Project 18:15 Turns One
Dear reader,
Some years ago I was struck by the superlative claim of Proverbs 3:15: “She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”
Wow. Inspired Scripture says “she” is literally better than anything else. Who is “she”?
Wisdom.
Could you say with a straight face that most Christians seek wisdom as if nothing else is as desirable? How about wisdom’s close relative, knowledge?
That powerful pair makes a stunning appearance in Colossians 2:3, where it says that “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are “hidden” in Christ. Another superlative statement! Think of the implications of that!
One implication is that Christians should be the most wise and most knowledgeable of all people. Are we?
A News Briefing, But More
In early 2023, I came across an ad for a daily news briefing—an email every morning that summarized the biggest news from the previous day.
I signed up, and I loved the format.
Then, it occurred to me: what if there were a Christian version of this? A facts-only digest of Christian news, to keep believers informed of important goings-on that don’t necessarily make mainstream news’s front page.
And, better yet, what if that digest included other knowledge Christians desperately need to know—things about the Bible and Church history that they may not learn elsewhere?
The idea for a project was born, and it soon had its name, based on the verse that says, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (Proverbs 18:15).
Last week marked one year since the launch of Project 18:15 (April 8, 2023)—a weekly briefing of news, Bible, and history from a Christian perspective, in a format that aims to be factual, faithful, and brief.
Truth To Be Lived
A vital piece of this knowledge-seeking endeavor is highlighted in the following quote about knowledge from biblical counselor Lou Priolo:
The concept we have of knowledge today, however, is different from the knowledge of which the Bible speaks. For to the average American, knowledge is ‘facts to be learned.’ This secular notion pursues knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The idea behind this view is to amass as much knowledge as one can in order to know more than the next person. Learning, in other words, is self-serving. . . . This self-oriented view of learning is antithetical to the biblical view. For the Christian, knowledge is not ‘facts to be learned,’ but rather ‘truth to be lived.’ Wisdom is not acquiring knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but rather for the sake of implementation.*
Project 18:15 is largely about presenting facts. But all of us are in constant danger of having the facts without applying them, of being hearers but not doers (James 1:21). Let us, with God’s help, refuse this temptation—especially with God’s Word, but also with other knowledge.
While the facts shared in Project 18:15 are presented through a Christian lens (neutrality, after all, is neither possible nor desirable), I often don’t provide analysis or reveal my own opinion. For the sake of sticking to the facts and keeping it brief, I largely leave analysis and application to reader.
That doesn’t mean analysis or application shouldn’t happen—it should! Each of us followers of Christ are responsible agents capable of thinking critically and being led by the Holy Spirit to understand all things in the light of the Scriptures.
While Project 18:15’s mission is to spread knowledge—to help more Christians know more—the newsletter in itself is essentially limited to “facts to be learned.” We each need to be proactive about transforming that into “truth to be lived.”
My hope for my readers and myself is for God to grant us that, whatever we learn together, we analyze it properly and use it well, appropriately translating it into skillful living.
If you’re not one of us yet, won’t you consider subscribing for free?
Here’s to many more knowledge-seeking weekends!
Sincerely,
Anthony Langer
Founder and Editor
Project 18:15
P.S. There are other contexts in which I do analyze and opine, such as here on my blog and on X. And my latest article was published in Bluegrass Chronicles, another publication I help administrate. Lord willing, these media are only the beginning. Stay tuned!
__________
* Lou Priolo, Pleasing People: How Not To Be An “Approval Junkie” (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2007), 157.
If you haven’t already, I invite you to subscribe to Project 18:15 for free: