Monthly Archives: November 2011

WHERE DO YOU FIND REAL COMMUNITY?

Community in America has suffered the swelling tide of individualism in the last five decades. In general, people are trading communal life for a bloated private life, as they shrink their relational sphere to family and a small group of very close friends. Continue reading

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RAISING OUR RELEVANCE QUOTIENT

Should the Church become culturally relevant? This question gets kicked around by Christians. The negative side fears absorption into the world and apostasy from the faith. The positive side fears society’s disregard and the attrition of the Church’s mission.

The current economic crisis has laid cultural relevancy at the Church’s door. Throughout history, the Church has had a reputation for compassion and generosity. Christians took an active interest in the affairs of their communities, particularly in humanitarian causes. Continue reading

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ABOUNDING

God shapes a grateful heart in many ways. Our consumer culture incessantly tells us that we are one purchase away from happiness. Marketers do not nurture contentment, much less gratitude. Sometimes comparisons jolt us out of a fabricated existence. Seeing what I have in comparison to what many others lack humbles me. It exposes how liberally I spend and how miserly I give. Continue reading

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THE THRILL OF VICTORY

Theories have traced sports psychology to the primitive wars between tribes. Warriors fought to protect or promote their fellow citizens in the competition for survival. These wars have migrated from the battlefields to the playing fields and tribal warfare has morphed into conference rivalries.Life is difficult.
Winning in life can be even more difficult. We increase our chances to win when we attach ourselves to representatives who compete for us. Their victories become our victories vicariously, enabling us to “bask in reflected glory.” Their success inflates our sense of respect and optimism. Continue reading

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GOOD FOR EVIL

“We saw people that were obviously suffering. They felt a great sense of responsibility for what happened. How could we add to their pain displays of anger or anything like that?” Barry Sullivan, father of Declan Sullivan who was killed in a tragic accident at Notre Dame Continue reading

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