The Best Minute: October 20, 2020
2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS
I. Joe Carter on generalizations people make about preaching:
"'Pastors never preach about [X].'
I’m amazed by these claims. Even if based on a random sample of 100 churches, you’d have to listen to 5,200 sermons a year (2,600 hours worth) to know if it’s true. Who’re these folks willing to listen to that many sermons just to make a point?"
II. Dharius Daniels on how to respond to the pain of others:
"I’ve noticed quite frequently that when African Americans begin to express grief about real or perceived injustices they are lectured, rebuked, and even patronized. When someone is in pain, whether you agree or not, love doesn’t lecture."
2 IDEAS FROM ME
I. Busyness isn’t a virtue, it’s a choice. If you always feel busy, it’s because you aren’t proactively planning how you will spend your time.
II. When making a change that impacts other people, explain the “why” behind the decision and give people the space to ask questions. It likely took you a long time before you decided to change things up, so give people the same time and space to buy-in to the new direction you are heading.
1 BOOK THAT I LIKE
The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible by Scott McKnight.
From the publisher: "Parakeets make delightful pets. We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it. McKnight's The Blue Parakeet calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew to our heart.
McKnight challenges us to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic belief but to see it as a Story that we're summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day."
I found this book to be helpfully challenging in how to better read and understand the Bible. This book is written at an easily understandable level, which means it is easy to follow along with no matter how much you may know or not know about Biblical interpretation.
1 ARTICLE I FOUND HELPFUL
15 Facebook Groups That will Actually Help Your Church by Rachel Baird.
Looking for some support and ideas for leading for those in vocational ministry? Check out Rachel Baird’s article on 15 Facebook groups to help you face the challenges of ministry well. I’m also quite fond of one of the groups mentioned in this list :).
1 CHALLENGE TO LEAVE WITH
COVID-19 has changed a lot of our routines. Unfortunately, we don't have a clear end in sight for the current pandemic. Now that we are 7 months in, it's time think about what pre-COVID routines we still haven't re-engaged with. Maybe it's your exercise plan, local church involvement, date nights with your spouse, or something else.
What would it look like this week to proactively make a plan to re-engage your missing routine, even if it looks different than it did pre-COVID? Don't let COVID-19 create new and lasting habits for you that will be hard to break in the future.
