I was intrigued by Aaron Renn’s recent article The Maturation of New Calvinism. His thesis is that “New Calvinism has shifted from an ‘All-Star team’ model designed to exert influence over the broader evangelical world to a post-superstar model that primarily serves its own community. This represents the maturity of the movement, perhaps putting it on a sustainable footing for the future.” And what is that future? He believes it’s a future of being a subculture within broader evangelicalism rather than being what it may have once aspired to—a gatekeeper or shaper of evangelicalism. Its particular subculture is made up of “educated strivers in urban centers, college towns, and professional class suburbs.” Renn believes that New Calvinism would do well to simply embrace and serve this narrow but significant demographic rather than attempting to reach far beyond it.

All Stars

Renn points out rightly that many of the “all-stars” who were first associated with the movement, who took a leading role in it, and whose ministries drew many people to it have now died (e.g. R.C. Sproul, Tim Keller), retired (e.g. John Piper—from local church ministry, at least), or moved on (e.g. Mark Driscoll). It is certainly true that the movement does not have the same kind of “statesmen” it did in the heady days of the first Together for the Gospel. By and large, these leaders have not been replaced by younger alternatives whose voices reach far into broader evangelicalism. While this new reality means the movement is not drawing as many people as it once did, Renn believes this is actually a positive development as it ultimately offers greater stability and viability.

Taking my cue from Renn, I want to share a few of my thoughts and recollections about the early days of the movement and consider what its future may be.

Beginnings

I have no knowledge of anyone who was deliberately trying to manufacture a new wave of Calvinists around the turn of the century. Thus, I have understood the New Calvinism to have begun in a kind of spontaneous and decentralized way—a way that was unique to the early days of the internet but repeated across a host of interests, hobbies, subcultures, and even religions.

While there may have been many background factors, an especially important one was this: A lot of people in Western contexts found themselves restless in their traditional churches or church growth churches. They were looking for an alternative that promised something more—more than the triteness of church growth philosophies and more than the deadness of certain traditional churches. Some took the route of the Emerging Church and gravitated toward theological liberalism. Some took the route of the New Calvinism and gravitated toward theological conservatism.

In my understanding, then, this movement began on a peer level with people passing along sermons, books, and articles and forming online communities through the early forms of social media—forums and blogs. (Remember: at this time there was no YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or podcasts.) As people engaged with this content, they went in search of churches that were pastored by men who believed the same things as the people they were reading or listening to—Piper, Sproul, MacArthur, and so on. This movement had all the passion and brashness of youth and grew quickly.

A Weak Core

In these early days, there was a lot of excitement about TULIP and the Five Points. There was excitement about the Five Solas, perhaps especially around 2017 and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Calvinistic soteriology was the heart of it all and to so many it was eye-opening and heart-stirring.

But over time, people stopped writing books and preaching sermons about Calvinism. The doctrine became assumed instead of explicit and optional instead of necessary. It became acceptable to be a four-point Calvinist or perhaps something more like a three-and-a-half-point Calvinist. The nomenclature changed from “New Calvinism” or “Young, Restless, Reformed” to “Gospel-Centered” at least in part because this framing deprioritized Calvinism and allowed broader inclusion. Now people could be part of the movement even if they did not want to accept or be associated with Calvinism or Reformed theology.

It quickly became apparent that the New Calvinism was not made up of a pure traditional Calvinism much less a pure and traditional expression of Reformed theology and practice. Not many were reading or following the Westminster Confession, The Belgic Confession, The London Baptist Confession, or other historical guides to Protestant faith and practice. Not many were following the regulative principle of worship or teaching their children the various catechisms. To use an analogy, the New Calvinism was never Amish furniture made of real hardwood but Ikea furniture made up of a veneer that covered a softer core. If this was true at the start, it became truer still as time went on. Many of the people who latched on to the movement and even began to lead it were interested in some level of Calvinistic soteriology, but not in a full and historically grounded expression of Reformed Christianity. Many latched onto it because for a time it was on-trend and exciting.

