Here is a collection of good reads gathered from across the internet this past week. Enjoy!
On our reputations: Christ Our All: Image Maintenance in an Age of Emojis by Owen Strachan
This does not preclude any response to critics. At times, one must speak up. There are real falsehoods that deserve a response. But we will never be able to undo opposition in a total and final sense by our own strength. Important as it is for us to engage in select discussion, there simply is no ultimate vindication of ourselves we can accomplish. Only Jesus can clear our name. Only Jesus can overcome our enemies. Only Jesus can quiet hate, and destroy evil, and right every wrong ever done to his people (and every wrong we ourselves have done, sadly). (click here to read more)
On being thankful: Lay Aside the Weight of Thanklessness by Jon Bloom
In parents like these, we see an image of God’s heart for us. God does not command and exhort us to thank him because he loves to hear the “magic words” or watch us perform a mere divine courtesy. He’s after our spiritual health and prosperity. He does not want us to be spiritually sick and poor. He tells us that thanklessness is a sign of unbelief (Romans 1:21). But thankfulness is a sign of faith, evidence that we really see his grace and feel its effects. That’s what he wants for us. (click here to read more)
On praying for pastors: Top 10 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor by Michelle Leslie
Does your pastor have time to get alone with the Lord for his personal relationship with Christ? Maybe he’s struggling against a particular sin or striving to be more committed to prayer. Pray that God will grow your pastor in Christ as an individual. (click here to read more)
On church and helping people see the awesomeness of God: They Unchurched the Church by Erik Raymond
As the discussion went on I was able to figure out why he had so thoughtfully engaged with this experience. He went to church looking for something. You might say he was a seeker. In his case, he was truly seeking to learn about God. He wanted to see how Christians worshiped. But notice the painful irony: the church in its effort to be relevant to the unchurched was actually irrelevant to this seeker. They had unwittingly unchurched the church. At the time of his visit my friend wanted answers to some important (and extremely relevant) questions he had. He went to what seemed like the right place—a Christian church with a lot of people. However, what he found was a ecclesiological Potemkin village. This church’s unhealthy quest relevance led them to a startling place of irrelevance. (click here to read more)
First Baptist Church 