Depression is a worldwide epidemic. It is the main driver behind suicide, which now claims more than a million lives per year. One in four Americans will suffer from clinical depression within their lifetimes, and the rate is increasing with every generation. But it is not a natural disease nor is it an inevitable part of being human. It is a disease (Dis-Ease) of civilization caused by a high-stress, industrialized, modern lifestyle that is incompatible with our past.
Technology has been so helpful in transmitting the Message. The goal is to make sure our so-called sanctified systems (of running church and staff) are not wearing people out or tapping their high tech low touch digitized versions of reality. We need the Spirit’s power and the (sun/Son) light that flows from the heart (light of the world) that illuminates the depths of the human heart, not the fluorescent-lit substitutes that divert our attention for seconds.
Design Like a Child
A leading architect built one of the best elementary schools in Japan by thinking like a child (the end user). Designing or redesigning a kid’s area. Watch them and build around their patterns. So much to learn here.
Good Without a God?
There is a growing conversation about whether a religion is needed in formation of value systems. We might remind those who think they are starting at the beginning: It is far different to have this discussion 2,000 years after Christian concepts infiltrated the world than in world culture pre-Christ. But this line of thought is surfacing more and a ready answer is needed for headlines like this one:
“More children are ‘growing up godless’ than at any other time in our nation’s history.”
Read this Before You Tell Another Story
This is your listener’s brain on your story. We are the first generation in history to see exactly what happens in a mind when we tell a story. Each time a person hears a word or sees an image, a neuron connection is made. Imagine the power at our disposal. We should really make every word count.
Use What You Already Have
There’s $6 Billion Being Wasted in America’s Spare Bedrooms. Cars sit unused 95% of the time. Many church spaces idle throughout the week when they could be used creatively for those looking for homes or offices. So many possibilities to reach out and open our doors and witness new communities of with-ness emerging.
How Much is a Human Life Worth?
What is the value of a human life? Depends who you ask. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget puts the value of a human life in the range of $7 million to $9 million.
Beer, Brats and Bible: Be-ology of Theology
When in Milwaukee, church can be defined as Bible and a brew as groups get together to talk faith over a pint. Where two or more looks different (or should) in every locale. How does your faith expression engage without becoming enmeshed in your spot.
Millennials Overtake Boomers. I’m Cool with That
Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation. I love my millennial friends and, contrary to the boomer-driven narrative about all of them being lazy and entitled, I have found them to be practical, charity-oriented if not a bit bored. Who could blame them. One thing is for sure, they are the present, they are the future. This might be a good time to tackle that whole “generational thing.” Yes, people of a certain age have common cultural traits but each person is an individual. Scanning the research is not a bad thing but relationships with people in each group keep us dialed into the zeitgeist.
Why Are We Bored?
It’s no secret, “first-worlders” are bored. Our attention spans are now thought to be less than that of a goldfish – eight seconds. How do you speak of Heaven when your hearer fears the ennui of a rainy Monday? A friend of mine, a wealthy man, often speaks about how thankful he is life doesn’t continue on forever. “Can you imagine how boring that would be?” Eternal life has a now-ness to it. The New Testament is the Now Testament. For Christians, the concept of eternality is planted in the human heart and the moment of conversion crystallizes it into a relationship. I would be curious to know how you communicate eternal life, eternal now-ness, in our ennui moment.