Around the Horn – 9/14/10

Here’s a good word from Ken Pierpont on finding out before you  jump off. And it applies to so many more things than the story itself.

Old people were once young, but young people have not yet been old. For that reason younger people should make an effort to understand what it’s like to be older. I’m getting older every day and I and growing in my sympathy for things I didn’t understand when I was young.

Most of us can stand to take a little more time in learning prior to getting mad. It will ease the difficulty of trying to fix it after we get over being mad.

And here’s a good word from Kevin DeYoung on twenty things he wish he had known. Many of them resonate with me very strongly, especially #4, 9, and 15.

4. Establish your priorities at the church early and clearly. I suggest: preach, pray, and people.

9. Be personal instead of academic. A conversation is usually better than a paper.

15. Spend more time getting to know your people and less time trying to figure out the culture of your city.

And #10 is a corollary because “Facebook” doesn’t count as people time, no matter how many friends you have. Most of us, myself included, are way too connected (although if you have my cell phone number, you are one of a very few. And if I answer it when you call me, you are one of even fewer). The idea of a technology fast is a good one. I plan on taking one before I die. Perhaps next year, but today I have to make sure that no one has emailed me in the last three minutes and check the news to make sure the world didn’t blow up yet.

And lastly (for today), here’s a good word from Mark Farnham on the value of systematic theology in the reading of the pastor.

Pastors who study theology do their congregation a great service. Generally their preaching has more substance, and their ideas are drawn from a larger pool of knowledge and exposure than one who does not read. Pastors who do not study theology tend to preach atheological sermons. They may be able to atomistically expound a text, but they will have difficulty connecting the text to the grand redemptive truths that give the texts weighty significance.