Happy Friday,

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” 

Luke 1:31-38

It’s common to think our value is enhanced by money, power, education, eloquence, or connections. Mary had none of these, and yet she was highly favored by God. The world exalts powerful Caesars and self-important Herods. God delights in courageous shepherds and humble lambs.  

Being Thankful is a Skill: Hopefully, you gained something this week besides a few pounds. Alongside much turkey came many articles noting that God commands gratitude, listing our blessings improves our outlook, and happiness does not lead to thankfulness, but thankfulness leads to happiness and more. 

Overheard: 1) If someone has to declare a setting “a safe space,” you can be sure it’s not. 2) The older I get, the earlier it gets late. 3) The evangelical church has two types of critics—those who fault her for not keeping her theology and those who fault her for doing so. 4) An ever-expanding definition of “neighbor” accompanies spiritual growth. 5) The future will present the Western church with stronger headwinds and greater opportunities—and we’re not ready for either; and 6) The digital disruption of publishing has found its level at about 30%—i.e., about 30% of book sales are digital. The new question is, “How will AI upset the trade?”  

Without Comment: 1) The Church is growing 13x faster in the Global South than it is in the West. 2) Per the US debt clock, federal debt is >$36T, which is about $273K per taxpayer. 3) According to The Day America Told the Truth, 25% of people would abandon their family for $10M. Likewise, 25% would abandon their church, 23% would become prostitutes for a week, 16% would give up their citizenship, 16% would leave their spouses, 7% would kill a stranger, and 3% would put their children up for adoption. 4) Per this Variety article, The Chosen has surpassed 200M viewers. 5) Per this Cornell University report, 1 in 4 Americans is estranged from a family member. 6) Per this WSJ article, only 4% of the 1,500 global climate resolutions have produced a reduction in emissions; and 7) Per this WAPO study, Americans list “place of worship” as their “happiest place on earth” and “workplace” next to last.

WOTW: Honorable mention goes to Glicked (Hollywood’s efforts to repeat the magic of the mash-up Barbenheimer with a Gladiator/Wicked combo). Full honors go to both corporate media industrial complex and political information complex, which stand alongside legacy press, establishment media, mainstream media, prestige media, fake news, lame-stream media, and presstitute (a merger of press and prostitute). I am tapping them in light of the shellacking the media took in this last election cycle. People are listening to and trusting it less and less. (And this is a very troublesome development.)

WOTY: For the last 50 years, Time has announced a Person of the Year, and the Oxford English Dictionary has proclaimed a WOTY. The first gets more press, but the second is more telling. Past winners of various publishers include: bling (‘00), Axis of Evil (‘02), bail out (‘08), tweet (‘09), app (‘10), hashtag (‘12), selfie (‘13), vape (‘14), post-truth (‘16), toxic (‘18), the nonbinary pronoun they (‘19), lockdown (‘20), vax (‘21), influencer (‘22), and social acceleration (‘23). The Cambridge Dictionary has already announced manifest as their 2024 WOTY. It refers to methods such as visualization and affirmation (repeating positive phrases) in the belief that doing so will make it more likely that they will happen. 

Christmas Patience: Just as ER docs know hot summer nights drive up ER traffic, pastors know that Decembers—i.e., family gatherings (or the lack thereof), year-end deadlines, financial strain, and spiked eggnog—are full of pastoral care. Please help. Be kind and patient to others. Absorb pain. Remember Anne Lamott’s insight: “The game of life is hard, and a lot of us are playing hurt.” 

Looking for a Christmas Gift for Your Spouse? Bezos has suggestions, but if you want something more meaningful, Jimmy Carter once gift-wrapped a note to Rosalyn that promised to never complain about her being late again. (If you order now, it will arrive by next Wed.) 

Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) “There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen.” George H.W. Bush; 2) “Those that travel the high road of humility in Washington are not bothered by heavy traffic.” Former Senator Alan Simpson; and 3) “The world has in fact never seen, except once, the kind of king we mean when we speak of Christ the king. Instead of a throne, our king reigns from a cross and rules on his knees. His crown is thorns. His orb and scepter, a basin and towel. His law is love.” James Koester

T-Day Pardon: Much is made of US Presidents’ ceremonial pardon of two turkeys this time every year. Let me suggest we focus instead on the actual pardon extended to us through the crucifixion of the Son of God.

Resources: If you are not signed up for the five-minute daily video devotions we put out, you can sign up here. Advent devotions start on Monday. 

Closing Prayer: Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upward heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274)

Happy Friday,

And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Paul, Romans 8

I suspect we overlook one of the more profound comforts of this passage—Paul’s use of the completed tense of glorification. As Luther noted, we are presently simul justus et peccator— i.e., though we’ve been declared just, we remain sinners. But if that’s true, why does Paul suggest our glorification is a done deal? The answer: because it is certain. He who began a good work in us will complete it! Our gracious Lord finishes what he starts. Your glorification awaits.

Overheard: 1) The Advent stories of Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph suggest our Kingdom impact is shaped more by our availability than our ability; 2) Emerson was wrong. If you teach a man to fish, he’s going to buy a truck and a boat and be gone all weekend; 3) America was never a Christian nation in the way some imagine, but it was a nation of Christians—and it was shaped by a Christian worldview—in ways that are no longer true; 4) In most churches in the West, the most important item in the building is the clock; and 5) Manna is always just enough for the day. 

