The Friday Five (7.17.26)
A Few Things for My Friends
Hello and Happy Friday!
Every week, I share five things to encourage and equip in life with God.
We’re back from family camp in Missouri, where I got to teach on the transforming work of grace and fighting for wholehearted living. We had a blast, and now it’s 102 degree highs in Texas.
This week:
1. Dust to Dust | Jen Wilkin
2. Boasting Only in the Cross | John Piper
3. Make Disciples | The Village Church
4. First Love | Forrest Frank
5. Conversatio Journal: Millenials and Faith | Kyle Strobel & Friends
Enjoy!
MK
⬇️ Check out my book on who you’re becoming and how to grow in Christ! ⬇️
Read the forward from Jen Wilkin | Grab a copy here | Here’s a Discussion Guide
1. Dust to Dust
My dear friend, Jen Wilkin, has a new book releasing Tuesday, and it’s entitled, Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World. I remember hearing her give a talk to our staff about how life is a chiasm, that it ends much like it begins, receiving care as you enter and exit the world. That the journey of life between is the road we are all on - doing our best to age wisely in a world that wants to ignore the reality and gift every season of life brings. When I learned she was developing the theme into a longer work, I knew it would be a gift to those who find it.
I’m eager to get my copy this week, Jen is someone I consistently learn from and am grateful for. Grab a copy for yourself here.
2. Boasting Only in The Cross
This past week at camp, I had separate conversations with a dad in his late forties and a 20 year old counselor who mentioned they were reading the same book, Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. The dad, not much of a reader, said he couldn’t put it down, and was grateful for the message of the book. When I asked the counselor if he had listened to John Piper’s sermon from Passion 2000 that was behind the book, he didn’t know about it. Maybe I am a geriatric millennial after all.
The sermon, Boasting Only in the Cross, changed a generation. The resulting work, Don’t Waste Your Life, continues to shape generations with a clear call to Christ-centered living. Watch and read both!
3. Make Disciples
Due to renovation construction plans, we have not been gathering as a church the last few weeks, but have provided recorded services for our people to utilize as they gathered in homes and communities together. We’re back together this weekend, and I’m looking forward to seeing faces I’ve missed this month. Here’s a message from Trevor Joy over the third clause of our mission statement: Make Disciples.
4. First Love
As I sat reading by the pool at camp this week, a Forrest Frank song kept working it’s way in the rotation, I hadn’t listened to much of this album, and I enjoyed this one!
5. Conversatio Journal: Millennials and Faith
Conversatio re-released an edition of their journal this week that focuses on Millennials (Born 1981-1995) and Faith. I hear I’m considered a “Geriatric Millennial” being on the older end here, and that’s a weird term all around.
I saw lots of contributors I recognized and am excited to read in the issue. Here’s their description for you:
Millennials came of age in the digital age, and so the writers in this issue made sure to explore how technology influenced the digital natives of that generation, and how they harnessed the power of technology to shape culture as well. Kyle Strobel and Jamin Goggin discussed this in their article, “Technology and Technique,” and their experience of receiving the gift of the presence of God. Much research has been done about the mass exodus of those in this generation from church and organized religion. Millennials were known for their skepticism of Evangelicalism even as they left for college twenty years ago to search for a more authentic representation of their faith. In her essay “Millennials and Mystery,” Laura Turner shared about how experiencing a different “stream” of Christian tradition allowed her to deepen her relationship with God. She and many in this generation who have remained in the local church, have found a new home in “high church” settings, embracing mystery, liturgy, and sacraments. Tara Owen’s piece, “Nomads and Exiles: Walking the Wilderness with Millennials,” harkens to the reality that many in this generation have deconstructed and reconstructed their faith as they’ve journeyed through a spiritual wilderness in which they’ve reimagined what it means to walk with Christ.
You’ll find pieces from Emily P. Freeman, Alan Fadling, Steven Macchia, Adele Calhoun and more. Read the whole thing here.
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. I’m also working on a Ph.D. in Church History, studying Jonathan Edwards and character formation. 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