By: Brian Yost on November 6, 2014
Anthony Elliott’s Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction is a fascinating little book. Well ok, it may not be little, but it is fascinating none-the-less. The structure of the book makes it very usable as a reference book. The Kindle version, in particular makes it easy to navigate from the contents page to the chapters and…
By: Liz Linssen on November 6, 2014
“Jason”[1] is a compassionate and sincere man and has been a member of our church from the beginning of the church plant. He first came with his two young children until his wife, who left him for another man, decided to not only ruin their marital relationship, but take his children away from him too.…
By: Dave Young on November 6, 2014
The world is constantly changing and there are some brave people who want to understand those changes on a societal level; and there are those who want to see how those movements impact our quality of life, well-being and community. Speaking about social theory and practical impacts Professor Charles Lemert says: “For others, it might…
By: Travis Biglow on November 6, 2014
Reading this week has been masterful. I came to the understanding that social standards are pretty much designed by people who have an advatange. Thats what i read. It made me realize how shallow ideas are and how shallow people are trying to measure up to what society says. Going to South Africa really opened…
By: Jon Spellman on November 6, 2014
Stickin’ it to the MAN! As long as there are people living in societies there will be social classes. As long as there are social classes, there will be disparities between those classes — “haves” and “have-nots.” As long as there are “haves” and “have-nots” there will be perceptions of inequality, injustice and oppression;…
By: Nick Martineau on November 6, 2014
Most people consider Wichita, Kansas to be the global center of the world right? I might be misguided but the truth is I don’t have to go very far to see the impact of a global interconnected society. My wife and I had a sweet Guatemalan man do some work on our house. He came…
By: Deve Persad on November 6, 2014
Despite my deepening interest in philosophy and my great love for mathematics, Rene Descartes famous statement, “I think therefore I am”, comes up short. While it is true that the capacity to think is in itself a fairly reliable sign of life, it is more true that thinking is just the beginning, there is so…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on November 6, 2014
“Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction” by Anthony Elliott has become my favorite read for class so far. For some reason when we first received the reading list way back in August (seems like years ago in some ways) I was able to first obtain Elliott’s book and jumped in on the reading race early. Revisiting…
By: Ashley Goad on November 6, 2014
I must admit, my favorite class in Seminary was Christian Ethics. I loved every second of the semester. Though I am not much of a “theory” person, I enjoyed picking apart the philosophers’ thoughts, and putting the principles into practical application. Today I sat at a local coffee shop with a high school student, and…
By: Mary Pandiani on November 5, 2014
Urban Dictionary Definition of Renaissance Woman: She can mix the knowledge of what is considered disparate spheres into a new whole, by using her most unique method of analysis based on her very vast, deep, curiosity and experiences… which led to a very vast & deep knowledge, that she is so anxious to apply to everyday…
By: Miriam Mendez on November 3, 2014
As I read through Edwin Friedman’s book, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, I was reminded of one of my favorite verses in the New Testament: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”[1] These are words of endurance and perseverance.…
By: Clint Baldwin on November 3, 2014
Friedman’s A Failure of Nerve is just the text needed for further invigorating – rather than truncating – conversation encouraging a robust engagement between a universally interconnected moral coding (however, nuanced) and civic participation. Of course, reading anything related to “universal” puts a lot of peoples’ radar on high alert with warning sirens flashing and resounding in…
By: Len Hjalmarson on November 1, 2014
hey all, I see you have been reading McGrath! Fun stuff eh? I’ve tended to see the engagement we have as three way — a trialogue with the gospel, church, and world (culture and our experience in the world). But it seems to me that one of the things we are learning is that we…
By: rhbaker275 on October 31, 2014
The assigned task of reading Edwin H. Friedman’s book, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in an Age of Quick Fix, was for a moment a daunting task. I began as usual by perusing the table of contents and scanning through the chapter headings and sub-headings. Nothing different here although a few words jumped out creating…
By: Stefania Tarasut on October 31, 2014
I first read Edwin Friedman’s book, A failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, in the fall of 2009. I didn’t realize just how much I learned from this book until I picked it up again. His thoughts on self-differentiation changed the way that I lead and interact with people in…
By: Bill Dobrenen on October 31, 2014
I was in an academic department meeting this week. These are meetings that I endure rather than enjoy. I even find myself taking notes in code sometimes: WAIH (Why am I here?); WISSA (Why is she speaking so much?); O & O (One and on); LHM (Lord have mercy). Our department chair is a…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on October 31, 2014
In his book Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix: A Failure of Nerve, Edwin H Friedman presents unprecedented insight on leadership from his great wealth of experience working as a pulpit rabbi, organizational consultant, and family therapist. Friedman uncovers the failure of leadership affecting America’s civilization today, which he refers to as a…
By: Michael Badriaki on October 31, 2014
A few months ago I watched Bob Schieffer’s interview on “Face of the Nation” with former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright. Albright summed up the world’s current condition by saying “the world is a mess.” Madam Secretary is right. Her interview focused on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the Gaza and Israel…
By: Carol McLaughlin on October 31, 2014
There once was a dreamer that dreamed a dream. This dream occurred several times over the years. Sometimes the setting varied, but there was always a common element. There was water present. At times this meant the setting was a coastal town and other times the water was something to be crossed. In either situation…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on October 31, 2014
So many good books so little time. Again, another great author. Another great book. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin H. Friedman is one of those books that I will continue to return to in order to be reminded that good leadership cannot be synthesized down to…
