Your weekly installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Podcast of the Week
How Should Christians Respond to the New President? Russell Moore. We’ve been incredibly thankful for Moore’s leadership during this volatile election season. In light of Trump’s presidential victory on Tuesday, Moore offers a hopeful and insightful reflection on our response going forward. And in classic Moore fashion, he doesn’t just offer us hope: he challenges our heresies and apostasies, too.
Articles of the Week
How to Talk to Your Kids about Messy Elections, Erica Reischer. This election was a polarizing one, and would have left our kids wondering, “What happens next?” no matter who won. Reischer has a helpful angle on parenting our kids in the aftermath of a messy political season. If your children—or, ahem, some of your adults—need guidance, you’d do well to follow these three pieces of advice.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. James Faris. Some problems in life seem so overwhelming that we don’t know how to make any difference at all. Political division. Racial strife. Spiritual lostness. Faris offers a simple way forward: start where you are; use what you have; and do what you can. It worked for my (Chris’) favorite judge, Shamgar (Judges 3:31). And it can make a much bigger impact than you might realize in your life as well.
Six Reasons Congregational Singing Is Waning, Thom Rainer. When we come together to worship, our services almost always involve music. But in the American church, fewer people in our congregations are actually singing. What gives? As Rainer points out, some of the reasons are practical and some are theological. But they’re all important.
Five Ways to Doubt Your Doubts, Tim Keller. Well, well, well. This powerful little excerpt is enough to make me want to buy Keller’s newest book, Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical. As Keller often points out, we can only doubt one belief based on another belief that we do not doubt. The truly tolerant and open-minded approach is willing to take its own doubts about God…and to doubt them. (Bonus points to any of you who have actually read Michael Polanyi, who Keller references here. Polanyi is a bit dense, but is fantastic.)
On The Lighter Side
Fainting Goats. “While it might seem easy to make fun of the fainting goats, there are scores of breeders who love them just the way they are.” How have I never heard a sermon illustration using fainting goats?
Wisdom For Your Weekend is presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from J.D. Greear. 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.”
