Archive for May, 2009
« Previous EntriesDid Pres. Obama Borrow a United Methodist Phrase?
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009Did President Obama or one of his speechwriters borrow a phrase from The United Methodist Church when he spoke on abortion at Notre Dame’s commencement? I don’t know, but I’m getting blog posts and emails from people who think he did.
I would have thought it old news, but reaction to the speech still [...]
Faith and Religious War in Somalia
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 As if fractured Somalia were not divided enough, a report this week says Islamic groups are realigning for renewed fighting. Somalia disintegrated 15 years ago when a corrupt government fell. Clan fighting plunged the country into anarchy and it’s remained there.
Jeffrey Gettleman writes in the New York Times that Sufi moderates are joining [...]
The Institution as Connection
Sunday, May 17th, 2009Institutions are necessary, desirable and, for all their faults and foibles, valuable. Here’s why. They can mobilize and when they do they achieve scale. They enhance capacity. They empower. In the case of religious institutions, they are expressions of missional theology.
Mobilization isn’t their most important function, but I’ll start here. When the people of [...]
The British Museum Website
Saturday, May 16th, 2009Speaking of institutions, as I did in the previous post, I received a list of recommended websites from StumbleUpon and the British Museum’s site was listed. When I think of an institution, I think of the British Museum.
I’ve done research there and I find it a remarkably interesting place. And I realize even writing that [...]
Are Institutions Obsolete?
Friday, May 15th, 2009Institutions. We don’t like them or trust them. Sometimes we want to bring them down a notch or two. They’re cumbersome, territorial, political and dysfunctional. They’re always behind the times. It’s easy to dislike them.
Writing in the 19th Century about governing institutions the sociologist Thorsten Veblen said, “Whatever is, is wrong.” He was observing the [...]
From Instant Gratification to Deferred Gratification?
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009Can the U.S. move from a culture of instant gratification to deferred gratification? The question was inspired by a program on NPR this morning. From the car radio I went into a meeting where the same thing was being talked about.
There’s a lot of conversation and writing that says we’re re-considering our personal finances today. [...]
Health Care: Words That Work
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Three reasons we need quality, informed health journalists: Frank Luntz, AHIP and PhRMA.
Luntz is the pollster, strategist for right wing politicians fighting against universal health care. AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans) is the professional lobbying association that gave us the Harry and Louise advertising that capped off the disinformation campaign that scuttled the Clinton Health [...]
Flip Video of Rethink Church Launch
Monday, May 11th, 2009I just posted my first Flip video. It’s the Rethink Church launch event at a Home Depot parking lot in Washington, D.C. last week.
I shot the video with a Flip HD videocam. Edited with iMovie, the basic Mac movie editor. Recorded the narration with a Blue Snowball USB microphone.
Why Mainstream Media No Longer Matter
Sunday, May 10th, 2009Mainstream media no longer matter. I’ve defended them, criticized them and pulled for them to survive. But cable news has become background noise. Newspapers are in their death throes. Infotainment, reality television and celebrity gossip have become the profit centers for too many journalistic enterprises.
I’ve also been critical of mainline leaders for not being media [...]
Rethink Church in the Parking Lot
Saturday, May 9th, 2009 The worker from Eduador spoke of his family back home as he stood in the Home Depot parking lot in Washington, D.C. last week. His brow wrinkled and his voice broke. He’s a long way from home and his existence here is day-to-day precarious.
As I listened, I felt a tug of emotion as [...]