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, when it comes to reading, “Eat the fish and spit out the bones.”
Resources for the Church
We’re trying out a new feature of W4YW—“Resources for the Church”—in which we will share many of the position papers and policies we’ve created here at the Summit. We want other churches to benefit from our resources, most of which have come about over the course of many years (and with no small number of mistakes). Even a fool can learn from his own experience; the wise learn from the experience of others. Be wise, my friends.
Registered Sex Offender: A Sample Church Membership and Attendance Policy, Brad Hambrick. “In this post, I have drafted a policy for how a church would think through the attendance and membership stipulations for someone who is under Registered Sex Offender (RSO) status. The enactment of this policy assumes that both (a) the sexual abuse episode has been reported and (b) that the legal process has concluded resulting in RSO status as the verdict; meaning the individual under RSO status has paid, or is currently paying their debt to society.”
Articles of the Week
Three Ways Parents Can Pray for Their Prodigal Children, Sarah Walton. It’s hard to imagine anything more difficult than watching your child walk away from the faith. You feel powerless, completely unable to change the one thing you wish you could change. So when we come to a moment of desperation like this, it’s natural to pray. But what exactly should you pray? Sarah has three powerful words for you.
The Wise Do Not Always Weigh In, Chris Nye. What is it that compels us to make public (and immediate) declarations after big—or sometimes, not so big—current events? Most of us would say we make these declarations from a desire to equip or lead others. But is that all that’s going on? Or is something more sinister at work? This article raises some uncomfortable questions, but the wise would do well to listen.
Scripture Before Phone, and Other Habits That Could Change Your Life, Trevin Wax. We are all creatures of habit. The key difference between us is not between the spontaneous and the scheduled, but between those of us who choose our habits and those of us who allow habits to happen to us. And what is one of the most important habits we can cultivate? You probably already know it, but chances are you aren’t doing it: Every morning, start with Scripture before you even touch your phone. We dare you.
12 Mistakes a Pastor Should Make Only Once, Joe McKeever. And that’s being generous, because many of these are mistakes a pastor should never make. Numbers 1, 8, and 11 are particularly cringe-worthy. If you’re a pastor, please learn from these mistakes before you make them. And if you aren’t a pastor, pray that this list remains foreign to you!
On the Lighter Side
I Watched Nicolas Cage Movies for 14 Hours Straight, and I’m Sold, Luke Buckmaster. “In Cage’s hands, cartoonish moments are imbued with real emotion and real emotions become cartoons. … He is erratic and unpredictable; he is captivating and he is capricious. He is a performer. He is a troubadour. He is a jazz musician.” Was Buckmaster truly convinced or was this a case of Stockholm Syndrome? Either way, he’s in The Cage for good.
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