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A La Carte (February 9)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

If all goes well, Kindle deals will include some highly-recommended titles like Living Life Backward, 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You, Disciplines of a Godly Man, and more.

Evangelical Pastors and The Challenge of Eastern Orthodoxy

“For the past few years, I have observed online discussions about how more and more evangelicals, especially young evangelical men, are becoming interested in Eastern Orthodoxy. At first, I dismissed that trend as another example of how social media algorithms have a way of connecting and amplifying isolated events, giving a false sense of a mass movement. However, my perspective suddenly shifted when, in three unrelated instances, young people at my local church came to me expressing either concern about or explicit interest in Eastern Orthodoxy and its claims.”

I Am a Servant of Jesus and His Movement, not a Business Guru

Jesus led by serving and living closely with people, not by running his church like a business. “I love Jesus and Jesus’ church, but I don’t love human, name-brand, church. When church is about a name—whether the name brand of the church or pastor—and not about the name above every name for whom every being will bow, I don’t love that. Idolatry has no place in Jesus’ church.”

Let It Snow (Video)

The John 10:10 Project is back with another beautiful video about God’s creation.

Overcoming the Potential Spouse Bottleneck

I have observed this as well: “A lot of Reformed families have accidentally engineered a bottleneck for their own kids. When you choose a tight theological lane, a tight church network, and often a tight geography, you’ve already narrowed the field. Then you add a long list of non-negotiables that goes beyond basic orthodoxy into very specific doctrinal alignments, cultural preferences, schooling models, and lifestyle expectations. Every one of those cuts the pool again.”

Living in Love and Faith—a Personal Reflection

Paul Chamberlain: “I told my story of same-sex attraction in 2019, because I wanted to share my positive experience of being same-sex attracted in evangelical churches. I was (and am) very conscious of a narrative in parts of the church which says that holding a traditional/orthodox view of sex and marriage is toxic to same-sex attracted people. This has not been my experience, and I wanted to be able say so.”

The Longing of God’s People for Heaven on Earth

Randy Alcorn writes about the good and healthy longing of God’s people for heaven on earth.

Flashback: The God Who Counts the Cost

It is our sin and weakness that causes us to promise and not pay, to vow and then not come through. And this is no small thing, for failure is associated with folly…It is a fool who promises what is beyond his capacity to deliver and a fool who promises and then simply shrugs off his commitment.

Prayer is where I do my best work as a husband, dad, worker, and friend. I’m aware of the weeds of unbelief in me and the struggles in others’ lives. The Holy Spirit puts his finger on issues that only he can solve.

—Paul Miller

  • Weekend A La Carte (November 7)

    The Hutterites’ guide to technology / Searching for jobs, Gen Z feels like it’s staring into ‘the void’ / The gospel according to Peter (Thiel) / Scientism and the allure of control / Can science explain sparkling rivers? / What led to Christianity Today’s crisis?

  • I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I regret to inform you, dear reader, that heaven tourism is back. The genre possibly never went away entirely, but it did at least disappear from the bestseller lists for several years. Sadly, it has returned in Gabe Poirot’s 18 Days in Heaven.

  • A La Carte (November 6)

    Don’t despise the red flags / Your thoughts are shaping your life / Can’t you just love everyone? / Selfies are not the self: forming embodied youth in a disembodied age / Effective altruists and the spreadsheet gospel / 4 Applications for the order of love—from the home to the ends of the earth /…

  • A La Carte (November 5)

    When you feel guilty about your giving / The missing piece in John Mark Comer’s quiet time / A manifesto for phone-free church / The pull of Rome / 4 Misconceptions about spiritual warfare / Slouching toward Narnia / Kindle deals, and more

  • A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

    A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

    Netflix appears to have fallen on hard times and I have some suggestions that I’d like to think would help it: cut the sex, nudity, and profanity, and gain back the viewers it’s long been alienating.

  • A La Carte (November 4)

    Can I love my enemies while addressing wrongs and protecting myself? / Is missions too costly for kids? / Don’t stock the pantry with temptation / Churches face a shortage of worship leaders / AI brought a mathematician to Ecclesiastes / Discerning between godly and worldly grief / Harvest in fearful times / and more.