When borders change, stay settled: Trevin Wax offers, “The descendants of Spanish settlers remain in New Mexico. Over the centuries, the borders have shifted over their heads, putting them under the rule of New Spain, or France, or Mexico, or Texas, or the United States. While the boundary markers changed, the settlers continued with their unique cultural attributes, their Spanish dialect, their old buildings and landmarks, their traditions and artifacts. There’s a lesson here for the church in unsettled times. Boundaries may shift, but we remain settled because of enduring truths.”
Who was ‘i’ without my iPhone? Luke Simon shares, “As I aged, I never grew more comfortable with myself. Instead, I spent more and more hours each day as luk3simon. It was easier that way. Why face the man in the mirror when the man in the selfie had filters? Why face the God of reality when I could create my own? Why deal with pain when I could escape it?”
What a rare brain cancer is teaching me about the art of remembering and forgetting: Courtney Yates says, “I went from being independent and in the prime of my life, just on the cusp of turning forty, to being dependent, unable to drive, living with family, and staring down the face of a life-altering diagnosis that is presently incurable. My tumor, well over two inches wide, sits in the right frontal lobe of my brain near the motor control strip, impairing most of the movement on the left side of my body.”
Preventing dechurching: 3 critical questions your church should ask: Michael Graham urges everyday Christians to be inviting their friends and neighbors to church. He asks pastors to, “Ask thoughtful questions about your area: What are the biggest idols in your community, and what gospel metaphors speak most powerfully to the underlying wants and fears embedded in those idols? What contexts or communities are the most responsive?”
In-flight drama: Where do you stand on these etiquette questions compared to the average American? Is it okay to not watch the safety demonstration? Remove your shoes? Recline your seat?

Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash