One Little Word Newsletter - August 22, 2022
Land Center Lectures series, what healthy pastoral growth looks like, maternal mortality, and being slow to respond to news
Hello friends,
This will be a somewhat short newsletter this week, written on a somewhat lazy Sunday afternoon after church. Our pastor preached a wonderful sermon on Colossians 1, that seminal passage that defines so much of what we believe about Jesus. I’m still pondering it this afternoon.
We are getting settled into this busy season, trying to find our rhythm with the many overlapping work and school schedules for all six of us Darlings. My email inbox is full of updates from their school. I’m getting used to teaching regularly. I have much respect for those who have done this a long time, pacing out the looming lectures that come every week. And yet I’m liking it for the interaction with students, the discussions, and the intellectual stimulation from being forced to be in the books.
The Land Center announced this week that we are reviving our lecture series this fall, with ethicist C. Ben Mitchell to come and talk about the human person. If you are in the DFW area, please attend. They are free. Dr. Mitchell is a leading ethicist among evangelicals.
It was also an eventful week in that I had two major pieces published.
First, an essay for The Dispatch on immigration, the electoral shift, what I see as an opportunity for conservatives. Immigration is, of course, a hotly contested topic, but I make the case that while conservatives should rightly continue to press for better border security, we might consider the benefits of opening up new legal pathways for immigrants to come here legally:
As conservatives reshape their policy priorities around the family in the wake of Dobbs and to address the growing concerns of parents on issues such as education, we might reconsider the sometimes reflexive opposition to sensible immigration policy. This opposition can involve turning our backs on would-be Americans who might love our country more than we do, having escaped Marxism, socialism, or tyranny in other places. And we might also be resisting the influx of communities that share our similar values. A more diverse country, after all, just might be the very remedy we need for American renewal.
And my latest column for World critiques "barstool conservativism:"
We can’t allow abortion-supporting, family re-defining anti-woke party-bros to be the driving ethos of our Christian public witness . . .
Political coalitions are always eclectic, a gathering of multiple interest groups focused on a political goal or elected office. In a fallen world, politics is always messy. Still, when it comes to those whom Christians might invest credibility or anoint as movement leaders, we should be more circumspect about movements that don’t share the core ideas that animate our involvement in the public square. The sanctity of life and the goodness of the family are not mere inconveniences to throw off in pursuit of power.
Also, I hope you liked what is going to be an occasional feature here at One Little Word, a short interview with a leading author, thinker or pastor. First up is my friend, the Anglican pastor in Chicago, Aaron Damiani, on the benefits of liturgy. Check it out.
What I’m reading:
My friend Nathan Finn, provost at North Greenville University and a Senior Fellow at the Land Center, shares four principles he uses when teaching students how to think Christianly about assessments. I found this helpful. Assessments like the enneagram can be useful but also can be used in ways that are misleading.
John D. Wilsey shared this wonderful tribute to David McCullough for The Land Center. Yes, I know, more David McCullough content but like last week I’m still not sorry.
Dustin Messer presents a helpful parable in his article with The Gospel Coalition where he speaks on healthy preaching and growth in pastoral ministry. He had some really original insights on the stages of a pastors’ career.
Marissa Postell has an excellent piece with ERLC on maternal mortality and how the Church should respond to women in need. I’m a bit biased because Marissa is a former colleague, but I think she’s a gifted writer.
Here’s a good article by Brad LittleJohn on reacting to situations in a way that acknowledges uncertainty so as not to jump to conclusions. I know that it sounds crazy to not just have a take on every news story in this social media age, but you know, a little James 1:19 isn’t the worst thing.
Books I’m reading
I’m excited to read Jason Thacker’s book Following Jesus in a Digital Age. Jason is a former colleague and one of the sharpest ethicists in the evangelical world.
I just finished Embodied by Gregg Allison, and I highly recommend it. Careful, biblical, readable, and important. Thankful for Dr Allison's work and I’ve just picked up Wonderfully Made by John W. Kleinig. Kleinig is a Lutheran pastor in Australia. It’s a beautifully written, thought provoking book. Can you tell I’m teaching a class on the imago Dei and the human body?
I’m listening to The Nightingale, which is a gripping and harrowing and beautifully written novel about a French family in WWII. I know am determined to go read all of Kristen Hannah’s work.
And lastly, for those who just subscribed, you can order my latest books: The Characters of Creation and Spiritual Gifts. Hopefully that wasn’t too much of a sales pitch.