Robert Grunden

Sheep Food

Trevin’s Seven
Links for your weekend reading.
“Range” and the Generalist vs. Specialist Debate
Some thoughts on the debate between Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Hour Rule” and David Epstein’s “Range.”
10 of My Favorite Quotes on Writing
Over the years, I’ve collected quotes on writing that speak to the craft, the discipline, and the thrill of putting thought into words.
Trevin’s Seven
Seven of the best articles I came across this week.
When Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber Doesn’t Stop Polarization
Will listening to people on “the other side” politically, theologically, or culturally foster understanding? Not necessarily.
Why Christians Should Be the Best Reasoners
Just because we care about truth doesn’t mean we won’t deceive ourselves.
Trevin’s Seven
Links for your weekend reading.

How Church Membership Gives Us Freedom
Isn’t it ironic that a high commitment like church membership can bring about a sense of freedom?
When You Long for Friends: A Meditation for Elders’ Wives
In your time as an elder’s wife, you will doubtless experience times of loneliness. You can take encouragement from the example of Paul that a desire for friends is a good desire.
Church Membership Among Former Mormons? A 9Marks Mailbag
Church membership isn't a control mechanism, it's a barrier to authoritarianism.
Fisherman or Fishermen? Considering the Church’s Corporate Mission
The mission of the church is in fact the mission of the church. Rather than merely being one person casting from a pier, it’s a host of men and women holding their part of the net.
Forbear with One Another
Members of the blood-bought church of Jesus Christ have a holy calling to put up with one another.
Be Like Batman: Guard the Gospel
You don't need a seminary education. You don’t have to be an ordained minister or a spiritual superstar. All you need is the Holy Spirit, and you have that! It’s time to suit up and start guarding the gospel.
Speak Only What Is Good to Give Grace
Our days and our words are numbered, and before long we will have to give an account to God for how we used them.

How to Counter Anti-Evangelical Hostility
Clickbaity hostility to evangelicals is everywhere. How do we respond?
A Modernist Christian Nationalist: John Wilsey on John Foster Dulles’s Faith
Historians are to be truth tellers, not judges.
When Martyn Lloyd-Jones Confronted a Pastor Who Loved Controversy and Denunciation
Martyn Lloyd-Jones was convinced an orthodox ministry can be spoiled by a wrong spirit with wrong methods.
Why American Church Membership Is Plummeting
And why we should take religion polls with a grain of salt.
Alvin Plantinga on “Fundamentalism”
The term is often deployed as a lazy slur rather than a serious argument.
Denominations: To Leave or Not to Leave?
Churches, and the denominations they compose, are highly imperfect things, because they are filled with people like me.
The Bible and the Civil War: An Interview with James P. Byrd
The Bible has been used to argue for peace, and it has been cited to justify horrible forms of violence.