LBRIA: This week’s Long But Read it Anyway is Theo of Golden, a 400-page self-published novel that is light, encouraging, thoughtful, occasionally beautiful, and worth your time. 

Managing T-Day: The blogosphere is full of advice should you find yourself sitting next to your crazy Uncle Buck, your left-of-left sister-in-law, or both: set boundaries, use humor, acknowledge without agreeing, excuse yourself, redirect (Who wants pie?). To these, I would add not only pray, but also seek to understand and protect the vulnerable. I would encourage you to be secure enough in Christ to absorb some of the anger in the room. Jesus has loved me when I am unlovable. And because of his grace, I do not need to win every argument.

Quote Worth Requoting: 1) “Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers.” Magic Johnson; 2) “The primary declaration of Christianity is not ‘This I do!’ but ‘This he did;’” and 3) “For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue. For [mankind today], the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men.” C.S. Lewis 

Significance: It’s being claimed that the most consequential breakthroughs in the 20^th cent. were: the interstate, the telephone, and air conditioning. Perhaps. I’m more settled on Jesus being the most consequential person across all the centuries. The revolution he started remains the most disruptive, the most enduring, and the most influential. It’s impossible to imagine today without his impact.

Without Comment: 1) Per this report, half of Gen Z suffers from “eco-anxiety;” 2) Per this report, 2x as many military vets end their lives as civilians do; 3) Per this report, red states are not only growing because of blue state transfers, they are also growing because of higher fertility rates (click here for color color-coded map); and 4) Per this report, the recent election saw the fewest references to religion in American history.

WOTW: Nominations include argle-bargle (meaningless talk), salad bowl (cited to suggest America is no longer a “melting pot” in which cultural identities are merged into a new unity. In a salad bowl, tomatoes remain tomatoes and lettuce remains lettuce). Honorable mention goes to 4B (the South Korea-inspired movement encouraging women to fight discrimination by bi-hon (saying no to marriage), bi-yeonae (saying no to dating), bi-chulsan (saying no to having babies), and bi-sex (saying no to sex)). Full honors go to moral injury, which is the social, psychological, and spiritual harm that arises from a betrayal of one’s core values, such as justice, fairness, and loyalty. Note: I am now receiving nominees for Word of The Year. Either NT Wright, Taylor Swift, or Patrick Mahomes will record a personal greeting on the answering machine of the winner. 

Corrections: After rightly attributing last week’s closing prayer to Thomas Wilson, I listed his life span as 1663-1775 (i.e., I claimed he lived to be 112). FWIW, those dates can be found online, but as Abraham Lincoln said, “You can’t trust everything you find on the Internet.” Wilson died in 1755 at the age of 92. As always, I am blaming my proofreaders. 

Resources: Click here for last week’s sermon on Ephesians 6:10-18 on spiritual warfare. Click here to read an article I wrote for The Gospel Coalition (it’s a summary of On the News, the book you can get for free here). 

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself. Amen (Augustine of Hippo, 354-430)

Happy Friday,

 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

The Apostle Peter

Christ’s teaching and example instruct us to climb down, not up. We are to serve, not be served, take the worst seat at the banquet, and consider others more important than ourselves. Fighting for our honor is a path to self-destruction, not to Christlikeness. The way up is down. 

Without Comment: 1) This Harvard study suggests the best indicator of whether a child will escape poverty is the percentage of married parents living in their neighborhood. 2) This Newsweek piece shows that FOX News had 10M election night viewers, which was 2X that of ABC and NBC, and 3X that of CBS. (For context, Joe Rogan’s interview with Donald Trump had nearly 40M viewers.) 3) This one-minute video shows the changing ways people meet their future spouse, and 4) This piece notes that 60% of the unchurched believe that churches are good for a community and relevant. However, they do not believe they are trustworthy.

Paying Attention: I recently read that we’ve only paid attention to paying attention for the last 100 years. Not true. Psalm 1 (written 3,000 years ago) is a meditation on meditating—i.e., it is counsel on paying attention to what we pay attention to. And 2 Cor. 10 admonishes us to hold every thought captive to Christ. You’d think those writing about paying attention would pay attention to what others have written about paying attention. 

Sow a Thought: While I’m here, let me repeat Ralph Waldo Emerson’s related counsel: “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.”

Don’t Shoot the Messenger: At the risk of making you mad, here is yet another study showing God’s wisdom regarding sex. If you look past the piece’s incendiary claims—e.g., Rs have sex more than Ds because they’re more likely to be married, and Ds and Indies cheat on their spouses at higher rates than Rs do—is the claim that long-term, child-centered, heterosexual marriages based on sacrifice and commitment is what works best for everyone, especially women and children. We really do not like God’s boundaries on sex, but he doesn’t state them because he’s a prude; he states them because he knows that sex is fragile and because its potential for great good creates a potential for great harm. 

Again: Here’s another study noting how washed-out the term “evangelical” has become. Many who identify as evangelical for political polling report attending church once a year OR LESS. Even CEOs (those who attend church on Christmas and Easter Only) attend twice a year.  

Overheard: 1) Despair is a luxury and a sin. 2) The church needs to stop trying to be a subculture and embrace being a counterculture. 3) God’s involvement makes things better but not necessarily easier. 4) Christians can serve the community by “rebirthing a genuine, table-centered community”—i.e., by inviting people over for a meal. 5) I keep hoping that just once, my life will spin into control, and 6) Mass marketing is to the mind what smog is to the lungs. 