A major shift took place when what had once been a classic early-internet movement—decentralized and uncontrolled—began to become institutionalized. Institutions began to decide the issues that would define the movement and gatekeep the people who were permitted to influence it. Eventually, different institutions began to compete among themselves which caused both contraction and division. The core shifted from shared doctrine to shared institutions and allegiances. Commonality was no longer one of theology but of affiliation or loyalty. Now the New Calvinism was several New Calvinisms that no longer got along very well.

I Miss the Early Days

I often miss the early days of the movement—the days when people were drawing wide boundaries and expressing wonder at common theology. It was a time of excitement over shared doctrine and it was a joy to experience it. There was excitement in these days, though also arrogance and naiveté. It did not take long to learn that there was far less commonality than anyone had thought and that the movement was far less sanctified and unified than we believed. It took less to upend it than any of us would have imagined.

I will need to leave it to historians to explain exactly what happened, but certainly the sense of togetherness could not sustain all the theological differences or the differing perspectives on race and racism, pandemic responses, changing politics and presidencies, and so on. It seems to me that the movement sputtered on the basis of cultural factors as much as theological ones. Either way, it is now but a shadow of its former self and never reached the heights it had aspired to. As Renn says, “New Calvinism’s ability to project influence over the evangelical field has radically diminished.”

The Future

I wish I could speak confidently about the future of New Calvinism. Part of the difficulty in doing so is that the movement as a whole has pretty much ceased to exist. A label like “New Calvinism” doesn’t mean much anymore. “Young, Restless, Reformed” may have been accurate 20 years ago, but many who first fit the label are no longer very young, very restless, or very Reformed. “Gospel-centered” was tried and found wanting or inadequate. Whatever the movement is or was, it has now splintered into many parts, some of them antagonistic toward the others. There are few leaders who are respected across each of the splintered groups which means there is nobody who is likely to be able to bridge divides and bring reconciliation. I foresee no return to the unity of the early days.

But what I do see is lots of ministries continuing to create and distribute excellent resources. We have been spoiled with an endless flow of books, Bibles, and study resources and I have every reason to believe that will continue. Seminaries will continue to train future pastors who value these doctrines and love to exposit God’s Word. Even better, I see lots of churches continuing to press on with the doctrines of grace at their core and an emphasis on preaching the Word at the center of their worship. This may be the most enduring and important legacy of the movement.

Circling back to Renn, he says “New Calvinism has shifted from an ‘All-Star team’ model designed to exert influence over the broader evangelical world to a post-superstar model that primarily serves its own community.” That much seems demonstrably true. He also says that what remains best serves “educated strivers in urban centers, college towns, and professional class suburbs” and the movement should be content with this. I both agree and disagree.

I have spent time with Christians in something like 40 different countries that span a host of languages and cultures. I have been amazed to see the reach and the impact of resources we associate with the New Calvinism. Way out in the bush in southern Africa, far from electrical grids or running water, I spotted an ESV Study Bible on a pastor’s desk beside a stack of MacArthur commentaries. Deep in the south of Chile, I had several people bring copies of my books in Spanish so I could sign them. In India, Brazil, Mexico, and Mozambique I’ve been to bookstores filled with the books this movement has created, all translated into local languages. I have seen trucks loaded with 9Marks books bumping along rutted roads to deliver them to far-off places where these may be the only books local pastors will own.

So even as we necessarily analyze the movement from a North American and Western-world perspective, I think it’s important to appreciate the inroads it has made elsewhere, often delivering resources where they can be used and appreciated by people who have little interest in the petty quarrels that have torn so much apart. And so perhaps the future of New Calvinism is beyond the Western world and even the developed world and is even now putting down deep roots in the unlikeliest of places. We can but hope and pray.

A note for my fellow Canadians: It appears that beginning in early April, books from American sources—which includes many of our favorite Christian publishers—will be subject to a 25% tariff. If you are planning to purchase books anyway, you may want to do so before that date. My understanding is that e-books will not be subject to the tariff.

