By: Sandy Bils on September 19, 2013
In his book „Good to great. Why some companies make the leap and others don’t“ Jim Collins presents the results of an intensive research process. Joined by a large team, Collins studied why some average companies become major leaders and others fail. He looked at a period of 15 years and compared his selected companies…
By: Garrick Roegner on September 19, 2013
In his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, business management researcher Jim Collins attempts to define what separates good organizations from great ones. By researching companies that have had strong success against those who have merely been good, or only had outstanding success for a season, or simply…
By: Chris Ellis on September 19, 2013
Good to Great examines what makes the difference between a good company and a great company. While I do think the church is not first and foremost a business, I do think there are many points that Collins touches on that can greatly help churches not necessarily be great but be faithful. For we are…
By: Phil Smart on September 18, 2013
After 8 years in the private sector I had returned to full-time ministry. One of the reasons I was excited about the church where I was going to serve was because of its professionalism – in other words, it was run like the business I had recently left. As part of our job descriptions, those…
By: Fred Fay on September 18, 2013
This last week I went to a conference called the Community Project presented by “the C4 group”. There practitioners who were involved with caring for their cities gave testimonials about how their efforts brought forth change for the good of their community. It began with a leader talking to us about the church being outward…
By: Sam Stephens on September 14, 2013
In his book The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice, David Morgan connects art and religion. Morgan’s vision is to extend the horizons of our perception of religion to include a consideration of the influence and impact of images. The first part of his work contains descriptions of the convergence of the…
By: Cedrick Valrie on September 13, 2013
In years past, the word “help” was highly associated with geriatrics with particular attention on elderly men and women that had entered a stage in life where falling was a constant and often reality. One of the most iconic images was seeing a helpless woman home alone and lying on the bathroom floor with no…
By: Mark Steele on September 13, 2013
Two powerful images I remember growing up in the church were the painting Christ our Pilot and the Navigator Wheel tool that taught four principles to live a Christian life. These images helped me to rely on guidance from the Bible and the life of Jesus as to how to live my life. As I…
By: David Toth on September 12, 2013
My wife and I are into “The Goodwife” tv series. The story line is of a politician’s wife who comes out of the domestic scene to restart her law career to provide for her family when her husband goes to prison for legal issues but who is also publicly shamed for an adulterous relationship. Alica, the good…
By: Fred Fay on September 12, 2013
The call to discipleship has been fraught with formulas, fill in the blank manuals and text-based instruction. The interesting thing is that Jesus did not teach in propositions, he created word pictures that people could see as he talked. He called the first disciples by saying, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of…
By: gfesadmin on September 12, 2013
My wife and I are into “The Goodwife” tv series. The story line is of a politician’s wife who comes out of the domestic scene to restart her law career to provide for her family when her husband goes to prison for legal issues but who is also publicly shamed for an adulterous relationship. Alica,…
By: Garrick Roegner on September 12, 2013
In The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice, author David Morgan explores the connections between visual culture and religious practice and feelings. He makes the case that images have real power over people and communities of faith, and are even used to impose power or convince others. Morgan explains that the world…
By: Phil Smart on September 12, 2013
A talisman is an object that is believed to hold magical or mystical powers. We all subscribe to various talismans – I think. It can be something very simple, such as wearing the same shirt on a special day. Tiger Woods is one who always wears red on the Sundays of each golf tournament, believing…
By: Chris Ellis on September 12, 2013
In The Sacred Gaze, David Morgan expounds upon how images can impact our view and understanding of reality. He writes, “Sacred gaze is a term that designates the particular configuration of ideas, attitudes, and customs that informs a religious act of seeing as it occurs within a given cultural and historical setting. A sacred gaze…
By: Sharenda Roam on September 12, 2013
Jesus – Idol or Icon? As we arrived at church on Sunday morning in St. Louis this past weekend, my three year old nephew asked my Mom, “Mimi, did God make Jesus or did Jesus make God?” My Mom and I looked at each other and then she quickly answered, “There’s one God with three…
By: Richard Rhoads on September 12, 2013
I had just finished eating while taking in a stunning sunset located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. And now, the time had come, what I had waited for and long anticipating for almost 35 years, a ride across the Sea of Galilee at night. I could hardly contain myself as I…
By: Sandy Bils on September 11, 2013
In the post of last “Scared of art” I already reflected on art and theology, inspired by William A. Dyrness’ “Visual faith – art, theology and worship in dialogue”. This week I want to take a deeper look into David Morgans “Sacred gaze. Religious visual culture in theory and practice.” A lot of what Morgan…
By: Mark Steele on September 8, 2013
Dyrness in his book Visual Faith examines the past history of Christian art and the need to rejuvenate the practice for many reasons. Among his reasons are to worship, share the gospel and to communicate God’s truths with a media driven generation (Dyrness, 2001). While reflecting about these concepts, I was drawn to look back…
By: Cedrick Valrie on September 7, 2013
In the natural and to the naked eye, there is not much special about water, food, and a community of people that are wandering in the desert. From an ancient perspective, such resources are a sign of strength, provision, and wealth. From a modern perspective, water and food are commonly viewed as necessities, while building…
By: Sam Stephens on September 6, 2013
In all my years of ministry, even though I have enjoyed art, I have never given it serious thought and consideration as one that adds value to ministry. My protestant puritanical upbringing has not allowed me to reflect upon its value and worth in worship and discipleship. Reading Visual Faith – Art, Theology and Worship…
