John Beeson

February 6, 2020

Christian Living, Culture, Biblical Studies, Recommendations, Nature

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

February 6, 2020

Christian Living, Culture, Biblical Studies, Recommendations, Nature

1. 3 Lies Our Life Online Tells Us: Samuel James digs beneath the surface to three lies that a life of constant connectivity speaks to us. The third is "I have to say something!" James explains, " Because digital space is without any embodied presence, people tend to be reduced to their input — who they are is what they post. This means that a major liturgy of online culture is that silence is a problem."

2. 52 Things I Learned in 2019: This is a cool list by Tom Whitwell. There are lots of fun gems like this one, "Harbinger customers are customers who buy products that tend to fail. They group together, forming harbinger zip codes. If households in those zip codes buy a product, it is likely to fail. If they back a political candidate, they are likely to lose the election."

3. How Do You Face Crippling Anxiety? My friend Brie Wetherbee with five pieces of practical and hope-filled advice.

4. Is God Guilty of Genocide? What do we with the conquest narratives in the Old Testament? Michael Kruger begins, "When the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, was it not God who commanded them to wipe out all the indigenous people (Deut. 20:17)? Is God not guilty of genocide? It makes me think of the famous bumper-sticker quote, 'The only difference between God and Adolf Hitler is that God is more proficient at genocide.'"

5. The Size of Space: You won't want to miss this awesome interactive site. Our Creator is inconceivable!

John Beeson

January 23, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Family, Church

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

January 23, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Family, Church

1. Where Did Family Come From? Tim Challies begins, "We are at an interesting and perhaps unprecedented time in history when our understanding of family is being confronted and our definition of family is being rewritten." He begins his answer to that question.

2. God Created Family to Carry Out His Will: Tim Challies says, " The family was always meant to be the core social unit in the world and everyone is meant to be part of one. All other structures build upon family."

3. God Created Family to Picture His Truth: Tim Challies begins, " First, family pictures the Trinity. If you don’t understand family, you can’t understand God himself. Why? Because God reveals the first person of the Trinity as God the Father and the second person of the Trinity as God the Son."

4. 5 Questions to Ask When You Don't Get Anything of Your Pastor's Sermon: Have you ever sat bored stiff through your pastor's sermon? Maybe I have been the perpetrator. Daniel Darling offers five great remedies. They are all great questions. I love this one: "Am I hoping the sermon hits others rather than me?"

5. The Faroe Islands Running Pastor: What an incredible place! "Sometimes, when Sverri Steinholm is in the midst of a particularly difficult trail run, he wonders why he puts his body through these feats of endurance in the first place. ‘Why are you doing this stupid thing?’ he thinks to himself. ‘I’ll never do it again." But he always does. "I have to do it. My body needs it, or my soul, or my mind. It’s something almost magical.’"

John Beeson

January 16, 2020

Recommendations, Nature, Church

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

January 16, 2020

Recommendations, Nature, Church

1. 44% of Americans Believe that Clergy Have a Negative Impact on Society: Ouch! Meanwhile, teachers, doctors, scientists, and military members all have 75%+ who believe they have a positive impact.

2. The Pros and Cons of Screens Regarding Learning: Nicole Beurkens, a Clinical Psychologist, weighs in on the impact of screen time. She says that "Research also shows that while some cognitive skills can be strengthened with online learning games, higher level skills such as critical thinking, imagination, and the ability to reflect can actually get weaker."

3. Busyness and Rest: Kevin DeYoung reflects on Jesus maneuvering the demands of the world in a godly way, "Don’t think Jesus is some kind of esoteric teacher who spent His life solely in contemplation. If Jesus ministered in the flesh today, He’d get more emails than any of us. He would have people and the media clamoring for His attention. Jesus did not float above the fray, untouched by the pressures of normal human existence. Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). And that includes the temptation to be sinfully busy. But He wasn’t."

4. Your Capacity is Defined by Your Character, Not Your Competency: Grateful to Carey Niewhof for this word. "Nobody is going to ever pay you to work on your character. They’ll just fire you if you don’t. The same is also true in your life. Think about it. Nobody is ever going to pay you to work on your character. They’ll just leave you if you don’t. The truth isn’t pretty, but this is how divorce happens, how families fall apart, how kids end up disliking their parents and parents end up resenting their kids. It’s how you find yourself without many friends."

5. Most Americans Want Little Influence from Religious Leaders: Yikes. This speaks to the steep hill we as religious leaders need to climb to speak into the lives of our neighbors and communities. We shouldn't assume that our voice is welcomed.

6. Kidnapper Ants Steal Other Ants Babies--and Brainwash Them: Isn't God's creation wild? You can't make this stuff up.

John Beeson

January 9, 2020

Recommendations, Church, Christian Living, Marriage, Leadership

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

January 9, 2020

Recommendations, Church, Christian Living, Marriage, Leadership

1. 3 Reasons Your Church Shouldn't Be a Perfect Fit for You: Daniel Darling concludes, "Too often our fights aren’t good fights. They’re over preferences and an unwillingness to die to our preferences in order to give, serve, and love our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Not only should you have things in your church you don’t like, you should embrace the privilege of the opportunity to grow in a community that will be used by God to sanctify you."

