Dennis N.T. Perkins. Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition. AMACOM, 2000. (268 pages) This path has led me to believe that the essence of leadership can be found in this ultimate crucible of human endeavor. I am convinced that by understanding the things that work when survival… [Read more…]
January 22, 2012
One of the most fascinating talks on religion and secularism, a programme of bringing both forward. My notes and review below. — NOTES — I would like to inaugurate a new way of being an atheist. PREMISE: Of course, there is no God. Of course, there are no deities or supernatural spirits or angels, etc.… [Read more…]
January 16, 2012
Michael Coogan. God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says. Twelve, 2010. (237 pages) — VIA — Full disclosure: I did not actually finish “reading” the book (a term I use to communicate that I have actually digested a book’s full content). Coogan does in this book what any author of a short survey of… [Read more…]
December 31, 2011
Jim Burns. Teenology: The Art of Raising Great Teenagers. Bethany House, 2010. (221 pages) http://www.homeword.com/teenology-raising-great-teenagers-p-60.html PART ONE: PARENTING TEENS TO BECOME RESPONSIBLE ADULTS 1. Who Is That Stranger in Your House It has been said that raising kids is part joy and part guerrilla warfare. (17) A dog trainer once told us that training your… [Read more…]
December 30, 2011
Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “The Greeks learned in order to comprehend. The Hebrews learned in order to revere. The modern man learns in order to use.” (God in Search of Man, 34) My blog is really not for blogging, but more for study, and many posts are in the Greek vein. This post is in… [Read more…]
December 28, 2011
Fred Rogers. The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember. Family Communications, Inc., 2003. eBook Edition. (701 locations) — VIA — One of my heroes. This collection is simple, straightforward, frequently a gentle reminder, occasionally a poignant insight, and always kind, and loving; an expression of the very best of what humanity has… [Read more…]
December 21, 2011
Shane Hipps. The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, The Gospel, and Church. Zondervan, 2005 (176 pages) …every innovation is an amputation as well as an extension. – Brian McLaren (from the Forward) INTRODUCTION This is not a book intended to argue that the church needs to engage culture. Rather, it assumes… [Read more…]
November 27, 2011
Kevin Kelly. What Technology Wants. Viking, 2010. (405 pages). http://www.kk.org/books/what-technology-wants.php. Video: http://www.qideas.org/video/what-technology-wants.aspx 1. My Question Should we allow human cloning? Is constant texting making our kids dumb? Do we want automobiles to park themselves? But as my quest evolved, I realized that if we want to find satisfying answers to those questions, we first need… [Read more…]
November 25, 2011
Scot McKnight. The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited. Zondervan, 2011. (184 pages) FOREWORD BY N.T. WRIGHT The Christian faith is kaleidoscopic, and most of us are color-blind. (11) We ought to welcome it if a musician plays new parts of the harmony to the tune we thought we knew. (11) “the gospel”… [Read more…]
November 7, 2011
John Walton. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. IVP Academic, 2009. (191 pages) Prologue It is regrettable that an account of such beauty has become such a bloodied battle-ground, but that is indeed the case. (5) In this book I have proposed a reading of Genesis that I believe… [Read more…]
October 23, 2011
Miramax, 2004. [G] As a part of their study of the Holocaust, the children of the Whitwell, TN Middle School try to collect 6 million paper clips representing the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis. Beautiful. Several themes emerge in this movie that are worthy of note. And though the pace and tone of… [Read more…]
October 22, 2011
Short snippets of a random selection of young people does not a documentary make. I’m always thankful to be educated and exposed to various aspects of life and culture. And to a certain degree, this film accomplishes that. Some stories prompted me to feel proud and excited about the future. Others, a bit fearful. However,… [Read more…]
October 22, 2011
Kinnaman, David. You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church… And Rethinking Faith. Baker Books, 2011. (254 pages) http://youlostmebook.com/ You Lost Me, Explained You Lost Me, is about young insiders. At its heart are the irreverent, blunt, and often painful personal stories of young Christians–or other young adults who once thought of themselves as… [Read more…]
October 15, 2011
