DLGP

Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives: Crafting Ministry in an Interconnected World

Resisting the Temptation to Stay in System 1

By: on February 29, 2024

Working remotely comes with an abundance of perks. My favorite is the flexibility to handle family affairs, especially during the summer when the kids are out of school. It does, however, come with downsides as well. Much of what I do at work contains system 2 thinking, while many things around the home, like laundry,…

10 responses

Cheers to System 2

By: on February 29, 2024

I know I have shared this in a few posts already, but it applies to Kahneman’s book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow.” It is used elsewhere also but is a big focal point for those in recovery – the acronym HALT – Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. Being self-aware is critical to staying sober. It is also…

20 responses

Learning to Walk…and Think…Again

By: on February 29, 2024

During college I suffered a torn ACL that later required surgery. Because I was a part of the football team, my trainer was responsible for my rehab. He was a bit of a no-nonsense guy, a perfect trainer for a college football athlete. After the initial surgery, there is a period of rest to allow…

10 responses

To Die is Gain

By: on February 29, 2024

In his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman talks about two different thinking “systems” of the brain, which he labels “System 1” and “System 2.”[1] I like to think of “System 1” as the gut and emotional reactive part of the brain. It functions on learned behavior, instinct and is subconscious.[2] “System 2” is…

18 responses

Effortless and Effortful (Mudah dan Berusaha)

By: on February 28, 2024

It took me a while to get into this book, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, a mix of science, psychology and interpretation of stories.[1] I must admit that I did not completely get through the book, I felt rushed – I definitely want to read it slowly again. This is a fascinating book…

14 responses

I shouldn’t have answered the phone.

By: on February 28, 2024

As a general rule, I do not use my phone while driving. Several years ago, we were at a football watch party with friends. Between plays, the conversations were always interesting. On one nondescript Sunday afternoon, the conversation turned to driving while talking on the phone. Our friend Andy, who is a neuropsychologist, chimed in…

16 responses

Toxic Apple Juice

By: on February 28, 2024

Is it “safer to pour apple juice down the drain or to take it to a toxic waste dump?”[1] Out of context it feels like such a foolish question, but concluding that a substance one has been blithely consuming for years is suddenly become toxic was the result of what Kahneman calls the availability heuristic.…

12 responses

Bringing my best as a researcher

By: on February 28, 2024

I’m a newbie to robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). Like Neo in The Matrix, this feels like I’m going down a rabbit hole that I never wanted to explore. My son-in-law designs robotic farm equipment. He has designed computers that, when integrated into a combine, can harvest crops without a human in the cab. When…

10 responses

Where is the Holy Spirit’s Role in System 1?

By: on February 27, 2024

A is for Anchor (Not so veiled attempt at anchoring my grade)[1] This week’s reading of Daniel Kahneman comes at a great time as I reflect on a meeting last week. In my meeting I had a quick System 1 reaction, followed by slowly processing it with System 2 thinking.[2] Though Kahneman’s book covers multiple…

15 responses

The ANTs are killing me

By: on February 27, 2024

  The Bat and Ball illustration[1] took me longer to get right than it should have, but that is probably the point. My impulsive System 1 took control, and intuition led me to the wrong answer. How could the answer not be 10 cents? So much for “Don’t think Blink![2]” When System 1 encounters a…

14 responses

How to be separate while remaining connected, in an anxious world

By: on February 26, 2024

I have plenty going on in my personal life to react to. I have trauma-impacted family situations that require my full non-anxious presence [1] and dynamics beginning to launch a network for peacemaking and reconciling work among Evangelicals which feels like offering a new map in an opposite direction from some more traditional routes churches…

3 responses

My hats have been hijacked!

By: on February 26, 2024

  After reading Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow I feel like the peddler in Esphyr Slobodkina’s children’s book Caps for Sale.  In this book, a peddler who sells caps is having a day of no sales, he is tired and goes out into the countryside and falls asleep underneath a tree wearing all his…

10 responses

In Memory of Nex

By: on February 25, 2024

Last week, Nex Benedict, a sixteen-year-old non-binary student was beaten up at school by fellow students, and later died. The following day, when asked his thoughts on the matter, the Oklahoma State Senator for that district, Tom Woods, responded, “We are a religious state, and we are going to fight it to keep that filth…

9 responses

Alternative a Must!

By: on February 25, 2024

This book, ‘A FAILURE OF NERVE’ by Edwin H. Friedman is a bit difficult and cumbersome for me to grasp for my week’s reading. So, I went back and forth between what others said about it, while doing my reading. This process helps me a lot. But I would still need more time to fully…

one response

Be Anxious for Nothing

By: on February 23, 2024

In this week’s writing, Edwin Friedman speaks to the anxiety of America and the emotional regression that ensues from a failure of leadership. Fast forward to 2024. It is hard to move the needle on the climate of America as there is still plenty of room for anxiety. A quick glance at today’s headlines and…

14 responses

Leading in an Anxious Culture 

By: on February 23, 2024

Anxiety and overwhelm weren’t big issues for me until recently, after a build-up of chronic stress that had me in the hospital almost every week for a year and a half. While everything in me wanted to focus on helping myself, there was always work to be done, so I did what any “hard worker”…

18 responses

Blame Displacement at Work and Home

By: on February 22, 2024

This week’s reading, A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman [1] came with high reviews, both from my lead mentor, Dr. Jason Clark and pastors who have utilized Freidman’s teachings in their ministry contexts. The word “utilizing” might be a bit of an understatement. “Those who have been transformed” might be more appropriate. The Very…

12 responses

Caught

By: on February 22, 2024

She was 16 and caught on camera in an act of vandalism. Details will not be shared to protect the guilty. My daughter admitted to some other behaviors she had been up to in the weeks leading up to that incident. She was devastated about all of it. Looking back, there was not one thing…

16 responses