Wednesday Link List

The return of Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim to Canada from imprisonment in North Korea is a story worth hearing. We devoted our first four links to it today.

Each week’s list begins with a template looking something like this

This week we have several audio (and video) options for you. We won’t be so podcast happy next week, but we thought we’d give you something different. The listening/viewing time is shown in parenthesis after each.

• The big news in my home country is the return of an Evangelical pastor after 2½ years imprisonment in North Korea. Welcome home, Pastor Lim…
• …More detailed analysis…
• …Full video coverage on 100 Huntley Street. (First 14 minutes of program.)…
• …Also from Lorna Dueck, an article on Lim in Canada’s National Newspaper.
  
• Leadership Lessons: On the subject of copying other churches, this article has it all. 5 Things to consider before making changes. 3 Criteria to have while initiating changes. And 5 Things to keep in mind as you’re making changes…
• …also on the subject of leadership, as we did last year at this time, we’re going to again refer you to Joshua Reich’s blog for some great summaries of various speakers at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit 2017. If you’re reading this later on, go to posts for August 10th and 11th…
• …Leadership Confessions: They were once the hottest church in town. “These days I’m owning what it means to live on the other side of those glory days. We have not regained our peak numbers, and we’re no longer the ‘it’ church of our area. In fact, our congregation is less than a half-mile away from a church that is.”
  
• The Bible Doesn’t Need Your Help: A look at certain types of apologetics — including John MacArthur’s bizarre explanation of Jesus turning water into wine — actually can do Christianity more harm than good. (If you can explain the miracles, they aren’t miracles.)
• Parenting Place: How progressive Christians may be accidentally pushing their kids toward Fundamentalism. (Coarse language.) 
• Breaking on Tuesday: 13 people were killed and 49 injured when an enormous 200-year old oak tree fell over during the Roman Catholic Nossa Senhora do Monte festival in Madeira, an island belonging to Portugal. Festival goers “had gathered to honor Our Lady of the Mountain…Tuesday marked the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when Catholics celebrate the assumption of the body of Jesus Christ’s mother into heaven.” 
• BioMedical Ethics: Iceland has eliminated Down Syndrome because “over the last decade, 100% of women whose pre-natal tests have come back positive for Down Syndrome have decided to end their pregnancies.” (Compare with 67% in the US.) (11 minute video, or read text.)
  
• Women in Ministry: A look at three Bible women and a reminder that, “the glass steeple of the Church sometimes hangs far lower than the glass ceiling of the world at large.” This article also is a blog contest winner at The Junia Project. 
• Dating Goodbye Revisited: Joshua Harris and filmmaker Jessica Van Der Wyngaard share their hopes for the forthcoming documentary, I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye. As of yesterday, 412 backers pledged CA$ 55,437.
  
• Worship Workshop: Janet Mefford interviews Dr. T. David Gordon. professor of religion and Greek at Grove City College on the decline of contemporary worship. (Which he says is best seen in the present concession to great hymnwriters by borrowing their lyrics.) “The lyrics of the recent generation simply can’t compete with the best lyrics of forty of fifty generations.” (first 25 minutes of show)
• Three of the 18 arrested death penalty abolitionists arrested and taken to jail for protesting against the death penalty on the steps of the supreme court talk about why they fight against capital punishment. (11 minutes)(Contains some graphic content.)
• Church Building Usage: After joining a network of churches connected to the local church which gave the world The Alpha Course, the place known as “the musicians church” is closing its doors to non-religious classical choirs and orchestras using the space for rehearsals and concerts. 2,000 people have signed a petition against the new policy.
• Evolution of a Lawsuit: “[California State University] scientist Mark Armitage found soft tissue in a dinosaur bone, a discovery that throws significant doubt on evolution. Then, two weeks after publishing his findings, he was fired.” Later he was paid “a six-figure sum to settle his wrongful termination suit based on religious discrimination. While the university admits no wrongdoing, Armitage’s attorney said they feared losing a protracted lawsuit because of a ‘smoking gun’ email that backed the plaintiff’s case.”  (Always save your emails.)
  
• The Bible says the Christian does not sin. But we do. How does that work? And what is racism? And what about non-canonical texts? Greg Koukl has 4 minutes per question. (19 minutes)
• Canada Corner: FaithToday magazine talks to Mark Buchanan about his forthcoming book on the life of David.
• Brant Hansen and producer Sherri Lynn devoted a special edition podcast to Charlotteville. (31 minutes)…
• …Tim Keller also responded to the weekend’s tragic event…
• …And Ed Stetzer says that if you’ve lost the ability to critique the President, you’ve lost the element of Christian witness which speaks for truth.
• Interview of the Week: RNS talks to James Emery White about reaching the generation which is coming after the Millennials, Generation Z.
• Testimony of the Week: On feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit, “While a big ‘aha!’ moment is certainly possible, waiting for it in restless dissatisfaction can lead to missing the most powerful moments of all—the ones that come in small doses but carry much weight in the kingdom of God.” Don’t wait for cloven tongues of fire. 
• ♫ New Book About Music: Keith and Kristyn Getty (In Christ Alone) have written Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family and Church.  The book releases officially on September 1st.
  
• ♫ New Music: Michael W. Smith is back with A Million Lights, his first new song in three years.  (Full story at NRT.)
• ♫ New Music: For readers who like their music a bit more urban, check out Astronaut by Derek Minor featuring Deraj and Byron Juane and no shortage of special effects.
• The Pipester is still a go-to source for provocative soundbites. “Can Christians have sex if the wedding date is set?”
• Sermon of the Week: Where Fire Has Been by Levi Lusko at Fresh Life Church in Montana and Utah. (41 minutes, video)
• Apologetics Avenue (1): It’s been a year since we mentioned them, and they aren’t adding new content, but wanted to remind you about Answering Skeptics on WordPress.
• “What’s the difference between a canoe and a Christian in a restaurant? A canoe tips.” I’ve told that joke myself, but a creditcards.com and Princeton University study shows Evangelical leaders tip 20%. 
• And now, another graduate of the Mark Driscoll School of Writing.
  
• Finally, something for readers familiar with older hymns, or the Church of England or both: A look at candidates for the future publication, Hymns Ancient and Freudian.

From the image archives: