By Stan Friedman

CHICAGO, IL (December 6, 2013) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday, we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement of any views expressed.

1. Thinking through the Multicultural Church

It’s easy to idealize a multicultural church—everyone living in harmony, singing around the throne, a sort of glorified religious Up With People group. That’s generally not the reality, however. Ed Stetzer knows that, writing that if a congregation wants to be multicultural (which is not the same as multiracial), they will have conflict, grow more slowly, and need to listen to one another a lot more closely. But that’s not all bad.

2. Singled Out: How Churches Can Embrace Unmarried Adults

Even as churches seek to be multicultural, there is a culture that often is overlooked—or even diminished—in our churches. From the article: “A lot of people seem to think that singleness is to marriage as junior varsity is to varsity.” The entire article is that good.

3. The Cultural Web and the Neighborhood Church

I didn’t intend to focus on links about being multicultural, but sometimes the theme just develops. Be sure to first read the link in the first paragraph on Exegeting a Neighborhood Within a City. Even though these articles appear on the Church Planting Movement website, they are certainly important for established congregations, and the same exegesis could be done for suburban or rural areas as well.

4. Please Hear Those of Us Who Can’t

Many people in our churches have a hard time hearing the gospel. Let’s pay attention to what they have to say. The Covenant’s Disability Ministry offers valuable resources and links to others for our churches.

5. Advent Music Project: Reclaiming Advent One Song at a Time

I find many Advent reflection sites offensive because they are so dull and predictable, despite the fact that they focus on the incarnation, the most absurd, awe-inspiring moment in history. That’s why I was thrilled when someone shared this link. Each day’s reflection includes music videos that feature performances as varied as Nina Simone inveighing against evil in “Revolution,” to Blitzen Trapper singing the Americana-inflected “A Love That Shines,” and Sleeping At Last offering the meditative “Sun.” Yeah, I had never heard of those last two groups either (although Sleeping At Last is actually singer Ryan O’Neal, whom I also had never heard of). So the opportunity to be exposed to a wide array of artists is an added bonus. You might even say it’s a chance to be more multicultural.