One Little Word Newsletter - April 11, 2022
Land Center updates, Malcolm Yarnell's new systemic theology, book updates, and other interesting reads
Hello everybody,
Well, last week was an interesting one, to say the least. A supreme court justice was confirmed and it was baseball’s opening day, to mention a few. As of this writing, the Cubs are undefeated and taking a four-run lead into the fourth inning. Of course this is only the second game, but hope springs eternal.
We also announced a few things around here. At The Land Center, we’re looking forward to May 24–25 when we’ll be hosting a colloquium that will discuss the meaning of being human. It’ll be a pre-conference to International Alliance for Christian Education’s second annual faculty development conference, May 25–27, so we’re happy to be partnering with them and the ERLC. Speakers like John Stonestreet, John Kilner, Jennifer Patterson, Ben Mitchel, among others. If you’re interested, you can register here: https://iace.education/events/second-annual-iace-faculty-development-conference. Make sure to register for the pre-conference.
One last reminder about event we’re hosting tomorrow with Paul Miller and the Institute for Religion and Democracy, where we will be talking about Just War and the war in Ukraine. There is free Chick-fil-a. There’s still time to register.
Some new things I’m excited about:
A few months ago I went to Atlanta to film a free course with the North American Mission Board. It’s based on my book A Way with Words about “Using Online Conversations for Good.”
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association selected Ministers of Reconciliation: Preaching on Race and the Gospel, a collection of essays I edited touching on racial reconciliation, as a finalist for the Christian Book Award. Kudos to the team at Lexham Press.
One of my close friends, Dean Inserra, is releasing his new book Pure this May. He addresses the obvious flaws of purity culture but uses scripture to regain a gospel-centered call to sexual purity that’s gotten lost a bit throughout history. You will definitely want to get this book for your church. Dean regularly speaks on these issues in a college town.
Thought it was cool that one of my colleagues at Southwestern, Malcolm Yarnell, announced in this thread that he’s working on a new systematic theology:
I am so grateful for those who write systematics. It’s such a service to the church.
We had some good conversations this week:
I got to speak with Chris Seiple on about the worldwide humanitarian crisis, religious freedom and war in Europe. Chris is a former diplomat, religious freedom activist, and lecturer. He’s incredibly well versed in international relations.
Andrew Hebert and I discussed topics he discusses in his new book Shepherding Like Jesus: Returning to the Wild Idea that Character Matters in Ministry. Andrew is a wonderful pastor and leader in the SBC.
A few good reads I came across:
The anniversary of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s death past this Friday, and Matt Smethurst shared a doctor’s thoughtful reflection on Bonhoeffer’s execution:
This essay by David French on the regrets many are having about the sexual revolution. I believe this is a moment for the church to offer both liberating truth and compassionate love.
Noah Rothman wrote an excellent commentary rejecting the comparison between the Russian and Ukrainian war to the Iraq War.
This report by the New York Times details the chilling environment in Russia, in the wake of the new crackdown on dissent, as people turn on one another. We need to pray for Russia.
And I found this breakdown and explanation of Christian denominations, by Trevin Wax, very helpful.
And as we head into Easter, I published an article for Phoenix Seminary encouraging pastors and evangelicals during Easter season and an excerpt from my book The Characters of Easter last year, but I’ll share them again because I hope they can be encouragements this year as well.