http://www.thestory.com/home [Disclosure: I'm preaching through this series with a church who has partnered with this campaign and had a brief cordial talk with Shelley Leith, the National Church Coach and Story Specialist, Western Region, at the NYWC, 2011. Thanks to Shelley for the dialogue. I hope my words here do justice to our conversation.] There… [Read more…]
October 15, 2011
Reggie Joiner & Carey Nieuwhof. Parenting Beyond Your Capacity: Connect Your Family to a Wider Community. David C. Cook, 2010. (199 pages) Every parent has a set of limitations. As you read these pages we hope you will learn to look beyond your limitations and embrace a set of principles that will help you influence… [Read more…]
October 13, 2011
Apple has announced it’s new voice controlled “personal assistant” for the new iPhone 4S saying,… A lot of devices can recognize the words you say. But the ability to understand what you mean, and act on it; that’s the breakthrough with Siri. - Scott Forstall The parallels with hermeneutics seem profound. A lot of Bible… [Read more…]
September 30, 2011
Nahum Sarna. Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bible in the Light of History. Schocken Books, 1966. Introduction …the very concept of a Canon of Scripture, of a fixed corpus of sacred books, implies a long process of selection and rejection from among a host of candidates. (xvii) Until the Hellenization of the East, it… [Read more…]
September 18, 2011
http://thehelpmovie.com/us/#s=home My favorite movies of this genre are based on true stories (“Remember the Titans,” “Malcom X” and “Amistad” come to mind). However, I will add this film to my list of recommendations for it really is a wonderfully depicted story of the hardships during the Civil Rights era through “a lens less viewed”. While… [Read more…]
September 17, 2011
Peter Drucker. The Effective Executive. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007. (167 pages) Forward by Jim Collins …replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. The critical question is not, ‘How can you achieve?’ but ‘What can you contribute?’ (x) Drucker’s own contribution was not a single idea, but rather an entire body of work that has… [Read more…]
September 15, 2011
J. R. Daniel Kirk has written an open letter to students of the New Testament. I thought it well done and important, and in some ways, according to the comments, enlightening to the kinds of assumptions and attitudes that people have towards seminary, higher education, and Biblical studies. It is duplicated below with my underlines… [Read more…]
September 15, 2011
Andy Thomson’s talk, ‘Why We Believe in Gods,’ given at the American Atheist 2009 convention in Atlanta, Georgia: — VIA — The discussion of science and religion continues to the arenas of neurobiology. I appreciate Thomson’s work, his careful attention to the studies, and the references to good scientific work. I consider this to be… [Read more…]
September 5, 2011
Jim Belcher. Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional. IVP, 2009. (233 pages) This book is written for those who are caught in between [emergent & traditional]. They are unhappy with the present state of the evangelical church but are not sure where to turn for an answer. (13) …this book is written… [Read more…]
September 4, 2011
At HIP, we believe everyone has the potential to transform the private virtue of compassion into the civic virtue of heroic action, and we are dedicated to helping individuals internalize and express their ‘heroic imagination’ in service to humanity. Phil Zimbardo and the Heroic Imagination Project: TED Blog exclusive video. http://heroicimagination.org/ My new mission in life… [Read more…]
September 3, 2011
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/ “…the old-timers have seen it all before.” “Don’t kill your mavericks. They might save your life one day. And they’re the ones with all the great ideas. So try and take care of them. John was a maverick. A brilliant maverick.” August, 2011, John O’Neill leaves the FBI. September, 2011, John O’Neil, chief of… [Read more…]
August 14, 2011
During the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek, the following announcement was made: There are dozens of lessons to be learned here — transparency, integrity, honesty, communication, respect, trust, love, etc. Adam Hamilton wrote a thoughtful response in the Huffington Post, and there are plenty others. But as I have mused and read about this, there… [Read more…]
August 14, 2011
http://www.fallfromgracemovie.net/ Baltimore Sun (12/4/2007) The Hollywood Reporter (12/3/2007) Kansas City Star Review (9/14/2007) Variety Review (6/26/2007) Director, K. Ryan Jones named Emerging Artist of 2007 by Kansas City Star (4/29/2007) eFilmCritic Review Lawrence Journal-World: “Southern audiences react to KU filmmaker’s ‘Fall from Grace’” (3/16/2007) Austin Chronicle Review (3/16/2007) Cinematical Review (3/13/2007) Austin Chronicle: “Looking More… [Read more…]
