Recommendations, Family, Culture, Marriage, Movie Reviews, Politics, Relationships
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Is Charlie Kirk’s assassination a turning point? Brett McCracken says, “From his Christian convictions he advocated for pro-life protections and traditional marriage when many older politicians in conservatism had abandoned these causes. On issues like transgenderism, Kirk helped the rising generation see the “reality-respecting” dynamics of conservatism in contrast to the more aggressively reality-denying tendencies of progressivism.”

  2. New study highlights widespread spirituality among non-religious adults around the world: Lots of encouragement and fodder for Christians as they pray for those who haven’t yet trusted Christ, ““Many religiously unaffiliated adults also express belief in God,” Pew reported, pointing to especially high numbers in South America: 92 percent in Brazil, 86 percent in Colombia, and 69 percent in Chile. South Africa shows a similar pattern, with 77 percent of “nones” affirming belief in a higher power.”

This Week's Recommendations
Church, Leadership
John Beeson
How Church Abuse Reveals the Lies We Tell ...

Three years ago 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.

How Church Abuse Reveals the Lies We Tell Ourselves
Christian Living
John Beeson
How Christian Border Patrol Agents Think About ...

“I have to make sure I’m never in uniform in public.” I sat down over pizza with two border patrol agents and chatted about their experience as Christian agents. Living near the border, we have a number of Border Patrol Agents who attend at our church. I wanted to hear from them what their experience was and hear how their experience could shape the church’s thoughts concerning illegal immigration.  

Over the course of three meetings, I met with four agents and listened as they shared their perspective on serving as Border Patrol Agents. All of them share an unbending commitment to uphold the law of the land and protect our borders and to care for the people they engage

How Christian Border Patrol Agents Think About the Border
Recommendations, Christian Living, History
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. How do I help someone see their anger when they can’t see it themselves? Ed Welch answers, “It’s difficult for at least two reasons. One is that angry people tend not to see their anger as a problem, because anger tends to feel like a righteous reaction against some kind of injustice. Another is that angry people, they can combust in a moment.” 

  2. How were the biblical Psalms originally performed? Marek Dospel asks, “How much do we really know about how biblical psalms were originally performed? What might a psalm performance have looked like in the First Temple period, around 900 B.C.E.?” 

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Church, Consumerism
John Beeson
Can't We Just Be the Church?

“Don’t go to church, be the church,” urged an influential Christian leader whom I respect.

I understand his call to action. If you must choose between attending a weekly service or demonstrating Christ through service, you might want to opt for the latter. It’s better to joyfully steward our God-given gifts rather than sliding in and out of the back row every Sunday. Caring for the orphan, widow, and the jobless outweighs downing an (admittedly delicious) New Life Bible Fellowship donut and coffee.

But God doesn’t ask us to choose between going or being! In fact, making a choice to be the church without going to church robs us of the power Christ has offered us as he calls us outward to serve.

Can't We Just Be the Church?

Relationships

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6 Ways a Pastor Should Respond to a Departing Congregant

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6 Ways a Pastor Should Respond to a Departing Congregant

I sat across the room from the couple, trying to slow down my mind and open my heart to the criticism they were leveling at me. They had been offended by my sermon and had reacted on Facebook, indicating they were leaving the church. I reached out privately and asked if we could meet to talk. They agreed to do so. When we met, he was relatively calm, but she was very upset and I knew that I needed to hold my own emotions in check to be able to listen to the heart of what she was saying and respond in love, not hurt. As I had prayed to prepare for the meeting I genuinely didn’t think I was going to be able to ask for forgiveness for anything as I didn’t think I had done anything wrong. But in the midst of the meeting God opened my heart to see an area of blindness. I was able to ask and receive their forgiveness for the way this blind spot had injured them. I then asked if they would be willing to ask for forgiveness for their slander. They were willing to do so and I forgave them.

These are not the meetings that you anticipate when you sign up to be a pastor, but there are few moments more important in your ministry than these tense conversations.

