Summer is here! Looking for some good books to dive into this summer? Here are some of my favorite books I’ve read over the first half of this year that I think you’ll love.
Church Abuse and the Lies We Tell Ourselves About the Dark
Last week an atomic bomb hit the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, with an estimated 14 million members across more than 47,000 churches. An in-depth investigative report demonstrated that the Executive Committee of the SBC was aware of pervasive sexual malfeasance in their ranks over the past fifteen years and refused to act. The Executive Committee swept sexual abuse allegations under the rug, perpetrators were moved from one congregation to another to hide their abuse, and earnest appeals for reform were denied.
What is the reputation of a denomination when the reputation of Christ is at stake? What is the world's perception worth when the hearts of the vulnerable are on the line?
Slow Down: a Dad's Reflection
Our kids just finished fifth and seventh grade. Unless God has unexpected plans for us, elementary school is now in our rear view mirror. The week of my son’s fifth grade promotion, Nicole Nordeman’s “Slow Down” came on. I froze as I listened and welled up.
This Week's Recommendations
What Convinced James His Brother Was God? Robby Lashua begins, “My brother isn’t God. It’s pretty obvious (we grew up together, after all), and nothing he could do or say could convince me of his divinity. I’m not God, either, and nothing I could do or say would convince him otherwise, too. Yet, somehow, Jesus convinced his brother he was God.”
How Do I Know I’m Really Repentant? Jared Wilson takes on this important question. He begins, “What does a repentant heart look like? Does it just look sad? Timid? Is it simply agreeable? How would we discern the difference in ourselves between a heart turning from sin and one seeking simply to manage or alleviate the consequences of it?”
Still: Chris Thomas contrasts the difference between finding stillness in our surroundings between finding stillness in our hearts. He says, “I mention that because I’ve seen it in my own children. I’ve heard their cries in the night, rushed to their room to comfort them, only to be fought off with flailing arms; their saviour isn’t seen, only the shadows and monsters of the night fill their vision. First with gentle voice, but then with firm command that carries the edge of comfort, I subdue their fight with hands that hold them tight, and a voice that is meant to remind them of my strength.”
Americans Most Likely to Find Identity in Family and Accomplishments: Aaron Earls reports on findings. “When asked the open-ended question, “When you think about who you are, what are the first three things that come to mind?”…More Americans mention being a parent (25%), intelligent (12%), their job (11%), compassionate (11%), husband (10%), kind (10%), trustworthy (10%), wife (8%), friend (8%), hardworking (8%) and honest (8%).”
Sin is “Barbs in Your Eyes, Thorns in Your Sides”: Ryan Hawkins invites us to consider, “First, sin isn’t just wrong, but hurtful. This is basic, but understanding this is profound step in our walk with God. For if we think God wants us to love him and love others and avoid sin (all of which are what “holiness” is all about) just because it’s what we “should” do, our understanding is woefully incomplete and our motivation won’t be there. Rather, whatever is according to God’s ways is also always for our good. Conversely, what isn’t according to God’s ways will lead to our harm.”
Not Enough Wisdom
“What is your best wisdom for my college years?” Camille asks.
What more wisdom can I offer? What bullets are left in the chamber? What gold nuggets are left in the chest? I search and come up empty.
I’ve given you everything I have, Camille. I don’t have anything left. I’ve poured my heart into yours. You already know the best of what I know. I’ve taught you from the heights of my proudest achievements and from the valleys of my most profound failures. Looking back, those vantage points seem desperately inadequate.
The Bible's Strange Instructions for Opening the Giving Lock
I worked for a few years in development and was trained in best practices for raising money. I was blessed to work for a Christian organization that was committed to raising money in a godly way, but the broader development industry doesn’t have many scruples in doing what they do best: separating people from their money. And they are clever! How does a development professional unlock the giving vault?
Secular Generosity
The secular handbook on getting people to give reveals a lot. There are three universal rules in development:[i]
1) Appeal to donors’ emotions, not their minds: tell a story that will move them;
2) Inflate a donor’s sense of importance and appeal to their interests;
3) Create urgency: donors need to feel as though the need is immediate and significant.
