Vinedressers,

Exciting news from our good friends at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity! David Heywood, one of the UK’s most experienced theological educators, has put together a 12-unit course called Formation for Enabling Ministry. The goal is to learn together how to prepare future leaders not only to know the subjects we teach, but to become effective, resilient whole-life disciplemakers.

You can take the course on your own, but LICC is also putting together a community of practice to do it together over the course of the spring. The group will meet by Zoom to learn together how to learn together!

Check out an introductory video on the course here, and get connected to the spring community of practice here. You can also check out the entire course by going here and clicking “log in as a guest” to see the course materials.

Watch this week’s ON newsletter for more details.

Also watch your inbox this week for the final 2022 publication from F&F. Darrell Bock hosts a conversation about Christ and the human condition from the vantage point of the Sundance film festival. 

Don’t worry, F&F has lots more coming for you in 2023! 

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

I Peter 3:13-22

Helping Students Develop Cultural Humility, Perry Glanzer, Christian Scholar’s Review

Instant communication and travel has not taught our students cultural humility, and the moralistic pedagogy now practiced on college campuses makes things worse.

Cowardice at Sundance, Graeme Wood, The Atlantic

An important new documentary that gives a voice to former Guantanamo Bay prisoners is being blocked from distribution by people who have not seen it and do not know what is in it.

It’s Always a “Negative World” for Christianity, David French, The Dispatch

The false idea that Christians have to “take our country back” begins with the false idea that there was a time when the world was not hostile to the Christian faith.

An Existential Threat to Good Science, Luana Maroja, Common Sense

What scientists are able to teach and what research we can pursue are under attack. I know because I’m living it.

How Family Structure Affects Teen Tech Use, Jean Twenge, Institute for Family Studies

Children in non-intact families spend almost two hours more per day on screens than do teens from intact families. Depression, loneliness and sleep deprivation are lowest for teens from intact families with low digital media usage, and highest for teens from non-intact families with high digital media usage.

The Blessings of Limits (webinar), Kelly Kapic, Trinity Forum

What if, instead of seeing our limitations as an impediment, we could learn to view them as a blessing, even a gift? In You’re Only Human, theologian and scholar Kelly Kapic offers a theologically grounded approach to understanding and receiving the gift of our human finitude. Register here for this free December 9 webinar.

Sharing Our Faith at Work (webinar), Bill Peel, The 313

The world needs to hear the life-changing message of Christ, but breaking company rules or button-holing resistant listeners isn’t the way. Let’s get better at this!  Register here for this free December 10 webinar.

Klaus Issler on the Ethics of Modern Finance (from our December 2018 newsletter)

Both lending and giving are necessary tools in our toolbox for helping the poor. Giving is the appropriate response for those in need who would not be able to repay a loan. Forms of charitable giving in the Old Testament include almsgiving, the gleaning laws (Leviticus 19:9-10, Deuteronomy 24:19-22, Ruth 2:1-23) and tithe contributions every three years to regional storehouses for local distribution of produce to the poor and needy (Deuteronomy 14:28-29 and 26:12-13).

Yet lending was regarded as another important form of compassionate generosity, addressing a pressing financial need for those who had the potential for repayment, i.e., the lower-income working poor, as opposed to the non-working poor. “You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be” (Deuteronomy 15:8). “Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice” (Psalms 112:5).

Why not make an outright gift rather than arrange a loan? Because for those who are able to work, and thus have a reasonable prospect of repaying the loan, lending affirms their dignity and avoids the potential for dependency.

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Transformational Leadership

The Green Room

Wilhelmine “Willow” Bellevue

One unfortunate side-effect of the transformational leadership style is that leaders may give too much of themselves. Acting as a constant mentor and support system can become overwhelming and result in burnout, which is a high degree of physical, cognitive, emotional or spiritual stress (Swider & Zimmerman, 2010). Have you ever had an employee who always has a problem they need to discuss? Do you constantly need to provide motivational pep talks or be there for them? Constant attentiveness can cause excess stress and burnout, leading to decreased overall health.

But my own experience with transformational leadership has been positive. A past operational director of mine was an exemplary model of what a transformational leader can accomplish. Not only did she attend my book signing, but she also purchased a few copies and continued to follow up with me regarding upcoming books and my doctoral program. She also encouraged my fellow directors to support each other in their personal endeavors. One colleague qualified for the Olympics and trained on the weekends, while another pursued a second master’s degree. Others tried their hand at deejaying and motherhood. We also had gratitude journal challenges and held meaningful meetings. The list goes on, but we were a group of directors who supported each other because our leader wanted to ensure we provided the same mentoring, coaching, and support to one another.

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