WOTW: Honorable mention goes doubleplusungood (Orwell’s 1984 term for “extremely bad”), orthogonal (which is suddenly more popular than either Taylor Swift or Snoop Dogg and means “unrelated to the topic at hand”), and NORC (naturally occurring retirement community). Full honors go to solvitur ambulando, a Latin phrase meaning “it is solved by walking.” While technically linked to the refutation of Diogenes’s claim that movement is an illusion, solvitur ambulando is being used to suggest we’d do well to occasionally clear our cluttered minds by taking a long walk (sans smartphones). 

Clean Up: Last week: 1) I gave WOTW honors to stan, going so far as to suggest you become a stan for Jesus. I’ve been advised that stans are less fans than they are stalkers—i.e., they often give off a serial killer vibe, and 2) I surprised some by citing Shakespeare’s insults rather than Monty Python’s. (I said to those who complained, “Your mother was a hamster, and your father smells of elderberries.”)

Resources: 1) Looking back can fuel regret. Looking forward can fuel worry. But neither scenario needs to be true. Advent invites us to look back at what Jesus has done and look forward to what he will do. My daily, five-minute Advent video devotions start on Dec. 2. Sign up here. 2) Click here to hear (or read) my post-election sermon. 3) The news cycle will be crazy. You don’t have to be. Click here to download a free audio or digital copy of my latest book, On the News. 

Closing Prayer: Forgive me my sins, O Lord; the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body, the sins which I have done to please myself and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my casual sins and my deliberate sins, and those which I have labored so to hide that I have hidden them even from myself. Forgive me, O Lord, forgive all my sins, for Jesus’ sake. Amen (Thomas Wilson, 1663-1775)

Happy Friday,

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Jesus

Worrying about tomorrow is easy to do but ill-advised. For starters, the worry is often worse than the problem. More importantly, things end well for those in Christ. I’m not saying there are no things to be concerned about. But He has everything under control. The way forward is to trust God.

TTC: Last year, a friend called to say he was thankful for our friendship. I was taken aback until he explained The Thanksgiving Challenge (TTC). His family members had all agreed to each call (or visit) someone to thank them for something they’d done. Then, over T-day pumpkin pie, they would report on their interactions. I’m now a fan of TTC. Spread the word. 

Bring on the Bard: While I’d prefer candidates speak kindly about each other—and at least occasionally discuss the issues—I’ve had it with their insults. If they insist on maligning each other, I insist they do a better job. No more, “I’m not garbage. You’re garbage.” I want some Shakespeare. Think how much more sophisticated we’d feel if we heard, “Thou art a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave.” 

The Election: There is little that has not already been said about the election, so other than noting that I’m encouraged, relieved, and a bit surprised at the generally healthy way the country is moving through this, I will limit my comments to this reminder. In I Timothy 2, we are instructed to pray for rulers and all who have authority. “Pray… so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of devotion to God and respect for him.” 

LBRIA (Long But Read it Anyway): Even before Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible popularized the idea that missionaries were clueless colonialists sewing hate and oppression, many academics taught as much. Imagine their surprise when Dr. Robert Woodberry showed that the opposite is true—i.e., “that areas where Protestant missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy and higher educational attainment (especially for women).” In short, Woodberry shows that the best way to have a flourishing democracy today is to build a time machine in order to send a Christian missionary to it back in the 19^th century. You are free to read his report—“The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy”—in American Political Science Review. But I’d recommend you start with Christianity Today’s report about it. 

Without Comment: 1) Per this Atlantic article, the dining room is being replaced by larger kitchens and greater great rooms, mostly because eating has become “less sacred and more of a solo sport.” 2) There is reason to believe a revival is afoot in Iran, with as many as 1.2M people coming to faith in Christ. 3) With DJT returning to office, I’m hearing we’ll be hearing a lot about Chevron—the SCOTUS’s recent decision to dis-empower the administrative state; 4) Because we don’t have near the electricity AI will require, big tech is agitating for—and investing in—nuclear energy. 5) Most Americans think crime is getting worse when the trend has been mostly down since the late 1990s. 6) Since the last election, the 3.5M Americans who moved did so in ways that made R neighborhoods more R and D neighborhoods more D; and 7) The percentage of Americans who give to charity has declined from about 67% in 2000 to 46.9% in 2020.

Overheard: 1) Most Americans think that peace is the norm. History suggests otherwise. 2) Modern medicine is to death what a comb-over is to a balding scalp. It may shield reality for a time. But at some point, the comb-over is no more than a monument to the power of baldness. 3) We will not turn our plunging birth rate around until we beat back the sexual revolution. 4) One of the problems with education today is that children are being shaped by educational philosophies younger than they are. 5) Christians do not think their way out of a faith crisis; they repent their way out. 6) Power doesn’t always corrupt, but it always reveals; and 7) In the 10th Federalist paper, Madison argues that what kills a republic is factions. 

WOTW: Honorable mention goes to a bevy of election-adjacent terms: ungovernable, landslide counties, voter fatigue, nauseously optimistic, optimism gap, sociotropic voting, and negative partisanship. Full honors go to stan, a social media term developed by Eminem, which refers “to a highly devoted and fully invested fan.” (We are called to be disciples of Jesus, not fans. But should you be a stan for anyone, make it him.) 

Quotes Worth Requoting: “When you want to hide is actually when you have the greatest need for community.” John Ortberg. 

