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
What Your Politics Do to Your Morals, Olga Khazan. Recent research suggests what many of us already intuitively know: Many people change their ethical stances to align with their political positions. Should we be surprised by this? More importantly, what should we do to avoid letting a political party hijack our morals?
When Worship Lyrics Miss the Mark, John Piper. As Jesus (might have) said, “You shall hear of worship wars and rumors of worship wars … but the end is not yet.” Nothing is quite so enduring as fighting over the lyrics to worship songs, whether that’s Michael W. Smith’s “Above All” or Bethel’s “Reckless Love.” And while we may not agree with every lyrical decision Piper promotes or censures, his approach to the question of worship lyrics is worth emulating. As he points out, there truly are far too many songs, old and new, that are Christ-exalting and gospel-rich for us to choose songs that are misleading and questionable.
Is Your Church Frantic or Focused? Stephen McAlpine. This is a razor-sharp question for the American church today: “What practices—or lack of practices—can our churches enact, to rebuild focused attention in order to equip our people to be like Jesus in a frantic and distracted world?” Our people have had enough of frantic distraction; what they need (and what love requires) is the more challenging and more rewarding ability to focus.
Leadership Lessons from Chick-fil-A, Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra. If you weren’t already on Team Chick-fil-A, their recent addition of mac-and-cheese should have sealed the deal for you. (It did for my kids.) But according to Steve Robinson, 35-year chief marketing officer for Chick-fil-A, the secret isn’t in the (Chick-fil-A) sauce. It’s in the unique culture of leadership that Chick-fil-A built.
The Church: Love It, Don’t Leave It, Scott Sauls. G. K. Chesterton once wrote that when you love something, its goodness is reason to love it, and its badness reason to love it even more. That certainly applies to the local church, which always falls short of the beautiful vision God intends for it. But as Sauls reminds us, at her best and at her worst, Jesus loves his church. So, too, should we.
On the Lighter Side
Chick-fil-A Pick-up Lines, John Crist. “Excuse me, are you Chick-fil-A sauce? Because you’re my first choice.”
