Jared Mellinger

My heart will sing of the King who forgave me.

Last week I gave a lecture on gender, focusing especially on the question of patriarchy. Here are some of my favorite resources.

Justin Taylor: “As you turn eighty this year, which feels like a milestone, none of us knows our day or our hour, but statistically you will be seeing Jesus sooner rather than later. What is that experience like now in your eighties, contemplating seeing him face to face?” John Piper (today): “He sees to it that it stays real, because I had a heart attack last July and got three stents in here now. And I think this black eye right here is owing to blood thinners. I’m on two blood thinners and I woke up the other morning and said, ‘What’s that?’ And I went to ChatGPT. [Laughter] Doctor Chat! [Laughter] It said, number one, age. [Laughter] Thin skin. Number two, blood thinners. Anyway, the point is, God keeps me on the brink of eternity. I look at that and think, what if it covered my face!? And that’s a great place to live. On the edge of eternity. … So the effect being old has is that it forces me to demand from the Lord that he be real. ‘I want you to be *starkly real* so that in the moment of death there’s no question, there’s no doubt, there’s no fear. And the meeting on the other side would not be totally surprising.’ … I didn’t use to plead like this when I was 40. But I plead for a kind of stark, present, precious, spiritual sense of the Lord’s reality, and that’s a wonderful thing to be driven to day after day, so that my devotions now are of a special order of urgency day by day.” #coramdeopascon

I highly recommend @gavinortlund's book "The Art of Disagreeing." It is saturated with grace and biblical wisdom. If you are looking for a resource to help you grow in godliness when in the middle of disagreement, this will serve you well. Thanks, Gavin!

This is a great list. Praise God for gifted song writers and musicians.

How often do you think about this paragraph that DeYoung wrote a few years ago in his review of Wolfe’s book on Christian Nationalism? Not as often as I do. Lol.

If you haven't checked out the new worldview podcast, THE CLASH VS produced by my friends Ricky Alcantar @RickyAlcantar and Ben Kreps @BenKreps give it a listen/watch: sovereigngrace.com/the-clash-vs/

I couldn't disagree more with your judgment on this. His posting of that verse does not merit the public rebuke/condemnation folks are pouring on right now. If there is a charitable way to interpret this (and there is), that is the interpretation you should assume unless or until proven otherwise. The threshold of evidence required to justify public rebuke/condemnation has not been met. Not even close.

John Piper has apparently taken a lot of Twitter criticism this week, which doesn’t really matter. I thank God for his ministry and his ongoing public witness. I’m with Piper.

Thank God for the great hymns.

How can Christians shine in a crooked and twisted age? Practice godly speech. Don’t grumble or quarrel. Refuse to identify Christianity with the kingdom of this world. Don’t minimize or excuse the inexcusable in national leaders. Set your hope fully in Christ and his return.

Gavin is out here doing such good work. Twitter is not worthy.

The writings of David Powlison are a remarkable gift to the church.

I appreciate this counsel from Kevin DeYoung: Don’t unfriend or disassociate with people just because other friends want you to. This approach to friendship and association in the broader body of Christ would do much to promote unity and please the Lord.

I had a great time teaching Acts in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) last week. Wonderful students and a solid/faithful organization (Trinity Fellowship Pastors College). tfpastorscollege.com

5. What’s Wrong with the World, by Tim Keller. A book on the timely and neglected doctrine of sin, which is a topic I studied this year.

4. A Light on the Hill, by Caleb Morell. “The Surprising Story of How a Local Church in the Nation’s Capital Influenced Evangelicalism.” This deepened my desire to be a part of a faithful multigenerational church.

5 books that were published in 2025 that I greatly benefited from: