Blogs

Sex Abuse Among Southern Baptists
Some quality analysis of the systemic issues that lead churches and church leaders to make such bad decisions in handling such cases:

“Second, we’ve failed to understand the power dynamics of abuse and have often viewed these instances through the lens of sexual sin. This led to abusers being superficially reprimanded and penalized, while the survivors were simultaneously overlooked and/or treated as complicit. Such a reductionist understanding gave rise to unrighteous sympathy that sought to protect the future of the perpetrator at the expense of justice and protection of the victim. Then, when survivors would not let the injustice go, they were characterized as troublemakers—unwilling to “forgive” their abusers. ”

Addressing Abuse in the SBC: A Proposal
Here’s another.

“Calling a survivor of sexual assault into a minister’s office in order to be cross-examined by pastoral staff should never have been seen as acceptable, and now, we must make it clear that is complicit behavior. In order to protect vulnerable survivors, we need to appoint survivor advocates.

Statement from R. Albert Mohler Jr. on Sovereign Grace Churches
And here’s one beginning to put things right.

“As many are aware, I have recently apologized and asked forgiveness for serious errors I made in how I responded to concerns that were raised about Sovereign Grace Churches and CJ Mahaney.”

Pastor, Preach like Hurt Women Are Listening
“I’ve been blessed over the years to sit under the loving care of wise and compassionate pastors and elders. I’ve witnessed great humility in these men as they’ve listened to my story and grown in wisdom and understanding in their pastoral care for women. It hasn’t always been perfect, and we have hurt and misunderstood each other. But they did a few things that ministered to me and other women in our church.”

Is Email Making Professors Stupid?
Yep.

“When email first spread to campuses in the late 1970s, it simplified crucial tasks like communicating with distant collaborators, but as its ubiquity grew, it became a public portal through which the world beyond close colleagues could make increasing demands on a professor’s time and attention, making email into a kind of digital water torture for the scholar struggling to think without interruption.”

The Complete Guide to Memory
Perhaps part of the remedy to the above. What a phenomenal resource from Scott Young:

“How does your memory work? How can you remember more? Prevent forgetting? These questions lie at the heart of anything you’ll ever learn, do or experience. Your memory impacts everything you do, from how well you’ll do in school, your career, life and even your sense of self and happiness. This is a topic that has long fascinated me, and I’ve written a lot about memory previously on this blog. However, I wanted to create a guide that would combine and integrate everything we know scientifically about memory, and distill that knowledge into practical advice.”

Broken Pieces and the God Who Mends Them
Bill Boekestein’s excellent review of Simonetta Carr’s new book about her family’s painful struggle with mental illness. Here’s another from Redeemed Reader.

Books

Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age by Alan Noble $3.99.

Run to Win: The Lifelong Pursuits of a Godly Man by Tim Challies $5.99.

Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love by Edward T. Welch $2.39.

Video

Puritan Trailer