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.”
Video of the Week
Is It Wrong for Men to Listen to Women Speakers? John Piper. In recent days, there has been a fair amount of talk concerning Bible teacher Beth Moore. So it seemed apt to bring up a short throwback video addressing the female teachers. While complementarians believe that women should not act as authoritative teachers within the church—that is, as elders—we should not, therefore, shut our ears every time women expound the Bible.
Articles of the Week
Four Reasons Beto O’Rourke’s Attack on Religion Is Not Just Wrong, But Harmful, Bruce Ashford. In attacking religious liberty, Congressman O’Rourke thinks he is promoting a world he would like to live in. But an attack on liberty always harms more than those who are immediately involved—O’Rourke included. If religious liberty falls, so will many other freedoms. That’s not just bad news for Christians. That’s bad news for all Americans.
The Early Church Thrived Amid Secularism and Shows How We Can, Too, Gerald L. Sittser. With the number of non-religious people in the United States steadily growing, many Christians wonder—with no small amount of apprehension—whether our churches can thrive in a post-Christian society. The challenges of this kind of society are real, but if the early church’s example is any indication, they are not insurmountable. Like the early church, we can thrive amid secularism if we avoid the ditches on either side of the road—isolating ourselves from culture and accommodating ourselves to culture.
The Most Diverse Movement in History, Rebecca McLaughlin. In certain circles, it is vogue to criticize Christianity for being a “white, Western” religion. As McLaughlin notes, while there are ugly, imperialistic aspects of our history (giving this stereotype credence), Christianity’s demographics have always been remarkably diverse. From its inception until today, Christianity has been multi-cultural, multi-racial, and multi-ethnic. And it is getting moreso by the day.
What if the Real Act of Holiness Is Rest? Margaret Renkl. As Pastor J.D. often says, one of the truest tests of gospel living is not whether we work hard for God, but if we can rest well in God. Hardly any of us think we can afford to rest. But as Renkl points out, God’s command to lay our labors down benefits both us and our neighbors. She writes, “The world has never needed us more than it needs us now, but we can’t be of much use to it if we remain in a perpetual state of exhaustion and despair.”
On the Lighter Side
Gender Reveal Gone Wrong. Swinging giant bats at a balloon, huh? I’ll bet I know what’s going to go wrong here. Oh, oh wait. Didn’t see that coming.
