By: Mark Petersen on May 16, 2019
In The Coddling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt advance an argument against three commonly held assumptions that guide Western cultural discourse today. These are: (1) we are fragile and in need of protection; (2) our feelings must always guide our actions; and (3) we must confront and oppose the enemy without.…
By: Mike on May 16, 2019
Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s The Coddling of the American Mind examines the recent phenomenon of college age intolerance, phobias, stress, and suicide. The authors focus on three “Great Untruths” surrounding fragility, feelings, and conflict.[1] These untruths, according to Haidt and Lukianoff, are manifested in all sectors of social life and are creating division, distrust,…
By: Dan Kreiss on May 16, 2019
The provocative title is based on some significant assumptions. First that people reading the title will have any idea what the word coddling means and then that Americans actually have minds that can be pampered into delusion. After more than fifteen years working in higher education there is little doubt in my mind that there…
By: Jennifer Williamson on May 16, 2019
In general, when one willingly accepts the call of God to live and serve cross-culturally for the sake of the Kingdom, one is choosing a life of risk and adventure. Many put their lives on the line, crossing borders into places where the Gospel is outlawed and Christians are killed. It hard to imagine a…
By: Jay Forseth on May 15, 2019
HAPPY Mother’s Day! Today is Mother’s Day, and I am on a vacation airplane to San Diego with the beautiful mother of my two children. Planes aren’t a bad place for me to read our weekly book, especially with Lisa’s sleepy head resting on my shoulder. On the title page of this week’s reading, I immediately…
By: Dan Kreiss on May 11, 2019
Change is challenging regardless of the context. Change regarding a community or institution that one holds particularly dear and/or one that is believed to be an integral aspect of the Kingdom of God seems so much more painful. From the numerical heights of church attendance in the U.S. of the 1950s there has been a…
By: Colleen Batchelder on May 11, 2019
Self-awareness usually yields to self-actualization; however, that’s not always the case within Christian leadership. Dr. Diane Zemke, the author of Being SMART about Congregational Change, challenges her readers to understand their nuances, their personalities, and their spirituality in light of transformational culture within the church. Many churches are caught in the mentality of fortress-mode. They…
By: Kyle Chalko on May 11, 2019
Diane Zemke’s book Being Smart about Congregational Change was nice change in pace from other books we have read. I felt this book was very academic and calculated in its delivery of well-rounded ideas. But also I felt this book was deliver with a vocabulary that is not littered with academic jargon, but a real…
By: Trisha Welstad on May 10, 2019
Reading Diane Zemke’s text, Being SMART about Congregational Change has me in knots. Part of me wishes I would have read this a year ago, and part of me feels its timeliness in the present. The idea of change is something that is at the same time exciting and anxiety producing. As Zemke says multiple…
By: Jason Turbeville on May 9, 2019
When we were in South Africa for our first semester in the LGP program I was having trouble nailing down my problem and how to come at it in a way that would be effective. Dr. D, my advisor, had a great deal of influence on how I was going to address the problem but…
By: Jay Forseth on May 9, 2019
Some churches need to die! This sounds harsh, but it’s true. The past 30 days, our Conference has closed 2 churches (out of 30). Both of these churches should have died! Thankfully, this year we planted one church and are being joined by up to three more… My newest gauge for an “effective church” is simply this: If your church disappeared tomorrow, would it leave…
By: Jean Ollis on May 9, 2019
It is a privilege to personally know – and to have interacted with – this week’s author, Diane Zemke. Diane writes a pragmatic text which is a helpful guide to not just the pastor, but also to lay leaders invested in congregational change. Having been a member of the United Methodist Church my entire life,…
By: Shawn Hart on May 9, 2019
(My apologies, but this will not have proper formatting and source citing this week, due to internet problems on my main computer). My sister and brother-in-law visited this past week since they knew I would be home recovering from surgery. Cheri and Greg have served as a ministry couple numerous times throughout their marriage, and…
By: Mark Petersen on May 9, 2019
Diane Zemke, in her book Being Smart About Congregational Change, advances strategic and clear thinking around how one can influence change within a system. While her research was specifically focused on the local church context, it has high applicability to any organizational environment. In my case, with my focus on the changing landscapes within private…
By: Dave Watermulder on May 9, 2019
I was standing in front of about one hundred people in the Social Hall of my congregation. As I looked around the room at the folks who had stayed after worship to hear my presentation, I could sense their excitement. Afterall, I had promised them a slide show of pictures from South Africa and Hong…
By: Greg on May 9, 2019
Stories produce the narratives and foundations of our life. They set the tone of our families. They help us understand our worship of God and the way we are influenced in making decisions. Stories shape how we see the world or how we make sense of it and how we adapt to it. I hate…
By: Jake Dean-Hill on May 8, 2019
It was great to be able to read a book by one of our very own advisors in the LGP program. Diane Zemke’s book, Being SMART about Congregational Change, was easy to read and very practical when it comes to congregations making changes, and boy do many congregations need to change. As you would expect,…
By: Chris Pritchett on May 8, 2019
Diane Zemke’s Being Smart About Congregational Change is a practical guidebook for congregational leaders who wish to lead change in their congregations. The book offers a curation of leadership and change theories and is packaged into a simple three-part structure. The first section describes the author’s understanding of how congregations function and imagine themselves as…
By: Mike on May 7, 2019
Diane Zemke’s Being SMART About Congregational Change is a book that provides wise tools and resources to help both the church and members deal with the stress of making change. Focused on doing church, in a healthy fashion, is Zemke’s passion. I see many connections between her insights into a churches culture, internal struggles, and…
By: Jennifer Williamson on May 5, 2019
In the book, Being Smart about Congregational Change, author Diane Zemke explains why strategies that work for leading change in a business context can miss the mark when it comes to volunteer organizations, such as local churches.[1] One key reason that Zemke gives is the difference in leadership structures. “…leadership, authority, and power in a…
