WWII and your perspective on the world

Have watched only bits and pieces of Ken Burns’ documentary but what I’ve seen is moving and makes me want to watch it all at some point. Just a couple things I noticed:
1. The issue of racism. John Hope Franklin’s bit on how he had everything to run a military office, including an Ivy League [...]

Emotionally Destructive Relationships 2

Previously, I introduced Leslie Vernick’s The Emotionally Destructive Relationship: Seeing it, Stopping it, Surviving it (2007 Harvest House). Here’s some more tidbits from the rest of Part one (Seeing it):
1. Chapter two covers the typical emotional, physical, mental, relational, generational, and spiritual effects of destructive relationships. Of note, Leslie says, “Perhaps one of the most [...]

JesusCreed on “Ex-Gays”

Starting on 10/2 Scot McKnight is going to start a post series at www.jesuscreed.orgon Stan Jones and Mark Yarhouse’s new book, Ex-Gays? Yesterday, he merely announced that he would start the series and it brought on the usual discussions that one encounters when talking about homosexuality, sexual orientation, etc. (e.g., is it right/wrong? Did Jesus [...]

Your negative mood and how you view your loved ones

When you experience negative emotion in your most intimate relationships, what do you do? A recent study published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (54:4, 2007) suggests that we are inclined to place much of the blame on our loved ones. Instead of attributing the problems to external factors (as we tend to do when [...]

Are you a social loafer?

How involved do you get in advocacy? My most recent Pennsylvania Psychologist magazine explores the need for political and social advocacy by psychologists. Most of us Psychologists want our state organization to fight the evil empire of Managed Care but few contribute or work personally toward the cause.
Social loafing, says Ed Zuckerman, is when, “Members [...]

Frederick Douglass on American Religion

At the conclusion of yesterday’s staff meeting, Diane Langberg read to us from the appendix of Douglass’ slave narrative. He felt compelled to clarify his views on religion, and Christianity in particular. As with all great literature, this piece is timeless and ought to be revisited by us from time to time.
His main point? American [...]

Famous speakers and their stories

Most speakers illustrate their points with stories. It helps the audience to use their senses, emotions, experiences, etc. in connecting at a deeper level with the concept being taught. I noticed a couple of speakers recently who told a story that nearly filled up the entire time they talked and only paid lip service to [...]

Contractual Christianity?

Sean Roberts, one of the interns at our church, preached Sunday on Matthew 20 and the parable where the owner of the vineyard pays those who work only 1 hour a full day’s wage–the same he paid those who worked all day in the heat. During the sermon Sean mused that we, “default so often to [...]

Leslie Vernick’s The Emotionally Destructive Relationship

On my recent trip I began Leslie’s new book, The Emotionally Destructive Relationship: Seeing it, Stopping it, Surviving it (2007, Harvest House. Leslie is a LCSW here in PA. I first met her when I was a seminary student and she was a staff counselor/supervisor at CCEF, a local counseling center. Leslie has now authored several [...]

Research that brought me to tears

I confess, the other day I got teary over someone’s research (we New Englander men don’t really cry–its a disorder caused by enculturated individualism). Truth be told, I didn’t get choked up by the research but by the man who was reporting it. Mark Yarhouse closed out the annual conference of the Society for Christian Psychology [...]