Tag: change

  • When GOD Gives Conflicting Instructions

    On her blog yesterday, the Rev. Susan Russell announced a Celebration of Equality.  It is a really special event in the life of her Pasadena congregation and I’m sure is going to be an awesome sight.  In the midst of this celebration is a “sneak preview” of a new documentary about the Rt. Rev. V.…

  • On Creating More Hassles

    In today’s blog post, “On creating a hassle,” Seth Godin writes: To quote Merlin Mann, “You don’t let the guy with the broom control how many elephants are in the parade.” Harsh to say, but the fact is that great storytellers and artists and ruckus makers manage to insulate themselves from the people they’re going…

  • The New Authority: Trust

    It comes down to trust.  Our current behavior demonstrates that we don’t trust the system, we simply rely on it and expect it to function.  Then when it doesn’t, we condemn it.  Sometimes we even argue that the system can’t do it.  And even then we still don’t hold the community responsible for cleaning up the mess. Perhaps this…

  • Mike Friesen: The Science of Forgiveness

    In a quick read, Mike Friesen describes the scientific underpinnings of why some are so easy to forgive and why others are so challenged by it. I remember a Sunday School teacher threatening my class with a verse when I was a little boy, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” I remember him teaching that…

  • Changing the Church is Like Changing Diapers

    Changing the Church is Like Changing Diapers

    For many, the idea of change in the church is like being asked to change diapers. It is…unpleasant. They are messy, stinky, and unpredictable. Sometimes the odor is unbearable. And sometimes the entire exercise gets you covered in it. Not to mention the times in which the baby pees directly on you! Even those that…

  • 6 Keys to Engaging Seniors in Church

    Growing up, my favorite people in church fell into the “senior” category.  They were the most engaged in my life and were so happy to see me.  I wasn’t a nuisance, even when I was incredibly embarrassing to my parents.  I was so profoundly loved by the seniors at Trinity Episcopal in Alpena, Michigan. This category,…

  • Bad Science, Infant Cereal, and Church Tradition

    In her post, “Why Ditch The Infant Cereals?” KristenM at Food Renegade makes a compelling case for not giving cereal to babies before they are one year-old.  The case is made of two important arguments: 1) What is developmentally and biologically appropriate and 2) There is no “traditional” basis for it. Against these two arguments,…

  • Tweeting in Church: a Good Gateway Drug

    Tweeting at a wedding: an Episcopal wedding, no less!  Two social media savvy people were married Saturday in a fully-media-integrated wedding.  Their plan, to heavily invest the event with all of their contacts, resides in that wonderful terrain in which we figure out what we consider “acceptable”.  The couple, blogging at #3xCharm, have made the…