Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • An Anti-Culture of Nothingness. Carl Trueman writes about the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics. He writes “And that brings out the real horror of this “queering” of The Last Supper. In desecrating God’s grace, it denies the real solution to humanity’s problem. We need to be consecrated. And that comes only through the means of grace, the Word, and the sacraments.”

  • Cultivating a Healthy Marriage. “Cultivating a Healthy Marriage” with Tim Keller is a short podcast series featuring the messages from the most popular sermon series of Keller’s time at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Preached in 1991, this series was the basis for the bestselling book by Tim and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage. Whether you’re single, married, widowed, or divorced, through this podcast you’ll learn new ways to apply God’s wisdom about marriage to your life.
  • Outrage is Not a Fruit of the Spirit. Randy Alcorn writes “In today’s digital world—and especially in an election year—it’s heartbreaking to see God’s people become a bickering, angry mob.”

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  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Should My Construction Company Help Build a Casino? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “I was asked to join up with a construction partner I have worked with before, and one I really like and enjoy working with, to help complete one of their own projects. The project is a Mormon temple. Is this out of the question for a Christian who leads a construction crew to consider working on such a project like a temple like this, or even a mosque or casino or other things like that? How should I think through making this moral decision on behalf of the crew I lead?”
  • Truth, Love & the Golden Rule. Our friend Russ Gehrlein was a special guest on the syndicated radio program The Plumb Line, hosted by Jay Rudolph, on Monday, June 17. Russell and Jay discussed the importance of truth-telling in work and life. Here is a partial transcript of part two of their conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.
  • Called to Lead. My book Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the Workplace is available in both a paperback and Kindle edition. Read a free sample (Introduction through Chapter 2).

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5 Ways to Have Better Meetings

For the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of assisting one of our pastors in facilitating soft skills modules for seminary students at our church through a NXTGEN Pastors Cohort. Recently, we covered the module “How to Run a Meeting”.
Attending poorly organized and managed meetings “weakens me”, and to be honest, it can be rare when we attend a well-run meeting. The bad news is that I’ve attended a lot of meetings at work, in professional organizations and church. Marcus Buckingham defines an activity that weakens us as one that drains us, bores us and is something on our calendars that we don’t look forward to. For many of us, meetings fall into that category. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Patrick Lencioni has said:  “Bad meetings are the birthplace of unhealthy organizations and good meetings are the origin of cohesion, clarity and communication. Your meetings are a barometer of everything else.” Continue reading


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


All of My Days – Ellie Holcomb
****

The All of My Days EP by Ellie Holcomb (daughter of legendary CCM producer Brown Bannister), is a beautiful collection of seven Psalms that have personally carried her through difficult times as well as played an encouraging role in the lives of her listeners through her “Memory Mondays” where she sings Scripture verses to songs each week.
The instrumentation on these songs is acoustic and minimal, matching Holcomb’s tender vocals. On this project, Holcomb partnered with her father and with Jac Thompson, her keyboard player.
Here are a few comments about each song:

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  • More of this review
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Scarlet Thread by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Zach William

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS


The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. Penguin Books. 431 pages. 2013
****

Earlier this year, I enjoyed the film The Boys in the Boat, directed by George Clooney, and based on this book by Daniel James Brown. You can read my review of the film here. A friend, who also saw the film recommended that I read the book, as he had done twice, and I’m glad that I did.
Descriptions of the book state that it reads like a novel. I agree. The book gives so much more of the story than the Clooney film did, or any film based on a book really can. The author was able to spend a few months with Joe Rantz, one of the oarsmen for the University of Washington rowing team that won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics, before he died. Rantz agreed to let Brown write the book, but said it could not be just about him, it had to be about the boat. The book is about the men in the boat (or shell), their coach Al Ulbrickson and George Yeoman Pocock, who made the shells, in particular the Husky Clipper. It’s also about some of the history of the times that the story took place, particularly in Germany, where the Olympics were held. After Joe died, the author worked closely with Joe’s daughter Judy to tell Joe’s story, and the larger story of the 1936 Olympic crew.

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BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Truths We Confess by  R.C. Sproul
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading


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A Walk Like No Other

Nineteen years ago, my wife Tammy and I headed up to Hebron, Illinois to meet with an Alaskan Malamute breeder and to look at her two available female pups. Little did we know that the trip would lead to not one, but indirectly to two Alaskan Malamute pets (Molly and Clara), and the beginning of a love affair with the Lake Geneva area.
As we approached Hebron, we saw a sign indicating that Lake Geneva was just a few miles away. After picking out Molly, who we would take home two weeks later, we drove into Lake Geneva, and had lunch at “Popeye’s on Lake Geneva” near the historic Riviera Ballroom. As we sat near a window in the restaurant, we were captivated by the beauty of the lake.
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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • What My All-Star MLB Pitcher Dad Taught Me About Godly Competition. Mike McGregor writes “As a faithful Christian who was also a professional athlete, my dad modeled a different way of being a competitor—no less ambitious and hard-working but with a posture that glorified Christ above himself. Here are a few lessons I gleaned from him, and other Christian athletes, that might be helpful for believers seeking to glorify God through sports.”

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  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • A Leader Others Want to Follow. My next book is tentatively titled “Be a Leader Others Will Want to Follow”. Over the years, I worked with many talented individuals, some of whom wanted to move into a formal leadership position. In addition, I mentored several emerging leaders. I would often tell them that I wanted them to be a leader that others would want to follow. The book will discuss 35 leadership attributes that are important for those who want to be a leader others will want to follow, as well as some applications of those attributes. I’m in the early stages of editing the book at this time, and would appreciate your prayers if you are so inclined. Thanks.

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• More links to interesting articles
• The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
• Faith and Work Book Review ~ Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society by Amy L. Sherman
• Quotes from the book Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work by Denise Daniels and Shannon Vandewarker. Continue reading


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Are You Working in Your “Strength Zone”?

I re-read John Maxwell’s 2008 book Leadership Gold: Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Leading. You can read my review of the book here. One of my favorite chapters in the book is “Get in the Zone and Stay There”. The chapter is about working in your “strength zone”. Maxwell writes that the more you work in this zone, the more successful you will be.
I was introduced to the idea of discovering and working in your strength zone through the work of Marcus Buckingham. Primarily through the use of his 2007 book Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance, I was able to see the difference (of team members and myself), that working in your strength zone can make. People are energized, highly engaged in their work, and look forward to coming to work each day if they are doing work in their strength zone. I appreciate that Maxwell states that good leaders help others find their strength zones and empower them to work in them. Continue reading


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


To The Limit: The Essential Collection – Eagles
****

To The Limit: The Essential Collection includes 51 songs from the studio albums and live recordings the Eagles released between 1972 and 2020. All of the band’s best-known songs are included, such as “Take it Easy,” “Hotel California,” “New Kid in Town,” “Lying Eyes,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Desperado,” “Tequila Sunrise”, “The Best of My Love” and more. Also included are lesser-known songs such as “Train Leaves Here This Morning,” “Nightingale,” “Outlaw Man,” “Saturday Night” and “On the Border” and “Good Day in Hell.”
The collection includes more than a dozen live songs from Eagles Live (1980) – including their recent concert opener “Seven Bridges Road” – as well as songs from Hell Freezes Over (1994), The Millennium Concert (2000), Live At The Forum ’76 (2017), and Live From The Forum MMXVIII (2020).

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  • More of this review and a review of One Hand Clapping by Paul McCartney and Wings
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ “Better is One Day/Facedown” by Matt Redman

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