When I first set out to start this blog, the idea behind it was that it would become the entirety of my thought space as I progress through learning and growing in my studies. While I think I have succeeded to some degree at writing larger, more thought out posts, I would also like to be better at posting more frequent smaller updates as well.

One thing I am going to start trying is an “article round-up” once a week, similar to Tim Challies or Mark Driscoll. The idea behind this is that I’ll be posting my favorite/most influential blog posts and other articles that I’ve read during the previous week. This will hopefully also increase a network with other blog writers as I read and re-post what they are writing.

I’m calling these posts “Sola Wednesdays” (a graphic for this is coming soon), 1) because I am a reformed nerd so it just makes sense and 2) because I am posting these articles on Wednesday alone.

Sound off in the comments below what you think of the new idea!

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1) Why I’m Not Overjoyed Our Town’s Adult Bookstore Closed

“So my hunch is that the local adult bookstore didn’t close because the community lost its interest in pornography, but because their interest has gotten worse and more demanding.”

A sad reality.

2) Why are millenials leaving church? Try atheism

“It appears that atheists and Christians are finally working together on the same task: getting millennials to leave the church.”

3) Latin Words and Phrases Every Man Should Know

“Beginning in the 1960s, college students demanded that the curriculum be more open, inclusive, and less Euro-centric. Among their suggested changes was eliminating Latin as a required course for all students. To quell student protests, universities began to slowly phase out the Latin requirement, and because colleges stopped requiring Latin, many high schools in America stopped offering Latin classes, too.  Around the same time, the Catholic Church revised its liturgy and permitted priests to lead Mass in vernacular languages instead of Latin, thus eliminating one of the public’s last ties to the ancient language.”

I hope the authors would be proud of my title for these new posts!

4) Reza Aslan Misrepresents His Scholarly Credentials

“It may be that Aslan sensed a tougher interview from Lauren Green than he is accustomed to. Hence he immediately went into high-dudgeon mode, and made the ten minutes all about her alleged disrespect of him and his alleged scholarly credentials. But in order to change the subject he told a string of gratuitous falsehoods about himself. Perhaps that master’s in fiction writing came in handy.”

This interview has been blowing up the internet. Here is the side nobody is talking about.

5) Have Archaeologists Found King David’s Palace?

“Where, then, should we stand on this discovery? On the one hand, we need to be careful not to buy into the speculative sensationalism that we see and read in the news and that, unfortunately, is sometimes purveyed by archaeologists.

On the other hand, we need not fall into the trap of an automatic hermeneutic of suspicion that dominates the field of archaeology. Let us patiently wait for all the evidence of the excavation to emerge. Then we will have a better idea if this is really King David’s Palace.”

While still speculative, I find this type of stuff fascinating.

6) ELCA Has Biggest Split in American Church History

“When the ELCA was formed in 1988 they had 5.2 million members, but they are now down to only 4 million members–a staggering loss of over 1.2 million members, or 23% of their membership.  They have also lost 1,500, or 13%, of their congregations, from approximately 11,000 to 9,500.  As they “celebrate” this year the 25th anniversary of the ELCA, the fact is that during that time they have lost more members and congregations than make up many entire denominations!”

It is interesting that their attempt to be relevant to culture to “save the denomination” has actually resulted in their biggest decline.

7) 15 Tips on Blogging from John Newton

“Women should be encouraged to blog for the benefit of the entire church, since they naturally write in a style more enjoyable, and less stilted, than men are normally capable of. ‘I have often wished we had more female pens employed in the service of the sanctuary. . . . In the article of essay writing, I think many are qualified to succeed better than most men, having a peculiar easiness of style, which few of us can imitate’ (2:16).”

Every point on this article is very insightful. That one might be my favorite.

8) What One Year of Blogging Has Taught Me

“Don’t compare myself (& my blog) to others. Blogging is discouraging at times. It’s easy to become focused on the number of views, likes, and comments a post gets. In this respect, blogging is a huge challenge for me (and an opportunity for growth with the Lord). I might spend hours crafting a post, only to get few responses and views in the single digits—when this happens, I’m tempted to wonder why I bother. I could be reading or watching Murder She Wrote. But I always remind myself why I’m writing this blog. It’s not to be popular and have lots of views. In the end, I pray that my aim is always first and foremost to glorify and honor the Lord in some way in every post I write. If I keep my eye on that, the stats don’t matter.”

Words from a friend. Well spoken, and very true.