Over the course of this series, I’ve reflected on a congregant’s responsibility, but pastors and leaders bear a responsibility to help congregants navigate departures well.

One friend wisely said, “I think the pastor needs to do his part in hearing the discord, attempt to reconcile, and when reconciliation is not the solution for continued membership, to ensure a good relocation.” She’s right. Here are six ways a leader should respond to those who are leaving:

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This Week’s Recommendations

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This Week’s Recommendations

  1. What’s Allowed in Married Sex? Ray Ortlund writes with such gentle wisdom. He begins, “The sexual chaos of our times does not free us. It pressures us. It confronts us with questions we didn’t raise or even want. It claims to offer us ever-expanding options. But the truth is, our hyper-sexual culture robs us of the joy of our personal discoveries within the safety and integrity of a Christian marriage.”

  2. Three Questions for Evangelism: Paul Levy’s questions are simple and empowering. What if we all tried just one of these in the next week?

  3. The God of Your Troubled Heart: Craig Thompson puts us into the shoes of John the Baptist. He says, “Maybe you have been like John. Maybe there have been times in your life when you questioned your relationship with or commitment to Jesus. Maybe you doubted that Jesus was who he claimed to be, or that he could possibly love you.”

  4. Monomania is Illiberal and Stupefying: Jonathan Haidt is concerned about monomania, “an exaggerated and unhealthy obsession with one thing.” Instead, Haidt believes, “we need critics to make us smarter, and that we should have no confidence in our beliefs until we have exposed them to intense challenge and have considered alternative views.”

  5. Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale: It’s incredible how intuitive music is.

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I’ve Missed You

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I’ve Missed You

Life comes at us fast. How do our calendars get so full? Birthdays and conferences and vacations stack up. We miss church one week, and that turns into two, which turns to a month. Ever so sneakily, new rhythms have crept in and getting to church feels like a challenge.

“How much is it really hurting my spiritual life, anyway?” you wonder. “I still read the Bible. I listen to sermons online sometimes.”

I’m so glad that you are pursuing God on your own. But your spiritual life isn’t intended to be lived out alone. It’s not even designed to be lived out with just you and your family. Part of God’s purposes for you are only found in the context of the gathered family of God.

What if the church is missing you, not just for you to fill a chair, but for the gifts that you bring? What if the church isn’t whole without you?

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6 Things You Should Do Before You Leave Your Church

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6 Things You Should Do Before You Leave Your Church

So, you’ve decided to leave your church: you’re moving, or you’ve come to a doctrinal impasse, or there has been conflict that you’ve tried to navigate, but the church has been unwilling to biblically walk through a peacemaking process to bring about reconciliation.

As a pastor, every person who leaves the church hurts. As a pastor of ten years, there have been hundreds that have left the churches I’ve served at and I can only think of a very small handful that I was glad to see go. Every goodbye is painful.

But, as we discussed last week, there are times to say goodbye (although a lot fewer than we are encultured to believe). When you say goodbye, say goodbye well. Sadly, in today’s culture, most of us say goodbye very poorly (usually by not saying goodbye at all, just slipping away). We’re called to say goodbye in a harder, but better, way.

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Disney Shirts and Being Part of Something Big

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Disney Shirts and Being Part of Something Big

My daughter’s wish for her senior-year fall break was to go to Disneyland. Once we reserved our hotel, bought tickets for Disneyland, and arranged our schedules, I thought the planning was over. It was not. Camille (my daughter) and Angel (my wife) began spending quite a bit of time perusing Disney apparel online. It turns out we weren’t just going to show up at Disneyland in any old outfit, we were going in style. And we were going to match.

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!”

The phenomenon is startling. No less than half of those at the park were decked out in Disney paraphernalia, and most of those who are wearing Disney gear are doing so in coordination with those they came with. On top of shelling out a few hundred dollars to enter the immersive world of Disneyland, people pay Disney more money to buy their shirts, ears, and princess dresses to show just how much they love Disney.