2. I'm So Glad Our Vows Kept Us: Jennie Cesario is a masterful writer. Here she reflects on the difficulty and beauty of marriage. Please read this in its entirety. Here is a taste: " Our hearts are so very tender toward one another now with the long years, softened to a sweetness hard-won."

3. 5 Questions to Discern God's Will: Juan Sanchez with sound advice: " [W]e don’t have to fear what God wills for us. And thankfully, God has revealed His plan and purposes—His will—by His Word (Deuteronomy 29:29). We’re not in the dark about what God desires."

4. How to be an Appropriately Transparent Leader (Without Oversharing): Carey Niewhof packs in a lot in this helpful post. He concludes, "I find often that the speakers or writers who overshare are people who are processing something for their benefit, not for the benefit of their audience."

5. 12 Fascinating Archaeological Finds in 2019: The finds include a $26.8 million Renaissance masterpiece that was hanging in an unsuspecting French woman’s kitchen and a perfectly preserved 32,000-year-old severed wolf head found in Siberian permafrost.

6. An Unexpected Duet: Wait until 74 seconds in for the "what?!"

John Beeson

January 2, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture, Leadership, Sexuality, Comedy

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

January 2, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture, Leadership, Sexuality, Comedy

1. But Women are Visual Too--Right? An interesting response by social researcher and gender and relationship expert Shaunti Feldhahn. Her bottom line answer to this question is: " We as women have literally never experienced that back-of-the-brain, biological-pleasure temptation that men face every day." It's worth reading the whole article.

2. 6 Things Never to Say to a Bereaved Parent: Angela Miller with thoughtful advice. I love that she doesn't just tell the reader what not to say, but also what to say. For instance, instead of telling a bereaved parent, "Time heals all wounds," Miller suggests, " What would feel healing/helpful to you right now? ~ Is there any way I can help carry your burden? ~ What do you need most today? ~ I am with you. Always."

3. Ten Questions for Those Who Are Pro-Choice: Andrew Haslam asks important questions for someone to consider as they wrestle with the question of abortion. I appreciate this question: "Why is a woman's body pitted against her baby's?"

4. 3 Postures Leaders Don't Need On Their Leadership Team: Eric Geiger explains why the consultant, senator, and critic hamper leadership teams.

5. The Fight for Indian Democracy and Persecution in India Continues to Rise: Please keep India in your prayers. “Since BJP has come into power in 2014, minorities in India have lived in constant fear. Persecution of Christians have increased.”

6. Tyler the Ex-Evangelical: Lutheran Satire has an amazing way at illuminating truths with a wry smile.

John Beeson

December 26, 2019

Recommendations, Advent, Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Culture

Christmas Recommendations

John Beeson

December 26, 2019

Recommendations, Advent, Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Culture

1. Five Misconceptions About the Christmas Story: Michael Kruger sets the story straight. How many did you know? He says, “These five misconceptions remind us that sometimes our picture of scriptural stories is shaped more by popular perceptions and modern retellings than by the text itself. But when we take a closer look at the biblical clues, a wonderful—and hopefully more accurate—picture emerges of what happened that night nearly 2,000 years ago.”

2. What One Pastor Got Wrong About the Magi: Colin Adams shares a preaching misstep he made at Christmas and what the Magi’s gifts actually tell us about Christmas.

3. Merry Christmas from Genesis 3: Eric Geiger reminds us, “The Christmas story does not begin in a manger; it begins in a Garden.”

4. Young Adults Feel Isolated and Anxious: Aaron Earls reports, “Barna classified young adults as anxious If respondents say they feel at least three of the following: anxious about important decisions, sad or depressed, afraid of failure and insecure in who they are. Among those surveyed, 1 in 5 (20%) qualified as anxious according to that definition. Those young adults are more likely to experience other negative emotions asked about in the survey. Almost 3 in 5 in that group (59%) report a sense of isolation. Those who attend a worship service weekly are less likely to say they are experience anxiety (22%) compared to others (33%).”

5. What Happened When I Showed Vintage Mr. Rogers to My Kids: I love the story of the power of the ageless kindness of Mr. Rogers.

John Beeson

December 19, 2019

Recommendations, Parenting, Christian Living, Culture

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

December 19, 2019

Recommendations, Parenting, Christian Living, Culture

1. 4 Mistakes Parents Make With Technology: Jeff Henderson, " The reason many kids are addicted to technology is because their parents are."

2. A Parenting Roadmap for Social Media: Jeff and Wendy Henderson begin by reminding us, " Great parenting isn’t controlling. Great parenting is coaching."

3. 4 Reasons to Stop Grumbling: Cass Watson says that simply not grumbling is a powerful witness: " Because complaining is so rampant in the “crooked and twisted generation” around us, our cheerfulness will make us witnesses to the truth. "

4. Americans Vastly Overestimate LGBT Population: There have been a few studies on this. It's important to right-size our understanding of different populations. " A recent Gallup survey found that on average U.S. adults believe 23.6% of their fellow Americans are gay or lesbian." However, " In Gallup’s most recent survey on the subject, 4.5% of Americans personally identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender."

