Win the Man, Not the Argument:

The truth is a wonderful thing. But because it is hard and unyielding, it makes a dandy club. This means that there are many young bucks who need to be exhorted to stop swinging that thing around so much.

Bob Glenn on his involvement in “The Biggest Question”:

The goal of the project is “to educate, inform, and alert as many individuals as possible to the most important truth on earth: who they are, who God is and how they can be reconciled to him.” Not bad, don’t you think?

Who took over Newsweek? Check out the cover story “The Global War on Christians” that gives us a new term – “Christophobia”:

A fair-minded assessment of recent events and trends leads to the conclusion that the scale and severity of Islamophobia pales in comparison with the bloody Christophobia currently coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other. The conspiracy of silence surrounding this violent expression of religious intolerance has to stop. Nothing less than the fate of Christianity—and ultimately of all religious minorities—in the Islamic world is at stake.

Art Rainer posts an infographic on the Millennial generation. Fascinating stats.

Newsweek on the rise of urban homeschooling:

We think of homeschoolers as evangelicals or off-the-gridders who spend a lot of time at kitchen tables in the countryside. And it’s true that most homeschooling parents do so for moral or religious reasons. But education observers believe that is changing. You only have to go to a downtown Starbucks or art museum in the middle of a weekday to see that a once-unconventional choice “has become newly fashionable,” says Mitchell Stevens, a Stanford professor who wrote Kingdom of Children, a history of homeschooling. There are an estimated 300,000 homeschooled children in America’s cities, many of them children of secular, highly educated professionals who always figured they’d send their kids to school—until they came to think, Hey, maybe we could do better.

Why Being a Jack of All Trades Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be:

Life is full of distractions. While there’s nothing wrong with the occasional diversion, you need to be very careful how you spend your time if you want it to count for something.

Those who make a difference have mastered the discipline of focus. They may have many interests and a good amount of luck, but the bottom line is this:

Life is not an accident for these people; they are living intentionally.

The Media’s Abortion Blinders:

Conservative complaints about media bias are sometimes overdrawn. But on the abortion issue, the press’s prejudices are often absolute, its biases blatant and its blinders impenetrable. In many newsrooms and television studios across the country, Planned Parenthood is regarded as the equivalent of, well, the Komen foundation: an apolitical, high-minded and humanitarian institution whose work no rational person — and certainly no self-respecting woman — could possibly question or oppose.

The Christian Origin of Hospitals:

 Christians have been leaders in medicine and the building of hospitals because their founder, Jesus of Nazareth, healed the sick during his ministry on earth (see Matt. 9; 10:8; 25: 34-26). The early church not only endorsed medicine, but championed care for the sick.

The problem of authority in the contemporary church:

The small spat raises big questions. How does the church view authority in a digital environment? How do we determine if a given voice – whether blogger or pastor – is reliable to shape our theology and practice?

Is legitimacy determined only by the massive number of followers of a celebrity pastor or blogger? If that’s not enough, then what gives weight to the words we speak, type, shout or tweet?

Repairing the Ruins: An Interview with Cal Thomas

Evangelical Christians took center stage in American politics during the years when the Moral Majority was prominent. Was that a good thing or a bad thing for the Church? Why?

Komen Drops Planned Parenthood Support:

Facing criticism and boycotts from pro-life groups, breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure has dropped its partnership and financial support of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, the Associated Press reported today.

Can We Trust the Contemporary Worship Music Industry?

Let’s look at pro and con arguments for the job the Contemporary Worship Music (CWM) industry is doing, here at My Song In The Night. I’ll also get into the politics of the music industry a bit (having been a southern gospel radio music director). But first, we must start with God’s Word.

Should You Publish Your Own Book?

Should you publish your own book? Probably not, unless you’re willing to hire a team of professionals to ensure a good product which even then will be rejected by most book stores and reviewers. But before offering your proposal to a publisher, be sure you’re dealing with a house that still places high value on design and editing. When publishers stop doing that, they make themselves irrelevant.

The Power of Why:

Over the years, I’ve learned from my kids that one of the most powerful words is, “Why”

When you believe in something strongly, ask why.

