Welcome to a new edition of A La Carte. These weekend editions focus on long-form content and think pieces. There’s a lot of good material here, so I’m sure you’ll find something that’s of interest.

For some of the articles, I have provided gift links, which should get you around any paywalls. Note, however, that these gift links may expire in a few days or weeks.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include several noteworthy books. At the top of the list is Don Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

Recommended Reading

Work Will Always Matter. Whatever else is true of the world today, and especially the world after the entrance of AI, it is changing (and will continue to change) our relationship to work. Chris Griswold considers all the tech-utopians today who claim AI means the end of work. He says, “Whether anything like this will in fact transpire remains to be seen. But even the prospect of such an outcome is prompting real anxiety in the American workforce. A mass political revolt by white collar workers angry that their credentials no longer secure middle class stability, for example, is a serious and sobering prospect.”

The Rise of Techno-Feudalism. If you would like to think deeply about technology, then Brad Littlejohn’s article on techno-feudalism should be of interest. He explains how modern technology companies threaten to impose a new kind of feudalism upon the world.

The Gospel According to Karl Marx. I was glad to see this article in the Wall Street Journal. “What if Karl Marx wasn’t merely an economist or revolutionary theorist, but an eschatologist—someone who didn’t abolish the Christian drama of redemption but relocated it within the realm of humanly achievable history? The question might seem mad. Eschatology belongs to theology, religion’s study of the final destiny of time. And Marx famously dismissed religion as an illusion, calling it the ‘opium of the people.’ Yet when his thought is examined carefully, a striking parallel emerges: Marx didn’t eliminate redemption. He translated it into political economy.” (Gift link)

Steve McQueen, Born Again, Set Free. Patrick Luscri writes about some of the parallels between his life and Steve McQueen’s. “Contrary to my previous understanding, Steve McQueen was drawn by Christ months before his cancer diagnosis, according to his wife. I was drawn years before mine. I believe her. I also believe McQueen was chosen by God to be an adopted child way, way before that moment. Eons ago. The same for me. Before God made the world and everything else, he loved us.”

The Challenge of Eastern Orthodoxy: Comparing Evangelical and Eastern Orthodox Theology. I think most Reformed Protestants are at least reasonably familiar with the false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. However, far fewer are familiar with the false teachings of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Tony Costa does a great job of laying them out in this long article. “On a personal and pastoral level, I have been contacted by a number of people belonging to Evangelical churches who have raised concerns that members of their own families converted or were in the process of converting to Eastern Orthodoxy. But before we ask ourselves ‘why is this happening?’ and ‘what can be done?’ we first must become familiar with the theology of Eastern Orthodoxy—and why it is dangerous.”

Cornfield Baptism Near Omaha, Nebraska. This is a sweet article about coming home. Note that it begins with a bad word, but just one. “I didn’t always miss Nebraska while I was studying in Ann Arbor or during my first years in New York City, but sometimes waves of homesickness would swell and overtake me unexpectedly—when a cousin bought a house or had a baby, or Mom celebrated a birthday. When I smelled lilacs at the dog park, or when Grandpa Jack’s delighted face returned to me at the first bite of strawberry ice cream in Williamsburg.” (Gift link)

My Manifesto on AI and Religion. “Humanity is facing a significant problem that we’ve not encountered to this point. We’re about to go from a species that acquired knowledge through primary sources to a species that acquires knowledge through secondary sources. This moment places foundational AI models in a kind of high priestly epistemological seat. This is both good news and bad news for the foundational AI models.” Michael Graham considers how AI might best be trained to answer religious questions.

5 Things Most People Don’t Know About Writing Books (And How Readers Can Help). Pierce Taylor Hibbs writes from the standpoint of an author and editor to explain what many readers don’t know about the process of writing and publishing books. He also explains how readers can help. If you love to read, I think you’ll enjoy this one and benefit from it.

A Review Request

The article just above mentioned that authors are deeply reliant on reviews from those who have read their books. If you’ve read any of mine, would you be willing to jump over to Amazon to leave a quick review? It will take only a moment and will help make a difference! Here are a few of my books:

• Seasons of Sorrow
• God’s Great Big Global Church
• Devoted
• Do More Better
• From the Rising of the Sun
• Click here for others

Flashback

What Jesus Does Not Pray. Jesus does not ask that we will be kept from all trials, all suffering, all sorrows. He prays simply that as we remain here, we will be held firm in the grip of God to carry out his will. 

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include a few deals from Christian Focus and a handful of good general market titles.

If you’d like printed books, how about looking at Westminster Books, where you’ll find specials on James Ussher’s On the Nature and Kingdom of God and Annie Vanderheiden’s Cradled.

The Funnies

My friend Chris Martin maintains a Substack called The Funnies, and every Saturday he shares a few fun and silly things he found on the Internet—something I see as a modern equivalent to the comics pages that used to be in every newspaper. I asked him to share a couple with you.

Small print: The inclusion of someone’s “funny” here is neither an endorsement of that person nor a recommendation that you follow them on social media. Just laugh or roll your eyes and then move on.

Recommended Reading

The Ancient World Had No Word for Child Abuse. Matthew Cluraghty tells how the ancient world had no word for child abuse in its many forms. He then explains how we came to regard abusing a child as an especially heinous crime. “Girls and the weak and the inconvenient were abandoned in large numbers, most died. Some were found by slave traders and raised for labor or prostitution. A father had no particular moral obligation to the child his wife was carrying. The child’s right to exist was entirely contingent on his decision. And then there was the matter of what the Greeks called paiderastia.”