August 14, 2011
Discovery Channel’s page. Regarding the solar eclipse, the vikings believed that “skoll,” the wolf god would “eat the sun.” Without a scientific explanation imagine how disturbing it would have been to see the sun vanish. The vikings then responded through some sort of violent “scaring away” of the wolf, and believed it was them. They… [Read more…]
August 12, 2011
“I think the role of leaders at this time in history is to be curators of human talent. They need to learn how to cultivate, how to identify, how to nurture, how to develop and unleash the God-given potential in every person.” — live notes — I’m convinced that one of our greatest challenges is… [Read more…]
August 12, 2011
— live notes — People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed. – Samuel Johnson Getting Naked is about The power of Vulnerability. Definition of vulnerable capable of being physically or emotionally wounded open to attack or damage liable to increased penalties but entitled to increased bonuses after winning a game… [Read more…]
August 12, 2011
“Mistakes of execution are rarely as damaging to any organization as a refusal to concede mistakes. Apologize to those affected and redress the issue with generosity and haste.” — live notes — Leading up to the Summit, I’m struck with the reality that I’m going to be the guy that is going to talk on… [Read more…]
August 12, 2011
“No matter what ‘potential’ someone has, or what talents, brains, or opportunities they possess, unless they also have the character to bring it all to fruition, success rarely happens. Who you are really, truly matters.” — live notes — It’s not long into a consulting session when the issue of “this guy” comes up. “This… [Read more…]
August 12, 2011
“How can we have an education system where 95% of the adults think we’re doing an excellent job, when, in reality, we are only producing an 8% proficiency in math?” — live notes — Clips from “Waiting for Superman.“ Our theory of change was really to focus on human capital. We needed to ensure that… [Read more…]
August 12, 2011
“When you love somebody, you live it.” — live notes — …with Pastor Stephen Sundar and Bill Hybels We all love “rags to riches stories.” But if we’re not careful, we will begin to think that everything should build and grow, up and to the right. But what if God called certain leaders to lead… [Read more…]
August 11, 2011
“I’m out to activate your audacious faith – to inspire you to ask God for the impossible. And in the process, to reconnect you with your God-sized purpose and potential.” — live notes — One thing I do feel that I’m an expert at, is being dumb enough to believe God can do anything. I… [Read more…]
August 11, 2011
“Artists are people with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or a new way of getting things done. That would be you.” — live notes — Someone here today, is going to change everything, because they decided to, and because it’s important. In general, our society is built on “more!” I… [Read more…]
August 11, 2011
“This generation is multi-racial, global, and relational – we must understand and respect this if we are going to reach them with the gospel.” — live notes — A “catalytic event/moment” is a “game changer.” Who could have expected that these young leaders could have created a revolution (Tunisa, Egypt, etc.). They are developing a… [Read more…]
August 11, 2011
“While we are a coffee company at heart, Starbucks provides much more than the best cup of coffee – we offer a community gathering place where people come together to connect and discover new things.” — SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT — This session has been canceled due to a petition. See Christianity Today’s article, WGNtv.com, change.org, First,… [Read more…]
August 11, 2011
“Stand in Newark and you see and feel the dynamic change, the power and potential, you see that the future of America is happening here.” — live notes — My father tells stories about what it means to stand up for something. You will always face in life, adversaries, that want to hate you, and… [Read more…]
August 11, 2011
“Entrepreneurs have a passion for discovering opportunities. Once they do, they act.” — live notes — 13 years ago, we asked, 1. Find out who your customers are, 2. Find out what they want, 3. Give it to them. Here, I want to talk about something different. In reference to the “From Here to There”… [Read more…]
August 11, 2011
“Whenever you see something going well – whenever light begins to chase back the darkness that threatens to engulf our world – look closely. There stands a leader who is holding that candle.” — introduction — “Swing hard or surrender your back.” | “Punch me in the face, I need it every 12 months.” |… [Read more…]
