The Week in Review (July 1, 2023)

I spent some time these last couple of days reflecting on my summer goals. With regard to this blog, I thought it would be nice to establish a rhythm of posting here a couple times a week. I thought I might do a Saturday post along the lines of "The Week in Review." Then on Wednesdays, I'd like to feature some project I'm working on or that I have completed.

The Week in Review

Supreme Court

Some very significant Supreme Court decisions this week: affirmative action nixed, Christian business owners don't have to cater against their religious beliefs, no student loan forgiveness.

It will be interesting to see how history will view these things. Is the current Court a corrective or an aberration? To a large extent, this is not a question of who is right but of who will be writing the history in the future. We cannot really say from where we sit. If I had to bet, I would guess it will prove to be a brief change of direction. However, I can see another future as well.

I do think that colorblindness and gender neutrality are the ultimate goal of society. The problem is that it is hard to get to colorblindness without first going through a period where you see color. It is hard to get to gender neutrality without first going through a period where you see gender. Many would say that we've seen it and now are beyond it. However, I doubt that most in the dominant position have fully seen them. At the same time, I doubt strongly whether the hyper-focus/pressuring of the left is having a net-positive effect at the moment either. It seems potentially harmful and self-defeating in its own right.

My posture is to listen and respond as seems potentially most helpful. But I am not in any position of power to have much of an impact.

Life and Ministry

I'm off to Silver Lake Wesleyan Camp next week. I'm the Bible teacher again. We'll be going through Romans.

Finished Projects with ChatGPT

I've been a little surprised that there has been so little interest in the projects I wrote interacting with ChatGPT. 

• Chats about God. I think there are probably some people out there struggling with faith who might really be helped by this book. I'm not sure how to get it into their hands.
• A Pastor's Brief Guide to Business. This might be the most helpful resource for a pastor in relation to business ever written. ChatGPT has aggregated and summarized all the business information out there with a view to ministry, with me asking it the questions. Again, I'm a little surprised more pastors haven't jumped at it.

I'm going to back off self-publishing with ChatGPT for a bit. I'll probably return to it in August.

Coming Next Week

• Sunday: expect my Sunday podcast/video as usual. This week is "The Power of the Holy Spirit." On YouTube and Patreon.
• Tuesday-Thursday -- plan to continue posting Hebrew verses from Jonah on YouTube (and Patreon).
• Wednesday -- expect a post here featuring some project I've finished or am working on

I'm hopefully doing more, but that's probably enough for today.