What I Wish I Had Learned in Theological College. I don’t think you need to be a pastor to benefit from reading what Michael Jensen wishes he had learned at theological college many years ago. “What should I have learned in college? Now, notice I haven’t said ‘what should they have taught me in college?’ They may have taught it, but I didn’t necessarily learn it! The business of studying is always a partnership between students and their teachers. And as an adult, I have to take responsibility to some degree for what I did and didn’t learn.”

Pray to the Lord of the Harvest. Here’s an interesting observation about the New Testament’s perspective on evangelism. “Praying is the most frequently enjoined gospel-promoting activity in the New Testament. Not preaching. Not giving. Not going. Praying.”

What God Is Healing While Not Healing My Health Problems. Those who have suffered through chronic health issues or who have otherwise prayed without a clear answer from the Lord may be encouraged by Bethany McIlrath’s article on what she has learned through a long season of waiting. “I’ve been praying for the Lord to heal me from significant chronic health problems for a long while now. I will continue to. In the meantime, I marvel at what He IS healing me from through this course of pain…”

Are You Willing to Show Up? “Recently, in a conversation with a friend, I learned I had deeply hurt her. It was not what I had done. It was what I had not done.” Susan Narjala affirms the importance of being present with those we love.

Artificial Preaching. Greg Morse: “From the beginning of time, the God of heaven and earth has declared war on all wisdom that ignores his own. He will tolerate no rivals when it comes to our trust. That’s what makes artificial intelligence such a danger to the Christian, and especially to the minister.” He draws an interesting biblical comparison that shows the danger of trusting in our own means instead of the Lord’s.

A La Quiz

Did you keep up with this week’s A La Carte and read some of the best articles I shared? Test yourself:

1. Leonardo De Chirico made one especially interesting observation about Pope Leo’s attitude toward Evangelicals. What was it? (Find out)
2. Casey McCall warned Christians about drawing the wrong lesson from the latest Evangelical scandal. What was the wrong lesson? (Find out)
3. Jacob Crouch exhorted Christians to ensure they are not doing the devil’s work for him. What did he mean by that? (Find out)

Flashback

The Freedom of Embracing My Weaknesses. As important as it has been to learn who God has made me to be has been learning, admitting, and embracing who he has not made me to be.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some solid deals from The Good Book Company, like What Cannot Be Lost and Mental Health and Your Church.

Logos users will want to be sure to look at this month’s free and nearly free deals. You’ll also find thousands of products discounted for Memorial Day, as well as some good options in the Monthly Deals.

Recommended Reading

One Step Becomes a Three-Day Walk. Timarie Friesen tells about some people who are engaged in a remarkable ministry. “Three men stepped into the forest at dusk. They knew the risks. Pumas and venomous snakes, rivers with no bridges, and ravines below slippery paths. Carlos, Rodolfo, and Elver carried backpacks brimming with shoes for climbing mountains, and tall, waterproof boots for crossing rivers. Also, a soccer ball and Bibles, hardcovers and solar-powered audio Bibles.”

Three Truths to Combat Your News Anxiety. Paul Sadler writes for those who struggle with news-related anxiety. “Even though the news is triggering the anxiety, people compulsively check the news for reassurance, the way a person repeatedly checks to see whether the doors are locked for fear of an intruder. We fixate on worrying circumstances that are beyond our control and, as a result, experience elevated stress, headaches, sleep problems, and feelings of dread and helplessness. Three foundational truths from the Bible about the future can help with this.”

The Staggering Beauty and Burden of Church Life. It does us good to marvel at the beauty of church life. “Gathered here are young and old, rich and poor, black and white; notorious sinners and sweet old ladies and everything in between. All of these lives, these burdens, joys, and journeys, flash through my mind as I glance around for a few seconds during a song. And it hits me again, what a wonder the church of God is, just the sheer beauty and burden of church life. And this is just one little church. To think that this panoply of beauty and burdens is multiplied hundreds and thousands of times across our nation; it’s astonishing.”

A Veil Before the Eyes of the Enemy: On Tolkien, Foolishness, and the Ordinary Means of Grace. This is a thought-provoking article, and I think you’ll enjoy reading it. “Even amongst committed Christians, there is a sense that the scripts and narratives of the previous generation simply are not working. Many are looking for more rebellious and radical alternatives. If current leaders are not offering a viable and foreseeable future, then things need to be torn down, discarded, started anew, etc. And as a younger millennial myself, I sympathize with the more youthful reactionary impulse. Things are not as they should be.”

Denominational Health Depends on the Understory. Trevin Wax has a strong piece on denominational health. “Every summer, when news comes out from various denominational meetings, you’ll notice a pattern. There’s always a controversial vote. A social media storm. Commentators declare the institution either irredeemably corrupt or finally on the right track, depending on what side they’re on. There’s the noise of newsletters and statements, frequent hand-wringing about the future, especially in light of statistics pointing to decline.”

Don’t Do the Devil’s Work for Him. Meanwhile, Jacob Crouch’s article nicely complements Wax’s. “[Satan] is the accuser of the brothers. Sometimes, our petty selfishness and pride cause us to pick up that mantle for ourselves. We feel wronged or mistreated, and instead of taking up our cross, we take up name calling. We begin to accuse our brothers.”