Today’s Kindle deals include a book from Christopher Ash on teaching the Psalms and Katie McCoy’s excellent To Be a Woman.

I appreciated reading Daniel Strange’s reflections on ARC 2025. “How do you judge something where you heard things that made you gasp ‘Wow!’ (in a good way) and ‘Wow!’ (in a less good way)? As a conservative evangelical theologian and someone interested in cultural apologetics and evangelism, I wonder how many (if any) cheers we should give ARC and the cultural trend it represents.”

This is an interesting tale of God using a person in unexpected ways.

We want to bless you and your spouse with FREE Marriage Getaway for pastors—a 3-day, all-inclusive getaway for pastoral couples at one of Focus on the Family’s beautiful retreat centers. This is your chance to step away, refresh your relationship, and return to ministry strengthened and renewed for God’s Kingdom work! (Sponsored)

“Leadership is about more than influence—although it certainly isn’t about less. It is also about taking responsibility for the influence that we have. The leader takes responsibility to influence others in the right ways and unto the right ends or goals. Leaders don’t just influence; they take responsibility to ensure that they are influencing rightly.”

Bethel McGrew: “This is the abyss that yawns before the mother or the father who has ushered a child through irreversible, body-wrecking procedures. It’s no wonder so many of them angrily turn away, just like so many mothers and fathers who have aborted their unborn children.”

Barnabas Piper shares 7 standards for good writing. “Each standard is open for debate, but combine them all and a sieve of sorts is formed to sift the poor works and let through the quality ones.”

I have only ever heard the term “surrender to ministry” in the American South, though perhaps it’s used elsewhere. Jason Dees explains what he appreciates about it.

“All things for good” is a promise God’s people must take by faith and cling to with tenacity in times of great difficulty. We need to believe that God has the ability to work all things for good and to trust that he actually is working all things for good. 

Christians aren’t distant spectators with a cold propositional knowledge of God; they are children who know their Father personally and are loved by him extravagantly.
—Sam Luce & Hunter Williams

Today’s Kindle deals include some excellent books you’ll want to consider: Embracing Complementarianism which will help you live out your complementarian convictions, Parenting without Panic which will help you raise your kids in this world, and Plugged In which will help you live well with all your digital technologies.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Unique Christian Contribution to Politics)

Jim McCarthy considers an old Jesus poster that hung on his wall. “One does not need to be a 5-point Calvinist, or a confessional Presbyterian to recognize two of the many ways images of Jesus subtly but surely rob him of the glory of his humiliation.”

This is so important to understand and believe. “The heart of the matter is this. God is entirely who He says He is all the time, or He isn’t who He says He is at all. It’s that simple, and also that mind-blowing. This is the essence of faith…”

Method or no method? Bible studies or tracts? There are many ways to evangelize and Dr. Timothy Beougher of SBTS considers them here.

Daniel Jung considers what pastors owe their congregations. “We have many skills that will transfer. But I believe our greatest transferable asset is one that is most directly linked to our ministry calling: our desire to be a shepherd. In the deep recesses of my heart, I know I will be a shepherd of people wherever I go.

It is hard to believe in the moment, but demonstrably true: friction is good for you. “We instinctively know that hardship shapes character. Parents who remove all restraint and difficulty from their children don’t produce a happy family—the kids are miserable. When we eliminate friction from our lives, when we get whatever we want whenever we want it, we become spiritually and emotionally fragile. We’re all spoiled children now.”

Parenting philosophies that allow children to disobey their parents rise and fall, but certainly we’re in another of those trends today. This article considers whether that’s a potential mark of civilizational decline.

It is no great feat to create the kind of headline that will get people to your site. What is much harder is to create content that will actually benefit them once they get there.

Our spiritual maturity will never exceed our knowledge of the Bible.
—Albert Mohler

The relationship of the Christian to the political process is one of those issues that arises time and again and cycle after cycle. It is one of those issues that often generates more heat than light and that brings about more division than unity. Yet I would like to think we can agree that there is one unique contribution that Christians alone can and must make to the process.

