Recommendations, Nature, Evangelism, Parenting
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. 6 discouraging trends in global Christianity: Aaron Earls reports, “While Christianity continues to grow, Islamic growth continues to outpace the church’s growth. Christianity slightly outpaced the global rate of population growth (0.98% v. 0.88%), but Islam grew even faster (1.67%).”

  2. Wikipedia founder embraces Christianity: Trevin Wax reflects on Larry Sanger’s conversion, “Considering how many people are curious about the Bible these days, the increase in Bible sales, the interest in various philosophers and commentators providing their takes on the Scriptures,

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom
John Beeson
Don't Avoid the Dark Room

As I sit at our dining room table, a black-and-white photograph of bananas hangs next to our fiddle leaf fern. My wife shot and developed the photo for a college photography class. Angel didn’t know it then, but she was in the waning years of film photography. Much of her class was spent teaching students to develop film properly.

Developing film required the use of a dark room. One would go into a room that had no light. Even the most negligible levels of light can destroy a negative. The film cassette was opened, the film was removed and placed into a reel. That reel was placed into a film tank, covered with liquid film developer at just the right temperature, and agitated periodically.

Don't Avoid the Dark Room
Leadership, Vocation, Wisdom
John Beeson
A Career of Leadership Lessons

Nearly two years ago my mom retired as Department Head of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Arizona.. My mom is one of the most skilled leaders I’ve had the chance to learn from.  Here is my interview with her on leadership lessons she learned over the decades.

When did you first think of yourself as a leader?

The first leadership position I had was serving in student council in junior high. I didn’t think of it as much as leadership as the fact that I got involved. I cared.

A Career of Leadership Lessons
Recommendations, Finance, Identity, Relationships, Wisdom
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. How much money do I need for retirement? A helpful article from Life Institute no matter how old you are.

  2. Sin causes anxiety, too: Casey McCall with a helpful article reflecting on connection (sometimes) between sin and anxiety, “Christians today would do well to consider sin as a possible cause of mental illness even as we follow Murray’s advice to avoid pinning all mental illness on sin.”

This Week's Recommendations
Biblical Studies, Spiritual Growth, Theology, Wisdom
John Beeson
David's Worst Sin

What was David’s worst sin? Every Sunday School child knows the answer to that question: his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah (2 Sam. 11-12).

There’s no doubt that David’s double sin against Bathsheba and Uriah is heinous. Following David’s sin, his family begins to implode. David’s son Amnon rapes his daughter, Tamar, Absalom murders Amnon in response and then attempts to overthrow his father and is ultimately killed. David’s sin was a direct violation of two of the most sacred moral laws: adultery and murder, and his family or reign would never be the same.

David's Worst Sin

Forgiveness

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Which Sins are Feeding Your Sin of Lust? David Powlison talks about how important it is to press into the sin behind the sin of lust. He shares a breakthrough with one client, “Look what we just found out: another movie was playing in a theater next door. Suddenly we were not only dealing with a couple of bad behaviors: viewing pornography and masturbating. We were dealing with anger at God that was driving those behaviors. What was that about?”

  2. How to Give (and Receive) Repentance: Blake Glosson begins with this fun question, “Imagine you’re on Family Feud and Steve Harvey gives the following prompt: “We asked 100 sinners, ‘Name one reason why you do not repent of your sin to one another.’ The top seven answers are on the board.” What do you think the most common answers would be?”

  3. Don’t Always Be Efficient: If you’re like me, you might need this word from Seth Lewis. He asks, “Who wants an efficient friendship? Or marriage? Who would want to visit an efficient park, or art museum? Who prefers drive-through fast food to a slow evening meal where the conversation lasts longer than the courses? It’s great to be efficient, but it’s not always great.”

  4. Even the Darkness: Meredith Beatty shares, “As a child I was afraid of the dark, afraid that something sinister lurked under my bed just waiting to grab the stray toe hanging off the edge. But as an adult there’s a different kind of darkness, not literal, but just as scary. It’s one no one seeks and can descend upon us at any time. An uninvited blackout that clouds our hearts and brings despair.”

  5. Naturalism is Nonsense: The late RC Sproul doesn’t mince words in this short clip.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. I Despise My Sufferings, and I’m So Thankful For Them: Sarah Walton begins, “The hours, days, and years that I’ve spent waiting, praying, weeping, and wrestling with “why” – they are too many to count. These memories – these profound moments of heartbreak, helplessness, and horror – they’ve changed every part of who I am.”

