ChosenRebel's Blog

Weekend Links

Weekend links for your edification. I found these helpful and instructive. Some of them need some “wiggle room.” Some are suggestive rather than definitive. Some will alarm and others will encourage. But all will stretch you and give you more fuel to change your world. I hope the annotations will help you decide which are most significant for you. As always, I don’t embrace all of them equally.

Building Better Christians

Killing Calvinism 7 (Changed by Beholding—two and a half minute video. Good job brother. We are wrecked and in desperate need of a Savior.)
Killing Sin (John Piper—another three minute video on a topic we don’t struggle enough about. Oh how we need to kill sin in our lives, for the glory of God, for the joy of all around us.)
The Good Enough Person (Tim Stafford—this is a very brief synopsis of an article (with a link to the article) about the difference it makes when we view ourselves as depraved sinners rather than as people who are basically good. The cancer of sin must be battled daily in the former view. In that latter view, it just needs to be managed.)
A Biblical Perspective on Suffering from B.B. Warfield (Reformed Bibliophile—a great thinker on a perennial topic, suffering—one that was a major theme of Paul’s new believer follow-up—see 1 and 2 Thessalonians)

Defending the Faith

A Simple Tool to Help the Next Time Jehovah Witnesses Come Knocking (Defending/Contending—JW’s need the gospel too. Don’t let them in. Don’t send them away empty handed.)
Old Testament Law and The Charge of Inconsistency Are Christians Inconsistent in Their Use of the Bible? (Tim Keller—-short answer, yes, we have clay feet, but Tim Keller calls journalists to be more consistent in how they deal with Christians and their use of the Bible with regard to homosexuality.

Building Better Leaders

Aspirin for Aneurysms (Leadership Freak—applying half-hearted solutions to serious problems is a recipe for disaster. Heal your problems, don’t just cover them up.)
What Young Leaders Should I Invest In and How? (Leadership Freak–another fantastic article on how to identify the leaders of tomorrow to invest in today.)
The Forgotten Leadership Virtue (Leadership Freak—neglect this virtue in yourself and others at your own [and your organization’s] risk.)
Why it is So Easy for Leaders to Fake It (Francis Chan—as of this posting,  I have not gotten to read this article, but I respect Francis for his honesty and know that it will be a good read.)
Swagger (Lisa Bloom—an important new book on raising boys and men in a culture that despises them.) 

Engaging with Culture

 Innovative New School in Detroit Graduates First Class with Every Student Headed to College (Great story of a Detroit turn around that shows how necessity + creative flexibility + high standards produced a school like no other in America.)
Ten Characteristics of Growing Churches (Perry Noble)
The Most Dangerous Person in the Church (Erik Raymond—you will recognize him/her quickly from the description here but you will also learn a little bit about how to deal with them.)
Is the Private Sector Doing Fine? (Keith Hennessey—If you don’t understand how the president could be so out of touch with reality, or if you think that he is playing with numbers in a funny way and not telling the whole story but don’t know where to begin your analysis—this is the place to start. Great article.)
What Does the Real Jobless Rate Look Like? (An article, the content of which, all the media knows but won’t report.)
The Immigration Ploy or How President Obama is Locked into Short Term Thinking (Thomas Sowell)
Vulgarians on the Loose! (Ann Coulter—a scathing admonishment of the vulgarization of the culture)