When someone disagrees with you, ask why…

A Salon columnist talks about her “falling in love” with Joel Osteen’s church:

The weekend my boyfriend began seeing another woman, I walked into a megachurch for the first time.

My girlfriends and I didn’t go to praise Jesus. We went for fun. (I didn’t know about the boyfriend yet.) My two friends, both 20-something journalists like me, were visiting me in Houston, and we considered Lakewood Church — the largest house of worship in the country and home to controversial superstar pastor Joel Osteen — a tourist attraction…

Josh Reich pulls out some great nuggets of wisdom and counsel from Calvin Miller’s Letters to a Young Pastor:

I was struck by how much time Miller spent talking about character. Most books on pastoral leadership and church growth center on techniques, but it was refreshing to see him spend such a bulk of time on character. Without character, you won’t last in ministry. I also appreciated how by the time you are Miller’s age, in your mid-70-s, the things that used to matter don’t matter like they used to.

A conversation with Greg Strand about the revision of the Evangelical Free Church’s doctrinal statement:

From 2003-2008, the EFCA was engaged in a revision of their Statement of Faith. The culmination of that revision was reached in June 2008, when the denominational Conference adopted a new Statement of Faith. In order best to understand it and to provide teaching resources for it, it was necessary to provide a companion, a “theological exposition” or commentary to the Statement of Faith. In this way we could expound its truth, clarify what it says and means, and also state what it does not mean.

Ross Douthat – “Government and Its Rivals”:

The White House attack on conscience is a vindication of health care reform’s critics, who saw exactly this kind of overreach coming. But it’s also an intimation of a darker American future, in which our voluntary communities wither away and government becomes the only word we have for the things we do together.

Some firms want to see your social media presence rather than your résumé:

Companies are increasingly relying on social networks such as LinkedIn, video profiles and online quizzes to gauge candidates’ suitability for a job. While most still request a résumé as part of the application package, some are bypassing the staid requirement altogether.

Thom Rainer – Ten Leaders Who Influenced Me:

I owe so much to so many. Countless men and women have influenced me over my 56 years. Some I have known well. Most I never met. But all have impacted my life in some way.

D. A. Carson’s “Reflections on the Church in Great Britain“:

At the final Great Assize, God will take into account not only all that was and is, but also what might have been under different circumstances (Matt 11:20ff). Just as the widow who gave her mite may be reckoned to have given more than many multi-millionaires, so, I suspect, some ministers in Japan, or Yorkshire, will receive greater praise on that last day than those who served faithfully in a corner of the world where there was more fruit. Moreover, the measure of faithful service is sometimes explicitly tied in Scripture not to the quantity of fruit, measured in numbers, but to such virtues as self-control, measured by the use of one’s tongue (James 3:1-6).

The Biggest Myth in Time Management:

The idea that we can get it all done is the biggest myth in time management. There’s no way Brad can meaningfully go through all his email and there’s no way any of us are going to accomplish everything we want to get done.

Face it: You’re a limited resource.

Spurgeon on counting numbers:

I found these thoughts from Charles Spurgeon’s book on preaching evangelistically, The Soul Winner, to be particularly helpful and remarkably relevant to contemporary discussions. Spurgeon had the rare combination of being one of the most evangelistically successful, as well as doctrinally rich, preachers of his day. How we need more who can do both!

To Read Cover to Cover or Not? The Ethics of Reviewing Books:

I recently received an inquiry about the expectations of book reviewers – are you meant to read the book under examination in full? Perhaps to some the answer is self-evident (“yes!”), and I follow this practice in general, but there are some exceptions.

Missing “March for Life” Photos Discovered:

Around 7 p.m. on Thursday, three days after the March for Life, the folks at CBS found some pictures of pro-lifers to include, rather after the fact. So now about half of the slides are of the hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers who descended on the mall and about half are of the roughly dozen or so pro-choicers who protested that same march. And for this, which is still a ridiculous use of a slideshow, we are thankful for the improvement.

