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A La Carte (March 17)

Who’s Your Daddy?

“Christianity unapologetically places fathers (or father-types) at the head of the church and the table and the household, but commands that they lead with a servant’s heart with Christ as their model. The problems stem not from obeying the godly mandate, but from shirking it.” The article goes on to look at the problem of fatherlessness in literature.

A Willingness to Listen

Yes! This was one of my big takeaways from reading Black & Reformed. “Making your church more diverse is about more than just adding another shade to your elder board. It often means having a willingness to learn and be challenged by opposing viewpoints.”

The Theology of Donald Trump

Writing for Christianity Today, Michael Horton takes a look at the theology of Donald Trump. His unfortunate conclusion: “If the working theology of American spirituality is a combination of ‘moralistic, therapeutic deism’ (Christian Smith) and pragmatism (William James), then perhaps Donald Trump is after all exactly the right candidate for the moment.”

Punting Isn’t An Option

“I hear women talking about wanting to go deeper with God, so they buy books written by women who talk about their experiences of God. To me, that is robbing ourselves of a much richer treasure. If you want to go deeper with God, go to the source: the Bible. That is where you will see God, high and lifted up, exalted, in His glory. That will change you.”

This Day in 1780. 236 years ago today, Thomas Chalmers was born. Chalmers was a pastor, social reformer, and one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland. He preached the important sermon, “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.” *

When Faith Is Under Attack

This one-minute video (a sermon excerpt) is worth watching.

Your Meaningless Ministry

“We all want to succeed. We all want our efforts to mean something in the end, to be worth it when all is said and done. But when death comes knocking, I would hate to find I received my entire reward here on earth.”

In Praise of Administration

Put your hands together for the invisible administrators who make our lives so much better and our churches so much stronger.

Alexander

A healthy body that houses a sick soul is not something to be coveted.

—Eric Alexander

  • Free Stuff Fridays (Zondervan Reflective)

    This week the blog and this giveaway are sponsored by Zondervan Reflective. The chief reason we exist is to glorify and enjoy God. But for many, God remains a vague cloud of cosmic kindness, a super-sized projection of ourselves into the sky, or an impossible-to-please killjoy. Who is God, really? Who is this being we…

  • Bent Low

    Bowed Down By What Makes Them Beautiful

    There is no need to be concerned about snow in September” we were told as we began to pack and prepare for a trip to Austria. The travel sites said it wouldn’t come until later in the year, except perhaps on the highest peaks. Yet even as we drove from the Slovenian foothills into the…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (September 20)

    A La Carte: Lose the gospel, return to childishness / The kingdom didn’t come for daughters like me / How to be an anxiety fighter / Terminological appropriation / All those things we never did / and more

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (September 19)

    A La Carte: John Piper on brokenhearted boldness / Why didn’t Jesus defeat the Romans? / How do spiritually mature Christians handle suffering? / Is owning the libs a justification for lying? / Enjoying the beauty of prayer / and more.

  • I Am No Hero

    Lowest and Last of All

    The day will come when every man will stand before the Lord and be asked to give an account of his life. God makes clear the basis of this coming judgment: he “will render to each one according to his works.”

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 18)

    A La Carte: What if no one prayed for you? / How to pray when you feel like you can’t / Is that person male or female? / “If one member suffers…” / Ideas for better conversations / Huge Kindle sale / and more.