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
Should Christians Make New Year’s Resolutions? Hershael York. And now all y’all with resolutions are panicking.
Articles of the Week
A Twelve-Step Digital Detox, Tony Reinke. I (Chris) punted social media for several months at the start of 2017 in an attempt to eliminate distractions. Even though I was only spending about 5-10 minutes a day on social media, I was shocked at how difficult this was. But I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from Reinke’s 12 steps here. We all need “digital health and balance in a world without digital brakes,” and few of us have it.
Can Evangelicalism Survive Donald Trump and Roy Moore? Tim Keller. The term “evangelical” has been put through the ringer over the past 18 months. Those of us who had previously liked the term find it frustrating that it has often been co-opted as a political designation—“evangelical” meaning nothing more than “at least a little religious and fiercely Republican.” Using terms wrongly isn’t ever helpful, especially when the terms are identifiers like this one. So where do “evangelicals” go from here? Do we ditch the word? Redeem it? Or something else entirely?
Manhood Is Not Natural, Glenn Stanton. There are more male humans in our country than ever before, but it’s possible that there are fewer men than ever. Some people celebrate this. But most of us are concerned at the lack of healthy masculinity in our society. I (Chris) find some of Stanton’s claims here to be a bit of a stretch (particularly his claim that “womanhood is natural”), but much of this is insightful. Males are born, but men are made. And it’s time we make more of them.
Desperate Is Normal: A Field Manual for Overwhelming Anxiety, Jon Bloom. Love this. “The Bible is a field manual for the normal, embattled, desperate Christian life.” If you’re looking to memorize something this year (and anxiety is a part of your story), you might want to look to Psalm 27, the “field manual” for overwhelming anxiety.
On the Lighter Side
Christian Alexa, John B. Crist. After watching this five times, I can confidently say that the salsa gag is my favorite one.
