By: Jennifer Vernam on April 3, 2023
In week 11 of our blog posts, Kim shared with us a thought “God made the brain so we shouldn’t be surprised that neuroscience and theology can overlap.”[1] The reading from this week in Your Brain at Work[2] offered me another chapter in this area of discovery. David Rock develops an analogy of our minds…
By: John Fehlen on April 3, 2023
This is a recent day in the life of MY Brain… 0615 hours (that’s 6:15 am in military time, which makes this whole post sound way more legit): I woke up, without my alarm, having sensed the Lord’s voice to my heart saying, “Come and be with me.” So I got up, grabbed my Bible…
By: Kally Elliott on April 3, 2023
It’s after 2pm and I’m just sitting down to write this blog post. I know better than to try to write cohesively after 2pm. The afternoon is not a good time for me to try to think creatively or even to try to organize my simple thoughts into a readable blog post. By 2pm I’ve…
By: Laura Fleetwood on April 3, 2023
I saw a meme last week that said, “Don’t work God into your schedule. Work your schedule around God.” That’s a good introductory thought for a review of Vincent Miller’s book, Consuming Religion. This book examines two forces that are at work in the world: religion and consumerism and how they interact with each other.…
By: Alana Hayes on April 2, 2023
When I was a little girl I would create maps of our farmland with old napkins left in the truck and designate places that had an important value to me as a child. Whether it be the best spot to dig for worms, the place that denoted a dreaded snake hole, or even an x…
By: Alana Hayes on April 2, 2023
Gendered stereotypes tend to have an innocent until proven guilty vibe and they make me very tired. Let’s start with the line boys are better than girls at sports. My daughter and I would tell you differently. Although her and I’s chosen sports differ.. here are two examples to debunk that awful line with us…
By: Tonette Kellett on April 2, 2023
Vincent Miller, in his book Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture, talked about the commodification of religion in our modern society. There are many examples that can be given of this, but I think my favorite example is the church’s love for and adoration of Mother Theresa. [1] Modern Christians will…
By: Todd E Henley on April 2, 2023
September 2022, I was not only excited about starting school, but I was pretty sure and excited about my NPO. Even though I knew I would be working on my NPO I was thankful it was pretty much set and had to be tweaked a little. After two months of school, I was getting some…
By: Alana Hayes on April 2, 2023
Have you ever wondered what makes that leader different? Why did they stand out among the world? What risks were they able to take than others around them and why? When reading his book for the second time I couldn’t help but compare everything my husband and I have gone through within starting our own…
By: Caleb Lu on April 2, 2023
I can’t remember the last time I listened to an entire album. I used to love listening to entire CDs. And because I only had a few, I knew everything about the artists. I think partially, I could go deeper and learn more about them because I wasn’t exposed to as many. There weren’t ways…
By: Alana Hayes on April 2, 2023
Peter G. Northouse’s book “Leadership – Theory and Practice” is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive and robust publications on leadership. It presents an overview of many leadership theories, approaches, and views while highlighting the importance of situational context in successful leadership. The book examines power and influence, motivation, communication, decision-making, conflict resolution,…
By: Jenny Steinbrenner Hale on April 1, 2023
Many Americans are born into a consumer culture. Our bodies and hearts are hardwired for a consumer system and our brains follow, knowingly or unknowingly. Can we possibly disengage ourselves from this life routine and worldview? Miller and Clark: Christians Entrenched in a Capitalist Landscape Vincent Miller, author of Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice…
By: Chad McSwain on April 1, 2023
Your Easter Shirt Finding the right outfit for Easter can be challenging [1]. You want to look good in the pictures and rightly convey the meaning of the day, but, no worries, I received an email from my favorite t-shirt company with the perfect shirt – marketed in a timely manner, of course. In fact,…
By: Alana Hayes on March 31, 2023
Stephen King’s book “On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft” is both a book on his writing craft and a personal account of his long career as a master storyteller. The author takes readers on an intimate journey through his writing problems, creative process, and insights into being a successful writer in today’s competitive…
By: Alana Hayes on March 31, 2023
Although geological knowledge and technical expertise are needed for gold mining, a different sort of prospecting is required for the mining of leaders. Coaching is essential for turning an individual into a strong leader. However there are some other keys such as time, patience, and a willingness to experiment with new methods. “We sometimes judge…
By: Alana Hayes on March 31, 2023
Um, hello body…. This is your captain speaking… is your transmitter that’s regulating all of your body’s dopamine levels turned on? While I appreciated your initial interest and motivation – I wonder if you have maybe taken on too much. This is the conversation that I wanted to have with my body after reading this…
By: Michael O'Neill on March 30, 2023
Consuming Religion Consuming Religion, Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture by David Miller is an insightful look at how consumer culture has affected religious beliefs and practices over the past century. Miller uses economic justice, environmental ethics, and postmodern theory, among other things, to show how much consumerism has taken over our lives.…
By: Audrey Robinson on March 30, 2023
Peter G. Northouse, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus of Communication in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University. Northouse has spent over 30 years teaching leadership. His book, Leadership: Theory and Practice, is the world’s best-selling academic textbook on leadership.[1] Once you open the book and start to review the table of contents, you…
By: Troy Rappold on March 30, 2023
Patrick J. Deneen finished writing, Why Liberalism Failed, three weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Although unplanned, the timing was impeccable, and in part, explains why this book has made such a big splash. This book is not about policy and whether Republicans or Democrats have the best approaches. This book speaks to the cultural…
By: Kristy Newport on March 27, 2023
Personality, by Daniel Nettle, has been sitting in a pile of books on my shelf, ready to read, for a couple of months. I looked forward to reading this book as I typically enjoy books on psychology and any information which will aid me in helping clients in my clinical practice. Unfortunately, I found this…
