John Beeson

April 11, 2024

Recommendations, Christian Living, Consumerism, Heaven, Sexuality

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

April 11, 2024

Recommendations, Christian Living, Consumerism, Heaven, Sexuality

The internal contradiction in transgender theories: Trevin Wax explains, “It doesn’t take long to recognize the internal inconsistency between these two narratives. The first depends on maleness and femaleness being something real, for a binary must exist for it to be transgressed or transcended. The second questions reality altogether, falling for a radical skepticism that reimagines the world in terms of linguistic power plays.”
Tasting heaven now: Casey McCall asks, “But what if I told you the Bible presents the resurrection as something you begin experiencing now in this life?

John Beeson

December 28, 2023

Recommendations, Christian Living, Church, Culture, Religion

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

December 28, 2023

Recommendations, Christian Living, Church, Culture, Religion

5 ways the world would be worse without Christianity: Sharon James with an excellent rebuff of this cultural push-back, “Christians are instructed to “check their privilege” and “do the work” to repudiate Christianity’s toxic legacy. But what would the world really be like without Christianity?”
How Asian artists picture Jesus’ birth: I just loved these pieces that are so different from Western portrayals.
A church is not just a truth-dispensing center: Sam Allberry and Ray Ortlund conclude, “Our love for one another is not only meant to be clearly observable by the watching world. It’s to be so strikingly Godlike that it cannot be explained except by the reality of the gospel. The gospel doctrines of the incarnation (“you sent me”) and of justification (“and loved them”) will become more visible and nonignorable through the love we show one another in Christ.”

John Beeson

April 20, 2023

Recommendations, Christian Living, Family, Identity, Marriage, Suffering

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

April 20, 2023

Recommendations, Christian Living, Family, Identity, Marriage, Suffering

11 Statistical Tips for a Healthy Marriage: Aaron Earls considers how much the research supports biblical wisdom for marriage. For instance, “Research finds couples are 31 percent less likely to get divorced if they have some pre-marriage training.”
5 Myths About Porn: Ray Ortlund debunks five lies. For instance, “Porn has no lasting impact. You can stop at any time. You are in control. The myth says, “You can even budget your porn use. Hold back during those times when you need to be at your best for Christ or for your family or whatever. But then, after you’ve been good for a while, you can jump back in—no problem.” Really? Sin is that easy, and our freedom is that negotiable?”
God’s View of Gender Dysphoria and the Transgender Movement: Eric Geiger begins, “Imagine being a teenager who doesn’t feel at home in your own body. You never felt you met the typical gender stereotypes of guys playing with trucks and rough sports and girls dressing up and play with dolls. You aren’t happy, and you so badly want to be happy. Like all teenagers through all generations, you want a sense of identity, of who you are. You would love to be known for something, to be celebrated. You watch lots of Tik-Tok videos about others who have changed their gender identity, and they recount stories of being celebrated and affirmed for their courage.”
The Great Deception: Kristin begins, “I have been told that my first sentence was this: I do it.”
Consider Suffering Joy? Robby Lashua asks, “What good might God be using suffering for?

John Beeson

April 29, 2021

Recommendations, Christian Living, Suffering, Culture, Politics, Racism

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

April 29, 2021

Recommendations, Christian Living, Suffering, Culture, Politics, Racism

1. Growing My Faith in the Face of Death: Tim Keller reflects on his spiritual journey through his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, “This change was not an overnight revolution. As God’s reality dawns more on my heart, slowly and painfully and through many tears, the simplest pleasures of this world have become sources of daily happiness. It is only as I have become, for lack of a better term, more heavenly minded that I can see the material world for the astonishingly good divine gift that it is.”

2. Is the World Getting Better or Worse? Yes. Colin Smith explains this question is at the heart of the parable of the weeds. He says, “You look at the weeds of evil in the world and you wonder: How can there be a God who is good when his world is in a mess like this? Is God really in control? Can I actually believe in a sovereign God in a world like this?”

