By: Daren Jaime on February 13, 2025
Growing up in New York, I can strongly remember my 5th-grade Social Studies and American History teacher. His awkward demeanor always stood out to the class. Adorned frequently in hippy-ish dress and with an unforgettable voice, he constantly reminded our class that America was not always America. This admonishment was to bring to light the…
By: Joel Zantingh on February 13, 2025
Part of a Colonial Story I am part of a complicated colonial story. As the son of Dutch immigrants, I have come to both celebrate the good of my ancestral and spiritual heritage, and lament over some of the history of my nation, and that of my Dutch ancestors in relation to the treatment of…
By: Elysse Burns on February 13, 2025
Pre-Furedi Reflections on Colonialism Colonialism is fundamentally about superiority—asserting dominance through economic control, political influence, and cultural imposition. During the Cold War, for instance, the West sought to block communism’s spread in Africa, using financial and diplomatic leverage to secure allies. Beyond material exploitation, colonialism reinforced a hierarchy in which Western powers—armed with resources, technology,…
By: Graham English on February 13, 2025
What Do I Currently Believe About Colonialism? In reflecting upon this question, I have considered whether my age influences my perspectives on colonialism. I am keen to understand the viewpoints of younger generations on this matter. If colonialism is loosely understood as the invasion and settlement of one nation over another, accompanied by the domination…
By: Diane Tuttle on February 13, 2025
What I believe about Colonialism: When I think of colonialism I think of one country increasing their land mass by settling their citizens on land that is owned by others with the goal of owning it. Colonialism has been going on for thousands of years such as the Roman Empire conquering much of the known…
By: Ryan Thorson on February 12, 2025
I can remember playing “The Oregon Trail game” from a very early age. Growing up in the Northwest of America, we could travel to places where the ruts were still visible from the thousands of people who came west looking for land and opportunity. While I knew that there were Native Americans here, my young…
By: Jennifer Eckert on February 12, 2025
Thoughts on Colonialism I was born and raised in Oklahoma, otherwise known as “No Man’s Land.” However, that label was a misnomer because American Indians lived upon this rich soil for centuries before white settlers arrived in the early 1800s. Even more settlers came during the 1830s when the Trail of Tears occurred, which forced…
By: Shela Sullivan on February 11, 2025
Introduction The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight for Its History, by Frank Furedi argues that there’s a growing trend to criticize and discredit Western history and culture.[1] Furedi believes that this trend, driven by modern political agendas, is harmful because it makes people, especially young people, feel ashamed of their history…
By: Debbie Owen on February 11, 2025
Before reading The War Against the Past by Frank Furedi, my understanding of colonialism was a mix of personal experience and general knowledge. On the one hand, I had an overwhelmingly positive experience of participating in historical reenactments with my family. For about ten years, while our children grew up, our family was involved in…
By: Glyn Barrett on February 11, 2025
In “The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight for Its History,”[1] Frank Furedi, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, examines the contemporary movement to denigrate Western history and its cultural heritage. He contends that this trend, manifesting through actions like toppling statues, decolonising curricula, and altering language, seeks to…
By: Jeff Styer on February 10, 2025
In this post, I will discuss my beliefs about Colonialism, then reading Frank Furedi’s book discuss how those ideas were upheld and where they were challenged. I will end discussing by looking at an example of how people are “Waring Against the Past.”[1] Previous Knowledge – Colonialism Colonialism—To me it is the practice of a…
By: Adam Cheney on February 10, 2025
Before Reading: Colonialism – the rapid spread of colonies, throughout America but also throughout the world, as demonstrated by England so prevalently. America originally had 13 colonies (which became states) in which the settlers pushed out the Indigenous peoples who were already residing along the East Coast. Currently, we see colonialism throughout the Holy Land…
By: Christy on February 10, 2025
In 2024, I visited an island in Indonesia to visit a few communities that are engaging in oral Bible translation that is supported by my organization. Indonesia has the world’s largest population of Muslims, with Statista reporting 241 million as of 2022, beating out Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. [1] But this island is an exception,…
By: Noel Liemam on February 9, 2025
Introduction “Rethinking Leadership,” by Dr. Annabel Bereel. The title makes me wonder and ask myself, is there something wrong, or missing from what we have been learning about leadership? Or this is an exhortation to leaders to take their leadership role seriously. It makes me curios about where she was coming from and what she…
By: Joel Zantingh on February 8, 2025
I remember how startled I was when I first heard my grandparents casually blurt out phrases that were ‘out of step’ with my current views on topics (think racism). I was just coming to that age where I understood that different generations bring different perspectives on the world, and that we are collection of generations,…
By: Kari on February 6, 2025
Rethinking Leadership offers a refreshing perspective. The leadership crisis during the COVID pandemic serves as a catalyst for this book. The pandemic illustrates the central thesis: older leadership models must be replaced with new approaches that are relevant today. The book explores outdated leadership models and explains why they are ineffective. It introduces various new…
By: Daren Jaime on February 6, 2025
As I am reminiscent of some of our initial time as a cohort, I can remember hearing how vast leadership was. We were later told that thousands of books on leadership are released annually as many attempt to lay expert claims on leadership. I can recall stumbling and bumbling, trying to articulate the proper definition…
By: Julie O'Hara on February 6, 2025
This week’s reading was almost too much of a good thing. Annabel Beerel is an international consultant specializing in leadership and ethics, leadership theories, critique, and interdisciplinary approaches. Perhaps this array of specializations is what made Rethinking Leadership so enticing. While trying to do an inspectional reading, all the goodies drew me in deeper. Not…
By: Chad Warren on February 6, 2025
In the final scenes of The Dark Knight, Commissioner Gordon tells his son that Batman is “the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.” This line captures a truth about leadership—sometimes, those in power are not the most suitable to lead. In our rapidly changing world, we face a similar dilemma.…
By: Debbie Owen on February 6, 2025
My friend told me about the church plant where she and her husband were getting involved. The growing church had gotten to the point where it needed someone to take on a pastoral role and responsibilities. Because she is a retired pastor, the group of leaders all looked at her and said, “You’re the pastor.”…
