Happy Friday,

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Peter, 2 Peter 1:5f

In 2 Peter we are admonished to be faithful, good, holy, resilient, loving and thoughtful people. I mention this because I have yet to find the passages urging us to be angry, loud, self-righteous and defensive. As recipients of the grace of Jesus we are positioned to be hopeful, winsome, loving and courageous. There is no reason for fear. Jesus is risen. He will rule and reign forever and ever. Jesus can be the non-anxious presence so many around you need.

Happy?: Harvard’s longitudinal study on happiness has been tracking nearly 800 people (and their descendants) for over 80 years. What have they learned? Several things, such as money does not buy happiness. This is not new, but it is so consistently believed that it bears repeating. What does? A life filled with friends, family and meaningful work. In her interview with former Australian PM John Anderson, Mary Eberstadt summarizes her study of history and sociology this way: Want to be happy? Turn off your phone; avoid porn; call a friend and go to church.

Against Books: In a recent Atlantic article, Thomas Chatterton Williams argues that “one of the more disturbing things” Kanye West has ever said is, “I am a proud non-reader of books…” Williams goes on to argue that, as reprehensible as Ye’s anti-Semitic tirades are, they should not cause us to overlook his anti-book stance, for it says something distressing about this cultural moment. And then, to advance his point, he quotes other proud non-readers – such as Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and Sean McElwee, the 30-year-old founder of Data for Progress. Both say silly things such as, “I’m very skeptical of books.” Or, “I don’t want to say ‘no book is ever worth reading’, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that.” (I’m tempted to point out that SBF is about to have plenty of time to change his mind, but some might think that a cheap shot so I’ll hold off.)

Remember: 1) You can learn a lot about a person – and about the strength of their argument – by paying attention to how accurately they portray the positions they disagree with; 2) We need to leverage our weak wills to help us establish lasting habits. Once the rut is dug, it’s much easier to stay in it.

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FWIW: Recent scholarship on the Inquisition suggests that during its 350-year span, only about 6,000 people were killed by inquisitors. While wrong and unthinkably horrible, 18 deaths per year does not secure a place on the top ten list of human atrocities. Indeed, “Only 18 Murders Over the Weekend” would make headlines in Chicago.

Without Comment: 1) In the fourth quarter, U.S. credit card debt jumped 18.5% to a record high $930.6B; 2) ChatGPT is the fastest-growing app ever released, reaching 100M users in just two months; 3) He Gets Us, the national campaign “designed to increase the respect and relevance of Jesus,” is spending $20M to run two commercials during the Super Bowl; 4) While many have assumed that opioids were fueling deaths of despair, this study suggests the rise of such deaths may be linked to the decline in church attendance; 5) According to Gallup, trust in pastors peaked in 1985 at 67% and has fallen to an all-time low of 34% today. Clergy now trail nurses (79%), medical doctors (62%), pharmacists (58%), high school teachers (53%), police officers (50%), accountants (41%), and judges (39%). FWIW, they remain ahead of bankers (26%), real estate agents (24%), journalists (23%), lawyers (21%), car salespeople (11%) and members of Congress (9%); 6) According to KPMG, Americans now spend a record high 10% of their income on leisure; 7) 81% of Americans recently said humankind is inherently good; 8) Studies again show that marrying relatively young without living together first results in the most durable marriages; 9) According to Barna, 44% of Americans are now Digital Donors – i.e., they prefer digital forms of giving; 10) The Catholic university in Ohio that offers students 5K off of their tuition if they give up their smart phone, reports students have never felt freer than they do without their phone.

WOTW: In an article about risk, Bob Seawright noted that while “we are fascinated by charismatic megafauna, mosquitos kill more people in one day than sharks kill in 100 years.” I’ll offer kudos to any reader who is able to casually drop charismatic megafauna into a conversation today, but WOTW honors are going to Domain Awareness Gap, which was the phrase used by the Commander of NORAD to describe the U.S. military’s failure to detect previous “Chinese Airships.” I suspect most of us suffer greater risk from China than from mosquitos or charismatic megafauna (which, by the way, refers to large animals, such as lions and great white sharks) but I may be wrong.

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Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) “The reason many kids are addicted to technology is because their parents are.” Kevin Henderson; 2) “Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love.” John Stott

Updated Serenity Prayers: In Arnold Kling’s newsletter he offers the following serenity prayer for employees: “Give me the serenity not to whine about problems that are difficult for my organization to fix, the courage to propose constructive solutions for problems that are easy for my organization to fix, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Meanwhile, the managers version reads like this: “Give me the serenity not to get defensive when an employee points out something that we in management are doing wrong, the courage to get rid of an employee who does nothing but whine, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Podcast: Click here to listen to this week’s podcast, in which Dave Moore and I discuss our lists of important books and theologians of the 19^th century. 

Closing Prayer: O gracious God, I am fully aware that I am unworthy. I deserve to be a brother of Satan and not of Christ. But Christ, your dear Son, died and rose for me. I am his brother. He earnestly desires that I should believe in him, without doubt and fear. I need no longer regard myself as unworthy and full of sin. For this I love and thank him from my heart. Praise be to the faithful Savior, for he is so gracious and merciful as are you and the Holy Spirit in eternity. Amen. (Martin Luther 1483-1546)

Happy Friday,

But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

Psalm 81:11f

When people ask if I think God will judge them – or America, the liberals, Putin, etc. – for this or that, they are often asking if God is going to strike them (us) with cancer or send a locust swarm. Scripture – e.g., Psalm 81:11 – suggests that he is more likely to allow us to do what we want, but then not shield us from the consequences of our misdeeds. Sin is stupid behavior that we’d never knowingly choose if our hearts were pure and we knew what God knows. We do well to trust the one who created everything when he says, “You do not want to go that way. It’s not a short cut.” Among the things in life we should legitimately fear is that we might reap what we sow.

