Aaron Armstrong

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Links I like (6/03)

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Links I like

Kindle deals for Christian readers

A couple of deals to consider:

Raise Your Hand

Christine Hoover:

When life is emotionally difficult or I am struggling with sin, I’m afraid to raise my hand and ask for help. I’m afraid to draw attention to myself, admit my weaknesses, or confess my need for fear of inconveniencing others or being rejected. I tell myself just to push through it, that I’ll figure it out somehow. So often I sit with tears in my eyes and a pencil poised over a problem I don’t know how to solve while the Lord patiently questions why I haven’t asked for help. “You have asked Me for help, but have you asked the loving, wise people I’ve purposefully put in your life? They are my answer to you.”

Rob Bell Revisited: 5 Years Later

Justin Taylor shares his unabridged comments from the recent Relevant Magazine piece on Bell.

Earth’s population, concentrated

The numbers are a little older, but this is a neat infographic that gives a bit of perspective to the whole overpopulation rhetoric. (Assume all caveats about responsible consumption, soil erosion, etc. are in place, ‘kay?)

The Way Canadians Say “About”

This was really interesting: “Canadians do not say “aboot.” What they do say is actually much weirder.”

Endless, Bottomless, Boundless Grace

Mark Altrogge:

Jesus loves for those he redeemed to come to him for grace. He delights in us, for he’s become our husband and we are his bride. He never tires of hearing us, loving us, blessing us, filling us. He says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps 81:10). He loves to hear us say, “Jesus, you are my portion. You’re my joy, my satisfaction. All my delight is in you.”

Does Galatians 3:28 Encourage Color-Blind Christianity?

Jarvis Williams says no:

Advocates of Christian color-blindness espouse vague pities about why Christians should stop talking about race, move beyond race, and stop emphasizing the need for multi-ethnic churches and reconciliation, because (they say) race does not matter since Gal. 3:28 teaches that Christians are all one in Christ. They conclude because of this verse: “we’re just Christians, not black Christians or white Christians or Latino Christians or Asian Christians, etc., but just Christians.” In my view, however, to conclude that Gal. 3:28 affirms Christian color-blindness is a gross misinterpretation of this verse.

Play Hard

Jared Wilson:

The spirit of play is part of the creativity of rest. Little kids get out of breath. They get flush cheeks. They come falling into the door at dinnertime after a long afternoon playing in the neighborhood smelling like little puppy dogs. They have skinned knees and grime under their fingernails. There are rocks in their pockets and grass stains on their sleeves. Their hair is messy and their eyes are wide. It’s hard work playing so well. They cannot wait to get back outside and do it all again. This is all so God-glorifyingly beautiful.

3 Shortcuts Leaders Should Never Take

Eric Geiger:

I am not against all hacking as some shortcuts are, of course, helpful and beneficial. For example, if a work process could be executed in four steps without losing any quality, then there is no need to make it six. By all means, take that shortcut. But there are some shortcuts leaders should never take. And we must be careful that our obsession with efficiency does not steer us away from effectiveness. Much of effective leadership takes time and offers no shortcuts. Here are three areas in which leaders should never take shortcuts:

Links I like

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links-weekday

Kindle deals for Christian readers

Trump at Liberty

So yesterday, Trump’s trolling of America continued with a stop at Liberty University, where he was introduced as a man whose life has borne fruit in keeping with the teachings of Jesus. Russell Moore spoke with CNN on why some evangelicals are up in arms. The Atlantic and Christianity Today have a couple of good pieces worth reading that address the issue a little more comprehensively. Finally, Denny Burk gets to one of the real points of concerns.

The Christian Reader’s Resource Guide: 49 Links to Find the Best Books

David Qauod:

I’ve searched the most trusted sites and names, and I came up with the list below to help you find a good book on essentially any topic of interest for Christians. This list is by no means exhaustive, and I don’t necessarily agree with every book from every list. Still, this is a decent place to start.

