This Week’s Top Five: The Best of the Best Around the Net (9/10/10)

The Big Idea: The Best of the Best Around the Net links you to the top five Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living.

Resources to Confront the New Fundamentalist Atheism

With Stephen Hawking’s latest pronouncements and with the ever-increasing tribe of angry, fundamentalist atheists, well-reasoned resources are always welcomed. Karisa Schlehr, writing for R. C. Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries provides a boatload in her post: Does God Exist? Helpful Resources Confronting Atheism.

Scientists Respond to Hawking

As I reported in Stephen Hawking: Brilliant But Foolish, and in Hawking or God: Who Do You Believe?, the debate rages about Stephen Hawking’s latest pronouncements. The group Christians in Science and Technology has amassed a great collation of articles in their post Scientists Respond to Hawking.

Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

It’s not often that I cite a New York Times article as one of my top five Christian blog posts. But David Brooks nails it in his Op-Ed piece The Gospel of Wealth. His column highlights the ministry and new book of Pastor David Platt who wrote Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream.

Tim Tebow Mania

If the New York Times seems an odd fit for a Christian blog recommendation, then Yahoo Sports may seem even less fitting. However, columnist Les Carpenter has an interesting article on Tim Tebow that’s worth reading: Tebow Dras Fans Like No Other in NFL. While Carpenter’s “take” is not necessarily “Christian,” the content of the article is informative regarding what people hunger for in professional athletes.

Fight Fair

We’ve all been in discussions where we’ve known the other person’s argumentation was unfair, but we couldn’t quite figure out why. Now you know. Pastor Kevin DeYoung lists six common approaches to argumentation that are less impressive than they seem. Read about them in Less Than Meets the Eye.

Bonus Post: Change Management

Here’s a bonus, sixth link. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m big on change management and conflict resolution. You also know I’m big on learning from bad examples what not to do. Michael McKinley at Nine Marks Ministries has a great post along those lines: Five Ways to Make Sure a Church Turnaround Fails.

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Of The Best of the Best Around the Net, which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

This Week’s Top Five: The Best of the Best Around the Net (9/4/10)

The Big Idea: The Best of the Best Around the Net links you to the top five Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living.

God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck

Pastor and Professor, Russell Moore, shares an eye-opening, no-holds-barred analysis of what’s wrong with a Mormon leading Evangelical Christians in spiritual revival! Read God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck.

One Thing to Fear

We’re often told not to fear. But Pastor Kevin DeYoung reminds us that Jesus exhorted us to fear one thing. Learn what it is in There’s Something Worse Than Death. 

The Key to Growth in Godliness

Dane Ortlund has a great post where he asked a boatload of pastors, professors, theologians, and authors, “What’s the Key to Growth in Godliness?” Each gives a one-sentence summary. Read their fascinating responses here.

How to Use Facebook Effectively

Avid blogger, Tim Challies teaches some of the basic how-to’s of using Facebook for ministry in How (and How Not to) Use Facebook for Ministry.

Pastors Talking Candidly

Check out Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile’s post and video about Driscoll, Chan, and Harris in candid pastoral conversation. It’s fun and instructive to listen in on some real and raw, candid and charitable pastor-talk.

Bonus—Blog Post # 6: No More Church Segregation

Too many great posts this week, so you get a bonus sixth pick. The Christian Post provides an interesting article on how Sr. Pastor Tullian Tchividjian has led Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church to end age-segregated worship

Join the Conversation

Of The Best of the Best Around the Net, which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

The Best of the Best Around the Net (5/16/10)

The Best of the Best Around the Net links you to blog posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. Check out the following links you can trust.

Re-Introducing Hymns to a Contemporary Congregation

Great post by James Grant on the Gospel Coalition site about practical suggestions, helpful resources, and theological reasons for re-introducing hymns to a contemporary congregation.

The Church Has a Blindside

Everyone is familiar with the movie The Blindside. Scott Williams at Big Is the New Small talks about the “elephant in the room”—The Church Has a Blindside in that for the most part we’re still segregated on Sunday mornings and in our relationships throughout the week.

Justification and Emotional Health

The Gospel Coalition posted a very important blog about Justification’s Double Liberation. It explores how our justification in Christ applies to our emotional and psychological health.

