A La Carte (February 27)

I think Ellie Holcomb is creating some of the most enjoyable-for-adults kids’ music today. Her new album Sing: Remembering Songs is proof.

Westminster Books has a great sale on a great Sinclair Ferguson book: The Whole Christ.

(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for February 2020)

The Baby Carrier

This is such a sweet reflection on moving from one phase of parenting to another. “Last year I packed up the majority of our baby things. Play mats, burp cloths, clothes, and the various paraphernalia that got us through one stage and on to the next were stuffed into our old Buick. They would find their new home with another mom.”

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

Carl Trueman writes about some of the unprecedented (and not entirely unprecedented) stuff going on all around us. “Yet for all of the continuities and precedents that likely exist in the past for the way we live in the present, it’s arguable that the times in which we live today do exhibit a number of pathologies whose coincidence is unprecedented. This doesn’t necessarily mean the church’s response needs to be as novel as the times, as I will argue below; but it does mean that we need to reflect on the implications of our times, lest we panic overmuch or rest too much on our laurels.”

How Boeing Will Get the 737 MAX Flying Again (Video)

Boeing has been having a lot of trouble lately. One of their upcoming challenges will be to get the 737 MAX back in the air—and the flying public back on the 737 MAX.

The Abiding Value of Pastoral Friends

Darryl Dash extols the value of pastors having pastoral friends. “In my first church, a deacon began a meeting by yelling at me. He stood inches from my face before storming out. Nobody in the meeting knew what to do. I called a friend of mine — a pastor — for lunch the next day. He cleared his schedule and took me to a nice lunch. He was older than me, and he’d been there. He offered me little advice but lots of understanding, and I remember that lunch to this day.”

Building a Culture of Evangelism Takes Time, So Be Patient and Get to Work

Ultimately, a culture of evangelism is better than a program for evangelism. So here’s how and why you ought to get to work on creating that kind of culture in your church. “The New Testament teaches that evangelism is the whole church’s job. But asserting the ‘whole church’ does evangelism can be a bit confusing. What does that mean? Is there some special evangelism program hidden somewhere in the pages of the New Testament? Furthermore, what if any relationship exists between our personal evangelism and our church’s outreach ministry?”

Picket Fences & Trip Wires

Dan DeWitt writes about the importance (and limitations) of theological statements. “Such statements should give both clarity and liberty. They should give clarity for where those who sign the statement believe the Bible provides definitive direction. They should also give liberty to operate within the parameters of the statement while perhaps disagreeing on other issues that don’t violate the written confession.”