Ipsos, the world’s third largest market research company, recently published the results of their global survey on social media sharing. The reasons people share include: 37% - to let others know what I believe in and who I really am, 30% - to recommend a product, service, movie, book, etc., 29% - to add my support to a cause, an organization or a belief, and 26% - to share unique things. So What? Social media managers and others tasked with overseeing the social media presence of Read More …
Proposed Ban on Religious Symbols (#1178)
The newly proposed Charter of Quebec Values includes a ban on "overt and conspicuous religious symbols worn by government employees." The possibility of this ban has led many religious people to protest. Over 1,000 people marched through city streets on Saturday to protest the proposal. So What? Governmental agencies certainly have responsibility for determining what is and what is not appropriate for their employees to wear. Citizens, however, can and should speak up Read More …
The Value of a Blog Post (#1177)
Rob Jenkins, a community college professor, recently wrote a blog post for the Chronicle of Higher Education in which he questioned the value of blogging. Most who teach in higher education are involved in a world that requires them to publish in order to retain their livelihood, yet blog posts are often not counted as published material. Since blogs have the power to shape how people think about issues, Jenkins asks important questions: Which ultimately does more good—an article or Read More …
Pastoral Prayer for Sept. 15 (#1176)
I offered the following pastoral prayer yesterday on the occasion of my first Sunday in a new interim ministry role. Alpha and Omega, you are the beginning and the end. You alone see the world without the boundary of time. Those of us who live with the burden of time measure our days and count our hours. We consult our calendars and manage our moments. Help us to overcome the tendency to confuse busyness with blessedness. God of new beginnings who is making all things Read More …
Sermon: A Welcome Back Party (#1175)
This morning marks my second consecutive Sunday preaching at United Church of Marco Island, and is my first in the role of Interim Senior Minister. The text for today's message is Luke 15:1-32. Sermon Excerpt Every church has an amazing history. Many, perhaps nearly all of us, became a part of this community of faith after participating in multiple other churches. The first church I served in a ministerial capacity holds a special place in my heart. I accepted the call to Read More …
Year-End Giving Appeals (#1174)
Many nonprofit organizations, including churches, receive a great deal of their annual budgets in the form of end of year giving. Matt Steen, creator of Church Simple, considered the wisdom circulating via multiple recent articles of note regarding how best to time end of year giving appeals. According to the latest Google study, 3/4 of potential end of year donors begin researching how they will spend their year end dollars in September. So What? For many congregations, the annual Read More …
Learn Together (#1173)
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 wrote about the power of togetherness in learning. Godin affirms that mere access to educational opportunities is not adequate. Completion rates from MOOCs are among the strongest recent data backing up this argument. Given this Read More …
My New Call (#1172)
It is official: I am now serving as Interim Senior Minister of United Church on Marco Island (FL). The congregation was established in 1966, and now consists of 300+ followers of the way of Jesus. United Church is committed to Christian unity, and is affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and the United Church of Christ. So What? While most of my previous ministry positions were firsts for the congregations I served (the first time they Read More …
Precious Moments Christianity (#1171)
Roger Olson, professor of theology at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, recently blogged about something he calls Precious Moments Christianity (a term he borrows from Charles Colson). The term is intended to lead readers to think about Precious Moments figurines or paraphernalia, and to view Christianity through that lens. Olson identifies ten characteristics of Precious Moments Christianity: No or few expectations of members; Promotion of what Read More …
Christians Should be Saying (#1170)
Christian Piatt is the author of multiple books, including Banned Questions About Jesus and Banned Questions About the Bible. Recently, he shared a list of ten things he feels Christians should say more often. His list includes: How can I help? I don't know. I could be wrong. So What? Our vocabulary is of great importance. As people who follow the way of Jesus, we should be agents of love who seek to help others and all of creation while admitting the Read More …