Christians can vote and perhaps should vote, but the same is true of everyone—there’s nothing unique to the Christian when it comes to the responsibility of citizenship in a democratic nation. Christians can lobby, but people of any faith or any conviction can lobby. Christians can march, demonstrate, and picket, but so can atheists, Muslims, and Hindus. None of these things is wrong—in fact, each of them has its place and can often be the good and right course of action. But none of them is unique.

Yet there is one key contribution that Christians alone can make to politics: prayer. While I’ll grant that people of any faith can pray and perhaps even do pray for the political process, only Christians can pray and be heard. Only Christians pray to the actual God who actually exists and who actually oversees and intervenes in the affairs of men. Only Christians have the privilege and even the right (through the reconciling work of Christ Jesus) to have an audience with the true and living God. Only Christians delight the heart of the Father when we speak to him. Only Christians can approach and plead with the God of whom it is rightly said, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1).

A church may express its belief that its members ought to make their Christian convictions known in the way they vote. A pastor may recommend to his congregants that they consider weighing some policies more substantially than others as they evaluate the various parties or representatives. A church may help its people get registered to vote or instead choose to remain silent about such things. There are many matters that are neither demanded nor forbidden in the Bible and in these each church must follow its own convictions.

Voting, lobbying, and campaigning may make a difference to a nation, but we can be absolutely certain that prayer will make a difference to a nation.Share

But to be faithful to God, a church must pray. To honor Scripture, a church must pray. To express love to the country and its citizens, a church must pray. It must pray because it alone has the ear of the Almighty and it alone has been commanded to make “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings … for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1–2). If we are to honor the Emperor (1 Peter 2:17) surely we ought also to pray that God would grant an Emperor who acts honorably. Voting, lobbying, and campaigning may make a difference to a nation, but we can be absolutely certain that prayer will make a difference to a nation.

We pray because prayer is expected of us and commanded of us. We pray because our prayers are heard. We pray because our prayers are effective. We pray most simply and most sublimely because God invites us to pray. And this, Christian, is our one unique contribution.

Logos users, all the deals from March Matchups are now available. You can also grab MacArthur’s commentary on Philemon for free, then scroll down further on that page to find more deals.

Over at Westminster Books, you can get a deal on a very good book I reviewed just last week: Disrupted Journey.

Today’s Kindle deals include a book on fighting for your marriage, a guide to the Psalms, and a book to prepare your family for Easter.

If you’ve ever had to grapple with intrusive thoughts, you’ll benefit from reading Crystal Kershaw’s article. “God’s Word teaches us to take our thoughts captive to Christ, but most of us don’t know how. This specific type of spiritual warfare is not a frequent sermon topic. Yet many of the battles we fight take place in the echo chamber of our internal dialogue, so it should be.”

I’ve read many articles on praying Scripture but I especially appreciated this one.

We want to bless you and your spouse with FREE Marriage Getaway for pastors—a 3-day, all-inclusive getaway for pastoral couples at one of Focus on the Family’s beautiful retreat centers. This is your chance to step away, refresh your relationship, and return to ministry strengthened and renewed for God’s Kingdom work! (Sponsored)

“I am a middle-aged woman with adult children who has an undergraduate degree in music but has also homeschooled her children and cleaned other people’s houses for a living. So why am I going to seminary? And why now?” Meredith Beatty explains what led her there.

This article draws lessons from a key historical figure who had to make a very difficult decision. “The past is certainly different in many ways from the present, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We still have good reason today to question our own motives, consider God’s providential use of suffering, and prioritize loyalty to Christ and his church.”

“There are many folks who love prayer. They don’t just value prayer as a concept; they actually pray. Deeply. They believe it really does something. They feel intimately connected to God, and as a result, their lives are marked by a gentleness, increasing maturity, and relational quality that many of us are seeking. What do they know that we don’t?”

Kirsten Black talks about those times when God’s good gifts don’t seem so good.

…it takes a church to raise a child because it is in the church that our children find a whole community of adults who love them, who have a deep concern for them, and who are eager to see them come to faith and grow in godly character. 

