W4YW: The Duggars, Talking to Kids about Abortion, & Emotionally Healthy Churches

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

Articles of the Week

What the Duggars Get Wrong About Chastity, Audra Nakas. “The irony of the Duggars’ sexual mores is that they end up sexualizing nearly all human touch. Holding hands, rather than being a form of affection, or an expression of comfort, or a method of guidance, is reduced to sexual desire. Bumping elbows with your seatmate on the plane becomes an occasion of sin.”

Four Ways PhDs Build Character More than Careers, Rusty Osborne. I (Chris) knew there was some reason I was getting my PhD—character! In all seriousness, Osborne’s reflections here highlight the benefits of the long and arduous task that is the philosophiae doctor. The concluding “three vital things” are also immensely important for anyone considering a PhD. (I’m relieved to see some of the advice I frequently give in there.)

“Here I Stand” – Who Said It Better, Frozen’s Elsa or Martin Luther? Andy Naselli (ft. Tim Keller). Eventually we may all forget that the vapid wonder of Frozen made its appearance on the American stage. But in the meantime, Frozen provides a helpful lens into contemporary culture. Five hundred years apart, a cartoon princess and a German monk said the same thing: “Here I stand.” But their meaning couldn’t have been more contrary.

Four Characteristics of Emotionally Healthy Churches, Peter Scazzero. “For years I believed if I could simply identify the right planning and decision-making process, we would make good decisions at New Life, the church I pastor. That, it turned out, was both naïve and misguided. Over a 20-year period, however, the dramatic difference between our standard process and emotionally healthy planning and decision-making became crystal clear.”

How Do I Talk to My Kids About Abortion? Randy Alcorn. Parents with kids of a certain age know the position of terror that comes when their kids ask an important but difficult question. But it’s more than just the stereotypically awkward “sex talk” (that so few of us actually received). It encompasses issues in the news today, like abortion. So just how should we talk to our kids about the reality of abortion?

On The Lighter Side

Driving Stereotypes, Dude Perfect (ft. Dale Jr.). The “Mom Arm,” the “Parking Police,” the “Indecisive Stopper,” the “Rage Monster,” and more. You may not have realized how many terrifying intriguing types of drivers there are out there. (Also, did they have a car they were planning to destroy?)

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.”