Your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading around the web.
Articles of the Week
The Secret That Keeps Men from Singing in Worship, David Murrow. In a book I’ve read recently, Movements that Changed the World (by Steve Addison), I was struck again at how “heart songs”—songs that became so familiar to people that they sang them in private prayer and when in persecution—were instrumental (no pun intended) in driving the core message of the movement deep in people’s heart and moving it forward. Which is what makes this paragraph in that article so disturbing:
“Songs get switched out so frequently that it’s impossible to learn them. People can’t sing songs they’ve never heard. And with no musical notes to follow, how is a person supposed to pick up the tune?”
Same-Sex Marriage Isn’t Really Bad for Our Kids . . . Or Is It? Mark Regnerus. It has been difficult to make many declarations about the effect of gay marriage on American children, since it remains illegal in many places. But a look at a new (and enormous) study from Canada—where same-sex couples have been approved legally since 1997—shows that families with a married mother and father continue to provide the best environment for children to thrive. A married mom and dad really do matter.
18 Things I Will Not Regret Doing With My Kids, Tim Challies. In light of all the things you could regret, Tim Challies reminds himself of all the parenting decisions he won’t regret.
Where Did All These Calvinists Come From? Matt Smethurst. This is a concise summary of a much larger series of posts by Mark Dever on the resurgence of Reformed theology. Dever identifies 12 sources for this recent boom, which very few people saw coming in, say, 1950. As Smethurst says, “the contemporary resurgence of Calvinism is a phenomenon many celebrate, many lament, but none can deny.”
8 Reasons Most Churches Never Break the 200 Mark, Carey Nieuwhof. There’s nothing wrong with being a small church. But just about every small church leader wants to grow. So what is it that keeps them small? It’s not a lack of passion, love, or prayer.
On The Lighter Side
What Each Country Leads the World In. And I’m proud to be an American, where we have both the most Nobel Laureates and the most deaths by lawnmower.