July 31, 2011
Brilliant, on so many levels. The entire article is copied below. July 30, 2011 Evangelicals Without Blowhards By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF IN these polarized times, few words conjure as much distaste in liberal circles as “evangelical Christian.” That’s partly because evangelicals came to be associated over the last 25 years with blowhard scolds. When the… [Read more…]
July 15, 2011
http://www.dividedthemovie.com/#aboutlink [vimeo link] Divided is a very well produced independent film that communicates a critical message to the faith community (and to the secular community as well, really), that families truly are the most effective means through which children and young adults are raised (discipled). However, that really important message is so deeply clouded in… [Read more…]
July 4, 2011
Paul H. Wright. Understanding Biblical Kingdoms & Empires: An Introductory Atlas & Comparative View. Carta, 2010. (40 pages) On the Edge of Empire in a Land Between …the overall pattern in the historical record of the peoples of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean Basin portrays the Levant as a frontier of Empire: a bridge… [Read more…]
June 19, 2011
The 100 greatest non-fiction books After keen debate at the Guardian’s books desk, this is our list of the very best factual writing, organised by category, and then by date. The greatest non-fiction books live here … the British Museum Reading Room. Art The Shock of the New by Robert Hughes (1980) Hughes charts the… [Read more…]
June 11, 2011
Today, it was conferred upon me and my fellow students a Master’s Degree. I have admitted that my personal journey through seminary has been tainted by a begrudging attitude and my feelings are more of relief than they are of celebration. However, after 7 years of continuous movement and investment in a particular direction–by myself,… [Read more…]
June 7, 2011
James Kouzes and Barry Posner. The Truth About Leadership. Jossey-Bass, 2010. (197 pages) Introduction: What Everyone Wants to Know About Leadership Age made no difference. (xvi) In the middle of responding to an audience question one of us was saying, “I don’t know what you call something that’s been the same for twenty-five years, but…,”… [Read more…]
June 4, 2011
http://www.thegodmovie.com/. NR, 2005 Writing notes and a review for this film is somewhat,…uh,…paralyzing and, well, a bit insipid. So, I guess I won’t. If you want to read a review, see the Full Review by “Answering Infidels”, and the Christianity Today interview. In addition, Ben Witherington’s review of The Jesus Puzzle, and Taking the Jesus Puzzle… [Read more…]
June 4, 2011
Gary Hamel. Leading the Revolution. Harvard Business School, 2000. (331 pages) PREFACE …the most successful companies weren’t obsessed with their competitors; instead they were following the polestar of some truly noble aspiration. What counted was not so much how they positioned themselves against long-standing rivals, but how creatively they used their core competencies to create… [Read more…]
May 20, 2011
Every now and then a company comes along that speaks more to the human spirit rather than to the human urge. And every now and then we need to be inspired by its message and commitment. http://www.advertisingforhumanity.com/ Clear the room. Start with your employees. Your smart, wonderful employees. Get rid of Blake in the corner with… [Read more…]
April 30, 2011
Eldon Jay Epp. Junia: The First Woman Apostle. Fortress, 2005. (138 pages) FOREWORD: To begin with, most scholars now agree that Romans, in common with other early Christian texts, was written in a specific context and to address a specific set of issues or concerns. (IX) To put the point sharply: there is no Greek… [Read more…]
April 29, 2011
Philip B. Payne. Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters. Zondervan, 2009. (511 pages) Let’s begin with the end: To the degree my thirty-six years of research on this topic has led me to understand correctly the message God intends to communicate through his Word, I pray that… [Read more…]
April 26, 2011
Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error. The present tense is where we live. … We all end up trapped in this bubble of feeling right about everything. I think this is a problem. Why is this a problem? Is it possible to step outside of this problem? Why do we get stuck in… [Read more…]
April 26, 2011
“Leaders can let you fail and yet not let you be a failure.” “I probably learned the most about relationships; that they are the sinews that hold a force together.” “A leader isn’t good because they’re right. They’re good because they’re willing to learn and to trust.”
