A La Carte (December 26)

I trust you enjoyed your Christmas yesterday. We spent a quiet day at home, eventually being joined by my in-laws for a turkey dinner. It was a good day! In the coming week, I’ll be doing lighter-than-usual blogging and you’ll find only the daily A La Carte articles here.

Today’s Kindle deals include quite a few solid books that are well worth adding to your collection. You’ll also find some New York Times bestsellers on sale, today only.

Don’t End Up Just Banging Dustbins

Yes! “Even those who have no real Christianity to speak of expect church to be relatively ‘churchy’ when they come in. Far too many of us spend our time wringing our hands hoping to make church accessible and remove the barriers we presume will keep people away. My experience, as this conversation also affirmed, is that more people are put off by our innovations than anything we tend to think put them off.”

My 4 Rules For Responding To Nasty Emails

Tommy Preson Phillips: “Today I want to address this seemingly new phenomenon of human beings launching virtual cannonballs from the comfort of their couch and pajamas.” He addresses it well.

Staring Down an Elephant (Video)

This can probably be used as an illustration for all sorts of things.

War Against Fathers

There is lots to ponder in this article from First Things. He tells how the freedom to divorce has in some ways actually become a war against fathers.

The Unique Church

“Too often, ministers foolishly embrace the ecclesiastical advice of those who know absolutely nothing about the specific arrangement of the local church they pastor. A pastor is animated by an article in which today’s latest ‘church expert’ insists that he or she has the corner on what should be done in every church. All the while, he forgets that that those writing such articles often know absolutely nothing about the various personal, cultural, industrial, socio-economic, religious, ethnic or age dynamics represented by the town in which each local church is set.” Indeed.

Paul Washer’s Phone Call (Video)

I thoroughly enjoyed this silly moment during Todd Friel’s interview of Paul Washer.

Must Christians Believe in the Virgin Birth?

Al Mohler: “Does belief in the virgin birth make Christians ‘less intellectual?’ Are we saddled with an untenable doctrine? Can a true Christian deny the virgin birth, or is the doctrine an essential component of the Gospel revealed to us in Scripture?”

Flashback: Sex on the Silver Screen – Outsourcing Depravity

When we watch sex on the silver screen, we are asking unbelievers to behave in ways we would never tolerate among ourselves. Yet we tolerate it so we can enjoy entertainment we otherwise couldn’t enjoy. We outsource our depravity so we can live within the letter of the law, even while violating the spirit.