By: Scott Dickie on November 4, 2024
I found this to be a difficult assignment for a variety of reasons. First, it was difficult to determine how much depth and detail I should include concerning my beliefs about colonialism and slavery. Second, it was perhaps more difficult to articulate where those beliefs emerged from. Third, neither author, but particularly Black, had a…
By: Jeff Styer on November 4, 2024
Before I could even start reading Carol Dweck’s Mindset book, I simply mentioned the title to my wife.[1] She, an educator, replied that is the big buzz word in education, everyone knows that book, there are lesson plans and bulletin board, etc. all focused around Dweck’s mindset theory. This statement was verified by the bulletin…
By: John Fehlen on November 4, 2024
What is a summary of your most deeply held convictions before the readings? To answer this question, I need to quote myself from a recent blog post: “I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. By small, I mean less than 1500 people. We were an hour from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I mention that because…
By: Tim Clark on November 4, 2024
My most deeply held convictions about slavery were probably formed from a combination of my upbringing, my understanding of history, my grasp of the Bible, God’s heart for people, and my exposure to a global community. The brief one-sentence version of that conviction would go like this: “Slavery is always bad.” To unpack that a…
By: Kally Elliott on November 4, 2024
My most deeply held convictions before the readings were that both, colonialism and slavery were and are harmful, and frankly, evil systems that continue to cause immense suffering for those they oppress. I believe we need to take a hard look at our history, owning up to our collective and personal failings, and roll up…
By: Jenny Dooley on November 4, 2024
My Current Beliefs and Convictions Slavery I believe slavery is a dehumanizing evil because it deprives human beings created in the image of God of their basic human and universal legal rights that restrict their freedom of movement, self-determination, and dignity. I know slavery comes in many forms, including sexual, chattel, bonded, and forced labor.…
By: Glyn Barrett on November 4, 2024
Carol S. Dweck is a psychologist and professor at Stanford University, best known for her research on mindsets, whose work explores how beliefs about intelligence impact motivation and success. Despite her success in an academic context, I am struck by her down-to-earth, easy-to-reach manner and application of the work contained within the book Mindset:…
By: Adam Cheney on November 4, 2024
Over the last few months, life has been pretty hard in our household. In fact, there was one point while in Washington D.C. that I almost had to catch a late-night flight and return home early. Navigating adoption trauma with our son has been harder on our whole family than I ever imagined it to…
By: Russell Chun on November 4, 2024
Cyrillic: Большинство всегда угнетает меньшинство. Romanized: Bol’shinstvo vsegda ugnetayet men’shinstvo. The Majority always victimizes the minority. Part 1, Summary Part 2 What I learned Epilogue Part 1, Summary – The majority ALWAYS victimizes the minority in EVERY country. The sin of Pride in the majority looking down on the minority who look, act, and…
By: Noel Liemam on November 3, 2024
“How To Lead When You’re Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence when You Lack Authority, “by Clay Scroggins and forwarded by Andy Stanley. Clay Scroggins was an author, speaker, and the lead pastor at North Point Community Church. His background is undergraduate engineering degree from Georgia Tech and Masters and Doctorate from Dallas Theological Seminary. This…
By: Jana Dluehosh on November 1, 2024
Let me start this week first by apologizing. I am 20 hours late in getting this blog done. I am sorry. I know where I am sorry, which is that it decreases my chance to interact with you all, but perseverance is the word of the semester for me. I make choices each semester on…
By: Dinka Utomo on October 31, 2024
Last June, I attended the International Reformed Theological Institute Conference at our alma mater in Yogyakarta. In a conversation with one of the participants from the Netherlands, we turned to the state of the church in our respective countries. The person showed me data showing that in his country, 51% of people aged 15 and…
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on October 31, 2024
“Only when something is lost can it be found. Only when something dies can it be born again.” [1] I have lamented over the past week about the current state of the United States. It has been an extremely challenging time for me, so difficult that I have had to protect my peace by…
By: Julie O'Hara on October 31, 2024
The denominational pastors on the east side of the state were gathered for a one-day meeting intended to strengthen relationships and encourage their ministries. While listening to the stories from pastors about how God was moving in their local churches my first impulse was sadness that I had left my church community of over 20…
By: Daren Jaime on October 31, 2024
Living in COVID, we were all were forced to cope with an unprecedented experience. No one ever was forced to live through a pandemic, and for those such as myself in leadership, we were faced with a plethora of emotional upheavals, daily changes, uphill obstacles, and no apparent expiration date to this life-altering experience. We…
By: Chad Warren on October 31, 2024
I didn’t realize how personal this would become. Over the years, I have seen and read about many leaders publicly addressing their “moral indiscretions.” From a distance, I’ve watched as greed, pride, impurity, and sexual immorality disrupt and damage families, churches, and communities. However, when I received a letter implicating one of my friends and…
By: Diane Tuttle on October 31, 2024
Full disclosure, I like shopping at Hobby Lobby. Perusing the aisles for nonessential holiday decorations or mini kitchen gadgets is relaxing. Don’t judge. I don’t need to purchase anything, but getting lost in doing nothing for a few minutes while Christian music plays throughout the building is surprisingly peaceful, especially for a big retail store…
By: Shela Sullivan on October 31, 2024
The book, ‘The Elephant’s Dilemma: Break Free and Reimagine Your Future at Work” by Jon Bostock is practical and inspiring, [1] published in 2020. The book explores how individuals can break free from their current constraints and reimagine their future in the workplace. According to reviewers, this book inspires readers to take risks and make…
By: Christy on October 31, 2024
There are plenty of books and content around women’s roles in ministry, the home, and society. Like many secondary issues, there is a huge spectrum of thought on what a woman can do, and what it looks like for a woman to flourish. Dr. Joel Green at Fuller Seminary believes women are equally called to…
By: Debbie Owen on October 31, 2024
What is the job of a leader? “To guide people through the unknown to something better than they can imagine,” says Yaseen Dadabhay, therapist and coach. [1] Another way to say that is that the job of leadership is to put on an attitude of constant transformation. (My definition: attitude is what you think and…
