So what can one do to avoid falling prey to groupthink, confirmation bias, selective exposure, and being overwhelmed by information overload? Well I had several awesome ideas for this post.... but then I took a few days off, and I can't remember some of them. But let me see where this goes. Doubt. Paul Westphal …
Continue reading Selective Exposure, Confirmation Bias, and Information Overload (Part 2)
A couple of blogposts prior, I noted a situation in one of my classes where I was (somewhat justifiably) unhappy with how my class responded to a situation. It was justifiable in the sense that the behavior of the class was 180 degrees out of line with what I was teaching. On the other hand …
Background. I was teaching a class on Dialogue with Asian Religions at seminary. One day, one of my students, a Muslim Background Believer, came to me and asked whether he could teach a couple of class hours on Islam. I was rather relieved by this. Islam is not a religion that interests me particularly, but …
Continue reading Reflection on Interreligious Dialogue Class
My children went to a Christian school in middle and high school. Overall, it was probably a good experience for them. In their previous school, also a Christian school, they were bullied for being "foreign." But the school they transferred to was multi-ethnic and multi-national. They fit in quite well. The school genuinely sought to …
I don't normally add personal updates here. But once in awhile it seems like it may be appropriate. Books. My book work has gone down, partly because my teaching load has gone up. But I still am trying to plug away on things. "The Dynamics in Pastoral Care." This book I have been working on …
I was looking at the Five Marks of Mission (of the Anglican Communion) as well as Five Purposes of Church, as described by Rick Warren in Purpose-Driven Church. The Five Marks of Mission are: To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom To teach, baptize and nurture new believers To respond to human need by loving service …
I was a part of a conference (actually, one of the hosts of the event). It was on pastoral diagnosis and pastoral care. One person asked an interesting question for the main speaker to answer. The specific malady was depression, but it could have been a whole host of different concerns. The questioner asked which …
Recently, I had the chance to teach Old Testament (Biblical) Theology at a local Bible College here in the Philippines. I usually teach Missions, and Pastoral Care on occasion, so it was rather exciting. As I was preparing, and as I was teaching, several interesting things struck me. I won't go into everything here, but …
Continue reading Inter-testamental Reflections on Prophecy and Canon
Yeah... How DO we learn. There are all sorts of talks about Learning Styles and Modes of Learning. But in the end, some sort of "philosophy" or training should be better for nurturing change in a trainee. Our Counseling Center provides Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and that has gotten me reflecting on how we learn, …
The power of culture is the power of habit. How does this develop? Parents and other members of a community influence the next generation. One version of Bronfenbrenner's Human Ecological Model is shown above. The innermost circle is a child. The outermost circle can be thought of as the overall societal structure, institutions and culture …