Resources: In this episode of Beneath the Headlines, I interview Glen Scrivener, an Australian writer, pastor, and apologist, about his wonderful book, The Air We Breathe, which I highly recommend. It’s his exploration of how modern Western values—e.g., human rights, equality, progress, and compassion—are deeply rooted in Christian thought and tradition.

Closing Prayer: My Father, gird me still with your presence, both by day and by night. By day, teach me to remember my weakness, and by night tell me where lies my strength. By day point me down to Gethsemane, and by night lead me up to the mount of transfigured glory. By day show me the burden, and by night reveal to me the crown, so shall my days and nights be girded about with you. George Matheson (1842-1906)

Happy Friday,

What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?

Psalm 116:12

The word “return” should remind us that we are stewards, not owners. Per Kuyper, “There is not one square inch in the entire universe about which Jesus Christ does not say ‘Mine!’” We are expected to invest His assets—i.e., our time, talent, and treasure—per his instructions. Much depends on it. One day we will all offer an account.

It’s Time: Speaking of His goodness to us, why not jump-start Thanksgiving by making a list of all you should be thankful for? It will change your mood. 

Worth Noting: 1) Applications to MBA programs are up; 2) we appear to be moving towards the legalization of “sex work;” 3) if Barna is right, millions of Christians will sit out next week’s election; 4) per this chart, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) now packs more economic punch than the G7; 5) per this WSJ piece, we are spending 40x more per vote in this election than the UK and Germany recently spent on theirs; 6) bottled water has an expiration date, not because the water goes bad, but because the bottle eventually does; 7) not that long ago, those who died graduated to glory. Today we pass, slip away, lose the battle, or succumb; 8) as a pastor, presiding at a funeral is less stressful than officiating at a wedding because when I’m speaking at a funeral, I can be sure I’m participating in God’s will; 9) after 98 years of publishing a “Christmas” catalog, this year Neiman Marcus released a “Holiday Book;” and 10) over 70 percent of Americans are concerned about election violence and the future of democracy.

Not Exactly: Many believe that the first sexual revolution occurred in the ‘60s when sex was separated from marriage. But in From Shame to Sin, University of Oklahoma classics professor Kyle Harper argues that the first revolution didn’t happen in the 1960s; it happened in the 60s. That’s when early Christians challenged the Roman Empire’s practice of granting powerful men the right to sexually dominate whoever they pleased (e.g., slaves, women, other men, and even children). The Christian sexual revolution platformed the radical idea that sex belonged within the bounds of a consensual, monogamous marriage between a man and a woman, both having equal dignity before God. By elevating marriage and chastity, early Christians transformed the meaning of sex and dignified the people who engaged in it.

Quotes Worth Requoting: “If you want to summarize the changes in family structure over the past century, the truest thing to say is this: We’ve made life freer for individuals and more unstable for families.” David Brooks.

LBRIA: Alongside TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read), I hope to codify LBRIA (Long But Read It Anyway). I toyed with QLBDYAFTONARTP (Quite Long But Do Yourself A Favor, Turn Off Netflix And Read This Piece), but that seemed preachy, so LBRIA it is. My first entry is Abraham Cho’s piece, Rewriting Our Scripts, which alerts us to the numerous ways we are shaped. 

For the Overachievers: Given recent calls to dismiss democracy, free speech, etc., I’m also recommending Paul Kingsnorth’s essay about modernity’s trajectory. Here’s a snippet: “We believe in nothing… even the ideas which arose to replace all the religions in the age of enlightenment. Reason, progress, liberalism, freedom of speech, democracy, the enlightened rational individual, the scientific process as a means of determining truth: everywhere, these ‘secular’ beliefs which were supposed to replace religion worldwide are either under fire or have already fallen.”

3.25: The Bible contains 1,189 chapters, so if you want to read through it in a year, you’ll need to read 3.25 chapters/day. My advice is to read 4/day to cover the days you miss. The YouVersion Bible App can help a lot. 

WOTW: Honorable mention goes to declinism (the sky-is-falling narrative many are drinking deeply of right now), Captagon (the street name of an increasingly popular, mostly Syria-generated amphetamine), and therapeutic suicide (think Canada). Full honors go to the Thanksgiving Effect, a term coined in 2018 after a whistleblower at Cambridge Analytica disclosed that by triangulating the T-Day cell phone locations with the polling preferences of 50M Facebook users, the company learned that Thanksgiving gatherings were shorter when extended family members held different political views. (It turns out that where your smartphone is located between 1:00 and 4:00 in the morning correlates with who you will vote for. It also turns out that people are freaked out when they realize how much companies can learn about them by analyzing their online data.) 

A Big Week: Before next week’s Update hits your inbox, the nation will process a big event. I’m referring, of course, to my birthday. I turn 64 on Wednesday—which, as all cool people know, is the new 57. (Note: like my granddaughter, I read ahead of my age. I think I read at a 67-year-old level. Some days, 68.) 

Elon, Tech, & Human Nature: Many who rightly marvel at Musk’s most recent accomplishment assume science and tech will soon fix all our problems. Not so. The human condition is not so easily repaired. Among other things, this means that while our bombs are getting bigger, our hearts are not. 

Resources: Here is my hour-long interview with Dr. Robert P. George, one of the country’s premier conservative academics and experts on the First Amendment. Here is a link to a free audio or digital copy of my new book, On the News: How and Why the News Has Changed. How It’s Changing You. And What To Do About It.  Feel free to send it to a friend.

