A Notable Difference: There is a difference between a conversation and a debate. The first seeks understanding. The second seeks to win. I’m not coaching any forensic teams, but I’m overhearing a lot of debates. BTW, are you focused on understanding those you disagree with? Are you trying to make a point or make a difference?
Frog in the Kettle: It’s claimed that if you place a frog in a pan of water, and then place that pan on a flame, the frog will relax and boil to death. Meanwhile, if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will quickly jump out and be OK. Neither claim is true. (Don’t report me to PETA, I am only reporting what I read.) Besides, today’s culture does not equate to a pot on a stove. The question we should be asking is, what happens to a frog in a microwave?
Prayer: Credit Eugene Peterson with noting that “prayer takes place in the middle voice.” (In Greek, the active voice is used when someone is doing something; the passive voice is used when a person is being acted upon; and the middle voice is used when a group of actors act upon each other.) He writes, “We neither manipulate God (active voice) nor are manipulated by God (passive voice). We are involved in the action and participate in its results, but we do not control or define it (middle voice).”
It Turns out I Like Authority: I depend on authoritative voices to help me navigate the science, technology, politics, and current events that shape my world. And it really ticks me off that we no longer agree on which voices are authoritative. It takes a lot of extra time to fact check.
The Annual Cull: Once a year I cull my books, jettisoning enough of them so that those remaining fit on the shelves. It’s not much fun, but it has to be done, and it is illuminating. A few years ago, I started getting rid of reference books because Google had replaced them. This year I realized that many of my eschatology books had not aged well, so out they went. I did hold on to 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Occur In 1988, because, well, it’s a classic. By the way: 1) I didn’t buy it, it was sent to every pastor in the country; 2) the author not only came out with 89 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Occur in 1989, he published similarly updated books in’91 and ’94 as well. And no, as far as I can tell, no one has yet written, 20 Reasons to Think the World Will End in 2020.
Leadership: I’ll never forget trying to do a word study on leadership, only to realize the word did not appear in the Bible. I will also never forget when I realized it was there all along, just spelled differently: S E R V E.
Without Comment: 1) Traffic at a website that explains “how to move out of the US” is up 1,676% over the last five months; 2) Americans are giving up their citizenship at the highest levels on record; 3) divorce rates are at a fifty year low (see graph here); 4) marriage rates in the US are at an all-time low (see graph here); 5) By the way, 64% of college-educated and economically better off Americans are in intact marriages, but only 24% of working-class and poor Americans are.
Prayer Requests: In addition to praying for the obvious – the country, President-elect Biden, those with COVID, those caring for those who are ill, those working to find ways to end its spread – I would ask that you pray that God’s children will be people of resilient joy. I think that will be in short supply as we move through a COVID-adjusted T-day and Christmas.
Sixty is the new…: Last week I noted that sixty years earlier “my parents became parents.” Some said they didn’t realize I had a much older sibling; a few noted that sixty is the new forty. Others – mostly family members – suggested that “60 is the new 58,” or that “60 is the new 65.” Tough crowd.
Closing Prayer: Grant, O Lord, that we may keep a constant guard on our thoughts and passions, that they may never lead us into sin; That we may live in perfect love with all humankind, in affection to those who love us, and in forgiveness to those, if any there are, who hate us. Give us good and virtuous friends. In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Warren Hastings (1732 – 1818)