Some of you have been unable to use the coupon code P&R mentioned in their sponsored post. All should now be well so that you can use coupon code DDS25 at prpbooks.com for 50% off the new book Paradox People.
Today’s Kindle deals include a really nice collection of prayers, a book on the Trinity, and a few other good picks.
(Yesterday on the blog: 10 Ways To Keep Your Reading Fresh)
Speak With a Christian Accent
Trevin compares speaking with an accent to speaking (and living) in a distinctly Christian way—a helpful comparison, I think.
The Land of Many Meetings
Here is one that will help prep you for the holiday season. “Life is filled with empty chairs, is it not? Grief feels most fresh when the milestones of life begin to pass us by. Holidays, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries—these are all necessary and beautiful threads that make up the mosaic of our lives. However, it is within these that the echo of our loved one’s life begins to ring again; when all the chairs around us are filled, save only a few.”
Enter Your Pastor to Win $10,000
Our friends at Midwestern Seminary are celebrating Pastor Appreciation Month with a massive 10K giveaway and something free for everyone who participates. Learn more and enter at mbts.edu/pastors.
Hedges, Helmets, and the Gila Woodpecker
This is a good article about gila woodpeckers and “hedges of protection.” “Have you ever wondered why Christians often pray for a ‘hedge of protection’? You’ll hear the phrase regularly at prayer meetings and before road trips. The phrase isn’t exactly in the Bible, but the origin is likely Job 1:10, where Satan accuses God of bubble-wrapping Job in ‘a hedge around him and his household and everything he has.’”
The Potential Pitfalls of Generative AI for the Pastor’s Public Ministry
“The rapid growth of generative AI—both in terms of popularity and technical capabilities—is raising questions not only for big tech companies but also for pastors. Should pastors use generative AI in preaching or public prayer or must they refrain? May pastors simply read AI summaries in place of primary sources when they prep for sermons? These questions will only become more prevalent as generative AI is increasingly used and developed.” Pastors would do well to think this through.
What Happens at Home
Darryl is right that what happens at home matters a great deal. “In most professions, one’s personal life remains private. But pastoring is different. It’s more than a profession, and how a pastor lives at home profoundly impacts his ministry. According to Paul, what happens at home makes or breaks his ministry.”
What Complaining Does
Barbara explains what complaining does. Not surprisingly, none of it is good.
Flashback: If God Utters Any Complaint At All
We will never exhaust God with our coming to him, never tire God with our pleas for his help. We will never reach the end of his ability to assist or his capacity to intervene.
Happiness lies not in those things that cannot comfort a man upon a dying bed.
—Thomas Brooks
