Newsletter #99
On Top Newsletters in 2023
Beginning to look back…
Since I launched Churchatopia in January of 2022, I’ve been deeply humbled by the level of interest in this Substack newsletter/page.
When I stepped down from the Helwys Society Forum after over a decade of involvement, I felt that I may eventually be involved in another online venture. I just wasn’t sure when, and what form such a venture would take. In the meantime, Substack had become the home to some of the most outstanding, independent journalism, creative writing, and specialists in various guilds. I felt that it may also be a place where I could scratch some intellectual itches. By and large, I think it has been exactly that.
Though I often look back over previous posts and find egregious typos, and some weeks it seems nearly impossible to cobble together something meaningful, it has been a valuable discipline for me. I only pray that it has been helpful and occasionally interesting for readers.
As we near the conclusion of 2023, I thought it might interest some readers to take a brief look back at some of the newsletters or posts which garnered the most attention. Some new to Churchatopia will likely have never read these. Even those who have been subscribers for a while may benefit from taking a look back over what I hope were some of my wiser reflections.
Next week for Newsletter #100, I plan to take fuller stock of this little experiment, and also to start sharing some of my favorite books from this year. Below you’ll find the top three-rated posts (in terms of views) from 2023. I’ve also provided a generous quote/excerpt from each.
#1 – Newsletter #84: On Fertility
First Corinthians 7 is just one of many passages which should disabuse Christians of the idea that family life is a good to be pursued at any and all costs. The apostle Paul regards his singleness—and therefore, childlessness—as a condition that renders him more available for ministry. In no way does this repudiate Genesis 1-2, Psalm 127, or the many other passages which extol marriage and childrearing. Instead, it puts them within the larger context of history, which is moving closer and closer to a time when no one will be married nor given in marriage to another (cf. Mt. 22). This would preclude the experience of parenthood as well…
In the arena of fertility, we have to develop the twin-capacities of (1) affirming the reality of infertility with sensitivity, care, and concern, and (2) continuing to affirm the goodness and normativity of fertility. Indeed, it only makes sense to lament one’s infertility if you’ve already assumed that fertility is normal and desirable! Perhaps because it’s too primal of a thing, but I’ve not yet seen too many try to celebrate infertility as a good thing, though I’m sure outliers exist.
#2 – Newsletter #57: On Our Future Discipleship
Life in a nursing home may not be the best context to consider. We see people at their worst, cognitively and physically. They’ve become almost entirely dependent on others to execute the normal, daily activities which they’ve performed for themselves most of their adult lives. They’re struggling. Some of those struggles will almost inevitably mean that they aren’t in full command of themselves. We should expect that even some people known throughout their lives for godliness may be a shell of themselves. We need to be compassionate, patient, and mindful of this.
On the other hand, there is a universal human tendency for people to age how they have lived. Without a steady, upward path of intentional spiritual growth, we all fall back into what we naturally are: selfish, impulsive, ungrateful, crude, and proud. My old friend Chris Carroll used to put it well: “When people get old, they start losing their filters.” True, though this is no doubt a generalization—kind of like, “Young people are impulsive,” or “Young people always want what’s new.” These are often true, though not always. It might be better to say, “As people age, if they don’t continue to grow, they’ll become sloppy in attending to their relationships and character.”
#3 – Newsletter #66: On Pastors’ Wives
Ministry is hard. Marriage is hard. But the combination of vocational ministry and marital life is potent. It contains all kinds of possibilities for blessing but also brokenness. I am especially grateful for the way men and women of good faith have chosen to lean into this area of ministry to ensure that people persevere in godly marriages and fruitful ministries.
Additionally, I’ve discovered that one of the best ways that ministry couples are ministered to—proactively and in the face of problems—is by having strong relationships with other ministry couples. This has been a source of immeasurable joy in mine and my wife’s life. I can summon to mind the faces of a few dozen precious couples. We’re not equally close to all, nor do we see each of them with the same regularity. But collectively, we are blessed by their warmth and godliness. A threefold cord is not easily broken.