Random Thoughts

One thing I enjoy doing is sharing collections of random thoughts on various subjects. Here’s a roundup of the ones I’ve done so far:

• A Collection of Random Thoughts on Christian Living
• 40 Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life
• 40 More Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life
• Random Thoughts on Being a Dad
• 32 Random Thoughts About the Local Church
• Random Thoughts and Tips on Prayer
• Random Thoughts about Preaching and Being Preached To
  

Flashback

AI Makes Me Doubt Everything. AI is all of the world’s facts without any of humanity’s wisdom. It is knowledge without a heart and data without a mind. It is the impassive articulation of ideas processed through a CPU rather than a brain. 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today, my friends. Thank you for reading this collection of articles that I’ve drawn carefully from all around the Internet.

I only saw this article after putting together the other links, but wanted to make sure you saw it: American Missionary Doctor Contracts Ebola as Congo Outbreak Intensifies. “An American missionary doctor working at a Christian hospital near the center of the new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has contracted the deadly disease.”

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some excellent titles like Running Scared (Ed Welch), Take Heart (David Powlison), and so on. Reminder: You can track these Kindle deals on X (@challiesdeals) and Facebook.

Recommended Reading

China Is Throwing Christians in Jail, but This Pastor Refuses to Back Down. The Wall Street Journal has a long profile on Chinese pastor Ezra Jin, who built a thriving church and was thrown in jail for it. “Five miles south, at the Communist Party’s leadership compound, Xi was consolidating power and rooting out any resistance to his authority in the party and culture. He made it clear that the controls on Christianity up until that point hadn’t gone far enough. In 2018, authorities demanded that Zion install around two dozen surveillance cameras to allow them to track the church’s activities. While Zion’s leaders said they welcomed officials to attend their services, they objected to the cameras as a form of intimidation of church members.”

The Other Side of Seminary. Haley Isbell writes a dispatch about “the other side of seminary.” “I come from the underbelly of the seminary. I am the face behind the moving parts: the fall schedule flyer posted, the snacks in the breakroom, the classroom set up, the invoices submitted, the meals for faculty meetings, the peanut M&M’s always at my desk. I am the person who meets the first child of our seminary students.”

The Remedy, the Problem, and the Church. I found this quite an interesting article from Holly Lazzaro. We have all been told that AI is coming for many jobs, and what she shows is that the jobs that may be most at risk are the ones that are often held by women. “We should not be surprised that economic systems do this. Fallen institutions do sinful things. They find the people with the least power and make them absorb the costs of change. They have always done this. The pattern is not a malfunction in an otherwise healthy system. It is what systems shaped by fallen humans do.”

Rushing Our Quiet Times. Jo Gibbs offers what I found to be an especially interesting insight here that helps answer the question of how much time we should spend in our daily devotions. “Thirty minutes? Forty minutes? An hour? Should we feel rebuked that we’re not getting up at 4 a.m. like a spiritual version of Jocko Willink? Or like Martin Luther, who is widely quoted as saying: ‘I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.’ Lately my answer to this question has become simple: the right length for a quiet time is long enough to be unhurried.”

Why We Need to Interpret the Bible (And Why It’s Worth the Effort). Wanjiru Ng’ang’a asks and answers a crucial question: Why do we need to interpret the Bible? Obviously, we know we ought to read it, but why do we also need to interpret it? “This article is simply an invitation to pause and consider why interpretation matters at all, and why the effort it requires is well worth our while.”

Why We Don’t Trust Pastors. “Americans have spoken. We don’t trust pastors. A recent Gallup survey found that only 27% of Americans ranked pastors as ‘high’ or ‘very high’ regarding their honesty and ethical standards. We are outpaced by accountants, bankers, and mechanics with those in the military or medical professions more than doubling our score. Twenty years ago pastors were ranked among the very highest. Why the shift?” There is more than one answer, and more than one solution.

A Very Small Napkin

Here’s Theodore Cuyler expressing his concern for those who profess faith in Christ but who fail to diligently steward all that has been entrusted to them—to become all they could be by his power and in his strength.

Such professors there be in every church. Their single talent is hidden in a napkin—a very small napkin. What God bestowed upon them at the time of conversion is all that they have now; if there has been any change, it has been rather a reduction than a growth. Such began small—they continue smaller. They never were anything but rivulets, trickling with slender thread of water among the barren stones, at the mercy of every August drought, and well-nigh drunk up by every thirsty noonday sun. Year after year they trickle—trickle—trickle—until death dries them up, and nobody misses them. They watered nothing; they refreshed nobody, and blessed no living thing. Earth is little the poorer for losing them; heaven scarcely the richer for gaining them.

Flashback

Stop Swiping, Start Serving. How many church members could be leading important ministries, except that they spend hours on social media thinking that some daft controversy on Twitter in any way impacts the real world? And all the while there are people right before them who need to be loved and cared for and shepherded.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.

Last week, I mentioned a gift card giveaway. The winner of that card has been notified. I plan to have another giveaway soon, so stay tuned.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include several volumes from P&R’s helpful series on the great thinkers. You’ll find some other options as well.

Recommended Reading

Don’t Draw the Wrong Lessons from the Latest Evangelical Scandal. I’m glad Casey McCall wrote this, as I was trying to formulate some similar thoughts, and now I don’t have to. “Maybe it’s best to resist this urge to weigh in confidently on theological causation. Perhaps not every occasion of public sin can be traced back causally to a doctrinal aberration. Maybe erroneous theological error does not lead inevitably to ministry-disqualifying sin. While I’m perfectly willing to admit that doctrinal error always results in negative consequences, I don’t think retroactively drawing lines of causation from theological aberration to scandal constitutes virtuous reasoning.”

