Your weekly installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Video of the Week
Pastor, What Do You Fear Most in Your Ministry? Danny Akin, Bill Kynes, Miguel Nunez. This is an enlightening conversation between three men who have been in the ministry for years. Most pastors can relate to the fears these three mention here. And many non-pastors may be surprised at what pastors fear most.
Articles of the Week
Women and Sexual Temptation: Learning to Talk About Lust, Kelly Needham. Everybody assumes that sexual sin—especially lust and pornography—is primarily a guy’s struggle. The problem with assuming that lust is only a “guy thing” is that it makes lust nearly impossible for women to battle. Unconfessed sin gives lust more power; open conversation begins to take that power away.
Putting First Things First, Richard John Neuhaus. There has been a decent amount of talk recently about the media, most of it negative—either scolding others for bias or for fabricating stories wholesale. This classic article is a welcome reprieve, arguing for prejudice and bias in the way we discuss current events (though not, perhaps, in the way you might think). Neuhaus argues that religion and public life belong together, and it’s an argument needed as much today as when he first wrote it in 1990.
Five Christian Clichés that Need to Die, Matt Smethurst. Catchy one-liners are great. As Smethurst reminds us, God liked them enough to write an entire book of the Bible with them (Proverbs), which are essentially a collection of King Solomon’s greatest tweets. But one-liners can often obscure truth as much as encapsulate it, and the five lines Smethurst identifies can be some of the most misleading. If you’re going to use one of them, make sure you and the person you’re talking to know exactly what you mean. Better yet, maybe retire them.
When “Preaching the Gospel to Yourself” Becomes Like Brushing Your Teeth with Your Finger, Mike Leake. There’s a lot of benefit to preaching the gospel to ourselves. We encourage it. Mike Leake encourages it. But he also wants us to be sure we’re preaching the whole gospel to ourselves, not just puffing ourselves up with one-sided gospel goodies. Let the Spirit apply the gospel to your heart, and don’t just use the gospel like a “fingerbrush.”
On the Lighter Side
Man argues with spitting goat. It’s not even in English, and it’s an argument with an animal for crying out loud, but I feel like I have a conversation like this almost every day.
Wisdom For Your Weekend is presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from J.D. Greear. 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.”
