A Few Good Reads

“It’s Time to Love Baltimore”
Much of our national discussion the last few days has focused on the rioting in Baltimore. Joey Rainey shares how churches in Baltimore have been ministering in the midst of the chaos and how Christians from other parts of the country can help. “This morning, Pastor Tally Wilgis and the wonderful people of Captivate Church are feeding kids.  In an area of the city where 84% of the children are on a free or reduced lunch program, when school is cancelled, they don’t eat.  So the body of Christ is feeding more than 100 of them.”

“Southern Baptists canceled an event with Ben Carson. Here’s why that matters.”
Dr. Ben Carson has become a darling of conservative Republicans and was slated to speak at the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference in Columbus in June. Some Southern Baptists began voicing concerns about some of Dr. Carson’s theological commitments and the danger of being seen as endorsing a political candidate. Last week SBC leaders and Carson decided that he would not speak. In this post Thomas Kidd gives us details on the discussion and explains the importance of this move. “Carson has also made statements about Muslims, Jews and Christians all being ‘God’s children,’ perhaps implying that there are multiple paths to God. Hosting Carson and other Republican candidates, the critics said, continues to convey the impression that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is ‘in bed with the Republican Party,’ as Baptist21 put it. Leaders of the Pastors’ Conference ‘mutually agreed’ with Carson that he would withdraw.”

“Jesus, The Antidote to Blame Transference Syndrome”
The first thing Adam did when confronted with his sin was to blame his wife and we have been following suit ever since. Jared Wilson teaches us how Jesus moves us away from our insistence on transferring blame. “Jesus endures the temptation we cannot, he accepts the blame we deserve, and he transfers the blessings of his righteousness that we could never earn.”

The Mingling of Souls
Amazon has a deal on the Kindle edition of Matt Chandler’s book on “God’s design for love, sex, marriage, and redemption.”