Your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Book Recommendations of the Week
Ten Books to Read This Summer, Trevin Wax. It’s almost summer time, which means (1) it’s time to seek parking spaces based on shade, not location, (2) many cows will nobly lay down their lives for the sake of American cookouts, and (3) you may find yourself looking for books to pack into your beach bag (or beach Kindle?). We can’t help much with (1) or (2), but Wax gives some help for that last category. Not a bad little collection, this.
Articles of the Week
What Is Marriage, Exactly? Jen Pollock Michel. As a country, we’re asking this question a lot in terms of same-sex marriage. But that’s not Michel’s question (though her answer is relevant to that debate). Instead, she reflects on her own experience of marriage, and tries to counter a bevy of popular myths about what makes marriage, marriage. Here’s a hint: contrary to the wisdom of the Beatles, love isn’t all you need.
Clickbait Headlines Are Killing Your Soul, Stephen Altrogge. Journalism has always thrived on a quick pitch, and it’s nothing new for a quick pitch to become a deceptively sensationalized pitch. But the internet seems to have created space for something quite new: clickbait headlines. You know, “He asked Robert Downey, Jr. for his autograph. What happened next will leave you breathless.” We all know they’re annoying. But Altrogge points out that they’re also pretty damaging. After all, when everything is spectacular, nothing is.
Four Words Leaders Must Say Often, Eric Geiger. It’s not, “I love you, man” (though that may not be a bad idea…sometimes). Geiger boils down four traits of wise and effective leaders into a word apiece. These are about as simple as they are difficult. If you’re a leader, memorize them. After all, we’re just talking about four words, here.
Diagnosing Ethnic Fever, Bryan Loritts. “There’s a low grade fever running among many of our minority brothers and sisters working in white evangelical environments, and their fever is a result of varying factors that have left them vulnerable and exposed. I cal this fever “low grade” because they can still function, yet if left undiagnosed and untreated, this ethnic fever will only escalate into a toxic sickness. If we want to treat their condition, I find it helpful to look at the factors contributing to their ailment.”
On The Lighter Side
AC/DC’s Thunderstruck (Featuring Banjo, Spoons, Wrench, Anvil, and…Tractor), Steve ‘N’ Seagulls. Here’s some free advice for the aspiring comics out there: there are two keys to a good musical comedy act—(1) a clever idea, and (2) flawless execution. Steve ‘N’ Seagulls (my new favorite Finnish band) isn’t the first to do a bluegrass cover of AC/DC. But it’s the best stinkin’ cover I’ve ever heard.
Wisdom For Your Weekend is presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from J.D. Greear. 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.”
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