April 1, 2011
Karl Giberson & Francis Collins. The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions. InterVarsity Press, 2011. (250 pages) http://biologos.org/blog/the-language-of-faith-and-science-a-brief-history/ God has provided two distinct, complementary and reliable revelations–the Bible and the natural world. (8) Introduction In the pages that follow we share this good news [that we do not have to make… [Read more…]
March 28, 2011
http://www.todieinjerusalem.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayat_al-Akhras http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Levy To Die in Jerusalem follows Avigail Levy–Rachel’s mother–in her search for answers and reasons behind the suicide bombing of Palestinian Ayat al-Akhras that killed the two of them on March 29, 2002. While the primary narrative is through the Israeli experience, the producers did give voice to the Palestinian/Muslim perspective and contrasted… [Read more…]
March 20, 2011
[Thanks to Janelle for our "limited edition" copy! You are loved.] Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. HarperOne: 2011. (200 pages) First, the Press… Martin Bashir on the Paul Edwards Program afterwards: http://www.godandculture.com/ra/bashir_edwards.mp3 The March 12 interview in New York by Lisa Miller:… [Read more…]
March 18, 2011
http://www.lionsgate.com/religulous/ Religulous [R], 2008 — VIA — So, while some of my colleagues may be judgmentally inquisitive of me for watching this film, it seems good to me to understand life in its full…and yes, Bill Maher and Religulous must be taken into account as a part of the fullness of this life. To discount… [Read more…]
March 7, 2011
Friends of God. HBO home video, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/arts/television/25stan.html — VIA — Obviously things have changed quite a bit from 2007. Ted Haggard’s “fall from grace,” the death of Jerry Falwell, the election of President Obama being the key events. And there are many things that haven’t: Acquire the Fire’s tour schedule is full, pro-life rhetoric… [Read more…]
March 6, 2011
Schalom Ben-Chorin. Brother Jesus: The Nazarene through Jewish Eyes. University of Georgia Press, 2001. (252 pages) 1 The Figure of Jesus For me, the New Testament is certainly not holy scripture in the canonical sense. …it is a document that belongs to the history of Jewish faith and preserves much of relevance to the salvation… [Read more…]
January 24, 2011
http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazelton_on_reading_the_koran.html The Koran describes “Paradise” 36 times as “gardens watered by running streams.” How come this is news to so many people? The reason why so many don’t read the Koran is precisely why it is so easily quoted; or rather, misquoted. Snippets and phrases taken out of context, in what I call a “highlighter”… [Read more…]
January 7, 2011
Exactly 3 months ago, I posted Reflections on Being Laid Off. Today, after one full week of my new job, I thought I’d follow up with some reflections on making a transition. To update those who have inquired, I have accepted a position at The King’s Academy (TKA) as the Spiritual Life Director. It is… [Read more…]
January 2, 2011
TED | Birke Baehr: What’s Wrong With Our Food System There is a movement… A while back I wanted to be a professional football player. I’ve decided I want to be an organic farmer instead. And that way I can have a greater impact on the world. We can all make a difference, by making… [Read more…]
January 2, 2011
Sheryl Sandberg: Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders While we’ve made advances, there are still too few women in top positions of leadership. How are we going to fix this? I’m convinced that women are dropping out. However, today, I want to focus on we, as individuals, the messages we need to tell ourselves… [Read more…]
December 23, 2010
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/06/why-michelle-rhee-isn-t-done-with-school-reform.html http://www.studentsfirst.org/ The following are some key quotes from the article: While I had to make many structural changes–overhauling the system for evaluating teachers and principals, adopting new reading and math programs, making sure textbooks got delivered on time–I believed the hardest thing would be changing the culture. As it is with any organization. Let’s… [Read more…]
December 21, 2010
