The Wales Window by Philip Jenkins
In September 1963, a terrorist bomb targeted the church, killing four young girls. The crime was uniquely horrifying, even in an age when casual racial murders were commonplace, and it became notorious worldwide. In Wales, it stirred the fury and grief of (white) artist John Petts, who desperately wanted to commemorate the act, and contribute somehow to the ongoing struggle for racial justice. As he explained, “Naturally, as a father, I was horrified by the death of the children. As a craftsman in a meticulous craft, I was horrified by the smashing of all those windows. And I thought to myself, my word, what can we do about this?”
10 Reasons Your Church Should Sing Psalms by Keith Getty and David Robertson
Psalms perfectly balance theology with emotion, justice with evangelism, the personal with the collective. One young woman told me (David) that she came to our church because we allowed her to be depressed. While “the church that allows you to be depressed” may not be the best advertising slogan in the modern world, I understood what she was saying. She struggled with depression, and we sometimes sang songs that gave voice to that depression and allowed her to express it. Despite the strong emphasis on public emotion in modernizing worship, the church often significantly truncates the human emotional experience.
The Imposter Syndrome and Pastoral Ministry by Daniel Im
Pastors who struggle with the Imposter Syndrome have this irrational fear that they will one day be found out for who they really are—unqualified imposters. As a result, they obsess over building up their public persona, or platform, so high that it becomes next to impossible for anyone to climb over the wall and see them for who they really are. They pursue fame to such an unhealthy extent that their priorities flip. Instead of knowing and being known at a deep level by those closest to them, they prioritize shallow and distant acquaintances instead.
The Inexpressible Mystery of God's Lovingkindness: An Interview with Michael Card by Jonathan Peterson
The Bible is totally unique. People are fond of comparing it to Shakespeare but the truth is no other book is living in the sense that the Word of God is living. One way of looking at it is that the Bible is spiritually understood; that is, the Holy Spirit allows us to understand Scripture. Only because of this relationship between the words of Scripture and the Spirit can the Bible put words to what is beyond words. Through words the Spirit speaks what is beyond the words themselves. You experience this every time you understand a verse—you thought you understood—in a wholly deeper way.
