boys ages 3 and 6 who can't get ready fast enough to go to church on Sundays because of the attention they place on kids. From the pastor to the coffee shop, everything rates 5 stars!!!

· The breakfast servers only greeted people they knew. It made me feel awkward at first. 1 star.

· The full ultimate experience: great for the family, great for the kids. 5 stars.

· Can never get to talk to the pastor. Think it has gotten too big for the 1 on 1 time we used to get at the end or beginning of the service with the pastor. It is almost like trying to visit an actor. 2 stars.

John Beeson

July 9, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

July 9, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture

1. Changing Birthday Plans: Oh my goodness, I love this! I dare you not to smile as you read Andrea Sanborn’s reflection on her son’s birthday.

2. You Are Not That Special: David Mathis on the glory of ordinary Christianity. He says, “we often think we’re special compared to others — because of our qualities. Our gifts. Our achievements. Our abilities. Bells that ring to our own glory.”

3. Sometimes Its Best to Express Your Wisdom in Silence: Tim Challies shares the story of the great painter Apelles and the presumptuous shoemaker. He shares that “We would all do well to remember that true wisdom is not only knowing your subject well, but also knowing the limitations of your knowledge.”

4. Distracted: Susan Lafferty shares about two little-known biblical cares and how easy it is to be distracted by the cares of the world. She concludes, “Can you relate to Demas? Distracted by something the world offers? Where is your treasure today? What about Archippus? Are you distracted from the work you’ve received from the Lord? Do you need to remember His call and refocus where you are?”

5. Fake Kitchen Hacks With Millions of Views: It's not surprising these kinds of fakes are out there, but it certainly elicits an eye roll.

John Beeson

July 7, 2020

Church, Christian Living, Evangelism, Culture

God Loves You and Your Neighbor

John Beeson

July 7, 2020

Church, Christian Living, Evangelism, Culture

“Won’t you be my neighbor?”

Those famous words were earnestly sung by Mister Rogers on every one of the 895 episodes of his show. Have you ever stopped to consider how profound Mister Rogers’s question is? How many people would you ask to be your neighbor? The circle is probably pretty small, I bet. How many people do you know that you would want to live next to you? Before you throw out a number, remember what being their neighbor will entail. They will expect you to do dinners together, have game nights, and of course you will be the first person they will call for that emergency babysitting need.

Rogers invites us to come near so that he can treat us as his neighbor. And he means it. This is unnatural.

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

Two thousand years ago a lawyer engaged Jesus in conversation. “Teacher,” he asks Jesus, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25).

Jesus asks him to answer the question. He complies, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Jesus tells him it’s a good answer.

The lawyer isn’t comfortable with just how wide the net of neighbor might be.

John Beeson

July 2, 2020

Recommendations, Politics, Culture, Christian Living

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

July 2, 2020

Recommendations, Politics, Culture, Christian Living

1. I’m Not Hateful, You Are: David French shares one of the consequences of our “you-can’t-judge-me-culture” is the perception that those in the other political party are more extreme than they actually are. He says, “This mutual loathing translates into other misperceptions, such as completely misjudging the extremism of your political opponents.”

2. A Day for Lament at the Supreme Court: Marvin Olasky explains John Roberts’s convoluted reasoning for now allowing even the most modest protection for moms and unborn children at abortion clinics. Christianity Today provides its own analysis, including more background on the lack of safety in Louisiana abortion clinics.

3. How Often Do Churchgoers Read Their Bibles? Lifeway’s study is relevant for this week’s blog post on the Bible.

4. How Many Reasons May Christians Divorce For? Wayne Grudem shares why his thinking has changed. He begins, “Until 2019, I held the common, historic Protestant view of divorce, namely, that adultery and desertion were the only two legitimate grounds for divorce allowed by Scripture.”

5. A King Proximate to Pain: Chris Thomas with a short reflection on the powerful lies of pain and the gift of a Savior who is present in our pain. He begins, “As pain levels intensify, so does my sense of isolation. As the ache sets in, so does loneliness. I wake in the night with torment whispering sweet nothings in my ear, ‘No one understands. No one feels. No one knows. You’re alone.’”

6. Stand Up! So beautiful and powerful.

John Beeson

June 30, 2020

Christian Living, Biblical Studies

The Bible is Our Source

John Beeson

June 30, 2020

Christian Living, Biblical Studies

Recently we were helping my mother-in-law look at properties. One of the first questions you need to know about a property is if it has water. There is some beautiful land not far from our home that can’t hook up to city water and whose wells have dried up. Unsurprisingly their value has plummeted. What use is a property with no water source?

