the problem and the metaproblem

the problem and the metaproblem

That which happens in life is not as important as how you accept it.

Mark riddle points us to a great quote by Walter Brueggemann.

The quote reminded me of a great George Stephanopoulos story that he shares in his wonderful All Too Human.

It was just after Clinton decided that he no longer wished for Stephanopoulos to be his communications director. It really threw Stephanopoulos for a loop but what turned out to be a lodestar for him through his transition to a new White House role was the advise of Rep. Tony Coelho:

Nobody will remember what happened to you. They’ll remember how you handled it.

This quote has been enormously helpful to me as it specifically has come to mind in the midst of such troubling situations.

There’s always the problem, the presenting situation, and the metaproblem, how we handle it. It’s very easy for us to handle exclusively on the former without realizing that focus on the latter is even more necessary.

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the problem and the metaproblem That which happen…

the problem and the metaproblem

That which happens in life is not as important as how you accept it.

Mark riddle points us to a great quote by Walter Brueggemann.

The quote reminded me of a great George Gtephanopoulos story that he shares in his wonderful All Too Human.

It was just after Clinton decided that he no longer wished for Stephanopoulos to be his communications director. It really threw Stephanopoulos for a loop but what turned out to be a lodestar for him through his transition to a new White House role was the advise of Rep. Tony Coelho:

Nobody will remember what happened to you. They’ll remember how you handled it.

This quote has been enormously helpful to me as it specifically has come to mind in the midst of such troubling situations.

There’s always the problem, the presenting situation, and the metaproblem, how we handle it. It’s very easy for us to handle exclusively on the former without realizing that focus on the latter is even more necessary.

Read Full Post »

Giving Help to the Survivors of "America’s Tsunam…

Giving Help to the Survivors of “America’s Tsunami”

As of Monday, at least 12,200 people were in shelters across the southern portion of the state [Mississippi], said MEMA public information officer Mick Bullock. He noted that number was expected to rise as more people are rescued from their flooded homes.

CNN link

Beth and I gave something to assist the survivors of Katrina in what the mayor of Biloxi is calling “America’s Tsunami” and we wish to ask readers of emergesque to consider giving as well.

Links gathered from Fox News and MSNBC:

• The American Red Cross

• Catholic Charities

• National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

• Episcopal Relief & Development

• United Methodist Committee on Relief

• Salvation Army

photo by john hay

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Giving Help to the Survivors of "America’s Tsunam…

Giving Help to the Survivors of “America’s Tsunami”

As of Monday, at least 12,200 people were in shelters across the southern portion of the state [Mississippi], said MEMA public information officer Mick Bullock. He noted that number was expected to rise as more people are rescued from their flooded homes.

CNN link

Beth and I gave something to assist the survivors of Katrina in what the mayor of Biloxi is calling “America’s Tsunami” and we wish to ask readers of emergesque to consider giving as well.

Links gathered from Fox News and MSNBC:

• The American Red Cross

• Catholic Charities

• National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

• Episcopal Relief & Development

• United Methodist Committee on Relief

• Salvation Army

photo by john hay

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Knight Ridder Piece on the Emerging Church Brothe…

Knight Ridder Piece on the Emerging Church

Brother Maynard draws our attention to a piece that The Ledger (Lakeland, FL) ran a couple of Sundays ago on the emerging church.

I think I read once that when you are deeply involved in something and then the news media covers it, that you see how sometimes major news media miss the nuances. In a similar connection, the Baltimore Sun recently ran a treatment on Brian McLaren (Cedar Ridge is in their backyard) and Brian posted some corrections on his site.

While the Paul Nussbaum article didn’t do a bad job at capturing some of the emerging church ethos, it missed the mark in some ways. That may have very well been the writer simply following the direction he was given by one or more of his interviewees.

• there’s no distinction drawn in the article between between emergent and the emerging church. As Jason Clark said earlier this year, “Emergent is not the emerging church.” Of course, it is a very influential subset as an formal organization.
• this might not be an error because it’s a subjective call, but the article calls emergent a movement. Some would dispute this.
• those two statements cascade when tony jones is declared the coordinator of the movement, something he would likely be the first to deny!
• It states that Brian “questions the existence of hell.” Similarly, in the Baltimore Sun article mentioned above, the author there wrote, “To the horror of many evangelicals, he [Brian McLaren] questions the idea of hell…” On his site, Brian responds, “Her statement makes it sound like I’m simply rejecting or discounting the Bible’s teaching on hell, which I would never do. What I do question is the conventional teaching on hell – and I question this based on the Bible.”