And, of course, the spending doesn’t stop there. There are Disney pins, lightsabers, and hats (the one with Donald Duck’s bill doubling for the cap bill had me smiling) to be procured. Disney turns the apathetic into consumers, consumers into fans, and fans into ambassadors.

How? And why are we all too willing to follow along?

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This Week’s Recommendations

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This Week’s Recommendations

  1. Husbands, Be Like Adam: Usually we consider the ways Adam failed as a husband. But he did succeed in at least one way. Aaron Sironi explains that, “When we experience a dire situation, we are tempted to wallow in shame and to despair and turn against others. We must remember and believe God’s promises and his Good News, but not just for ourselves. We must turn in faith and love and speak with hopeful confidence to those around us.”

  2. I’m Not All That Awesome: Adam Ramsey explains, “The gospel means that I’m not all that awesome. But I am loved. And that’s awesome. The gospel frees me to be honest about the ways I fall short instead of being crushed by them, because it reminds me that Jesus was crushed for me.”

  3. I Do Ordinary Work: Dan Doriani explains that ordinary work is beautiful work. He concludes, “So let us lay down the deflating rhetoric of “I just” and affirm the value of ordinary work. Let us also look to change our corner of the world, even if our corner is modest and only a few notice what we do. If our Lord sees it, that should be enough.”

  4. Fear No Evil: My friend Anne Imboden reflects on fear that grabs our heart and how to navigate it. She says, “Fear comes in two forms: rational and irrational. When we’re young, irrational fears are common. Monsters under our bed, for example. I myself had a ridiculously irrational fear of swallowing pills. I was sure the pill, however small it was, would lodge itself in my throat and I would suffocate. I insisted on taking all medicines in liquid form until I was in high school.”

  5. How Do We Overcome Sexual Sin? Bob Kelleman points us to analyze our longings. He says, “Jesus knows all about all of us. As our Creator, He knows that our core issue is a worship issue. That’s why, with the Samaritan woman, He doesn’t focus on her “co-dependency” or even her “sexual addiction” per se. Jesus focuses on her core spiritual thirst.”

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This Week’s Recommendations

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This Week’s Recommendations

  1. Your Spouse Doesn’t Have to Be Your Best Friend: Shane Morris thinks that friendship in marriage is important, but that we can miss out on other friendships God has for us. He begins, “Perhaps you’ve noticed the popular recasting of marriage as primarily a very close friendship. Young couples (frequently when posting photos of each other on social media) will say, ‘I married my best friend.’”

  2. Five Things to Say to Help a Depressed Christian: Simple, but important advice from Eliza Huie. She begins with this, “God cares about your suffering. Your pain matters. God isn’t looking down hoping you get it together soon. He loves you. He grieves with you. And he cares that you are hurting.”

  3. Learning from the Hours: TM Suffield explains the theological significance of how the days are explained in Genesis 1, “’And there was evening and there was morning, the first day’ and each day thereafter. Evening, then morning. That’s backwards.”

  4. Giving in Retirement: What should giving look like in retirement? CJ Cagle explains. One question he asks is, “Which is a greater priority: spending and giving or leaving an inheritance? The biggest challenge with this question is that the Bible seems to encourage all these things.”

  5. The Universe on a Human Scale: I could watch videos like this all day long. How great is our Creator?

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This Week’s Recommendations

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This Week’s Recommendations

  1. The Liturgy of Social Media: This post is similar to my recent series on consumerism. In it TM Suffield shares ways the messages social media subtly shapes us with. He begins with this, “1. The instant is important: New matters. Whatever is newest matters most. Breaking news, new status updates from friends, this week’s bruhaha on the bird site.”

  2. A Letter from a Teenage Anti-Christian Skeptic: Randy Newman’s post highlights a surprising skeptic. God really is amazing, isn’t he?