  2. The Commandment We Forgot: Honoring the Dishonorable: Tim Challies asks how do we honor parents who don’t deserve honor. He asks, “But what about people who were adopted and never knew their birth parents? What about people who had difficult or absent or abusive parents? What about people whose parents behaved in utterly dishonorable ways? Does this debt of honor extend even to them? In all the feedback I’ve received from this series, more has focused on these concerns than any other. “Do you really expect me to honor my parents? Let me tell you about them…””

  3. 60 Questions for Pro-Choice Christians: Jamie Wilder says, “With that I have 60 questions for any Christian who identifies as pro-choice. These are not meant to be dismissive, snarky, or rhetorical. They are much more helpful than calling an entire segment of people ‘bigots’ or ‘baby murderers.’”

  4. Gen Z Mental Health Crisis: How Pastors Can Make a Difference: Jamieson Taylor and Kevin Singer report, “Nearly half of young people (48%) say they’re moderately or extremely depressed.”

  5. Fighting False Guilt: Jared Mellinger explains, “Guilt is a burden that many believers carry every day. It is the soundtrack in our minds, the white noise relentlessly hissing in our ears. Persistent guilt afflicts the insecure and the confident alike.”

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Wickedness and Unhealed Trauma

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Wickedness and Unhealed Trauma

Trauma is everywhere. One in four women and one in six men will be sexually abused. At least one in seven children have experienced abuse or neglect in the past year. More than one in four abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children.

Psychological research continues to demonstrate the tentacle-like nature of the impact of trauma. Effects include dissociation, panic attacks, hyperarousal, loss of sleep, low self-esteem, grief, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. A Call to Raise Daughters Wise to Domestic Abuse: Excellent article by Jeremy Pierre. He begins, “’If your future husband ever lays a finger on you, you better tell me so I can kill him.’ This is the extent to which many dads address abuse with their daughters. It feels effective because it’s simple, protective, and tough. And it also feels kind of awesome to say.

  2. Loving With a Limp: Chris Thomas writes, “Maybe, like Jacob, an encounter with God will leave you living life with a limp, serving with a limp, worshiping with a limp; loving with a limp.”

  3. Cords Have Memory: Lauren Washer likens the memory of electrical cords with our inner lives. “Our inner lives have a similar type of cord memory. We inherit ideas, values, and belief systems from our families, faith backgrounds, and cultural surroundings. Many of these are good and right. But sometimes, the way we’ve always done things or thought about things, isn’t good.”

  4. Bend Me Toward the Light: Glenna Marshall says, “When I find myself spending copious amounts of time pursuing distractions, my prayer has become one of crooked house plants and branchy, horizontal azaleas: “Lord, bend me toward the Light.” Distractions are just that—distractions. We aren’t meant to spend our time and mental margin on things that do not feed our souls. We’ll wither up and die without spiritual nourishment, especially if our flesh is yearning for what the world offers”

  5. The Anatomy of an Apology: Justin Hale responds to this question, “I recently did something hurtful to a family member. Shortly afterward, I said I was sorry but the person didn’t seem to accept my apology. I’ve tried to reach out but they are giving me a bit of a “cold shoulder.” They still seem bugged about what I did. I feel like I’ve done my part and now it’s up to them to accept the apology. Should I be looking at this differently?”

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Hurt Feelings

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Hurt Feelings

Feelings matter. Even if we are certain that truth is firmly in our grasp, it isn’t appropriate to use it like a whip on the back of the skeptic.

In a desire to restore the balance of perceived power, contemporary Western culture has offered a wider berth for those who have historically wielded less power. Our culture declares that our privilege determines whether or not we are allowed to share “our truth.” Intersectionality doles out chips based on a group’s power. Those who come from advantaged portions of society (take me for instance: a white, cisgender (using our culture’s verbiage), male, heterosexual, Christian) are given fewer chips in order to balance the conversation. In this framework, those with more chips are given more freedom to speak “their truth,” even at the expense of others’ feelings, while those with fewer chips are expected to prioritize others’ feelings over “their truth.” Do you see the double whammy inflicted upon those with fewer chips? Unfortunately, this is how our culture has decided to balance truth and love.

How do we navigate this balancing act as Christians? How do we speak the truth in love?

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Jesus Versus the Trade-In Society: Samuel James begins his excellent article, “It seems to me that if there’s one thing that our current version of advertising-based capitalism teaches us all, it’s that everything is replaceable: everything can be reproduced, or traded in for a new and improved model. And that applies to coaches, to churches, to spouses. We live in a trade-in society.”