3. Four Evangelical Approaches to Race, Politics, and Gender: I found this way of breaking down contemporary Christian perspectives on these hot button issues by Kevin DeYoung illuminating.

4. Four Barriers That Keep You From Being a Multi-Directional Leader: Trevin Wax’s thoughts on what he calls “multi-directional leadership” are significant for any leader today. He explains the difference between this and “one-directional leaders”: “One-directional leaders are skillful in spotting and thwarting threats to the sheep that come from a single direction of the field. But because they focus on fighting battles on one front, they leave the flock vulnerable to problems from other sides.”

5. 600 Drones Recreate VanGogh’s Famous Paintings: This is pretty fun.

John Beeson

January 2, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture, Leadership, Sexuality, Comedy

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

January 2, 2020

Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture, Leadership, Sexuality, Comedy

1. But Women are Visual Too--Right? An interesting response by social researcher and gender and relationship expert Shaunti Feldhahn. Her bottom line answer to this question is: " We as women have literally never experienced that back-of-the-brain, biological-pleasure temptation that men face every day." It's worth reading the whole article.

2. 6 Things Never to Say to a Bereaved Parent: Angela Miller with thoughtful advice. I love that she doesn't just tell the reader what not to say, but also what to say. For instance, instead of telling a bereaved parent, "Time heals all wounds," Miller suggests, " What would feel healing/helpful to you right now? ~ Is there any way I can help carry your burden? ~ What do you need most today? ~ I am with you. Always."

3. Ten Questions for Those Who Are Pro-Choice: Andrew Haslam asks important questions for someone to consider as they wrestle with the question of abortion. I appreciate this question: "Why is a woman's body pitted against her baby's?"

4. 3 Postures Leaders Don't Need On Their Leadership Team: Eric Geiger explains why the consultant, senator, and critic hamper leadership teams.

5. The Fight for Indian Democracy and Persecution in India Continues to Rise: Please keep India in your prayers. “Since BJP has come into power in 2014, minorities in India have lived in constant fear. Persecution of Christians have increased.”

6. Tyler the Ex-Evangelical: Lutheran Satire has an amazing way at illuminating truths with a wry smile.

John Beeson

December 5, 2019

Recommendations, Leadership, Sexuality, Christian Living, Nature

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

December 5, 2019

Recommendations, Leadership, Sexuality, Christian Living, Nature

1. 10 Ways Leaders Shape Their Teams: Eric Geiger with excellent advice to each of us leaders. His tenth is "Sacrifice of the leader, sacrifice of the team. Leaders who make sacrifices for the mission of the team have credibility to invite others to do the same. And the others are often inspired by the leader to make sacrifices themselves."

2. The BBC Reveals 100 Genders: Stephen McAlpine's opines, " I’m tempted to just get out the popcorn and sit and watch the train-wreck, but it’s too sad for that. It’s just a sign of the cultural/intellectual suicide we’re seeing in a society that has no base other than the individuated self. The bodies – whatever gender they deem themselves to be – will start to wash up on our cultural shores at some stage. I just hope there are enough people willing to care for these broken, confused souls."

3. Why God Made Your Mouth: Scott Hubbard begins, " The average person speaks at least 7,000 words a day, or about 50,000 words a week — the length of a short book. We are authors, all of us, publishing 52 books a year from this printing press called the mouth."

4. The Reward of Sin: This is a short but powerful analogy about our relationship with sin.

5. The Most Beautiful Natural Wonder in Every State: What a beautiful nation we live in! This will do just fine as a travel itinerary ;-).

John Beeson

May 30, 2019

Recommendations, Christian Living, Church, Culture, Politics

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

May 30, 2019

Recommendations, Christian Living, Church, Culture, Politics

1. Poll Finds "Dramatic and Sudden Shift" Toward a Pro-Life Position: Aaron Earls reports, " The latest Marist poll finds 47 percent of Americans identify as pro-life and 47 percent identify as pro-choice. Just one month ago, however, Americans were more likely to identify as pro-choice than pro-life by 17 percentage points—55 to 38 percent."

