Recommendations, Church, Culture, Fear, Evangelism, Parenting, Nature
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The lesbian seagulls that weren’t: Maria Baer reports on when “NPR’s popular Radiolab podcast tries but fails to find homosexuality in nature.”

  2. Multiply your time with this simple framework: Craig Groeschel with some helpful advice. His first piece of advice is to “Schedule your values. Wise time management doesn’t mean you do more. It means you do more of what matters you most, so you need to schedule your values.”

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Culture, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Cheater

I am not an avid gamer.  

 

I've aspired to be at different intersections of my life, but I just don't have the knack.  And so it goes for those who can throw the football nearly a hundred yards right out of the box, versus those who struggle even to catch the thing.  Thus, the advent of practice, and training.  There have been innumerable stories of nobodies becoming somebodies across history by putting in the effort, by showing up, working hard, day after day until the breakthrough.  For this there is no substitution.

Cheater
Family, Parenting, Relationships, Religion, Wisdom
John Beeson
Your Soccer Coach Has a Plan for Your Life

“The coach says that he has the talent to play D-1 one day.” A friend’s son had just tried out for an elite club soccer team and they were weighing the decision. The travel club came with a hefty price tag and a commitment to regular out-of-town tournaments. They would say yes to the club. In a few years their son would burn out from playing soccer. But the impact on their family couldn’t be undone. They had built the patterns of their family in their kids’ early years around healthy spiritual rhythms, including regular church attendance. Club soccer changed those patterns.

Your Soccer Coach Has a Plan for Your Life
Recommendations, Death, Biblical Studies, Leadership, Nature
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Relating to a narcissist: Ed Welch with a thoughtful and empathetic treatment of a growing concern, “Diagnostic labels have their benefits and liabilities. They can help you see certain behaviors. They can also blind you by leading you to believe that everything is a result of the diagnoses, which it is not. For the person who wears the label, the word can be meaningless or offensive. It will not help.”

  2. 6 kinds of hearers of God’s Word: Brian Najapfour pulls his list straight from scripture. For instance, “She knows that she has blemishes, but she is afraid to face them. Like someone who avoids the doctor for fear of a bad diagnosis, Mrs. Afraid resists the conviction of the Word. She does not want to be confronted with the cost of repentance.”

This Week's Recommendations
Wisdom, Education, Family, Parenting
John Beeson
Not Enough Wisdom

It was a cool February afternoon three years ago, our family piled in our aptly named Escape heading East on the I-8. We weave our way through Laguna Summit and the Cleveland National Forest, summiting the final miles of California and her Santa Ana Mountains on our way back to our home in the Sonoran Desert.

We just visited Concordia University, Irvine, a Lutheran school where our eldest, Camille, was offered a generous scholarship. Camille fell in love with Concordia’s professors, mission, and solid theological foundation on the trip. We rejoiced at her finding such a perfect fit for her. And we mourned her impending departure.

Not Enough Wisdom

Christian Living

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Should I Be Baptized?

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Should I Be Baptized?

Tears frequently flow in my office. Usually the tears don’t come before entering my office, though. I met Diane[i] in the lobby and all it took was a gentle introduction to start the flow of her tears. Her son, about my age, had died from a meth overdose a few weeks ago.

In every season, Diane prayed and cried out to God for him to rescue her son. She believed that one day her son would return to his faith. He never did so definitively. In his final days in the hospital, Diane begged her son to receive Christ and be baptized. He was in and out of consciousness. At first, he seemed to resist Diane’s faith conversations. Later, as he slipped away, it seemed to Diane like he gave indications through hand squeezes and facial expressions that he wanted her to continue reading scripture, singing worship songs, and praying. And then he died.

As she concluded her story, Diane asked me a direct question, “How can I know if he is in heaven if he was never baptized?”

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Our Broken Story

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Our Broken Story

This week we were featured over at Reclaimed Story in both blog and podcast. It begins:

We were just kids: 14 and 16 years old. A freshman and a junior. We went to the same high school and the same church. John was the leader of our campus Christian club.

ANGEL:

The first time I met him I thought, “That’s the man I want to marry.” We married at 19 and 21, respectively, and we were what most people thought was the “perfect couple”. We heard it many times: “I want a relationship like yours!”

Fast forward 18 years to a campus ministry retreat in Lake Pleasant, New York. As the music swells I begin shaking and weeping. I can’t keep living in lies. I collapse into a chair. John joins me. I speak over the worship, “I’ve been having an affair. “

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How to Go Back to School

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How to Go Back to School

It’s here! New backpacks are filled with unclicked mechanical pencils and crisp highlighters. New sneakers are ready to be laced up and fresh hair cuts sported. School is back.

I look back with fondness at many years of schooling and regret how I spent a couple of those years. My kids are entering their senior and sophomore years in high school. I want to see them thrive in the year ahead. As those in the thick of it, I processed these questions with them:

How can you make the best of this school year? Better yet, how can the year ahead be used for God’s glory?

