W4YW: Guest Speaker Gaffes, Counterfeit Jesus(es), & Bible-Reading Strategies

Wisdom For Your Weekend: your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.

Articles of the Week

Four Leadership Personalities: What Color Are You? Eric Geiger. This looks intriguing for those in the leadership world, whether leading a team of 500 or of 5. Everyone has the capacity to be some sort of leader, and healthy teams have a variety of leadership styles represented. The color scheme that Geiger outlines here is a handy memory tip as you try to assess which one you are (and which one you’re working for!). As for me [Chris], though, I have to admit that I have a hard time placing myself … other than noting that I’m certainly not red, like the one and only Pastor J.D.

Five Strategies for Daily Bible Reading, Gavin Ortlund. If only reading the Bible were as easy as, well, not reading the Bible. Alas, that isn’t the case. So if you’d like to be more consistent in reading your Bible, or if you’d like to get more out of the Bible when you read it (and who wouldn’t?), Ortlund gives five tangible action steps. They aren’t magical, but they’re helpful … and you might be surprised how possible they are.

Our Beautiful, Broken Christian Ancestors, Tish Harrison Warren. As a society, we have a difficult time honoring our ancestors and admitting that they were broken people. We tend to either lionize them or demonize them. But even the most praiseworthy exemplars in our past are still, as Luther put it, simul justus et peccator—at the same time, righteous and sinful. We need to recover the skill of critiquing our forebears’ faults while still appreciating the way they followed Christ. As we hope our grandchildren will also do for us.

Eight Common Guest Speaker Mistakes, Mark Dance. Many of these are quite amusing for the audience, so part of me is reluctant to share these nuggets of wisdom. But it’s probably best for all involved if you take the time to avoid these common potholes.

Five False Theories about Jesus – And How to Refute Them, Kyle Dillon. It’s very popular these days, especially on college campuses, to trot out “new” theories about Jesus that supposedly blow the Christian faith to pieces. But there really is nothing new under the sun, and every alternate theory about Jesus has been around—in one form or fashion—for a long, long time. Dillon explains some of the most common, and shows us how to respond when somebody trots out a counterfeit Jesus.

On The Lighter Side

Early Warning Signs of Adult Onset Calvinism, Stephen Altrogge. “Approximately 1 out of every 4 Christians will encounter adult onset Calvinism (commonly known as AOC) during their life, either personally or in someone close to them. It can be a scary thing to encounter, especially if you’re not familiar with the symptoms. The person you once knew and loved is suddenly a completely different person. Don’t panic.”

*****

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.”