Closing Prayer: God, I want your guidance and direction in all I do. Let your wisdom counsel me, your hand lead me, and your arm support me. I put myself in your hands. Breathe into my soul holy and heavenly desires. Conform me to your own image. Make me like my Savior. Enable me in some measure to live here on earth as he lived, and to act in all things as he would have acted. Amen (Ashton Oxeden, 1808-1892)

Happy Friday,

I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

Psalm 3

Psalm 3 is a favorite of mine. For starters, though I seldom struggle with fear, there are days when it seems I’m facing ten thousand problems. Secondly, I take comfort knowing David wrote this while fleeing Absalom—i.e. while facing problems of his own making. (The older I get, the more I realize that most of my headaches are my own fault.) But the deepest comfort comes with the reminder to locate my hope in God. In Him, we find a peace that overcomes cancer, elections, wars, problems, political animus, market losses, and whatever else the news is screaming about.

Pelikan: Jaroslav Pelikan, a professor of Christianity and Medieval Intellectual History at Yale, was a fountain of quotes. Here are two: 1) “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, nothing else matters.” 2) “Tradition is the living faith of dead people… Traditionalism is the dead faith of living people.”

Three Cheers for the DMV: Given Musk’s claim that the government is just the DMV on steroids—and given that I’ve dissed the DMV in the past—I need to note that my recent experience was 2,000% better than expected. I’m sure whoever engineered Chick-fil-A’s drive thru could make it better still, but count me surprised. One can only hope whoever is behind it has been asked to set their sights on the IRS and elections.

Old Tennessee: It’s time to roll out Dan Fogelberg’s classic, which opens, “End of October, the sleepy brown woods seem to nod down their heads to the winter. Yellows and grays paint the sad skies today…”

Without Comment: 1) The University of Nottingham issued a trigger warning for Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, noting that the book “has incidences of violence, mental illness, and expressions of Christian faith;” 2) In 1830, US alcohol consumption was 3x that of today; 3) Missiologists claim that “if present trends continue through 2050,” 1/3 of the global church will be made up of Nigerian women; 4) The last full-size US Kmart superstore closed last weekend; 5) 75% of TV ads are for pharmaceuticals; 6) Migrant crossings at the US–Mexico border have plunged recently, but there’s been an explosion in forced prostitution of immigrants in the US; 7) The Economist says the US economy is “bigger and better than ever,” but has concerns about an aging population, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the “rewiring of the global economy;” 8) Olivia and Noah remain the top US baby names, with Ellie displacing Evelyn for a spot in the top ten; Asher is doing the same to Luca; and 9) Humans are the only animal that tries to suppress a yawn. 

Questions: 1) Who has a key to your house? I’m asking a literal and a metaphorical question. And your answer says much about your life. (BTW, “no one” is a bad answer.); 2) Does the Bible shape your reading of culture, or does culture shape your reading of the Bible? 3) Will AI learn to write good comedy?

Freedom vs Equality: My comments about the mutual exclusivity of freedom and equality garnered expected pushback. FWIW, Will and Ariel Durant wrote about this in The Lessons of History, arguing that complete freedom allows those with more talent, desire, or opportunity to rise—i.e., produce inequality. Efforts to maintain equality require curbing individual freedoms via taxation, regulation, etc. The Durants also claim that managing the oscillation between complete freedom and complete equality is a never-ending project. 

More on Freedom: At 7 PM on Oct. 30^th, I will be interviewing Dr. Robert George, the legal scholar / political philosopher / public intellectual / celebrated author and Princeton professor. We will be exploring this moment, with a special focus on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. You can register to attend this free Lakelight Talk either in person or via live stream here.

The Pod: I agree with those who were stunned (even horrified) by the AI-generated podcast on my recent book, On the News. To think that in 90 seconds, it could “read” it and then produce an 11-minute dialogue on it makes me feel a bit replaceable. (I have yet to read a fifty-page book in less than five minutes.) FWIW, I also agree with those who found the podcast a bit sappy and solicitous. If you’re late to the party, you can get a free audio or digital copy of the book here or find the podcast here. 

WOTW: Handhelds (this is the new shorthand way cool people refer to sandwiches, iPhones, and, well, things you can hold in your hands), Mental Health CPR (I’m not sure what it is, but I’m pretty sure I needed it once or twice last week). Full honors go to orthocardia, which I found in a Michael Reeves book. He argues that in addition to right thinking (orthodoxy) and right living (orthopraxy), we need a right, true, straight heart (orthocardia).

Resources: 1) Click here to watch the first Lakelight Short—a 6-minute video exploring the intersection of faith and work. It features Dr. Michael Walsh, a local neurosurgeon, and member of the first Lakelight Fellows program; 2) Click here to listen to my sermon on Ephesians 3, which explores hope.

Closing Prayer: Forgive me my sins, O Lord; the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body, the sins which I have done to please myself and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my casual sins and my deliberate sins, and those which I have labored so to hide that I have hidden them even from myself. Forgive me, O Lord, forgive all my sins, for Jesus’ sake. Amen (Thomas Wilson – 1663 – 1775)

Happy Friday,

Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:105

Just as we need light to avoid stumbling in a dark room, we need Scripture to avoid stumbling in a dark world. And just as it makes little sense to carry a flashlight but fail to turn it on when we need it, it makes little sense to have access to God’s Word but fail to read it. 

