Earlier today, the United States Supreme Court ruled that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are no longer legal in America.  In other words, same-sex marriage is now the law of the land in the U.S.  

How are evangelical Christians supposed to process this decision, and how do we move ahead?  Here  are four Christian sources that I'll be loosely monitoring about this specific issue, that can help us think things through.  (Important note: I'm not necessarily endorsing all these sources will be saying. Read discerningly!  And always remember that our final authority is the Bible.)

Through his speaking and writing, Russell Moore, President of the ERLC, has helped me think more biblically (and graciously and realistically) through a number of culturally-relevant issues.  This is probably the first place I'll be monitoring constantly over the next few days and weeks.  Find out more about the ERLC here.

A hub for "evangelical thought leaders" to have a "sense of community, coherence, and direction through thoughtful, biblical commentary on issues and through careful, caring reporting of the news" (from their FAQ page).  Christianity Today will stay on top of reporting news about this issue (and many other issues of evangelical interest).

Another source of news from within the evangelical world.  Find out more about World here.

Still a solid ministry, advocating for healthy families - they'll surely be weighing in on the SCOTUS decision and its implications.  Check out Jim Daly's post from earlier today, responding to the court's ruling.

As a follower of Jesus Christ and someone who cares about the value of loving God with our minds, one of the values I want to champion is discernment - thinking through and weighing issues, filtering what I hear (or read, or watch) to catch the "junk" and benefit from what's good.  

Now, there's A LOT I could say about discernment if you got me talking about it (this won't be anywhere near exhaustive) - but I want to keep this post short and simple, and so I'm going to focus at a high level, on what I call my "Discernment Grid."  (I really need to think of a better name for this.)  What should the discernment we pursue look like?  What abuses should it avoid?

Before we get to a graphic that illustrates how I approach this, let me briefly spell out two things:

Recently, Craig Groeschel wrote a brief, helpful article on "Why I Still Believe in Small Groups."  It's a worthwhile read.  I respect Craig Groeschel and value many things I've learned from him.  I believe in small groups, too, and have been a part of some sort of small group for the last 15 years or so.  

As much as I value and promote small groups, though, most would agree these shouldn't be PRIMARILY equipping environments.  I agree with this myself, and so figured an equally-brief post on "Why I Still Believe in Adult Equipping Environments" may be in order:

J.I. Packer was the first theologian to really whet my appetite for theology, and thinking deeply about my Christian faith.  When I first read his Knowing God in high school, I was hooked on big thoughts about God, his high view of Scripture, and the value of digging deeply into Christianity.  I've continued to read other books by J.I. Packer and books about him (and to re-read Knowing God!) - all to my benefit.  

In this 20 minute video interview hosted by Justin Taylor at Crossway, you'll hear two worthwhile voices (Sam Storms, Leland Ryken) talk about how J.I. Packer remains a worthwhile voice today.  The whole video has good stuff to say.  If you're looking for a short segment that overlaps with what we're doing with the Brookside Institute, be sure and listen to what the video has to say about Packer as a "latter day catechist" and his vision for doing theology - the time stamp for this section is appx 4:17-10:50.

Looking for more posts on related themes?  Check these out!

• Catalyzing Some Catechizing - Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
• Four Pictures for Doing Theology Well
• Why Theology Matters, taught by Dr. Jeremy Treat (video)
• What Do You Think of When You Hear the Word Theology?
• We Need Sound Theology.  And We Need More than Sound Theology
• Five Theological Words Worth Knowing (and Appreciating!)

If you've been introduced to J.I. Packer before, what have you most appreciated about him and/or his writings?  If this is your first introduction, what stood out to you from the video?

Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week.  The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial (or at least thought-provoking!) in-and-of-themselves.  But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.

Let's start sampling: 

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, we find all sorts of great truth that can guide how we think about the role and practice of teaching (and preaching) today.  Here are two passages that I've been marinating in lately:

Here's a second passage:

So how do these words from Paul to Timothy (and us!) shape how I approach teaching?  Here are a few brief thoughts:

I've got a handful of statements that I want to characterize my life, and one of these is that I "know God's Word and the One to whom it points."  This means that I want to KEEP reading the Bible - not just once, but again, and again, and again, and again (and again).  I want to KEEP reading the Bible, and letting the Bible "read" me, throughout my entire lifetime.

The danger with repeated exposure to the Bible is that familiarity can breed a casual approach that skims passages rather than soaks in them.  Familiarity can lead to an approach that doesn't think as carefully about application as it used to.  Familiarity can lead to an approach that doesn't keep digging for fresh insight from God's revelation of Himself in Scripture.  Familiarity can lead to our reading of God's Word becoming stale.

And so the question I've had to ask - and that I think others can relate to - is this: How do I keep my Bible reading fresh?

Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week.  The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial (or at least thought-provoking!) in-and-of-themselves.  But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.

Let's start sampling: 

A few weeks ago the Pew Research Center released results from a recent survey, showing a decline in the overall percentage of Americans who identify as Christian.  (To see the report click here.)  A number of others have helped us process this data in some important ways, including Ed Stetzer, Russell Moore, and Ross Dothan.  These are all worth reading and reflecting on.

The most creative perspective on the survey findings, though, is - at least in my opinion - reflected below:

When it comes to studying the Bible with a group of others, have you ever felt like it can be the blind leading the blind?  Let's be honest: The Bible can at times be confusing.  And so we can benefit from guides that help steer us in the right direction.  This is where Bible study guides can play a valuable supporting role, as we dig into Scripture on our own or in groups.  

A few times a year, I'm approached by an individual or a group that is asking something like the following question: "What study guides would I recommend for people who are studying the Bible?"  I've already posted some online tools I point people towards, along with some tips for how we ought to read the Bible responsibly and faithfully on our own and books I suggest as people start building their own biblical and theological libraries.  But what about print study guides that help us get into specific books of the Bible - the question-and-answer guides that can be useful at supporting group and individual study?

Here are the five I generally recommend first: