Category: do good
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I have noticed a rise of “identity politics” with people siding with “their people”. I have watched people on both the left and the right advocate positions that seem to violate the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I would encourage people to take a few minutes and give the following prompt…
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Jesus never built an empire. He healed the broken, welcomed the outcast, confronted the powerful, and loved the world—without trying to rule it. The church as been it’s best when following Jesus’ example. The church has been its worst when it has followed worldly wisdom to accomplish its goals. The contrast couldn’t be more obvious:…
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The cost of housing in the US has been rising faster than inflation since the 1960s. For an investor who either owns real estate, or has enough money to invest, this is good news. For someone needing housing, this is bad news. Contents1 Homelessness2 Regulations (and Unintended Affects)2.1 Homes are a Principal Investment Vehicle2.2 Improved…
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What allows people to let go of revenge and drop their contempt for others long enough to actually listen to the other? How do you get people out of their rut? My observation is that this happens when people start to see others as individuals, rather than part of some other group. Rather than reacting…
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The Bible talks about a judgement that people who know Jesus will undergo (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10, etc). This is often called the Bema seat judgement. I didn’t look forward to this judgement. It sounds like a…. Judgement. My expectation is that this would be a lot like the performance reviews have I received…
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These are notes I made for myself when I was considering a career change many years ago. I was thinking about how various activities (career / future work) are most impactful to human flourishing. Last week several friends indicated an interest my notes so I am sharing them here. At some point I would like…
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Last night I had a spirited discussion with some friends about US politics. One of our friends was expressing a concern that historically the US has been too “nice”, hopeful, helpful. We have created a culture people want to enjoy, but now we will be taken advantage of and ultimately destroyed. We need to be…
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The dominate culture in the US prizes freedom and choice above all else which has led us to have one of the most individual oriented cultures. Garret Kell’s article entitled The Second-Most Important Book for Every Christian is a great antidote to the individual focus we are exposed to. What is the second most important book? Your…
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I have written early a bit about the important Christian practice of offering hospitality. Often this hospitality is in the form of opening our homes to others. We we can also extend hospitality beyond our homes by providing meals to others. In the last 30 years I have been both a recipient of, and a…
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A week ago, a photograph went viral which showed a nypd officer’s act of kindness. Like many people I was touched by the officer’s act, as well as the response of many people to the picture that had been taken. Since the picture was taken a more detailed story came out, indicating that the shoeless man’s story…
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A month or so ago, I learned that there were several homeless people who attend my church, PBC. I was bowled over by this. Not that people are homeless. I know this is a reality. What surprised me was that we had people who were part of our church community who did not want to…
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Today I read a blog posting of my friend Ed on Positive Psychology and Authentic Happiness. His posting got me thinking. In the last few years it seems like a lot of clueful folks have concluded that the best way to improve human-kind’s lot is to work on understanding and enhancing the mind. A common…
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Many people are aware of the excellent work done by the Grameen bank. They have pioneered micro loans as a way to fuel economic development. A new twist to this is http://kiva.org which is attempting to link donors to the people who are taking the loans. They describe their system as P2P micro loans. Over…