By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on February 28, 2018
There is a Native American legend that speaks to the warring of good and evil within us. It is said that within each of us is a white dog and a black dog, and you feed the one you want to grow stronger. “The reality is we can never completely eradicate our dark side”[1] but…
By: Katy Drage Lines on February 28, 2018
You know that feeling you get when someone speaks glowingly about a person that you think very little of? You roll your eyes a bit, and if you’re a grace-full person, try to think of some polite way to respond. To be honest, it was difficult for me to work my way through Overcoming the…
By: Dan Kreiss on February 28, 2018
Some of you already know. Many of you will understand more after this post. This book was written for me and about me, it simply came into my hands several years too late. The ‘dark’ or ‘unexplored’ side of leadership has already spewed out, causing havoc to family, friends, colleagues, and people I serve in…
By: Mary Walker on February 28, 2018
It is unfortunately true that in our day the ministries of many prominent leaders have been compromised by moral and ethical failures. This is not only tragic for the people involved in these problems, but it is a black mark on the church. It is also very sad to think of how we are letting…
By: Jake Dean-Hill on February 28, 2018
So many statements in Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures by Gary McIntosh resonated with me and my work. The author’s definition of the Dark Side is what keeps me in business as a therapist. McIntosh defines the Dark Side as “the inner urges, compulsions,…
By: Chip Stapleton on February 25, 2018
I was first assigned the seminal book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Nol l as part of an undergrad religion course and I knew after reading the now ubiquitous opening sentence of the book, ‘The Scandal of the Evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.’ I knew that I didn’t…
By: Greg on February 23, 2018
I love being unique when finding a gift for birthdays or Christmas. Distinction in the midst of conformity is what calls to me. As an American, we fight to be individuals or fight to be recognized as someone special-more than an award for participation. We like to find our individualism believing we have overcome any…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on February 23, 2018
“Fundamentalist naiveté concerning science was matched by nineteenth century traits that undercut the possibility for a responsible intellectual life…included a weakness for treating the verses of the Bible as pieces in a jigsaw puzzle that needed only to be sorted and then fit together to possess a finished picture of divine truth; an overwhelming tendency…
By: Kristin Hamilton on February 23, 2018
The only thing I love more than teaching is learning. Some people love jewelry, I just want more books. And book discussions. And journal articles. And classes. I admit it, I am completely addicted to learning. I’ve been in grad school longer than most people are in high school and college combined, and I still…
By: Trisha Welstad on February 23, 2018
At age thirteen I was pretty obsessed with being and looking ‘cool’. Going from the top of the food chain in grade school to being part of the new younger group of kids in middle school who were coming from several feeder schools, made me want to both fit in and stand out. I wanted…
By: Shawn Hart on February 22, 2018
Perhaps watching episodes of the X-Files while reading Heath & Potter’s book “The Rebel Sell” was not the wisest decision I made this week. While taking my journey through communism to consumerism, and trying to visualize things through the eyes of Kurt Cobain, Adolph Hitler, Sigmund Freud and Fox Mulder, I kept hoping to myself…the…
By: Kyle Chalko on February 22, 2018
Even though I was just a 10-year-old boy, I still remember the moment Hulk Hogan, pulled out the black and white nWo (New World Order) shirt and turned his back on the WCW and betrayed his partner with a leg drop. Hogan was the good guy! He was the Real American! Fight for the rights…
By: Jay Forseth on February 22, 2018
In 1987, I took my mom (in her wheelchair) to a Billy Graham Crusade at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. I was 21 years old, mom was nearing the end of her life, but she wanted to hear this evangelist no matter what, so she could see with her own eyes folks “flood the…
By: Jason Turbeville on February 22, 2018
In their book The Rebel Sell: Ho the CounterCulture Became Consumer Culture Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter make the argument that being “counterculture” is actually not a strike against capitalism and consumerism. In fact, it feeds directly into capitalisms ultimate goals, to package and resell what they believed to be fighting against it. I have always…
By: Stu Cocanougher on February 22, 2018
“The mind is important because God is important.” 1 – Mark Noll In May of 1984, I sat in the pew of First Baptist Church, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee for the annual baccalaureate service. I was an upcoming High School graduate, ready for the next chapter in my life. The pastor, a man who…
By: Jean Ollis on February 22, 2018
The company started by providing full time jobs for local artisans in Costa Rica…their artisan community “has expanded from Costa Rica to El Salvador, India, and more. Now 200+ artisans can depend on steady income in positive working environments, thanks to the support of Pura Vida bracelets customers.” They have partnered with “over 174 different charities…
By: Lynda Gittens on February 22, 2018
“There wasn’t a major Protestant leader in America who obstructed King’s Beloved Community more than Billy Graham did.” by Michael E. Long, author of “Billy Graham and the Beloved Community: America’s Evangelist and the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. Author Mark Noll is a historian of American Church Culture. He addresses the influence…
By: Mark Petersen on February 22, 2018
“Wanna buy a watch?” The words were repeated, “Wanna buy a watch?” Mumbled under their breath in a stage whisper, Chinese vendors surreptitiously approached us in Beijing’s Tienanmen Square. We stopped to view their wares. One of the many watches for sale contained the image of Mao Tse-Tung, arm waving frantically, uselessly. We laughed at…
By: Chris Pritchett on February 22, 2018
When I was a teenager, having grown up in the Roman Catholic tradition, I had no concept of a Christian culture, no awareness that there was such a thing as a Christian sub-culture, and certainly no concept of a Christian youth sub-culture. That is, not until my friend Eric brought me out of a life…
By: Dave Watermulder on February 22, 2018
When I was growing up, my family had a family motto which my Dad established and reinforced through the years. Our family motto was: “no weird kids”. As far as family motto’s go, it isn’t a classic. It isn’t something that will carry through into our adult years or give direction or meaning to our…
