I’ve written before on Dove’s Self-Esteem project and the creative videos they have produced inviting us to examine our notions of beauty. This movement isn’t without its critics. And, indeed, we need to think critically and carefully about a campaign related to beauty sponsored by a company (Unilever) that sells hygiene and beauty products. At the same time, even as we offer critical feedback, we need, I think, to take seriously the underlying concerns Unilever is unearthing and responses they are suggesting. Which brings me to this very well done – and for this reason also troubling and inspiring – TED Talk by Meaghan Ramsey,...

Most leaders have been trained to think in terms of goals – setting them, working for them, achieving them. But what if I were to suggest that focusing on goals is one of the less helpful, and potentially adverse, things a leader can do? I know, I know, it sounds a little crazy. But here are two simple reasons why. First, many of the goals we set are more aspirational than practical and so don’t direct action. Second, achieving a goal doesn’t necessarily change anything. I’ll say a bit more about each of these before suggesting an alternative. First, many of the goals we set reflect our aspirations and hopes but are too general or...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Let’s just admit it: this is an ugly parable. No amount of generalizing about God’s hospitality or vulnerability or invitation is going to do away with that. In fact, I think that straying into generalities is a huge mistake, as it glosses over the serious nature and inherent danger in passages like this. So I would urge you either to preach this parable in its distinct and unattractive particularity or to choose one of the other three far more attractive and certainly more edifying passages appointed for this day. If you choose to work with Matthew, however, consider these three things. First, in this...

One of the delightful things about this new role I am playing at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia is to be a major promoter of the many wonderful things that happen on our campus. And so as I look ahead to a full and fruitful October, I want to call your attention to three in particular. If you are anywhere in the vicinity, I hope you will drop by. Even if you’re not, two of them will be live streamed as well as recorded for later online viewing, and the other has an online component as well. So, in order of date…. On Tuesday, October 7, Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics at Union...

This will sound like a rather odd recommendation, but here it is. I find Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, a little full of himself. I’d heard the advice to start with questions of purpose and passion years ago, well before he wrote his book, so the idea that he invented or came up with all this is, well, a bit much. And his work with brain science feels at the same time both oversimplified and overstated. Finally, while he may be a perfectly lovely human being, he comes across as a bit self-important. Having said all that, I’d still encourage you to watch his TED Talk, based on his...