Preparing for ministry is a process that takes time. Like the best bread, you may have all the right ingredients, but you need time to rise. Trying to speed up the process will only ruin the final product.
—Brad Wheeler

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include Greg Koukl’s The Story of Reality and several books by other authors that span a bunch of topics.

(Yesterday on the blog: Things Change and Things Stay the Same)

John Piper explains how Jesus’s life and death could be both fully scripted out and authentically yielded. “Not only is the life of Jesus fully scripted, but so is Judas’s — indeed, so is every person’s life fully scripted by God. We’re all living, acting, speaking, thinking, feeling according to God’s providence, God’s decree, God’s script.”

Here’s a first time A La Carte link for Zak Mellgren who offers a comforting reflection on death and grief and Frodo. “If you are a Christian battling grief, there are three realities I want you to cling to. And I write these as much to myself as to you.”

Several well-known figures have recently expressed their appreciation for cultural Christianity. Thiago M. Silva says that “while these acknowledgments are surprising and even encouraging, they raise an important question: Is cultural Christianity enough? As believers, how should we respond to those who admire Christianity’s legacy but stop short of embracing the gospel?”

“Without even realizing it, many congregations slowly become inward focused. They devote their time and energy to addressing minor problems, managing internal conflicts, maintaining long-standing traditions, and ensuring that everyone in the pews feels comfortable.” This article explains how that can be so dangerous.

Shiphrah Lakka: “I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve found myself in that awkward moment. You know the one—when someone asks, ‘What do you do?’ and my instinctive response is to shuffle my feet and mumble, ‘I’m just a stay-at-home mom. ‘There’s this odd feeling in my chest as I downplay the importance of my work. The phrase ‘just a stay-at-home mom’ feels like a humbling confession of mediocrity.”

Last week I had the privilege of participating in a webinar for the Fortis Institute on comforting those who mourn. I was joined by a couple of other dads who have experienced the loss of a child.

…when we treat baptism seriously, when we do our utmost to only baptize those who have made a credible profession of faith in Jesus Christ, we offer them confidence on the day and in the future.

The gospel keeps me relating to God on the basis of Jesus’s perfections, not on the illusions of my religious achievements.
—Gloria Furman

The French language has an endearing little phrase that could almost have been drawn from the Bible’s wisdom literature. “Plus ça change,” they say, “plus c’est la même chose.” The more things change, the more they stay the same. Though I live in the 21st century, I read in the 19th, which is to say, the great majority of the material I read recreationally is sermons written in the 1800s. Because a preacher will usually apply a text to the specific needs and concerns of his congregation, sermons provide an interesting way of understanding the pressing issues of the day.

As I have read, I have become fascinated by how many of today’s concerns were also the concerns of our forebears. Many of today’s issues have already been discussed, debated, and even resolved and we have much to learn from those who have gone before us. French has it right: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Here are a few examples.

Congregational singing. Pastors were concerned about dwindling congregational participation in singing. Many churches had begun to put singing in the hands of professionals—typically small but highly-trained choirs. Today we may be concerned that worship bands drown out the congregation and sing in ways that amateurs find difficult to emulate. But then pastors were concerned that choirs had supplanted the “one another” ministry of singing that the Bible describes in Colossians 3. They lamented that in many churches it was frowned upon for the congregation to sing along lest it taint the professionalism of the church’s ministry in music.

Political villainization and exaggeration. One American preacher expressed his dismay that every presidential election was deemed the most important and the most consequential of all time. He lamented that every candidate made it sound as if the future of the Republic was at stake—that if the people chose his opponent, America would inevitably crumble and fall. This is certainly still the case today not only in the United States but in other nations as well. It’s fascinating to know that so little has changed—that even then, every issue was deemed unprecedented and every election proclaimed the most important in history.

Explicit nudity. Christians in that era were dismayed at declining morals, especially as it pertained to art. Though movies did not yet exist, it was becoming acceptable for people of good standing to have nude art in their homes. As today pastors may encourage their congregations to keep a wary eye on their media consumption, in that day pastors encouraged their congregations to keep a wary eye on the art they permitted themselves to own or to view. They especially fretted about young men corrupting themselves by looking at what was essentially that era’s pornography.