http://www.whatsyourcalling.org/the-film Available on iTunes. PBS Independent Films website. I began taking notes, and then realized about 15% of the way into the film, this is not a note taking kind of documentary. It’s a slower paced more sentimentally empathic documentary. While I expected more of a thoughtful engagement with the challenges, tensions, ideologies, theologies, cultures, etc.,… [Read more…]
December 15, 2010
I posted Why Youth Are Devalued in American Culture on November 20, 2010 and have shared on this blog quite a bit about the value of youth. In the midst of education cuts, short-lived youth pastors in churches, and media’s commodification of our young, here is a refreshing testimony! I know there are hundred of thousands of… [Read more…]
December 11, 2010
Peter Rollins. The Orthodox Heretic: And Other Impossible Tales. Paraclete Press, 2009 (184) http://peterrollins.net/index.html How to speak of something that cannot be said? (ix) Parables subvert this desire to make faith simple and understandable. They do not offer the reader clarity, for they refuse to be captured in the net of a single interpretation and… [Read more…]
December 9, 2010
Hans Finzel. The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make. David C. Cook, 2007. (224 pages) INTRODUCTION A leader takes people where they would never go on their own. (19) The good you do can be destroyed by the precautions you fail to take. (22) An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of good leadership. (22)… [Read more…]
December 3, 2010
Find The Eighteenth Camel There is this Middle Eastern story of a man who willed to his three sons his 17 camels. To the first son 1/2 of the camels, to the second son 1/3, and to the third son 1/9. 17 doesn’t divide by any of those numbers. Conflict arose, and they decided to… [Read more…]
December 3, 2010
http://www.racetonowhere.com/ Some QUOTES and SENTIMENTS from the film: Many of the symptoms our kids are experiencing–headaches, stomachaches, depression, etc.–are stress-induced. Much of what we are doing in education is “de-humanizing.” “Some of the pressure is real.” Our systems have not adapted to the changing demographics. Much of the depression and anxiety that they feel in… [Read more…]
December 3, 2010
Warren Bennis. On Becoming A Leader. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1989. (226 pages) If you’re not confused you don’t know what’s going on. …staying with the status quo is unacceptable… (xii) Introduction …the social world isn’t nearly as orderly as the physical world, nor is it as susceptible to rules. …people…are anything but uniform and anything… [Read more…]
December 2, 2010
http://www.filmsthatchangetheworld.com/site/ http://www.tremblingbeforeg-d.com/index2.html As with other independent films/documentaries (see http://vialogue.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/for-the-bible-tells-me-so-notes-review/), this one portrayed a variety of testimonies and stories of various LGBT people within Orthodox Jewish communities. As with other productions, the emotional humanity of the suffering is juxtaposed with the cold and seemingly heartless ideals of the conservative fundamentalists. Also, however, as with other productions,… [Read more…]
November 30, 2010
I had the privilege of being on a panel for parents of TKA today, and I took copious notes from my co-panelists, as they were brilliant! While I hope that my contributions were of help, I am sincerely positive that their contributions were invaluable. It was a blessing to learn from them. In addition, I understand that… [Read more…]
November 21, 2010
http://www.pbs.org/stress/. http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Stress-Portrait-Killer/dp/B001D7T460 Available on Instant for Netflix. While stress is a natural response, we humans are unable to turn it off. This keeps us wallowing in a corrosive bath of hormones. After a while, the stress response is more damaging than the actual stressor itself. Hierarchy, a social construct, is a key factor in how… [Read more…]
November 21, 2010
Paul Falcone. The Hiring and Firing Question and Answer Book. Amacom, 2002. The premises we’ve used are simple: Everyone wants to make a positive difference at work. People want to be treated with dignity and respect. People will respond in kind: They will assume responsibility for their actions when they are treated as adults and… [Read more…]
November 20, 2010
I’ve been working with youth in various capacities for about 20 years. Throughout that time, it has baffled me why our culture has neglected to see youth & children of the highest importance and value. After years of this–what I’ll call a “cultural incongruity “–I would like to journal some of the reasons why I… [Read more…]
November 20, 2010
Two films on American education are playing this month: Waiting for Superman, and Race To Nowhere. I saw Superman today (Race is not available in our area right now). [UPDATE 2010-12-02: "Race" post.] I sat in a theater with 4 people today to watch Superman. Though it was 4:30pm on a Friday, it was a picture… [Read more…]
November 20, 2010
NOVA Production, December 29, 2009. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/darwin-never-knew.html. Based on the books: Endless Forms Most Beautiful and The Making of the Fittest by Sean Carroll. While Darwin’s idea was brilliant, there was one big problem: How does evolution actually work? Science is uncovering answers to this question, and ultimately the question of what makes us human. There… [Read more…]
November 10, 2010
National Geographic, 2005 Lucy Ling follows a group of American families to China and captures the key moments of their adoption process illuminating the unforeseen effects of China’s one-child policy coupled with ancient traditions and social constructs along the way. Some of them being, prioritization of boys as they are the parents’ “social security.” prioritization… [Read more…]
November 8, 2010
Steven Pressfield. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. Grand Central Publishing, 2002. (165 pages) …golf is a beautifully virulent form of procrastination. THE UNLIVED LIFE. Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. Genius… [Read more…]
November 6, 2010
Sandra L. Richter. The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. IVP Academic, 2008. (263 pages) St. Pete’s Blog: Book Review Q&A on Ben Witherington’s Blog Introduction: The Dysfunctional Closet Syndrome The Bible, in all its parts, is intended to communicate to humanity the realities of redemption. Over the centuries, the church… [Read more…]
November 5, 2010
This article caught my eye in the grocery story today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201008/revenge-the-introvert. (Here Revenge of the Introvert – Psychology Today, 2010-08-23 is a .pdf of the article). Reading it was like therapy for me. While not everything characterized my personality, a vast majority of it did. Below are the highlights. Scientists now know that, while introverts… [Read more…]
October 28, 2010
Aiden W. Tozer. The Pursuit of God. Christian Publications Inc., 1982. (128 pages) 1 Following Hard after God O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire.… [Read more…]
October 27, 2010
Robert Sutton. The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t. Business Plus, 2007. (224 pages) Chapter 1 What Assholes Do and Why You Know So Many …the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behavior, excluding physical contact. Test One: After talking to the alleged asshole, does the “target” feel… [Read more…]
October 25, 2010
Lynne & Bill Hybels. Rediscovering Church: The Story and Vision of Willow Creek Community Church. Zondervan, 1995. (213 pages) part one The first 8 chapters is the heartfelt story of the beginnings of Willow Creek told by Lynne. The sentiment that stands out is the honest sense that the Holy Spirit was guiding and leading… [Read more…]
October 20, 2010
The recent TED Prize winner is named “JR.” JR creates “Pervasive Art” that spreads uninvited on buildings of Parisian slums, on walls in the Middle East, on broken bridges in Africa or in favelas in Brazil. People in the exhibit communities, those who often live with the bare minimum, discover something absolutely unnecessary but utterly… [Read more…]
October 14, 2010
http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/ Online you can watch the entire program, read original documents, download study guides to each program, and read the entire transcript. As always, I commend PBS (Frontline and American Experience) for their excellence. This is the ending statement of the last installment from Stephen Prothero: This is this great conversation we’ve had from the… [Read more…]
October 8, 2010
A little self-deprecating humor is healthy every now and then.
