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.”
Video of the Week
How to Make a Faux Apology, Jonathan Parnell, David Powlison, and John Onwuchekwa. There’s a world of difference between a sincere apology and the faux apology (which we’ve all experienced—and probably practiced). Lots of wisdom in this conversation on the nature of apology, forgiveness, vulnerability, and reconciliation.
Articles of the Week
How Should Southern Baptists Respond to the Issue of Calvinism? Danny Akin. We are often asked whether Pastor J.D. is a Calvinist (a question we’ve happily answered). Calvinism—specifically the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility—can be a thorny issue, and it is often a point of contention within the SBC. Akin wrote this helpful article more than a decade ago, but it remains a helpful, balanced, and gracious answer.
The Good Part—Preparing for Old Age and Death, Diane Bucknell. Our society’s primary method of coping with old age and death is to deny them: Delay death as long as possible and extend youth as long as possible. When both are impossible, many people despair, fearing the best is behind them. But in Christ, the “good part” is always before us. That’s good news for those of us—and it should be all of us—who are preparing for death.
The Final Speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., Justin Taylor. Fifty years ago this week, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. The previous day he delivered one of his most famous speeches, “I Have Been to the Mountaintop.” The last couple minutes are rather famous, and seem to eerily presage Dr. King’s death the following day. But the entire speech is worth your time. Here Justin Taylor does a great job giving surrounding context, further reading, and—most importantly—the audio of the speech itself.
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard John Neuhaus. Few people alive today actually marched with Dr. King, and that number is dwindling every year. The result is that Dr. King, whose message remains as vital and needed as ever, may become a nearly mythical figure. Neuhaus, however, knew Dr. King—in all of his successes and all of his errors. This nuanced tribute grapples with the candid details of Dr. King’s life, proving that “God writes straight with crooked lines.” May we honor all of our leaders with the same combination of candor and grace.
On the Lighter Side
Phonetic Pronunciation, Victor Borge. Didn’t get enough of Victor Borge a couple weeks ago? I don’t blame you.
