Pastor, Your People Need the Hard Texts

“When’s the last time you heard a sermon on Genesis 38? Can you summarize the story of Genesis 38? I’m sure you’re aware of the next story in Genesis 39: Joseph rejecting the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife. So, what is Genesis 38? It’s a grimy, revolting, devastating, and uncomfortable story. Genesis 38 is rated TV-MA—and there’s a danger in not preaching it.”

The Problem with the “Unencumbered Spiritual Self”

In this post, Trevin Wax asks a probing question, “Nearly four decades ago, Harvard law professor Michael Sandel described a certain view of humanity as “the unencumbered self.” To be “unencumbered” means our identity is not defined or limited by the fundamental relationships into which we are born or the network of relations we inherit. The unencumbered self is defined instead by the capacity to choose, and in an expressive individualist society, the choices we make regarding our future must arise from within. We look inside ourselves to define our identity and establish our destiny, not outside to any other source of authority or obligation. In our society, many have fallen for this mirage that imagines humanity as “unencumbered.” In response, church leaders should ask: What happens when this way of thinking seeps into our view of the Christian life?“

iGeneration and iDentity

Social media can pose a number of problems. As this post notes, one of the greatest dangers in poses is how it can shape identity. As image bearers of God our identity was never meant to be shaped this way.