The Blessing of Being Forgotten. There’s a story here that I want to be true since it’s so illustrative: A pastor who commissioned a statue of himself outside his church, but today no one can even remember who he was. “Now, I wasn’t there when the statue was commissioned, and I acknowledge my ignorance of the pastor’s motivation. However, it’s not hard to speculate what goes through a person’s heart and mind when they have a statue of themselves built. They want to be remembered. Or to put it another way, they are afraid of being forgotten.”

If Your Chatbot Offers Prayer, Shut It Down. I found this excerpt the most helpful part of this article: “The goal of writing a sermon is not merely to have a sermon. It is to become the kind of person who could write that sermon, the person who muddled through those texts and sought that insight and can offer an informed and well-considered answer to the tangential question some congregant will inevitably ask. It is to become the kind of person who—away from the pulpit, at a deathbed, or on the phone well past midnight—will know the right, kind, and faithful thing to say.”

Have Tongues Ceased? A Reformed Answer for Christians Leaving the Charismatic Movement. Anthony Faggiano writes for those who have come to Reformed theology from charismatic churches (or who are considering doing so) and helps them understand why Reformed Christians (mostly) believe the gift of tongues has ceased.

Consider the Small Town. Cities matter a great deal, of course, but Melissa expresses some of the joys of living in a small town. “There are so many God-given opportunities to truly be involved in people’s lives in a small town, and a lot of it happens in the bleachers at ballgames and during a chance meeting at the local grocery store. God is doing great things here, where the fields are almost ready for wheat harvest, and where the spiritual fields are also ripe. If our Savior’s life on this earth is any indication, the small and lowly places are some of the spots most likely to experience a special move of God.”

Thinking Christianly about Complex Topics. “One of the hazards of intellectual Christian discourse is to anoint ourselves as the amateur evaluators of ‘the Christian viewpoint’ on everything—science, economics, geopolitics, how governments ought to be run, aesthetics, agriculture and whatever other fields of human discourse arise.” Joel Arnold explains how to avoid the hazard.

The Lists

I found several articles yesterday that are written in the always-popular list format.

• 10 Reasons to Pray by Nathan Busenitz compiles some good reasons other Christians have offered.
• 10 Theses on Suffering by Paul Schlehlein provides a brief but well-rounded Christian perspective on suffering.
• 18 Thoughts on Christian Funerals by Stephen Kneale offers some thoughts on meaningful funerals.

Book Releases

New Christian books tend to be released on Tuesdays. Here are some that are available as of today.

• Strong in the Lord: A 30-Day Devotional on the Armor of God, edited by Winfree Brisley. “Rooted in the apostle Paul’s teaching from Ephesians 6:10–18, this 30-day devotional invites readers to discover lasting strength by putting on the armor of God.”
• Cradled: Christ’s Care for Postpartum Moms by Annie Vanderheiden. “Annie offers gospel hope to new moms in a disorienting season.”
• Psalms 1–72 (The Pillar Old Testament Commentary (POTC)) by Duane A. Garrett. This is the debut volume in the POTC, which will complement the excellent PNTC series. (Joshua will follow later in the year.)

Flashback

What Does a Discerning Person Do? The primary way a discerning person can serve the church is to be a student of the Word and to use his understanding of Scripture to distinguish between what is true and what is erroneous.

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

This is Victoria Day in Canada, a holiday that unofficially marks the beginning of summer. It’s the day when cottagers tend to open their cottages for the year and when gardeners tend to get their plants in the ground. I’m neither a cottager nor a gardener, but I am a reader, so I expect that’s how I’ll spend my day.

If you didn’t check in yesterday, you may enjoy my weekly Works & Wonders article, as I highlighted some interesting and uplifting things there.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include several volumes in Crossway’s tremendous New Testament Theology series. It’s a great time to start collecting the series or to get caught up on some of the early volumes.

Recommended Reading

I Am Not Enough for My Kids. I think this article will resonate with a lot of parents. “I can’t bind up all the wounds. I can’t protect them from all the bad things. I can’t make them love the things I love. I can’t keep the bullies away. I can’t always stop them from being the bully. I can’t force a (sincere) apology. I can’t change DNA. I can’t create motivation. I can’t make this world fair. I can’t keep them safe all the time. I can’t manifest love and security into their hearts. And of course, I can’t always be the kind, patient, and wise mother I imagined I would be.”

The Dangerous Days Past Middle Age. And this one will resonate with those who are a bit farther along in life—and challenge them too. “I have an image in my mind of the godly old lady I want to be someday: soft-spoken, kind to all, full of wisdom. Having logged half a century under God’s sanctifying sandpaper, I should be well on my way by now. And, taking stock, I can see that I don’t have to rein in my temper as much as I used to, and there’s precious little out there that tempts me to covet. What I am learning, however, is that as I age, I sin differently. Sin is still ‘crouching at the door.’ It just comes in a different form.”

Are You Really Filled With the Spirit? “When I was a college student, a classmate asked me whether I had been filled with the Holy Spirit. At that time, I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Now, I know that the Bible tells me everything I need to know about the filling of the Spirit.” Guy Waters explains what it really means to be filled with the Spirit.

How You Can Give Away Lots of Money (And Be Happy About It). Michael Jensen tells how it’s possible for Christians to give away lots of money and be genuinely happy about it. “In Jesus Christ we receive what we need and more. We have become rich. Now, that’s not literally rich in material terms necessarily, but there’s something about the Christian mentality that is governed by this feeling of having been richly blessed. We are those who operate from a philosophy of abundance rather than scarcity. We see our earthly possessions in the context of our abundance in Christ.”

