{"id":7922,"date":"2026-03-06T16:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T00:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7922"},"modified":"2026-03-06T16:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T00:34:18","slug":"tgfi-volume-545-holistic-ministry-and-cringe-evangelicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/03\/06\/tgfi-volume-545-holistic-ministry-and-cringe-evangelicals","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 545: holistic ministry and cringe evangelicals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>\n<\/p><p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2026\/03\/how-i-learned-about-gods-care-hope-walks-clubfoot\/\">The Math Behind Christ\u2019s Care for Our Flour\u00adish\u00ading<\/a> (Bruce Wydick, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty Today): \u201cI decid\u00aded to go through the Gospels\u2019 accounts of Jesus\u2019 inter\u00adac\u00adtions with people\u2014conversations, teach\u00adings, and healings\u2014and dig\u00adi\u00adtal\u00adly cat\u00ade\u00adgo\u00adrize all 171 record\u00aded inter\u00adac\u00adtions (as delin\u00adeat\u00aded by New Inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal Ver\u00adsion sub\u00adchap\u00adter head\u00adings) based on which of the fol\u00adlow\u00ading five dif\u00adfer\u00adent facets of human need he was address\u00ading: (1) pure\u00adly spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal, (2) phys\u00adi\u00adcal needs, (3) social inclu\u00adsion, (4) men\u00adtal health, and (5) eco\u00adnom\u00adic needs.\u2026 all of Christ\u2019s mir\u00ada\u00adcles could have sim\u00adply been spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adplays of pow\u00ader, mir\u00ada\u00adcles of the shock-and-awe vari\u00adety, like calm\u00ading storms or walk\u00ading on water. But they weren\u2019t. Instead, most of his mir\u00ada\u00adcles involve meet\u00ading var\u00adi\u00adous human needs: people\u2019s phys\u00adi\u00adcal ail\u00adments (restor\u00ading sight, mobil\u00adi\u00adty), their social inclu\u00adsion (heal\u00ading of lep\u00aders), their eco\u00adnom\u00adic short\u00adages (loaves and fish\u00ades), and maybe even their men\u00adtal health\u2014\u2018Peace be with you,\u2019 (John 20:21). His mir\u00ada\u00adcles show how much the God of the uni\u00adverse cares about all these dif\u00adfer\u00adent facets of us that make us hap\u00adpy, healthy human beings.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cool find\u00adings in here with some nice charts. The author is a devel\u00adop\u00adment econ\u00ado\u00admist at USF, UC Davis, and Notre Dame. I did some dig\u00adging and he is an evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal. One of us!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/missiles-moments-iran-uae\/\">Mis\u00adsiles and Moments of Clar\u00adi\u00adty<\/a> (Ryan Cur\u00adrie, The Gospel Coali\u00adtion): \u201cIt\u2019s 5 a.m. in Dubai. I\u2019m awak\u00adened by a loud bang and my bed\u00adroom win\u00addows shak\u00ading. My wife also wakes with a start and sits up. My half-sleep\u00ading brain tries to process: _What was that?_ The adren\u00ada\u00adline kicks in and reminds me of the night\u00admare of chaos and fear that spreads in the Mid\u00addle East.\u2026 It\u2019s strange how moments of cri\u00adsis bring clar\u00adi\u00adty. Each defen\u00adsive burst clar\u00adi\u00adfies real\u00adi\u00adties I was already aware of but had hid\u00adden under the hum and drum of every\u00adday life. These mis\u00adsiles pro\u00advide moments of clar\u00adi\u00adty into what\u2019s most impor\u00adtant.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I found this both inter\u00adest\u00ading and mov\u00ading.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2026\/03\/06\/evangelicals-christian-supreme-court-university-business-trust\/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzcyNzczMjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzc0MTUxOTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NzI3NzMyMDAsImp0aSI6ImVjNWNjMjQ1LWFhMjctNDVhMy05Yjg5LWFiMmRlYTAyM2NhYiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9vcGluaW9ucy8yMDI2LzAzLzA2L2V2YW5nZWxpY2Fscy1jaHJpc3RpYW4tc3VwcmVtZS1jb3VydC11bml2ZXJzaXR5LWJ1c2luZXNzLXRydXN0LyJ9.fYLYTP73_bxU9B3se1umSbMXrp7SyG0zwP_OPpWlcWg\">Why Amer\u00adi\u00adca needs evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals on the Supreme Court \u2014 and more<\/a> (Aaron Renn, Wash\u00ading\u00adton Post): \u201cEvan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals are 23 per\u00adcent of U.S. adults and one of the most loy\u00adal Repub\u00adli\u00adcan vot\u00ading blocs, with 81 per\u00adcent back\u00ading Don\u00adald Trump in 2024. Yet despite six of the nine Supreme Court jus\u00adtices being appoint\u00aded by Repub\u00adli\u00adcan pres\u00adi\u00addents, there are no evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals on the Supreme Court.\u2026 As a minor\u00adi\u00adty in a coun\u00adtry that has become post-Chris\u00adt\u00adian in many respects, evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t seek to dom\u00adi\u00adnate nation\u00adal lead\u00ader\u00adship roles. A diverse soci\u00adety will draw its tal\u00adent from all quar\u00adters. But for that very rea\u00adson, it can\u2019t be healthy when near\u00adly one-quar\u00adter of the nation\u00adal pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion is fail\u00ading to con\u00adtribute its fair share.