A Walk Also Works: After agreeing that we need to spend more time reading the Bible and praying if we hope to navigate the “volume and velocity of modern life,” several readers of last week’s Update noted that they also “play offense” by taking long walks, especially in the woods.

Don’t Get This Backwards: While preaching on John 13 two weeks ago, I was reminded of how much I like Peter. His promise to lay down his life for Jesus, which he followed up by denying Christ three times, makes him very relatable. Indeed, I’ve been guilty of just that kind of zealous overcommitment. Let me suggest that among the things we can learn from Peter is that we are foolish to trust in our love for God rather than trust in his love for us. As John states: “This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” We cannot afford to have our theology backwards.

And: Many think that grace and truth are mutually exclusive, but in John 1:14 we are told that the Word was full of grace AND truth. We need to find ways to elevate both.

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The OODA Loop: Earlier this week I had a chance to interview former Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) at The Forum – a Christ Church quarterly men’s event held at a local sports bar. In advance of the interview, I asked Kirk what I should be sure to ask him about. He said, “Ask me about the most exciting and underrated advance in American military in fifty years.” So I did, and he spoke about the OODA Loop. What is the OODA Loop? It is the time it takes your opponent to observe, orient, decide and act. According to Kirk, who in addition to 10 years in the House and 8 in the Senate, spent 23 years in Naval intelligence – in World War II the U.S.’s OODA Loop was one week. By Vietnam it was one day. It currently stands at 11 minutes, which is about one week shorter than Russia’s. He then challenged me to a game of chess where I can only move a piece once a week and he gets to move every 11 minutes.

Can We Trust the Gospels? At 7 p.m. on Monday, February 13^th, I am interviewing Dr. Peter J. Williams, the Principal of Tyndale House in Cambridge and the author of several books, including Can We Trust the Gospels? The session with Peter is free and open to everyone. If you live in the area feel free to stop by, but please register here first. (Note: a link to the interview with Peter will be available next week.)

Without Comment: 1) According to Gallup, 41% of U.S. adults now identify as Independents, which is higher than either Republicans or Democrats who tie at 28%; 2) Between 2011 and 2021, 50% of Americans read the Bible at least three times a year. In 2022 that percentage dropped to 39%; 3) As of the end of last year, 64% of U.S. consumers were living paycheck to paycheck, up from 61% the year before; 4) 1% of criminals account for 63% of violent crime; 5) According to Brooking’s scholar Richard Reeves, girls are 14% more likely than boys to be “school ready” at age five. Girls now account for two-thirds of students ranked in the top 10% of their H.S. class, 57% of B.A. degrees are awarded to women, and women receive the majority of law degrees. In contrast, men are significantly more likely to “stop out” (pause their studies) or drop out of college, and labor force participation among prime-age men (25–54) has dropped 7% in the past 50 years.

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Word of the Week: Both Tipflation (which is obvious) and manosphere (which refers to the collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity and opposing feminism) were nominated. I also considered captology (which is the study of how computer technology can be used to change people’s opinions, persuade them to take action or foment addictive or compulsive behavior). But I am going with libido dominandi, which was used in a WSJ editorial. It refers to “the vulnerabilities of the human condition, including what St. Augustine called the libido dominandi—the impulse to exert dominance over others.”

You are Not Crazy: In the last five years we have learned just how shaped various news sources are by their different worldviews. Sometimes the contrast is particularly easy to see. Click here to see an example.

On a Related Note: This WSJ article reports on the response of the University of North Carolina’s faculty to the Board’s decision to launch the School of Civic Life and Leadership, which will be dedicated to “encouraging open-minded study in history, literature, philosophy, political science and religion.” As you might guess, the faculty are… uh…, “not happy.” Expect more fights. And understand that in the battle over the direction of education, the fights over college are JV skirmishes compared to the varsity battles – which will come over public grade schools.

Closing Prayer: Give us grace to endeavor a truly Christian spirit to seek to attain that temper of forbearance and patience of which our blessed Savior has set as the highest example; and which, while it prepares us for the spiritual happiness of the life to come, will secure to us the best enjoyment of what this world can give. Incline us, oh God, to think humbly of ourselves, to be severe only in the examination of our own conduct, to consider our fellow creatures with kindness, and to judge of all they say and do with the charity which we would desire from them ourselves. Amen. (Jane Austen 1775 – 1817)

Happy Friday,

But you, Lord…

Psalm 102:12

The first eleven verses of Psalm 102 are too depressing for a dirge. The Psalmist is lonely, depressed, overwhelmed and sleepless. Everything is going wrong and it’s hard to imagine he will ever recover. And then… the clouds lift and he starts taking about his grandchildren. How did this happen? What led to the sudden about-face? In Hebrew, the pivot is captured in two words (in English, three) – “But you, Lord…” When the Psalmist was focusing on himself – which he had been doing during his lament – he was despondent. When he focused on the Lord, his perspective flips. God changes every equation. We do well to remember he makes all the difference: “But you, Lord…” May we lift our eyes. “But you, Lord!”

Names: “Buechner is my name. It is pronounced Beek-ner. If somebody mispronounces it in some foolish way, I have the feeling that what’s foolish is me. If somebody forgets it, I feel that it’s I who am forgotten. There’s something about it that embarrasses me in just the same way that there’s something about me that embarrasses me. I can’t imagine myself with any other name – Held, say, or Merrill, or Hlavacek. If my name were different, I would be different. When I tell you my name, I have given you a hold over me that you didn’t have before. If you call it out, I stop, look, and listen whether I want to or not. In the book of Exodus, God tells Moses that his name is Yahweh, and God hasn’t had a peaceful moment since.” Frederick Buechner

After Further Review: After further review, I realized that my comments last week about Lord Acton were clunky and easily misunderstood. In announcing that Lord Acton Was Wrong, which you can reread here, I was attempting to celebrate Jesus, who has all power and is not corrupted. Alas, that is not how it read. My apologies. And my thanks to the twenty-six of you who are policing my comments so carefully.

