Church, Culture
John Beeson
Disney Shirts and Being Part of Something Big

I was handed my Mickey Mouse shirt as we packed and told this was what I would wear (I would be matching our son, Soren). Camille and Angel, meanwhile, wore matching Minnie ears and red tank tops. It seemed a little over-the-top to me, but I’ll do anything for my family. On the day of our Disney adventure, we woke up early, got into the virtual queue for the Star Wars ride (which happened to be the best ride at the park—don’t miss it!), and strode out of our hotel down Disney Way. It was then I began to notice something: we were not alone. We passed group after group in matching outfits. “Ahhhh,” I thought, “this is what people do!”

Disney Shirts and Being Part of Something Big
Recommendations, Counseling, Wisdom
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. We’re living in the dystopian future Neil Postman predicted 40 years ago: Brett McCracken says, “From the rising of the sun to its going down, we scroll our way through the day. We scroll our way through life. And we are scrolling ourselves to death.”

  2. Five hard truths about marriage most couples learn too late: Psychologist Mark Travers’s findings echo truths in the Bible, “One of the biggest misconceptions about marriage is that truly compatible people don’t argue. But not only is conflict inevitable, it’s also essential.”

This Week's Recommendations
Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Death
John Beeson
Let not him who straps on his armor boast ...

We would do well to heed Ahab and Roosevelt’s warnings. In our contemporary world, shrunk by media, it is enticing to microwave hot takes for all types of issues. Geopolitical events, religious issues, and economic and social policies entice us to weigh in. We want to know what is right and wrong, good and evil, and we want to hold firm opinions in fields in which we have little to no experience.

Ben-hadad meant “son of Hadad,” the Syrian god of thunder. It’s a fitting name. He was booming and terrifying, but relatively harmless. There are a lot of Ben-hadads out there today, those who dial up every opinion to 100 decibels.

Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off
Culture, Identity
John Beeson
The Worthlessness of Cool

When I was in high school, swimming was my best sport. I still remember the first time I saw Gary Hall, Jr. swim. I was a freshman and he was a senior. We were at the hallowed grounds of the Plummer Aquatic Center at Arizona State University in Tempe. Gary Hall, Jr.’s father was an Olympic swimmer and Gary Hall Jr. would one day join that class. In fact, Hall would go on to win ten Olympic medals. I had never seen anything like Hall in a pool before. At 6’6” and probably 225 pounds, Hall looked more like a linebacker than a swimmer. In the water, his body rose above the water higher than anyone else’s, seemingly buoyed at his hips by an invisible force. He swam freestyle with a hitch, almost strutting through the water.

The Worthlessness of Cool
Recommendations, Christian Living, Nature, Culture
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. An age of extinction is coming. Here’s how to survive. Ross Douthat portends, “The bottleneck of the digital age is different: The new era is killing us softly, by drawing people out of the real and into the virtual, distracting us from the activities that sustain ordinary life, and finally making existence at a human scale seem obsolete.”

  2. Chickens, elephants, and the illusion of freedom. Donal shares a simple, but memorable story, ““the chicken is tied to a tree for so long, that when it is released, as long as it has the string on its ankle (do chickens have ankles?) it thinks it cannot go any further than the length of the original string. It is still attached in its own mind.”

This Week's Recommendations

Nature

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. An age of extinction is coming. Here’s how to survive. Ross Douthat portends, “The bottleneck of the digital age is different: The new era is killing us softly, by drawing people out of the real and into the virtual, distracting us from the activities that sustain ordinary life, and finally making existence at a human scale seem obsolete.”

  2. Chickens, elephants, and the illusion of freedom. Donal shares a simple, but memorable story, ““the chicken is tied to a tree for so long, that when it is released, as long as it has the string on its ankle (do chickens have ankles?) it thinks it cannot go any further than the length of the original string. It is still attached in its own mind.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The vermin of intrusive thoughts: Crystal Kershaw writes, “In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul uses battle language to describe the ongoing struggle taking place in believers’ lives. He describes bullets of “arguments” and “pretensions” that land in our internal dialogue. Our supernatural Enemy fires them with a clear, age-old motive; to undermine our faith.”