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gift link. Renn sees much but also has a few blind spots. Worth a pon\u00adder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mereorthodoxy.com\/10-reasons-evangelicals-are-cringe\">10 Rea\u00adsons Evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals are Cringe<\/a> (Matthew Lof\u00adtus, Mere Ortho\u00addoxy): \u201cI don\u2019t lose sleep over evangelicalism\u2019s cringei\u00adness (at least not near\u00adly as much as I did when I was a teenag\u00ader and being cringe was more offen\u00adsive to me) because God did not let being cringe stop him from get\u00adting stuff done cul\u00adtur\u00adal\u00adly back when the Church was most\u00adly made up of illit\u00ader\u00adate fish\u00ader\u00admen and he will bring about his work in the world regard\u00adless of whether or not there are suf\u00adfi\u00adcient num\u00adbers of evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals among the elites. This is the most impor\u00adtant rea\u00adson, but it\u2019s worth talk\u00ading about the issues Renn rais\u00ades because some of the rea\u00adsons are actu\u00adal\u00adly good things that we should cel\u00ade\u00adbrate and oth\u00aders are bad things that we should do some\u00adthing about if we can.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/free-expression\/my-criticism-of-the-ivy-league-isnt-hypocrisy-73534481?st=idYriB&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink\">My Crit\u00adi\u00adcism of the Ivy League Isn\u2019t Hypocrisy<\/a> (Rob K. Hen\u00adder\u00adson, Wall Street Jour\u00adnal): \u201cIf you went to an elite school, informed dis\u00adsent is seen as a kind of betray\u00adal. If you didn\u2019t, you might be writ\u00adten off as some\u00adone who doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s talk\u00ading about. It\u2019s a \u2018heads I win, tails you lose\u2019 sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion. Ben\u00ade\u00adfit\u00ading from a sys\u00adtem, though, doesn\u2019t mean you for\u00adfeit the right to cri\u00adtique it. In most walks of life, insid\u00ader knowl\u00adedge makes a crit\u00adic more cred\u00adi\u00adble, not less. Expe\u00adri\u00adence counts for some\u00adthing. Who is bet\u00adter placed to crit\u00adi\u00adcize an insti\u00adtu\u00adtion than some\u00adone who has seen it from the inside?\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/05\/us\/politics\/trump-iran-war-presidential-power.html\">How the Deci\u00adsion to Start a War Became the President\u2019s<\/a> (Char\u00adlie Sav\u00adage, New York Times): \u201cIt is sup\u00adposed to be a foun\u00adda\u00adtion\u00adal prin\u00adci\u00adple of Amer\u00adi\u00adcan democ\u00adra\u00adcy that unless the Unit\u00aded States is under attack, the pow\u00ader to declare war is vest\u00aded in Con\u00adgress. But espe\u00adcial\u00adly since the start of the Cold War, pres\u00adi\u00addents of both par\u00adties have chipped away at that by claim\u00ading a right to order the mil\u00adi\u00adtary into var\u00adi\u00adous lim\u00adit\u00aded hos\u00adtile sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtions.\u2026 Suc\u00adces\u00adsive admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtions built on their pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsors\u2019 inno\u00adva\u00adtions, a one-way ratch\u00adet expand\u00ading the cir\u00adcum\u00adstances in which pres\u00adi\u00addents had claimed and demon\u00adstrat\u00aded that they could by them\u00adselves deploy troops into com\u00adbat.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.astralcodexten.com\/p\/seiu-delenda-est\">SEIU Delen\u00adda Est<\/a> (Scott Alexan\u00adder, Astral Code Ten): \u201cCal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia lets inter\u00adest groups pro\u00adpose mea\u00adsures for the state bal\u00adlot. Any\u00adone who gath\u00aders enough sig\u00adna\u00adtures (cur\u00adrent\u00adly 874,641) can put their hare-brained plans before vot\u00aders dur\u00ading the next elec\u00adtion year\u2026 The SEIU is known in Cal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia polit\u00adi\u00adcal cir\u00adcles for pio\u00adneer\u00ading and per\u00adfect\u00ading the art of extor\u00adtion via bal\u00adlot ini\u00adtia\u00adtive.\u2026 SEIU seems to have found a bug in direct democ\u00adra\u00adcy: it incen\u00adtivizes inter\u00adest groups to search for the most destruc\u00adtive pos\u00adsi\u00adble bal\u00adlot ini\u00adtia\u00adtive that might nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless get approved by low-infor\u00adma\u00adtion vot\u00aders, since this gives them lever\u00adage over any\u00adone will\u00ading to bribe them into with\u00addraw\u00ading their poi\u00adson pill.\u201d <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u201cwho under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI dis\u00adagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI under\u00adstand\u201d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u2019ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u2019m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u2019s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u2019s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u2019t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/03\/06\/tgfi-volume-545-holistic-ministry-and-cringe-evangelicals\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cTGFI, Vol\u00adume 545: holis\u00adtic min\u00adistry and cringe evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[218,240,160,339,133,115],"class_list":["post-7922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-california","tag-elite-colleges","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-jesus","tag-middle-east","tag-missions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-23M","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7923,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7922\/revisions\/7923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}