The Friday Five (5.22.26)
A Few Things for My Friends
Hey! Every week, I share five things to encourage and equip in life with God.
This week:
Waiting on God | Andrew Murray
Convergence | Jon Thompson
Three Emails for Men | Jon Tyson | Jim Essian | Harp
The Ruthless Addition of Presence | Kyle Strobel
The Virtues and Living Well | O. Alan Noble & Sara Billups
Enjoy!
MK
⬇️ Looking for something to read this summer?
Check out my book on Spiritual Disciplines! ⬇️
Read the forward and introduction | Grab a copy here | Here’s a Discussion Guide
1. Waiting on God
A few weeks ago, an older saint at our church mentioned a prayer book she has been using, Andrew Murray’s Waiting on God. I ordered a copy and started it this week. 31 daily readings on waiting upon The Lord in prayer. Now that summer is here, I’m hoping for some slower mornings at the house and enjoying this book in June.
2. Convergence
A few weeks ago, I mentioned how our church is seeking both discipleship and revival. A reader who works in the publishing industry messaged me saying I should check out Jon Thompson’s work, Convergence: The Transforming Power of Living Like Jesus Through Spiritual Gifts, Disciplines, and Unusual Experiences. He even offered to send a copy!
I couldn’t wait for it to arrive. I dove into the audiobook and found myself wanting to high-five Jon at certain points. Spiritual Disciplines and Spiritual Gifts working together in the local church, making much of Jesus and expecting God to work in His world. I appreciated the architecture of the book; Jon does a good job building with each chapter and inviting the reader (listener) to consider the scriptures and what it means for the body to serve one another with their gifts.
I finished the audiobook while working on my jeep yesterday and found my heart encouraged in what we’re pursuing as a Church: serious discipleship that fuels the heart’s affection for Jesus and the use of the gifts He gives us for His glory.
Check out Jon’s book here.
Thanks again, Ryan!
3. Three Emails for Men
I get three regular emails, and they’re written by men for men.
Jon Tyson - Apart from his pastoral work at Church of the City NYC, Jon has a ministry focused on forming men. These emails are to the point and always encouraging.
Jim Essian - Jim is a friend, and the pastor of The Paradox Church in my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Jim’s emails read like he talks - thoughtful, direct, and looking to build you up.
Chris Harper - Harp is a new friend, and I’ve loved reading his weekly encouragement to men to step into what God has for them.
These are guys you want to learn from. Sign up for yourself, or forward this email to the man in your life who could benefit from them!
4. The Ruthless Addition of Presence
Dallas Willard’s famous line is that hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life; therefore, we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives. Kyle Strobel has a piece where he describes the reality that you can eliminate hurry still not be present in your life. Thus, Kyle calls for the Ruthless Addition of Presence.
He writes:
Hurry inoculates us from presence. But you can eliminate hurry and still fail to be present. Removing hurry does not make you a present person, it only establishes the possibility for presence.
Read the whole thing here.
*Note: Kyle’s Substack is a worthwhile subscription. Check this article out, and then take a look at what all he’s doing. He’s a regular read for me, and has been for nearly a decade through his books and now this newsletter!
5. The Virtues and Living Well
I’ve been waiting for O. Alan Noble’s latest work, To Live Well, and I’m glad to see him on the podcast/substack circuit to talk about it.
Over the last decade and a half, I stumbled into a love of virtue ethics and character formation. I started reading Aristotle and Aquinas, then Hauerwas and friends. Noble is in this vein, writing about how the community-based formation of Christlike character, the (often too) slow process of growth, and the importance of relationships are all key aspects of growing into who God made us to be.
You can read a Q&A between him and Sara Billups on her newsletter, Bitter Scroll.
Thanks for Reading
If someone forwarded this to you, I write two kinds of emails: one on select Tuesdays about life with God and the other every Friday, where I share things I’ve found during the week. If you want to subscribe but can’t afford it, email me, and I’ll take care of it—no questions asked.
I pastor, teach, and lead at The Village Church, serving as an Elder and the Executive Director of Discipleship. In my spare time (ha!), I’m working on a Ph.D. in Church History, studying Jonathan Edwards and character formation. Also, I’ve written A Short Guide to Spiritual Disciplines: How to Become a Healthy Christian.
Thank you for reading and supporting my work as I seek to shepherd with compassion and wisdom, equipping people to embody God’s truth for all of life.
Talk soon,
Mason
Might checkout the Noble book at sone point. Thx for highlighting it.