  2. 9 Myths About Abortion Rights and Roe v. Wade: Kevin DeYoung considers some misconceptions. For instance, “Myth #6: Our abortion laws are mainstream compared with the rest of the world. Truth: The United States is one of only 10 nations that allow abortion after 14 weeks of gestation. Only four countries allow abortion for any reason after viability: Canada, North Korea, China, and the United States

  3. The Ukelele and the Cross: J.A. Medders says, “Theologians have wrestled with the various angles that describe what Jesus did for us on the cross. Some will even argue that there is only one way to describe and define what Jesus did for us on the cross. Rather than pick sides on the theological playground, I want to propose a harmony of notes that are played at the cross of Christ.”

  4. How Not to Pray with a Hurting Loved One: Blake Glosson’s post is helpful to all of us. He says, “There’s certainly a time to give advice, but prayer isn’t the place for it. Prayer is not a free pass to share your opinions with the other person while pretending to talk to God (this is manipulative and the other person will feel it).”

  5. Constructing the Roman Road: A short video on what became a significant cause for the spread of the gospel.

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Need a Book for the Pool?

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Need a Book for the Pool?

Summer is here! Looking for some good books to dive into this summer? Here are some of my favorite books I’ve read over the first half of this year that I think you’ll love.

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Aslan was Wrong (about Forgiveness)

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Aslan was Wrong (about Forgiveness)

Like so many others, The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favorite fiction series of all time. CS Lewis masterfully gives us insight into the heart of Christ and our relationship with him through the figure of Aslan. The tales teach us unforgettable truths about us about friendship, courage, and redemption.

Lewis brilliantly captures the weight of our sin against God. The figure of Aslan helps us see the price Christ paid to atone for our wrongdoings. Near the conclusion of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe we watch an interaction that gives us insight into the cost of our sin. “’Please—Aslan,’ said Lucy, ‘can anything be done to save Edmund?’ ‘All shall be done,’ said Aslan. ‘But it may be harder than you think.’” And indeed it was. The price of Aslan’s life is required to bring about Edmund’s forgiveness.

But, Aslan gets another dimension of forgiveness wrong.

Allow me to set the scene.

A party of Narnians sent by Aslan has just rescued Edmund from his imminent death at the hand of the White Witch. Edmund ended up in the clutches of the White Witch because of his pride, longing for power, and hunger for Turkish delight. His betrayal of his brother and sisters and Aslan himself will endanger all of Narnia and ultimately cost Aslan his life.

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How to Forgive

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How to Forgive

“How can I forgive them?” It’s a question spoken out of a yearning to release the one who has inflicted injury. It’s a question that is spoken out of hurt and sometimes anger.

How do we forgive the person who keeps sinning against us? How do we forgive the one who sins against us in a grievous way? How do we forgive the individual who sins against us and isn’t repentant?

Forgiveness is mandatory as a Christian. In his depiction of how we ought to pray, Jesus ties up with our forgiveness with the forgiveness we offer, “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12).

Knowing that we will probably choke on that commandment, Jesus offers an explanation for the stakes of our forgiveness at the end of his prayer, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt 6:14-15). Goodness gracious. There it is, in black and white. We must forgive the one who has offended us.

Now, to be clear, this is no spiritual tit-for-tat. Jesus is not saying that God will withhold forgiveness from us until we grant it to others. Rather, what Jesus is saying is that the forgiveness we receive from him is demonstrated in our forgiveness of others. Those who have received forgiveness will forgive.

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How to Apologize

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How to Apologize

We live in an apology-averse culture.

We are allergic to repentance and equally allergic to forgiveness.

Think about it? When was the last time someone repented to you? I mean, truly repented?

The last time a congregant apologized to me, the email began this way (I’ve tweaked it only to protect the one who sent it), “I might have been a little harsh in my email.. I had a very bad week…” In further communication, the individual referenced their apology. Internally I scratched my head. “When did they apologize?” I dug back through the email thread and saw those phrases. That is what they were referencing.

“I might have…” followed by an excuse is no apology.

I don’t say that to attack the individual I am referencing. In fact, I completely understand why, in our culture, they would think that they had apologized.

In our culture, we learn to apologize with phrases that look like this:

· “Sorry.”

· “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

· “I know I shouldn’t have done that, but you shouldn’t have…”

· “I wouldn’t have done that if…”

· “That wasn’t my best.”

None of those are apologies.

By not learning how to apologize, we miss out on good’s purposes for our hearts and for the possibility of true reconciliation.

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