This Week’s Good Reads

Here’s this week’s collection of interesting articles from around the web:

1. “Messy Grace: A Review by Rosaria Butterfield” by Rosaria Butterfield

This is a good review of what sounds like a great book. The book is one young man’s autobiography of growing up as the child of two gay parents, and how he met Jesus and came to faith in the gospel. Rosaria’s review gives us a quick overview of the book and discusses what she sees as one weakness, and many strengths.

2. “Biblical Submission for All” by Ryan Troglin

The Gospel Coalition shares a good video conversation between Trillia Newbell, Jen Wilkin, and Melissa Kruger. These ladies talk about the abuses of submission and the proper Biblical idea. They also, helpfully and importantly, discuss the Biblical reality that all, both men and women, are called to submit.

3. “6 Steps to Wise Decision Making About Psychotropic Medications” by Brad Hambrick

Brad has a really helpful post here, which he includes in some of his workbooks, that can help people think through whether or not that should seek medication for their emotional/psychological struggles. This is very good and worth checking out. It’s also a good resource to share with counselees as they seek to make wise decisions about their needs.

4. “A Word to really busy famous pastors” by Todd Pruitt

I am not sure if Pruitt has someone in mind with this post, I certainly thought about these ideas when I heard about Kevin DeYoung’s new promotion to chancellor. The temptation to take on so many roles, positions, and tasks is real in life, and that’s true for pastors too. The danger is that pastors can become involved in so many activities that they set themselves up for failure, stress, and burnout. This is a good word from Pruitt for helping all of us assess our busyness.

5. “Advice for Students Who Are Porn Addicts” by Ben Stuart

This is a great little 4 minute video in which Stuart talks through how he counsels students. This is a great and solid plan for dealing with porn and I love that he points people towards church-based recovery programs, like Recovery @ Cornerstone.

6. “George Marsden Says, ‘Just Do It’” by Kenneth Keathly

A quick look at Marsden’s advice on Christian scholars in the secular academy. His argument, essentially, is don’t waste your time championing Christian inclusion in the academy, or complaining about prejudice against Christian scholars. Instead, focus on doing really good scholarship. It’s sound advice that Keathly, the author of the article, calls missional.

7. “In Defense of Gentrification” by Joe Cortright

This is a fascinating piece in The Atlantic that suggests the prevailing narrative about gentrification is likely wrong. While there are certainly still challenges to be met by those native residents to a community, the movement of greater wealth into an impoverished community can in fact improve the quality of living for all residents. Furthermore it rarely leads to the kind of displacement that many people assume it does. The author cites three separate studies in this piece that confirm this point. It’s worth a read. The wannabe urban planner in me really enjoyed reading this.

8. “Panel Discussion: Living Like There’s No Tomorrow with ‘Ms. Marvel’” by Jeremy Writebol

There are dozens of comics that I am excited to read, but the new Ms. Marvel is towards the top of my list. I am fascinated by the new hero and the new direction that Marvel is taking with her. Writebol, in this piece, explores not just why Ms. Marvel might be the most important character in the Marvel Universe right now, but he helps us to learn from her. A quick look at Ms. Marvel #19 gives us some interesting things to chew on, if we are willing to learn from a fictional Muslim teenage girl.

9. “Yes, Republicans can win Black Voters” by Theodore Johnson

Here’s some hard truth for the GOP and some hope to change, and written at The National Review no less! Republicans have too quickly written off black voters and have failed to understand the black experience and the individuals behind it. This has led to a wholesale abandonment of African Americans by the party and has cost them much. But Johnson has some suggestions to fix this divide.