Rachel Blom is a seasoned youth ministry leader who founded Youth Leaders Academy: "a blog aimed at training youth leaders worldwide to serve better in youth ministry." Recently she wrote about her understanding of the shift underway in the preferred model or paradigm for youth ministry. More specifically, she believes it is shifting from big youth ministry to smaller youth ministry; from event-driven and program-oriented to personal and relational; from making Read More …
Review of Social Media for Educators (#0936)
Meet the Author Tanya Joosten is Interim Director of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Learning Technology Center (LTC) where almost 3000 instructors (faculty, academic staff, and TA's) are supported in their use of digital technologies to facilitate teaching and learning. She has over ten years experience teaching online and blended courses in communications, co-chairs the UWM Online Program Council, is the campus liaison for online and blended programming, is a mentor for the Read More …
Leadership Must-Dos (#0935)
Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie is a seasoned executive leader with over two decades of experience in the cable television industry, who has partnered with Liz Strauss to create Inside-Out Thinking (a venture centered around the development of great leaders who can make a difference in any organization) and SOBCon (a business “think tank” with a Social Media twist). On his blog, he recently shared his list of three must-dos for great leaders: Establish two-way trust Read More …
Dumb Ways to Die/Live (#0934)
Last month, a rather unusual video sharing oh so many dumb ways to die went viral. The video was originally designed as part of a safety campaign for Metro Trains in Melbourne, although I suspect most viewers are unaware of such. So What? It is easy to smile at the catchy tune and recognize that all of the choices listed are truly dumb ways to die. As you listen to the song, think about life and ask yourself: how many dumb ways are there to live? Is your own life Read More …
Hurry Up & Be Generous (#0933)
Seth Godin is the author of twelve books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change, and work. He is also the master of saying a great deal using relatively few words on his blog. Recently he shared that while people are in a hurry to do many things, generosity isn't usually on that list. Godin then asked a powerful question: What happens when we adopt the posture of being in a hurry to be generous? So What? As we Read More …
Review of Help Thanks Wow (#0932)
Meet the Author Anne Lamott is the author of seven novels and five best-selling nonfiction books. She was honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has taught at the University of California - Davis. Lamott’s biweekly Salon Magazine “online diary,” Word by Word, was voted The Best of the Web by TIME magazine. Book Basics Help Wow Thanks: The Three Essential Prayers is simple, honest, and personal. Lamott shares her understanding of and Read More …
Borg on the UCC (#0931)
Progressive Christian scholar Marcus Borg served as the Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. He is the author of numerous books, including Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written (my review) Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power –And How They Can Be Restored (my review) Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Read More …
Read & Reclaim the Bible (#0930)
Ronald Hendel, professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at the University of California - Berkeley, recently blogged about why people should still be reading the Bible. While many today opt for extreme positions - ignoring it or interpreting it in a very literal manner - he proposes an alternative: a respectful approach that emphasizes the impact of rather than the historicity of the stories contained within its pages. He writes: . . . it is a book that lies at the heart of Read More …
Proof of God’s Love (#0929)
Crave, the debut album of for King & Country features a song based on I Corinthians 13: "The Proof of Your Love." The lyrics of this song invite followers of Jesus to live authentic lives that display God's love: So let my life be the proof The proof of Your love Let my love look like You And what You're made of How you lived, how You died Love is sacrifice So let my life be the proof The proof of Your love So What? The core of Christianity is living life by the Jesus Read More …
Review of Hidden America (#0928)
Meet the Author Jeanne Marie Laskas is an associate professor and the director of the writing program at the University of Pittsburgh. Previously (1994-2008), she was a syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, writing weekly essays: "Significant Others." She is the author of six books, including an award-winning trilogy of memoirs: Fifty Acres and a Poodle (2000), The Exact Same Moon (2003), and Growing Girls (2006). Book Basics Read More …