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 …
change
Struck (#1944)
On Wednesday afternoon, I was driving from East Dallas to Mesquite for a meeting. The drive was going according to plan until it wasn't. Without warning, I was struck from behind by another SUV. Over the last few days I've reflected on the experience and the life changes that have followed: Health. Thankfully neither party was seriously injured. The many safety features on both vehicles performed as designed.Priorities. The other driver felt his next meeting so important that after Read More …
Thinking Theologically: Exploring 5 Tweets (#1931)
I've been tweeting as @SoWhatFaith since 2009. In 2021, the majority of my tweets have been quotes from new books. Interestingly, according to Twitter's built in analytics, my top tweets this year consist of four such tweets alongside one I wrote in response to a very difficult day. I invite you to read these five tweets, and select one to explore in greater depth. Carry the words of that tweet with you for a few days, then share your reflections. Brian McLaren. "Eventually, I came to Read More …
Giving Up the Tech Averse Church (#1923)
For Lent, I’m giving up something big: the church I always knew. And, unlike past Lenten disciplines that ended on Easter, this change is one I expect to be permanent. Slow to Change I remember learning in seminary that the church in all of its forms tends to change more slowly than the dominant culture. And, I remember hearing cases for why this was positive as well as ways in which it could be negative. Additionally, I recall a phase known to many as the seven last Read More …
A Year of Change (#1767)
Last week I was asked to summarize my experience of 2018 with a single world. After a slight pause, I replied "change." 2018 has been a year filled with personal and professional change. Here's my Top 10 List: Living. For the first time in my life, I'm living an urban lifestyle (in the 15th largest city in the United States). Moving. My wife and I moved from a two story suburban home with a golf course view to a four story downtown dwelling with a city view. Read More …
Changing Jobs For the 20th Time (#1748)
People change jobs. 1979 Frequent job changes are common today, but holding many jobs over the course of one's adult lifetime has actually been common for quite some time. While a snapshot of any given point in time is helpful, a longitudinal consideration of a given cohort across time paints a more complete picture of job changes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, which is a survey of nearly 10,000 men and Read More …
When “It Still Works” Isn’t Good Enough (#1621)
For the better part of a year, my wife and I have been renovating the house we call our home. While we have updated many houses over the years, this time our efforts are more comprehensive. We are committed to refashioning it to our tastes and to remaking it for 2016. As the first phase was nearing completion, it became clear a second phase was needed to handle items that still worked fine but were no longer good enough. When 1989 was placed side-by-side with 2016, it was hard Read More …
So Many Life Changes (#1590)
Whether or not you have ever heard of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale also known as the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, you are likely familiar with the idea that people who experience many significant life changes in a relatively short period of time are at an increased risk for illness. This scale is a well known and frequently utilized way to self-assess the amount of change a person has experienced. Each life change has a numeric score associated with it, and the total of Read More …
Embracing New Perspectives (#1579)
My wife and I have been homeowners as long as we have been a couple with a small gap between the sale of one home and purchase of another years ago. Normal for us has been owning one home, except for temporarily owning two while in the process of relocating. When the housing bubble burst and our primary residence was so far underwater we could no longer see the surface, we chose to buy then to buy again in hopes that when the market started to rise again we could Read More …
Stop Redecorating & Start Making Real Changes (#1476)
Tom Ehrich, a writer and Episcopal priest, recently slammed the work of an Episcopal task force. For him, the task force's focus on what can be done at the level of the denomination "seems a bit like redecorating and recalibrating the home office of a company in which the home office plays a minor role." The time for that type of change ended decades ago. The mainline denominations (a group that includes Episcopalians) are a shell of what they once were, and are now "down more than Read More …