Tag Archives: HBR

Saturday Six-Pack (27)

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Another weekend, another Six-Pack of noteworthy pieces recently discovered online.

As usual, these articles are typically ministry-minded or faith-focused, with enough flexibility to toss in the occasional who-knows-what.

With the links more thickly packed than usual today, the six has become four. If a third-dozen options still paralyzes you, begin with my two *Picks of the Week*, and move from there.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ) to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) Louis Giglio… In… Then Out (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
If you’ve somehow missed it this week, Louis Giglio was selected to publicly pray for the nation and the president at President Obama’s inauguration.  And then he was essentially uninvited. Reason? A sermon he preached 15+ years ago, on the subject of homosexuality, that found its way online.  One of the best summaries I’ve read was from Skye Jethani. Mike Lukaszewski offers this “what I wish Obama had said in response” piece, and Justin Taylor has compiled three sharp bits of commentary from others.

2) Dealing with Demons (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
A missionary from the same conservative Evangelical heritage as myself describes his experience with the supernatural in Rwanda.  Thanks to Jonathan Storment for the link.

3) Churches and Malls
A recent morning blurb from HBR bounced off of this piece by Thom Rainer gives some food for thought on the future of church facilities.

4) 33 HBR Posts You Should Read Before 2013
So we missed the deadline on this title, BUT there ARE some terrific pieces to be found here.  Among them are The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time, HBR’s most-read piece of 2012 AND I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why, the most-commented-on piece of the year.

Blessings on you, my friends.  May your weekend be refreshing in rest, play, and worship.

YOUR TURN: Direct other readers to the best stuff above by making a comment below, or weigh in on what you read.  Your input makes this post better!

[You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or email, in the upper right corner of this page.]

Saturday Six-Pack (26)

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Happy New Year, friends!  I hope your 2013 is off to a smashing start.

The end of 2012 saw me doing some digital housekeeping, part of which was sifting through pieces I’d bookmarked over the past months as suitable Six-Pack links.  So here is a smattering of less-recent-than-usual articles that may have been missed in weeks gone by.

As usual, if a half-dozen options paralyzes you, begin with my two *Picks of the Week*, and move from there.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ) to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) Showing Up
When you feel discouraged over a lack of fruit for your efforts, there is a certain measure of pride and satisfaction to be taken in the simple fact that you continue to show up.  So says senior pastor Mike Glenn, in regards to ministry.

2) When Are We Going to Grow Up? The Juvenilization of American Christianity (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Christianity Today’s Thomas Bergler considers how the Western world’s changing views on youth and adolescence have impacted, and in some regards stunted, our expressions of Christian faith and community.

3) Pornopoly
The impact of pornography upon society and relationships cannot be over-emphasized.  Dave Dunham, for the Gospel Coalition, makes this compelling case while spelling out some of the impacts that the average mind might not consider.

4) Have the Courage to Be Direct (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
The call to blunt conversation is particularly piercing to anyone in a leadership position; however, it is equally important to anyone who cares about simply building the life that he/she wishes to live.  This HBR piece will help you to consider what keeps you from more direct interactions, and how you might make such an impacting move more frequently in the days ahead.

5) How to Write a Joke
Jerry Seinfeld muses on how his creative process works in this short video from the New York Times. For anyone whose work involves creativity, this just may resonate. Or it may just highlight the silliness of things you worry about!

6) The Secret Structure of Great Talks
In this TED talk, Nancy Duarte reveals what makes all the difference in the world in the presenting of ideas.  The best idea in the world isn’t worth anything if it stays stuck in one’s own mind.  How to present effectively?  Here’s one woman’s take on it.

Blessings on you, my friends.  May your weekend be refreshing in rest, play, and worship.

YOUR TURN: Direct other readers to the best stuff above by making a comment below, or weigh in on what you read.  Your input makes this post better!

[You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or email, in the upper right corner of this page.]

Saturday Six-Pack (12)

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Welcome to the long weekend for my Canadian readers.  To those elsewhere, yours is surely coming before long!  Either way, it’s a pleasure to have you here for a bit of “Wandering & Wondering”.

Each week, the “Saturday Six-Pack” aims to share a half-dozen of the best online pieces I’ve read recently.  The majority of links lead to faith-focused or ministry-geared material, with the rest falling under the “disorderly pile of who-knows-what” tagline at the top of this page!

For today:

1) Spirit-Filled Living vs. Just Trying Harder
If you ever have the sense that the Christian life will require more than you have to give, you may be onto something.  Jim Cymbala is on to the same thought.

2) Does Suburbia Hurt Christianity?
Numerous churches speak of the quest to “live a life together”. But what if our everyday circumstances are sabotaging that goal? Then Relevant magazine writes an article about it!

3) The Lost Sin of Envy
Tim Challies challenges us to look inside ourselves, in search of the slippery sin of envy.

4) Why Bible Study Doesn’t Transform Us
Even this post’s title is provocative to this group sure-loving fellowship in which my faith has been birthed and nurtured. How could power possibly be lacking when people interact with God’s Word? Oh, there are numerous ways.

5)  The Idolatry of Individualism
The term “idolatry” is somewhat foreign to many Christians. It connotes images of gold-covered statues and flaky figurines.  We’re not so dumb as to let such things lead us away from the Eternal One.   But what about when the term is linked to one of our culture’s highest values?  That’s a tad less comfortable.

6) You Are Not a Computer (Try as You May)
Technology is meant to serve us. Instead it increasingly runs us — and runs us down.  Tony Schwarz of HBR brings these words of balance to how to live plugged-in without being sucked dry.

Have a great weekend, friends–renew yourself and reverence God.

Saturday Six-Pack (11)

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It feels like Saturdays roll around every seven days or so!  And with THIS particular one, I extend a warm welcome to you this realm of “Wandering & Wondering”.

Each weekend, the Six-Pack gathers a half-dozen articles that have informed or inspired over the past week.  Most are faith-focused or ministry-geared; others fall under my “disorderly pile of who-knows-what” catch-all qualifier!

Today’s collection:

1) The Historical Reliability of the New Testament
Craig Blomberg is a world-renowned biblical scholar, and he’s got a dozen reasons why he is confident of the New Testament’s historical reliability.

2) The Art of Being a Jerk Online
If you’ve ever felt that cyber-etiquette had become too refined or you felt a need to make a negative impression, Frank Viola has ten fool-proven methods on how to lose friends and irritate people online.

3) Nine Ways to Fight the Temptation of Pornography
To anyone who’s ever felt the allure of this destructive bait, B.J. Stockman offers nine tips that may help.

4) Why Personal Development is So Hard
Ever wanted to change for the better, then realized how uphill the climb was?  John Richardson sets up for some significant revelation on this front.  (Translation: Reading THIS article will queue you up for reading a few more posts on this blog.)

5) Where People Get Scripture Wrong
Taken as a whole, the Church clearly can’t live without the Bible—but it doesn’t seem to have much idea how to live with it, either.  N.T. Wright points out common “right” and “left” misreadings of the Bible.

6) A Super Efficient Email Process
How much of your time gets swallowed up by cyber-communication?  If you said, “More than I’d like” in any form or phrasing, then Peter Bregman’s piece from the Harvard Business Review might be your prescription for taking back control of your inbox.

Have a great weekend, friends–renew yourself and reverence God.