Question of the Week: What constitutes progress? Doing things faster? Living longer? Having more stuff? If so, you’d think there would be a lot more happy people around. I suspect our view of progress needs tweaking and we need to spend more time reflecting on how blessed we are.

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Dead Whales: After hearing a professor declare that the mission of the university is to “protect students from ideas they do not like,” and after learning that Stanford has 18,038 administrators and faculty for its 16,937 students, I’m inclined to agree with the pundit who said higher ed is a “dead whale washed up on the beach.” His point was that it’s so massive that a lot of creatures will be able to feed off of it for some time, but not forever. To be clear, there are some excellent schools out there staffed by wise administrators and godly faculty. But I am starting to think they are more rare than I understood. Expect substantial changes in higher ed. They are already underway. They will accelerate once everyone starts to smell the dead whale.

Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) “Jesus wasn’t nice, he really wasn’t. In response to the man who said, ‘I love what you have to say…but I’m just off to bury my father. I’ll catch up with you later,’ he replied, ‘Let the dead bury their dead.’ That’s not very nice. Piercing, powerful, true but not nice.” Bono in this podcast interview with Christianity Today’s Mike Cosper. (It’s worth a listen.); 2) “Gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.” Joni EarecksonTada

Good Job Shannon Sharpe. After countless examples of how not to do it – many delivered by pols – former Denver Bronco and current sports talk show host, Shannon Sharpe, does a pretty good job apologizing. You can watch it here.

WOTW: Honorable mention goes to chronic anxiety and polycrisis – the latter being the term dejour at Davos. I expected to select friend-shoring when I first saw it, but it turns out it’s more about the location of supply chains than it is about friends. That means the honors go to cognitive flexibility. I selected it not just in recognition of the hutzpah and cognitive flexibility of the person who coined it, but because at this moment we need new words for the term lying. The old ones are overused, shopworn and need a break.

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I Don’t Think it’s Just Me: I don’t struggle much with anger, anxiety or depression – all of which are on the rise. But I’m finding it necessary to spend more time in Bible reading and prayer to hold back despair. FWIW, I think I’m less bothered by any particular “bad trend line” than I am overwhelmed by the volume and velocity of culture. In ways previous generations could not imagine, we are being pushed, prodded, pursued, hounded, chased, deceived, manipulated, tempted, lobbied, cajoled, sold and spun nearly every moment we are awake. And the question is less “Who is doing this?” than “Who isn’t?” Marketers, podcasters, political pundits, news anchors and a dozen others are leveraging algorithms and increasingly invasive forms of technology to steer us down whatever path serves their agenda. What to do? We need to work to make sure our inner world is stronger than the outer one. And that means playing offense – i.e., Bible reading and prayer.

Heroes: We do ourselves no favors when we think of heroes as wise and settled. They are more like Frodo, who – though lonely, scared and confused – stated, “I will take the ring, though I do not know the way.” Heroes almost never think of themselves as heroes.

Without Comment: 1) According to World Watch: “The number of religiously motivated killings in Nigeria jumped from 4,650 in ’21 to 5,014 in ’22 – making up 89% of all religiously motivated killings worldwide;” 2) The percentage of U.S. workers who are members of a union is at an all-time low of 10.1%, compared to a high of 20.1% in 1983; 3) The Army fell 25% short of its 2022 recruitment goals, the biggest miss since the draft ended in 1973; 4) 95% of upper-income moms are married; 76% of middle-income moms are married and only 35% of lower-income moms are married; 5) Between 1776 and 2017 the U.S. was at war for 222 of the 239 years; 6) The percentage of married households with children has declined from 37% in 1976 to 21% today; 7) Break dancing will be one of the new Olympic sports; 8) Remote work saves the average American 72 minutes per day, much of which is spent doing extra work; and 9) According to a WAPO survey, “The most meaningful and happiness-inducing activities are religious and spiritual,” followed by “the second-happiest activity – sports, exercise and recreation.”

Closing Prayer: Good God, May we confess your name to the end. May we emerge unsullied and glorious from the traps and dark powers of this world. As you have bound us together in love and peace, and as, together, we have persevered through times of hardship, may we also rejoice together in your heavenly kingdom. Amen. (Cyprian of Carthage 200 – 258)

Happy Friday,

He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.

Psalm 147:8

The more we learn about something a person designed – e.g. a school board or an electric motor – the more understandable they become. The more we learn about something God designed – a cell or a solar system – the more remarkable they become. Indeed, he makes some things look so simple we look right past their elegance. Consider the way he “covers the sky with clouds and supplies the earth with rain.” I’ve asked this before in the Update, but can you imagine what the system would look like – and cost! – if we were charged with moving water from the Pacific Ocean to the wheat fields of Kansas.

Lord Acton was Wrong: While studying John 13, I realized that Lord Acton was wrong. I am referring to John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton- the 19^th century Catholic MP and historian, better known as Lord Acton, and best known for his quip, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” Why do I think he was wrong? Because Jesus had absolute power and it did not corrupt him in the least. He was the greatest man and he used his power to serve others, including me.

MLK, Jr: Pastors know that there are four different sermons that take place every Sunday:  First, the one they write; second, the one they preach; third, the one the people hear and fourth, the one they give to themselves after they pull out of the church parking lot. “Augh, I should have said XYZ!”  That afternoon, I gave a great fourth sermon on John 13 about halfway through the AFC Wildcard game.  In the first three versions of the sermon (you can find here), I referenced MLK, but I missed the obvious quote, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.”  You can listen to King deliver that line here.

