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tech

Tethered to Tech

I’m the first to admit a tethering to all things tech. Computers, my Blackberry, my Blackberry Playbook tablet, netbook, and the list goes on. I’ve even championed the cause of a “digital fast”. Celebrities are even caught with their fav device in hand.

There is a great discussion happening this Wednesday in the Albany area that addresses our tethering to technology.

The event: The Times Union and the School of Arts & Humanities at The College of Saint Rose are facilitating a discussion of the role of mobile technology and social networking in our lives. Students, professionals, and parents will speak to the advantages and disadvantages of technology in their lives from the workplace to personal relationships.

Blog czar Micheal Huber (check out his blog post on the topic) asked me to do an interview for a video that will be played during the event.  I gave a few random thoughts on the topic and you should come out this Wednesday, March 21 7:30 pm – 9pm.  You’ll need to register for the event and you can do that here (it’s free). Here is the parking map. I’ll be there.

Who is going to be on the panel? Good question. Check out these informed folks:

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st. patrick

Google’s St. Patrick logo

A very cool Celtic Google Logo for St. Patrick’s Day. Also, check out the Top 3 St. Patrick Myths

Google is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today with a homepage doodle that was inspired by the Book of Kells, a 9th-century gospel manuscript.

“Try knot to miss our Book-of-Kells-inspired doodle for St. Patrick’s Day,” Google tweeted today.

The colorful doodle focused on the “Celtic knots and the Chi Rho [monogram] from the Book of Kells,” Google doodler Jennifer Hom told the Washington Post’s Comic Riffs.

The Book of Kells, currently housed in the Old Library at Dublin’s Trinity College, is “celebrated for its lavish decoration,” according to the college. “The manuscript contains the four Gospels in Latin based on a Vulgate text, written on vellum (prepared calfskin), in a bold and expert version of the script known as ‘insular majuscule.'” link

Church Leadership, founder's syndrome

Crystal Cathedral’s epic fail & founder’s syndrome

It appears that the problems at the Crystal Cathedral  have grown too great to overcome.

Robert Schuller founded the church and retired as the church’s senior pastor, but stayed on the board of directors.  The church never fully recovered from Schuller’s pastoral departure. Though he stayed on the church’s governing board, two of his children took a shot at pastoring the large church. Schuller’s son, Robert became the senior pastor and two years later resigned. Then, Sheila, daughter of the elder Schuller, became senior pastor, and now left.  The church then filed for bankruptcy in 2011 with $50 million in debt.

The Crystal Cathedral became one of the first mega churches and now is one of the first popular mega churches that may close. The Crystal Cathedral building was sold last year to the Catholic Diocese of Orange, CA for $57.5 million. The church continues to meet, but they must leave the building soon.

Much of the conflict around the transition of the elder Schuller to his children revolves around one fact: they are not their father.

When churches affix the identity of the church with the founding pastor, it becomes much harder for the church to transition to new leadership.  A celebrity pastor is often a formula for explosive growth, but ultimately is that a formula for disaster?

The Schuller children enacted several changes in worship, music, leadership, and programming.  The reason why those changes did not fit the congregation was centered on the fact that they did not do the necessary work. The church should have gone through a period of discernment and vision when Robert Schuller left as the senior pastor.  It is clear that when the Schullers stayed on the board of directors of the church their leadership became ineffective.

Leadership requires a guiding presence that can empower people to their full potential. The Schuller family failed at how to handle a leadership change.

The USA Today reports on this failure of leadership:  Continue Reading…

social media, White House

Three ways social media impacted my White House meeting

Yep, that’s me there tweeting away. (Photo: EthicsDaily.com)

As many of your know, I’m finishing up on reflecting upon my meeting with the Executive Office of the President and White House staff (read part 1 and part 2). It was an honor to be among 60 other Baptists who met with several advisers to the President.  One of the unusual facets of this meeting was a media blackout.  None of the tradition media outlets were allowed in this meeting.

The media blackout arose from the administration’s frustrations that past clergy leader meetings were nothing more than a photo opportunity. This meeting was supposed to be different, and so it was. We attendees were allow to tweet during the meeting and used the hashtag #BaptistsatWH. This created a direct link to our friends, congregation members, followers, and community individuals back home. Our four-hour long meeting was unencumbered by reporters interrupting or distracting from the meeting’s goal.

My friend and fellow pastor Dr. William Shiell and I discussed how the administration had a message they wanted to communicate. The byproduct of a media blackout, but social media friendly meeting is threefold:

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White House

Four things learned from my White House meeting (part 2)

Yesterday, I gave an overview of my visit with the Executive Office of the President and White House staff. I was a part of a delegation of “goodwill Baptists”, in which there were about 60 of us from around the country. For part 1 and background on the meeting, please click here.

Looking back on the meeting, there are several things that I want to share with you.  First, as I have blogged about before, faith and ethics inform this White House administration.  Several of the administration officials spoke of their own experience with their churches and how their Christianity guides their work. It is clear that the administration is fighting such social ills as human trafficking and economic problems such as the mortgage crisis. And, did you know that at 14 federal agencies there are faith-based offices?

At the meeting, two officials were presented with a Common English Bible translation, which was given as “a moral document”.  The translation renders the words “stranger” or “alien” as “immigrant”.  Paul Monteiro, associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and  Julie Rodriguez, associate director of the Office of Public Engagement received a Bible:

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White House

My White House meeting with Baptists (part 1)

I’m fresh off my visit with the Executive Office of the President and White House staff. I want to share with you all about our meeting through multi-blog posts.  The meeting including advisers from the Executive Office of the President and other administration officials. I was a part of a delegation of “goodwill Baptists”, in which there were about 60 of us from around the country. Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, and Ricky Creech, executive director/minister of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention put the meeting together.

