Blogs

Will You Support My Work Through Patreon? | Tim Challies (link fixed)
Does Tim Challies give you $10 value a month? Then why not consider repaying him for all the service he’s rendered to you over the years. He’s recently launched out on his own to be a full-time writer and is offering an opportunity for his many readers to support him in this mission. Outside of the local church, there can’t be many better ways to promote the Gospel to millions of people around the world every year.

Mental Illness, Redemption, and a God I Can Trust–Part 1 | Amy Simpson
A deeply moving account of one family’s descent into the vortex of mental illness. And here’s Part 2.

Why Most of Us Hate Silence | Crossway: Zack Eswine
“Quietude, some men cannot abide,” says Spurgeon, “because it reveals their inner poverty.”

Abortionists admit emotional toll of grisly work | World Mag
In video footage the National Abortion Federation tried to suppress, conference panelists admit the horror of killing unborn babies”

Ten Differences Between a Boss and a Leader | Eric Geiger
So important for pastors.

An Interview with Doug Sweeney on Jonathan Edwards the Exegete | Justin Taylor
A book 13 years in the writing! Now that would be worth reading.

The Celebrity Pastor Factory | SKYE JETHANI
Celebrity pastors are not a new phenomenon, nor is our human tendency to exalt our leaders to unsustainable heights. What is new is the number of celebrity pastors and the speed at which they are being created and corrupted. Every generation has had a handful of well known pastors, but why are there now so many, and how do they achieve so much influence with so little accountability?

What Getting Dumped Says About You | Desiring God
Breakups are bad enough. Getting broken up with — that’s another monster entirely.

Why every seminary student should read J. C. Ryle | Southern Blog
Ben Rogers recommends Ryle’s Expository Thoughts and Simplicity in Preaching as a good starting point for Seminary students.

New Book

The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation by Andreas Kostenberger and Alexander Stewart. Companion volume to The Final Days of Jesus.

Kindle Books

The Most Encouraging Book on Hell Ever by Thor Ramsey $1.99.

What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung $4.74.

Video

Make-a-Wish Turns 35: Here’s how it all started

Is the digital deluge beginning to abate? After years of digital tsunamis sweeping everything (including ourselves) before them, are we seeing the tide turning? Is some sanity returning to our use of digital technology?

Why do I suggest that? Consider these trends:

Twitter down: Twitter earnings, new user numbers, and ad revenue are slumping. (Forbes)

Facebook down: Sharing on Facebook has taken a dive. 34% of users updated their status and 37% shared their own photos in the last quarter, down from 50% and 59% for the same period last year. (Wall Street Journal)

Online learning down: Despite the digital glitz, online learning has failed to match the teacher at the front of the class. A major report, based on research in 17 US states with online charter schools, has found “significantly weaker academic performance” in maths and reading in these virtual schools compared with the conventional school system. (BBC)

eBooks down: Digital books accounted for about 20% of all books sold last year. But eBook sales fell by 10 percent in the first five months of this year (New York Times). Amazon have even opened their first bricks-and-mortar store in Seattle (Wall Street Journal)

Comments down: Major bloggers like Michael Hyatt and Tim Challies have removed the commenting feature from their blogs, as have other major media organizations like Recode, Reuters, Popular Science, The Week, Mic, The Verge, The Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today’s FTW.

Blogs down: Other major bloggers are calling it quits. (Christianity Today)

I admit, it’s a cloud about the size of a baby’s little finger, and there are still some statistics going in the opposite direction, but these trends, which support anecdotal evidence, may indicate a significant societal shift. I hope so. Perhaps, in a few years, many of us will look back at the way we allowed our technology, phones, and social media to take over our lives and replace reality, and think, “What. Was. I. Doing?”

Blog

A Good Day to Die | Gentle Reformation

The Gospel + All Things | Reformation21 Blog

A Quiz on the Doctrine of Scripture | Tim Challies

The Party Of God Vs. The Party Of Government | The Federalist

Three Ways The Church Can Better Serve Special Needs Families  Ed Stetzer

Why Serious People Support an Unserious Presidential Candidate | First Things

New Book Recommendation

Uncensored: Daring to Embrace the Entire Bible by Brian Cosby $3.03. Here’s my commendation of the book:

In a world where nothing shameful is now censored, it’s strange that the church is censoring what it has no reason to be ashamed of. Brian Cosby’s needed and helpful book will help many Christians to understand, defend, and promote their faith, and enable them not only to say “I am not ashamed of the Gospel,” but also “I am not ashamed of the Bible.”

