By: Kristin Hamilton on March 23, 2017
Everything in Max De Pree’s Leadership is an Art, should be common sense. Placing people over structures, reveling in creativity, allowing experts to take the lead, and discovering that challenges are really opportunities are all things that are seemingly “Duh” statements when it comes to leadership. De Pree captures these ideals in a winsomely simple…
By: Katy Drage Lines on March 23, 2017
While we have been exploring the relationship of our faith with our social and economic context this spring, our exploration has primarily been theoretical, abstract and imaginary. Our discussions have been rich and our readings deep, but still hypothetical. Our final text, however, (perhaps the capstone of this course??), pulls ideas from many…
By: Lynda Gittens on March 23, 2017
ART is based on one’s opinion. It is the imagination and philosophy of the designer. It is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: skill acquired by experience, study, or observation, a branch of learning, an occupation requiring knowledge or skill, the conscious use of skill and creative imagination, or decorative or illustrative elements in printed…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on March 23, 2017
“In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are“.[1] Leadership Is an Art by Max Dupree was a very timely read for me. I have recently transitioned into a new leadership role within my company. This is an expanded role with a…
By: Stu Cocanougher on March 23, 2017
I just finished Leadership is an Art by Max DePree. DePree is the former CEO of Herman Miller, a very successful furniture maker and retailer that was founded by DePree’s father. Even though DePree served in the Army during WW2, his management style has no resemblance to a militaristic, heavy-handed hierarchy. In Leadership is an…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on March 22, 2017
Jam packed with leadership tips, truths, and morsels, “The Art of Leadership” is an obvious choice for classic books on leadership. It’s timeless principles are applicable for leaders as it touches on the heart and spirit of a leader, as well as the head and logic of leadership. Leadership tidbits… There were many useful take-aways…
By: Mary Walker on March 22, 2017
Max De Pree says that the art of leadership is “liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible.” The leader is the “‘servant’ of his followers in that he removes the obstacles that prevent them for doing their jobs. In short, the true leader enables his…
By: Jim Sabella on March 22, 2017
De Pree, Max. Leadership Is an Art. New York: Currency, 2004. Summary Though leadership is not a new topic, leadership is a more recent research topic within academic circles. One outcome of research on leadership, and in fact one that has often held up leadership research as an academic discipline, is the inability to produce a…
By: Geoff Lee on March 17, 2017
In this very interesting book, Douthat traces Christianity in America from its post-war golden years through its gradual decline over the following decades to the present day. He starts by highlighting four key figures that embodied this golden age: the intellectual Reinhold Niebuhr, the evangelical Billy Graham, the Catholic Bishop Fulton Sheen, and the African-America…
By: Kristin Hamilton on March 17, 2017
My normal practice, when posting about the books we read for our DMin program, is to first read the reviews and articles about the book and the author. This week that may have been a bad choice. Before ever opening Bad Religion: How we became a nation of heretics, I was…well…I guess I’ll just say…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on March 16, 2017
“This is the real story of religion in America. For all its piety and fervor, today’s United States needs to be recognized for what it really is: not a Christian country, but a nation of heretics...”[1] Growing up as a young girl, I have seen a lot of fairy tales. Each fairy tale had strife,…
By: Chip Stapleton on March 16, 2017
In his book Bad Religion New York Times Columnist Ross Douthat describes how, America has always inhabited a strange paradox of being formally secular, but also relying on religion – more heavily than almost any other Western world – to provide a moral framework for its citizens (Douthat, Kindle location 118), something has changed, however in our…
By: Lynda Gittens on March 16, 2017
BAD RELIGION by Ross Douthat Douthat shared his views on the American Christianity, i.e. Contemporary and Liberal. He shares how Christians integrated within the political arena, and it was a negative impact. Can a Politician force their Christian views and values on the country they lead? Douthat addressed the history of Christians and their…
By: Stu Cocanougher on March 16, 2017
I need to confess something. When given a choice, I would rather eat ice cream than eat broccoli. Yes, I understand fully that broccoli is low calorie, packed with vitamins, and also has fiber. But ice cream tastes really good. I know that I am not alone. Think about this, when was the last time…
By: Jim Sabella on March 16, 2017
Douthat, Ross Gregory. Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. New York: Free Press, 2013. Summary I think that there are few who would argue that Christianity in the USA looks different than it did just one generation ago. Many would argue that Christianity in America has lost its cultural influence altogether; church…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on March 15, 2017
As I read through the pages of “Bad Religion”, a comment from our last chat haunted my thoughts. It was remarked how we as Christians can stand back and criticize without really making significant world changes. Ironically, this seemed to sum up “Bad Religion”, where the author lived up to his title. He seemed bent…
By: Katy Drage Lines on March 15, 2017
Ahh, where to begin in my exploration of Bad Religion? Perhaps in introducing a comparison between Ross Douthat’s text and James Davison Hunter’s To Change the World. Hunter introduced us to ways American Christians engage the world from the left (“relevance to the culture”), right (“defensive against”) and neo-Anabaptist.[1] Whereas Hunter introduces three (really, two)…
By: Mary Walker on March 15, 2017
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ Martin Luther King. For the last few weeks we have been discussing ways to change our culture. If we accept that “To be Christian is to be obliged to engage the world, pursuing God’s restorative purposes over all of…
By: Kristin Hamilton on March 10, 2017
Anticipation. Excitement. Trepidation. Anxiety. These are a few of the things I felt when I boarded the plane headed to London to join my cohort of 10, two previous cohorts, professors, administrators, and our lead mentor for the Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Global Perspectives England Advance 2016. That’s a huge title,…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on March 9, 2017
“The big deal is we think the power is in us individually the power is in us collectively. It is in the church.” John M. Perkins [1] It appears that in our current American culture the church is divided. We are either siding with the “conservative right” or the “progressive left”. Depending on how one views…
