Pyro reading suggestions

I've thought several times that it might be useful or fun if Phil, Frank and I were to try to pick our ten most important — or most neglected — posts.

This isn't that.

But while Pyro is idling for a month, folks are visiting the archives. So I thought I'd suggest some posts you might have missed, that I thought particularly significant. So, out of my 271 posts thus far, I select eighteen for your edification.

There is no significance to the number "eighteen." It just happens to be how many I singled out. I picked 'em, then I counted 'em.

However, the first five are the ones I'd pick (today) as the most important of these. The rest are in no particular order.

1. Pastoral marriage counseling: what if? Trying to help folks in troubled marriages is one of the most dangerous, draining activities pastors undertake. The first explosion I endured was in connection with trying to help a married couple in my church. In the end, both savaged me. In this, I posed a question: what if we took an entirely different approach?
2. 25 things I've learned was born of some sharply painful experience, and distilled tersely pointed Biblical wisdom on sin's ways and wiles. Learn it now, save yourself (and others) much pain.
3. Sister... show mercy! considered the issue of clothing (or its lack) from the perspective, not of modesty, but of Christian love and mercy.
4. God, evil and the Cross takes the perennial issue out of the theoretical and the philosophical, and anchors it in history and the Cross.
5. The Bible and my decisions contrasts Biblical teaching on decision-making with muzzy modern mysticism.
6. When "compassion" is Satanic, I mention simply because it was my first. Hundreds of years from now, future archeologists... will rightly ignore it.
7. Dealing with Proverbs, and dealing with faith was a three-parter. It's notable as being my first of many on Proverbs. I was surprised at how little "buzz" it caused. It set out some important factors to consider when interpreting Proverbs, and actually gave an example by forming a proverb as an example.
8. Tongues across the water: response to Adrian was a four-part series in which I tried to deal at length with some common Charismatic bypaths, as represented in the questions of an otherwise good brother across the pond.
9. In What prayer is and isn't, I took a Bible buzz-saw to some common, traditionalistic notions about prayer. Upset some folks. I managed to muddle on all the same.
10. Calling him "Lord" — or, Blacks and women developed a point I've seen made nowhere else, before or since, about 1 Peter 3:6 and the Biblical teaching of submission.
11. Four faces: gaining perspective for the new year sought to gain wisdom from considering four people dealing in grace with difficulties most of us can only imagine.
12. A word to Christian yoots brought the Word to bear on our younger readers, in a practical way.
13. The Amazing Dr. von Cipher's "Conversation" with "God" was a hearty fisking of more Charismatic nonsense and doubletalk, as brought to us all by the line-blurrers at Christianity Astray.
14. Why God gave you parents, etc. sought to force young folks to think through God's wisdom in placing Commandment #5 in the foundational and pivotal position as the first horizontal directive.
15. Dating: when words and choices clash grew out of my astonishment that so many Christian young people name Jesus as Lord, then yoke their hearts to His enemies. I pointed out the (to be candid) spiritual insanity of this. I also pointed out what a hateful, selfish way it is to use the unbeliever.
16. A theological trio from Proverbs, including a two-parter called Substitutionary atonement and Proverbs, and Sovereign grace in Proverbs. I single these out as examples of theological exegesis from a Calvinist perspective; I'm not aware of anything, anywhere, quite like them.
17. Another heartfelt two-part post titled The hardest aspect of pastoral ministry took inspiration from a remark of my friend Ligon Duncan at the T4G conference. It deals with that regard in which pastoral ministry is harder than any other fulltime occupation on earth.
18. Finally, given the Oprah-ized day in which we live, I think the three-parter on Transparency is worth a mention. Should I disclose myself? Must I? How much is enough, how much is too much?

For some new readers, these may be your first time. For others, perhaps a reminder. In either case, though comments are closed at Pyro, they're open here.

Happy reading!