First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. [1 Timothy 2:1–2]

In the cacophony of noise that is our society, where many live somewhere on the spectrum from complete news avoidance to hanging on every headline and comment, Paul’s words above speak to the intersection of our spiritual practices and social participation.

Notice, first off, that we are called to pray for everyone. I bet, like me, you have a prayer “list” (of family members, friends, church leaders and members, etc.). “Everyone” seems so broad! Way beyond my short list. But because of what he is about to say next, I think by “everyone,” Paul means, “Don’t leave anyone out of your prayers simply because you disagree with them or didn’t vote for them.”

Secondly, and as part of the “everyone,” we are told to pray for our civic leaders. And a high reason to pray for those in power is that we may live tranquil and quiet lives. (That seems to be missing today.) Our spiritual practices, our personal character, and our public behavior are all woven together. No compartmentalizing allowed.

So then: Prayerlessness, busyness, and bitterness make for a lousy Christian and a lousy citizen of one’s state.

For your reading accompaniment: “Maria Callas” from The Summer Portraits by Ludovico Einaudi
A beautiful tribute and piece by my favorite contemporary pianist.

To tip or not to tip
Do you find the constant prompts to tip annoying or helpful? What about the suggested tip percentages after a meal? Are you a generous tipper? During COVID, Sue and I would purposely tip higher to be kind to the workers during a stressful time. Now, I generally round up over 20% at a restaurant and try to be generous to hotel workers and taxi drivers and the like. And yes, I find the suggestion to tip nearly every person I encounter commercially a bit annoying. Actually, I prefer the European restaurant model where the servers are paid more, and there is a “cover charge” for sitting at the table and little or nothing is expected in leaving a tip. Here’s a nice article on tipping pressures with a quiz to begin.

I want what they’ve got
I found sociologist Rodney Stark’s description of the growth of the early Church in sociological terms quite interesting. He describes the early Christian Church as a model in being “attractional,” not in style of worship but in the habits and character of its people. There weren’t many missionaries in the Roman Empire, and the churches were designed around the lives and needs of its people. So it was not very “seeker driven,” to use a past vernacular. Christians, however, made their faith (and their Savior) quite “attractive” by showing their neighbors a different way to live. They cared for the poor and people in need (inside and outside the fellowship). They made a practice of adopting unwanted babies rather than abandoning them. The early Christians loved and cared for victims of the plague instead of shunning them. And member of all classes and citizenships were welcomed in the assembly. “I prefer the way they live to the way I live. I want what they have.”

Goodbye, TEDS—the growing crisis of empty pastorates
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is moving to Canada. Arguably the most influential American theological seminary over the last 50 years has had to leave the greater Chicago area due to financial straits. There is a quiet but looming crisis right now. There are too few young evangelical pastors and too few quality schools to educate and train them. If we don’t address this shortage and properly develop theologically educated and ministry-trained young pastors, we will soon have an ecclesiastical disaster.

We are fortunate to have a very quality new-ish seminary here in Cleveland (Emmaus Theological Seminary) for whom I have the privilege to teach. The absence of TEDS makes Emmaus and her real presence in Cleveland that much more necessary. May the heart of the American church be to raise up young potential candidates for pastoral and church ministries for many years to come.

Who knew? Iranians embracing the Gospel
“In some of the most hostile places on earth, Christianity is thriving,” writes John Mac Ghlionn. Of the many countries where Christians are being persecuted for their faith, one of the most surprising spots of growth is Iran!

This made me smile: Psalm 23—the Tech Version:
The Algorithm is my shepherd; I shall not lack. It guides me to the best search results; it refreshes my data streams in the quietest corners of the web. It restores my bandwidth; it leads me on the right pathways for its name’s sake. Even when I navigate through the dark valleys of spam and malware, I fear no error, for the Algorithm is with me; its code and its logic comfort me. It prepares a digital table before me in the presence of my online foes; it uploads my profile with positive updates; my cloud storage overflows. Surely, its optimization and efficiency will follow me all my digital days, and I will dwell in the Cloud forever.

They said it…
“It’s like Christian holidays don’t mean anything to them anymore. Just go out and play and entertain the TV. It’s really weird… But it is what it is. We’ve got to go to work, and we’ll do what we have to do to make the best of it…I don’t think anyone should play on Christmas.” [Phil Jackson, former championship coach and “Zen-master”]

“If the Divine call does not make us better, it will make us very much worse. Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst. Of all created beings the wickedest is one who originally stood in the immediate presence of God. There seems no way out of this. It gives a new application to Our Lord’s words about ‘counting the cost.’” [C.S. Lewis in Reflections on the Psalms]

“Pope Francis was a voice of mercy in a time of noise. He walked with humility, spoke with fire, and dared to love the unloved. He reminded the world that compassion isn’t weakness, and faith doesn’t have to shout to be heard. May he rest in the eternal peace he so often preached.” [Bob Dylan, tribute to late Pope Francis]

“Corporate worship is designed to remind you that in the center of all things is a glorious and gracious King, and this king is not you.” [Paul Tripp, Christian author]

“I’m grateful for its [TEDS’] past; I’m not optimistic about its future; but I’m hopeful TEDS will continue to serve the evangelical world. These are not good days for seminaries, so the demise of TEDS in the USA looms as a warning of the future of seminary education. I admit I’m mostly concerned about professors moving (or moving on) and students, who may not be able to move to Canada and make ends meet, and at the same time wondering how they will finish their degree. The classrooms will grow dark. That’s sad.” [Scot McKnight, retired New Testament Professor]

“Dear Father always near us,
may your name be treasured and loved,
may your rule be completed in us—
may your will be done here on earth in
just the way it is done in heaven.
Give us today the things we need today,
and forgive us our sins and impositions on you
as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.
Please don’t put us through trials,
but deliver us from everything bad.
Because you are the one is charge,
and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours—forever—
which is just the way we want it!”
[The Lord’s Prayer, as paraphrased by Dallas Willard]