I mentioned yesterday that I’d make my recent “Getting the Most Out of Logos” webinar available for those who were not able to attend on Tuesday evening. We fixed up that portion where my screen went blurry, then uploaded it to Logos. It’s now there for you to view. On that same page, you can find the discount codes for both new purchases and upgrades. Those codes are valid until 11:59 PM on November 14.

I updated the ChristianBook.com deals page. There are lots of Bibles and books currently on sale.
(Yesterday on the blog: How To Draw Near To The Throne of Grace)
Christianity and Functional Liberalism (or How Evangelicalism Denies the Faith)
This is a lengthy and urgent article about what the authors see as a “rapid, cross-denominational apostasy” that has recently swept over the church.
Turning from God does not lead to a better society
This much shorter article considers that turning from God never leads to a better society. “Living according to the rules set by some god seems oppressive. It would be far better to live however we wanted, to worship (or not) as we felt like, and to just do what seemed best to us. Even for those who have grown up in the church, we can feel like those outside the church have a freer, easier life.”
The Church: A Family of Redemption
“The local church paints a picture of a greater reality: God takes broken people and makes them whole through the family of God. He has sent his son Jesus Christ to redeem a people—his people—to himself that they might enjoy him forever. This is an eternal and unfading family, but it’s also a family for the not-yet season that we live in.”
How Do You See People?
Sylvia writes about a topic I have been considering as well: the way we see other people. “I often see people with labels attached, and those tags may either dismiss or enlarge who they are in my esteem.”
Church Growth: The Place of Metrics in Evaluating Ministry
“Attending a conference, denominational synod, or church planting seminar, you do not have to wait long before you are discussing numbers and attendance. It’s not even that people specifically ask how big your church is. It is more that the question, ‘How’s it going?’ either has the implied meaning of ‘how many people are attending your church?’ or we instinctively answer with metrics.”
Church Planting
9Marks has released a new issue of their journal, this one dealing with church planting. There are many articles to read, all for free.
Flashback: Fears and Fleeting Faith
In their troubles they fled to Jesus. In their uncertainty they cried out to their master. But they came to him in fear and doubt, not in faith.

When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come. —J.I. Packer

My thanks goes to Christian Focus for sponsoring the blog this week with news of an excellent new biography on John Ross.

There are a few new Kindle deals today.
Westminster Books continues their deals today with discounts on children’s books.
(Yesterday on the blog: Black Friday 2022 Deals for Christians)
David French and the Future of Orthodox Protestantism
This is an important one from Carl Trueman. “It is now clear that orthodox Protestants, specifically evangelicals, do not own the country. Whether they ever did is a matter for debate; that they thought they did is indisputable.”
Is Islam Really the Fastest Growing Religion in the World?
You have probably heard that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. But is it really?
The search for authenticity
“Churches in hard places may seem full of people being authentic, but people often recoil from the authenticity on display because it is, well, too authentic. The sins on display, that with the church’s help may be repented of, are too much for some to wear. How can professing believers do that?”
A Workaday Faith
“We all want to do great things for Jesus. That’s normal and healthy. But we’re not all going to get to.” Indeed. But this isn’t a bad thing!
The Embattled Pastor
“Disagreement, misunderstandings, frustration, and disunity can tear at the seams of Christ’s church. Conflict leads to hurt feelings, judged motives, and flared tempers. Church members might take sides. Gossip and whispers spread like wildfire, and soon the forest is raging. If criticism is like a sprained ankle, conflict is the fracture.”
When Your Spouse Suffers from Chronic Pain or Illness
Those who are accompanying their spouse through a time of chronic pain or illness may benefit from this two-part article at Biblical Counseling Coalition.
Flashback: How I Review a Book
This is a loose format I follow in many of my reviews and I have found it quite effective in reaching a general audience with an interest in popular-level books. I hope you find it helpful!

The most rebellious thing we can do in a world that prioritizes nonconformity above all is to stand out from the crowd by deliberately conforming our soul, mind, and body to a truth bigger than ourselves and our desires. —Trevin Wax

So many people live with a deep sense of failure. So many people go through their lives convinced they are a constant disappointment to the ones they so naturally long to please.

Children consider their parents and feel a sense of shame, certain that in some way their parents regard them as a disappointment. Meanwhile, parents consider their children and feel that same sense of shame, sure that their children regard them with disapproval.
Husbands consider their wives and wives their husbands and, while they may not know exactly what they’ve done wrong or what standard they have failed to uphold, they are convinced their spouse looks toward them with a displeased eye.
Church members are often convinced their pastor is disappointed in them for their level of involvement in the church or for the minimal strides they have made in sanctification. Pastors, meanwhile, often feel a deep sense of disapproval from church members, perhaps because they are ordinary preachers rather than extraordinary ones or because they simply do not have enough hours in the week to accept every meeting and fulfill every request.
There are so many Christians who live under a cloud of disappointment and disapproval. And we cannot allow ourselves off the hook here. Our husbands and our wives, our parents and our children, our pastors and our congregations—all can feel that withering sense of censure from the likes of you and me.
And, if we’re honest, such censure is often real rather than imagined. It is real because we are all susceptible to expecting people to live up to our standards rather than to God’s. Yet where God’s standards are holy, ours are tinged with evil; where God’s standards are rational, ours are arbitrary; and where God’s standards are fixed, ours are constantly shifting. People fail to live up to our standards because it’s impossible for them to live up to our standards. And neither should they, for we have no right to call people to live to any standard other than God’s.
A great gift we can give to others is the gift of our approval. We can assure them that our desire for them is not that they live according to our standards, but that they live according to God’s. If they heed the will of God and live according to a sanctified conscience, we can, we should, and we must be satisfied. We must believe that the best thing they can do is please God and please themselves. And if they have done that, we must not be disapproving of them or be disappointed in them.
Husband, one of the greatest gifts you can give your wife is the assurance that you approve of her and that you delight in her. Let her know: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Wife, one of the greatest blessings you can bestow upon your husband is the confidence that you are pleased with him and that you find joy in him. Let him hear it: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Parents, your children want to know that you approve of them. So be sure they know: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Children, your parents want to know that you approve of them just as much as you want to know that they approve of you. So be sure to tell them: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Pastors and church members, you know what to do. Whether you use these exact words or others like them, make sure the sentiment is plain: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”*
There would be nothing more foolish than to disapprove of decisions that have been approved by God or to be disappointed by actions that please God. There would be nothing more cruel than to make someone believe they have failed in your eyes when they have succeeded in God’s. There would be nothing more disheartening than for them to live a life that’s pleasing to God only to find that they have lived a life that’s displeasing to you. So whether it’s your child or parents, your husband or wife, your pastor or congregation, let them know, and then relate to them in such a way that they believe it: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”

I have seen these words attributed to the Puritan Philip Henry, but have not been able to trace them back to a source.