Biblical authority. In that day, an increasing number of skeptics were pouring contempt on the Bible and especially its claims of miracles and supernatural occurrences. As Darwin solidified and propagated his theories, others were embracing forms of theistic evolution in favor of the Bible’s account of creation. Even some who considered themselves Christian were explaining away these matters for the sake of societal respectability. Pastors had to insist on the authority and reliability of Scripture from its first word to its last.

Polyamory and polygamy. In the past few years, we have seen many headlines about the rise of polyamory—the practice of engaging in multiple simultaneous sexual relationships. In the late 1800s, polygamy was a pressing concern, especially in America as it witnessed the growth of Mormonism and its fixation with plural marriage. Pastors had to teach their congregants what the Bible says about the purpose and sanctity of marriage and insist that marriage was to be a lifelong covenantal relationship between one man and one woman. They had to teach about the terrible consequences to wives and children in polygamous contexts. They did so in ways that were appropriately discreet for that era, but they did so nonetheless.

An epidemic of addiction. In the 1800s there was an epidemic of addiction that swept the nations. Where today we may be concerned with opiates, in that day Christians were concerned with alcohol in general and rum in particular. Rum was a cheap and widely available form of alcohol that was consumed and over-consumed by the masses, leading to poverty, premature death, the abandonment of children, and so on. Many pastors became staunch prohibitionists and encouraged their congregants not only to abstain but to formalize their decision through a pledge. While the specific substances have changed, those who pastored congregations more than a century ago were grieved to see addiction within and around their churches.

The character of politicians. Christians had to consider whether they should vote exclusively for politicians who were demonstrably believers and of upright character or whether they ought to elect politicians on more pragmatic grounds. Christians disputed whether the Bible permitted them to vote someone into office who stood for good policies even as he rejected Christ. And even today Christians disagree among themselves about the necessity of faith and good character in their politicians.

Tariffs. A significant political matter toward the close of the 1800s was tariffs and their role in global politics and economics. While the policies were outside the jurisdiction of pastors, they still mentioned them in their points of application, often because their congregants were being financially impacted by them. The fortunes of the people they shepherded often rose and fell with the decisions of politicians.

One reason I find such enjoyment in the sermons of this era is that many of the preachers were optimistic. In America, the Civil War was now decades behind them and in Europe, the wars that had roiled the continent earlier in the century had largely ceased. People allowed themselves to believe humanity had entered into an era of great progress. Many pastors, perhaps especially in the United States, adopted a postmillennial eschatology, convinced that the United States represented the source and dawning of the millennium. They saw America’s Christian influence sweeping across the world, changing hearts and transforming nations until Christ returned. This optimism suffused their preaching, giving it a joyful and hopeful tone—a tone that could not survive the two world wars that, unbeknownst to them, lay in the not-too-distant future.

I will leave the closing words to a pastor from Brooklyn who, despite often preaching about many of the concerns I have listed above, remained unflaggingly optimistic as he considered the future of his nation and the world.

At the south, Mexico will follow Texas into the Union, and Christianity and civilization will stand in the halls of the Montezumas, and if not in our day, then in the day of our children, Yucatan and Central America will wheel into line of dominion. On the north, Canada will be ours, not by conquest, for English and American swords may never clash blades, but we will simply woo the fair neighbor of the north, and she will be ours, and England will say to Canada, “You are old enough now for the marriage day. Giant of the West, go take your bride.” Then from Baffin’s Bay to the Caribbean there shall be one republic, under one banner and with one destiny—a free, undisputed, Christianized American continent. God grant it. Amen!1

More specifically, American Presbyterian preachers from the latter half of the century. ↩

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Logos users, you’ve got just one more vote to cast as we choose the winner of March Matchups.

There are lots of great picks in today’s Kindle deals: Gentle & Lowly, Living Life Backward, Ten Words to Live By, and so on.

