A La Carte (April 24)

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include a book on Judas, a book on Francis and Edith Schaeffer, a book on church budgeting, and more besides.

Recommended Reading

You’re Busy Because You’re Lazy. I very much agree with Reagan Rose that laziness can often relate to or even masquerade as busyness. “What could be easier than stopping? What is more effortless than slowing down? Yet, slowing down requires an incredible force of will. When life feels busy and out of control, every instinct tells us that we need to go faster, not slower. But this is folly. If you feel your life is spinning out of control with overcommitment and busyness, acceleration is the last thing you need!”

The Six Major Views of Baptism. We all have to take a position on baptism. Robb Brunansky is clear on the position he takes, but tries to describe the others as accurately as he can. If you’re interested in a simple overview of the different positions on baptism, his article may bring clarity.

Fur Babies and Pet Stewardship. Though he admits to doing so a bit sheepishly, John Piper takes on the issue of fur babies and the stewardship of pets. “If your culture is poor enough, you eat dogs — no shame. I would certainly eat a dog before I’d let my kids starve. If your culture is rich enough, you kill other animals like fish and chickens, and feed your dogs, and then you bring them in the house and brush their hair. Clearly, how we relate to animals as pets or as food is mainly culturally determined.”

Death and Resurrection. Matthew Hall’s Midweek Musings go in a few different directions this week, but they are centered on death and resurrection. “I found myself regularly telling the students, ‘If you want to understand a culture, look at how it treats its dead.’ That never failed to prompt some looks of surprise and raised eyebrows. It does sound a bit morbid, I realize. And surely there are other bellwethers that are more reliable indicators of ideological trajectories and worldviews. But I remain convinced.”

You Don’t Need a Therapist, You Need Relationships. I think it is important to read this article charitably. Ben Hicks is not saying that there is no need for therapists. Rather, he is pushing back against the normalization of therapy to the degree we have begun to hear “everyone needs a therapist.” As he points out, most of us have a deeper need for family, friends, and pastors.

Stop Keeping Score. In my experience, there is almost nothing more crippling to the Christian life than keeping score. As Andrew Noble points out, “The Christian life is not a game where we compete with others to earn relational righteousness.”

A La Quiz

Did you keep up with A La Carte this week? Here’s a small test, accompanied by links to three especially strong articles.

• Daniel Darling wrote, “This experience among reformed folks is real. But it’s not a problem exclusive to one group of Christians.” What experience was he referring to? (Find out)
• Who made a substantial case against social media that involved seven lines of evidence? (Find out)
• Michael Jensen described what he thinks is the most distinct and important contribution of the West. What is it? (Find out)

My Books

I thought I’d occasionally introduce one of my books in case one may be of interest to you. Today:

Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History was my first travel book, and it goes with my first documentary (which shares a title and is now available for free on YouTube). To create it, I traveled the world looking for historical artifacts through which I could tell the story of the Christian faith. Through it, I introduce readers to 33 carefully selected objects that help them understand the long and complicated history of Christianity in a unique and creative way. I think the project came together really nicely, and I’m still very pleased with it. (Learn more at Amazon)

Flashback

Optimistic Denominationalism. “We can look to other traditions as observers rather than critics, to appreciate that while others may differ from us in our convictions, they do so for the best of motives. And instead of criticizing the differences, we can appreciate the varied emphases.”