Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • What is Spiritual Formation? Matthew Bingham states “The term spiritual formationis not explicitly used in the Bible per se, but the concepts behind it are very much biblical.”
  • Because of Jesus, Our Best Years Are Always Ahead of Us. Randy Alcorn writes “The words “finish well“ mean more to me than they ever did, and I am more determined than ever to complete my race to the glory of God. Especially because I know that after the finish line, what awaits us is eternal goodness, glory, beauty, a restored earth, and a depth of relationship with God and each other beyond what we can imagine.”
  • Is Sunday a Sabbath, a Secular Day or Something Else? Paul Sadler writes “Scripture may not bind every Christian to a Sabbatarian framework, but it does call us to recognize that this day uniquely belongs to the risen Lord. How do you honor the Lord on the Lord’s Day? In what sense do you see it uniquely belonging to Him?”

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Retirement: What are you retiring from? What are you retiring to? Keith Knight writes “Most of us can expect to live 20 to 30 years after we reach retirement age. That’s an entire career! Prayerfully take a sabbatical to determine where God wants you to serve next and who you should be mentoring. Then approach this new chapter in your life with the same zeal that you had in your former career.“
  • Daily Grace. Each weekday morning, I watch Bryan Chapell’s Daily Grace video devotional as he takes us through the Bible.
  • Why Our Age Celebrates Desecration. Carl Trueman writes “This world isn’t characterized simply by disenchantment. It’s also characterized by a delight in the destruction of things once considered sacred.”
  • We Can Simultaneously Make Room in Our Hearts for God, People, and Animals. Randy Alcorn writes “One of the strangest assumptions people sometimes make is that if we love animals, we can’t sufficiently love God and But love is not a zero-sum game.”

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Dave Kraft on Lifelong Learning

I’ve enjoyed reading Dave Kraft’s blog Leadership from the Heart for several years, as well as his three previous books. The latest book from the 84-year-old author,  with fifty-five years of vocational Christian leadership experience, is Finish Line Leadership: Setting the Pace in Following Jesus. Recently, I read the chapter in the book on lifelong learning. I was amazed at just how much Kraft and I agree on this important subject.

Kraft tells us first that leaders are learners, and that when you stop learning, you stop leading. In the organization I worked at my entire career, we often spoke of lifelong learning, or that “school was never out at State Farm”. There was a significant emphasis on, and support of, continuing education, be it insurance designations, master degrees, IT industry certifications, etc. No matter what area of the organization you were in, you were encouraged to improve yourself and your value to the organization through continuing education.

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Spiritual Formation and the Reformation: Comer, Willard, Calvin. Is spiritual formation that moves beyond the practices of the Reformation what we need to help with our disillusionment with evangelicalism? Michael Horton discusses the contemporary spiritual formation movement most notably associated with John Mark Comer and heavily influenced by the late Dallas Willard, and compares its emphases to the hallmarks of Reformation piety.
  • How to Let Scripture Interpret Scripture. Benjamin Gladd and Nancy Guthrie outline principles for making sound biblical connections, tracing themes in the text, and avoiding common pitfalls of biblical interpretation.
  • FOREVERGREEN. Enjoy the Academy Award nominated animated short film with a gospel message. The thirteen-minute film was directed by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears. Read Brett McCracken’s interview with Engelhardt and Spears about the making of Forevergreen, how Christian artists tell stories, and what they think of AI’s disruption in the arts.

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Leadership Attributes: Leaders are Results Driven

In the organization that I worked at, there were three “Obligations of Leadership” for all of our leaders. They were: drive results, build a high performing work environment and develop people. I believe that’s a good summation of what the obligations of each leader should be. However, the achievement of each of these obligations was not rewarded equally. What I tended to see was that those who drove results were rewarded and recognized at a higher level than those who built a high performing work environment or those who excelled at developing others. And as important as those latter things are, organizations pay leaders to drive results and move their organizations forward. In our series on leadership attributes, we now look at the importance of leaders driving results. A leader who is results driven excels in many leadership attributes and competencies. Briefly, here are 10 of them: Continue reading


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • How We Can Pursue Joy in the Midst of Suffering? In this video, John Piper shares how we can pursue joy in the midst of suffering.
  • Sabbath. After completing His work of creating the world, God rested—but not because He got tired and needed a break. On this episode of Simply Put, Barry Cooper explains how the Sabbath reminds us to regularly rest in God and enjoy the ultimate rest that He has given His people in Christ.
  • Hospitality: What it is, and What it’s Not. Rosaria Butterfield addresses this question in this short video.
  • How to Study the Bible. In this message, R.C. Sproul will introduce some of the more important tools and concepts that are necessary in order to properly study and understand the Bible.
  • What Did You Give Up When You Became a Christian? Tim Challies writes “You have exchanged what is fleeting for what is lasting and what brings death for what brings life.”