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Milk as Metaphor: When I was growing up, milk was simple. There was regular and there was chocolate. Things have grown more complicated. First we added 2%, then skim. Now the milk aisle includes: soy, oat, almond, hemp, hazelnut, cashew – all of which come in a variety of options (light, vanilla, organic, etc.). The newest craze is “raw milk,” as in unpasteurized and unhomogenized. It’s part dairy product, part political statement, part pushback on Modernity and part a round of Russian Roulette with salmonella. FWIW, I’m sympathetic with the pushback on Modernity. I just wish there was more pushback on Postmodernity.

IS2M: It Seems 2 Me: 1) That half the time I pull up next to a muscle car, the guy driving it is at least 70 years old; 2) The word “conservative” is now used in so many different ways that it’s become as worthless as the word “liberal.” 3) It sure feels like it’s getting harder to be biblically faithful and radically loving; 4) No one should be surprised that China’s population is declining.

Quote Worth Pondering: I disagree with Ta-Nehisi Coates on a number of fronts, but I think it’s worth pondering this quote from his response to Gene Marks’s Forbes article, “If I Were a Poor Black Kid.” “The basic extension of empathy is one of the great barriers in understanding race in this country. I do not mean a soft, flattering, hand holding empathy, I mean a muscular empathy, rooted in curiosity. If you really want to understand slaves, slave masters, poor black kids, poor white kids, rich people of colors, whoever, it is essential that you first come to grips with the disturbing facts of your own mediocrity. The first rule is this—you are not extraordinary. It’s all fine and good to declare that you would have freed your slaves. But it’s much more interesting to assume that you wouldn’t have and then ask ‘Why?’ This is not an impossible task, but often we find that we have something invested in not asking ‘Why?’ The fact that we, and I mean all of us, black and white, are, in our bones, no better than slave masters is chilling. The upshot of all my black nationalist study was terrifying. Give us the guns and boats and we would do the same thing. There’s nothing particularly noble about black skin, and to our present business it is equally chilling to understand that the obstacles facing poor black kids can’t be surmounted by an advice column.”

Without Comment: 1) According to the Library of Congress, Amazing Grace – which is celebrating its 250^th birthday – has been recorded by over 3,000 different musicians; 2) In the 1980s, AT&T asked McKinsey to estimate the market for cell phones in the year 2000. McK estimated 900,000, which was 99,100,000 shy of the eventual mark; 3) The digital economy is approaching 3 trillion annually; 4) More than 30% of U.S. adults believe that a climate catastrophe will lead to the extinction of the human race; 5) In a 1979 Gallup poll, 79% of the U.S. had “a great deal” or “quite a lot of” trust in newspapers. Today only 16% feel the same way; 6) According to this report, less than 2% of Israelis are Christian, and of those who are, 76% are Arabs; and 7) According to World Watch, while North Korea remains the most dangerous place to be a Christian, violence against Christ-followers is spiking dramatically in Sub-Sahara Africa.

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Encouraging News: Are you looking for something to be thankful for besides the fact that you’re not a member of the Royal Family or you haven’t mishandled highly classified documents? In this piece, David Brooks argues that a lot of things are going well. I’m not as sanguine as Brooks, but I think reading articles like this is a healthy corrective to what I otherwise hear.

WOTW:  I’m giving success theater (which I ran across in Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann’s book Lights Out: Pride, Delusion and The Fall of General Electric) honorable mention. It is a needed word. But I am awarding the prize to Tu quoque, which I heard on a podcast discussing our inability to rightly handle classified material. Tu quoque (pronounced too-kwo-kweh is Latin for “and you?” It is used as a rhetorical device when you want to point out that an accuser is guilty of the thing they were accusing others of. Alas, it is also a helpful and needed word.

Closing Prayer: We pray you, Lord, purify our hearts that we may be worthy to become your dwelling-place. Let us never fail to find room for you, but come and abide in us, that we also may abide in you, for at this time you were born into the world for us, and live and reign, King of kings and Lord of lords, now and forever. Amen. (William Temple 1881-1944)

Happy Friday,

“Woe is me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

The prophet Isaiah

If we think of the Hebrew prophets as those who climbed a mountain to look ahead, John the Baptist climbed the highest and saw the most. But Isaiah was not far behind. And what did Isaiah see? In chapter six of his book he reports a purifying vision of a God so gloriously good and powerfully majestic that Isaiah collapsed in his sight. We would do well to rehearse this vision. A right view of God – and ourselves – changes everything.

How are you?: When I ask people how they’re doing, many say, “I’m very busy.” On the one hand, I get it. I’ve said the same ad nauseum. And yet…given that we work barely half as many hours (33 per week) as people did in the 19th century (60 per week), and given all the labor-saving devices we own, it’s worth wondering why we feel this way. Sociologists tell us the more options we have the more we feel the crush of time. And we have options! But we feel busy because our hearts are rest-less and our minds are cluttered. “I’m busy” is a statement about our soul.

Haidt Strikes Again: Last week’s WSJ ran this brilliant – and chilling – piece by NYU-Stern professor and best-selling author, Jonathan Haidt. Consider it a must read. BTW, in response to a friend’s invitation to speak at the college he leads, Haidt returned the following email: “Jonathan Haidt is unavailable indefinitely. At the insistence of lawyers for Penguin Press, Haidt has entered a Writers Protection Program. He has encased himself in an electronic bubble and cannot emerge until he hands in a book manuscript for Kids In Space: Why Teen Mental Health is Collapsing. Email can enter the bubble and he will read your message, but he is only permitted to send 3 emails out of the bubble each day, and any that express a willingness to read any attachment or talk to anyone will automatically be deleted by The Program (unless you are a student at NYU-Stern or a first-degree relative).”

