Tuesday on the blog means that I get to share some of what I have found thought provoking and engaging over the past week with all of you. To help make sense of all these stories, articles and links I have grouped them by the following categories: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Millennials; Neighbor Love; Social Media & Blogging; Stewardship; Vocation and Miscellaneous. I hope you enjoy the links!
Church and Ministry Thought & Practice
For those of you preparing for worship or planning a sermon for this coming weekend, and if you follow the revised common lectionary, check out these reflections and ideas from Bishop Michael Rinehart in “Pentecost 4B,” as well as this reflection from friend and professor Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis about “The Other Side” and “Pentecost 4B: On Miracles and Change,” from Rev. Dr. David Lose.
If you are following the Narrative Lectionary, be sure and check out the commentary on Psalm 27:1-6 from friend and professor Rev. Dr. Rolf Jacobson.
Bishop Michael Rinehart and much of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod staff has been traveling over the past week. As part of that travel and learning, they checked out the “House for All Sinners and Saints.”
Thom Schultz shared some ideas about church and engaging worship in writing “Done with ‘Sit Down and Shut Up.'”
Jason Evans shared “7 Tips for Theology on Tap.” If your faith community offers something similar check this out and see if these tips correspond with your learning and experience. If you are considering starting something like this, definitely check this out. And if you have never heard of such a thing, you need to read this and see what you think.
Anthony Moujaes shared news that the United Church of Christ has agreed to a sale of its national headquarters, but that it will remain in Cleveland.
Friend, mentor and professor Dr. Terri Elton shared this article from Religion Dispatches by Jesse James DeConto, “Seattle ‘CultureMaker’ Nathan Marion: We Need New Abbeys in America to Foster Community, Arts.”
Clint Schnekloth shared “The Three Best Strategies for Utilizing Media as Faith Formation.” Clint shared reflection on: Pathos, Logos and Ethos.
The Millennial Journal shared news about the release of the theme and logo for Pope Francis‘ upcoming trip to the United States in “Love is Our Mission.”
Church and Social Media (#ChSocM) shared a transcript of its weekly chat from last week reflecting about how “Our stories are ‘content.’ How do we encourage more people to share that content?” Check out the ideas and responses to this great question.
Friend, blogger and pastor-in-waiting Eric Worringer shared a reflection from Bishop Matthew Gunter which highlights some of the complexity and great variance of views on baptism and communion (and do you need to be baptized to take communion), in “An Odd Work of Grace- The Problem with ‘Open’ Communion. Some Anecdotes.” (For the record, I don’t agree with the conclusions in this post, but appreciate it for the conversation on what can be a difficult topic.)
Anna Webb shared news from Nampa, Idaho about how “Nampa’s Trinity Lutheran Church gets into the landlord business to help low-income families.”
In sad but long overdue news from the Twin Cities in Minnesota as well as the Vatican, Pope Francis has accepted the resignations of the St. Paul Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche.
LEAD shared quick blurb about one of my new favorite books, The Agile Church by professor and friend Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile.
Frederick Schmidt shared “6 things people need to hear from churches (but are rarely said).”
Friend and professor Dr. Mary Hess shared the latest free issue of Lifelong Faith: Models & Practices for Lifelong Faith Formation.
If you are in the Twin Cities area, I invite you to join KARE11 in “Serving with Sunrise: Community Gardening on June 17th,” which includes the Loaves & Fishes site at Woodlake Lutheran Church in Richfield. Check this out and join the fun!
Pastor and blogger Rev. Nurya Love Parish shared a first-part post and video about “Growing Disciples in a Digital Age.”
Rich Birch shared a great list of “33 Ways to Show Appreciation to Volunteers at Your Church.”
Over at the ELCA Youth Ministry Network, pastor and director Todd Buegler shared about “Innovation Grants for Youth and Young Adult Ministry.”
Cross-Sector Collaboration
Julian Stodd shared thoughts, ideas and updates about the “Social Age,” in “Finding Austin.”
Leadership Thought & Practice
Steve Keating shared that “Hate Isn’t Helpful,” and about how to give your employees and colleagues a chance to learn and grow in “Let Them Be Wrong.”
I am excited to share that one of my favorite professors from the Drucker School in Claremont, Professor Dr. Jenny Darroch, has been named as “one of the world’s most influential scholars in the field of knowledge management.”
Jena McGregor writes that “‘Queen bees’ may have hive minds after all, study shows.”
Dan Rockwell wrote and shared about: “Seven Ways to Find Extra-Ordinary Connections“; “The Greater Challenge“; and about someone’s comment which has “Irritated (him) for months.”
Tanveer Naseer asked and pondered, “Do You Motivate by Obligation or Commitment?”
Dan Forbes and “Lead with Giants,” shared a guest post by Mandy Johnson which unpacks “7 Steps to Engaging Leadership.” The steps are: get the team size right; hire the ‘right-fit’ people in the first place; hold monthly one-on-ones; reduce bureaucracy; praise and reward excellence on a regular basis; brightness of future; and have fun.
Lolly Daskal shared what she sees as being “The 10 (and a Half) Commandments of of Leadership.” Check out the list and see what you think of these commandments.
Barbara Nixon shared “Four Ways to Have Fun at Work.”
Cranston Holden shared a wonderful infographic about “How Leaders Manage.”
Jeannie Walters shared and offered, “Contamination Alert! How to Purify a Toxic Workplace Culture.”
Jon Mertz at Thin Difference shared “Ten Activating Words for Activist Leaders.” The words Jon highlights and expands on are: Clarity; Aspirational; Strategic; Inner Strength; Assumes the Best; Adaptable; Economical; Restless; Integrity and Relationships.