October 7, 2010
Today is the official notice day of the termination of my employment. As you can imagine, the effervescence around the office is somber and sad, to say the least. While I found out last week, many of my friends and colleagues found out today that their positions were being eliminated. Given the fact that we… [Read more…]
October 6, 2010
— VIA — Unconventional, witty, funny, innovative, vision-driven, and staunchly ethical. While many of the faith community would balk at the blatant disregard for “values,” in a puritanical sense, the ethic for “saving lives,” and “increasing standards of living,” is clear and ought to be acknowledged and applauded. A few things I appreciated: 1. The… [Read more…]
October 3, 2010
http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/index2.htm [NR] There’s something about doing justice with your [gay] son that is so empowering. New Interview with Bishop Gene Robinson and Director Dan Karslake [After a program aired which featured a lesbian street theologian,] I got an email from a kid in Iowa which ultimately drove me to make this film: Last week I… [Read more…]
October 1, 2010
Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. The Grand Design. Bantam, 2010. [VIA: I usually post reviews only from books I've read. However, this one exception (written by Edgar Andrews, with thanks to Challies.com) is of value for this blog. I'll get to reading it, hopefully soon...] Cosmologist Stephen Hawking sold over nine million copies of his… [Read more…]
September 29, 2010
The following is a presentation from Netflix’ “Why Join Netflix?” http://www.netflix.com/Jobs?lnkceData=22&lnkce=ftrlnk&trkid=992959. I was so impressed, I transcribed the whole thing below the slide presentation. Reed Hastings has been commended for the kind of company Netflix has become. Reading below, I can see why. It’s amazing how much “I’ve been saying this…” at my church… Culture… [Read more…]
September 27, 2010
Abraham Joshua Heschel. The Sabbath: its meaning for modern man. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951, 1979. (118 pages) [VIA: This is one one of the few books in my library where every page is worth quoting. Below is a small sliver of quotes that hopefully summarize each heading; though their mere abstraction does an injustice… [Read more…]
September 26, 2010
http://www.americanteenthemovie.com [PG-13] — VIA — A bit voyeuristic, this documentary may be more accurately entitled “White Mid-Western American Teen.” I mean no disregard to the producers or the subjects of the film by that qualification, but simply as an observation regarding the geographical and cultural locale of teens involved in this film. There are some… [Read more…]
September 23, 2010
http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html There are 9 billion people coming our way. Dancers have created a whole global laboratory online. Kids in Japan are taking moves from a YouTube video created in Detroit, building on it within days and releasing a new video, while teenagers in California are taking the Japanese video and remixing it to create a… [Read more…]
September 20, 2010
Barbara Brown Taylor. Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith. HarperOne, 2006. (252 pages) “You do not have to die in order to discover the truth of this teaching, in other words. You only need to lose track of who you are, or who you thought you were suppose to be…” (xiii) Finding The only thing… [Read more…]
September 20, 2010
Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits, NYTimes.com, September 6, 2010. A few quotes worth highlighting: For instance, instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single… [Read more…]
September 17, 2010
As I listen through the presentations, I’ll be taking notes, and inserting my notes within brackets [VIA: ...]. Please note that this is not an exact transcript. I take full responsibility for any misrepresentation of content. https://www.robbell.com/work/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3 1 – The Original Guerilla Theatre We’re gathered here because it’s time to reclaim the sermon. It’s a… [Read more…]
September 13, 2010
The Book of Eli [R]. Perhaps I am reading way too much into this, but this one main interpretation came to mind: ESSENES. From what we know of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes — the Jewish separatist sectarian group that built their community in the desert on the north shore of the Dead Sea… [Read more…]
January 23, 2012
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