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She Will Prevail: G.K. Chesterton famously noted, “that on five separate occasions in history, the Church went to the dogs. And on each occasion, it was the dogs that died.” Were he writing today, GKC might list this moment as a sixth time that the Bride of Christ looked seriously ill. But he would only do so to set up the punchline, “She will prevail.” And She will. I am certain of such not only because She is growing rapidly outside the West. I am certain of such because Jesus said as much.

Feedback: Last week’s email prompted comments from three groups: 1) Those who wanted to get a word banned – e.g., one hopes to end the use of right? at the end of a declarative sentence. Another wants to banish just from public prayer: “God, we just pray that you would just meet…” (That is annoying, right?); 2) Members of TSWAC (the Southwest Airlines cult) who took issue with my selection of flightmare for last week’s WOTW and wrote to tell me how wonderful SW’s boarding process is. (They are annoying, right?); 3) Those sending me various articles celebrating the prayer for Damar Hamlin.

Speaking of Feedback: In last week’s sermon on John 12:20f – which you can access here – I opened with a 90 second clip from Les Mis in which the Catholic Bishop (played by Colm Wilkinson, the original John Valjean in the musical) extends grace to Valjean. Based on the flood of comments I received, I can tell you there are a lot of Les Mis fans out there. (BTW, Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of Fantine is also worth watching. I suspect her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream is why she won on Oscar for her performance in the 2012 version of the movie.)

It Seems to Me (IS2M): 1) IS2M that ever since Musk named his son X Æ A-12 the number of unpronounceable letter/number salads has been increasing – e.g., ChatGPT, the AI program and XBB.1.5 (the new strain of COVID). These are annoying, right? (OK, I’ll stop.) 2) IS2M that those who work from home via Zoom should not be allowed to dis the tech nerds who make their commute-free life possible. Only those of us who use technology nonstop at work can claim to be morally superior to those who created it.

WOTW: Since meteorologists got their own TV channel, they have been adding drama and new words to their reporting. Three were nominated in previous weeks: Bomb cyclone, storm parade and atmospheric river. But I am selecting charity gap as this week’s winner. It describes the difference between the amount of money donated by secular people compared with religious ones. I found the term used in Mary Eberstadt’s witty Screwtape Letters-like book – The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death and Atheism. In it, A.F. Christian (a former Christian) writes to the New Atheists (e.g., Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, etc.) alerting them to weaknesses in their arguments and asking questions. One of the things she notes the atheists need to account for is the charity gap that exists between the amount of money religious people give to charity versus the amount given by secular people.

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Without Comment: 1) According to the American College Health Association (see their graph in the Haight link referred to above), since 2010 the following changes occurred in the mental health of U.S. undergrads: anxiety increased 134%, depression increased 106%, ADHD increased 72%, bipolar disorder increased 57%, anorexia increased 100%, schizophrenia increased 67%, and substance abuse increased 33%; 2) The average age of a farmer in the U.S. is currently 57; 3) According to a report by the nonprofit child advocacy group Common Sense Media, 73% of U.S. teenagers seventeen years of age or younger have viewed online pornography, as have 54% of those age thirteen or younger.

Lakelight: The Lakelight Institute – which quietly launched in 2022 with a goal of providing timeless wisdom for modern life – has several initiatives up and running. You can access the website here, find an article I wrote about the forces and factors shaping our “when,” here, or subscribe to the monthly newsletter here.

Closing Prayer: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love.For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (St. Francis of Assisi – 1181-1226)

Happy Friday,

Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.

Psalm 119:54

When it comes to daily Bible reading, our goal should be less about information or inspiration than it is about transformation. We do not need quick pick-me-ups nearly as much as we need to change the background music animating our lives. We need to swap out the mix of financial anxiety, general selfishness, yesterday’s Tweets and last week’s college football scores with one that rehearses the love of God, the beauty of grace and the hope of the Gospel. May the decrees of God’s Word become the theme song of your life in 2023.

Thanks to ’22: The downsides of the tri-demic have been much discussed, the upsides not so much. I think we’d do well to note that the spiritual practices we had in place going into it were not enough to keep fear, greed and tribalism at bay.

Five Thousand Per Year: Much has been written about the response of players and commentators to Damar Hamlin’s collapse during MNF’s Bills/Bengals game. Like others, I think the default to prayer is worth observing and perhaps leveraging. I also want to note something I’ve not seen much made of yet – 5K people die from work-related injuries every year, most in very low wage jobs.

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The Comedian > The Academic: I’ve appreciated the insights offered by MIT’s Sherry Turkle on the downsides of smart phones, and I had intended to cite the following statement of hers in today’s update: “Our phones are not accessories, but psychologically potent devices that change not just what we do but who we are.” However, even though I often take issue with Bill Maher, I thought his related comments carry more punch. “The tycoons of social media have to stop pretending that they’re friendly nerd gods building a better world, and admit they’re just tobacco farmers in t-shirts, selling an addictive product to children. Philip Morris just wanted your lungs. The App Store wants your soul.”

Without Comment: 1) Although Americans divide along political lines over how U.S. History should be taught, a study by More in Common suggests the differences are smaller than most people think; 2) 20% of U.S. marriages are now interracial; 3) One in three Americans eats fast food every day; 4) 92 countries have populations that are collapsing; 5) 61% of the students at Wellesley and 70% of those at Smith (both women’s colleges) identify as LGBTQ; 6) The word that the  pundits at Lake Superior State University most want banned in 2023 is G.O.A.T. – as in Greatest Of All Time, followed by inflection point, quiet quitting and irregardless; 7) Though seldom reported, between 1990 and 2020, 1.1 billion people were lifted out of extreme poverty.

