By: Becca Hald on April 25, 2023
“Look Mommy, it’s a Hidden Mickey!” My daughter was no more than eight or nine at the time. She pointed to a knot in the wood on the table at the Hungry Bear Restaurant. I chose not to dash her imagination and tell her that it was not an intentional “Hidden Mickey,” it was just…
By: Shonell Dillon on April 25, 2023
Factfulness Eight out of ten of my clients may be working on changing negative thoughts during my weekly sessions. Their anxious feelings have overwhelmed them and taken over their thinking process. How did this happen? NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) says that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to these feelings of fear, worry,…
By: Chad McSwain on April 25, 2023
I am one of those people who can be inspired merely by the statistics. Which is the point that Hans Rolling is making with his seminal book, Factfulness[1]. It is a book all about challenging how we view the world through faulty perceptions that lead to wrong, pessimistic conclusions about the state we are in…
By: Becca Hald on April 25, 2023
Megachurch Introduces Frequent Tither Rewards Card “NASHVILLE, TN – In a bid to increase giving ahead of the organization’s upcoming $40 million sanctuary expansion, local megachurch LifeJourney Church announced Monday its new frequent tither rewards card, as part of a program designed to incentivize more regular giving to the church.”[1] The title is meant to…
By: Becca Hald on April 24, 2023
Vincent J. Miller depicts the commodification of religion in his book Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture. In a blog review of this book, pastor W. David O. Taylor writes, “The short version of his thesis is this: the problem with a so-called consumer culture does not, ultimately, lie at the…
By: Jennifer Vernam on April 24, 2023
It’s the end of the term and, like the rest of you, my brain is tired. When my brain is tired, I start to revert to what is familiar. So as I was reading Cascades[1] I found myself wanting to anchor the material to an area with which I am already familiar. I will take…
By: Travis Vaughn on April 24, 2023
In Cascades, Greg Satell argues that “power no longer resides at the top of hierarchies, but at the center of networks.”[1] Satell’s network dynamics include “small groups, loosely connected, but united by a common purpose.”[2] And if a leader needs “interconnectivity and interdependence”[3] to be effective, then perhaps this is at least part of the…
By: Laura Fleetwood on April 24, 2023
“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” [1] This simple definition of leadership is how Northouse introduces his book by the same name, yet as this book proves, effective leadership is anything but simple. Leadership by Northouse is a comprehensive exploration of the theory and…
By: Daron George on April 24, 2023
Introduction: The relationship between religion and capitalism has been a subject of significant scholarly interest as researchers seek to understand how religious beliefs and practices intersect with economic and social systems. This blog will compare and contrast two important works that examine this relationship: “Consuming Religion” by Vincent J. Miller and Chapter 6 of “Evangelicalism…
By: Kim Sanford on April 24, 2023
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this book certainly paints an inspiring picture. It’s encouraging to think of leveraging the unseen networks all around us to bring real transformation. Using numerous real-life examples, Greg Satell explains how “small groups, loosely connected, but united by a common purpose… grow as the density…
By: Becca Hald on April 23, 2023
I stared at the paper blankly trying to think. The question should not have been a hard one. “Name three positive attributes.” I was at a psychiatrist office with my teenage son filling out paperwork to get services started. I had no trouble listing negative behaviors. Why did it take me so long to list…
By: Laura Fleetwood on April 23, 2023
Trauma is an urgent public health issue and one that Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has dedicated his career to addressing. In The Body Keeps the Score, van der Kolk describes his intent for this book “to serve as both a guide and an invitation—an invitation to dedicate ourselves to facing the reality of trauma,…
By: Laura Fleetwood on April 23, 2023
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King and The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield are two books that are essential reading for anyone who wants to become a better writer or to get the most out of their creative endeavors. Both…
By: Chad McSwain on April 23, 2023
Trauma is Prevalent “I think this man is suffering from memories.” This paraphrase of Sigmund Freud was used by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk upon hearing the story of the unique and misdiagnosed symptoms of a war veteran.[1] This quote is quite poignant when it comes to the conversations around trauma and its presence in…
By: Russell Chun on April 22, 2023
Епілог-Epilogue (Ukrainian) Today, an online magazine article from one of my “go to” magazines presented itself. Listed on the Christian Realist Providence Magazine, I read Ed Meador’s article about “Apocalypse Now: The Revelations of Vladimir Putin.” Meador writes, “Now, following decades of deception, Putin has unveiled his heart of KGB darkness, outrageously demonstrating just how…
By: Daron George on April 22, 2023
INTRODUCTION In “The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race,” authors Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long present a captivating exploration of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in motivation, reward, and the pursuit of novelty.…
By: Laura Fleetwood on April 21, 2023
For as long as humans have existed, personality has been studied. And yet a comprehensive understanding of what makes humans so different from each other has largely remained a mystery, especially when it comes to proving personality science. Daniel Nettle set out to solve this mystery in his 2007 book titled, Personality: What makes you…
By: Daron George on April 21, 2023
INTRODUCTION Effective leadership is more crucial than ever in today’s complex and rapidly evolving world. Tom Camacho’s insightful book, “Mining for Gold,” offers a fresh perspective on how to draw out the best in ourselves and those around us. Cutting through the complexity and challenges of leadership development, Camacho provides practical and effective tools to…
By: Jana Dluehosh on April 20, 2023
I suffer as a light sleeper…it’s rough. In my 20’s I worked as a Residence Hall Director at a University in Chicago for 4 years. My bedroom was right above the front door of the hall, and I could hear everything…problem was that I didn’t always want to hear what was going on because it…
By: Shonell Dillon on April 20, 2023
Personality: What makes you the way that you are Dissociative identity disorder The DSM-5 states that dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder) is characterized by “switching” to alternate identities. You may feel the presence of two or more people talking or living inside your head, and you may feel as though you’re…