5. A Liberating Verse About God's Will: Eric Geiger encourages us to rethink God's will in light of Eden, "God’s desire was for Adam and Eve to not eat from one tree, but there was a lot of freedom beyond that. God did not say, ‘On Monday and Wednesday mornings you eat from the apple tree and on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, you eat from the avocado tree but only during odd months.’"

John Beeson

December 12, 2019

Recommendations, Sexuality, Nature, Politics

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

December 12, 2019

Recommendations, Sexuality, Nature, Politics

1. Your Sin is Not Your Friend: Scott Slayton reminds us that, " While the lure of sin looks shiny and desirable, the hook sinks deep and it harms our witness, steals our joy, and stifles our walk with the Lord.."

2. Eve's Nakedness and Your Broken Body: Brianna McClean begins, "80% of 10 year old girls list ‘being overweight’ as one of their biggest fears." She offers biblical hope to the pervasive body image issues many women suffer from and concludes with practical advice.

3. Dear America, You and I Have a Complicated Relationship: Amy Medina, who grew up as a missionary kid and now is back on the field overseas as a missionary brings a unique perspective to America's strengths and weaknesses. She concludes, " You, my country, are complicated. But so is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in a fallen world."

4. Understanding Transgender Philosophy: A helpful excerpt from Vaughan Roberts' book. He says, "Behind the different points of view are not only different worldviews but different gospels: different understandings of what leads to freedom and fulfilment. The “gospel” story which the world tells us goes something like this: For years our spirits have been suffocated by restrictive traditions and morality. But now we must have the courage to follow our own light. We must resist anyone or anything that stands in our way. We must discover the hero inside ourselves and enter into the freedom that comes when we become who we really are."

5. Wildlife Photographer of the Year: There are some jaw-dropping photos here. Check out that leopard seal and penguin!

John Beeson

December 5, 2019

Recommendations, Leadership, Sexuality, Christian Living, Nature

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

December 5, 2019

Recommendations, Leadership, Sexuality, Christian Living, Nature

1. 10 Ways Leaders Shape Their Teams: Eric Geiger with excellent advice to each of us leaders. His tenth is "Sacrifice of the leader, sacrifice of the team. Leaders who make sacrifices for the mission of the team have credibility to invite others to do the same. And the others are often inspired by the leader to make sacrifices themselves."

2. The BBC Reveals 100 Genders: Stephen McAlpine's opines, " I’m tempted to just get out the popcorn and sit and watch the train-wreck, but it’s too sad for that. It’s just a sign of the cultural/intellectual suicide we’re seeing in a society that has no base other than the individuated self. The bodies – whatever gender they deem themselves to be – will start to wash up on our cultural shores at some stage. I just hope there are enough people willing to care for these broken, confused souls."

3. Why God Made Your Mouth: Scott Hubbard begins, " The average person speaks at least 7,000 words a day, or about 50,000 words a week — the length of a short book. We are authors, all of us, publishing 52 books a year from this printing press called the mouth."

4. The Reward of Sin: This is a short but powerful analogy about our relationship with sin.

5. The Most Beautiful Natural Wonder in Every State: What a beautiful nation we live in! This will do just fine as a travel itinerary ;-).

John Beeson

November 28, 2019

Recommendations, Gratitude, Christian Living, Suffering

Thanksgiving Recommendations

John Beeson

November 28, 2019

Recommendations, Gratitude, Christian Living, Suffering

1. 7 Ideas to Make Thanks Last Longer Than Thanksgiving: This is a nice family-friendly list of ideas. I particularly like “inspire awe of God,” with the reminder that, “The more intimately we know someone, the more grateful we tend to be when we receive gifts from them. “

2. Gratefulness and God’s Sovereign Goodness: Eric Alexander reminds us, “For the Christian, ingratitude is not just a failure in manners. It is a sin against the God who did not spare even His own Son but delivered Him up for us all.”

3. Worthy? This is a simple but beautiful reflection by Mike Emlet. He concludes, “Are you worthy? No. But Jesus doesn’t require fitness from you. You only have to feel your need of him. You only have to see that his worthiness is sufficient for you. And this means that no matter your need, you can come to him boldly today.”

4. Holding a Grudge Can Make You Sick: Ashley Abramson approaches the issue of unforgiveness from a scientific perspective. Abramson explains, “Many of the positive outcomes are psychological — forgiveness is a form of emotional regulation, since forgiving someone is an alternative to negative thought processes like ruminating on offenses or holding in negative feelings, both of which can lead to chronic stress.”

5. The Quiet Liturgy of Fred Rogers: I’ve been looking forward to watching “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and this only piques my interest more. Ryan Pemberton concludes, “Fred Rogers’s life represents a liturgical invitation to embody the story of one who was a neighbor when a neighbor was needed—that others might receive the invitation to be a neighbor. It’s an invitation we refuse at risk of our own destruction.”