By: Jon Spellman on June 4, 2015
“Liquid Modernity,” “Chaordic Age,” “Post-post—Modernity,” “Post-Christian,” “Post-Church,” uuuuggghhhhh! It’s exhausting! We are forced more and more to navigate nuances, to make values-based decisions while constantly adjusting our vision to ever-morphing shades of grey. That’s what it means to be a church leader today. If I’m being honest, sometimes I just want things to be…
By: Mary Pandiani on June 3, 2015
“Go With The Slow” – Costco’s caption of their most recent The Costco Connection – intrigues me. Yes, many ads of products fill the inside, but the main focus in their Health section concerns subjects such as de-stressing, wellness, spiritual focus, being present, and mindful eating. These articles contradict what would be expected for a…
By: Carol McLaughlin on June 3, 2015
Sometimes I simply marvel at the convergence of concepts and ideas. One feeds the other, provides understanding and forges new connections. This has been true of our reading this week. As I write this I am in Tigard, Oregon, a short distance from the Seminary. I’ve been here since Monday for a face-to-face for Pastoral…
By: Ashley Goad on June 3, 2015
Currently, I am sitting in the Moscow airport. There are two children watching a movie with the sound turned to the highest decibel level possible, and a man has been systematically hammering at the tile floor for close to two hours. This all comes after a 12-hour transatlantic flight. I am tired. My words do…
By: Julie Dodge on June 3, 2015
“What churches need are not more entrepreneurial leaders with wonderful plans for their congregation’s life, but poets with the imagination and gifting to cultivate environments within which people might again understand how their traditional narratives apply to them today.”[1] I have written before about the beauty and challenges of my home church. Our church of…
By: Travis Biglow on June 3, 2015
Uncertainty and Chaos the brothers of change! June 3, 15 This reading was one that I will cherish a lot. I felt like God was talking to me and letting me know that chaos has purpose and its ok. I always feel like chaos is not bad because things that are business as usual get…
By: Deve Persad on June 3, 2015
I’ve never been a fan of the Oreo cookie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the whole thing that I don’t like…I’m not that crazy. The cream part in the middle, that’s where you’ll find me. In fact when I was younger (hmmm, including yesterday) I used to remove the top cookie, eat the middle…
By: Brian Yost on June 3, 2015
“Churches are entering a nowhere land that has come into being in the turbulent waters of societal shift. We have become travelers with maps that are outdated and that no longer describe the landscape.”[1] This quote by Len Hjalmarson captures a key issue in church leadership. There are models of leadership and “doing church”…
By: Dave Young on June 2, 2015
The church I pastor, Alliance Bible Church, is in a place of uncertainty, or as Len Hjalmarson writes “a place of liminality… of a space in-between, a transition point, where old and new collide.” “Limina” is old Latin for threshold.[i] In some ways we wear our “liminality” as a badge – we’re a home of…
By: John Woodward on June 2, 2015
I think Len Hjalmarson has attended my church! Hjalmarson’s articles perfectly captures the nature of my church and puts into words many of my concerns about the way my church functions. And his forecast for my church doesn’t look all that bright as our leaders would have us believe. A little background. I had spent…
By: Michael Badriaki on June 1, 2015
While reading Len Hjalmarson’s article “Broken Futures-Adaptive Challenge and the Church in Transition” I was led to reflect on my travel to Uganda where I’ll be interacting with leaders who are eager to contribute to early childhood education and how the church in Uganda can apply an imaginative and restorative leadership to keep the totality…
By: Miriam Mendez on May 30, 2015
I don’t know whether to laugh, scream, cry or simply be in a state of shock. This was my reaction as I read and flipped through the pages of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. I found myself thinking, “Wow, I thought I had it rough when my mom took away certain…
By: Richard Volzke on May 30, 2015
I must admit that I did not get a lot out of this week’s reading. Amy Chua had some good points in her book, Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother[1]. I agree with her that you should hold your children to high standards. Chua stated that, “the Chinese mother believes that: Schoolwork always comes…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on May 29, 2015
I was mesmerized by this book by Amy Chua entitled The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Chua’s book read like a personal journal of a sadistic-control-driven-mad-woman admitting the difficulties in parenting and the self-inflicted punishment and self-imposed grueling lifestyle of of being so driven. The story intrigued me that I finished the entire book…
By: Carol McLaughlin on May 29, 2015
Maybe I should have been. Surprising words to hear from someone like me. By my own estimation I was probably one of those lenient, compromising mothers Amy Chau writes about in her splendid memoir, Battle of Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Memoirs, at least the very good ones, reveal as much as they inform. The…
By: rhbaker275 on May 29, 2015
I do not follow Facebook closely. I enjoy it as a connection with family and friends; it is not my preferred method of communication. On a recent post a neighbor shared a special achievement of his twelve year old son, Justin.[1] Justin has always been a good athlete and is involved in year-around sports. He…
By: Bill Dobrenen on May 28, 2015
This week’s reading was mysterious and wonderful. Amy Chua had me captivated in the breathtaking story of her amazing family – and her Chinese parenting style. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011) took a lot of courage to write, but even more courage to actually live out. After starting the book, I could not…
By: Michael Badriaki on May 28, 2015
Amy chua who was born in the Year of the Tiger according to her cultural tradition in China, is the author of the book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”. Chua is also a Professor of Law at Yale Law School and written books on culture, globalization, power and empire. Her book on parenting, intra-cultural…
By: Brian Yost on May 28, 2015
In his book Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up, Simon Chan offers a fascinating look into the reality of Asian Theology. He draws a stark contrast between the official method of Asian theology and points to the more prevalent folk or grassroots theology of most Asians. Formal theology is often practiced…
By: Julie Dodge on May 28, 2015
I was born in the Year of the Dragon. I don’t take much (any) stock in astrology, much like Amy Chua, the Tiger mother who tells her own story as a Chinese mother raising two daughters in her satirical memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. [1] Persons born in the Year of the Dragon…
