Seven up…
1) Open or Shut? – In light of the Government’s decision to allow churches to remain open for public worship, if they so wish, it’s felt like the disagreement between Christians – and in particular church leaders – has been pretty intense and often ugly this week. Some of this was captured in this Christian Today article, along with the pastoral pressures being faced. Brett McCracken’s call to not let the Church be divided from May 2020 is worth another read. These suggestions for approaching the question are useful.
2) Be Kind! – The Comment Section by Sidewalk Prophets – Someone shared this with me. I’ve not heard much from this band before, but this is an encouraging listen on kindness, particularly when we’re all online more.
3) 7 Reasons Question Marks are More Productive than Exclamation Points in Evangelism – This is a super-short read, but there’s heaps of wisdom in it.
4) Faith and spirituality in the time of Covid – Always interesting to see how religious belief is being discussed in the media.
5) ‘Soul’ Is the Anti-Disney Disney Movie – We haven’t caught Soul yet, but I’m hearing lots of positive things. This is an intriguing take: “Life’s magic and meaning isn’t primarily found by looking within for a spark, talent, or passion that needs to be expressed. Instead, maybe it’s found by looking around us at the beauty of the world we’ve been given—and then looking up, with awe and gratitude, at the Giver.”
6) Liturgy for a Time of Widespread Suffering – I’ve sung the praises of Doug McKelvey’s Every Moment Holy before, but this is a free pdf download of a prayer to share and use at this time.
7) Every Podcast Ever – For something a bit different, I’m thinking of starting a podcast and this is my first draft. Jokes, this is actually the incredibly talented musician Jonathan Ogden having a bit of fun. If you listen to podcasts, then this will sound all too familiar. And if that wasn’t enough, this is Josh Berry on ‘People who receive the Oxford vaccine‘… no gags about the Durham vaccine please…
Sharing is caring. Know someone who might find these links a blessing? Why not forward it on?