2. How the Pro-Life Movement was Had: Andree Seu Peterson's pointed article begins, "They said who knows when life begins. So we said, OK, let’s talk about when life begins. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you,” we quoted from Jeremiah 1, verse 5. We’re not into religion, they replied. So we said fair enough, forget the Bible, let’s talk science, you like science, right? And if the science proves when life begins, then you’ll stop killing babies in the womb, agreed?"

3. Seven Church Member Attitudes That Lead to the Death of Churches: We all want thriving churches. Thom Rainer has helpful thoughts in this podcast on ways that we as church members can help combat churches declining and dying.

4. The Church Growth Gap: Aaron Earls reports, "Three in five (61%) pastors say their churches faced a decline in worship attendance or growth of 5 percent or less in the last three years. Almost half (46%) say their giving decreased or stayed the same from 2017 to 2018."

5. How Men and Women Spend Their Days: Cool dynamic infograph from Flowing Data.

John Beeson

July 26, 2018

Christian Living, Relationships, Theology, Culture, Recommendations

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

July 26, 2018

Christian Living, Relationships, Theology, Culture, Recommendations

1. Why Men and Women Can (and Must) Work Together: Faith Whatley with an important article on how to strike a healthy balance in workplace relationships, "It’s important—especially as seemingly more and more Christian leaders are caught in a scandal—to make sure the right boundaries are in place to protect your marriage, your ministry, and your soul. But in doing so, it’s easy to put up so many boundaries you alienate yourself or stifle the giftedness and friendship of the opposite gender."

2. Why and How to Take the Risk of Opposite Gender Relationships: Tish Harrison Warren pushes back on those who, in light of recent misconduct, have responded to cutting off opposite gender relationships with this thoughtful piece, "Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary president Danny Akin tweeted, “A valuable lesson we all can learn from this tragic situation: follow the @BillyGraham rule. If you are married, never be alone with someone of the opposite sex who is not your spouse. Never!” This rule, in its most pristine form, renders male-female friendships impossible. However unintentionally, it communicates to women that they are fundamentally dangerous. And it bars men from meaningful mentorship or pastoral care of women and vice-versa. I, for one, give thanks for the many men I knowwho broke the Billy Graham Rule."

3. 6 Relevant Things the Apostle Paul Never Said: Nicholas Davis unmasks the deception of our culture with this tongue in cheek article. His final is, "'Let your guard down and just relax a bit. Everything I’ve said is more like a guideline; just be young again and live a little. Let all that you do be done for you. You deserve it!' What Paul actually said: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14: 'Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.'

4. Baby Boomers Turn to Faith As They Age: A new study finds that, "Most boomers (56 percent) said their religiosity stayed the same over the past 10 years, while 21 percent said they became more religious and 11 percent said they became less religious. Twelve percent said they were never religious."

5. 17 Ways Christians Say No: John Crist on our special Christian superpowers of saying no; "I don't think it's God's will; I just don't feel peace about it right now."

John Beeson

May 10, 2018

Recommendations, Culture, Church, Christian Living, Theology, Evangelism

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

May 10, 2018

Recommendations, Culture, Church, Christian Living, Theology, Evangelism

1. There Goes that Pesky Biological Reality Again: Matthew Hosier on when the trend toward progressive views on gender backfire, " It turns out that when it comes to health men and women are not the same. Contrary to popular opinion, men have a higher pain threshold than women (though older men feel pain more than younger men as their levels of testosterone decrease); women are more prone to knee injuries than men, because of the size of their pelvis; the male brain has more connections within each hemisphere while the female brain has more connections between the two hemispheres..."