The Best Way to Resist Temptation. Here’s the thing about temptation: “The more you feed it, the stronger it grows. And the more it eats you, the weaker you become, and the harder it is to think of yourself at all without the monster that’s growling, shaking the bars of your rib-cage, breaking the chains of your self-control, eating every good intention for breakfast.”

A Year With Pope Leo. Evangelical Impressions. Leonardo De Chirico, an evangelical pastor-scholar in Rome, considers the first year of Pope Leo’s leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. Here’s one interesting observation, especially when considering that Leo is American: “And what about the Evangelicals? They do not seem to be on Pope Leo’s radar, aside from a few indirect critical remarks between the lines of his speeches in Cameroon and Angola. Even during his previous tenure as bishop in Peru, he showed no particular interest in the Evangelicals.”

Book Brief

The Guns at Last Light by Rick Atkinson. This is the third and final volume in Atkinson’s tremendous Liberation Trilogy. I really cannot say enough positive things about this series and recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Second World War. If there is one thing that I wish Atkinson had done better in this series, it would be to celebrate examples of not only military heroism but also moral heroism. He rightly tells of some of the Allied servicemen who disgraced themselves by their moral conduct, but gives few examples of those who maintained their virtue or who stood for the weak. You could also get the impression that every man let go of his morals when he reached Europe. Still, it’s my new favorite series on the war. (Amazon)

Flashback

The Dead Seriousness of Careless Words. Words can be a taste of life or a savor of death, a scent of heaven or a whiff of hell. They can do the work of God or of the devil, serve the cause of Christ or of his enemies. Words are so wonderful and so terrible, so beautiful and so horrible, so precious and so dreadful.

Welcome to a new edition of A La Carte. These weekend editions focus on long-form content and think pieces. There’s a lot of good material here, so I’m sure you’ll find something that’s of interest.

For some of the articles, I have provided gift links, which should get you around any paywalls. Note, however, that these gift links may expire in a few days or weeks.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include the usual weekend collection of newer and older books. There should be something there for just about any reader!

Recommended Reading

Here are some links to articles I found especially interesting this week. As you’ll see, that is the only thing they have in common, as they range across a wide variety of subjects.

The Slippery Protein Problem. Most of us have seen recent interviews with Ben Sasse and heard a little bit about the “miracle drug” that is extending his lifespan months longer than he was told to expect. This article explains some of the incredible science behind it. “In December 2025, former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse announced he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that had spread to his lungs, liver and other organs, and was given three to four months to live from the time of diagnosis. With little to lose, he enrolled in a clinical trial for an experimental drug. Four months later, he reported a 76 percent reduction in tumor volume, describing the drug, daraxonrasib, as a ‘miracle’. His face, ravaged by a severe skin rash from the treatment, told a more complicated story. Yet he was alive and grateful to be able to talk to his family.”

Enduring All Things for the Gospel. Thomas Kidd has a long profile of Adoniram Judson in the recent issue of Christianity Today. Judson and his wife wives are well worth getting to know. “Familiarity with missions history is one of the best antidotes to the prosperity gospel—the idea that God will surely bless the faithful with health, wealth, and safety. Missionaries have routinely endured terrible hardships as they obeyed God’s call in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20). The call to missions—and the call to ministry generally—is also a call to resilience. To be sure, many missionaries have chosen to terminate their missions for good reasons, sometimes before the scheduled end of their service. This can happen when God permits circumstances that make it impossible for them to operate without grave threats to themselves or their families’ lives.”

The Tragedy of Mrs. Dr. Seuss. I had never read anything about Mrs. Dr. Seuss and the sad tale of her life until I came across this. “Unless you are very deep into children’s books, you’ve probably never thought much about Helen Palmer. I hadn’t either, until I bought inscribed copies of two of her books. Then I fell into the quicksand of research that so many antiquarian booksellers get sucked into.”

Love (And Work Well With) Your Gen Z Employees. One thing is certain: Gen Z is growing up fast. And, whether we like it or not, Gen Z is the future. Hence, those of us who are Boomers, Xers, or Millennials need to get to know, understand, and appreciate them. You can do that through this article/interview at TGC.

No Meeting Should Be 30 Minutes. This article in The Washington Post poses a question we should probably all ask: Why do we think meetings need to be scheduled in increments of 30 minutes? It is an interesting case of decisions made long ago continuing in perpetuity. “At this moment, in your calendar program, in a setting you’ve likely never clicked on, is the solution to one of the most miserable features of modern professional life: back-to-back meetings.”

Won’t Somebody Please Think of (Having The) Children! Stephen McAlpine considers the nearly universal decline in birthrates and observes something important: “Children have become commodified, as we would expect when we either demonise them (and get rid of them before birth), or worship them, and then pour all our energies and monies into crafting the one or two children that we do have into the gods and goddesses we are told that they undoubtedly will become.”

Clips

I continue to be fascinated and dismayed by the rise of the video clip—the short-form video content that has taken over all the video apps and sites.

Mia Sato of The Verge wrote The Clippening to describe what is happening. “If you are someone who wants attention, social media is just another form of gambling in the age of algorithmic recommendation feeds. Creators and influencers can optimize their content or tweak titles and thumbnails, but ultimately they are all just pulling a virtual slot machine arm, hoping it will dispense views, engagement, and resultant revenue. For well over a decade, content creators have worked to reverse engineer ‘the algorithm.’ Deploying clippers allows companies to gamble on content at scale, without paying a network of contractors upfront: Why bet once, when you could bet 50 times?”

