SPIRITUAL LIFE
What is pride? (Christina Fox at Ligonier): Pride is arrogance. Pride thinks it knows better and is better. Pride sets itself in first place. It bows to no one but itself. But, as C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”
My joy depends on my circumstances (Steve Bateman at The Gospel Coalition): Joy and hope are faithful friends. “Two are better than one,” and when our joy stumbles under the load of immediate circumstances, hope is there to “lift up his fellow” (Eccl. 4:9–10). Hope and joy cooperate for our endurance. Hope sustains us until we can feel joy again.
The aim of Satan (Paul Levy at Ealing Levy): What is he aiming at?The way the bible describes him is helpful to us in this – the word Satan means adversary. He is the evil one; the prince of the power of the air; the prince of darkness; the god of this world; Beelzebub; the tempter; the old Serpent; the Dragon; the Father of lies. All these titles show him to be the enemy of God. He is the opposer of all that is good and the great promoter of evil. His aim is to be a rival; his motivation was to displace God. It was pride that drove the devil to fall.
MINISTRY
The inefficient church (Darryl Dash at Dashhouse): A church that treats people like people, not just an aggregate of people or a crowd, is a church that will make a profound impact on the lives of many. And here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter how big or small you are. I’ve seen small churches treat people efficiently, and I’ve seen large churches (like Capitol Hill) take the inefficient route. It’s more of a commitment than a factor of size.
LEADERSHIP
Good leaders fail well: How mistakes become a staircase (Scott Hubbard at Desiring God): Stepping into leadership means stepping into mistakes, regrets, and many small but stinging failures. And surviving in leadership, I am learning, means stepping upward on those mistakes — owning them, learning from them, and having the stability in Christ to keep leading after them.
Does maturity still matter? (Samuel James at Mere Orthodoxy): How do churches, ministry organizations, and other institutions press their leaders and their members toward spiritual maturity? And how do they prevent the spiritually immature from controlling the vision and spirit of the network? There’s much that could be said here. We cannot underestimate the value of the ordinary means of grace. But movements and organizations only have so much power to push their members toward these means. I actually think the second question is part of the answer to the first: Leaders and members are encouraged toward maturity in part by watching immature members be marginalized and discipled, rather than feared and deferred to.