Describing Christian ministry as “relational” is not new. Since at least the 1970s, church leaders and authors have been inviting us to more relational ministry. But what kind of relationship did this paradigm assume? That’s the very important question that Andrew Root asks at the outset of his new book, The Relational Pastor: Sharing in Christ by Sharing Ourselves. [A quick but important disclosure: Andy is a colleague and good friend, and we’ve discussed many of the elements of the book while running together through our neighborhood. So I’m more than a little predisposed to recommend his book. Nevertheless, I really do think...

I found the following TED Talk fascinating because it deals with one of the most important topics in the world: education. How do we, that is, prepare an emerging generation to face the challenges that lie ahead, noting that the challenges we know about – global warming, scarce resources, overpopulation – are gargantuan and that there are tons more we can’t even imagine. But it’s not just the emerging generation. How do we educate ourselves? How do we keep learning in an economy where people are likely to change trades – not just particular jobs but trades and professions – six or seven times in a lifetime? Anant Agarwal is a...