I’m grateful to Radius International for sponsoring the blog this week to let you know about their forthcoming conference (which you can attend in-person or virtually). Sponsors are crucial to the functioning of this site, so I’m thankful for each and every one.

Today’s Kindle deals include a small selection of classics.
(Yesterday on the blog: Urban Legends of Theology)
Forgiving Ourselves
This is a good take on the idea of forgiving ourselves. “I don’t think it is appropriate to speak of forgiving ourselves in any way. But, at the same time, we need to acknowledge that the Bible does have quite a bit to say about how we should and should not think of ourselves and how we should and should not treat ourselves in light of who we are in Christ Jesus.”
Does Maturity Still Matter?
“American culture writ large seems stuck in a defensive adolescence that lacks both the innocence and wonder of childhood, and the realism and long-term thinking of adulthood. Comic book movies are the new American mythology, and the characters in these comic book movies are often just hard-bodied, fast-talking teenagers: the kind of people who, in the words of the most influential man of the 21st century, ‘move fast and break things.’”
What Is a Church?
Here’s a really helpful article that answers a simple question: What is a church?
Building Accountability around Counselees
Writing for the Biblical Counseling Coalition, Tim St. John provides counsel on accountability.
Are home groups really the best vehicle for Christian growth?
Home groups can be good and helpful. But are they necessary? Do they accomplish something in the life of the church that nothing else can?
Flashback: The Tone Deaf Singer
We sing best when that gospel is dwelling richly within us. God is not looking at the quality of our tone or the perfection of our pitch. He is looking at the heart.

The enemy of joy is not suffering, it is idolatry. —Matt Papa

On Monday, July 31 I am going to be in Seoul with nothing much to do (until my flight home in the evening). If anyone would like to meet up and maybe see a museum or some other sites, please let me know!

I’m grateful for this first review of my latest book Understanding and Trusting Our Great God.
Westminster Books is (re)introducing The Westminster Theological Journal and incentivizing your purchase.
Today’s Kindle deals include a number of books on parenting.
Man Cannot Live on Feeds Alone: The Christian Diet for a Digital Age
“Many of us see and hear more information in a day than we can possibly manage. Over time, this consistent overload dulls our senses — in particular, our spiritual senses.” Trevin Wax has a good article about an appropriate Christian “diet” in this digital age.
Through the Valley
Patsy laments the death of her father and tells how the Lord is sustaining her in this time. “I’m not fond of the aging process or the accompanying aches, pains, and infirmities, but one thing I do like about increasing years is that I have more and more examples of God’s goodness and faithfulness to file away in my spiritual memory bank.”
The harassment of Italian evangelical churches
“Perhaps you think the persecution of Christians in the Western world is a matter of the past. There’s no way Christians are still persecuted in the West today, right?” Not quite, as this article explains.
Location, Location, Location
“There is a well-known real estate maxim that lists the three most important characteristics of any property: ‘Location, location, and location.’ This famous real estate maxim holds true in the Bible, as well.”
Only John Witnessed the Ascension Twice
“As far as I can tell, there’s only one apostle that had the privilege of seeing the ascension twice, at two different times in his life, and from two different points of view.” That’s an interesting statement!
A Wrong Prophet Is Not a False Prophet, Right?
“A woman stands before a church congregation, sharing with them how she loves to get together with her friends and practice prophesying. She tells the people that they sometimes ‘get it wrong’, and she proceeds to tell them that this does not make someone a false prophet. She instructs those gathered to close their eyes, think on a word that the Holy Spirit is giving them, and if they do not get anything, they should make up a word.” Here’s why this is such a concern.
Flashback: Prayers To Pray While You Preach, Lead, and Sing
It is wise to pray while you preach and to pray while you lead. In his book On Worship H.B. Charles Jr. writes, “You ask, ‘Can you preach and pray at the same time?’ My answer, ‘You better!’”

Maturity happens when you put yourself in the place God wants you. Don’t run because there’s adversity. Maybe God wants to use the adversity to make you more like Jesus. —Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon

It is one of the realities of the Christian faith that people love to criticize—the reality that there are a host of different denominations and a multitude of different expressions of Christian worship. We hear it from skeptics: If Christianity is true and if it really changes people, then why can’t you get along? We hear it from Roman Catholics: If the Protestant faith is biblical, then why is it splintered while the Catholic Church remains unified? I do not deny that both skeptics and Catholics ask valid questions.
But while believers have become accustomed to responding to this criticism with a sense of shame, I choose to see it in a different light. I choose to see each tradition as highlighting different aspects of God’s purpose for his people. This is what I consider “optimistic denominationalism.” It admits that the church is, indeed, divided along many different lines. But it looks for the good in it. Instead of focusing on the matters that divide us, it focuses on what each tradition chooses to emphasize.
The various paedobaptist traditions, for example, emphasize welcoming children into the full life of the worshipping community as did our Old Testament forebears. “Let the children come,” they say, “and come all the way by being baptized and received.” The Baptist traditions, on the other hand, value the beauty of the children of believers being raised in the church, professing faith, and being baptized on the basis of it. Only one of the two traditions ultimately has it right and only eternity will finally resolve the debate. But today, rather than focusing on matters of disagreement, why not take the optimistic approach and appreciate what each emphasizes? Both do what they do to honor the Lord and celebrate his grace.
Some Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed traditions sing only Psalms in their church services. They are convinced that unless the New Testament explicitly prescribes an element of worship, they should avoid it. Most other traditions will gladly sing psalms, hymns, and “spiritual songs” (such as modern worship or choruses). They are convinced that we must avoid what the New Testament explicitly forbids, but otherwise have a measure of freedom. Only one can be right, but both can be fully seeking to honor God and each can show us something beautiful: Those who hold to a strict interpretation of the regulative principle can emphasize the beauty of allowing God to regulate our worship while those who hold to it in a looser sense can emphasize the many ways in which God is pleased to receive our worship. We can face the disagreement with optimism and appreciate what each tradition brings to our experience of Christian worship.
Brethren churches traditionally celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. Worship without the Lord’s Supper is hardly recognizable as worship, they insist, for they understand Jesus to command it and the early church to model it. Churches in several other traditions celebrate the Lord’s Supper on a monthly or quarterly basis, some even insisting it is so important an occasion that they must spend weeks in proper examination and preparation. In the former tradition, we see the desire to commune with the Lord briefly but regularly while in the latter the desire is to commune with the Lord at such depth and length that it must be done infrequently. Rather than criticizing those who take an opposite viewpoint, why not appreciate what they choose to emphasize and respect their reasoning? Though their convictions may lead them to different denominations, we can see that distinction with optimism rather than pessimism.
Instead of criticizing the differences, we can appreciate the varied emphases.Share
This applies to any number of matters for which Christians have varied understandings—using instruments in worship or singing a cappella, permitting female deacons or reserving the office for men, keeping young children in the service or providing age-appropriate programs for them. In all of these ways, we can look to other traditions as observers rather than critics, to appreciate that while others may differ from us in our convictions, they do so for the best of motives. And instead of criticizing the differences, we can appreciate the varied emphases.
Some time ago I reflected on all this and suggested that as a prism refracts the light and separates it into its component colors, the differing traditions refract the Bible’s varying commands and emphases. As long as those traditions and denominations love Jesus, honor the Bible, and preach the gospel, we can love and respect them, appreciating what they add to our understanding of Christian worship.