Aaron Armstrong

bloggingtheologically.com

adultery

Weekend reading (11/11)

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Weekend Reading

Saying Goodbye Well Is Hard to Do

I agree with Dave on this.

The Presence, Compassion and Prayerfulness of Jesus

Rob Tims:

It is all too easy to “minister” in a detached and sanitary manner … to “help” people to the extent that it doesn’t overly involve or inconvenience us. Not so Jesus. As vv. 35-36 illustrate, He was very present … mindful of the people He ministered to in an intimate way.

Don’t Leave Your Husband for Her: Letter to a Would-Be Adulteress

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield:

I’m grateful that you trusted me with your secret.

Sitting across from me at the kitchen table this afternoon, you poured out your heart. When you married your high school sweetheart at 19, you never once suspected you would be in this place. Now, at 39, after twenty years of marriage, you call yourself gay.

A Generation Integration Invitation

Brandon Keel:

I’m convinced that passing technique only scratches the surface of what our malodorous group might have learned by sharing more time with Mr. Reaves. In response to my pastor friend, and others who share his concerns, here are 4 biblical reasons for pursuing intergenerational relationships in the church.

No, Christians Don’t Use Joseph and Mary to Explain Child Molesting Accusations

That this article has to be written says a lot about the state of our society (Ed did a great job with it).

Judging Ministry Success

Darryl Dash:

We measure by size. One of the first questions we ask about a church is how many people attend. Size, though, isn’t what’s most important. We won’t be measured by the size of our work one day, but by the building materials we used. Some materials will endure; others will be consumed.

“It is possible to ‘build the church’ with such shoddy materials that at the last day you have nothing to show for your labor,” cautions D.A. Carson.

What to do when your friend is reading a crazy bad book

A favorite from the archives:

Now, when friends are reading crazy bad books, should we be concerned? Yep, absolutely. If we’re not, we’re probably not the best friends in the world. But what should we do, since grabbing the book out of your friend’s hands and setting it on fire probably isn’t the best solution—unless you don’t really want to be friends with that person anymore,  that is.

Rather than the “smash and grab” approach, I recommend a different take, which is to do as the Bible encourages: correct with gentleness and patience (2 Timothy 2:25; Ephesians 4:2). Here are a few recommendations as to how to do this well.

Links I like

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Links I like

Kindle deals for Christian readers

3 Reasons Why Exercise is Good for Your Soul

Michael Kelley:

And as I’ve thought about that fact more and more, I’ve come to think that exercise is not only good for the body; for the Christian, it’s also good for the soul. And here are 3 reasons why.

Trump-splaining Evangelicalism

Denny Burk:

I think this is a more revealing moment than some realize. It would be one thing for Trump to disagree with Moore. That would be totally fine and appropriate. But Trump does more than that here. Trump criticizes Moore not for bad views but for being a bad evangelical!

The problem with this is obvious. Do Americans really want a president who thinks it a part of his job description to pontificate about who is and isn’t a good evangelical? Or a good Catholic? Or a good Muslim? Or a good Jew? This is totally outside the norms and traditions of the presidency.

Does the church in the UK have a future?

Tim Chester:

In the last 35 years the number of people attending church in the UK each Sunday has halved – from over five million to less than three million, from 11 percent of the population to five percent. Last year, Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, claimed the Church of England was on the brink of extinction.

Does the church in the UK have a future? Maybe that makes you doubt your faith. Is God real when so many people ignore him?

Can healthy be small?

Ed Stetzer:

Many American Christians have this idea that if a church is big, it must be better, but that’s not necessarily the case. Our obsession with “bigness” can be a reflection of American values, instead of biblical ones.

While we often pull our cultural values into our measuring grid for success, size is not necessarily the best measurement for church health.

Ballet, Barbie, and My Body

Charlotte Donlon:

The messages our culture and media communicate to me are just as loud. According to cultural preferences, I’m way off the mark. Thin is beautiful. Fat is ugly. Thin equals success. Fat equals failure. The thin women usually get the guys and the happy endings. (So the super-thin actors usually get the roles for the thin women who get the guys and the happy endings.) There are some exceptions. Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler. And Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson. According to their writing and acting and interviews, they don’t seem concerned and obsessed with body image issues. They don’t seem to expect every female to fit into a size 0 dress on the red carpet (where a size 6 is considered plus-size).

An Open Letter to Someone Having an Affair

Brad Hambrick:

Friend,

I appreciate you taking the time to read this letter. I can only imagine that it is hard for you to believe that anyone can understand what you’re going through. You are making some of the hardest decisions of your life in the name of love and, no matter what you do, people you love are going to be hurt deeply. That would leave most people feeling both trapped and highly defensive.

Links I like

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Links I like

Kindle deals for Christian readers

Lots of new stuff on sale today:

B&H has put a number of titles in the New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology series on sale for 99¢ each:

Also on sale are 12 volumes in B&H’s Perspectives series for 99¢ unless otherwise indicated:

Moms, Your Secret Sacrifices Matter

Shanna Mallon:

In those first few weeks tucked in at home, family members making our meals, days turning into nights as we planted ourselves on the sofa caring for our beautiful boy, it took all my effort to move from the living room to the bathroom, from the bathroom to our own bed. Tim had to pick up Rocco and bring him to me every few hours during the night; I couldn’t get up on my own. Tim had to change diapers for me; I couldn’t bend over. And without other people nearby to see what we were facing in the especially hard work of those early weeks, how much effort it took for us to get from one day to the next, that was when I first heard the temptation: If you’re sacrificing and serving and no one notices, what you’re doing must not matter at all.

Success is Dangerous

Jared Wilson:

We all prefer success to failure but, really, success is more dangerous. In failure, we know we rely totally on God’s approval and sustaining arm. In success, it is easy to begin looking around, surveying all the territories claimed, all the peoples gathered, all the ministry renown redounding, and we think, “Well, lookee here. Look what has been built with my talents, my gifts, my skills, my strategies, my visions, my sweat, my sacrifice.”

Preaching a Real Gospel

Joshua Jenkins:

There is a real gospel for a real people. The people we are preaching to are not numbers, they are not statistics, they are not our fans, and they are not test dummies. They are people with souls. They have real emotions, real issues, real concerns, and a real need for Jesus. Give him to them.

3 Times We Unapologetically Weaponize the Internet

Chris Martin:

No matter your faith system or the foundation for your moral standards, the chances are high that if you’ve ever used the internet, you’ve been a jerk to someone on the internet.

Complementarianism in the black experience

Trillia Newbell:

If complementarianism is defined solely by outward behavior and by certain societal standards for “a godly family model,” then many of us would be disqualified—including my mother. I grew up in a two-parent home and, though I wouldn’t say it was a Christian home, it was filled with love and laughter. My father owned a shoe-shine stand and took his role as husband, father, and leader seriously. My mother worked full-time and eventually, as an adult, finished college. We were a typical lower-to-middle class family. But to provide, my father needed the assistance of his wife. So she worked. This is the case for many families of all nationalities and ethnicities.

If You’ve Cheated, Should You Tell Your Spouse?

Russell Moore:

Sometimes the act of confessing to a wife or husband seems like it would do more harm than good. I once got a letter from a man who said he committed adultery years ago, but the affair had lasted only a week and he had repented to God and others. The reason he was unsure about confessing to his wife was that the marriage was already going through difficulty, and he was deeply concerned that a bombshell like this would end the marriage and harm the children.

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