COVID-19: Over at Facts & Trends, I wrote about 2 characteristics church leaders must display during cultural crises, a look at words from Psalms to keep us mindful of what’s needed in these times.
Podcast Pick: I’ve been enjoying American Elections: Wicked Game. Each episode features the story of a presidential election year, beginning with Washington all the way to 2020. Amazing how much perspective you’ll gain in seeing what’s happened in previous election cycles!
Kindle Deal: The Power of Christian Contentment: Finding Deeper, Richer Christ-Centered Joy by Andy Davis. $2.99.
Seven of the best articles I came across this week:
1. LifeWay Research – Study: Churches Gathering Again But With Precautions. Even though most Protestant churches are gathering, pastors are more hesitant to begin small group Bible studies or activities for children and teenagers.
2. Mark Leib – A Nihilist Testament: Yuval Noah Harari, celebrated adversary of the sacred and good. Yuval Harari’s “Sapiens” is a distinctly nihilist tract, rejecting every sort of theism, every claim that life has meaning, and every assertion of human rights. That Harari’s nihilism has gone unchallenged and unmentioned by many book reviewers is disturbing.
3. Tim Keller – The Bible and Race, The Sin of Racism, A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory. All three of these articles from Tim Keller are worth your time — the fruit of decades-long reflection.
4. Angela Alaimo O’Donnell – The ‘Cancelling’ of Flannery O’Connor?: It Never Should Have Happened. The cancelling of a writer who possesses the wisdom and the power of Flannery O’Connor demonstrates our impoverished imaginations, our narrowness, and our inability to embrace complexity.
5. Garrett Kell – You Will Regret Giving In: What to Do When Tempted. I’m always challenged and convicted (in a good way) whenever I read Garrett Kell on sin and temptation. “You will not regret resisting sin. You will regret giving in.”
6. Michael J. Kruger – How Early Christianity was Mocked for Welcoming Women. What do we make of the fact that early Christianity was mocked for being pro-women? It certainly turns the tables on the over-used criticism in the modern world that early Christianity was a patriarchal, misogynistic religion that was hostile to women.
7. Jason Fried – Remote work is a platform. In-office and remote work are different platforms of work. And right now, what we’re seeing a lot of companies attempt to port local work methods to working remotely.