The Gallery (Second Quarter, 2017)

 

In an effort to slow down, think, and let the best of the internet sharpen and edify me, I’m starting an infrequent (but regular!) blog series. I’m calling it The Gallery because that’s the image that best fits my idea.

I’m trying to find a happy middle between a daily roundup and The Best of The Year. I want to call attention to some of the best articles, videos (not this time), and podcasts I’ve noticed that might still have relevance. For now, I’ve settled on posting this roundup once a quarter.

These are the best things I’ve run across over the last three months. They deserve multiple readings or listens. Their quality demands thoughtful consideration (or reconsideration).

This isn’t the best of the internet, because I have no desire to cast my net as wide as possible. This is the best of what I encountered, taking all my preferences and oddities into account. Enjoy.

Articles

1. The Gift of Lack: Infertility, Miscarriage, Singleness, and the Long Wait, by Lore Ferguson Wilbert (personal blog — I enjoy Lore’s writing, even when I’m not the target audience. She writes here about longing and God’s work within that void we so long to be filled. “He’s doing something with this void. He’s showing himself to be better than a spouse, better than children, better than security, and better than what our culture perceives as normal. He is the gift within the gift of lack.”
2. U2’s ‘The Joshua Tree’ Turns 30, by Mike Cosper (The Gospel Coalition) — A great piece here in which Mike provides context to one of U2’s best and most enduring albums.

Podcasts

1. Pass the Mic (Reformed African American Network) — I linked to this podcast last time around, but I can’t help but repeat myself. Two top-notch episodes from this quarter: Racism and Christian Education, and The N-Word’s Radioactiveness.
2. The Calling (Christianity Today) — I learned a lot from the episode with Barnabas Piper. Among other topics, Piper and host Richard Clark talked about divorce within the church, and I heard a perspective I hadn’t taken care to listen to before. Helpful.
3. The Longform Podcast — This is an interview-style podcast which features writers, film makers, and other journalists. The episode with Brian Reed, host of the S-Town podcast, was fascinating.
4. This American Life — It feels a bit cliche to mention this podcast, since it’s on every top podcast list ever. But that’s for a good reason: it’s great. Take a listen to the episode from May entitled Fermi’s Paradox. It’s ultimately about being alone—in the universe, in a marriage, and as a pre-teen girl. There is much for parents (and fathers specifically) to learn in Act 3 of this episode.

Album

• Crooked (Propaganda) — Propaganda is a poet, spoken word artist, and rapper. He is incredibly skilled and he speaks prophetically to the church and culture of 2017. His latest album (Crooked) just dropped at the end of June, and I’m still absorbing it. It is wise, catchy, and uncomfortable (in a good way). You’ll need to listen multiple times. Propaganda is with a great ministry called Humble Beast, and they give their music away! So, follow this link, download, and listen away. (And then support Propaganda by buying the album!)

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Photo Credit: Ryan McGuire (2014), public domain

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Book Giveaway: The Curious Christian

In case you missed it, last week I reviewed the book The Curious Christian, by Barnabas Piper. It’s a great book—I think you’d benefit by reading it.

I have an extra copy of this book, so I thought I’d give it away! Here are the rules.

1. I will only mail to the 48 continental United States. Sorry!
2. Enter only one time per person.
3. The giveaway will close at 12:00 noon (Eastern) on Saturday, March 18. I’ll choose the winner at random using the Random.org website.
4. I’ll email the winner for a mailing address, and I’ll delete all other entries. I will use your information for nothing at all unless you win.

Go here to enter the contest. Thanks!

Update: The contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!

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Disclosure: the link to Amazon.com in this blog post are affiliate links, meaning that I get a small percentage of any purchase you make on Amazon if you make that purchase after clicking through this link.

Christians Are Curious People

We’re all familiar with Jesus’s summary of the law: love God and love your neighbor (Matt 22:34–40). These two commands capture what it means to follow the Lord.

Until recently I hadn’t seen the role that curiosity plays in obeying these commands. It’s easy to miss, but Barnabas Piper helped me see the connection in his new book, The Curious Christian.