The Baby Bust: A WSJ headline this week read, Worldwide Efforts to Reverse the Baby Shortage Are Falling Flat. If the title fails to get our attention, the first line should. “Imagine if having children came with more than $150,000 in cheap loans, a subsidized minivan and a lifetime exemption from income taxes. Would people have more kids? The answer, it seems, is no.” What does it say about this moment that governments are enticing young people to have children (i.e., future citizens), but it is not working? 

Things Yancey: I’m a long-time fan of Phil Yancey—Jimmy Carter’s favorite writer, a recent Lakelight speaker, and the author of numerous bestsellers (e.g., What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Where is God When it Hurts?, The Jesus I Never Knew, etc.). I mention him here to comment on his latest book––What Went Wrong? Russia’s Lost Opportunity and the Path to Ukraine––which seems outside his field but is not. Trust me. (BTW, if you’re looking for an easy first step into his work, try “The Death of Reading is Threatening the Soul,” a WAPO piece from a few years back. And be encouraged; when I spoke to him two weeks ago, he said he has fought his way back to more serious reading, suggesting we can do the same.) 

Fear and the Future: I don’t say much here about politics, in part because most people are exhausted by it (or exhausted by those yapping about it), but mostly because I’m trying to get people to think more about the City of God than the City of Man. Of course, thinking about the first requires us to engage in the second. So, as we march towards Nov. 5^th, let me encourage you to avoid appeals shaped by fear, greed, hate, and panic. And to be sure that your hope rests in God’s kingdom, not a lesser one. 

It Seems to Me: 1) IS2M that the power of recent storms invites us to reflect on the power of God; 2) IS2M that China, Russia, and Iran believe the West is crumbling; 3) IS2M that few realize that freedom and equality cannot co-exist in a society; and 4) IS2M that the Christian faith requires more maintenance than many give it.

Encroachment: I’m throwing a yellow flag at the NFL. I’d not realized until the Bears’ game in London that afternoon that games across the pond aired on Sunday mornings in the States. (My wake-up call came when attendance at our Saturday night service spiked because people wanted to be home on Sunday AM to watch the game.) At the risk of sounding like an old man yelling, “Get off my lawn,” I want to note that once we cede sacred space, it’s really hard to get it back. 

WOTW: Honorable mention goes to Teslavestors (those who hold Tesla stock), ratiocination (which I saw 2x in the last 2 weeks. It refers to thinking logically), romantasy (a hot literary genre that mixes romance and Game of Thrones), and mail-ballot panic (which refers to any dis-ease associated with the security, logistics, legal disputes, or impact of mail-in votes). Full honors go to mono-tasking. It was cited by Felicia Wu Song, a cultural sociologist who studies technology. After noting that many are no longer content to multi-task––preferring to hyper-task instead––she suggested we do our best work when we mono-task.

Speaking Of: Speaking of, Dr. Wong––who joined Phil Yancey as a presenter at Lakelight’s Good Work Summit last weekend––recently said: “What we have discovered in our digitally saturated society is that we have a remarkable endurance and capacity to remain attuned to our devices—it is the first thing we greet in the morning and it is the last thing we take into bed with us at night… What would it be like if we were to cultivate such a permanent state of expectancy for God’s desire to communicate with us? What if my antennae were always outstretched toward checking in with God as much as I am always checking my smartphone? What if I was filled with great expectancy that there would be a word for me? And that I could trust that that word would not be a word that simply demanded something from me but a word that came to nourish me?”

Stunned: If you click here, you can listen to an 11-minute 100% AI-generated podcast on my recent book, On the News. After loading my book into NotebookLM, it took 90 seconds to read it and then create this fictional podcast. I’m amazed and horrified at the same time.

SNL to the Rescue: Given the abundance of challenges and sufferings I am seeing when I look around, we need to find reasons to laugh. This Nate Bargatze sketch is one.

Indianapolis Event: On Tuesday, Nov. 12^th, I will be in Carmel, IN, for a Lakelight reception/discussion about On the News. The event is free, but space is limited. If you are interested, click here to register.

Other Resources: Here is my Ephesians 2 sermon on our desperate need for unity at this time of division. If you’re interested in my latest book, On The News, you can get a free digital or audio copy.

Closing Prayer: Most loving Lord, Give me a steadfast heart, which no unworthy thought can drag downwards; An unconquered heart, which no hardship can wear out; An upright heart, which no worthless purpose can ensnare. Give me also, O Lord my God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, and a faithfulness that will finally embrace you; Through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Happy Friday, 

We are saved by grace through faith, not of works.

The Apostle Paul, Ephesians 2

Biblical faith is not principally about emulating a leader. It’s about being rescued. Yes, we are called to embrace our Leader’s teaching and follow his example. But the story that unfolds in Scripture is of a God who offers His love to those who do not deserve it and seldom appreciate it. Carve out a few moments today to be staggered by the scandalous grace of the Father and the finished work of the Son. 

Second: What we think about God is the second most important thing about us. 

Without Comment: 1) Per this UN report, 27M people are present-day slaves; 2) If you read an average of 300 words per minute, it would take around 500 hours in a year to read 200 books. That’s less than the 608 hours the average American spends on social media or the 1,642 hours they spend watching TV; 3) In addition to 2 hot wars, a cold war, growing acrimony between red and blue, tragedy-laced weather, and unfathomable levels of debt, the WSJ is warning that tensions between tennis players and pickleballers are on the rise.

