Simone Biles, What Church Members Love to Hear, and The Young & the (Not So) Liberal

Your weekly installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.

Video Resource of the Week

Prager University. Let’s be clear, we’re not saying that we endorse every view on this site, or that we consider every perspective expressed on these to be the Christian answer. But Prager U. gives short, compelling arguments on moral issues, religious freedom questions, and political topics that concern Christians in the United States. You may find some of them useful—especially you parents looking for a way to explain certain things to your kids! Some of them are pretty funny, too. Certainly worth a gander.

Articles of the Week

10 Things Church Members Would Love to Hear from Their Pastors, Thom Rainer. Last week we let you know the top 10 things that pastors love to hear from their members. Now we flip the script, and take a look at how pastors can love their people well. Pastors, take note, and try some of these on this week.

Six Questions with Christianity’s Leading Scholar on Gender Dysphoria, John Sandeman. Mark Yarhouse has been counseling people with gender dysphoria (what some would call “transgenderism”) for nearly two decades. His wisdom in this area is needed more now than ever, as this topic moves to the front of our current culture wars.

What the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life Miss about Simone Biles, Aaron Earls. Olympic gold-medalist Simone Biles has captured our country’s attention with her jaw-dropping gymnastic displays. Americans are—and should be—proud of what she’s accomplished. But we Americans are also quick to attach our issues to superstars, so it’s no surprise that we’ve seen both pro-choice and pro-life advocates holding up Biles as proof of their cause. And while we sympathize with some of the pro-life arguments, Earls offers a helpful warning: Biles didn’t deserve life because she would eventually become a champion; she deserved life because God made her.

Are Young Evangelicals More Liberal Than Their Parents? Ed Stetzer. This is where, if you were watching the 6:00 news, you’d hear, “The answer may surprise you!” But we’ll spare you the clickbait antics and let you know up front: the answer is “no.” You have to admit, though: that answer is surprising. Check out Stetzer’s research to take a peek behind this common misconception.

On The Lighter Side

How It’s Made: Christian Music, John Crist. “You can only mention your struggles in an abstract way—drowning, sinking, waves crashing. Rain, rain on my face. Basically, all you need to know is: more water references.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwwhkKPEieE 

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.”