GCD Weekly Newsletter – 01/21/22

The latest articles and resources cultivated to help you make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus.

Dear GCD Reader,

I don’t want to be sick, but I don’t mind having to quarantine occasionally. It’s not that I don’t like being around people, but it’s sometimes nice when I’m required stay home a few days. To accomplish my work from home next to my own fireplace with no expectation of having to be anywhere, all while never leaving the coziness of my pajamas…well that is music to my introverted heart.

However, the more I grow spiritually, the more I’m aware of the need for community God has placed within us all. It’s fine to have alone time, but prolonged isolation from everyone is not good for my sinful heart even though it’s often most appealing to me. While I’ll always enjoy my recharge moments at home, I want to make sure I’m walking with the community God has given me.

This week’s articles remind us of our need for one another. Whether encouraging your pastor, uniting with those being mistreated, or fighting unbiblical ideas of individualism, we all need the reminder that God has called us to himself AND to one another. You need others, and others need you.

This Week at GCDiscipleship.com

• How to Turn Your Pastor’s Grief Into Joy by Tim Shorey  

  While everyone has struggled through the strange events of the last two years, Shorey highlights specific struggles that pastors have faced. Then, he provides biblically recommended ways to encourage your pastor…it might not be ways you would guess.

• Blest Be the Tie That Binds: Learning From the Believers Who Have Come Before by Tom Sugimura

  Using the Nikkei church during WWII as an example, Sugimura reminds believers of the need for a gospel-based unity even where there might otherwise be differences. “Christian love ties together the family of God as we give and receive like Jesus, our elder brother. As we find comfort in Christ’s love, we then comfort others with the same love that we ourselves have received.”

• When the Nest May Never Be Empty by Emily Pilkington

  “Begin with the end in mind,” we tell parents. And that end is often described as an empty nest and an independent child. But is that mantra more American than it is biblical?

Letters to the Editor

We’d love to hear from you. Please send feedback about our articles (or anything else!) to our managing editor at Benjamin@GCDiscipleship.com. And if you’ll allow us, we’ll share your comments in future newsletters.

A Book for a Cold Day

If you’re stuck indoors due to quarantine or just a cold snowy day, why don’t you pick up a copy of S.A. Morrison’s With Those Who Weep: A Theology of Tears. S.A. extends an invitation to explore how our tears form us and our sorrows catechize us. GCD released this book last year, and it has been a timely contribution to the needs and heavy hearts of our current cultural moment. Pick up a digital copy on our online bookstore or purchase the paperback at Amazon.com

Thanks again for reading the latest from GCD. We’d love to hear from you.

In Christ,
James Williams | Staff Writer