  2. Just a little bit: Rachel Whisman says, “When have I tried softening sin to make it seem more comfortable, more approachable? Where are you willing to add “just a little bit” to something to make it seem okay? Where are you willing to cave in for “just a little bit” more?”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. Don’t scratch the itch: Brittany Allen begins, “I have a weird problem. When I get in the shower, my legs inevitably begin to itch like crazy. I cannot for the life of me find the self-control it takes to not scratch. I have a condition called dermatographism that causes my body to react to scratching with hives. By the time I step out of the steaming hot water, my thighs are covered with wheals. I scratched the itch and the itch only intensified.”

2. Should Christians plead the blood of Jesus? Wanjiru Ng’Ang’A explains the history of this prayer and then offers a warning,

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The dragon and the rooster: Heidi Tan shares the story of an apology, “Dad began to see that in spite of my ‘Dragon’ spirit, my love for him was always loud with quality time, words, and affection. I had to learn that in spite of his ‘Rooster’ demands, Dad’s love for me had always been consistent with hard work, service, and sacrifice.”

  2. Comforting the dementia sufferer: Matthew Rehrer says, “ Focusing on the temporal is overwhelming, but not when it is viewed in light of eternity. In many regards, dementia helps loosen the grip we have on this world.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Eagles, fowl, and a Savior with wings: Kevin Burrell’s post makes my heart sing, “And a living, risen savior is still our covering today, to all those who by faith trust in his wings. In fact, we are clothed in his righteousness. He is oh-so willing to gather us under his wings.”

  2. Even to death: Jamaal Williams invites us to consider Jesus at the Mount of Olives, “Jesus models what it looks like to stumble into the presence of God—hurting but hopeful.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. 6 discouraging trends in global Christianity: Aaron Earls reports, “While Christianity continues to grow, Islamic growth continues to outpace the church’s growth. Christianity slightly outpaced the global rate of population growth (0.98% v. 0.88%), but Islam grew even faster (1.67%).”

  2. Wikipedia founder embraces Christianity: Trevin Wax reflects on Larry Sanger’s conversion, “Considering how many people are curious about the Bible these days, the increase in Bible sales, the interest in various philosophers and commentators providing their takes on the Scriptures,

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. To (almost) die is gain: Heidi Kellogg with a moving reflection, “To die would have been gain for me, but to live is Christ, and that means serving my family just as Christ came not to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45).

  2. Jesus did condemn homosexuality: Alan Schlemon explains, “Jesus doesn’t reserve his judgment for only those who engage in homosexual sex. He also condemns false teachers who mislead people into practicing homosexuality.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The worst of all possible worlds: Samuel James considers the grip of malaise on the modern world and the hope of the gospel. “There is a place you can reach where there is neither pleasure nor pain, just a prolonged limp between compulsion and guilt. Malaise won’t do what it should do, and it can’t do what it really wants to do. Malaise is the worst of all possible worlds.”

  2. The rise of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses: Derek Cooper provides background and context on two American religions. He summarizes, “New religious movements such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses serve as poignant examples of how deviations from orthodox Christian teaching eventually produce entirely new religions that add or remove foundational truths. These groups, while professing allegiance to Christ, diverge significantly in their doctrines of God and theologies of salvation, revelation, and eschatology.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Why am I so spiritually dry? Glenna Marshall reflects, “I couldn’t think of any particular trigger. No big reason stood out to me that would explain why everything felt stale and stagnant inside.”

  2. When offenses come: Scott Hubbard encourages us to reframe when we’ve been sinned against, “Offenses are gifts wrapped with dark ribbons. So don’t let the packaging deceive you. Every snub and jab and wound invites you into deeper fellowship and joy with your forgiving Lord.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. A theology of leisure: Reagan Rose with an important piece. She says, “Many Christians have unthinkingly adopted a view of leisure that sees rest time as synonymous with me time. But this is a historical anomaly.”

  2. The church’s unsung hero: the persevering Sunday School teacher: Can we get an amen to Trevin Wax’s post? God bless our amazing faithful teachers! “Committed Sunday school teachers are a big part of what makes discipleship effective. Yet how often do we let weeks and years go by without lifting up their example or celebrating their faithfulness?”

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