Kindle Books

Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland $2.99. Thabiti’s endorsement:

In Disunity in Christ, Christena Cleveland provides an insightful analysis of why we all say we want unity but find it so difficult to gain it. Combining a humble Christian tone, familiarity with many types of churches and skillful use of social science, Disunity in Christ reveals to us those very human tendencies that keep us divided. Along the way, Cleveland helps us to see, laugh at and rethink our very selves. This book will effectively help any Christian or church wanting a deeper experience of the reconciliation we have in the body of Christ. As a pastor serving a church of some thirty nationalities, I found it an extremely useful analysis of what hurts and helps unity.

Each for the Other: Marriage as It’s Meant to Be by Bryan and Kathy Chapell $1.99.

Simplicity in Preaching by J C Ryle $0.99.

Video

Abortion reversal treatment saves more than 100 babies lives

Blogs

When Complaining Tears Us Apart | Her.meneutics | Christianitytoday.com
Sociologists say voicing our frustrations brings us together. Scripture offers another way.

Slighting Syria’s Christians | First Things
Why has the US only accepted 53 Christian refugees from Syria in 5 years of conflict?

Pastor or Scholar? Pursue Your Strongest Desire
Interview with Thom Schreiner on how he has combined scholarship with pastoring.

Three Ways to Love Your Imperfect Husband | Desiring God
One for my wife.

Does God Want Me to Excel in What I Do or Who I Am? | IFWE
“God wants his people to excel in both what they do (behavior or good deeds), and who they are (inward character).”

Here’s What The Most Successful People Read And Why | Fastcompany
“A surprising number of the people I speak to don’t read just anything. They read—even obsess over—biographies and autobiographies.”  If you want to start, see two good biographies below.

US Blasts Open Trans Locker Room Doors | The American Conservative
“Ten years ago, if you had said that the federal government was soon going to force public schools to let biological males undress in girls’ locker room, and biological females undress in locker rooms filled with teenage boys, you would have been called some sort of right-wing paranoid.”

Government Should Not Fund Organizations that Kill Innocent Human Beings | HHPR
“Regardless of whether Planned Parenthood has violated the law, and regardless of whether its abortionists or officials should be prosecuted, Planned Parenthood should not be eligible for government funding because it engages in acts of profound injustice against the weakest and most vulnerable members of the human family. The central truth that the recent videos highlight is the humanity of the living being that Planned Parenthood dismembers in abortion. The videos show Planned Parenthood technicians sifting through aborted fetal remains while exclaiming, “It’s a baby!” and “Another boy!”

The value of university: Our first-ever college rankings | The Economist
Four-year non-vocational American colleges, ranked by alumni earnings above expectation.

Kindle Books

The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith by Peter Hitchens $2.99.

Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds by Chris Brauns $2.99. Best book on the subject.

Know the Creeds and Councils by Justin Holcomb $3.99.

New Books

In connection with the documentary video below you can read more about J. I. Packer in two recent books.

J. I. Packer: An Evangelical Life by Leland Ryken $20.99.

Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit by Sam Storms $9.99.

Video

J I Packer in his own words
A beautiful 20 minute documentary on Dr. Packer’s life and legacy.

Blogs

Porn Use as Grounds for Divorce: How My Opinion Changed | Covenant Eyes
“In the past, when asked if divorce could ever be a viable option for these women, my typical response has been a reluctant no. As much as my heart went out to these women trapped in horrific marriages, I simply didn’t see any biblical justification for divorce in situations of porn use. About a year ago I decided I was going to write my Master’s thesis about this topic and had intended to write a robust biblical defense of my position. I never imaged for a minute I would come to the opposite conclusion.”

Church, Stop Doing so Many Good Things | Prince on Preaching
“In most church situations you will do more by doing less.”