New Year. New You?: Last week was ground zero for setting resolutions. Perhaps you made one. And perhaps you are still keeping it! But with history as our guide, we both know it’s unlikely to see February. Why do we consistently fail to keep our good intentions? Among other reasons, our willpower is quite weak. It’s not a muscle that grows stronger with use. It’s a $20 bill that, if spent resisting chocolate chip cookies is not available for getting up early to read the Bible. “But wait,” you say. “I know people who resist cookies and get up early to read the Bible. How do they do it?” The answer is: Habits. They used their limited will to set up lasting habits. And habits, once established, require no will to maintain.

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Color Me Surprised: I did not skim many of the year-end lists, but I did look at a few. 1) I was surprised by the annual list of the “highest-paid dead celebrities.” My guesses for ’22 included perennial favorites – Elvis, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, Dr. Seuss and Charles Schulz. It turns out, I missed the top two: JRR Tolkien ($500M) and Kobe Bryant ($400M). Likewise, if asked to name teens’ favorite fast food franchise, I would have guessed some Southern CA outfit I’d never heard of. It turns out that Chick-fil-A, the closed-on-Sunday chain, won for the second year, besting Starbucks, Chipotle, McDonald’s and Olive Garden.

Word of the Week: There were several nominations, but I am giving the honors to flightmare, in recognition of Southwest’s “terrible, horrible, no good,” very bad week.

Clarification: Last week I mentioned I’d be back today (DV). Several of you asked, “What’s DV?” Silly me. It used to mean Deo volente – i.e., “God willing.” But when I googled it last week, I found Deo volente now has a lot of competition – e.g., digital video, dependent variable, Dick Vitale, Death Valley and the Dengue Virus.

Closing Prayer: I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, place me with whom You will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low for You. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine, and I am Yours. May it be so. And may the covenant which I have just made here on earth be confirmed in heaven. Amen. (This prayer is the New Year’s Covenant that John Wesley established for the Methodist Church.)

Happy Friday,

The call to “Bless the Lord” in Psalm 103 has inspired a lot of music. I’m glad, because we need its message, at least I know I do. In a moment when culture enshrines feelings over truth – or declares feelings as the only source of meaningful truth – the Psalmist models directing his feelings to align with Scripture. Dear Lord, help us rightly align our feelings and fears with your Word.

Once Again: In the late 90s – when our children were little and life was a blur – I envied the quiet life I imagined had been enjoyed by C.S. Lewis and was being enjoyed by Philip Yancey, two writers I admire. Having recently finished Yancey’s autobiography, Where the Light Fell, I see how foolish and misdirected my envy was. Lewis – who was profoundly damaged by an uncaring father, and scarred by World War I – spent his thirties caring for the ungrateful mother of a friend (who had died in the war) and his own alcoholic brother. Yancey – who was profoundly damaged by his mean and unstable mother, and further scarred and misled by the harsh, angry and legalistic church they attended – spent his thirties and forties recovering his faith and caring for his mentally ill brother. Our view of other people’s lives is done from a distance. When we actually see other people’s challenges we’re often inclined to stick with our own.

Mary’s Example: BTW, if you insist on focusing on someone else’s life, this is the time of year to focus on Mary. Protestants, nervous about anything Roman Catholic, do themselves a grave disservice by failing to study her character, obedience or brilliant song (the Magnificat). Attached is a sermon I preached on Mary back in 2013.

You’ve Got to Love a Good Flash Mob: I hope one day to be surprised by a real flash mob. Until then, I will enjoy them via YouTube. This taping of the Hallelujah Chorus being performed in the food court of a mall has over 30 million downloads.

The Front Lines of the Cultural War: I’ve been thinking that the volume and velocity of cultural change has been more disruptive than many of the changes themselves. But occasionally it is the content of the change that takes my breath away. Twice in the last six months I’ve had people tell me that the State – not parents – has ultimate ownership of children. I did not see this coming. I now expect school board meetings – and school board elections – to be even more contentious.

Without Comment: 1) The most searched for word in 2022 was Wordle; 2) The five U.S. states that grew the most last year were: Utah (18.4%), Idaho (17.3%), Texas (15.9%), North Dakota (15.8%) and Nevada (15%). The five that grew the least were: West Virginia (-3.2%), Mississippi (-.2%); Illinois (-.1%); Conneticut (.9%) and Michigan (2.0%); 3) If cybercrime was a country (and “revenue” equated to GDP), cybercrime would rank 28^th out of 190 countries, just behind Austria, but ahead of Norway, UAE, Nigeria, Israel, South Africa and Ireland; 4) Boeing recently rolled out the 1,574^th (and final) 747; 5) Fentanyl is now the DEA’s most significant challenge; 6) Longitudinal studies confirm that parents and childhood peers retain greater influence over college students than “secular professors.” These studies also suggest that few students “lose their faith in college.” They lose it in high school but are not free to walk away until college; 7) During the past week, scientists achieved fusion ignition for the first time, renewing dreams of cheap, clean and nearly limitless energy; 8) 34% of Americans will purchase a gift for their dog this year, compared to only 22% who will do so for their cat, and 19% who will do so for their in-laws. Half of the gifts given to dogs will be wrapped.

Word of the Week: Honorable mention goes to returnships (the word coined by HR departments to describe programs created to lure employees back into the office), pandemic pods (a term of derision being used by the NEA to describe new alternatives to public education), interruption technologies and the rhetoric of emergency. Actual WOTW honors go to ChatGPT, which – though it looks as if it’s the name of Elon Musk’s latest child – refers to a new AI program that can write just about anything. (Note: ChatGPT was not consulted in the production of this week’s Update.)

The Friday Update WOTY: Influencer. Though I did not see it on any of the major lists, I chose influencer as my Word of the Year, doing so because: 1) According to various surveys, it is what most Americans under the age of 14 want to be when they grow up; and 2) Because the existence of such a person says much about how bizarre and unhealthy things are becoming. BTW, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask who is influencing you.

