Wisdom for Your Weekend is your regular installment of what we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web. Presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with guidance from Pastor J.D., this is our attempt to reflect Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
While we do not always agree with everything these authors post, we share these resources because we find them challenging and enriching. As we often say around the Summit, “Eat the fish and spit out the bones.”
Articles of the Week
Why Church Planting Can’t Be Church Franchising, Tim Keesee. Pick a random church in the world, and chances are it looks nothing like yours. A different language. A radically different culture. Confusing practices. Surprising worship. But this variety is precisely what we should expect from a God who is “ransoming people from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). This variety keeps us humble, allowing us to revel anew in “the gospel in all dimensions.”
Bringing the Apocalypse to Drag Queen Story Hour, Jonathan Leeman. Richard John Neuhaus once famously wrote that each individual of society comes to the public square arrayed in ideological clothing. It is impossible to come to the public square “naked”—that is, without a worldview. But this is, increasingly, what modern liberalism claims to promote. Leeman unmasks this façade, using “Drag Queen Story Hour” as a (strange but apt) test case.
Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and What to Make of Celebrity Conversions, Trevin Wax. I (Chris) remember when people went nuts over Kanye West’s 2004 hit, “Jesus Walks,” because of its Christian themes. And Kanye is in the news again, having recently been “born again and saved by Christ,” according to his wife, Kim Kardashian. Celebrity conversions like this always make a splash, but as Wax points out, our responses may have more to say about us than about the celebrities.
Are Miracles Improbable? Michael Kruger. Put on your thinking caps for this one, because Kruger is about to drop some philosophy on you to show why miracles are reasonable—and perhaps even probable—events. It turns out that it’s all about the context.
Today I Hate Foster Care, Maralee Bradley. This is a painfully honest but refreshing statement about the foster care system, written from someone who knows that system well. Bradley provides a beautiful example of courage in the midst of brokenness, raging against injustice while still remaining committed to the slow, messy, confusing work of loving the most vulnerable.
On the Lighter Side
American Airlines’ $250,000 Unlimited Flight Pass: A Terrible Mistake, Half as Interesting. Sometimes an outside-the-box idea is just what your organization needs. Other times it ends up being colossally foolish. Just ask American Airlines.
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