The Friday Update - Happy '26

Happy First Friday,

The call to daily Bible reading is less about acquiring information than it is about burying his truth deep in our heart. We do not need a quick pick-me-up to start the day. We need to change the background music that animates our life. May the decrees of His Word be our theme song in ‘26.

US Christmas ‘26

1) 47% of Americans attended a Christmas Eve worship service last week (down from 64% in ‘10).

2) Sales for Christmas presents topped $1T for the first time.

3) I was late stumbling upon this recording of O Holy Night by Erik Grönwall—a Swedish heavy metal singer—but have decided it’s too good to wait until next year to share. 

A Remarkable Life (and Letter)

Ben Sasse—who earned a PhD from Yale in his 20s, became a college president (Midland University) in his 30s, served as a U.S. senator (from Nebraska) in his 40s, and returned to university leadership (president of the University of FL) in his 50s—recently announced that he has stage four pancreatic cancer and is “gonna die.” Both his life and the letter announcing his illness deserve reflection.

Foodie Corner

Per people in the know: vinegar is trending, “swangy” is the new spicy,  sweet potatoes are in, sourdough is still in, and cold-foam matcha lattes are very out. BTW, I have no idea what “swangy” means.

Overheard

1) A life that works depends on prioritizing long-term direction over short-term gratification.

2) If we traveled back to ‘07 wearing what we have on now, we would not stand out.

3) “Your will, Lord. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.”

4) Grace is experiencing unconditional love in the presence of shame.

5) We all need some friends who would tear off the roof to get us to Jesus.

Without Comment

1) Close to 70M people—i.e., about 1% of the global population—eat at McDonalds each day.

2) In 1997, the POTUS was born in 1946. In ‘07, the POTUS was born in ‘46. In ‘17, the POTUS was born in ‘46, and unless something quite unexpected happens, in ‘27, the POTUS will have been born in 1946.

3) Barnes and Noble opened 57 new stores in ‘24, 58 in ‘25 and plans to open 60 in ’26.

4) Reports of erectile difficulties among young men have risen from low single digits in the late 90s to roughly 25% today. While noting these stats reflect “self-reported symptoms rather than clinical diagnoses” experts attribute the spike to: mental-health burdens (anxiety, depression), porn consumption, sleep deprivation and obesity.

5) Speaking of, U.S. mental health stats continue to worsen.

6) Bible reading among U.S. ‘Zers continues to climb.

7) Per this report, the % of young Americans identifying as trans or queer dropped from 6.8% in ’23 to 3.6% in ’25.

A Parable

John Quincy Adams served as a congressman for 17 years after his Presidency. During that time, he set forth legislation to abolish slavery close to 100x. When asked by fellow legislators why he persisted in such a losing cause, Adams would reply, “The duty is ours; the results are God’s.”

IS2M

1) We make too little of the link between disciple and discipline.

2) Though few resolutions live to see February, there is value in the reflection that shapes their formation.

WOTW

Honorable mention goes to Jetway Jesus, which is associated with the growing number who board flights early (via wheelchairs) but are mysteriously able to walk off the plane with everyone else, theater kid (the political insult de jour), and the trio of Twixmas, Dead Week, and Feral Week (coined to label the week you just lived through). Full honors go to metamodernism, the most recent effort to label our post-postmodern era. Metamodernism is “a cultural mindset that oscillates between irony and sincerity, skepticism and hope. It knows that stories are fragile but chooses to live as if meaning still matters.”

Clean Up

In the last update, I claimed the world could be divided into two groups: those who claim there are two types of people and those who do not. Several of you wrote claiming there are actually three groups. Those who can count, and those who can’t.

Resources

Click here to hear the sermon I preached on Revelation 12 — which lies at the theological center of the Book of Revelation. And click here to hear my interview with Jason Woodruff, the Founder of the Pour Over.

Closing Prayer

“I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, place me with whom You will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low for You. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine, and I am Yours. May it be so. And may the covenant which I have just made here on earth be confirmed in heaven. Amen.” (This prayer is part of the New Year’s Covenant that John Wesley—1703-1791—established for the Methodist Church.)