By: Jonita Fair-Payton on March 7, 2024
My Limited Understanding I would like to claim that my understanding of Postmodernism expanded after reading Explaining Postmodernism and listening to The Jordon B. Peterson Podcast with Stephen R. C. Hicks but that would not be true. I did not truly understand the concept of Postmodernism and I am not really sure if that’s…
By: Jenny Dooley on March 7, 2024
After reading, Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, by Stephen R. C. Hicks, I find this post more challenging to write than usual. I’m tossing around a number of thoughts struggling to find the right words. Thanks to Chapter 5: The Crisis of Socialism, I keep getting tripped up by my experiences…
By: Kim Sanford on March 4, 2024
“Conflict and contradiction are the deepest truths of reality.”[1] I certainly grappled with inner conflict and contradiction as I read Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault by Stephen Hicks. Plowing through chapter after chapter was laborious, but (to my own great surprise) when I closed the book, I actually felt like I…
By: John Fehlen on March 4, 2024
U2 is a rock band from the north side of Dublin, that was formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr.(drums and percussion). Each of these members were teenagers at Mount Temple Comprehensive School…
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on March 2, 2024
“Race did not give birth to racism. Racism gave birth to race.”[1] I was apprehensive about this week’s reading. The idea of discussing race with my cohort was not one that I was looking forward to. I have had many discussions over the years about race, and they almost always end with someone triggered or…
By: Mathieu Yuill on March 2, 2024
As I sat down with a steaming cup of Joe this morning, the sun barely peeking over the horizon, I found myself deep-diving into the mesmerizing world where neuroscience meets leadership. Picture this: David Rock, with his groundbreaking exploration into the neural pathways of leadership[1], Jim Wilder and Marcus Warner, who seem to have cracked…
By: Dinka Utomo on March 1, 2024
“To believe in social transformation is to be an optimist. It has to have an element of utopianism about it. I live in hope that we can create such a movement again.” -Kenan Malik- (cited from https://tribunemag.co.uk/2023/05/not-so-black-and-white) To be honest, I have never directly experienced racism regarding my ethnic or racial identity. However, I had…
By: Jenny Dooley on February 29, 2024
“To tell the story of one, we also must tell the story of the other.”[1] I began reading Kenan Malik’s book, Not so Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics as a fascinating history and social science text tracing the invention of equality, race, and white identity. I immediately…
By: Adam Harris on February 29, 2024
The person I’m about to talk about I’ve mentioned before, but this subject of identity politics calls for another mention. A little over ten years ago I sat at Skyline Chili, which is a chain restaurant in Ohio, and listened to one of the most fascinating stories I had ever heard. I had a notebook,…
By: Todd E Henley on February 28, 2024
History is not the past, it is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.1 ~ James Baldwin 1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?…
By: Cathy Glei on February 28, 2024
“It is not racial differences that have led to unequal treatment but the persistence of social inequalities in societies with a commitment to equality that has led many to view such inequalities as eradicable, and hence natural, and to place people into different racial categories. Race did not give birth to racism. Racism gave birth…
By: Mathieu Yuill on February 28, 2024
Have you ever found yourself puzzled by discussions on race feeling like they’re going nowhere? It’s a sentiment many share, and Kenan Malik, a prominent thinker who delves into society’s complex issues, sheds light on a crucial aspect often overlooked. He suggests that our conversations about race are incomplete without also addressing class[1]. Imagine them…
By: Kim Sanford on February 26, 2024
Kenan Malik, writing from a distinctly British perspective, seeks to put our current social and political issues into their historical context. He effectively takes his readers on a journey to understand the history of racism and how it has gotten us to where we are.[1] In his own words, “One theme of this book is…
By: John Fehlen on February 26, 2024
I have been to the Holy Land of Israel nine times. I started touring there when I was in my mid-20’s and my most recent trip was leading 40+ people on what was called “Moses to The Messiah” – a journey beginning in Egypt, then crossing the Sinai desert, up into the Wadi Rum of…
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on February 23, 2024
I started this Doctoral journey being very intentional about connecting the assigned readings to my NPO. There were a few books where it was a bit challenging to relate them to my research but in most cases I was able to find a point of connection. Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow was one of…
By: Dinka Utomo on February 23, 2024
“God’s sovereign searching of our hearts, and then His call to leadership, are awesome to behold. And they make a person very humble.” -Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder- Allow me to start this article by reciting a poem entitled “The Pastor”: If he/she is young, he/she is considered to lack experience But if his/her…
By: Todd E Henley on February 22, 2024
JESUS AND RARE LEADERSHIP In John chapter 8, the religious teachers show great disrespect to Jesus and those in the synagogue by interrupting Jesus’ teaching and bringing in a woman in front of the crowd who was caught in adultery.1 But Jesus is a RARE leader. According to Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, RARE means:…
By: Adam Harris on February 22, 2024
For a little over a year, I’ve been meeting with a leadership coach, thanks to our assignments and reading Mining for Gold.[i] The person I currently meet with is retired from running several companies and spends much of his time coaching others and speaking at leadership conferences, which is where I met him. He is…
By: Cathy Glei on February 22, 2024
Several years ago, when teaching Kindergarten, I hosted Patio Nights before the start of each school year. In the August heat, families enjoyed popsicles, met other families in our classroom community and best of all my incoming K students would come so we could begin getting to know one another, see their lockers, and go…
By: Jenny Dooley on February 20, 2024
Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead, by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder is a timely read. I’ve been researching a variety of models as I begin designing platforms to develop relational connections for ministry leaders with the goal of supporting their social-emotional and spiritual well-being.…