Grace for the Micromanaging Parent

Cameron Cole:

This anxiety of entrusting your child to the care of another person continues all the way from elementary school to high school to college to marriage. All parents have this sense that no one can care for their child like they can.

Being a Neighbor Means Being a Missionary

Alan Briggs:

Our family was in the throes of grief from the sudden and tragic loss of my mother-in-law. My wife’s closest mentor, a grandma, an anchor in our community, and the best mother-in-law a guy could imagine had been ripped away from us during the joy and frenzy of Thanksgiving. I recognized in my neighbors that day the same pain we were feeling. I saw parents and neighbors who were broken and hurting, isolated, never navigating past the surface with the people around them. They were physically present but emotionally distant. They were half-decent players in the pretending game.

The neighborhood itself reflected this emotional distance.

The R-Rated Tongue

David Murray:

I entitled this post “The R-Rated Tongue” because I wanted to warn you that the Bible’s teaching about the tongue is full of scary language and frightening images. However, unlike the MPAM “R” this is a biblical “R,” meaning that although the images are horrendous and the language horrific, yet even the youngest child is called to view and hear for their good. Let’s look at the first of these graphic and scary images in James 3:5-6, where we are told that the tongue is a dangerous inferno.

Four Questions to Spot the Difference Between Healthy Tension and Unhealthy Conflict

Eric Geiger:

There is a difference between healthy tension and unhealthy conflict. Wise leaders attempt to foster healthy tension where team members who love and trust one another sharpen each other and where ideas get matured and developed through robust discussion. Just as tension in exercise makes a body stronger, healthy tension can make a team stronger.

Unhealthy conflict is very different. Unhealthy conflict spoils the unity and morale of the team. Unhealthy conflict distracts from the mission. Unhealthy conflict, if it is allowed to fester and grow, becomes more and more divisive and more and more harmful.

Links I like

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Links

Kindle deals for Christian readers

On Preaching and Public Invitations

Jason Allen:

I once sat through a sermon that began, literally, with the invitation. The entirety of the sermon was given to explaining the forthcoming invitation and to encouraging the listeners to come forward during it. There was no preached word; no gospel presentation to which one should respond. I kept thinking, “Come forward in light of what? Come forward for what?” I didn’t have a seminary degree then, but I had a hunch that merely changing one’s geographic location in a room wouldn’t save.

Christians Need to Stop Cussing

Erik Raymond:

But, I’ve noticed that many Christians are still plagued by a foul mouth. They say things that are offensive to God and to others. I suspect that many don’t even realize it either. Like a new convert who remains fluent in the sailor’s tongue the Christian may not realize what they are saying or its theological impact.

So let me give you a couple of 4 letter words that Christians should mortify with quickness: “luck” and “fate”.

4 Ways to Reach a Child’s Heart

Richard Phillips:

I am constantly amazed at the number of people who assure me that their fathers hardly ever praised them, but constantly criticized and berated. I meet people all the time who tell me that their fathers beat into their heads that they were losers who would never succeed. I can scarcely imagine what that is like. There is only so much a pastor can do to remedy such an upbringing, and the best he can do will include pointing such a person to the effective healing love of our heavenly Father, who can do far more than any man. But as fathers we can ensure that our own children are raised with the rich fertilizer of fatherly affection and esteem.

Just Be Hospitable

Mike Leake:

Hospitality is not a means to grow your church. It is fundamental to a churches identity. It is who you are. If we’ve botched hospitality it is because in some way we have botched the gospel.

Is It Possible To Enjoy What God Has Created Without Feeling Guilty?

Stephen Altrogge:

God could have made us tireless, so that we never needed to rest and could always be doing more for God. But instead he created us to work and rest, and to find pleasure in both. To enjoy watching a football game or movie for the glory of God as our body recuperates.

Sometimes I think we can have this weird, dualistic mentality, where spiritual things are good and physical things are second rate at best. In reality, all of life is an opportunity to enjoy God and find out satisfaction in him, not just our devotional times.

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