Speaking of Reading: In this Business Insider piece, we learn that Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett read for at least an hour a day. Reportedly, Bill Gates reads 50 books/year, Elon Musk grew up reading two books/day, Mark Cuban reads for more than three hours/day, and Warren Buffett attributes his success to reading 500 pages/day. 

City of God > City of Man: Whatever your political inclinations, please remember that 1) God is bigger than the results of any election, and 2) while it’s irresponsible to ignore our earthly citizenship, our hope lies with Christ and His Kingdom. Let your light shine in the public square.

Good Without God 2.0: In December ‘89, political philosopher Glenn Tinder wrote a long Atlantic piece entitled, “Can We Be Good Without God?”—i.e., can we protect human dignity, advance altruism and humility, etc. without a belief in the transcendent? His answer was, essentially, no. This week, Harvard Professor Manvir Singh published a New Yorker piece entitled “The Post-Moral Age: If Conscience is Merely a Biological Artifact, Must We Give Up on Goodness?” In a way, Singh’s piece is an updated look at Tinder’s question. And what does he say? Not surprisingly, Singh essentially argues there is no such thing as goodness. (BTW, kudos if you want to read Tinder’s. I wouldn’t bother w/ Singh’s. And if you’re asking for my advice, read Ecclesiastes instead.)

Overheard: 1) God uses the talent pool available; 2) Christians need to have more confidence in the Gospel; 3) Pain redeemed is more powerful than pain removed; 4) The fear of the Lord is the precondition for wisdom; and 5) Western Civ depends on people who read long books.

Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) “The things we do, do things to us.” Unknown, and 2) “We can sleep peacefully knowing that God never does.” Kelly Kapic

WOTW: Honorable mention goes to fridgescaping (the trend in which you turn your refrigerator into a food showcase), focus fatigue (compassion fatigue’s increasingly popular cousin), and the HENRYS (i.e., the High Earners Not Rich Yet, a title ascribed to those not happy with a six-figure income). Full honors go to Vandemonium (a term describing the hysteria in Nashville after Vanderbilt’s unranked football team rolled over #1 Alabama).Note: While most will recognize vandemonium as a play on pandemonium, few will know that pandemonium was coined by Milton in Paradise Lost, where he combined pan (Greek for all) and daimon (Greek for demon). So, pandemonium literally means “all the demons.”

First: Earlier, I noted that what we think about God is the second most important thing about us. What is the first? What God thinks about us. 

Sermon: Click here to listen to last week’s sermon. It’s from Ephesians 2, i.e., one of the most important chapters in the Bible. 

I Wrote a Book: I wrote a book entitled On the News: How and Why the News Has Changed; How it’s Changing You; And What to Do About It. Rest assured, it’s brief (you can read it on a short flight).  Click here to download a free digital copy or here to listen to the free audio version. Read it soon, and then do me a favor and send it to two or three people by clicking here. Thanks.

Closing Prayer: Dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I hold up all my weakness to your strength, my failure to your faithfulness, my sinfulness to your perfection, my loneliness to your compassion, my little pains to your great agony on the Cross. I pray that you will cleanse me, strengthen me, and hide me, so that, in all ways, my life may be lived as you would have it lived, without cowardice and for you alone. Amen (Mother Janet Stuart, 1857-1914)

Happy Friday,

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17

Giving thanks is prescribed in the Psalms and modeled by the apostles and Jesus. The command does not require us to be thankful for all things—i.e., we are not expected to be grateful for pains and losses. But we are to be grateful in all things. Learning to do so makes a huge difference.

Fall has Fallen: October is evident everywhere. Leaves are turning. Skeletons are haunting. Spin machines are spinning, and our nation’s largest cathedrals are packed on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. 

All Hallows’ Eve: Speaking of skeletons, as much as I wish Oct. 31 was known as Reformation Day––i.e., the anniversary of Luther nailing his 95 theses on the castle door in Wittenberg––most know it only as Halloween. What does it say about us that “the night of the living dead” has not only surpassed Thanksgiving in retail heft but joined brussel sprouts, homeschooling, Patagonia vests, Snoop Dogg, and sports betting in the canon of rapidly ascending cultural forces? 

Without Comment: 1) Per this article, we’re not just dividing red and blue, nor along economic and cultural lines. Trust in institutions is a new inflection point; 2) per this report, most Americans have less in savings than they did during COVID, but more than before it hit; 3) per this study, porn is spreading, and its stigma is fading (even among Christians); 4) per this report, Gen Zers no longer aspire to work in high tech. Healthcare and government gigs now top the wish list. (Oh, and anything with a guaranteed pension); and 5) per this WSJ report, though in 1970, less than 1% of US counties relied on federal aid for at least 25% of their income, more than 53% do today. (Note: Much of the growth in government assistance has taken place in Republican counties, which tend to be older, more rural, and harder hit by economic stagnation.)

Too Late: The sermon I preach differs from the one I prepare and also from the one people hear. And, as noted before, none of them are as good as the one I give to myself as I drive home after services. Case in point, the recent Afterlife series would have been stronger with this quote, which I only recently heard: “Christians are not citizens of this world going to heaven; but citizens of heaven making our way through this world.” Vance Havner

NO! Some think that when we come to faith, we add a new wedge to the pie of life and that as we mature spiritually, the faith wedge expands – i.e.,

No. Faith is not a piece of the pie. It is the pie pan. (BTW, everyone has a pie pan. Even those who profess no belief.)

