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.”
Interview of the Week
The Gospel of Marx: A False Religion Explained, Bruce Ashford. “Political revolution is something limited. That’s when you replace one political arrangement with another. But the socialists, most of them, to the extent that they’re like Marx, don’t want merely a political revolution. They want a social revolution, which is an entire upending, an overthrow of the social order. And that doesn’t go well. That never goes well.”
Articles of the Week
How Christians Can Prepare for the 2020 Election, Daniel Bennett. “There is little to suggest that the 2020 presidential election will yield less tension and conflict than 2016. If anything, the political atmosphere has become more toxic over the last several years. This should concern Christians. Our country’s extreme political climate might tempt us to adopt its hostile rhetoric and dehumanizing tones, rendering us indistinguishable from the world. Or we might be tempted to abandon political engagement altogether, fatigued by the rancor and fed up by the partisan stalemate. But neither option will suffice for those of us called to be in the world for the sake of the kingdom. We must forge a better path for a healthier, Christ-centered political engagement.”
America: A Child Pornocracy, Rod Dreher. “I still can’t get over the big story in Sunday’s New York Times about the explosion in child pornography in the age of the Internet: last year, investigators found over 45 million videos and images of child pornography on the Internet — over twice what had been reported in the previous year. The Times story—which is so brutal, but so very important that I ended up re-subscribing to the newspaper, to support journalism like this—details how all of us are failing to take this problem seriously enough.”
The Brokenhearted Pastor, Darryl Dash. “We should and will pastor sometimes with broken hearts. And that’s not wrong. It’s required. We need more pastors who know what it’s like to occasionally weep. We need to learn how to pastor with a broken heart. ‘Be not dismayed by soul-trouble,’ wrote Spurgeon. ‘Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary ministerial experience.’ Get used to occasionally pastoring with a broken heart.”
Surprisingly Useful Advice on Friendship, Laura Denny. “This is a (highly practical!) litmus test I’ve formed for myself after reading the books. When I’m experiencing loneliness, frustration, jealousy, gossip, or anything off my ‘frequent friendship problem’ list, I stop and ask if I’m being a threat or a solution. Even if a problem originated with someone else, my response is either rooted in self-love or other-love.”
On the Lighter Side
Nike Offers “Jesus Shoes” Injected with Water from the Jordan River, Relevant Magazine. Yes, these are real. We’ll let you decide whether that’s cause for laughter or weeping.