He’s Back: Not to be outdone by Brad’s Reindeer Tribe – which I mentioned in last week’s Update – Syler Thomas (the Student Ministries pastor at Christ Church for 20+ years) is attempting to repeat his first-place finish in the ESPN Radio 1000 Chicago Holiday Song Parody Contest. Last year Syler’s submission – “Justin Did you Know?” – won first place. This year’s entry – Pack Playoff Chokes are My Favorite Things – has advanced to the finals. Weird Al is worried.

Sow a Thought. I receive more requests for John Stott’s morning prayer than I receive for anything else. Here is the link to the Christianity Today article containing the Stott prayer. In second place is the pithy roadmap that chronicles the impact of our thinking which I refer to as: Sow a Thought: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow that action, reap a habit. Sow that habit, reap a lifestyle. Sow that lifestyle, reap a character. Sow that character, reap a destiny. If you want to control your destiny, control your character. If you want to control your character, control your lifestyle. If you want to control your lifestyle, control your habits. If you want to control your habits, control your actions. And if you want to control your actions, control your thoughts.

Next Week: Speaking of Christianity Today (CT), thanks to Harold Smith, the President of CT between 2007 and 2018, for agreeing to write next week’s Update. If you missed the podcast in which I interviewed Harold and his wife, Judy, on the loss of their adult
son to suicide, it can be found here. It was one of the most forwarded podcasts I recorded in 2022.

Closing Prayer: O Lord, I most humbly acknowledge and confess that I have understood sin, by understanding your laws and judgments; but have gone against your known and revealed will. You have set up many candlesticks and kindled many lamps in me; but I have either blown them out or carried them to guide me in forbidden ways…. Yet, O God, have mercy upon me, for your own sake have mercy upon me. Let not sin and me be able to exceed you, nor to defraud you, nor to frustrate your purposes. But let me, in spite of me, be of so much use to your glory, that by your mercy to my sin, other sinners may see how much sin you can pardon. Amen. (John Donne – 1572-1631)

Happy Friday,

Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me?

Jesus, John 14

When the disciples asked Jesus to show them the Father, he essentially said, “Are you kidding me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” As we move through Advent, let’s not simply marvel that God showed up, let’s note that he looked like Jesus. As D.A. Carson wrote: “Do you want to know what the character of God is like? Study Jesus. Do you want to know what the holiness of God is like? Study Jesus. Do you want to know what the wrath of God is like? Study Jesus. Do you want to know what the forgiveness of God is like? Study Jesus. Do you want to know what the glory of God is like? Study Jesus all the way to that wretched cross. Study Jesus.”

Advent Questions: Amidst the controversies that roil December – does Die Hard qualify as a Christmas movie? Is Jim Carey’s Grinch better than the cartoon original? Should we say “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings?” – I’d like to suggest we focus on more important matters, such as the drama surrounding the virgin birth. In this 2006 sermon I do my best to explain the importance and comfort of this doctrine.

Duh: I could start a regular entry under the heading “Duh,” using it to chronicle the obvious things I’ve missed in the past. (In most instances, Sheri tried to explain said item to me years ago.) This week’s Duh is that the Gospel is on display in Cinderella. I am referencing the part where a poor, broken, oppressed and helpless young woman is pursued and rescued by a powerful prince. (Note: Apparently every culture has a Cinderella story. Pretty Woman is one of the more prominent 20^th century renditions.)

A Meme Worth Sharing: I have resisted passing along memes, but for this one I will make an exception.

Without Comment: 1) The number of Americans between the ages of 24 and 54 who are now living alone is approaching 40%; 2) The JESUS film – which has been viewed over 8 billion times – has now been translated into 2,014 languages; 3) Joe Rogan had the most popular podcast for the third year in a row; 4) The Department of Defense reports that China – which they identify as “the most consequential challenge to America’s national security” – has 400 operational nuclear warheads and is on track to have 1,500 by 2035; 5) The three most “unfaithful” cities in America – i.e., the three cities where affairs are most common – are Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston; 6) Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults has reached a new low; 7) Between 2000 and 2019, the number of public school students climbed by 7.6%; teachers by 8.7% and district administrators by 87.6%; 8) The potency of street cannabis has jumped from 4 to 15 percent since the 1990s; 9) According to the National Energy Association, roughly 20 million households in the U.S. — one out of six homes — are behind on their utility bills.

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Beauty: Looking for a question to steer a Christmas dinner party conversation in a more thoughtful direction? How about asking, “When was the last time you were stunned by beauty?” Those of us who are “experience rich but wonder poor” need to be reminded to be on the look out for beauty. (Note: The phrase “experience rich but wonder poor” is from Dr. Taylor Worley, the Wheaton professor leading the Lakelight Institute class on the Arts and Spiritual Formation.)

Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) This quote – which is from Angela Merkel’s father who was a Lutheran pastor – is being passed along by Bono, whose book (and book tour) are getting rave reviews. “Never appear to be more than you are and always be more than you appear.” 2) Time doesn’t take any time off. Augustine

Reindeer Tribe: Brad Coleman – the Christ Church Highland Park campus pastor – has reconnected with a group of Southern Cal friends for their annual tradition of writing and recording original Christmas music. You can watch this video of Reindeer Tribe recording from a previous year, or go here to access all their music. (FYI: Last year’s theme was Motown. This year will feature classic Nashville from the 60s.)

Coming in 2023: Though I am not a prophet (nor the son of one) – nor can I hope to be as accurate in my predictions about the future as Matt Groening has been in The Simpsons – I’m quite sure ‘23 will bring stories about: 1) Cyber security threats; 2) Ethical and legal issues concerning drones; 3) A rise in the use of facial recognition software, including in churches (though not Christ Church); 4) 6G in general (and 6G tensions with China in particular); 5) Polyamory; 6) The dramatic rise of home schooling; 7) Contentious discussions about both free speech and freedom of religion; 8) Contentious school board elections; 9) The continued loss of trust in American institutions; and 10) The ongoing debate about what we should take away from the COVID-pandemic-vaccine-Fauci events of the last 24 months.

