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A La Carte (5/17)

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Introducing Hymns – James Grant offers some sound advice on introducing old hymns to a congregation.

Practical Shepherding – Brian Croft has done a great job of carving himself an important little niche in the blogosphere as he deals with issues related to the practical aspect of pastoring. In his most recent article he writes about doing hospital visits.

What To Do With Internutters – Mark Driscoll has posted a good article on dealing with internutters. I’ve got a feeling he sees some of the worst of the worst of what the Net has to offer in that regard.

Cell Phones and Cancer – A massive study on the link between cell phones and cancer concludes with a rather unsatisfying conclusion. “Experts who studied almost 13,000 cell phone users over 10 years, hoping to find out whether the mobile devices cause brain tumours, said on Sunday their research gave no clear answer.”

Monergism Books is now permanently offering free shipping for all orders in the U.S. for $25 or over that select Economy Mail. They have some good specials this week: Systematic Theology: New Combined Edition – 60% off retail ($19.95) and Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: Four Volume Set -56% off retail or $89.


  • Southern Africa

    A Trip to Southern Africa

    I don’t often write trip reports after I travel, except, of course, in the form of books and documentary projects like Epic and From the Rising of the Sun. Yet, I thought I would make a rare exception after returning from my recent journey to Southern Africa (and, strangely, Northern California). While I am accustomed…

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    A La Carte (December 10)

    A La Carte: Top 10 theology stories of 2025 / Mama, you don’t have to save Christmas / Giving up all your Sundays to advent / An empty chair at Christmas / Pray for the church in Rwanda / Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (December 9)

    A La Carte: Reforming generosity / Let the young man come to church / Your wife is beauty / Combating imposter syndrome / Be known, not impressive / Dan McClellan / and more.

  • AI Slop

    The Rise of AI Book Slop

    We often hear these days of “AI slop,” a term that’s used to refer to the massive amounts of poor-quality AI-created material that is churned out and unceremoniously dumped onto the internet. This was once primarily artistless artwork and authorless articles, but has now advanced to much bigger and more substantial forms of content.

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    A La Carte (December 8)

    A La Carte: A plea to older women / Let someone serve you in suffering / Why AI writing can’t compete / Influencers / The hidden danger in online sermons / Discipling young people / Excellent Kindle deals / and more.

  • Hymns

    Pitch Perfect and Tone Deaf

    God commands us to sing. Yet while some of God’s people are gifted singers, the plain fact is that others are not. In any congregation, it’s likely that some have near-perfect pitch while others are functionally tone-deaf. Those who struggle to sing may be self-conscious, tempted to stay quiet or to do no more than…