By: Rose Anding on March 2, 2017
“It takes heroic humility to be yourself.” — Thomas Merton Introduction Isolation—A Place of Transformation in the Life of a Leader by Shelly G. Trebesch is a leadership guidance book that informs Christian leaders on what to expect in the ministry. It prepares leaders on what they are likely to face when they have set…
By: Kevin Norwood on March 2, 2017
Isolation, as described by Shelley Trebesch in her book Isolation: A Place of Transformation in the Life of a Leader, is a desert or wilderness time, where one is removed from his/her normal daily routine or home and isolated from friends and family. A person is a desert time may not feel the presence of…
By: Phil Goldsberry on March 2, 2017
Introduction Shelly Trebesch, author of Isolation: A Place of Transformation in the Life of A Leader, states, “Our studies indicate that leaders need 3-4 renewal times over a life time.”[1] I started doing the math and felt a little better about the path I am on. When framing “life” in terms of “renewal” and “transformation”,…
By: Aaron Cole on March 2, 2017
Summary: Isolation, A Place of Transformation in the Life of a Leader by Shelly Trebesch is an academic field guide to the specific stop of isolation on the journey that 95% of leaders will experience. Trebesch states that “all leaders face deep processing..where God uses such activities as isolation, conflict, and life crisis to…
By: Aaron Peterson on March 2, 2017
I very much enjoyed reading Shelley Trebesch’s, Isolation this week. Like Judy Blume’s 1970 teen novel about a young lady searching during adolescence, Isolation is about one major coming-of-age component for every leader. Her short, but powerful, book is a great example of how to write a dissertation. Reading it gave me hope and vision for…
By: Marc Andresen on March 2, 2017
I crashed emotionally when I walked into my tiny room. There were two sparse bunk beds: period. Nowhere was to be seen a table or even a chair. The dormitory rooms had 8 foot walls, but no ceiling, so high above was the tin roof. When other people (students) were in the building all noises…
By: Claire Appiah on March 2, 2017
Shelley Trebesch—Isolation: A Place of Transformation in the Life of A Leader Introduction Shelley Trebesch’s expertise in organizational leadership development is reflected in her professorship at Fuller Theological Seminary, and her role as consultant, mentor, and seminar leader to Christian organizations around the world. In this work, she demonstrates the necessity for Christian leaders…
By: Garfield Harvey on March 2, 2017
This week’s reading took a more subtle approach from recent weeks. Last few weeks we discussed the role of secularism but also the transformation of our global culture since the 1500s. Our challenge in this week’s reading as ministry leaders is that of isolation. The word itself suggests loneliness, so we (ministry leaders) have the…
By: Pablo Morales on February 24, 2017
Summary Charles Taylor and James Smith have given us a detailed analysis of the secular age in which we live. Like an ideological GPS, they have shown us our chronological location in this map of secularism. From the age of ancien régime, to the age of moral order, to the age of mobilization, we are…
By: Kevin Norwood on February 23, 2017
The immanent frame Immanent frame: A constructed social space that frames our lives entirely within a natural (rather than supernatural) order. It is the circumscribed space of the modern social imaginary that precludes transcendence. [1] Immanentization: The process whereby meaning, significance, naturalistic universe without any reference to transcendence. A kind of “enclosure.” [2]…
By: Garfield Harvey on February 23, 2017
Last week, I found complexity in trying to divide my thoughts of two great books, which was a great injustice to the authors. Separating the takeaways of these books coincide with the very nature of this book as we discuss the idea of secularism. Smith and Taylor both show how secularism is associated with the…
By: Aaron Cole on February 23, 2017
Summary: A Secular Age by Charles Taylor is an exhaustive and narrative insight on what “secular” is and how we as people and planet got here. The unique mix of academic and story offers the reader a map of sorts which navigates the reader on a journey of how we became a secular society and…
By: Phil Goldsberry on February 23, 2017
Introduction My Part I was concerned about the sacred becoming secular. But greater was finding the “map” to navigate the secular back to sacred. Taylor then challenged me again with semantics. I had heard years ago if you want to change the culture, change the language; Taylor proved that to be true. Taylor states that,…
By: Marc Andresen on February 23, 2017
Charles Taylor’s book A Secular Age, could easily serve as a textbook for a college course on “Western Civilization,” tracing history along the thread of secularization: the difficult journey during which there has been a shift in the modern age from a social imaginary wherein unbelief was unimaginable to a time when belief is unthinkable. Through…
By: Claire Appiah on February 23, 2017
Charles Margrave Taylor—Secular Age Introduction Canadian born Charles Margrave Taylor is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at McGill University and the author of several books. He is highly esteemed in the academic community for his intellectual endeavors pertaining to philosophy in the political, social science, historical, and intellectual arenas. He is the recipient of various awards…
By: Aaron Peterson on February 23, 2017
I have marriage on the brain this week. This weekend Lisa and I will lead our annual marriage retreat at the Eagle’s Nest Bed & Breakfast in beautiful Big Bear, California. In fact, as soon as I post this blog we will start the over-2-hour trek from the San Fernando Valley up through the San…
By: Jason Kennedy on February 23, 2017
This week I ran across a story of a couple that became Christian in a heavily Islamic country. Within two weeks of the man’s conversion, he was arrested, tortured, and starving in a cell. His story is so remarkable to me because he described his pre-Christian world and culture as being closed. Their country controlled…
By: Rose Anding on February 22, 2017
The conclusion of the Secular Question The Shift… A big part of the shift is that the condition of belief have changed. Therefore. whatever we believe is detestable or contestable. Nature is what has changed…Secularism Taylor’s Book, Secular Age, Plays Out in the British Court Foster parent ban: ‘this is a secular state’, say…
By: Garfield Harvey on February 19, 2017
In the 1930s, 98% of Jamaica (my birth country) subscribed to a Christian culture because most of those people were descendants of slaves. However, in that same era, the Rastafarian movement arose as this new group started to worship Haile Selassie (born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael), the emperor of Ethiopia. The Rastafarians worshiped him as the…
By: Kevin Norwood on February 18, 2017
To believe or not to believe? Life is full of opportunities to believe or not to believe. We face it every day. If you open social media or if you follow news sources, there is a constant struggle to know where to put your trust for information. James Smith in his book,…
