By: Deve Persad on March 13, 2014
It would be of little surprise to know, to those who are familiar with our family, that when it comes to preparing for a family vacation, my wife takes care of most of the details. She’s actually quite amazing at it. From food to clothing that we’ll need to take, to making sure our little…
By: Sam Stephens on March 13, 2014
Communication and its contents play an important role in leadership. In the same seam, a leader’s actions, the way they are perceived and their impact upon people has equal significance. The implications of whatever is said and done by a leader has positive or negative consequences. These are widely discussed leadership principles that are well…
By: Chris Ellis on March 13, 2014
Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space and Influence by MaryKate Morse was this week’s assignment for my D.Min program. It dissects the intersection of body, leadership and power. She writes, “Leadership happens all the time, and it happens when we use our bodies to influence others. “(Loc 143). Prior to our London Advance I hadn’t…
By: Sharenda Roam on March 13, 2014
Morse Code for Using Power: “A Kiss” (Acknowledgment), “Water”(Hospitality) & “Oil” (Honor) In her book “Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space and Influence” MaryKate Morse discusses four kinds of power and gives an excellent and moving description of these using the story of Jesus, the Sinner Woman and Simon. “Expert Power” belongs to someone who…
By: Fred Fay on March 11, 2014
Interacting with popular culture as a Christian has been an interesting journey. In the church of my youth we couldn’t dance, drink alcohol or go to movies and a few other abominations. We looked at pop culture with suspicion. When I was in middle school a friend asked if I had heard the song “I’m…
By: Miriam Mendez on March 9, 2014
This week marks the beginning of Lent. For many of us, we understand Lent as a time of sacrifice and deprivation. It is a time of “giving up” stuff, habits and patterns, eating chocolate, drinking coffee, soda, watching television, limiting our internet time, withdrawing from playing solitaire, doing less shopping at the mall, and the…
By: Mark Steele on March 9, 2014
When was the last time you sent an email with a typo or an emotional response and regretted it? Did you know Abraham Lincoln had a similar problem? According to Daniel Forrester in his book Consider; harnessing the power of reflective thinking in your organization, Daniel tells us about Abraham Lincoln’s communication habits and his…
By: Richard Volzke on March 9, 2014
Religious Symbolism and the Church Miller’s book, Consuming Religion, summed up the consumer driven culture of many Christian denominations and theologies found in our world today Churches and Christian non-profit organizations have experienced great wealth and membership growth when they have been able to meet the demands of their constituents. This can be both positive…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on March 8, 2014
My title may be simply words to one of Madonna’s songs, as she sang about her own personal taste as a material girl. However, her conclusion is quite accusatory as she sings, “Experience has made me rich – And now they’re after me, ‘cause everybody’s…living in a material world.” Her statement implies that living in…
By: Carol McLaughlin on March 8, 2014
Growing up in non-liturgical churches my understanding and comprehension of Lent was filled with indifference. I remember my cousin giving up oatmeal-raisin cookies during Lent. I could not for the life of me understand why he would do such a thing especially since oatmeal-raisin cookies were not my favorite. Maybe he did it because his…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on March 7, 2014
Starbucks Medium Ethiopia Whole Beans! Starbucks Medium roasted Ethiopia Starbucks coffee is my favorite coffee and I enjoy it every morning. It has the best flavor and aroma of all other coffee brands I have tried. A picture of a coffee pot with a cup on the brown foil packaging reminds me of home. However,…
By: John Woodward on March 7, 2014
On my early trips to Romania, I was captivated by the beauty and otherness of the Orthodox churches I visited. For a protestant, the mosaics, icons, candles and abundance of gold were all breathtaking and totally foreign to me. I found that one could purchase official icons in a number of stores throughout Romania. A…
By: Liz Linssen on March 7, 2014
Cavanaugh’s book, Being Consumed, explains to the reader some of the problems of Consumerism, while offering Christians informed, alternative ways of living. Miller’s book, Consuming Religion, on the other hand, focuses on what excessive consumerism has done to the practices of religion. That is, how the dynamics of consumerism have been brought into the playing…
By: Sam Stephens on March 7, 2014
Dr. Tony Campolo in one of his messages I heard many years ago, mentions the results of a sociological study done of 50 men and women above the age of 95. They were all asked what they would do differently if given the chance to live their lives over again. The responses as he points…
By: Julie Dodge on March 7, 2014
This week we had the great opportunity to read two, count them, TWO, books. Monday night I went to my book shelf to pull out the two assigned books. But wait! One was missing. Apparently I failed to order it. It was not on the shelf. What to do, what to do? I promptly turned…
By: Michael Badriaki on March 7, 2014
I thought of Ash Wednesday differently during the course of this week’s reading assignments. Miller’s book Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in A Consuming Market, and Cavanaugh book’s, Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire; bore the effects of a one-two punch combination. Ash symbolized the nostalgia with which I still think about consumption as…
By: Bill Dobrenen on March 7, 2014
In our reading for this week[1], Vincent J. Miller, Associate Professor of Theology at Georgetown University, writes about consumer culture. Unlike some of our other readings, Miller offers some suggestions/solutions for the Church to consider on how to flourish in the midst of the consumeristic bombardment experienced in the world around us. One of…
By: Phil Smart on March 6, 2014
My daughter is embarrassed when I try and imitate the “happy dance” done by an actor on a commercial for the Choice Hotels lodging chain. He is so happy after a nice night of sleep for a good price that he dances on his suitcase. It is quite enjoyable to watch – pure joy and…
By: Chris Ellis on March 6, 2014
If I were a ship at sea, Consider: Harnessing the Power of Reflective Thinking In Your Organization by Daniel Forrester would be a shot across my bow. I am, by design, an activist. I would rather be doing something than only talking and thinking about doing something. And that is my problem. As my natural…
By: Ashley Goad on March 6, 2014
While reading through Vincent Miller’s Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture and William Cavanaugh’s Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire, one image continually popped into my head: Don Draper. Don Draper, played by the dapper Jon Hamm, is the central character on the American Movie Channel series Mad Men. The series…
