By: Richard Rhoads on March 23, 2014
Ever since my days in youth ministry I have always enjoyed a good slip and slide. A little soap, a good long sheet of plastic, a steep hill and a whole lot of water is all you need to have a whole lot of fun. So when I heard of the “Crazy Insane Water Slide”…
By: Phil Smart on March 20, 2014
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” We all remember this phrase from the fairy tale Snow White. Mirrors that could tell us what we want or what we envision, whether true or false, would probably sell out quickly at the local retailer – if they existed. But this was a…
By: David Toth on March 20, 2014
“Sudsy” was his nick name, used only by the students and only behind his back! He was an average looking guy except he always was a bit disheveled. His nickname came from gossip, though quite broadly substantiated, that he drank a bit to much beer, or “suds” as it was called back in the day…
By: Sharenda Roam on March 20, 2014
The topics of discussion today in my Biomedical Ethics class were Natural Law Theory, the Doctrine of Double Effect, the Principle of Totality, and Animal Testing. Whew! A great debate ensued between my students about ideas, ethics and if there are “natural laws” as Aquinas might define them. In our doctoral reading this week, “A…
By: Garrick Roegner on March 20, 2014
Reading A Brief Guide to Ideas by William Raeper and Linda Edwards reminded me of the Coen Brother’s existential masterpiece The Big Lebowski. Jeff Bridges as The Dude (aka Jeffrey Lebowski) stars as the protaganist on an epic odyssey of sorts through the absurdity of modern Los Angeles. As Raeper and Edwards introduce the reader…
By: Chris Ellis on March 20, 2014
I feel like I often write about my fundamentalist past with regards to my assigned reading from George Fox, and unfortunately this week isn’t an exception. InA Brief Guide to Ideas: Turning Points in the History of Human Thought, Raepar and Smithtrace the history of epistemology throughout much of Western thought. He grapples with questions like,…
By: Sandy Bils on March 20, 2014
The way we question life and response to these though challenges consist a multitude of approaches. Every person utilizes different methods. Especially in our postmodern times we are used to connect heterogeneous systems into a patchwork of approaches to meet the challenges in our lifes. Philosophy is one of them; Theology a different one. In…
By: Fred Fay on March 20, 2014
Young adults are asking questions about faith as they transition in life. One young lady wonders how she can really know God. Another young man is asking questions about morality that doubts traditional answers. Is there a place for their questions in the church? Questioning beliefs and authority in church can seem threatening to some…
By: Garrick Roegner on March 16, 2014
We have all had THAT experience. Seeing power used in a ministry setting in a negative way. I have a good friend who had his first pastoral assignment, the head pastor made him preach his sermons in private just to the head pastor for feedback and approval, and to make sure they would be adequate…
By: Mark Steele on March 15, 2014
MaryKate Morse’s book Making Room for Leadership; power, space and influence describes in great length about the importance and practice of leadership presence. MaryKate says there is a marriage between the leader’s presence and the reception of the group. The China business and political culture is an excellent example of this statement. I have been…
By: Richard Rhoads on March 14, 2014
As a young college student paying my way through school, I worked in a foods warehouse for Hershey Park. It was a great place to work, and even better, there were some great benefits which came along with the job. First, you could get into the park for free at any time when off of…
By: Sandy Bils on March 14, 2014
Everyone knows these situations. You are squeezed into a subway or bus. People are closer than it is comfortable for you. You own private space is invaded. These so called “crowding situations” give us a hard time, because we like to arrange our distance zones individually. When we are forced to limit these proxemics,…
By: Phil Smart on March 13, 2014
MaryKate Morse in her fascinating book Making Room For Leadership sates that Jesus was very ordinary from a physical and perceived stance and that he was a minimalist, but he changed the world. At least as ordinary, I’m in good company! For six years I worked in Marketing and Sales for a company in Kansas. …
By: Fred Fay on March 13, 2014
Recently another Christian leader has come under scrutiny for sexual allegations. It would have been one of the least likely people by the way this man conducted himself. He was reserved, non-flamboyant and taught a moral high road. If you lived in the U.S. in the 70s and beyond, chances you would have heard of…
By: David Toth on March 13, 2014
The church was abuzz with activity. The worship service had just ended and people were engaging conversations, getting coffee from the coffee bar, and meeting in small groups planning lunch gatherings. Kids were running about looking for parents, or avoiding parents! The staff was making the most of the opportunity to have a few words…
By: Sam Stephens on March 13, 2014
Communication and its contents play an important role in leadership. In the same seam, a leader’s actions, the way they are perceived and their impact upon people has equal significance. The implications of whatever is said and done by a leader has positive or negative consequences. These are widely discussed leadership principles that are well…
By: Chris Ellis on March 13, 2014
Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space and Influence by MaryKate Morse was this week’s assignment for my D.Min program. It dissects the intersection of body, leadership and power. She writes, “Leadership happens all the time, and it happens when we use our bodies to influence others. “(Loc 143). Prior to our London Advance I hadn’t…
By: Sharenda Roam on March 13, 2014
Morse Code for Using Power: “A Kiss” (Acknowledgment), “Water”(Hospitality) & “Oil” (Honor) In her book “Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space and Influence” MaryKate Morse discusses four kinds of power and gives an excellent and moving description of these using the story of Jesus, the Sinner Woman and Simon. “Expert Power” belongs to someone who…
By: Fred Fay on March 11, 2014
Interacting with popular culture as a Christian has been an interesting journey. In the church of my youth we couldn’t dance, drink alcohol or go to movies and a few other abominations. We looked at pop culture with suspicion. When I was in middle school a friend asked if I had heard the song “I’m…
By: Mark Steele on March 9, 2014
When was the last time you sent an email with a typo or an emotional response and regretted it? Did you know Abraham Lincoln had a similar problem? According to Daniel Forrester in his book Consider; harnessing the power of reflective thinking in your organization, Daniel tells us about Abraham Lincoln’s communication habits and his…
