For the month of June I plan to highlight some podcasts I produce. I hope they encourage and inspire you as we start our summer. If you would like your work to be on my radar, please tweet me @musicgoon or email me at aaron@musicgoon.com.
“Leisure and Loneliness” is the title of the third episode of the Vibrant Family podcast from FCBC Walnut. Children’s Director Katy Lee shares with Family Ministry Associate Pastor Terrence Shay about her recent travels where God taught valuable life lessons. They also engage a listener question: What do you do when your church family hurts you? Listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Podcasts.
Over the past year SOLA has prioritized praying for the church in China. We hope the videos, interviews, and prayer requests help you to understand their needs and partner with them in prayer. This week we continued the project with An Interview with a Pastor in Chengdu, China.
Link Roundup
1. Russell Moore: Tiananmen Square & the Courage to Stand Alone
Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, reflects on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest.
2. Heidi Tai: When You Can’t Let Go of Yesterday
SOLA contributor Heidi Tai writes on this transient life and the God who transcends time.
3. Brett McCracken: ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ D-Day 75, and Liberation’s Cost
SOLA editorial board advisor Brett McCracken, writing for The Gospel Coalition, shares the significance of Steven Spielberg’s film.
4. Christin Ditchfield: Women Have a Way with Words
Writing for the Crossway blog, author, conference speaker, and internationally syndicated radio host Christin Ditchfield wants women to impact the world with their words.
5. Moses Y. Lee: 7 Lies Christians in College Tell Themselves
SOLA contributor Moses Y. Lee writes for The Gospel Coalition. He tweets, “My latest piece and potentially my last on college ministry as I start my new calling after 7 years of working with students. Hope it’s a blessing to those who need it.”
Weekend Recommendations
1. Columns from Tabletalk Magazine, June 2019
“The June issue of Tabletalk considers many of the metaphors in the Bible for the Christian life. Scripture uses a number of rich metaphors to describe what it means to be a Christian and, conversely, what it means to live in a manner contrary to the Christian faith. These metaphors unfold the realities of Christian living; when properly understood, they help us live in a manner that is pleasing to God.”
2. Permanent Things: The Annual Journal from the Center for Public Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
“The purpose of Permanent Things, which will be published annually and can be accessed mainly online, is to stimulate thought about the meaning of Christianity in a fallen age that rejects divine order, and to show the beauty of the Christian worldview against every alternative.” Brett McCracken also contributed his essay “‘What You’re About to Witness is Not Magic’: Christopher Nolan’s Cinema of Immanent Wonder.”
From SOLA
1. China Partnership: An Interview with a Pastor in Chengdu, China
Greetings to the church of America, our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are part of you in the body of Christ, just as you are part of us. Though we are of different ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, and at different stages of spiritual growth, the gospel levels and unites us. Thus, we long for your prayers for the church of China. But it is not just for China. It is for Christ and his kingdom that you pray for us.
2. Paul Shim: Be Faithful, Not Perfect
“Many Christians can articulate that the Gospel is based on the grace — the undeserved, unmerited love of God for us — that God bestows on His people and creation for His glory. But so often, there is a dissonance between the mind (what we seem to know) versus the reality of the lives that we live and what we (truly) believe.”
3. Fred Mok: How Asian Americans Bear the Shame of Jesus
“The shame of Jesus has two purposes: First, the misalignment of values rebukes the injustice embedded in the religious system at the time. […]Second, the shame of Jesus is evangelistic. […]The crucified and humiliated son drew disgrace upon himself to draw disgrace away from us.”
4. Thank God It’s Friday: Weekend Roundup
In case you missed it, here is our roundup from last week. What Western Christians Can Learn from the BTS Phenomenon, The Crucible of Submission, What I’ll Miss (And Not Miss) About the Asian American Church, Graduation Grief and Gratitude, A Gospel Application to a Recent Transgender Decision.