Perhaps the most meaningful insight I have acquired over the decade I’ve been married while in ministry is this: it means more to me that people value, support, and bless my wife than they do me. In no way is this some sort of feigned modesty. Nor do I deny my own need for help and encouragement. But I am blessed by seeing my wife blessed, and in fact, it blesses me more than someone doing something for me directly.
Follow-Up:
Last week I mentioned that I would be attending a leadership conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The FWB Executive Office has posted a brief recap of the event, which can be found here. Mark Clifton, the main speaker, did an excellent job speaking to the nature of and need for church revitalization, replanting, and mergers.
What I’m (Still) Reading or Rereading:
James Davison Hunter and Paul Nedelisky, Science and the Good: The Tragic Quest for the Foundations of Morality.
Harrison Scott Kay, How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told.
Brian Klaas, Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us.
Abigail Favale, The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory.
Quote of the Week:
Why do Baptists (credobaptists) disagree with Presbyterians, Methodists, Anglicans, and others (paedobaptists) about baptism? As much as we may want to conclude it is simply because we interpret passages about baptism differently, the answer is not quite so straightforward. Those passages, of course, are not insignificant, but the issue runs deeper. For credobaptists and paedobaptists alike, our interpretation of baptism is driven largely by our understanding of the nature of the biblical covenants, particularly by the relationship between the old and new covenants … [John] Smyth understood that as our understanding of the covenants goes, our understanding of baptism goes. And as our understanding of baptism goes, our understanding of the church goes.
Billy Champion, “John Smyth and Baptist Covenantal Theology.”
Common Grace Wisdom: When Regret, Bad Medicine, and the Law Collide.
Some time ago as I was deeply troubled by the ideological capture of major institutions by the LBGTQ movement—namely the ‘T’—a thought occurred to me: perhaps the only thing, besides or in addition to Divine intervention, that could halt the mainstreaming of “gender-affirming care” (bodily mutilation), is to see some significant legal victories by those suing parents, counselors, physicians, and/or surgeons for their complicity. Money talks. And when you start talking about multimillion-dollar settlements and massive punitive damages, the medical industrial complex will respond. Nothing causes people to pump the brakes than a scary bottom-line.
We’ve already seen the University of Missouri healthcare system halt “gender-affirming care” for minors, and the gender clinic at Washington University shutter altogether in response to legal pressures. So I recently thought that it would be a good idea for someone (someone besides me, with the time!) to compile a list of ongoing legal proceedings by detransitioners. Well, fortunately the good folks over at BROADview have already done the hard work. In the aptly-titled “Eleven Lawsuits by Detransitioners in the US,” an anonymous contributor has provided an excellent overview. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction to this list that provides some legal context:
Currently in the US there are eleven public lawsuits by detransitioners against their doctors, therapists, and medical clinics. The claims include medical malpractice, gross medical negligence, negligent actions, fraud, civil conspiracy, misleading advertising, egregious misrepresentation of material evidence, breach of fiduciary duties, breach of fiduciary duty rising to the level of constructive fraud, experimental medical treatments, violation of civil rights, and more. One lawsuit also alleges that the American Academy of Pediatrics has published, promoted, and profited off of what the lawsuits name as the “fraudulent and misleading” 2018 policy statement, “Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents,” and deceptive trade practices.
I highly recommend reading the entire article.
The folks at BROADview have now reported the following:
“Perhaps due to recently-filed detransition lawsuits, either naming the AAP or the author of its gender-affirming care policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics has now paused the publication of new gender-affirming care guidelines.”
On My Mind: Christmas—What else?
Christmas isn’t my favorite holiday. But the incarnation may be my favorite biblical teaching. (Is it okay to have such a thing?) However, the way we remember the incarnation is still something I wrestle with each year. But I’m trying to handle things better this year—I promise!