“The lawsuit… names as defendants the Donald J. Trump for President campaign, Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, and conservative media outlets and personalities including One America News Network (OAN), Chanel Rion, Michelle Malkin, and Metaxas.” - C.Leaders

“Phelan, a retired theology professor and one-time president of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, has provided Christians with one of the most engaging and comprehensive guides to Jewish thought and civilization in the last half-century.” - C.Today

“Yes, the bride of Christ — the church — is seared, spotted, smudged and smeared. Yet even so. The gentle and humble can still be found. Like Pastor Vern. And like countless other pastors, missionaries, teachers and servants who spend hidden lives of no name or repute, toiling for God’s kingdom in The Middle of Nowhere, day in and day out.” - C.Leaders

“…many of the people who ask me about these Christian leaders and thinkers want to know if the revelations about their personal means we should throw away their ideas and contributions. My cold and controversial answer is ‘no.’” - Roger Olson

Join Abigail Shrier, author of the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, for our February Distinguished Lecture series

Read Part 1.

I said in the last post that I would continue where I left off, so let me say something about books covering other aspects of Systematic Theology first.

Voddie Baucham has experienced heart failure. He is flying back to the states to receive medical care. Please pray for his family. A go fund me has been set up for those interested:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/voddie-baucham?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium…

“Ravi Zacharias International Ministries issued an apology Thursday as it announced the results of a monthslong independent investigation in which victims claimed the late Christian apologist engaged in ‘sexting, unwanted touching, spiritual abuse, and rape’ during his life.” - C.Post

“I know of pastors who are quitting just over the stress of this issue and what it’s causing in their churches, and I know churches splitting over whether you should wear a mask or not … COVID has impacted every pastor to some degree. Usually it has brought more challenges and more difficulty.” - BPNews

“Recognizing the creative complexity of our God, and of his image in us, liberates us to be genuine—within the bounds of morality, of course—and to make our unique contribution to the larger body.” - Olinger

“I’ve found the most effect by engaging in a personal way. If we build up friendship capital, we can draw on that to ask questions of the conspiracy obsessed. We can pose questions like: Should we be focusing on this? Is this an important focus for a Christian? How does this impact our Christian witness? I’ve even shared with a few friends: I think you’ve gotten a little too deep here. I’m worried about you. You’re scaring me a bit here.” - Dan Darling

“the problem of regulating speech when a service hosts hundreds of millions of users…. is a problem that is impossible to fix to anyone’s satisfaction. Moderate too many comments, and you will be accused of canceling’ one side or the other. Moderate too few comments, and congressmen and women end up cowering behind their desks as self-described shamans in Viking helmets storm the Capitol.” - The Dispatch

I received this question recently:

Thank you for all the material you put out. I have benefitted quite a bit. Do you have a list of books/reading that you would recommend as “must read” for someone wanting to grow theologically? I am a part-time worship pastor and full-time elementary music teacher. Previous experience as lay/part-time church planter, youth pastor, and young adult pastor. No seminary, relatively studied, conservative theologically.

Review: ‘The Wisdom Pyramid’ by Brett McCracken

“Eric Voegelin’s warnings about the dangers of gnostic politics apply to the right as well as the left. Christians must make a clear and unequivocal distinction between the historic Christian faith and the misleading political religion that is more pervasive on the right than anyone seemed to realize.” - Public Discourse

Podcast: “How has the therapeutic culture we live in changed the conversation, even the language employed? Who are more likely to be abused—ministers or congregants? Our hosts weigh in with insight based on personal experience, and offer advice about tools that could help curb abuse in the church.” - Ref21

“There are friends that are truly friends and then there are those whose interest in you only relates to their benefit. There are several keys to a good friendship.” - P&D

“There was also significant support among white evangelicals for the claim that members of antifa, or anti-fascist activists, were ‘mostly responsible’ for the attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the survey conducted by the conservative American Enterprise Institute.” - RNS

“ ‘When basic long-term needs are not being met—food, shelter, safety, nurturing, etc.—young people will begin to think only short-term,’ Kelly said, adding that Christians ‘need to advocate for a proportional response that balances society’s need for accountability with restoration, forgiveness, and most of all, genuine understanding.’” - WORLD

“Excellence” might not be the business leadership buzzword it once was, but it’s far from dead. A quick search at Amazon shows plenty of recent business titles with “excellence” in them, and even if the term isn’t the biz word of the day anymore, the concept has never waned.

This is because the business world understands that making what they do, and how they do it, better is essential for their survival in a competitive marketplace. Maybe that marketplace mentality is partly why ministry leaders sometimes view excellence as a “a business thing.”

But they shouldn’t.

”’…a report has been floating around online for some time that John makes more than half a million dollars annually from GTY. Totally false,’ Phil Johnson, GTY executive director and an elder at MacArthur’s Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, said in a statement.’” - C.Post

“Today, 46% say we have made worthwhile progress—28 points fewer than in 2014 when 74% said the same. …’With a change in methodology from telephone in 2014 to online, we cannot say definitively if this decreased optimism is an actual change in sentiment or increased forthrightness’ ” - LifeWay

“Theodore Cuyler took on this question in his book How To Be a Pastor…. His answer is straightforward, his reasoning compelling. It is worth considering today. ‘I answer unhesitatingly, the small church.’ …He offers a three-pronged defense of his position.” - Challies

“God is at work making all things new through Jesus and his work on earth—namely, his death and resurrection.” - TGC

“The pandemic accelerated the push for remote options but also left students longing for in-person community.” - C.Today

“While it’s no surprise that Gen Z may be more engaged with their screens than previous generations, exactly what is an appropriate amount of screen time? Many experts in the medical, mental health and education fields recommend using screens less often and for shorter periods of time—and Gen Z, it seems, are inclined to agree with this advice.” - Barna

“Three allies of former seminary president agree to ban from leadership in any Texas charities or Southern Baptist entities.” - C.Today

Related…

“Are parents authorized by Jesus Christ to baptize their children at home? Can a Bible study privately partake of the Lord’s Supper? From our special online event Made in the Image of God, Burk Parsons and Stephen Nichols consider who may legitimately administer the sacraments.” - Ligonier

“There is a kind of ministry that is without words, and sometimes the best way to help others is to simply share with them in their pain. As the preacher of Ecclesiastes said, there is ‘a time to speak and a time to keep silent’ ” (Eccl. 3:7). - Jake Bier

“Appeals to nonbelievers should go beyond pure rationality, but they shouldn’t go beyond the bounds of Scripture.” - C.Today