Category: Link Shares

A Current of Anger

Quote of the week from the fascinating book: The Road Trip That Changed The World by Mark Sayers.

“We attempt to escape the mundane through seeking out transcendent experiences. Yet the essence of transcendence is rooted in ‘the other,’ the transcendent is mysterious because it is not known, it is otherly. The culture of illusions, peddling pseudo-transcendence, will always leave us unsatisfied because it does not lead to another, it simply leads back to ourselves.

Underneath all of these pseudo-events there is a dark side to the ‘whoosh’ culture, a current of anger, a resentment against the ‘dream not coming true,’ about the ideal being crushed by reality.”

Identity, Work, Time, Seminary, Lost Things, and Baseball

Check these excellent articles out:

  1. The Pew Research center recently published some interesting findings on “Hispanics and Their Views of Identity” (interesting period, but also given the nature of out neighborhood and family)
  2. Seth Godin with more wisdom…this week it’s about protecting and defending your time so you can do the things that are important (and I would add life-giving)
  3. Scot McKnight (who recently made the jump from North Park University, teaching undergrads, to Northern Seminary, teaching grads) gives us 10 Reasons to Attend Seminary
  4. My friend Ryan on “the things we find”…God has a habit of finding things that are lost!
  5. A baseball article. I love Joey Votto. Watch him hit if you get the chance. Plus some of the stuff in this article is so amazing I don’t even believe it.

Letters From the Past and Future, Questions of Science and Progress, and Other Notables

  1. Gary Molander on “what I would tell my 20-something self.” Interesting stuff…I wonder if I would say similar things?
  2. Michael Ruse claims that science can answer many questions, but it cannot answer this one: “Why is there something rather than nothing?“
  3. Interesting letter from Ronald Regan to his son. Love the line: “how really great is the challenge of proving your masculinity and charm with one woman for the rest of your life.”
  4. Tyler Braun on the 5 shadows of leadership.
  5. Steven Johnson (one of my favorite social commentators) wondering if Facebook will turn out to be its own worst enemy.

Thursday Links

  1. Campus Ministry/Pastoring/Theology themes today…we begin with: Daniel Kirk posts about the importance of community in embodying the “presence” (the new temple).
  2. Ed Cyzewski on what every pastor secretly wants 
  3. Thom Ranier on the five biggest challenges for pastors
  4. The Faith on Campus “blogathon” has produced some great stuff including these two posts from Cor Chmieleski: One reminding us that there is no ministry silver bullet, and…
  5. How to use the summer to get ready for another year of work in campus ministry

5 Great Reads!

  1. The debate about Millennials continues (are they the most narcissistic generation?)
  2. One of my favorites articles on campus ministers in recent history (campus ministers as catechists)
  3. Fascinating article and research on “clergy killers” (how small groups of people are forcing pastors out of churches and the effects it has on those clergy)
  4. Time to plug my blogging friends/family: Sarah with a great post on celebration
  5. And Ryan…read his blog about his experiences in Afghanistan. Seriously, read it. It’s so good!