Walk Humble Weekly Roundup - January 24, 2025
A collection of quotes, stories, writings, and other resources about life, leadership, and walking humbly.
Every week, I read and listen to great educational content that stretches and grows me. I’m reviving an old practice of sharing some of the highlights of what I’ve read, bookmarked, and written down in a once-per-week post.
ICYMI: Recent Walk Humble Content
ARTICLE:
Between Headlines and Hope
PODCAST:
Maybe You ARE a Spiritual Gift
ARTICLE:
Lectio Divina: An Ancient Prayer and Bible Reading Practice
Quotes for Your Notes
(Click a graphic to find the quoted book on Amazon.)
Articles & Links for Life & Leadership
Why Leaders Must Adopt a Radical Rule of Life
By Pete Scazerro
Pete’s podcast is one of my favorites. I’m convinced that helping people to form an emotionally healthy spirituality is one of the keys to what God is doing in our culture to draw people to Jesus. In this episode, he talks to leaders about the need for a daily pattern of contemplative spirituality.
The Land of Small Men, by Skye Jethani
Skye Jethani reflected on the events of Inauguration Day with bold observations about the kind of smallness we’ve seen this week and what it means for manhood and masculinity.
What has me exhausted and saddened today is the realization that our world is not only filled with small men, but that both the church and the culture celebrates their smallness…
Where a small man seeks to divide people and drive communities apart in order to elevate himself, a man of weight transcends divisions and pulls seemingly incongruous people together into his orbit…
A man of true gravity sees others as whole, integrated persons and not as single labels. As a result, he respects others and builds connections. Under his leadership, people from seemingly opposing identities discover they have more in common than the world would have them believe…
We do not have a critical mass of men in our Christian communities with weighty souls because the values of pop Christianity have caused us to replace true shepherds with mere managers. We have given up the difficult work of cultivating true communion with God for the more lucrative profession of entertaining religious customers. Simply put, shallowness sells.
5 Things Seminary Didn’t Teach Me
By Matt Tebbe
Matt lists five subjects you can’t really learn in a classroom: Self-awareness, Patience, Presence, Failure, and Love.
Following Jesus: Vulnerability Required
By Kelly Edmiston
I’m convinced that one of the weaknesses of the average church in the west is how we, as Kelly puts it, “offer certainty and ask for a commitment in return,” when the truth is, certainty and faith are two very different things. Kelly says,
Churches that offer certainty and ask for a commitment in return are not holding up their end of the deal. Because what happens when what you know to be true is proven false? What happens when the people you love are not included in the church because of factors they can’t control? What happens when you believe that good will triumph and it doesn’t? Certainty is a fragile god.
and
I want people to join our church not because we have all the right answers, or the same answers. I want people to join our church because we are embarking on a mysterious journey. One where we are following the uncaged Messiah, who scatters seed recklessly and loves unconditionally, calls inclusively and transforms any who will consent to journey with Him.
Are Americans Especially Distrustful of Religion?
By Ryan Burge
I pay close attention to what Ryan learns about faith in our culture. In this article, Ryan points out that trust in religious institutions has declined. And while people distrust institutions in general more than in the past, religious institutions have been especially impacted. He says,
In the most recent data, about 15% of folks expressed a great deal of confidence in religion, while the share who had hardly any trust has risen from 15% in 1972 to 35% today. It’s fair to say that the average American is significantly more skeptical of religion today than a person from fifty years ago.
When we’re confronted with data like this, we have to at least ask the why? question and consider what we can do differently to earn trust again.
To Worship Jesus is to Worship a Guy You Could Beat Up
By Savannah Locke
As I said in a note on Substack, Savannah’s headline took me aback. I didn’t want to click. But I’m glad I did. She says…
To be Christian in the Golden Collapse of America is to remember the Kingdom of God— like King Jesus— dies before it kills. The Kingdom of God is a mustard seed, not a marketing scheme. The Kingdom of God is built on sacrifice, not domination. The Kingdom of God is made up of bruised peacemakers, not violent overlords. The Kingdom of God shares with the poor, rather than trampling on them to amass wealth.
We really struggle to understand that following the Way of Jesus means far more than obeying certain sexual ethical standards. It’s about how we wield and approach power.
I’m working on creating more content and I hope you’ll stay tuned! Feel free to share this newsletter with somebody.
Photo by Marc Zimmer on Unsplash.