How to Read a Book:

For several years I’ve used a method I call the “Reading Pyramid,” which provides five categories of reading.  Perhaps it will be helpful for you.  Here goes…

Guidelines for Reading / Listening to the book of Job:

Job presents a picture of suffering, asking how we respond when suffering seems consummately unjust, and we DON’T get any answers. What does faithfulness to God look like at that point? How do we process our suffering or relate to someone else who is suffering? Let me mention 4 things to keep in mind as you read and/or listen to Job.

Some cool things from Apple coming soon:

Here’s a few cool things from Apple that either just came out or will be coming out soon…

Lee Strobel on the future of apologetics:

Fortunately, I believe we’re on the cusp of a golden era of apologetics. We’re seeing such scholars as William Lane Craig, J. P. Moreland, William Dembski, Stephen Meyer, and others making fresh, cutting-edge arguments for Christianity. Academia is taking notice. Terrific websites, like apologetics315.com, are making apologetic material more widely available. Younger leaders like Sean McDowell are taking apologetics to a new generation.

How to Defend the Pro-Life View in 5 Minutes:

Suppose that you have just five minutes to graciously defend your pro-life beliefs. Can you do it with rational arguments? What should you say? And how can you simplify the abortion issue for those who think it’s hopelessly complex? Here’s how to succeed in three easy steps…

Doug Wilson: 5 Thoughts on the South Carolina Newtslide

These bimbo eruptions will surface in one of two categories — the charges will either be true or false. If true, then, well, there we will be, wondering how many more trillions Obama can get over the next four years from his secret bank account on the moon. If false, then it will be slander, but it will be sticky slander. The public and acknowledged facts of Newt’s life will make him particularly vulnerable to that slander. In other words, Newt is a nomination risk, and this aspect of his life is a no-lose proposition for the Democrats.

Thabiti Anyabwile reviews a book I’m reading right now – Keep Your Head Up:

Keep Your Head Up joins an important discussion already well underway between the conservative Cosby types who argue that African Americans need to accept and exercise more personal responsbility in addressing social problems and the liberal-progressive Dyson types who do not deny the need for personal responsibility but argue Cosby and his ilk overlook the more pervasive and debilitating effects of structural racism.  Both Cosby and Dyson would criticize the Black Church for failing to play an effective role in resolving these social ills.

Jonathan Howe posts some pictures of the devastation from the Southern tornado outbreak two nights ago. Pray for the families involved.

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Russell Moore – “The Evangelical Uneasy Conscience Faces the Future”

Carl Henry’s “Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism” is perhaps the most important evangelical book of the twentieth-century. It is just as relevant as it was in 1947, and should be read again by all those with a serious commitment to applying a kingdom vision to every aspect of life. The kingdom Jesus inaugurated spoke to the whole person, to spiritual lostness, to physical sickness, to material poverty, to the need for community. A church that joins Jesus in preaching the kingdom will too. We need that reminder every generation, perhaps especially now. The evangelical conscience is, after all, still uneasy after all these years.

Matt Papa’s appeal to Christian radio and its listeners:

I’m writing this because I want for christian radio to be christian.  I’m writing because I care about the things that have Jesus’ name tacked on them….I’m writing because I care about people and the huge forming and informing effect music has on them.  I not here to just say what’s wrong…I’m here to say what’s RIGHT (and missing), namely, Christian radio playing songs that are Biblical, theologically accurate, Christ-exalting, gospel-proclaiming, artistically meaningful, and truly encouraging.

Ron Paul: The 21st Century Goldwater

Ron Paul is like Barry Goldwater insofar as many of his principles are classically conservative—limited government, constitutionalism, the nobility of individual liberty, restraint in foreign policy—though he applies them in ways that are unnecessarily controversial and discrediting. But as Ronald Reagan took the core of Goldwater’s love for liberty and taught it persuasively and applied it prudently, Ron Paul could have a great statesman in his future. But he is not that statesman.

You want to meet, but what do you really want?

Over the last 15 years, I’ve heard this alot. From key leaders, CEO’s, authors, celebrities, politicians, actors, producers, pastors, and lots of other folks. I would figure out a way to make a connection with someone, and then arrange a meeting, phone call, breakfast, lunch, or coffee. Inevitably, this question would eventually come out in the conversation. I loved hearing it. It was the honest question. Now I ask it. Not because I’m someone who deserves to ask it, but more because time is precious.