If the status quo works for you, if the world benefits you, you might not like the idea of a God who is turning the world upside down. “The last shall be first” sounds great for those who are at the back of the line; but if you are at the top of the food […]
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What If We All Step Into The Circle?
Yesterday I talked about a circle of unconditional respect. I love this simple notion, which I owe to my friend Eric Larsen. Here’s how I described it to my students. When you step into the blue circle you agree to acknowledge the basic human dignity of every other person. Since you agree to stay in the circle, you […]
Continue readingHow About A Little Respect?
Should students respect their teachers? Of course they should. Over at Bouncing Back today I explained why everyone, as a child of God, ought to be treated with dignity and respect. So what if it doesn’t happen? What if others fail to treat you respectfully? As a teacher, I quickly surrendered the notion that my position would […]
Continue readingRespect
HAPPY MONDAY! I’ve chosen a misused word as 2014’s final word-of-the-week… RESPECT Toward the end of my career I operated my classroom with a single principle: Everyone (including the teacher!) always deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Some kids believed respect was earned, but I taught them respect means regard. It means I see […]
Continue readingCrazy Thing Called Love
Love confuses. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.(Romans 20:20) Love confuses those who only know how to draw lines and fight. They may react, initially, with anger, hate, or resentment, but the bitterness is […]
Continue readingWhat If People Aren’t Their Ideas?
So how do we stop otherizng? Bad news–we likely won’t. Stop, that is. Otherizing is pretty ingrained in how we deal with the world, and I suspect none of us is going to simply give it up. Good news–we can make progress. We can increase awareness. We can work at perceiving, and at least blurring, […]
Continue readingThe Problem Of Them
I’ve noticed lately how much of our conversation is about “them.” If you pay attention, our discourse is immersed in a sea of “otherizing.” Over at Bouncing Back today I defined otherizing as the process of discerning and accentuating differences between people so it’s apparent one group is clearly not like us–they’re the “others.” Homeless folks […]
Continue readingOtherizing
HAPPY MONDAY! The baby in the manger brings us an odd word-of-the-week… OTHERIZING “Stop otherizing.” It’s the Christmas message, the thing the baby’s been trying to tell me. Other-izing: the process of discerning and accentuating differences between people so it’s apparent one group is clearly not like us–they’re the “others.” The whole point of Christmas was […]
Continue readingSelma And Courage
I heard some folks discussing the upcoming movie SELMA yesterday. I’m anxious to see the movie. I hope it’ll contribute in a positive way to the current national dialogue. The discussion drifted to the danger faced by those who marched. One person wondered, “Where did Dr. King and his followers find the courage to continue […]
Continue readingWhile I Wait…
What’s the baby in the manger trying to tell me? I keep looking at the scene surrounding His birth. I’m wondering what it means for me right now, trying to figure out what I’m supposed to learn while I wait. # # # Don’t cling to your life. When you empty yourself, you discover your […]
Continue readingDo You Ask Questions You Can’t Answer?
I wish I could talk to the baby in the Nativity scene. I know–it’s only a wooden carving, and conversations with babies tend to be sort of one-sided anyway. And it’s Jesus, so I can talk to Him whenever I want. It’s just that when I look at the baby I wish the man He […]
Continue readingHope And The Christmas Star
Jiminy Cricket famously advised Pinocchio to wish upon a star. It’s a cute song, but I’m not sure it’s wise to accept life coaching advice from a bug. I don’t believe in wishes any more than I believe in the twenty-seven versions of Santa Claus that recently invaded our house. There’s a star in the Christmas […]
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