“Today marks the 85th anniversary of G. K. Chesterton’s death. Although he was a Catholic, the British writer has developed an enthusiastic fanbase among evangelicals….Here are nine things you should know about the ‘prince of paradox.’” - TGC

“The church is a mysterious monolith in the desert of this world. Its crisp edges are unmistakable, distinct, and visible to anyone with eyes to see. Baptism is no small part of that. In fact, as the sign of the new covenant, we could say that baptism makes the church visible. Baptism is the shape of the church.” - 9 Marks

By David Huffstutler. Read Part 1.

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found myself asked to present my view on divorce and remarriage.” This paraphrase of Jude 3 reflects how I feel as a Christian and pastor who has dealt with the difficult topics of divorce and remarriage after divorce. Perhaps you feel the same as I do. Divorce involves a broken marriage, broken hearts, suffering, and sin. And even if one allows for remarriage, painful memories linger. Can we talk about salvation instead?

“A new report from George Barna’s Cultural Research Center (CRC) reveals what Barna describes as the most radical religious and cultural shifts of American beliefs of the past 40 years.” - C.Leaders

Some recent articles and posts…

“Recently, 18 prominent researchers published a letter in the journal Science calling for a full investigation of the Wuhan lab connections. Now the possibility is being taken seriously.” - Veith

“They often ask, ‘What does leading this Bible study have to do with a job?’ or, ‘Does this international ministry trip add any value to my résumé?’ The answer is, as it nearly always is, ‘Yes it’s valuable, but you have to talk about it in the language that is relevant to the employer.’” - IFWE

“As for the theme of this issue, we decided to focus loosely on the topic of human embodiment, paying significance and honor to the role of the body in our reflection on life and discipleship.” - CBMW

“In anticipation of the 48th stated meeting of the PCA General Assembly in St. Louis, Missouri, an open letter … was published on June 2nd, 2021 for the purpose ‘of encouraging others about the present and future of the Presbyterian Church in America and also to address and put to rest some assertions that are being spread about the PCA that we feel to be inaccurate and harmful.’” - Ref21

By now, I thought we would have all moved on from this wearisome topic, but Donald Trump and his supporters are nowhere near giving up. Many who lean right seem to be sold on some form of 2020 election illegitimacy.

Last week, Breitbart posted Pollak: The Real ‘Big Lie’ Is That the 2020 Election Was Free and Fair. When it was brought to my attention, I had to respond.

“The CCCU and the universities expressed concern that the federal government will not “vigorously” defend the schools named in the suit and might even be “openly hostile” toward them. But the DOJ argues that this will not be the case because its interests are not in opposition to the interests of the Christian organizations named in the lawsuit.” - C.Leaders

“Lie #3: Full-time ministry is the only work that serves God. I struggled finding my calling in work for a while because I believed the false dichotomy that said I couldn’t serve God while working a ‘normal job.’” - Kevin Halloran

“we do not need to be Christians for long before we learn that the greatest joy connected to wealth does not come from gaining but from giving. Hoarding wealth for ourselves gives far less lasting satisfaction than contributing wealth to God’s causes.” - Challies

“I’m sympathetic to the presuppositionalist reflex… That being said, in placing the epistemological accent so strongly on the Bible over against God’s ‘general revelation’ in the created order, Reformed-style presuppositionalism suffers from a degree of hermeneutical naivete. Surely, just as one never approaches the world without presuppositions, one never approaches a text without presuppositions.” - John Ehrett

“To baptize infants is to misunderstand more than the sign, but the nature of the new covenant and the people it creates. Circumcision and baptism are both covenant signs, but baptism is the sign of a new and better covenant.” - 9 Marks

“Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley filed a lawsuit against Nevada in May 2020, accusing Gov. Steve Sisolak of treating churches worse than secular institutions in the state’s COVID-19 rules. [And eventually won in the Court of Appeals.]” - C.Post

“Tony Spell repeatedly flouted the public health restrictions at his Life Tabernacle Church in the Baton Rouge suburb of Central, and he faces six state criminal counts as a result….Lawyers for Spell also are appealing Jackson’s ruling that Spell is not entitled to damages. Spell’s attorneys include Roy Moore, a former Alabama judge and failed U.S. Senate candidate.” - RNS

With Memorial Day now past, it’s time to think about … football! At least that’s the way that I approached it when I was in college.

God gave me the wonderful opportunity to play football for eight years in two Christian schools—four at Winnebago Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac, Wis., and four at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, Wis.

The lessons that I learned on the football field are innumerable, such that I cannot imagine my life without them—and they continue to impact me on a daily basis.

“The church, the body of believers, has a key role in the political process. But that role has to be marked by humility and reflection. It also has to be marked by a commitment to be more faithful to the Word of God than we are to either political party.” - Bill Haslam

“…young adults tend to be less religious than older adults, at least by conventional measures such as whether they believe in God and how often they attend worship services. Jewish Americans, who make up 2.4% of the U.S. adult population, are an exception: The youngest Jewish adults are just as religious as the oldest on some of these measures” - Pew

“Ronnie Parrott … and Grant Gaines … have said they will make a motion at the upcoming meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention asking the denomination’s newly elected president to hire an outside firm to investigate.” - C.Leaders

“A judge has ordered a Virginia school district to reinstate an elementary school teacher who was placed on leave after criticizing a proposed policy that would require him and other teachers to use the preferred names and pronouns of trans-identified students.” - C.Post

“…all preachers should be thoughtful, planned, and intentional with how they spend the precious currency of the last minute.” - TGC

“In it, Moore directly and indirectly accuses various leaders of ‘stonewall[ing]’ calls to address sexual abuse in the SBC. It is the second letter written by Moore to become the public within the last week. An earlier letter, written in February 2020 and addressed to the executive committee of the ERLC’s board of trustees, outlined similar concerns.” - BPNews

“If we aren’t spending significant portions of our personal devotional time with the Lord in the Old Testament––including books other than Psalms and Proverbs––it’s going to be hard for us to engender passion for its truth in the hearts of those we lead.” - Lifeway

“Think about people who make you feel loved. What about them makes you feel this way? … I can almost guarantee that they ask good questions and listen well.” - TGC

“The places it [“rejoice”] shows up in the Scripture tell us something about what should press our buttons. These instances should help us evaluate the appropriateness of our affections.” - Olinger

Editor’s note: Baptist Bulletin ran a three article set on the topic of divorce and remarriage in the November/December 2020 issue. Below is the first, an introduction by the magazine’s managing editor.

By David Gunn

In some ways, marriage and other family relationships is where the rubber meets the road for Christian ministry and living. Here, in the daily hustle and bustle of human lives lived in close proximity to one another, theory and doctrine are put to the test. Sometimes we rise to the challenge and glorify God in and through those relationships. Sometimes we don’t.

I believe some of Jesus’ teachings about discipleship come from I Kings 19:19-21. The rabbis viewed the relationship of Elisha to Elijah as a role model for a disciple. Here are the verses:

19 Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.”

“Go on back,” he replied, “for what have I done to you?”

“ ‘Specifically, we removed content that violated our policies on COVID-19 medical misinformation and presidential election integrity,’ a YouTube spokesperson said in the email.” - C.Post