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that you could now turn off shorts within YouTube. To do so, simply open the YouTube app and go to the settings. Then tap “time management” and set Shorts to 0 minutes. This should remove Shorts from the app altogether. Unfortunately, that worked only for the app and not for the desktop version of YouTube. You may be interested to know, though, that there is a shortcut that can do that for you, at least if you use a browser like Chrome (or, in my case, Vivaldi): The aptly named Remove YouTube Shorts.

Quick Links

• Greta Gerwig’s Latest Narnia Casting Officially Kills a Fan-Favorite Aslan Rumor. I’m still not holding out much hope for it, though.
• Bright Horizons for AI. A thoughtfully positive take on AI because the AI you have today is the worst you’ll ever use.
• One Awkward Moment. It’s worth the price of one awkward moment to share the gospel.
• AI Dating and Chatfishing: Are You Dating a Robot? Because the world has become that strange.
• Photographic Memory Is a Myth. So maybe Spurgeon didn’t have a photographic memory after all.

Flashback

The Ministry of Sorrow. We should not desire loss, but we should consent to bow the head, to bow the heart, to bow the knee, and to be a blessing to God’s people in whatever sorrows God ordains for us. 

Welcome to today’s A La Carte, where I help you break free from the algorithm by carefully curating news, articles, and information that is of interest to people just like you.

Reminder: I am giving away a $100 Westminster Books gift card this weekend. I will choose someone randomly from among new and existing subscribers to my newsletters.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some good picks like Derek Thomas’ Heaven On Earth and Sharon Dicken’s Relationships.

The Lexham Geographic Commentary series is a helpful resource, and it’s on sale right now at Westminster Books.

Recommended Reading

A Tough Means of Grace: Profiting From the Rebukes of Others. Derek Brown: “Our ability to receive rebuke from others is a quality essential to our making enduring progress in our walk with Christ. There are no two ways around this truth: either we will readily receive correction and enjoy the fruits of godly wisdom, or we will entrench ourselves against reproof and gradually harden our hearts to our soul’s peril.”

In Defense of Purity Culture. Like me, Ben Hicks has seen many people criticize purity culture. Yet he thinks it is important to also remember that it wasn’t all bad. “Despite the arrows being flung at the movement, despite the total collapse of its preeminent prophet, and despite the seeming success of the sexual revolution, I stand on the side of purity culture. Not because it was a perfect movement, but because it was a good movement. And because, like the sexual revolution, it never really went away. Instead, it became embedded in our Christian subculture, and I think that’s a good thing.”

You Can’t Love the Church in the Abstract. This is important: You can’t truly love God’s church unless you love an actual local church. “What do we say about the congregation? Is it a venue for a weekend worship experience? Is it a social pact I enter only as long as it remains obviously and immediately beneficial to me? Is the congregation a sort of spiritual convenience store peddling religious goods and services—unless (and until) I find another one up the street that offers better deals? Based on behavior I have observed, these attitudes remain prevalent in many congregations.”

Does a Promiscuous Past Affect a Christian Marriage? It disturbs and dismays me that Brittany Allen has had to write this series of articles explaining why promiscuity does not permanently mar a person or make them unsuitable for marriage. Do we really believe in the gospel or not!? She continues to press her case in this entry. “There are earthly consequences to sexual sin that can affect a marriage. If I said there weren’t, I’d be a liar. So, let’s look at the claims and understand the true dangers. But if you’re someone who walked a path similar to mine, stick around because there is so much hope. I promise.”

The Lord of the Traffic Jam. Stephen Jones lays out some of the realities of Toronto’s extremely terrible traffic and then says this: “But none of these statistics are as big a challenge in my daily commute than my own sinful heart. I find that my commute is the most difficult environment in which to remember that I am in fact a Christian. Even in gridlock, I am an ambassador for Christ, called to shine the light of Christ to my half a million neighbours.”

Is a Divorced Couple Free to Remarry Each Other? I appreciate a lot of what Jim Newheiser teaches about divorce and remarriage (like in his book Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage). In this article, he takes on a big question: If a couple has divorced one another but reconciled, could they remarry one another?

Hillsong, Elevation, Bethel

I enjoyed this episode of The Pastor’s Heart, which takes on a question many have asked: Should we sing Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation songs in evangelical churches?

(Can’t see it? Click here)

A La Quiz

Did you keep up with this week’s A La Carte? Test yourself:

1. How many daily hours of screen time is Gen Z averaging today, according to Taylor Berry? (Find out)
2. What did Rebekah Matt describe as the most awkward part of prayer (yet also possibly the most important)? (Find out)
3. What did Kyle Strobel describe as the missing Reformed doctrine for spiritual formation? (Find out)

Flashback

Two Lives Blending Into One Life. “Let both hearts throb with the same joy and share each pang of sorrow. Let the same burdens rest on the shoulders of both. Let the whole life be made common.”

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some books for kids and teens like Science and God: Do You Have to Choose? My Pilgrim Prayers and Keller’s Rediscovering Jonah are there as well.

Recommended Reading

Dimensions. This is a sweet reflection on our inability to grasp the sheer size and scope of God’s love for us. “Dimensions. As a remodeler and DIYer, I know that dimensions describe openings, door and window size, square footage, etc. Dimensions are all about height, width, length and depth. They’re essential. What do dimensions have to do with love? Everything. God’s love for us, expressed through Christ, exceeds our comprehension. We cannot measure it.”

