Wisdom for Your Weekend is your regular installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web. Presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with guidance from Pastor J.D., this is our attempt to reflect Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” While we do not always agree with everything these authors post, we share these resources because we find them challenging and enriching. As we often say around the Summit, when it comes to reading, “Eat the fish and spit out the bones.”
Articles of the Week – Sex Abuse and the SBC
Becoming a Church That Cares Well for Abuse, Brad Hambrick (and others).
“Over the last six months, at the directive of my senior pastor and president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), J.D. Greear, I have had the privilege of leading a team of nine individuals to develop a curriculum to equip churches to provide holistic care in the initial stages of learning about instances of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.
While this is an education curriculum, it should be made clear: education is not the answer, because ignorance is not the problem. Churches don’t mishandle abuse because of a lack of knowledge. If it was our child who was being abused, we would figure out what to do. To blame ignorance is to fail to own the role of a leader.
The sad reality, however, is that most pastors have had little, if any, training on pastoral care for abuse. A lack of training can result in ministry leaders being tentative and passive when we need to be active in protecting. We want to equip ministry leaders to respond with excellence when they learn of abuse.”
For Southern Baptists, Sex Abuse Prevention Is a Local Matter, Yonat Shimron. This news story was an encouraging example, reminding us that our policies in preventing and reporting sex abuse are noticed well outside of our churches. We’re praying that the intentional policies in place at the Summit would become less of an anomaly and more of the norm throughout the SBC.
10 Calls to Action for Southern Baptists on Sexual Abuse, Phillip Bethancourt. “Today as the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention convened, SBC President J.D. Greear announced 10 calls to action for Southern Baptists based on initial recommendations from the Sexual Abuse Presidential Advisory Group. The group’s efforts are ongoing, and there will be more resources and responses released in the months to come. But Greear called Southern Baptists to [respond in several ways immediately.]”
Other Articles of the Week
The Seductiveness of Insta-Nostalgia, Sophie Haigney. Social media has gotten into the business of nostalgia. Apps like “Timehop” show us what we said or did on this date some years ago. A recent #10YearChallenge on Facebook encouraged people to post photos of themselves from ten years ago, side by side with a more recent picture. Haigney points out that this Insta-nostalgia deviates from classic nostalgia in a key (and dangerous) way—it places all of the focus on you.
Why I Keep Returning to Lesslie Newbigin, Trevin Wax. Okay, I’m a bit partial here. I wrote my entire Ph.D. dissertation on Newbigin. I’ve read everything Newbigin wrote. I think Newbigin is (as the kids these days say) “the bee’s knees.” But I’m not alone in this, as Trevin attests. Newbigin may be the best theologian you’ve never heard of. Go ahead and make him the best theologian you’ve read.
No, You Can’t Ignore That Email. It’s Rude, Adam Grant. I often muse on the oddness of email. Just about everyone uses it, but few of us have ever been trained in how to use it. Email has been around for decades now, but it’s still the Wild West out there: Everyone makes up their own rules (and sometimes the conflicts get messy). Grant’s advice here would bring some order to the chaos of our electronic mailboxes. You can’t do your job well—or love people well—if you’re horrid at responding to them.
On the Lighter Side
Alexa and Baby Shark, It’s Our Time Now! This happens at our house, too, about 100 times a day. Hard to beat the cuteness of this one, though.
