Duane Litfin has an interesting response to the well-known quote erroneously attributed to St. Francis. While I think that Litfin sets up a false analogy equating verbal and non-verbal communication with word vs. deed, I think his emphasis on the explicit and verbal proclamation of the Gospel is an important one. It’s not enough just to do good works. They must be done in Jesus’ name, and you’ve got to speak it. It can’t be implied.
Culture
Submission in marriage
Over the years, my wife and I have had the blessing and joy of walking alongside a number of engaged couples as they prepare for marriage. One of the recurring discussions has been around the topic of submission. It seems that in our day and age, there is increasing confusion and suspicion surround this all-too-clear biblical mandate (see Ephesians 5:22).
Some resources that I think are helpful in understanding how biblical submission could work in our day:
- the appendix in Tim & Kathy Keller’s book, “The Meaning of Marriage”. Short and succinct presentation. Also, one of the best books written on marriage and the Gospel.
- this blogpost by Paul Tautges (don’t know who he is).
- there’s also a booklet he mentions in the post, but I haven’t read it.
- “Who Does the Dishes?” – a short booklet by the Christian Counseling Education Foundation by Winston Smith.
I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on headship and submission. Is it just an old-fashioned, mysogynistic, relic of male-dominated society? Or is there something beautiful to be found in the idea that equal in essence does not mean equal in function? Leave a comment.
Fired up by an ignorant comment
So I read this blogpost by a reformed African-American pastor, Thabiti Anyabwile, responding to a question as to why African-American pastors didn’t show up for a conference called Together For The Gospel. I thought it was a fair response, but one follow-up comment got me fired up. The comment was posed by a white reformed pastor (most likely attender of the conference):
Echoes of the Myth 