Quote Worth Requoting: “To grow spiritually a Copernican revolution must take place in the way we perceive ourselves in relation to others. When Copernicus removed human beings from the center of the universe and said we revolve around the sun, not vice versa, it sent a shock wave through Western civilization. To discover the “otherness” of a spouse, friend, boss, child, and coworker and to see them as separate, unique human beings––without losing yourself––is also a Copernican revolution of emotional maturity.” Peter Scazzero

Resources: Click here for my conversation with Collin Hansen––the VP of Content at The Gospel Coalition. Our discussion focused on the news––i.e., not as content but regarding the way it is discipling us. 

Closing Prayer: In your mercy, Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. “Say to my soul, I am your salvation.” So speak that I may hear you. The ears of my heart are turned to you, Lord; open them and say to my soul: “I am your salvation.” I will run after your voice, and I will lay hold of you. Do not hide your face from me. Let me see your face even if I die, for if I see it not, I shall die of longing. Amen (Augustine, 354-430)

Happy Friday,

Perfect love casts out all fear.

John, I John 4

It’s directionally correct to note that the opposite of love isn’t hate but indifference. But I think this stops short of John’s point. He states that perfect love casts out fear, which suggests that the opposite of love isn’t indifference but self-protection.

WOTW: Honorable mention goes to gatexiety (the fear that you’ll miss your flight because you miss the fact that the airline has changed the gate), meatfluencers (a derisive term directed at outspoken carnivores by vegans), celeritously (a term Chuck Schumer used this week, causing hundreds to act with celerity to figure out what celerity means [FYI: it means quickly]), and clapter (the applause sought by comedians when they make a political point). Full honors go to grievance identitarianism, a term used by Dr. Robert George in this NYT opinion piece. I hope many––especially collegians––adopt his advice. BTW, George will speak at our next Lakelight Talk on Wednesday, October 30^th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Forest campus of Christ Church.

WOTW Adjacent: I ran across the phrases “momentum of encouragement” and “non-panicked love” in my reading this week. Neither qualify as WOTW entries, but both are too good to ignore, especially given how much they are needed. May you foster the first and embody the second.

Speaking of Lakelight: Before Dr. George shows up on Oct 30, Lakelight is hosting its second Good Work Summit on Oct. 5. This year’s gathering features several thoughtful speakers, including Phil Yancey. Click here for more info or to register. 

Without Comment: 1) Per this study, men rate women’s attractiveness on a standard bell curve. Women rate men more harshly, granting only 7% “above average” status and confining 81% to the “below average” category; 2) Americans are expected to bet $35B on NFL games this season; 3) This WSJ article notes that gun ownership is climbing among US liberals; 4) Most people over-estimate the changing influence of one sermon and under-estimate the impact of one hundred; 5) This Syracuse study found that only 3.4% of US journalists identify as Republicans; and 6) After reminding you that correlation does not equal causation, I want to point to yet another study showing that those active in a worship community live longer than those who are not. (In this study, 12 years.)

Yes, But: While it’s true that many have left the church in recent years: 1) It’s not just the church they are leaving. Many institutions are in decline; 2) As this study notes, the exodus from churches has slowed; 3) As this report notes, the number of Z-ers returning to faith is climbing; and 4) As this report explains, most of those who’ve stopped attending church plan to return. Indeed, most report that they would return this Sunday if invited.

Three Scenarios: Tom Holland––not the actor but the Oxford historian, author, and popular podcaster (The Rest is History) who appears to be talking himself into faith in Jesus––sees three scenarios for the future: 1) His belief that some commitment to Jesus is required for a society to celebrate humility, kindness, human rights, the rule of law, and personal freedom will be proven wrong as the West continues to secularize, but moral order holds; 2) His thesis is correct, and as the West secularizes, moral order gives way to power plays and chaos; or 3) We have another Christian revival.

Overheard: 1) Not all culture wars turn into shooting wars, but most shooting wars start as culture wars; 2) The middle of the political spectrum lacks a mailing list, consequently it’s the extremes that are mobilized and whose voices are amplified; 3) Those who cannot believe in the virgin birth of a baby often believe in the virgin birth of the cosmos—and this without a virgin!; 4) Humans are hope-shaped creatures. The way we live today is based on what we think is coming tomorrow; 5) Politics attract extremely ambitious people, and what extremely ambitious people have in common is a willingness to trade character for access to power; and 6) Half of all US marriages do not end in divorce. Per this report, 72% of married people are still married to their first spouse. 

Finitum est: I will not be encouraging Latinophiles every week, but I did appreciate yet another Latin phrase that was sent my way: Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret, which means, “You may drive out nature with a pitchfork, but she still will hurry back.” It suggests that while the basic nature of things can be suspended for a while, it eventually pops back up. Yes. As I have noted before, “reality wins.”

Resources: Here is last weekend’s sermon on heaven.

Closing Prayer: O Lord of the vineyard, I beg Thy blessing upon all who truly desire to serve Thee by being diligent and faithful in their several callings, bearing their due share of the world’s burden, and going about their daily tasks in all simplicity and uprightness of heart. For all who tend flocks or till the soil. For all who work in factories or in mines. For all who buy and sell in the marketplace. For all who labor with their brains. For all who labor with their pens. For all who tend the hearth, dear Lord, I pray. Amen (John Baillie, 1886–1960)