Coach Prime: After quickly and dramatically turning around Jackson State’s football program, Deion Sanders – AKA “Neon Deion,” “Prime Time” and now “Coach Prime” – has accepted the head coaching job for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. Sanders – who excelled as both a defensive back and punt returner in the NFL, while also playing outfield for the Atlanta Braves – has been a media celebrity since setting the record for the 40 in the NFL Combine. (Legend has it that he posted the fastest time running forward and then got the third fastest time while running it backwards.) In this video you can listen to the fifteen minute speech he gave upon meeting the Colorado players for the first time. It’s full of comments that make me wince, but which also make me want to suit up. (And FWIW, I still have four years of eligibility left.)

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Have You Had a Second Conversion?: I’m not Pentecostal, but I regularly observe secondary conversions. I’m talking about the shift that happens when people realize that God does not exist for their benefit, but that they exist for his. Have you had that conversion?

Did Your Favorite Show Make the List? I was drawn in by this article which ranked the 50 best TV theme songs. My guesses all made the list – e.g., Cheers at 13; Friends at 8, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood at 3 and Gilligan’s Island tied for 2nd.

Closing Prayer: Lord, I bring the poverty of my soul to be transformed by your beauty; the wildness of my passions to be tamed by your love; the stubbornness of my will to be conformed by your commandments; and the yearnings of my heart to be renewed by your grace; both now and forever. Amen. Catherine of Genoa – 1447-1510

Happy Friday,

Do not allow this phrase to become shopworn. Its audacity and revolutionary thrust should shock and embolden us every time we pray it. It should bring hope. This is a prayer God is going to answer.

Overheard: I spent several days this week in Portland at a Christian leadership conference. While I was there, I heard a lot about stillness, beauty, wonder, imagination and reflection. I am pretty sure I did not hear any of these words at the conferences I attended between 1985 and 2010. (As an aside, when I asked a 30-year resident of Portland to describe his city, he said: Failed. He went on to say it was a failed city because it’s corrupt, ineffective and leaderless. Ouch. Glad I live in Chicago.)

We Need: Among the other things I wrote down to think about are these: 1) We need to temper our expectations about spiritual growth, because idealism is a recipe for burnout and then cynicism. Personal change happens at about 2 millimeters per day – which is all the faster neural networks can grow; 2) We need to replace the algorithm of division with an algorithm of beauty; 3) We need to pay attention to our anger in order to figure out what it is teaching us; 4) We need to ask what we are going to hold on to from the pandemic; and 5) We need to understand that silence is not the absence of sound but “the fullness of quiet and a chance for the blooming of attention.”

WOTW: I’m dismissing the Thanksgiving-themed nonsense nominations – e.g., tofurkey, turducken, etc. I’m giving honorable mention to the algorithms of division, false binaries andbeloved community. And I am selecting sports washing as the winner. Sports Washing is the term that describes what China did with the Winter Olympics and what Qatar is attempting do via the World Cup. I am glad my efforts to buy respectability do not require the billions Qatar spent. I also hope they are not as obvious.

Words of the Year: Oxford English Dictionary selected metaverse and Merriam-Webster chose gaslighting. I’ve received nominations for: tribalism, Omicron, incel and LGBTQIA. BTW, at the Portland event I heard that those under the age of 25 are starting to leave social media, and that they think the metaverse is a joke. I suspect that’s an overstatement, but I do expect the next generation of parents – i.e., the very ones who were lobbying for a smart phone when they turned 12 – will shield their own children from much of the tech we now take for granted. They know first-hand how smart phones changed their childhood.

Verse of the Year: The YouVersion Bible app announced that the most cited and downloaded verse in 2022 was Isaiah 41:10. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” It’s worth reflecting on what this says about what is going on in people’s hearts.

The Chosen: Sheri and I went to the theater to see the first two episodes of season three of Dallas Jenkin’s crowdsourced series on the life of Christ. I suspect The Chosen benefits from the low expectations many have for Christian cinema – and given this is season three of seven, it’s too early to have a settled opinion about this effort – but having said all that, we remain fans.

Clean Up: Thanks to the record number of you who wrote to tell me last Friday was Black Friday not Boxing Day. As with previous Friday Update mistakes, I took this very seriously, yelled about excellence for a while, fired a few people and put the rest of the staff on half rations. BTW, I suspect I’m not the only one having trouble keeping track of all the new secular holidays – e.g., Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, Prime Day, etc. I keep waiting for a memo from HR to make this clear. I also keep waiting to hear that they are all becoming federal holidays.

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You’re Going to Have to Serve Somebody: Here is an oldie from Bob Dylan’s classic album Slow Train Coming. People are of two minds about Dylan. (I am a fan.) Those who learn to ignore the voice and focus on the lyrics will discover that they are quite profound. May God use this song to smuggle some deep theological truths into your heart today.

World Cup > Advent Services: When I am asked to name the largest church in Chicago, I always say, “The largest worship services are held at Soldier Field.” Given that reality, I was not surprised to learn that the Church of England is encouraging local parishes to reschedule advent services on December 18^th so as “not to conflict with the World Cup Final.”

Closing Prayer: I now know what must be done. Only now am I beginning to be a disciple. May nothing of powers visible or invisible prevent me, that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross and grapplings with wild beasts, the rending of my bones and body, come all the torments of the wicked one upon me. Only let it be mine to attain to Jesus Christ. Amen. (Ignatius of Antioch – 35-107)