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 occasional 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.”
Articles of the Week
10 Questions Christians Should Ask of Their Entertainment, Kevin Halloran. Any post on entertainment that gives a tip of the hat to Neil Postman immediately gets my (Chris’) respect. Halloran is absolutely right that we need to think about much more than gratuitous sex and violence in our media consumption. Question 1 is the most refreshing. Question 7 was a complete surprise. And question 5 is a needed punch in the gut.
How to Love Your Ideological Enemy, Karen Swallow Prior. We often speak of cultural engagement in terms of the balance between grace and truth—the same balance that Jesus’ ministry typified (John 1:14). Prior offers an intriguing way to live that out with the notion of “hospitable orthodoxy.” Unbending in matters of truth, but receptive to new people, “hospitable orthodoxy” may be one of the best ways to remove the poison from today’s culture wars. (Side note: the more I read Karen Swallow Prior, the more I want to read Karen Swallow Prior.)
The Internet Is Not a Library, Kevin DeYoung. Not many people make this claim explicitly, but a good deal of us would probably assent to it: The internet is just a 21st-century version of a library, full of differing and competing ideas. It’s a rosy view of the online world, to be sure. But as DeYoung points out, it’s a horrible analogy. The internet may have tremendous value, but a library it is not. In fact, it’s quite a bit more like your local Golden Corral—“something for everyone, much of it unhealthy, but plenty of good stuff if you know where to look.”
5 Things to Consider Before Your Church Plans a Short-Term Mission Trip, John Kimbell. Short-term mission trips often get a bad rap. Much of the criticism is warranted, too, as many churches send teams without much intentionality, purpose, or long-term impact. The phenomenon of the “vacationary” (someone who goes on a mission trip with a vacation mindset) is both real and tragic. But let’s not abandon the poor baby of short-term missions just because the bath water is filthy. Short-term trips can be an enormous boon to a robust missions strategy—if they’re done well.
Following Christ in the Age of Authenticity, Trevin Wax. Are millennials (myself among them) a “spoiled,” “entitled,” and “overconfident” generation? Many fuddy-duddies—and many millennials themselves—would say so. But the internal experience of this generation tells a different story. Millennials are plagued by guilt, anxiety, and unhappiness. The age of authenticity, as it is lived by those trying hardest to be “true to themselves,” turns out to be a prison cell like no other.
On the Lighter Side
Tired of Hearing About Millennials? Turn Them into Snake People. I did this last week. Best technological decision I’ve made in months, possibly years. If you’re a Google Chrome user, this simple plugin will replace every instance of “millennial” with “snake person,” thus transforming angsty sociological reflections into slightly sci-fi headlines. Simply delightful.
