“The Weekend Wanderer” is a weekly curated selection of news, stories, resources, and media on the intersection of faith and culture for you to explore through your weekend. Wander through these links however you like and in any order you like.

“A Time for Reckoning: Facing Truth on the Path to Unity” – Vince Bacote, a friend and Associate Professor of Theology and the Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College, relates his journey with the theological failure of evangelicalism on issues of race. He also offers recommendations for the way forward in this present moment. “To truly move forward on the challenge of race requires a reckoning with the theological failures that impede Christian unity and which are part of the reason for not only a movement like the Nation of Islam but also the existence of what we call ‘the black church.’ A reckoning of any kind takes a strong dose of courage. The reckoning in this case means a willingness to truly look at elements that are key to a church that struggles to truly provide a foretaste of the vision in Revelation 7:9.” This is an important article in so many ways, so let me strongly encourage you to read it.

“Jesus Is a Jew” – New York Times columnist and author, David Brooks, reflects in Comment about the Jewishness of Jesus and what that means for Jews, Christians, and the world. While this may not seem like a novel topic, Brooks approaches it in his own insightful manner. If you’re unfamiliar with Brooks’ own spiritual journey toward Jesus, I would highly encourage you to explore his most recent books, The Road to Character and The Second Mountain. You may also enjoy an extended conversation Brooks had last year with Alan Jacobs, author and Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program at Baylor University.

“Coming to Jesus” – In what is definitely a different variation on Brooks’ theme, here is Harold Braswell’s essay on the encounter with research on the hospice care of nuns, a deeply personal family memory, Jesus, and a richer Jewish faith. “Yet, two decades later, while writing my dissertation, I found myself meditating on the dying body of Christ. It was something that I had learned about over the course of my research. And, while I still didn’t ‘believe in’ Jesus, and considered myself very much to be a Jew, the practice was helping me to work through the meaning of a series of recent events that had destabilized my most fundamental sense of who I was and what I wanted to become.” Hold on for an interesting read.

“13 Christian Takes on Trump’s Peace Plan for Israel and Palestine” – Speaking of Jesus, what it means to be Jewish, and the Holy Land, this past week, President Trump rolled out his much-anticipated peace plan for Israel and Palestine, unveiling both the pathway toward that and an actual suggested map of these new states should the pathway be reached. Christianity Today offers a very clear overview of the peace plan, with responses from Christians of various backgrounds to the specifics of the plan. I believe it is vital to hear some of these differing perspectives as we have brothers and sisters in Christ within both groups.

“Man and Metropolis” – John Wilson, beloved former editor of the now defunct Books & Culture, and renowned writer about all things books, turns his attention to the topic of cities and books about cities and urbanism. “This has set me to thinking about city writing more generally, and the way in which some of the vexations of the genre present certain recurring temptations that many writers have failed to resist.” If you think about city life, the new urbanism, and the challenges of themes within such works, you may enjoy Wilson’s insights and recommendations.

“Rediscovering the Lost Power of Reading Aloud” – When my children were younger, many people encouraged us to read books aloud to shape their imagination, capacity for thinking, and verbal abilities. I have now objective measure on whether any of that was successful, but I do know that we have great memories of enjoying great books read-aloud together, like The Chronicles of Narnia, My Father’s Dragon, and When Marian Sang. There is a power in reading aloud that brings people together. In an excerpt from her recent book, The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud In the Age of Distraction, Meghan Cox Gurdon speaks to this reality. I cannot help but think of how this plays out beyond the family or school, such as in the gathering for public worship, but that would require another conversation.

Music: Yo-Yo Ma, “Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Prélude,” from J. S. Bach – The Unaccompanied Cello Suites

[I do not necessarily agree with all the views expressed within the articles linked from this page, but I have read them myself in order to make me think more deeply.]