By: Jennifer Eckert on March 21, 2024
“United Nations adviser calls for White people to be stripped of their power,” Fox News Headline. ‘That Sounds like ethnic cleansing’: Clarissa Ward questions lead figure in Israel’s settler movement, CNN News Headline. It’s Official, Biden – Trump set for a rematch, BBC World News. If you are like me and millions of other people,…
By: Joel Zantingh on March 21, 2024
I recently had an amazing holiday! Or was it simply ‘average’? Or was that other holiday better? Bobby Duffy of King’s College London, in a talk about his book, “Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything”, quoted a 1994 study by Professors Terrence Mitchell and Leigh Thompson to unpack what they dubbed “rosy retrospective”. [1] In…
By: Shela Sullivan on March 20, 2024
Bobby Duffy is the author of the book, Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding. Duffy draws on numerous public-opinion studies conducted by himself and colleagues across various countries, focusing on social and political questions. In his book, Duffy offers several valuable lessons about human cognition, biases and understanding such as:…
By: Graham English on March 20, 2024
In 2018 a Canadian woman rented a black Nissan Sentra sedan. She drove to a nearby Walmart. When she came out of the store she hopped in her car and drove home. However, she jumped in the wrong car, a black Infiniti hatchback, and drove off. It turns out that the owner had gone into…
By: Christy Liner on March 20, 2024
I hate that we have implicit biases and I find it so uncomfortable when they are exposed (although I’m also grateful). Growing up in a conservative state and family, I had biases towards LGBTQ+ population. In recent years some of these were exposed, and thankfully changed. Someone very dear in my life identified as transgender…
By: Chad Warren on March 20, 2024
Name a food with a hole in it… Did you say donuts, cheese, onion rings, bagels? Do you think your answer would match with everyone else’s? If so, you are in the herd; if not, you are the odd one out. Welcome to the game Herd Mentality. It’s a group game my family has enjoyed…
By: Erica Briggs on March 20, 2024
One of my favorite movies is “Waking Life,” first watched almost 25 years ago while teaching in the Black Studies Department at Califoria State University, Long Beach (CSULB). I shared clips from the film with my students and we used them as prompts to critically think and write about our understanding of life. Why We’re…
By: Nancy Blackman on March 20, 2024
If I told you a story about a famous writer, would you believe me, or would you be more inclined to believe the story if you read it in a major magazine or newspaper? This is part of Bobby Duffy’s book Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding. As you try…
By: Adam Cheney on March 19, 2024
I get the opportunity regularly to speak to different churches in my area about refugees and immigrants. Sometimes, it is a separate class or a small group that invites me to speak and they are eager to hear more information. Then, other times, it is a brief overview to the whole congregation and then I…
By: Debbie Owen on March 19, 2024
The mood in the sanctuary was somber. After quickly getting some snacks in the dining room and saying hello to some friends, about twenty people returned to the sanctuary for a post-service “talk-back” about the sermon. The sermon was titled, “Jesus was a white guy holding a lamb” as part of the “Unlearning” series. During…
By: Glyn Barrett on March 19, 2024
Please forgive me. I am writing about “Why We Are Wrong About Nearly Everything” on a long-haul flight, so this blog will have a very short supply of cross-referencing with other sources. In a world where so many people are seemingly so sure about what they believe and why, Bobby Duffy’s book is…
By: Jeff Styer on March 18, 2024
“Vote Yes on Issue 1.” Last year Ohio lawmakers voted to hold a special election on August 8th; special elections just months earlier had been outlawed unless a government entity faced a fiscal emergency.[1] The election had only one measure on the ballot, change Ohio’s Constitution to allow future constitutional changes only if 60% of…
By: Noel Liemam on March 17, 2024
In the Summer of 2015 Issue, the Westmont Magazine has a heading titled, “The Moral Leadership of American President,” [1] that speaks to the importance of Moral Leadership in the highest office of the Nation. Couple excerpt from the articles reads, “Moral leadership is in fact a central task of our presidents when it’s done…
By: Akwese on March 15, 2024
In “Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership,” Simon Walker invites us to engage leadership on a more personal level, seeing it as a journey of self-awareness that’s fundamentally “about who you are, not what you know or what skills you have.” With this as the foundation, he says that …
By: Jennifer Eckert on March 15, 2024
In his interview with Simon Walker, former British Petroleum executive, Lord John Browne said, regarding the work environment, he wanted to ensure that “people are who they are when they come to work and not spending half of their brain being someone else.” [1] He went on to share that for many years, he led…
By: Kari on March 15, 2024
Self-assessments, personality tests, and self-help methods are things I like to explore. I enjoy learning, especially new theories and trends. I go through phases, learning what I can, sharing with those who may seem interested, and finally applying what is relevant before I move on to a new subject. As I started to read Leading…
By: Elysse Burns on March 15, 2024
For those who have visited Rockefeller Center in New York City, you might remember a large statue of the ancient Greek Titan Atlas holding the heavens on his shoulders. Something fascinating about this statue is that depending on the angle from which Atlas is viewed, spectators might come to different conclusions concerning this Greek Titan.…
By: Joel Zantingh on March 15, 2024
I am often working with high-calibre and high-level leaders from the Canadian church landscape. Reflecting on thousands of conversations I have participated in as a friend, coach, director and consultant, I think the call to ‘lead out of who one is’ is both quest and struggle. I know firsthand the real battle of reactivity to…
By: Erica Briggs on March 14, 2024
When I was a child, I used to sing. My mother was my manager, booking gigs at local bars and theaters. I sang a range of musical arrangements from the blues (Billie Holiday’s “Good Morning Heartache) to pop (Donna Summer’s “On the Radio” – I was actually wheeled out on stage sitting on a giant…
By: Chad Warren on March 14, 2024
There is only one answer to the question, “How is your church doing?” It’s one word long: “Great!” In the last week, various people have asked me that question. One was a fellow pastor in my area, another was a mentor, and another was a congregation member. To say anything else, to be completely honest,…
