I highly recommend this blog post by Cal Newport.

http://calnewport.com/blog/2018/08/23/a-brief-summary-of-the-social-media-reform-movement/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+StudyHacks+%28Study+Hacks%29

Once again Lewis proves prophetic in this little essay, “After Priggery–What? (On Wicked Journalists)”.  This 10 minute sketch tells the story of our time, especially as election season looms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE4oZ6F-gQM

Lewis would go as far as to say that the future of civilization depends on how we understand and practice equality.  Do you hear how often this theme appearing in the media?  Do you think what our politicians are offering us is the path to wholeness and joy?

 

This graphic rendering helps us understand Lewis’ profound essay. Though written out of his own post-WWII context it could not be more timely for us.  Fascism and Communism have not gone away.  Nor have those calling for new ethical systems.  I would strongly encourage you to set aside an hour–better if you can do this with a friend or two–and give this your close attention.  The presentation is only 30 minutes, but you will want to stop it from time to time along the way.  Lewis will help you think about MAGA, Socialism, environmentalism, globalization, social media and why so many people seem completely lost at sea.

 

I want to highly recommend this book.  I read it about a year ago and have just pulled it off my shelf for a second go.

It is written from a secular perspective but has many excellent, potentially liberating insights.  Scripture tells us to “be anxious over nothing.”  Easier said than done!  Often I have felt like my prayers fit this formula, “Dear Lord, [worry, worry, worry]. Please help me. Amen.”

One of the most interesting insights is that there is no such thing as “stress”.  You might want to argue with the author about that!  Aren’t we all “stressed out” much of the time?  Doesn’t “stress account for most of our bad moods and bad behavior?  The author gives a very helpful very different perspective.  Helpful because there is often almost nothing we can do about “stress.”  There is something we can do about _____ (what stress really is).

 

This is the prayer by Thomas Keating that I read at the close of the sermon yesterday.

Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I welcome everything that comes to me today
because I know it’s for my healing.
I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons,
situations, and conditions.
I let go of my desire for power and control.
I let go of my desire for affection, esteem,
approval and pleasure.
I let go of my desire for survival and security.
I let go of my desire to change any situation,
condition, person or myself.
I open to the love and presence of God and
God’s action within. Amen.

During Adult Ed I read some sentences from E. Stanley Jones’ book Along the Indian Road.  I thought it might be helpful to share those, and a few others, here in print.

Consider this statement which offers a definition of both the “new birth” and the “Church”.

“New birth is bringing a person into the Church, which is the fellowship of those devoted to the Kingdom of God.”

If the Church is anything other than “a fellowship of those devoted to the Kingdom of God” then there is hardly any reason to bring someone into it.  If it is such a fellowship, then they are coming into a whole new world in which they will become completely new persons.

Jones believed that the Kingdom is the Absolute which relativizes all human institutions, even the Church itself.  The Church is always secondary to the Kingdom.  Not all Christians agree:

In the Roman conception, the Kingdom of God and the Church are one.  This we cannot accept.  Suppose we go out saying, “Repent, for the Church is at hand.” People would laugh, as an audience actually did when I said it.  But people do not laugh when you say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” for they feel instinctively that they are confronted with an Absolute. The Church is a means, the Kingdom of God is the end.

And this is what has struck me the most powerfully:

The Church, being relative, must come under the judgment and correction of something higher than itself–the Kingdom of God. Only as it loses its life in obedience to this higher Order does it find its life coming back to itself.  It has authority only as it subits to and embodies this higher authority…

The authority of the Church is judged by one thing–and one thing alone–how much does it serve?  For it is the same for the individual and the corporate group–the greatest among them becomes the servant of all–greatness in authority comes from as a result of dedication to ends beyond itself.

Here is an essential reminder to us, especially as we plant a new branch of Christ’s Church here in Frankfort:

I can be, and am, loyal to my fingertips to a Church which is loyal to the Kingdom of God, which comes under the judgment of the Kingdom, is the instrument and servant of the Kingdom, and which embodies the spirit and life of the Kingdom. But I am disloyal to a Church which is disloyal to the Kingdom by becoming and end in itself.

And finally (for now) this lovely anecdote which give a glimpse of Jones’ heart and character:

When I said to a Hindu audience that I was convertible [open to conversion], one Hindu arose and said, “Yes, but you would be a very hard nut to crack.”  I replied: “Well, I suppose I would be, but not for the reason you think.  It is not superior intelligence, I know that.  The reason probably is that I no longer hold my faith–it holds me.” And I propose to share that faith while there is breath within me.

 

 

 

So grateful to Heather for passing this on to me today.  Great timing!  Great content!

I highly recommend this podcast from the folks at Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. 

This is probably the most important topic of the Christian life.  How we deal with enemies and challenges from minor annoyance to devastating intentional betrayal will determine our spiritual and emotional future.

Podcast

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPkz6Cd4xGU

A Lifeline For Marriages…

 

https://www.helpourmarriage.org/

 

Other links: https://aleteia.org/2015/12/04/an-eye-opening-weekend-at-retrouvaille/