Crosland Stuart

My apologies all the way around for what amounted to a great big tease last week when no video was embedded in the previous blog. The problem has been sorted out but the only solution is to include the link rather than the actual video. The ideas that Dr. Amy Sherman, a Senior Fellow at the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research (where she directs the Center on Faith in Communities), puts forward is worthy of our consideration as we embark on vocational guilds together.

We are back and off of the July Screen Sabbatical. This week’s blog post is an interview with James K.A. Smith and Roberta Ahmanson and they are discussing a fascinating topic—patronage. Most interviews that are transcribed can be a little rough and this one is no exception, but it is well worth the read.  Patronage is a lost concept in our culture today and especially with a view towards eternity. 

Aaahhhh! Summer is here and hopefully that means you will be taking some much-needed time off. Interestingly, Americans have become so focused on productivity that we often struggle with how to unwind, destress, and actually relax. Many of us even wrestle with whether or not we should strive to achieve these things a part from a perfect world, and sense that does not exist, then why try.

It is hard to believe. It is has been two years since the Pulse shooting that tragically took the lives of forty-nine people. Forty-nine lives that seem to have been cut short and many, many more who will be forever impacted—families, friends, and first responders (including all those at ORMC).

Another school year is drawing to a close, vacation plans will soon be realized, and that business phenomenon that closely resembles a summer malaise is just on the horizon. Amidst all of these, for most of us, during the months of June, July, and August life moves more slowly or at least you have some extended period where this is the case. Even though it may take longer to transact business in the summer, there seem to be margins in our schedule that we do not enjoy at any other point in the calendar.  There are enough distruptors in the ebbs and flow of life that usually our lives are lived at a slightly slower pace. These different rhythms provide welcome opportunities to squeeze in more reading. 

With the month of May coming faster than any of us would care to admit, so much of our time gets consumed with all things associated with the closing out of another school year. There are certain rituals that are associated with this time of year like expressing our gratitude for those teachers that have meant so much to our kids and because of that to us. The article below appeared in Comment Magazine in February and is by Chad Wellmon. After we catch our collective breaths from reading this article, we all need to deepen your appreciation for the important role teachers have especially since, “Social media have become the new custodians of knowledge.”  

Katelyn Beaty, of Christianity Today, challenges all of us to a new standard in how we as women think about ourselves, how the church thinks about women (regardless of its stance on women’s ordination), and how men think about women professionally and in the church. These are challenges we all need to take more seriously. Many probably think the glass ceiling has been broken and that while there is room for improvement the progress that has been made over the years is fine. Unfortunately, this is just the latest iteration of the frog-in-the-kettle mindset.  

What are the important components to a thriving economy for the Greater Orlando Community? What is currently fueling the market engine for Orlandoans? How might your business grow or be better positioned because of an understanding of our marketplace? Will deepening my knowledge economic drivers make me a better neighbor?

Everyone would agree that the commercialization of all holidays is ridiculous, especially for Christmas. Often by the first week of December a holiday fatigued has already settled in, after all we have been seeing Christmas decorations in stores since October.  It is hard to see any good that comes from the commercialization of Christian holidays.

This is a great question that most of us have asked ourselves at some point or another.  This question gets traction with us because we do not understand work and the One who designed us for it. This week The Collaborative is launching its Vocational Guild Initiative. Our launch week includes three events that are serving as primers to help people understand guilds and why they are worthy of our time. While grossly, oversimplified one of the reasons vocational guilds are important is to answer the question this week’s article by Art Lindsley is asking—Is your work spiritual enough?