Christian Generosity
The Christian generosity handbook is very different. Having delivered his four strange reasons for giving. Paul is now going to five equally strange instructions for giving in his letter to the Corinthian church. Paul’s instructions contradict the development professional’s handbook at almost every turn. Paul tells us we should give this way:
This Week's Recommendations
Why Are So Many Kids Rejecting Christianity? Look at Their Parents: Pamela Danzinger considers on what startling new survey data tells us, “The Cultural Research Center (CRC) is out with a new study comparing the number of American parents of children under age 13 who hold a biblical Christian worldview with those who adhere to competing secular alternatives. The results are a damning indictment of Americans’ rejection of or simple indifference to a biblical worldview. Across all parents of pre-teens, only 2 percent hold a biblical worldview, which is defined as “consistently interpreting and responding to life situations based on biblical principles and teachings.” Those with a biblical worldview believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God containing all moral truths.”
Why ‘Consent’ Isn’t Enough for a Sexual Ethic: I think Trevin Wax’s observation here is important. He begins, “Perusing various magazines and news sites in recent months, I’ve noticed a growing number of commentators who recommend we reexamine our society’s norms surrounding sexuality. Casual sexual encounters bring more misery than happiness, they say, and “consent” isn’t a high enough standard to bring about sexual fulfillment and freedom.”
40 Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life: Tim Challies loads tons of wisdom in this post. I love this one, “Open your home to other people often. Help foster a culture of hospitality within your local church by being the one who invites people over on a regular basis. The living room is one of the best contexts in the world for friendship, discipleship, and evangelism.”
Zombie Sins: My friend Chris Thomas consider zombie movies and sin, “Zombie sins thrive in darkness, like the Orcs of Mordor they gather in the gloom beyond the Black Gates. To fight them in the dark watches of the night, alone against the throng, our hopes fade. But we look to the East.”
Well, THAT was Magic! Seth Lewis shares the story of his three-year-old son’s amazement at the automatic doors. In response he asks, “Somewhere along the way, we seem to have picked up the idea that once we can explain how something works, the magic and wonder disappear. But why should that be?”
Growing In Our Faith Together
Recently one of the members of our connection group courageously poured out her heart. She felt disconnected from God and bruised by a challenging season of life. “How can I feel like God isn’t so distant?” What a profound question…
Community is the context of vibrant and growing faith. God doesn’t tell us the only way we ought to be praying or reading his Word is individually. On the contrary! God invites us to step into community.
Studies show that people are much more likely to follow through on commitments to exercise and eat healthier when they do so with a partner. I’ve found the same to be true for my spiritual disciplines. While I daily read the Bible alone and pray alone, I find tremendous joy in reading the Bible as a family and praying as a family.
This Week's Recommendations
The Manna is Always There: Glenna Marshall is one of my favorite bloggers and this might be my favorite post she’s written. It leveled my heart. She shares, “Sometimes, the manna is found when others help me look for it. It’s always there if you have eyes to see it. I am coming to terms with the fact that life with an incurable disease will ebb and flow between seasons of healing and seasons of illness. What I really want is full trust in God’s daily provision of grace. I want it to be enough.”
I Am Proud of You: Craig concludes, “Death and life are in the power fo the tongue,” according to Proverbs 18:21. So, give life with your words. Find a young person today, look them in the eye, and pronounce your life-giving blessing: I am proud of you.”
Please Waste Some of Your Prayers: I love this simple admonition from George Sinclair. He concludes, “Do not say ‘God’s No’ for God. Pray for the salvation of the unlikely. ‘Waste’ your prayers on them. Oh yes, please pray for me that I will do the same.”
Does Predestination Mean God is the Author of Sin? Michael Horton handles this challenging question with clarity and simplicity. He explains, “God created Lucifer, but he didn’t create Satan. He didn’t create an evil opponent; he created a wonderful, beautiful, godly, righteous, and just servant, who then of his own free will turned away.”
What a Tangled Web: Carl Trueman points out where we’ve become culturally confused regarding life and gender. He begins, “Confusion over what it means to be human continues to dog public life in the West. Soon after Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party shadow secretary for women, revealed that she does not know what a woman is, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson deferred the same question to biologists.”
The Bible's Strange Reasons for Generosity: Show them God!
Why do we give? The first hit when you Google “why should I be generous?” is this article which lays out four reasons:
1) Giving frees you from the “burden of materialism”
2) Giving helps you “to feel better about yourself”
3) Giving makes you less self-centered
4) Giving helps make people like you.
Do you find those reasons compelling? Two of them (1 &3) have echoes of biblical truth in them. But 2 & 4 are shockingly empty reasons.
Paul also has four reasons for giving: none of which overlap with this list. Here is Paul’s list:
1) Give because giving is a grace
2) Give because it proves your love of Jesus
3) Give because Jesus first gave
4) Give because you will be blessed.
Give Because Jesus Gave
Today we arrive at the third reason on that list: give because Jesus first gave.