Millennials
Thin Difference also shared this post by Jeremy Chandler featuring “7 Books Millennials Can Read to Rise Above Our Peers.”
Timothy Morey and Allison Schoop wrote and explained, “Stop Designing for Millennials.”
Jaunted shared about “6 Ways Millennials are Transforming the Travel Industry.”
William Vanderbloemen shared, “5 Secret Questions for Making a Great Millennial Hire.” The questions to include are: Tell me about an initiative you led or were part of leading; Tell me about a meaningful experience you had serving or contributing to a cause. What about that time motivated you to do more?; Describe for me a time when you faced criticism and how you responded to it; When have you been asked to work too much, and how did you respond?; and whom do you go to for life and career advice? Great questions! What do you think? How would you respond to these questions?
Neighbor Love
Friend, pastor and blogger Diane Roth shared reflections on “Silence.” Within this Diane wrote, “The world needs silence, but not just silence. The world also needs a word — not “the answer”, not a strategy, not a user’s manual. The world also needs a word, the right word at the right time: a question, a name, an invitation, a light.” Diane also shared about “Colette.”
Carol Kuruvilla shared about “Why 12 Top Religious Leaders are Proud to Support Net Neutrality.”
Friend, blogger and artist Vonda Drees shared a number of beautiful posts over the past week. These included: “Thisness“; “a way of life“; “God is love“; “co-creating“; “recognizing our creativity” “all ink matters“; and “grateful for accompaniment.”
John Pavlovitz shared about “When Your Loved One Dies Again (A Lesson in the Grief Valley).”
Friend, pastor and blogger Joe Smith asked and pondered, “Is there such a thing as an authentic faith?”
Tom Murphy shared some news in the Humanosphere, about how “Ebola cases (are) suddenly on the rise.”
Friend, pastor and blogger Frank Johnson shared his sermon on the narrative lectionary’s focus text for this past weekend, Psalm 69:1-16, “Lament (or approaching pain and suffering honestly).”
Bishop Michael Rinehart shared a guest post by Dr. Eileen Doll on “Immigration: Education for Justice.”
Friend and professor Dr. Mary Hess shared, “Bound…Africans and African Americans.”
Mary also shared a post by friend and pastor Rev. Angela Shannon on “Racism: The ‘White Noise’ of Black Life.”
Blogger and thinker Kayla Koterwski shared thoughts about “Words.”
Social Media & Blogging
Friend and blogger J.W. Wartick shared his version of the links with his “Really Recommended Posts.”
Kevan Lee asked and explained in “What’s the Best Way to Spend 30 Minutes of Your Time on Social Media Marketing?”
Stewardship
During the month of June, the COMPASS blog is sharing thoughts, tips and ideas for how to have fun this summer on a budget. To begin the series I shared an opening post about “Summer Fun on a Budget,” and friend and director of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center, Marcia Shetler shared about “Summer and Vacation Fun on a Budget.” Check out both of these posts, and stay tuned for more in the series coming this week and throughout the month.
Over at Young Adult Money, DC explained “Why it’s Financially important to avoid Tunnel Vision,” while Erin shared thoughts about “How to Handle Relationships and Debt.”
LEAD shared thoughts, insights, and questions in “Rethinking Stewardship” for individuals, congregations and faith communities.
Stefanie at “The Broke and Beautiful Life,” shared about “An Adventure in Financial Principles.”
Vocation
Friend and blogger Julia Nelson shared her vocational weekly installments of “Tuesday Tea Time” and “Friday Favorites.”
C.J. shared about how “Meteorologist Patrick Hammer tells of highs, lows after layoff.”
Friends Katie and Will shared an update from their journeys and experiences of life abroad in “A Day in Our Cameroonian Life.”
For all you lifelong learners out there, Leo Babauta shared “Learning Tips for the Top 8 Learning Challenges.”
Friend and musician Stephanie Johnson reflected and updated in writing, “Off to see NYC, but the yellow brick road was not for me.”
For all of those graduates and recent graduates, Anne Loehr shared “A Call to Graduates: Find Your Purpose.”
Miscellaneous
All of these Miscellaneous Links this week have something to do with the Pacific Northwest. First, to the alma mater, congratulations are in order to now former PLU Baseball Coach, Geoff Loomis who has been named “head baseball coach at NCAA Div. I University of Portland.”
Second, have you ever wondered “What Tourists Buy at Pike Place Market” in Seattle? Charyn Pfeuffer explains.
Third, what are we to do in making sense of the Mariners? Friend and blogger Tim Chalberg is on the case as always recapping how and what the Mariners did in the Baseball Draft last week, as well as about the recent collapse of sorts the Mariners have had, in “Big Holes, Small Solutions.”
Finally, this week is one of golf’s major tournaments, “The U.S. Open.” It is being held at Chambers Bay just south of Tacoma, and will be the biggest sporting event the southern part of the Puget Sound area has ever hosted. It will be broadcasted by Fox, and Ken Fang shares all about that.
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That will conclude this week’s edition of the links. I hope you have enjoyed them! As always, if you have things to include in future editions, please let me know. Also, if you have particular topics, questions or ideas for posts for me to think about, please let me know. Until next time, thank you for reading and being a part of the conversation! Blessings on your week! -TS
Image Credits: The Links, Loaves & Fishes Community Garden, Dr. Jenny Darroch, “God is Love” and “Recognizing our Creativity.”
Timothy Siburg 