“When we expect circumstances to go a certain way, when we expect people to do certain things, when we expect God to answer our prayers the way we think would be best, and then our expectations are not realized, disappointment grips our hearts. It’s good to know that feeling disappointed is not necessarily a sin. How we respond to disappointment is what’s important.”

Garrett Kell: “In sweet seasons, you will take strong strides together. But at times (or even much of the time), you may feel like you’re dragging your spouse along. Sin, sorrow, and suffering all take their toll on a marriage. When a husband neglects his calling to lovingly lead his wife, she can be tempted to despair.”

At some point we will all know someone who has dementia (and many of us will have to care for one) so it is good to consider how to respect their dignity.

We want to bless you and your spouse with FREE Marriage Getaway for pastors—a 3-day, all-inclusive getaway for pastoral couples at one of Focus on the Family’s beautiful retreat centers. This is your chance to step away, refresh your relationship, and return to ministry strengthened and renewed for God’s Kingdom work! (Sponsored)

Andrew considers whether Christians smuggle the gospel into their stories or whether there is something bigger going on.

Sinclair Ferguson considers when and how a pastor should consider preaching through Romans.

Kristin writes about those few especially precious friendships we get to enjoy in life.

…all growth certainly reflects divine activity and divine blessing, and whether fast or slow, God works in his own way and at his own pace.

A lion cannot understand why a fish should be caught with a hook, and the fish cannot understand why the lion should be caught with a trap. You may be free from certain kinds of temptation, but there are other kinds after you.
—De Witt Talmage

At times we all live burdened lives, weighed down by the cares and concerns, the trials and traumas that inevitably accompany life in this world. And while we sometimes feel crushed by life’s heaviest burdens—the death of a loved one, the rebellion of a child, the onset of a chronic illness—we can also sometimes stagger under the weight of the relentless accumulation of many smaller burdens.

In our times of difficulty we need to remember that Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

God is willing and able to help us, so through prayer we can and should throw our burdens on his shoulders. But with all the great sorrows in the world and in our lives, does he have time and patience for the lesser ones? He does! If it is big enough to be a concern for us, it is big enough to be a concern for him. Or as Corrie ten Boom reminds us, “Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”

I’m grateful to BiblePlaces for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their unique collection of photos that can illustrate every book in the New Testament.

Today’s Kindle deals include a handful of good options.

(Yesterday on the blog: Understanding Trauma)

Alan Noble says “there are three grave errors I think we can fall into when it comes to speech etiquette, and we should be wary of each of them.” I very much agree (and especially with the first).

TGC recently hosted a song and video contest in which they challenged Christian creatives to put the gospel to song. The results were pretty good! You can listen to an EP of their top tracks.

I was encouraged to learn that Steve Lawson broke his long silence to express repentance and remorse for his actions. “I have sinned grievously against the Lord, against my wife, my family, and against countless numbers of you by having a sinful relationship with a woman not my wife. I am deeply broken that I have betrayed and deceived my wife, devastated my children, brought shame to the name of Christ, reproach upon His church, and harm to many ministries.”

Andrew Walker shares his concerns with Christian nationalism. “The term is essentially vacuous and endlessly malleable. Today, left and right alike still spar over the term. More than anything, though, the term has proven an unhelpful distraction.”

I appreciate what Sandi writes here about praying for our dreams to come true. “Dreams and desires are like butterflies in our hands. We cannot hold onto them too tightly or we will crush them. But if we hold them with open hands, at the right time, God will breathe the breath of his Spirit and they may launch and fly.”

“One profound privilege of pastoral ministry is officiating weddings. It’s always an honor to be asked by a couple to perform their ceremony and help shape one of the most significant moments of their lives. Yet there are five words I dread hearing: ‘We wrote our own vows.’” Joe Carter explains his dread.

I suppose I could be on dangerous ground here, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot and have been eager to “write it out”…Why is it that some people aren’t saved even though they had an opportunity to be?

If we never have headaches through rebuking our children, we shall have plenty of heartaches when they grow up.
—C.H. Spurgeon