Not much.

Many are living in a spiritual house with no water source.

What do you draw from as your spiritual source? Most draw from many sources: their conscience, self-help gurus, counselors, friends, podcasts, and news sources.

There is nothing wrong with any of these. But they are not the source that we depend on for truth.

THIRSTY

In Amos, God warned of a coming famine. “’Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord God, ‘when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord’” (Amos 8:11).

You don’t take a Coca-Cola on a hike. You don’t water your garden with saltwater. You don’t rehydrate with a glass of wine. We depend on fresh water.

STREAMS OF PURE WATER

In the first Psalm, we learn of the blessed man. We are told, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither” (Psalm 1:3). These pure streams of water were there in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10). Ezekiel prophesied that one day God would flood his land with these pure streams (Ezekiel 47:1-12). And in John’s final revelation, we see that this crystalline river of life will take center stage in eternity, “flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city” (Revelation 22:1).

What is this source? What were we made to draw life from and always will depend on?

This source of nourishment is our spiritual water and bread, it is the Word of God.

John Beeson

June 23, 2020

Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Church

The Gospel Changes Everything

John Beeson

June 23, 2020

Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Church

Many Christians think about the gospel as the entry gate into Christianity. It’s a gate that is opened with “Do you confess you are a sinner and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” and walked through with a prayer of salvation.

There is truth in that. But only about as much truth is there in believing that the earth is a sphere or that LeBron James is a human being. Those are correct statements as far as they go, but so little of the truth has been stated. There’s so much more we can (and should) say.

At New Life, we believe that the gospel changes everything.

In this series of posts we are reflecting on our nine cultural values at New Life. Last week we affirmed that God is big and God is good.

When we talk of the gospel, we speak of the good news. It’s a term that Jesus coined for the announcement he declared through his ministry.

ELBOWING ROME IN THE RIBS

It’s not surprising that multiple times throughout the book of Matthew and at least once in Mark, the gospel is connected to God’s Kingdom. For instance, In Matthew 24:14, Jesus says, “And the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (see also Matt 4:23, 9:35, 26:13, and Mark 1:15).

The reason that it’s unsurprising Jesus would connect gospel language with kingdom language is that he actually borrowed the term gospel from the Romans.

John Beeson

June 18, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Racism, Leadership

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

June 18, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Racism, Leadership

1. Are We Seeing the First Non-Christian Generation? Aaron Earls shares recent findings, "In America, at least two-thirds of Generation X (67%), Baby Boomers (76%), and the Silent Generation (84%) say they’re Christian, according to new analysis from Pew Research. Among millennials, however, slightly less than half (49%) identify as Christian. A similar number say they’re not Christian."

2. Christians, Please Stop Labeling One Another: Shai Linne urges Christians, “These days, the labels are flying around like crazy, often used pejoratively and almost always unhelpful. ‘SJW [Social Justice Warrior], ‘Woke,’ ‘Marcist,’ etc. or from the other standpoint, ‘Karen,’ ‘White Evangelical,’ ‘Trumpers,’ etc.”

3. The Three Hardest People to Disciple—and How to Reach Them: Ken Braddy gives some excellent advice on how to disciple the “know-it-all,” the “time-compressed,” and the “spiritually myopic.” Super helpful stuff here! He concludes this way, “The one thing I’ll always want to remind myself is this: I am most likely someone’s difficult person, so I must be quick to extend grace for I need it as well.”

4. A Compassionate, Counter-Cultural Christian Response to Racial Division: Kevin Huang with a nuanced and well thought out response to the current racial turmoil. He concludes, “The Gospel addresses sin. Sin is at the heart of all of society’s problems. Therefore, addressing sin with the Gospel is not a superficial answer. Rather, addressing society’s problems without the Gospel is a superficial answer. May we not be ashamed of the Gospel as God’s all-sufficient tool of salvation for all ethnicities, both Jew and Greek.”

5. Redeeming Pastoral Ambition: My friend Benjamin Vrbicek reflects on the current fires in Arizona and the dangerous fires of ambition in pastors’ hearts. He shares, “Notice the exact phrasing: “servant of all,” not just servant of the greats, like servant of a famous pastor or a seminary president. His point is that the greatness of our service is enhanced not diminished by the lack of greatness of those we serve.”