To say that All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are more meaningful to me this year than in prior years is an understatement. Like so many people, the pandemic has caused me to spend more time thinking about, talking about, and even writing about mortality. Death and dying are topics nearly every person I know have struggled with during the pandemic. This is understandable considering that COVID-19 has claimed the lives of nearly 750,000 American and more than 5,000,000 people worldwide. Read More …
Great New Books – November 2021 (#1958)
The ten best recently published books I read over the last month are (5.0) If God is Love Don't Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith that Makes us Better Humans by John Pavlovitz (Westminster John Knox Press, 2021)(5.0) Shelter Theology: The Religious Lives of People without Homes by Susan J. Dunlap (Fortress Press, 2021)(4.5) A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church: A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Lectionary - Year W by Wilda C. Gafney (Church Publishing, 2021)(4.5) Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Read More …
10 Most Liked Tweets in Last 10 Years (#1957)
My ten most liked tweets of the last ten years are So What? I've tweeted nearly 18,000 times in the 12 years and one month since joining Twitter. Given that volume, it is interesting to see that my top ten most liked tweets are comprised of quotes from a rather small group of seven people Barbara Brown Taylor - 2 tweets (2 of the top 3!)Brian McLaren - 2 tweetsGreg Smith - 2 tweetsRozella Haydee WhiteDiana Butler BassWilliam J. Barber IIILenny Duncan As you read Read More …
More Than An English Professor (#1956)
Last night I attended a Dallas Christian College homecoming event that included a moving presentation recognizing Dr. Cara Snyder's impact. For the last fifty years, she has served as English professor. Dr. Snyder taught nearly every student who has graduated from the school from the 1970s through the 2010s, and the vast majority of students in the institution's seventy-one year history. Based on the formal presentation, personal conversations with alums, and my own experience it is Read More …
Pandemic Worship: 10 Sacred Spaces (#1955)
A year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote "Visiting 50+ Churches in Dallas-Fort Worth," highlighting congregations I had worshipped with since relocating to Texas from Florida. When the pandemic started, I stopped attending worship in person. After experiencing a full year of life without attending corporate worship, I gradually reentered that world. March 7 - I attended my first outdoor worship serviceMarch 14 - I attended my first indoor worship service Now, seven Read More …
Great New Books – October 2021 (#1954)
The ten best recently published books I read over the last month are (4.5) How to Try: Design Thinking and Church Innovation by Lorenzo Lebrija (Church Publishing, 2021)(4.5) Community as Church, Church as Community by Michael Plekon (Cascade Books, 2021)(4.5) Church After: Finding Transformation in Unexpected Change by Anna Mitchell Hall (Cane Mill Press, 2021)(4.0) Generation We: The Power and Promise of Gen Z by AnneMarie Hayek (Lioncrest Publishing, 2021)(4.0) Somehow Saints: More Read More …
Count the Costs (Even the Hidden Ones) (#1953)
Recently, I was in the market for a new vehicle. As someone who has been through this experience eight times, I felt well prepared as my search for a ninth shifted from research to dealership visits for test drives and negotiations. At my first dealership, however, I encountered a mysterious charge I'd never seen before in all of my years of vehicle shopping: AMV. I asked the salesperson to explain the AMV charge on the sticker. He shared that adding a charge called "Adjusted Market Read More …
Keep It Simple (#1952)
Passage for reflection: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 I recently listened as a salesperson spoke eloquently and with great passion. His presentation was polished and perspicacious; his approach was problematic and pretentious. The message he was delivering was likely factually correct, but it was unhelpful. Rather than learning about my needs and tailoring a presentation to address them, he was more concerned with impressing me with his vast product knowledge and sticking to a predetermined Read More …
25 Years, 25 Positions – One Purpose (#1951)
Earlier this week I shared some Labor Day Reflections. In the days since writing that post, I've done some additional reflecting on my own experience of work with a focus on my work since 1996. Over the last 25 years, I've worked for 15 different employers in 25 different positions (excluding short-term work as coach or consultant,). I've often changed roles once joining an organization, achieving four titles once, three titles twice, and two titles twice. And, I've often worked for Read More …
Labor Day Reflections (#1950)
Throughout the day I've been thinking about work, including the role it has played in my life and the ways work has changed during my lifetime. On social media, I've paused to ponder memes exploring advances in workers' rights and on pictures of friends having fun outdoors. I've also taken time to read a number of articles exploring the end of unemployment benefits for 7 million American workers and the end of a $300 week federal supplement to state unemployment benefits for 3 million more Read More …