The meeting took place in the White House Executive Office Building.  Some of the people/offices we talked with:

  • Jannah Scott, Deputy Director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership
  • B.J. Douglas, Engram Lloyd and Paula Lincoln of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
  • Felicia Escobar, a Senior Policy Adviser for the Domestic Policy Council,
  • Chris Vaeth, Adviser for the Office of Community Affairs for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • Julie Rodriquez, Associate Director for the Office of Public Engagement
  • Paul Monteiro, Associate Director for Office of Public Engagement
  • Engram Lloyd,  Housing and Urban Development

What do our meeting look like? Several of the above individuals explained what their office does, what issues their addressing, and took questions/comments. Although I would have enjoyed more comments/questions from us Baptists, this meeting covered an array of issues.  We discussed clean water standards, sex trafficking, payday loans, mortgage dept relief, faith-based programs, disaster relief. To see the meeting and comments, check out our Twitter hashtag #baptistsatWH.

There were a number of shocking and encouraging information points:

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blog

My White House meeting & live feed

Today, I invite you to join me at my meeting at the White House with the Obama administration. I’ll be meeting with advisers from the Executive Office of the President along with about 60 other Baptists around the country. You can follow the meeting below from Twitter or check out my Twitter page directly.  On Twitter, we’ll use the hashtag #BaptistsatWH and you can interact there. Also, you can interact with the discussion on AlanRudnick.org by posting messages that will appear below using this link.

What’s the meeting about?

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GBC

‘Good Christian Bi*ches’ unholy or wholly funny?

For months, rumors went around the internet that a Christian Desperate Housewives show was going to air on ABC.  The show was to depict Christians in very unflattering and negative ways.  Then, the hype died down, until last Sunday.

‘GCB’ aired premiered and was certainly full of drama… was it Christian drama?  Well, you be the judge.

The show was originally named, “Good Christian Bi*ches,” proved to be offensive to some so the series was changed to “Good Christian Belles.”  GCB is based on  a book with the same ugly title (the B-word word one with seven letters). I’m really looking for the words to describe this show and I cannot find them. So, I’ll use someone who is keyed into Hollywood and who gives a better description:

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government

Why government isn’t evil

Mitt Romney may have won the Arizona and Michigan republican primaries, but Rick Santorum is getting the attention. Every four years presidential elections get bizarre. That’s not a political assessment but a statement of moral observation. It seems this year is no different with wild promises and half truth claims of hidden agendas.

I’ll come right out and say it, I have no allegiance to any political party. I’ve voted for democrats and republicans.  However, this current republican presidential rhetoric worries me (democratic rhetoric worries me too). Theologically, a Christian’s allegiance is to God first and then to country second. Rick Santorum has become quite the arm chair theologian lately with criticizing the president’s “theology phony”.

Since the days of Ronald Reagan, according to some, government is the source of our country’s problems and government shouldn’t regulate our lives. Or, government is not the answer to our country’s problems although government is apparently the answer when it comes to job growth or economic stimulation in the form of tax cuts.  Others have made out the government as necessary evil or even an inherently evil.

So, which is it? Is the government a necessary evil or only good when it cuts taxes? Government is either good or evil, it can’t intrinsically be both. Continue Reading…

Youcef Nadarkhani

White House calls for release of Iranian pastor

Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor jailed in Iran on charges of apostasy, is now facing a death sentence. The White House called for his immediate release:

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms reports that Iranian authorities’ reaffirmed a death sentence for Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani for the sole reason of his refusal to recant his Christian faith.  This action is yet another shocking breach of Iran’s international obligations, its own constitution, and stated religious values.  The United States stands in solidarity with Pastor Nadarkhani, his family, and all those who seek to practice their religion without fear of persecution—a fundamental and universal human right.  The trial and sentencing process for Pastor Nadarkhani demonstrates the Iranian government’s total disregard for religious freedom, and further demonstrates Iran’s continuing violation of the universal rights of its citizens.  The United States calls upon the Iranian authorities to immediately lift the sentence, release Pastor Nadarkhani, and demonstrate a commitment to basic, universal human rights, including freedom of religion.  The United States renews its calls for people of conscience and governments around the world to reach out to Iranian authorities and demand Pastor Nadarkhani’s immediate release.

MSNBC reports that he is still alive: Continue Reading…

Ash Wednesday, Lent

Ash Wednesday, Ashes To Go

Today is Ash Wednesday and millions of Christians begin their Lenten journey, but do they have time to stop for an Ash Wednesday service? Many churches only offer a morning or evening service. Busy commuters and schedules do not allow some to be able to receive ashes on this day. How do churches and ministers solve this problem?

Ashes To Go!

Like a drive through church, Ashes To Go enables busy commuters the chance to begin the season of Lent with the words, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  A powerful statement to hear as one heads into the complex and competitive business world.

Ashes To Go started in 2007 with three Chicago-area Episcopal congregations that took ashes and prayer to suburban train stations.  For many commuters, Ashes To Go gave them a chance to be prayed for or to be reminded about a tradition that they abandoned long ago. The practice has spread to New York City, San Francisco, Newark, St. Louis, and more cities continue to embrace the practice every year.

Is this Ash Wednesday practice of Ashes To Go really meeting a need or is just a cop-out for Christians? Continue Reading…

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