A La Carte (April 29)

Today’s Kindle deals include some good books from Crossway themed around apologetics.

Pastoring the One When You’d Rather Pastor the Ninety-Nine

There’s wisdom for pastors here. “Sometimes churches forget that names matter. I remember talking to a staff member of a church of about 400. Their staff had gone through the church directory and realized that half the people listed were unknown personally to any of them. That’s not a healthy family.”

Become a Name Wizard Overnight

This article goes pretty nicely with the last one. “The power of a Name Wizard, I discovered, lies in the commitment to learn and use names. That’s not the same as remembering names. Becoming a Name Wizard, then, is much more about the heart than the brain.”

So How Do We Talk about Sexuality?

Choosing to speak carefully or even sparingly is not the same as compromising. “One of the difficulties we have is the assumption in our culture that basically we all believe the same stuff except that some Christians have this weird hang up about gay sex. But, in truth, the issue isn’t that I disagree with the non-Christian world about gay sex. I disagree with the non-Christian world about pretty much everything- the meaning of life and the reason for the existence of the universe would simply be starters. And, actually, it creates more helpful and less heated discussions when we all acknowledge that.”

3 Things That May Be True if People Are Constantly Complaining to You

This is an astute observation. “He said to me, ‘It seems people come to you with those types of things. Do you find that to be true?’ I initially thought this was a compliment, so I proudly declared, ‘Yes, I believe so. I think I am viewed as trusted and safe.’ He then said, ‘Let’s probe that a bit more. Why else could people be coming to you?’ Over the next several moments we concluded together that it is not always a good thing if people are complaining to me, that perhaps “being a trusted person” was not the only signal I was sending.”

God Comes Close

Ed Welch: “The challenge is that God’s closeness does not always seem to matter. Our anxieties want relief now, and God’s promises do not guarantee an easier life. He promises a full and abundant life, not an easy one. Confidence in Jesus does not act like a sedative.”

6 Important Differences Between Performance Music And Worship Music

I think I messed up the link to this article last week, so I’m trying again.”What is worth arguing over – or at least taking seriously – when we’re talking about worship through music? Here’s one. We need to understand the differences between music for worship and music in performance.”