Supreme Court: Evangelicals Need Not Apply

Patrick O’Callahan, staff writer for the News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington, writes, “If Elena Kagan – a Jew – replaces Justice John Paul Stevens – a Protestant – on the Supreme Court, the court will consist of six Roman Catholics and three Jews. Protestant-ism, still the nation’s majority religion, will be completely shut out for the first time in American history.” For his interesting analysis of the bias that has led to this situation, continue reading.

Where and Why We Buy Our Books

Tim Challies has a fascinating survey about the book buying attitudes and habits of the “young, restless, and reform.”

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Of The Best of the Best Around the Net, which post impacted you the most? Why?

What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

The Best of the Best Around the Net (5/10/10)

The Best of the Best Around the Net links you to blog posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. Check out the following links you can trust.

The Testing of Franklin Graham

Al Mohler writes, “Evangelical Christians in the United States had better see a big challenge staring us in the face. Franklin Graham was disinvited by the Pentagon for making statements that are required by faithfulness to the gospel of Christ.” Continue reading.

Historic Biblical Counseling Coalition Meeting

This past week, nearly 40 leaders in the modern biblical counseling movement met in Chicago. Read about the purpose of this historic summit and a report on the activities.

Where the Millennials Find Their Religion

Fox News has a very interesting and somewhat sad report on where young people today are finding their “religion” and meeting their “spiritual needs”: Millennials Increasingly Find Their Religion Online.

It’s Getting Dangerous Out There

While I’ve never before listed the same blogger twice in any one week, this week I make a well-deserved exception. Speaking about the arrest of a preacher in England, Al Mohler writes, “We have seen this coming for some time now. The public space has been closing, especially when it comes to Christian speech — and especially when that speech is about homosexuality.” Continue reading.

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Of The Best of the Best Around the Net, which post impacted you the most? Why?

What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

The Best of the Best Around the Net (5/2/10)

The Best of the Best Around the Net links you to blog posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. Check out the following links you can trust.

21 Leadership Quotes

Scott Williams at Big Is the New Small has collated 21 Leadership Quotes.

A Gospel-Centric Counseling Book

Mark Tubbs of Discerning Reader has posted a new review of Soul Physicians in his Blog Through of the book. He says, “I’m so convinced of its helpfulness that I urge all pastors and leaders who read this blog entry to invest in a copy and spend the summer reaping its benefits, not only for their counseling ministries but for their church(es) at large. There’s no member, young or mature spiritually, that will fail to take something away that enriches devotion to Christ.”

The Life and Death of An Atheist

Albert Mohler ponders the life and death of the world’s most famous atheist who later in life rejected atheism: The Death of a (Former) Atheist — Antony Flew, 1923-2010. Mohler develops the thesis: “Antony Flew’s rejection of atheism is an encouragement, but his rejection of Christianity is a warning. Rejecting atheism is simply not enough.”

66 Love Letters

The new Gospel Coalition Review site is up and running. They’ve posted my review of Larry Crabb’s latest book 66 Love Letters. Learn more about the Bible as God’s love letter to His people.

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Of The Best of the Best Around the Net, which post impacted you the most? Why?

What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

The Best of the Best Around the Net (4/18/10)

One of my passions is bridge-building, connecting, and highlighting other ministries and ministry resources—so that the Body of Christ is built up and Christ is magnified (Ephesians 4:15-16). My weekly post, The Best of the Best Around the Net, links you to blog posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. Check out the following links you can trust.

An Obituary for the Emerging Church

Anthony Bradley at World Magazine pens a commentary on the end of the emergent church movement: Farewell Emerging Church, 1989-2010.

Our Attitude Toward Homosexuality

Ed Welch at the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF) shares a candid, probing, biblical, personal response to the question of our attitude and God’s perspective of homosexuality.

New Christian Book Review Site

The folks at The Gospel Coalition have launched a new Christian book review site, called, of course, TGC Reviews. Several new reviews are posted every week. I’m reviewing pastoral ministry and biblical counseling/discipleship books for them. You can read my first review: The Biblical Counseling Movement by David Powlison.

Failure, The Last Taboo?

David Murray’s post at The Gospel Coalition on Failure is a needed look at an often-neglected topic.

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Of The Best of the Best Around the Net, which post impacted you the most? Why?

What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?