By: Jon Spellman on May 14, 2015
Otherness Human Geographers are interested in understanding how people occupy space together. How do we get along? Difficulties arise anytime people of different backgrounds (racial, ethnic, religious, financial, etc.) are called upon to share finite space, role definition becomes important pretty quickly! Hierarchies (pecking order), equitable division of resources, friendships, enemies, etc. are all important. …
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on May 14, 2015
Gill Valentine, in her book “Social Geographies: Space and Society”, reorients the field of social geography around “space”. With the orientation set on space, a new look at what has traditionally been viewed as physical and fixed characteristics of our society becomes open to more fluid boundaries to the characteristics traditionally viewed as constructing and…
By: Travis Biglow on May 13, 2015
Social Stereotypes in Real Time May 13, 15 This reading was really profound. Gill Valentine is really out there I guess that’s why purchasing the book was so expensive. But in the reading some of the issues I have faced as an African American stood out to me. I liked the reading of Social Geographies:…
By: Mary Pandiani on May 13, 2015
Ten years ago, I reluctantly watched a movie that I loved and hated at the same time. Even now, the reality of Crash (2004) feels too overwhelming: “Los Angeles with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss, and redemption.” (http://www.imdb. com/title/tt0375679/) As characters happen upon each other in work, play and society,…
By: Dave Young on May 12, 2015
As I began to read “Social Geographies” [1] I wondered what would a book on eight different spaces where society intersects life offer my church-centered research? Next came the rather simple question: “Where is the church?” What societal space does it fill? What space should it fill? Also in the back of my mind was…
By: Travis Biglow on May 10, 2015
Thinking the faith in Asian contexts May 10, 15 Many of the concepts that I read in the Grassroots Asian Theology were not too surprising. I have always believed that Asian Christianity was not that different from how we as Westerners perceive it. As the book said, “a genuine development in new contexts must…
By: Dawnel Volzke on May 8, 2015
Simon Chan’s book, Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up, draws the reader into a discovery of authentic faith in relation to cultural expression. While Chan’s book focuses on Asian theology, we can observe religion within this cultural context to better understand the dynamics in the relationships between people and theology. In the…
By: Jon Spellman on May 7, 2015
This week, Who Needs Theology by Grenz and Olsen came to mind. I was reminded if their concerns that Christian theology in the West could deteriorate into a “mere ‘folk religion’ (unreflective believing based on blind faith in a tradition of some kind), relegated to the realms of sheer subjectivity and emptied of public credibility.”1…
By: Mary Pandiani on May 6, 2015
Last fall, I was first introduced to Simon Chan through his book Spiritual Theology. For my essay on theology, this core text summed up much of my own understanding of God. With a contextual theology to be in a “conscious, personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ,”[1] Chan applies his systematic understanding about God to…
By: Nick Martineau on May 6, 2015
My Uncle lives in Nanning, China. He moved there a number of years ago because he was unsatisfied with the American way of life. Just a year after living in China we weren’t too surprised to learn he had gotten married. His wife is a school principal and it appears he will spend the…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on May 6, 2015
Grassroots . . . the hope of the Church! If the Bible fell onto a planet that knew nothing of orthodox Christianity, would orthodox Christianity be discovered by the reading and living out of the text? Would the Jesus of an orthodox Christianity be made known? Would the Church of orthodox Christianity be made known?…
By: Dave Young on May 5, 2015
A church member asked me, “What’s Asian theology?” when she saw the book I was reading. For point of reference, she’s a bright teacher, has served a number of years as a missionary, and she’s more aware than most of cultural differences. She simply didn’t know, and neither did I—that the Eastern civilization needs theology…
By: Dawnel Volzke on April 25, 2015
Leadership is an Art,[1] by Max Depree, pulls together leadership theories, while weaving in insights surrounding the more abstract idea that leadership is an art form. Depree, himself, has demonstrated his own ability to be a strong and effective leader within both national and global settings. Throughout my career as a consultant, I’ve worked with many…
By: Jon Spellman on April 23, 2015
To understand that your role as a leader is to advance other people in life is the highest possible level of leadership maturity. For DePree, the corporate mission is a secondary gain, it just happens naturally when care for people is expressed in measurable ways. I am going to keep this blog simple, I just…
By: Brian Yost on April 23, 2015
In his book Leadership is an Art, Max De Pree sandwiches leadership between two essential bookends while defining the core that lies between; “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That…
By: Nick Martineau on April 23, 2015
It’s refreshing to read a leadership book where the author doesn’t claim to know it all. I appreciated DePree starting off with, “Leadership is an art, something to be learned over time, not simply by reading books. Leadership is more tribal than scientific, more a weaving of relationships than an amassing of information, and, in…
By: Mary Pandiani on April 22, 2015
With silver hair and a voice that wavered, Sister Margaret seemed really old to me as a young college graduate. It’s only been all these years later, many since she passed away, that I now recognize how her age didn’t take away from the value of her faithful presence as a leader in the community.…
By: Travis Biglow on April 21, 2015
Obligation to others is an Art of Leadership April 21, 15 Max De Pree has done a masterful job in defining leadership qualities in Leadership is an Art. He comes off more like a preacher who is dedicated to people and not things. I admired his passion for those who worked in his company. He…
By: Dave Young on April 21, 2015
As I read through Leadership is an Art I became engaged with the undertone of the book—the author’s “voice,” their passion. Max De Pree is presenting the theme of what I’d call other-centered leadership. The employees are his passion: their involvement, gifting, participation, and success. In such a practical, helpful book there are dozens of…
By: Travis Biglow on April 18, 2015
Faithful Living in a Changing World April 17, 15 As I get older and older the ability to remain faithful to God is always a challenge. It takes a lot to stand up in society now and stand on the word of God. In To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity…