We agreed on the following encouragements:

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Trench Warfare, Politics, and the Church

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Trench Warfare, Politics, and the Church

Just over a hundred years ago the world was mired in the Great War, what would come to be called World War I. Parallel trenches were constructed across Europe. Millions of young men with bayonetted rifles in hand lined the muddy ditches. Fighting was brutal with thousands of lives lost for gains measured in feet, not miles.

Trenches may be a thing of the past when it comes to warfare, but they are alive and well when it comes to political conversations. We line up shoulder-to-shoulder with our brothers-in-arms and fire rounds across no man’s land to the other side. Any hint that those standing in the trench next to you might not be in complete political alignment results in charges of treason.

The Bible stands over our partisan allegiances and offers correction to the way our world evaluates politics. The question isn’t whether or not my political thinking is out of step with God’s Kingdom ethics, the question is where? We all have blind spots and we need the Bible to offer correction.

We also need to be charitable to one another as we navigate the difficult reality of living as citizens of heaven in America. The issues are complex and the application of biblical truths to our contemporary political situation is more challenging and nuanced than talking heads would have you think.

I’ve been discouraged that there have been those who have been frustrated with me, gossiped about me, and even left the church over my political views. Some rumors have been false. And others have been misunderstandings. Furthermore, I am the first to acknowledge how challenging political discernment is today. I need to continue to grow in understanding and wisdom and value conversations that help me along that path.

So, what do we believe at New Life? We actually include a statement in our Elder Staff Teaching Doctrinal Statement[i] that clarifies our views. Below is our best attempt at bringing the authority of the Bible to bear on understanding our contemporary politics. If you have any questions about this statement or disagreements, I encourage you to reach out so that we can have a conversation.

Whatever we do, let us echo Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Here is our statement about politics at our Elder Staff Teaching Doctrinal Statement at New Life:

We believe Christians are to live peaceful lives in submission to all civil authorities, whom God ordains as His servants for His purposes. While it is God’s will that all civil authorities honor Him in their service, Christians are to submit to them regardless of their moral or spiritual character. There is blessing in submitting to God even through unrighteous leaders.

Jesus is the center of our worldview and He unifies us with other believers beyond ideology. That means we have more in common with political rivals who love Jesus than political allies who do not know God. Politically, we are not partisan nor place ideology above theology. There is no political party that wholly represents our beliefs while there are aspects of most political parties that we agree with. We are pro-life, concerned for the welfare of the outcast and those who lack influence and power. We believe marriage is between one man and one woman, but we believe those who practice differently have equal worth and value as God’s creations and deserve the same basic rights and respect of being humans and fellow citizens. We believe gender is part of God’s design in knitting a person together in their mother’s womb, but we believe those who disagree ought not be discriminated against.

The Church is ultimately all nations, so while we promote good citizenship as patriotism, we recognize the kingdom of God has no earthly flag. We believe the fall has corrupted everything and are therefore skeptical of concentrations of power and loath systemic injustice. We see all governing systems as dysfunctional because of the fall. For this reason, we put no confidence in earthly kings nor endorse particular candidates. However, we passionately believe in the sovereignty of the King of Kings and live at peace knowing He governs all nations and calls us to good citizenship.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The Dearest Ache: Loving a Teenager: Melissa Edgington shares about what the changing relationship with her daughter has looked liked as it has shifted into her daughter’s teenage years. Melissa captures the heartbeat of the relationship beautifully. She begins, “I remember when she was three. She confidently navigated the world with boundless energy, curls bouncing, so sure of herself. So sure of me. Those were the days when she radiated around me like I was the sun, and she was never too far from the safety of my warmth.”

  2. What Non-Christians Really Think About the Church: Carey Niewhof reflects on Barna research that reveals some discouraging information including the fact that only 21% of non-Christians have a positive perception of the local church. Niewhof offers some helpful encouragement of how to begin to shift the story.

  3. The Impact of Saying, “I’m So Busy”: Darren Bosch explains three problems of responding to the question, “how are you doing,” with “I’m so busy.” He says such an answer “reveals our leadership,” “drains our credibility,” “limits the God-story.”

  4. My Anchor Holds: Tim Challies reflects on how his anchor, Christ, has held him through the tragic loss of his son, “My faith, my anchor, has held, but not because I have been rowing hard, not because I have been steering well, not because I am made of rugged stuff, not because I am a man of mighty faith. It has held fast because it is held firm in the nail-scarred hands of the one who died and rose for me.”

  5. Rosaria Butterfield’s Conversion: Butterfield shares the story of God bringing her to faith from her context as an academic in a committed lesbian relationship.