These points being made, overall it gives a descriptive picture of the emerging church.

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Knight Ridder Piece on the Emerging Church Brothe…

Knight Ridder Piece on the Emerging Church

Brother Maynard draws our attention to a piece that The Ledger (Lakeland, FL) ran a couple of Sundays ago on the emerging church.

I think I read once that when you are deeply involved in something and then the news media covers it, that you see how sometimes major news media miss the nuances. In a similar connection, the Baltimore Sun recently ran a treatment on Brian McLaren (Cedar Ridge is in their backyard) and Brian posted some corrections on his site.

While the Paul Nussbaum article didn’t do a bad job at capturing some of the emerging church ethos, it missed the mark in some ways. That may have very well been the writer simply following the direction he was given by one or more of his interviewees.

• there’s no distinction drawn in the article between between emergent and the emerging church. As Jason Clark said earlier this year, “Emergent is not the emerging church.” Of course, it is a very influential subset as an formal organization.
• this might not be an error because it’s a subjective call, but the article calls emergent a movement. Some would dispute this.
• those two statements cascade when tony jones is declared the coordinator of the movement, something he would likely be the first to deny!
• It states that Brian “questions the existence of hell.” Similarly, in the Baltimore Sun article mentioned above, the author there wrote, “To the horror of many evangelicals, he [Brian McLaren] questions the idea of hell…” On his site, Brian responds, “Her statement makes it sound like I’m simply rejecting or discounting the Bible’s teaching on hell, which I would never do. What I do question is the conventional teaching on hell – and I question this based on the Bible.”

These points being made, overall it gives a descriptive picture of the emerging church.

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Correction to "A New Kind of Conversation" Post H…

Correction to “A New Kind of Conversation” Post

Hunter Barnes helpfully corrected:

…this is Hunter Barnes checking in. Thanks for posting about the new blog-book; we can’t believe the attention our little blog release has already stirred up. I wanted to make an important correction in your post though. The Myron Penner you have linked is not “the” Myron Penner. You have Myron A Penner from Trinity Western. The Myron Penner in this project is Myron B. Penner, believe it or not. Myron B. Penner is a Philosopher and Kierkegaard scholar who also happens to lives and teaches in Western Canada, in this case, Alberta. Thanks again for telling folks about the project. cheers.

I’ve corrected the original post and thanks Hunter!

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Correction to "A New Kind of Conversation" Post H…

Correction to “A New Kind of Conversation” Post

Hunter Barnes helpfully corrected:

…this is Hunter Barnes checking in. Thanks for posting about the new blog-book; we can’t believe the attention our little blog release has already stirred up. I wanted to make an important correction in your post though. The Myron Penner you have linked is not “the” Myron Penner. You have Myron A Penner from Trinity Western. The Myron Penner in this project is Myron B. Penner, believe it or not. Myron B. Penner is a Philosopher and Kierkegaard scholar who also happens to lives and teaches in Western Canada, in this case, Alberta. Thanks again for telling folks about the project. cheers.

I’ve corrected the original post and thanks Hunter!

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a neo-feminist’s view of abstinence Handsome Man …

a neo-feminist’s view of abstinence

Handsome Man at a Bar, you think I’m cute? Thanks. Do you appreciate me or the idea of having sex with me? Because your thinking has likely been influenced by the cavortings of Samantha and Co. in the “city” or the women in most rap videos. I am not those women. If you want a workout, go get a one-day pass at Bally. It’s free.

Think Christian points us to a recent USA TODAY editorial by Elizabeth Sandoval.

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a neo-feminist’s view of abstinence Handsome Man …

a neo-feminist’s view of abstinence

Handsome Man at a Bar, you think I’m cute? Thanks. Do you appreciate me or the idea of having sex with me? Because your thinking has likely been influenced by the cavortings of Samantha and Co. in the “city” or the women in most rap videos. I am not those women. If you want a workout, go get a one-day pass at Bally. It’s free.

Think Christian points us to a recent USA TODAY editorial by Elizabeth Sandoval.

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