Loving God

If we’re to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, we need curiosity. What is God like? What does it mean to love him? Will he love me? We need answers to these questions, and we find the answers in the Bible.

Curiosity is about God and for God. It is an expression of worship and it honors Him by exploring the depths and breadth of His creation and nature. If we are to do something that honors God, then we must know Him, and Scripture is where He reveals Himself, where He tells what we need to know for a right and vibrant relationship with Him. For this reason Scripture is where our curiosity should be directed first and most consistently, not as a book or a text or a resource but as a revelation of our Creator. (The Curious Christian, p.160)

When we love God with our minds, we learn about him. We don’t hold onto our own ideas of what God must be like, but we humble ourselves and receive instruction.

Curiosity drives us to seek the deep truths of God. It leads us to discover aspects of His character and truths of His Word that hide behind a veil or aren’t readily visible in the mundane life. It overcomes the preconceptions we have of God that often make us like Him less, often from a legalistic background: God as boss, God as judge, God as distant, God as joyless, God as killjoy, God as impersonal, God as boring, God as powerless, God as puppet master. Curiosity enlarges God in our minds, or rather helps us see His largeness and His largesse, His closeness and His love, His plan and His promise. (The Curious Christian, pp.48–49)

And, amazingly, our curiosity will continue in heaven! We will get to know God better and better, and because he is infinite in all aspects of his character and person, we’ll never run out of material. We’ll be curious for eternity.

In this life every ounce of curiosity we have points toward God in some way. In eternity all curiosity goes deeper in relationship with Him. In this life there is a veil between us and the presence of God because of our sinfulness. In the next life we will live in the presence of God unhindered and unveiled. This is why heaven won’t get boring. (The Curious Christian, p.147)

What makes heaven heaven is not unlimited fun and games—though we will almost certainly have tons of unfettered fun. No, we would tire of those after a few centuries. What makes it a true paradise is being with God, fully and freely in His presence. Imagine a world unhindered by distraction or sin or pain. Imagine free access to the infinite depths of God’s person and character. You can’t. But in trying you may have seen that heaven can’t possibly become dull. (The Curious Christian, p.148)

Loving Our Neighbors

Curiosity is essential if we’re to love our neighbors as ourselves. How can you love someone—especially in a beyond-the-surface-stuff way—if you don’t get to know them?

In short, curiosity turns us outward, away from selfishness. Our base desire is to turn every relationship to our benefit, to get what we can out of it. Curiosity, at its best, undermines this sinful desire because it locks in on the needs and interests and desires of the other person. Instead of “What can they do for me?” it becomes “Who is this person and what do they need?” (The Curious Christian, p.134)

Curiosity combined with courage presses in and digs deeper. We found out about their outward life—hobbies, preferences, history. But now we take the risk of finding out about their inner life—hopes, beliefs, passions, dreams, fears. Curiosity takes risks and steps into the unknown. It digs into shadowy places where there might be treasure or where there might be pain. This is the grounds for real friendship. The reality is that people are much more likely to open up to us than we think; we just need to go first. In fact, they’ve been hungering for someone to connect with as well. (The Curious Christian, p.46)

Curiosity will transform the church. Piper writes that if the church were full of curious people,

It would move toward being more diverse racially, socioeconomically, and educationally because people would be deeply interested in those different from themselves instead of frightened of them or intimidated by them. (The Curious Christian, p.53)

Takeaways

I’ve written about curiosity before, mostly in the context of asking good questions and being a good listener. But Piper’s book has convinced me that curiosity is an essential part of the whole life of the Christian.

If we’re to be faithful to God in the place where he’s put us, we need to make connections, ask questions, get to know our neighbors, and be good observers. If you’d like to learn more about how curiosity works itself out, I suggest you pick up The Curious Christian. (And check back next week—I’ll be giving away a copy of this book!)

Thanks to B&H Books for an advance reader’s copy of this book.

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Disclosure: the links to Amazon.com in this blog post are affiliate links, meaning that I get a small percentage of any purchase you make on Amazon if you make that purchase after clicking through this link.

Photo Credit: anonymous (2008), public domain