Recommended Resources on the Decalogue: Part 2 | Credo
And here’s part one.

My Top Ten Favorite Books on the Authority of Scripture | Canon Fodder
Michael Kruger’s annotated bibliography for the best books on the authority of Scripture.

Pastors and Their Bucket Lists | Zack Eswine
“It’s possible for ministry leaders to desire greatness in ways no different from anyone, anywhere in our culture. Attaching Jesus’s name to these desires doesn’t change the fact that they look just like the cravings of the world.”

Five Ways to Stop Spending Time Managing Time | Desiring God
“While in no way exhaustive, here are five applications Christians might employ for buying back time for the purposes for which they were given it by God.”

Is It Even Possible to Have a Christian View of Productivity? | What’s Best Next
Matt has re-launched his blog with a new look and focus.

Letter to the Catholic Academy | The New York Times
Ross Douthat declares war on liberal Roman Catholic professors.

Declining Student Resilience: A Serious Problem for Colleges | Psychology Today
College personnel everywhere are are struggling with students’ increased neediness.

Recommended New Book

Augustine on the Christian Life: Transformed by the Power of God by Gerald Bray.

Kindle Books

$30 off top of the line Kindle models here.

Pray for the Flock: Ministering God’s Grace Through Intercession by Brian Croft and Ryan Fullerton $3.99.

Comfort the Grieving: Ministering God’s Grace in Times of Loss by Paul Tautges $3.99.

Tributes to John Calvin: A Celebration of His Quincentenary $1.99.

Video

Piano Guys + Scotland + Bagpipes = Lots of Tears
I was a pastor in this area of Scotland, Wester Ross, for almost five years. Brings back lots of memories.

If there’s one thing that would transform our churches, it’s the application of the simple principle in these two proverbs:

He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him (Proverbs 18:13).

The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him (Proverbs 18:17).

What does this mean in practice? Here’s an example:

When your elders are dealing with a dispute or a case of discipline, they are bound to confidentiality. The person or people who are at the center of the controversy often do not exercise such self-restraint and will talk to others inside and outside of the church, presenting their side of the story and their opinions about how the elders have been dealing with them.

What should you do if you are one of the people that hears just that one side of the story?

You should start by saying this to the person: “If I express an opinion about this without hearing the other side of the story, the Bible says that I am a fool and a disgrace. You don’t want me to be that, do you?”

(I’d like to add that Q&A to every catechism that exists and make memorization of it compulsory).

You then have a choice between two options about what to say next:

Option 1: ”I trust the elders to get this right and I would encourage you to plead your cause before the elders rather than going around pleading your own cause in their absence. If I hear of you continuing to present only one side of the story, I will have no option but to inform the elders that this is happening.”

Option 2: “Would you free the elders from their commitment to confidentiality so that they can share with me the results of their examination of your case? That way I will avoid falling into folly and disgrace by expressing an opinion without knowing both sides.”

If we actually followed the Bible’s teaching on this, so many churches would have so much more peace.

Elders should also make clear to anyone in dispute with them, or in the midst of a disciplinary process, that they will maintain confidentiality and expect the person to to the same. However, they should also warn the person that if they abuse the benefit of that commitment, they forfeit the privilege of it.

Another Example

This Proverb also applies to less formal situations – ordinary, everyday relationships. For example, I once had a Christian friendship that was growing increasingly close and mutually beneficial (I thought). And then it suddenly went cold. Stone cold. It was so painful and I just couldn’t understand it. I probed gently to see if I had offended him in any way but made no progress. There was clearly no desire on his part to maintain the relationship.

Some months later I found out that a Christian I had crossed swords with many years before had poisoned the brother’s mind against me with lies. Yet my “friend” never asked my side of the story. I thought about trying, but then remembered Proverbs 18:13 and concluded that it was not a “friendship” worth having.

So, please, please, please, the next time someone comes to you with a “story” about someone, don’t be so foolish as to believe it without asking for the other side. Instead, say, “I know you would not want me to be a Proverbs 18:13 fool, so would you mind if I asked this person for his/her side of the story?” That wouldn’t just be church-transforming; it would be world-transforming.