By: Kim Sanford on August 29, 2023
As I read Secret History of Oxford I am struck by a number of things, some interesting yet unsurprising but others quite unexpected. In any case, in a few weeks we are headed to a town that is obviously steeped in history like few other places on Earth. We’re talking about history that few of…
By: Jenny Dooley on August 28, 2023
I never knew Oxford was on my bucket list until discovering it as a location for our Advance. It has been 43-years since I last traveled to the United Kingdom. Decades have passed with longings to visit destinations I missed during my summer backpacking adventure through Europe in 1980. I knew nothing about Oxford as…
By: Travis Vaughn on August 28, 2023
Many years ago, a dear friend sent me a quote attributed to William Gladstone, Britain’s late 19th century Prime Minister. I was trying to decide whether to stay with my current employer or chart a new path. As I recall, my friend sent me the quote via text: “He is a wise man who wastes…
By: Pam Lau on August 28, 2023
Context Is Everything The first time I heard about Cecil Rhodes and his longer history was during a visit to Oxford, England in September 2017 with a group of CCCU leaders for the Oxford Onclave. Standing before us was the Dean of Corpus Christi, who detailed the problems her college officials were facing as students…
By: Tim Clark on August 28, 2023
Years ago, my wife and I had a couple of hours to kill between meetings in a large city, so we decided to visit a famous nearby shopping mall. This mall was massive, and we entered it through a huge store called The Burlington Coat Factory. Then we started to meander down the main central…
By: Becca Hald on August 28, 2023
Oxford will always be a symbol to me of my husband’s incredible faith in me and support for me. It is the reason I am in the Doctor of Leadership Program at Portland Seminary. In 2013, when I was in graduate school, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Oxford for a class.…
By: Jennifer Vernam on August 28, 2023
To help prepare us for our upcoming advance we received an email from Cliff that provided us with an overview of the intentions behind the “I AM HERE” day.[1] This message suggested that to appreciate our time in this revered town, we might consider the concept of Terroir, or a sense of “somewhereness.” It stated:…
By: Russell Chun on August 28, 2023
Summary No Hawaiians at Oxford, Oxford Marmalade, and the Alfred Jewel. Oxford Tuition. Dictators & Ministers Actress and Tolkien Summary, Modern-Day Inklings No Hawaiians…Sadly, there were no Royal Hawaiians that attended Oxford. However, my google search reminded me of how the visit to England killed King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu. “We review the…
By: Shonell Dillon on August 26, 2023
Leading with Nothing to Lose The movie Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning finally came out this year after much anticipation. I can only speak for myself, but I am a Tom Cruise fan. Some have not-so-good opinions about his personal life but as an actor, I like him. I remember when the film was being filmed…
By: Shonell Dillon on August 25, 2023
I searched the internet to see pictures of what was described in the reading. It was not the stories that ignited the search but more of the physical look at the place. I found some very interesting pictures. When I came upon the pictures of what was read to be a dining hall, I had…
By: Kristy Newport on August 15, 2023
When I pull into my driveway, I arrive at 4332 Morning Brook Court, Stockton, California. This is a special place: it is home. The physical locality of my home has some significance, but not so much as the people who I know in my home. When I walk through my front door, what gives me…
By: Kally Elliott on April 29, 2023
In 2021 the Presbyterian Church (USA) released statistic showing the steady decline of the denomination. Over the last twenty years, membership has decreased but the pandemic exacerbated the decline. The 2021 statistics show current active membership stands at just over 1.1 million, a 51,000-member drop from 2020. Total number of churches in 2021 stood at…
By: Jana Dluehosh on April 28, 2023
Let me tell you a story about a B.H.A.G. What is a B.H.A.G. you may ask? Why it’s a Big, Hairy, Audacious, Goal. The term was originally coined by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, first published in 1994. Collins says, “The power of the BHAG is…
By: Daron George on April 28, 2023
Introduction In an age where information is abundant and opinions often need to be corrected for facts, understanding the actual state of the world can be challenging. Hans Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund’s work, “Factfulness,” seeks to shed light on the actual conditions of our global society and combat the misconceptions that often cloud our…
By: Daron George on April 28, 2023
Introduction The relationship between religion, economic systems, and social change has long been a subject of interest and debate among scholars and those that practice religion. Understanding the complex interplay between these forces is crucial for grasping the implications of economic transformations on societies and their core values. In our readings for this week we…
By: Scott Dickie on April 27, 2023
In His book, Cascades: How to Create A Movement That Drives Transformational Change (1), Greg Satell is instructing his readers on six key principles that drive transformational change. While there were many areas of application to dig into, I found myself ruminating on several primary issues related to my own context: Do We Try to…
By: Tim Clark on April 26, 2023
I once heard someone say that joy is one of the most punk rock attributes a person can have. That it rebels against the world’s system. That it is the ultimate alternative to the cynicism we are so easily sucked into. When I was reading Cascades by Greg Satell I couldn’t stop thinking about that…
By: Shonell Dillon on April 26, 2023
The Great Transformation As we sit back and watch the economy change from year to year, one can’t help but wonder what the driving force is. There is constant talk of recession and prices are soaring in every industry. Who or what controls these changes? Some of the answers may become evident in what Polanyi…
By: Jean de Dieu Ndahiriwe on April 26, 2023
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We Are Wrong about the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think is another amazing one of those resources shared on our reading list. Hans is Rosling, a Swedish physician, public speaker, and academician. When asked simple questions about global trends – what percentage of the world’s population lives…
By: Pam Lau on April 25, 2023
In 2001, I met with a small group of women in Newberg, Oregon for the single purpose of connection. Most of us had recently moved from across the country; one woman relocated from Russia. Another had been living in Newberg for more than a decade. Each week, huddled in a circle sipping coffee, one person…