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How to Deal with Intrusive Thoughts: What Scripture Says

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How to Deal with Intrusive Thoughts: What Scripture Says

Our thoughts are important. Our minds are a factory of thoughts, some intentional, some not intentional. We strategize, reflect, and ruminate. And sometimes we experience intrusive thoughts, those thoughts that pop into our mind and can feel out of our control.

Recently on vacation I was snorkeling and my mind produced the thought: what if a tiger shark is trailing you right now? My head whipped backward to see if the intrusive thought was a premonition. It wasn’t. Harmless fish schooled behind me.

Our intrusive thoughts can feel overpowering at times. How do we navigate them? Last week we considered three questions to ask ourselves when we experience intrusive thoughts.

Those were:

Is there something different about the season I am in?

Does my personality lend itself to more frequent intrusive thoughts?

Why am I having this intrusive thought?

These questions help us frame the intrusive thoughts and consider how we ought to treat them: are they flagging the presence of stress in our lives? Are they indicators of a battle with compulsive tendencies? Do they reveal sin in our hearts?

Today, let’s press into scripture and consider how to be proactive with our minds.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Shame in the Public Arena: Stephen Freeman considers the sticky nature of shame. He urges us to stay far away from its use, “Shaming is easily justified by many. Whether it is doctrine, the Church, the state, the culture, whatever institution stands most in danger, shaming, like violence, is considered an effective tool in guarding the fort. However, it remains the case that shame cannot be used without causing damage to the one who uses it.”

  2. A Life on the Frontier: Chris Thomas tells his story about a conversation with his tattoo artist and a divinely ordained conversation. He shares, “My new friend proceeded to pour out her heartache. As she shaded in my arm, she filled in the gaps of yearning and seeking, of love gained and lost, of hopes she had, and anguish she lived with. And there, with this young woman holding a needle to my arm, I saw past the stereotypes and ink, and saw a frightened and broken girl who carries a fractured image of a God who formed and loved her.”

  3. Encourage and Be Encouraged: A great word from my friend Cassie Watson. I love her observation that we are to be those are called not only to encourage, but to be easily encouraged. She concludes, “Let’s be on the lookout today for the encouragement that God has prepared for us, so that his glory may abound among his people.”

  4. Tim Keller’s Wisdom on Navigating Social Media: Keller explains the sociological and psychological dimensions of new public square of social media. He concludes with advice that is so important for every Christian. His final point is, “Loosen the links between your ideas and your identity.” This post is indispensable for any Christian with a social media account.

  5. The Man on the Middle Cross Said I Can Come: Alistair Begg’s description of the thief’s welcome at heaven is funny and makes the gospel clear.

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How to Deal with Intrusive Thoughts: Four Questions to Ask

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How to Deal with Intrusive Thoughts: Four Questions to Ask

You’ve had it happen to you, haven’t you? That thought that jumps into your head, seemingly out of nowhere?

You’re driving along a winding mountain highway and you imagine what would happen if you yanked the steering wheel to the right: what would the crash look like? How would you tumble down the mountain?

Sometimes thoughts are born out of our curiosity. Other times intrusive thoughts enter that are born out of our hearts. We stew on our mistreatment from a colleague or friend and we imagine how we could put them in their place. We imagine harassing them, embarrassing them, even humiliating them.

Part of being a fallen human being is to have intrusive thoughts. An intrusive thought is a thought that enters our mind un-summoned. They might be morbid (imagining our death), violent (imagining injuring someone else), or sexual (imagining a sexual experience). Different people experience intrusive thoughts with different regularity. Different seasons of our lives can increase intrusive thoughts.

How do we deal with these thoughts? Let’s navigate four questions to ask ourselves when we experience intrusive thoughts. Next week we will consider some biblical wisdom on navigating these thoughts.

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Why You Shouldn't Give Up on the Church

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Why You Shouldn't Give Up on the Church

The blue screen of death: we’ve all experienced it. You’re plugging away on a paper or trying to load a website and whammo, your computer is toast. A few minutes and a hard restart later, you are back up and running, but not without consequences. You might have lost your train of thought or part of what you wrote. Ironically, I experienced the blue screen of death writing this post!

COVID-19 was a cultural blue screen of death. Work, school, and church rhythms were all disrupted. And all of them have changed as a result. People’s connection to church has changed. Nearly every pastor I’ve spoken with affirms that church attendance today is lower than it was 18 months ago.

For some, having the blue screen of COVID hit made them re-think how important church was for them.

More than a handful have decided that other spiritual practices can take the place of church. Jen Hatmaker recently shared about a conversation she had with her therapist where she came to the realization that “Church for me right now feels like my best friends, my porch bed, my children, and my parents and my siblings. It feels like meditations and all these leaves on my 12 pecan trees. It feels like Ben Rector on repeat. It feels like my kitchen, and my table, and my porch. It feels like Jesus who never asked me to meet him anywhere but in my heart.”

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