Angels: Avoiding Super-Spiritual Excess and Sub-Spiritual Denial. Ben Dean is right: “Biblically informed awareness of angels avoids two extremes, excessive super-spiritual over-interest and excessively restrictive sub-spiritual denial.” He turns to the question of whether angels have appeared visibly since biblical times. “Whilst absolute skepticism is unnecessary, sober discernment and caution are critical. Whilst angelic appearances are impossible to publicly verify, and whilst they are by definition the opposite of routine, there is no explicit biblical warrant for flat denial or an insistent assumption that beyond biblical times visible angelic occurrences have ceased.”

A Christian View of UFO’s, Aliens, and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. John Stonestreet considers UFOs, aliens, and other unidentified anomalous phenomena. “The Bible does discuss and, at times, describes creatures that are neither human nor animal. These beings exist, not on other planets but in a different realm, unseen but with access to our own. They are not human, nor do they bear the image of God.”

Actually, Having a Baby Has Slowed Me Down. Ryanne Molinari explains some of the ways in which having a baby has slowed her down, and also why she’s okay with this. “When I was nine months pregnant, a colleague of mine informed me that pregnancy didn’t slow his wife down. Good for her. To be fair, pregnancy barely slowed me down either. I worked out the entire time, kept up with my too-many jobs, submitted my doctoral dissertation, and even recorded the audiobook for Spirit-Filled Singing while dealing with worst of my first trimester nausea. But having a baby? Having a baby has slowed me down.”

You Can’t Give Your Children What You Don’t Have. This is a simple but still noteworthy reflection on the well-known words of Deuteronomy 6. “Look carefully at how the passage is structured: God doesn’t start by saying, ‘Teach your children My words.’ Rather, He starts with the father: ‘These words that I command you today shall be on your heart.’ What a significant and often overlooked foundation. The command to teach your children comes second.”

Performative Busyness. Chris Martin offers a Christian’s perspective on performative busyness and pseudo-productivity—traps each one of us can blunder into. (On a related note, see Susan Narjala’s Thinking Theologically About Productivity. Her article got me thinking about the fact that the great majority of writing on productivity tends to be by men. I wonder why that is.)

Natural Theology

Once again, when looking for a concise definition, I turned to The Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms. In this case, I needed to look up “Natural Theology,” a term I have encountered a fair bit in recent days.

The approach to constructing (elements of) the Christian faith through general revelation without appeal to Scripture. It is exemplified in arguments—ontological, cosmological, teleological, moral—for God’s existence. Natural theology rests on general revelation, God’s manifestation of himself in creation, human reason and conscience, providence, and more. Given this revelation, natural theology can be constructed. Still, it is limited by the general revelation on which it is based; thus, natural theology cannot develop doctrines such as the Trinity, Christ’s person and work, and salvation.

Book Brief

His Father’s Son: The Life of General Ted Roosevelt, Jr. There are several famous Roosevelts in American history. Most know of the two Presidents, Theodore and Franklin, but fewer know of Ted. Ted was Theodore’s son and a man who lived a life that was, well, larger than life. He fought heroically in the First World War, went on to a life in business, failed in his attempts to succeed his father in national politics, but succeeded in serving heroically in the Second World War. His life is told well in this account, though I wish it had captured the man as much as it captured his actions. It’s well worth reading, but I hope it’s not the final or definitive account of this especially fascinating man. (Amazon)

Flashback

Is This Really a Good Idea? When you are safely home in heaven…you will think back to these days and see that in every way God directed you, his purpose was never to harm you but only to bless you; never to leave you destitute but always to provide for you; never to abandon you but to deliver you. 

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include several volumes in the excellent Gospel According to the Old Testament series from P&R. You’ll find others as well, like Nancy Pearcey’s timely Love Thy Body.

If you’re interested in a new ESV Journaling Study Bible, you’ll find it on sale in various covers and styles at Westminster Books.

Recommended Reading

7 Ways Your Phone Is Harming You. It is taking a long time, but I see more and more people expressing discomfort with the way their phones are impacting, changing, and even harming them. In this article, Doug Eaton describes seven ways your phone is hurting you. Don’t let yourself think that this applies only to teens or young adults, because it is true for all of us.

The Most Awkward, Important Part of Prayer. Rebekah Matt offers counsel for what she considers (and you will probably agree) is the most awkward or difficult part of prayer. She wants to convince you that it may also be the most important part of prayer.

This Is Why You’re Drowning in Busywork. I found this article in the New York Times quite helpful. It explains how tools like ChatGPT that ostensibly make our lives easier also have ways of making them busier. “We have been told that A.I. will take people’s jobs. What no one mentions is that many of those jobs are landing on us. The A.I. revolution involves a massive transfer of labor — not from worker to machine, but from worker to consumer. The ability to do everything ourselves may be satisfying, but it can gradually overload us with busywork without our noticing.”

The Cost of Rushing Grief. Cole Douglas Claybourn offers an interesting thought here: That the pace at which we are expected to process grief is often set by the world of business (though he says a lot more than that). “Many companies offer as few as three to five days of bereavement leave — barely enough time to plan a funeral, let alone process a loss that upends your entire life. According to one report, only one in five companies offer more than five days, even as some experts suggest taking closer to 20 days after the death of a close family member to handle the emotional and logistical toll of a major loss.”