  3. 4 Types of Itching Ears: Eric Geiger explains the difference between theological, lifestyle, ethical, and political itching ears. He says what makes them similar is this: “With all the itching ears, the starting point is the error. Instead of beginning with the Scripture, the person begins ‘with what they want to hear.’ Itching ears are never sanctified ears because instead of being conformed by teaching they curate teaching “for what they want to hear.”

  4. God Scares Me to Death: Ed Welch considers why speaking aloud the frightening truths of our hearts is beneficial. He concludes, “Your soul is close to the breaking point already. The one who now strikes fear in your heart is the only one who can assuage your fears and mend a soul in pieces.”

  5. Pride in the Name of Love: Jared Wilson on just how deep the disease of selfishness goes. “The Christian message begins with the stark realization that we are not the center of the universe. Like Leo in Titanic, we stand at the bow, spreading our arms to span the horizon, not realizing we’re headed for disaster. We proclaim, ‘I’m the king of the world!’ And then the ship sinks.”

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A Career of Leadership Lessons: an Interview with My Mom, Pagie Beeson

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A Career of Leadership Lessons: an Interview with My Mom, Pagie Beeson

A few months ago my mom completed ten years as Department Head of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Arizona. She is now “retired” from that role and continues serving as a professor. My mom is one of the most skilled leaders I’ve had the chance to learn from. With her retirement as department head in the rear-view mirror, I took the opportunity to sit down with her in order to benefit from her insight.

When did you first think of yourself as a leader?

The first leadership position I recall was serving in student council in junior high. I didn’t think of it so much as leadership, rather, it was a way to get involved. I cared and I liked the people, so I was happy to serve. I’ve always thought that leadership is more about caring and guiding, than ambition or the desire to revolutionize things.

Over the course of high school and college I was asked to serve in various leadership capacities and was always willing to do so. Even as department head, I agreed to the position because I was asked to serve. At the time, I was the logical person. To be honest, I would have been happy supporting someone else in the role so that I could focus more on my research and teaching. But, I knew I could do it and I was willing to lead for the good of the group.

How do you view your calling as a leader?

I know that I’ve been given some gifts that are important for leadership. Perhaps my strongest abilities are relational; I typically work well with people. The interpersonal part of the role came easily, even when working with those with higher authority. It has never scared me because I always viewed administrators as people like everyone else, not just as authority figures, but real people whom I enjoyed getting to know.

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This Week’s Recommendations

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This Week’s Recommendations

  1. He Would’ve Come With Me: This is a beautiful story about how God can change hearts. He reflects, “It was, for me, one of the more miraculous heart changes I had ever seen. I remember thinking to myself, “If God can change this old man’s hatred toward Muslims, and replace it with love, well then maybe I’m not crazy for thinking God can change Muslims’ hearts as well.”

  2. Prioritize Your Church: Brent McCracken shares The Gospel Coalition’s heart that its readers would commit to the local church. He says as much as they want you to read their articles, they urge you theirs is something they want you to do far more. “But honestly, there’s an action we’d invite you to take that’s more vital to your spiritual health than almost anything you could click on (including here). What’s the action I’m talking about? Be committed to a church.”

  3. In the Beginning There Were No Canyons: I love this parable from Tim Challies with deep truths about our hearts and suffering. Here he describes the moment canyons were made, “So the Master spoke to the Skies and in an instant a great bolt of lightning leapt from the heavens to the earth, striking the Prairie with a heavy blow. The Prairie cried out in agony and for a long while mourned the gaping, jagged gash that had been left upon it—a deep, charred scar that contrasted sharply with the bright grasses and vivid flowers around. “Why, Master?” it sobbed in bewildered sorrow.”

  4. Jesus isn’t Scared of My Suffering: Bethany Barnard shares the story of her struggle with severe OCD and depression. Make sure you watch her music video as well. She concludes, “The hurdles of traumatic circumstances, doubt, and mental-health struggles no longer feel disqualifying to me as a Christian. They are an irreplaceable grace he gives to reveal his heart to us.”

  5. Magically Turning Into a Banana: This guy’s videos are fun.

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