Fred Rogers was a regular and important part of my childhood and continues, well after his death, to continue to serve as an inspiration. Recently the Huffington Post re-ran a picture of “Mr. Rogers” with some advice his mother gave him on how to cope with tragedy. Many have found it helpful as they think about how to talk with their children about tragedy. Typical of his style, the advice is simple, practical, and clear: When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’...
Luke 24:44-49
posted by DJL
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is...
Toward a New Understanding of Mental Illness
posted by DJL
Framing is everything. Do you call it “gun control” or “gun safety”? Are they “taxes” or “contributions”? Is your work in “fund raising” or “development”? The way you name these issues is not simply semantics, nor is it “spin.” The language we use contributes to the reality we perceive and interact with. This is never more true than when it comes to issues that touch upon cultural values. Which is why I think this TED Talk on mental illness is so important. We’ve heard a lot about mental health in the news of late, particularly the inadequate resources we have to help those suffering from mental illness and...
Luke 24:36-43
posted by DJL
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my...
Prayers for Boston
posted by DJL
The temptation in the face of a tragedy like the one in Boston yesterday is to give in to the understandable sense of helplessness that attends such acts of violence and cowardice. It’s understandable because, in fact, there is very little we can do. Few of us can fly to Boston to comfort...
Luke 24:36
posted by DJL
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Have you ever stopped to consider the import of these first words of Jesus to the disciples? To be honest, I rarely have. Maybe it’s because the story is so exciting and I get caught...
Professor Risk and the Art of Leadership
posted by DJL
I found this short video on risk very helpful in thinking about the decisions we are called to make everyday both in our individual lives and as leaders. (Okay, first of all, I love that Cambridge has a “Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk” and even more that David Spielgelhalter, the professor in question, has been nicknamed “Professor Risk”!) I think it’s important because we are sometimes tempted to believe that if we are careful enough, or precise enough, or cautious enough, we can avoid risk. Indeed, often we are tempted to believe that our job as leaders is to avoid risk. But as Professor Risk points out, every...
Luke 24:33-35
posted by DJL
That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the...
Water Lilies
posted by DJL
There is something so irresistibly sad, or melancholy, or nostalgic, about Sara Teasdale’s poem “Water Lilies” that I find absolutely haunting. Actually, none of those words – sad, melancholy, nostalgic – is quite right. And maybe that’s what I like about this poem: it evokes a...
Luke 24:32
posted by DJL
They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? I love this part of the story and this exclamation in particular: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the...
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