2. 4 Reminders for the Weary Mom on Mother’s Day: You are loved, moms! These are healthy reminders. I love this one: “You are exactly the mom they need… Long before you actually had children, even before you rocked a baby doll and pretended to be a mommy, God knew the children He would place in your life. He could see what kind of mom you would be. Our God is not a random god. His works have purpose and meaning, and even before He made you a mother, He shaped you for motherhood. This motherhood.”

3. How an Ancient Pagan Roman Saved an Atheist: John Woodbridge shares his story of deconversion, and then God's rescuing hand in his life. He shares the pivotal moment of his life, "Like a thunderbolt, the idea struck me that Jesus might very well have existed and walked this earth. After all, I reasoned, Tacitus was no Christian propagandist and had nothing to gain in reporting a myth... As I read the statement by Tacitus, it dawned on me that if Jesus had existed, it had potentially huge implications... Could it be that Jesus not only existed but that his message was true after all?"

4. Godly People are Happy People: My friend John Starke reflects on this truth, " The longer I live as a Christian the more it becomes apparent that the holy life — a life lived with a conscience before God — is a happy life. Sadly, it takes some misery to see it. Sin not only offends God, it disrupts the Christian’s communion with God and forces him to sense his Maker’s displeasure."

5. Why Raising Your Children to be Independent is a Bad Idea: Bob Kauflin reflects on why raising your children to be independent is a fool's errand, "...I began to consider the adults I respected. They didn’t do things on their own... Then it hit me. The most mature people in my life were not those who belittled the input and counsel of those around them, but those who welcomed and even pursued it. Their awareness of their weaknesses caused them to seek out other eyes and perspectives. That realization shed new light on our parenting goals."

6. Billions of Birds Migrate. Where Do They Go? This graphic-rich National Geographic article is a must read even for those, like myself, who don't have a particular interest in birds.

John Beeson

December 7, 2017

Recommendations, Marriage, Parenting, Evangelism, Culture, Christian Living

This Week's Recommendations

John Beeson

December 7, 2017

Recommendations, Marriage, Parenting, Evangelism, Culture, Christian Living

1. Males and Females in the Workplace: Interesting in-depth study on the shifting face of the workplace over the past 65 years. Really interesting and interactive infographics.

2. Why doesn't God Just Talk to Me? Dan Dewitt responds to this question, "So, here’s a few reasons why it’s better for you that God has chosen to speak to you through his Word rather than waking you up in the middle of the night with an audible, 'Hey you! Get out of bed and listen up!'"

3. What's the Purpose of Children? Tim Challies's consideration of this simple question reveals how many significant cultural barriers there are, "The pursuit of dreams and the fulfillment of personal potential has become our highest priority. A recent Forbes article tells that in 2015, Millennials spent nearly twice as much on self-improvement than Boomers, even though their income is only half as much. This individualistic culture has a profound effect on our understanding of children. When self is at the center, children are regarded as yet another means of self-realization—one that can be pursued or rejected according to personal preference. Those who choose to have children do so only when it is convenient; when they are in a stable place in life, relationship, and career; and when the burden of having them will be as small as possible. Little wonder, then, that the percentage of women between 40 and 44 who have never had children doubled between 1976 and 2006. Children have become an optional accessory to a well-rounded, successful life. Many people essentially believe that the purpose of children is to add value to the lives of their parents."

4. Why Even a Happy Marriage Won't Prevent An Affair: Russel Moore adeptly navigates the findings of a secular counselor and digs for a deeper Christian explanation, " In the October issue of The Atlantic, Esther Perel looks back on the scope of her counseling encounters with marriages in crisis over infidelity and notes how rarely she sees adulterous people who cheat out of a desire to flee a bad relationship. Often, she writes, it’s just the opposite. She encounters people who want to keep their marriage, the way that it is, and who don’t actually want to leave it for the other relationship."

5. How Sharing the Gospel in the Secular Age is Different: Tim Keller and Russell Moore reflect on the unique challenges of our ages in this 8 minute video.