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Christians Must Resist Assisted Suicide. Local pastor Andy Huette writes “Yet in the fog of sorrow and difficult decisions, Christians should resist the cultural tide of euthanasia that undermines the value of human life. Instead, we should value God’s gift of life even amid suffering.”

  • If God Is Sovereign, Why Bother to Share Your Faith? Timothy Witmer writes “God has ordained not only the end but the means to that end. He has ordained not only whowill be saved but how they will be saved.”
  • Find Sabbath Rest as a Family. Steve Eatmon writes “So how can families create space for rest? From one busy parent to another, here are four tips to create margin for rest in this wild season of life.”
  • I Don’t Have an LGBTQ Neighbor – And Neither Do You. Rosaria Butterfield writes “If we think we have gay neighbors, we are making the kind of category mistake that weakens our prayers, discourages our hope, and tacitly condemns our loved ones to slavery to sin.  Without intending such harm, we replace the power of God’s justifying work in the lives of His people and our participation in God’s sanctifying power with the man-made category of personhood called “Sexual Orientation.” It’s one or the other.”
  • Comfort for Those Grieving a Pet or Preparing to Say Goodbye to One. Randy Alcorn writes “Sometimes the best stewardship is relieving our pets’ suffering. It helps me knowing they have a Master in Heaven who loves them. When an animal is clearly suffering with no hope, we need to do the hard but necessary thing. Our pets trust us to act in their best interest. We should trust God the same way.”

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

BOOK REVIEW:
The Multigenerational Church Crisis: Why We Don’t Understand Each Other and How to Unite in Mission by Bryan Chapell. Baker Books 168 pages. 2025
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The latest book by Bryan Chapell (pastor, seminary president and denominational leader), is designed to help churches fulfill their biblical responsibilities to each generation so that churches maintain faithfulness for many generations. In this book, he aims to help different generations grasp why they may have trouble understanding each other, and at the same time to help them treasure and steward the contribution each can make to Christ’s mission in their particular time and context. He tells us that the overall goal of the book is to help churches understand how our changing culture is affecting generations of faith. He wants to help churches understand how our changing culture is affecting different generations within their midst so that we can work together for future health and mission. He wants to help us understand generational differences so that we may celebrate how God has differently gifted his people for the purposes of his church at this critical time and so that we may respond with a unified mission.

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BOOK REVIEW ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt Smethurst
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza Wins Heisman Trophy While ‘Always Praising Jesus Christ’. Kevin Mercer writes “Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza entered the college football history books on Saturday evening, becoming the latest winner of the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza is the first Hoosier ever to win college football’s highest award.
  • New Year’s Goal-Setting for People with Actual Lives. Joe Carter writes “What we need isn’t a better to-do list but a better grid for making wise decisions across every domain of life, whether we’re planning our fitness goals or our prayer habits. Such a grid should work for anyone, in any season, pursuing faithfulness in any calling. Three biblical priorities can serve as this grid: Prioritize your priorities, prioritize your energy, and prioritize your limits.”
  • A Roundup of Roundups. Tim Challies offers a roundup of his various roundups for 2025.
  • My Favorite Movies of 2025. Brett McCracken shares his favorite movies and documentaries of 2025.
  • God Wants Your Resolve. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the questions “In the Christian life, can New Year’s resolutions serve a meaningful purpose in helping to align our lives with God’s will, or do they often lead to frustration and spiritual burnout? Are they truly helpful in fostering growth and obedience, or are they ultimately harmful, perhaps setting us up for inevitable failure in our pursuit of holiness? And as we seek to approach this topic from a biblical perspective, how does Scripture guide us in navigating the art of goal-setting, resolutions, and the pursuit of personal change in a way that honors God and reflects the grace he offers?”

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