Aaron Armstrong

bloggingtheologically.com

creativity

Weekend reading (10/07)

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Weekend Reading

Serious Preaching in a Comedy Culture

David Murray:

But we don’t need to go to the “world” to find a comedy culture. I’m afraid this comedy culture has influenced the church. Many preachers seem to think that they cannot begin to preach without “softening up” their hearers with a little bit of stand-up comedy. So, in many ways, we cannot blame just the hearers. Preachers mix the most solemn of subjects with silly asides, so that people do not know whether to laugh or cry. I head one famous preacher asking for prayer about a particular weakness in his life. He then said a couple of funny things about this weakness. Eventually no one knew if he was seriously asking for prayer, or just making a joke.

The Gospel According to Autumn

Lauren Hanssen:

For a season that brings so much death to creation (including a hunter’s prize), there seems to be quite a bit of joy. More than that, there seems to be a deep-rooted peace. No matter the cold that is coming for certain, I know it will not last. Spring will come. In approximately six months, the flowers will bloom and vibrant colors will return to the land. No matter how frigid the winter, life will be restored. Just think, if we did not have this certain hope, we would plead with God like the animals of Narnia for winter not to come, for all it brings is death and bitter cold. The promise of spring brings hope to my heart and a sweet reminder to my soul.

I Resonate—and Disagree—with This Gay Christian

Rachel Gilson thoughtfully engages Gregory Coles’ new book.

Four Critical Values for Pastoral Accountability

Dave Harvey:

Humility is the oil that lubricates the engine of plurality. When one considers all of the polity options God could have chosen for governing churches, I theorize that God chose plurality because he loves humility.  And plurality can’t work without humility because in plurality, God imposes a governing structure that can’t be effective without embodying humble values. God loves unity, so he calls us to plurality where we must humbly persevere with one another to function effectively. God loves making us holy, so he unites us to men who will make us grow. God loves patience, so he imposes a way of governing that requires humble listening and a trust that God is working in the lives of others.

Eight Biblical Reasons to Preach to People’s Minds

Marty Duren:

Americans today—even those of the Christian variety—display little ability to reason. While they do not walk the aisles humming “all you need is love,” the inattention given the life of the mind makes convoluted—even contradictory—thinking a foregone conclusion. Nuance is an art lost to the garbage heap.

The Problem With “Pan-Millennialism”

Steve Burchett:

But the person who tells the “panmillennial” joke, and really means it, isn’t interested in details about the end times. He realizes that eschatology (the study of last things) is loaded with difficulties, and says, “I’m not going to think much about end times doctrine anymore. Jesus is going to make everything right when He comes again, and that’s good enough for me.” This man hasn’t just given up on figuring out what “a thousand years” means in Revelation 20, but has decided that thinking about the end times beyond generalities is just too hard and ultimately fruitless.

The courage to take a risk

A favorite from the archives:

This is something few of us are good at. In fact, it’s not something I’m entirely sure I know how to do. Working in the non-profit world, where we deal with money entrusted to us by donors, it sometimes feels as though we can’t afford to try something and have it fail. We can’t really take risks, which means we can’t really innovate.

Or so we think.

I wonder, though, how much would change for us if someone just said these five words: “You are free to fail”?

Links I like (9/05)

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Links I like

Labor to Stop Laboring

Jared Wilson on the “deceptive complexity” of Galatians 2:17.

Why religious liberty matters for creativity

Jason Thacker:

Why is it that so many are completely against an artist using their creative and religious freedom to refuse to participate in a same-sex wedding, while they simultaneously celebrate the artist that refuses, on principle, to perform in a state in which there is legislation that goes against his deeply held beliefs?

The Most Subtle Form of Pride

Greg Morse:

For years I’ve struggled with a sinking sense of inadequacy.

This usually plays out in a disposition of deference: Why would I speak up when others could? Why should I teach a class when others are more capable? Why would I take that position when others are more worthy of it? Whether speaking, acting, or receiving, I let others go first. The self-designated (six-foot-six) runt among the litter.

What Do You Do With the Will of God?

Tim Challies:

Christians have spilled a lot of ink attempting to discern how we can know and do the will of God. Like many others, I have written about this often, including a little series called How To Know the Will of God. Today, though, I want to turn our attention to something that is related but a little bit different. I want to ask how Christians are to relate to the will of God. God has made his will known, so how are Christians to respond?

