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, “Eat the fish and spit out the bones.”
Articles of the Week
Latino Immigrants Are Evangelizing the United States, Bekah McNeel. Minority churches in the United States have always had an outsized influence relative to their numbers and social status. And while our American political context continues to change, that trend does not. Latino immigrants in the U.S. are overcoming incredible odds, and not only are they surviving, but according to new research, their ministries are more effective than most. We should all be taking notes.
The Best Way to Evaluate Your Beliefs? Engage with People Who Disagree with You, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay. There are dozens of good reasons to ask good questions and listen deeply to those with whom you disagree. But as Boghossian and Lindsay point out, the most important reason may be the most personal: It helps you articulate your own views better.
Do You Have to Be a Jerk to Be Great? David Brooks. This article is less about whether people should be cruel or not (they shouldn’t), and more about the right balance between work and home life. Many great artists through the centuries have been so focused on their craft that they were horrid family members. The same is true of many of us today—though few of us even get great art out of the exchange. But as Brooks points out, living a great life is more important than producing a great work.
7 Ways to Persevere in Your Senior Years, Dawn Wilson. Our society is (unhealthily) titled towards the young, making it easy for elderly people to feel irrelevant. But if you’re not dead, God’s not done. Elderly saints: Stay the course. We younger folks need you!
Why Facebook Failed, Samuel D. James. I (Chris) copied and pasted seven different sections of this to highlight as quotes, each line more powerful than the last. In the end, I just couldn’t pick, but believe me when I say, this is some of the best analysis of social media (and 21st century American culture) you will ever read.
As for Facebook itself, James is out. And he’s won me over, too. For the month of August, at least, Facebook will have to muddle along without me. Care to join us?
On the Lighter Side
If Bible Characters Took Uber, John Crist. Hard to figure out my favorite. I’m torn between “Prodigal Son” and “Judas.”
