“Gospel Links for Gospel Culture” is a weekly round-up of content to encourage you in your faith and ministry.
What the Gospel Says to the Kid Who is Left Out
Michael Kelley:Why would a marginally talented kid continue to participate in so many things that he didn’t enjoy? It wasn’t because I felt pressure from my parents; I most certainly did not. It wasn’t because I had aspirations of getting a college scholarship; I didn’t delude myself into thinking I was better than I was. I didn’t have an insatiable desire for victory, though I certainly enjoyed winning more than losing. So why?
We Need All Creators Creating
Christine Hoover:In our own ways, we’re each seeking redemption and reconciliation, for ourselves and for others. In trying so fervently to dispense hope and then discovering our impotency to right all wrongs, we’ve lost the very thing we’ve tried to give. We ourselves are empty and vulnerable. We feel invisible and wonder why we should care anymore. Why should we care for the disenfranchised? Why should we continue to shoulder responsibility? Why should we go on loving those who have wounded us so deeply? Why produce and cultivate when we could sit back and merely consume?
5 Reasons Not to Plant a Church
Jared Wilson:We need more churches. To be more specific: we need more gospel-centered churches in more areas of missional need. In general, church planting is the most effective form of evangelism and more churches reach more people. What we don’t need, however, are more churches planted for wrong reasons. What might some of those reasons be?
The Problems of Moral Failure and Misconduct Are Real and Must Be Addressed
Ed Stetzer:As a Christian leader who has sought to live in a way that brings honor to God (though too many times I fail), it pains me over and over as I see colleagues fall as a result of unaccountability, pride, and a distorted view of the image of God in all. I don’t think of myself above the temptation, but I am grieved by it.
A Prayer for Overwhelmed Pastors
Darryl Dash:It’s easy to get overwhelmed in the Fall. Summer was nice, but it’s so short, and we don’t always feel ready for the busyness of September. So I’m praying a prayer for pastors who feel the weight of responsibility this time of year, and who may be limping into this next season of ministry.
What does it mean to be good?
Jen Wilkin:How many times did I say it as I walked out the door, leaving my kids in the care of another? Spoken in that context, it expressed a parting wish that the little one to whom it was spoken would, at bare minimum, not do anything bad, and at best, be a source of help and joy to the caregiver in charge. When the kids were small, it was hard to find sitters brave enough to take on all four of them. It was harder still to find money to make it worth the sitter’s time and still be able to afford dinner out. When I told the kids to be good, I needed them to be. It was code for “Please don’t drive off this teenager, whom I really need to have a positive experience.” You know the rules. They are for your good. For our sake, please abide by them. Until your parents return, be good.
Certainty, openness, and theological wisdom
Ray Ortlund:Building our theology and worldview is not like pushing the first domino over, which pushes the next over, and so forth, down the line—each domino of equal weight and each fall equally inevitable. Rather, building our theology and worldview is more like exploring a river. We start out at the mouth of the river. It is wide. There is no decision to make. But then we start paddling up-river. As each tributary forks into the river, we must decide which way to go. Indeed, it may eventually become difficult to distinguish between the river itself and a tributary. But many decisions must be made along the way, not every one equally obvious.
The Gospel Project’s editorial team contributed to this post. Photo: Pixabay