Are You Making Ministry More Discouraging than Necessary?

Erik Raymond:

The struggles associated with pastoral ministry are well documented. It’s a hard job. There is ample discouragement. Pastors know this going in and learn it first hand as we serve. Here I don’t want to point out what we already know as much something that may be less obvious.

Ministry doesn’t need to be as discouraging as you may be letting it be.

Practical Study Tips for Overwhelmed Students

David Qaoud:

I have two undergraduate degrees. I also have a nutrition specialist certification, and I’m a former certified personal trainer. I’m working on a MDiv (Master of Divinity) right now. I’ve probably done more schooling than I ever wanted to and, as a result, have had to learn how to study well. How do I study?

Err on the side of original

A favorite from the archives:

There are a lot of embarrassing things that can happen when you’re preaching. One time, and this was one of my earliest preaching opportunities, I completely blanked out. It was as though my entire vocabulary was lost, and I just stood there for what seemed like at least 15 seconds (which is a really long time to be silent when you think about it). Another time, I preached one of the worst messages of my life at a friend’s church. The entire thing was a scattered mess, and I felt like I wanted to die (especially when people were offering polite compliments).

There are some things I haven’t done, thankfully. (At least, not yet; there’s still time.) But you know what I expect would be really embarrassing? Being invited back to a church and preaching a message you’ve already shared.

Links I like (3/30)

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Is Unforgiveness Unforgivable?

Mark Dance cuts deep with this one.

Is Preaching Headless?

Mike Leake:

I wrote an article on preaching the other day. After finishing the last sentence I did what most of us bloggers do—I went searching for a picture to attach to the article. I went to my Google machine and searched the images for preaching. Though I’ve done this search numerous times, I noticed something on this I’d never noticed before. Most of the pictures were headless. Just a few arms holding a book and gesturing with their hands.

I thought to myself, “Wow, Google gets something that we preachers often fail to recognize—preaching isn’t about the preacher it’s about the book he is holding in his hands.” But then I paused for a moment and wondered whether or not this is actually a biblical concept. Is preaching headless?

TGC17 Events

If you’re attending TGC’s conference Monday through Wednesday, be sure to consider some of these events. Also, stop by The Gospel Project booth to say hello to the team!

Why Artists Need Theology

Owen Strachan:

We often get the relationship between theology and art reversed. We feel sorry for Christian creatives, for they are constrained (so we hear) by the corrugated edges of biblical theism. Too bad, we sigh. If they could just loosen the covenantal constraints, they could really soar. But this is the reverse of the truth. The Christian worldview, powered by biblical truth, is a foundation for enterprise and creativity unparalleled in the known world. There are depths in God that no human mind can master (see 1 Cor. 2:10). There is beauty in Christ and his self-sacrificial act that no one can fully grasp. There is serendipity in the wind-like Spirit that no one can sum up.

Longing for Motherhood

Chelsea Patterson:

Childlessness is often one of the loneliest struggles a woman can walk through. It is not a visible pain. No one knows that you can’t have children, or are struggling, unless you tell them. Few, if any, know the sorrow of your heart, or how heavy and difficult this situation can be. It’s not on display for the world to see. Unconcealed trials — though still hard — make it easier for people to see that you’re suffering and come to your aid. Childlessness doesn’t enjoy such lines of sight.

I have personal experience with this trial. There are many words of encouragement I could try to speak into your soul, but these three have served to be particularly powerful for me.

Publishing is Scary

David Murray:

Publishing is a scary business. It doesn’t matter if it’s a book, a video, a Facebook post, a blog a Tweet or an Instagram; whenever we press “publish” we just don’t know what’s going to happen.

Actually, come to think of it, we do. We’re going to get criticized. Sure, we may get some “Five Star Reviews, some “Likes,” “Retweets,” “Shares,” and “Hearts,” but today it’s almost certain that we’re going to get some pain mixed in as well—the pain of rejection, the pain of mockery, the pain of dismissal, the pain of critique.

The secret of spiritual greatness

A favorite from the archives:

I love reading biographies, but there are times when I feel discouraged after reading them. When I read about “spiritual giants” of the past—Luther, Edwards, Spurgeon, Augustine, and so many others—and of how God used them in their days to make the gospel known, and it becomes tempting to think they’re somehow super-Christians. That someone like me could never be like them or be used like they were.

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