Happy Friday,
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him,
‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
Exodus 9:1
The first thing to note from this iconic passage is that God did not say, “Let my people go.” He said, “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” The second point that must be made is that the freedom celebrated throughout the Book of Exodus – a book very much about the Law in general and the Ten Commandments in particular – is that freedom is not found in the absence of rules or responsibility. Au contraire. It emerges in cooperation with good laws. A train is only able to enjoy being a train when it stays on the tracks.
Worth Noting: 1) If you want to do a biblical study on leadership, the Bible spells it: s-e-r-v-a-n-t-h-o-o-d; 2) We are called to hope, not just because despair is a sin, but because God wins. The end is certain; the gates of Hell crumple. Count on it; 3) Pride and ministry are polar opposites. The first ultimately kills the second; 4) At the end of this month, we’ll be closer to 2050 than to 1996; 5) The only thing you need to do to have a garden full of weeds is nothing.
Sports Trends: The PGA’s sellout to the Saudis is the latest example of money changing corrupting sports. However, as excerpted from the press conference following the Sooners Softball Team’s World Series victory, there are athletes whose love of sports is motivated by something other than money.
Quotes Worth Requoting: 1) “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” Howard Aiken; 2) “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.” Thomas Sowell.
Thirty is Not the New Twenty: This recent Pew study reminds me that while it may be harmless (and funny) to claim that sixty is the new forty, it’s not harmless to tell young people that thirty is the new twenty. For more on this, watch this classic TED Talk by Meg Jay, Why Thirty is Not the New Twenty. FWIW, my Dad – who told me that seventy was the new fifty – later told me, “Eighty is eighty.”
Running Into the Fire: I’m a fan of Robert P. George, the American legal scholar and public intellectual who directs the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton. George – who has law and divinity degrees from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Oxford – is the author of many books, including Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism, which I handed out a couple of Christmases ago. I mention all this as a backdrop to my encouragement that you read “Running into the Fire,” his recent article in National Review.
COVID: According to Dr. Marty Makary at Johns Hopkins, 67M people got COVID, 6.8M people died from the disease, and 13B doses of vaccines were administered. Of course, all of these stats – and a dozen related matters – are not only contested, but they also serve as fault lines dividing family, friends, neighbors, and churches. Why bring them up? Because the competing medical, political, legal, economic, theological, and humanitarian narratives surrounding COVID provide an opportunity for us to grow. The pandemic was hard. Not everyone listened well, thought clearly, or extended grace. Given that other pandemics will likely follow, it would be ideal if scientists and legislators learned from the last one. Whether they do or not, we can. Work on listening – and extending grace to – those you got sideways with during the last three years. The goal is not to change their mind but to expand your heart.
Resources: In this week’s podcast, I talk with Jon Ferguson, who (along with his brother Dave) has: 1) Planted a thriving church; 2) Launched a church-planting network; 3) Launched a conference for churches that plant churches; and 4) Written several award-winning books. I’m a big fan of their suggestion that we BLESS our friends and neighbors, which is spelled out in their book, B.L.E.S.S.: Five Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World.(B.L.E.S.S. stands for 1) Begin with prayer; 2) Listen; 3) Eat together; 4) Serve; and 5) Share your story.)
WOTW: Honorable mention goes to hallucinations, which is being used to describe the crazy thoughts generated by AI which are happening often enough that some have taken to calling ChatGPT, “Chat LSD.” Actual WOTW honors go to civilizational challenge, which is the term describing the drama associated with the indictment of former President Trump. (BTW, you can read the 49-page indictment here.)
Prayer Request: 1) Given the civilizational challenges we now face, I’m asking you to join me in praying for our country. To be clear, I believe there is a path forward, but it seems that peacefully navigating the legal issues and political theater would require an unusual amount of wisdom and good behavior IF we were starting in a healthy place; 2) Last weekend was the first of two weekends in which Renew is standing up four homes. This weekend over 200 volunteers (skilled and otherwise) will be serving. Good weather and safety are among the things I am asking you to pray for.
Closing Prayer: Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of your brightness. Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of your wisdom. All our desire is known to you, therefore perfect what you have begun, and what your Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer. We seek your face, turn your face toward us and show us your Glory. Then shall our longing be satisfied, and our peace shall be perfect. Amen. (Augustine of Hippo, 354-430)