The Missing Reformed Doctrine for Spiritual Formation. Kyle Strobel writes about a doctrine related to spiritual formation that has largely gone missing from Reformed thought in the past century. “Have you had the experience of feeling like your prayers simply bounced off the ceiling? Or your Scripture reading ceased to feel as meaningful as it once did? Have you looked back at seasons that felt like lush gardens of excitement, passion, and zeal for the things of God—but now feel more like you’re in the desert, spiritually barren, dry, and lifeless?”

Habits for Sunday Rest and Worship. I appreciate reading Wairimu Thiauri’s explanation of how she and her family work hard to make Sunday a day of true rest. “As a mother and wife, I am aware that I have to plan my days well to have the maximum impact on my family. This includes a day of rest. Usually, my family gets to rest on Sundays. We rest in that we do not engage in usual home routines and office work like on other days. We also rest by attending the gathering of the saints in our local body, where we contemplate God’s goodness alongside other saints.”

Currently

Coding. I have long been an avid user of Keyboard Maestro, but was constrained in my use of it by my poor programming abilities. Claude has helpfully stepped into this void and allowed me to expand the power of the macros that bring greater efficiency to many of my repetitive tasks. (For those who use Claude, it seems like Opus 4.7 has been more successful at this than previous versions.)

Enjoying. Aileen’s homemade granola. I always assumed I’d never get to the age when I began to take my own food with me when I travel, but lately, I have been bagging it up into meal-sized portions and carrying it with me. Not only is it good, but it’s undoubtedly far healthier for me than most hotel breakfasts.

Reading. I’m actually in a bit of a reading lull just now. I have tried a few different books lately, but none have really gripped me. That’s the joy of reading on Kindle, though—I can download endless samples and keep trying until I find one that holds my interest. I’m sure it won’t take long.

Flashback

The Joy of Self-Discipline. We don’t just need to discipline ourselves away from unpleasantness but toward joy.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include several volumes from the Gospel in the Old Testament series—one that’s worth collecting when you find good prices. You’ll also find other books like The Well-Watered Woman and For Me To Live Is Christ.

Recommended Reading

I Sold My Body and Couldn’t Quit Heroin. But God Pursued Me. Christianity Today has been sharing a series of testimonies from people whose path to the Lord led through severe hardships. This month it features Paige Lohman, whose story is difficult to read, yet beautifully displays God’s grace. “I remember spending a night in a cheap motel room and looking at my reflection in the mirror. I saw a hollow shell of a woman staring back at me. A thought pierced through the haze. What if you die this way? If heaven and hell are real, I wondered, where would my soul go?” (This is a gift link, so you should be able to get past the paywall.)

It’s OK to Love the Church, Even in Her Imperfections. I appreciate Andrew Walker’s attempt to identify and respond to an ugly trend among Christians. “A peculiar habit exists among evangelicals: constantly grandstanding about the perpetual failures of the church.” (You may need one of your allotment of free articles from WORLD for this.)

Living in an Empty Nest. Tessa Lind writes about adjusting to one of those realities that many people find so difficult: living in an empty nest. “I miss them. But they don’t miss me. The walls echo memories of years well-lived.”

The Gratitude Shift. Melissa isn’t yet an empty-nester, but she is at that phase where the children begin to leave. In this situation, as with others, she is learning the importance of gratitude. “But I’m choosing not to dwell on days long past when he was just a little fella following me around the house. Instead I’ve been thanking the Lord that I’m here and that I have gotten to witness this phenomenon of a little boy growing into a man.”

Help Me Let Go. Here’s a third article that has some thematic overlap with the last two. Vanessa Doughty also considers the changes in life and understands she needs help letting go. “At times, I am caught off guard by time’s passage and guilt and regret plague me. My mind begins a looping critique of all my missteps and failures and, quite honestly, my natural inclination is to grab hold of that which I fear losing all the tighter. ‘If I could only have more time, I could fix everything!’ my thoughts scream as if God listed ‘a perfect life’ on my To Do list.”

The Right Focus in Leadership. Leaders of all kinds (though perhaps especially those who are in leadership within the church) will do well to consider what Casey McCall says about the right focus in leadership. “Since we cannot always produce the exact outcomes we prefer, we should at least make sure we are pursuing truth, acting virtuously, following wise habits, and prioritizing faithfulness to God along the way. If our process is righteous, we can rest in the knowledge that the outcome resides in the loving hands of God.”

New Book Releases

Most (though not all) new Christian books are released on Tuesdays. Here is a roundup of some titles that are brand new.

• Stand in Awe: How Reverence Transforms Our Worship and Our Lives by Laura Story. “Singer Laura Story explains why humble reverence is essential for honoring God in our songs and with our lives.”
• The Letter to the Ephesians: An Exegetical and Theological Commentary by Thomas Schreiner. This one actually released last week, but I didn’t do one of those columns then. Either way, it’s there now and I’d be shocked if it’s anything less than brilliant.
• A Church That Cares: A Biblical Guide to Loving One Another Well by Helen Thorne-Allenson. To be fair, this one was also released the previous week, but I wanted you to know about it.

TGC Church Map

When I travel and look for a like-minded church to visit, there are two sources I rely on the most: 9Marks and The Gospel Coalition. TGC has just overhauled and improved its directory (while also introducing a subscription fee to be listed on it). It has become much easier to search, and the recommendations should be even more trustworthy.

Flashback

What Does Trouble Do? Not one of your troubles has been wasted and not one has been for nothing. Each has had a blessing in it, a calling in it, and an invitation from the Lord to know him deeper and serve him better.