<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/braies-lake-in-dolomites-mountains-seekofel-in-background-sudtirol-italy-lake-braies-is-also-known-as-lago-di-braies-the-lake-is-surrounded-by-the-mountains-which-are-reflected-in-the-water-n6VyA2S2nek" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="Braies Lake in Dolomites mountains Seekofel in background, Sudtirol, Italy. Lake Braies is also known as Lago di Braies. The lake is surrounded by the mountains which are reflected in the water." class="sizing-normal" height="1941" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!D-2a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6a4469fe-3b02-4643-b5cf-591e116710ab_3000x4000.jpeg" title="Braies Lake in Dolomites mountains Seekofel in background, Sudtirol, Italy. Lake Braies is also known as Lago di Braies. The lake is surrounded by the mountains which are reflected in the water." width="1456" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="pullquote"><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not represent those of my employer, any affiliated organization, or any institution with which I am associated.</strong></em></p></div><p class="button-wrapper"><a class="button primary" href="https://bit.ly/Crux-Community"><span>JOIN THIS COMMUNITY FOR $8/YEAR</span></a></p><p>Someone once told me, <em>you only learn from what you reflect on. </em>And so, when I started <em>writing </em>and <em>reading </em>on Substack instead of <em>posting </em>and <em>scrolling </em>on social media, I knew that there would books, videos, articles, essays and art that I would return to, revisit and reflect on. </p><div><hr /></div><blockquote><div class="digest-post-embed"></div><p><em><strong>A NOTE ABOUT MY WORK</strong><span>: On July 1, I started two new roles! I joined </span></em><a href="https://bit.ly/Support-CBR-ArochaUSA">AROCHA USA as a Senior Associate and Lead for Northeast Partnerships and I am establishing the Center for Beauty and Resistance</a><span>.</span><em> </em><span>Click </span><a href="https://bit.ly/Lets-WorkTogether">here</a><span> to learn more about how you can pray, give, learn and serve to nourish whole people and fruitful communities and care for God’s creation and teach others do likewise. If you </span><a href="https://bit.ly/Support-CBR-ArochaUSA">DONATE</a><span> you will be made a founding member. Thanks for your prayers, support and generosity.</span></p><p class="button-wrapper"><a class="button primary" href="https://thecrux.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p></blockquote><div><hr /></div><p>My friends and folks I follow spend so much time, attention, energy and resources creating things that get literally 10% of my attention. That is a problem. </p><p>A video that is 10 minutes, gets 2 minutes of my time when it took days, weeks, or months to make. An essay that was painstakingly researched gets one pass and a thumbs up. A stream of consciousness that took 5 minutes to write but a decade to nourish is seen once and archived with a bunch spam and advertisements. </p><div class="callout-block"><p>I do not believe that we were meant to be producers and consumers but stewards living in diverse, beloved community. And I hope that the things I write, repost, share and reflect on get a little closer to that reality. </p></div><p>Thank you so much for reading THE CRUX on Substack – whether this is your first time or you’re a paid subscriber. I hope that we can connect, learn and love God, our neighbors and ourselves well. </p><div><hr /></div><div class="digest-post-embed"></div><div><hr /></div><p><strong>Let me know what you think! I look forward to the conversation and comments because our screens make us into lonely consumers but God made us to be a vibrant, liberative community.</strong></p><p>In Christ and for His Glory,</p><p>jonathan</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://bit.ly/IVPBeautyandResistance" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="312" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!f05o!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cf7ee60-aa22-4d35-a957-e5cc57cb8ca8_820x312.jpeg" width="820" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div>