Word Spoken at the Proper Time

Ch. 16 Accessible to all concerned believers, QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross features scholars of religion, ethics, and public life on the following topics: • evaluating evidence and forming beliefs • the Satanic Panic of the 1960s–1990s • understanding scientific methodology • conspiracy theories’ appeal to those searching for meaning • the consequences of social media and echo chambers • productive dialog with people who hold different opinions • intellectualism in the life of faith • conspiracy theories in Scripture • QAnon’s religious rhetori

Blame David, Not Bathsheba. Nathan Did

In the Book of Samuel, three key voices say he’s the guilty one, not her

Research: How Bias Against Women Persists in Female-Dominated Workplaces

New research examines gender bias within four industries with more female than male workers — law, higher education, faith-based nonprofits, and health care. Having balanced or even greater numbers of women in an organization is not, by itself, changing women’s experiences of bias. Bias is built into the system and continues to operate even when more women than men are present. Leaders can use these findings to create gender-equitable practices and environments which reduce bias. First, replace competition with cooperation. Second, measure success by goals, not by time spent in the office or online. Third, implement equitable reward structures, and provide remote and flexible work with autonomy. Finally, increase transparency in decision making

The Call to Follow: Hearing Jesus in a Culture Obsessed with Leadership

Reexamining the Nature of Leadership and Followership in Light of Biblical Teaching The market is flooded with books, conferences, and workshops on how to be a better leader. In most companies, leaders are noticed and applauded while followers are often viewed as weak and passive. However, Scripture tells us a different story; although leadership is valued and respected, being obedient followers of Christ is at the very heart of faith. In The Call to Follow, Richard Langer and Joanne J. Jung teach readers that “followership” is essential to both organizational and spiritual flourishing. They argue that followership requires the development of specific skills and virtues modeled and extolled throughout Scripture. They point to examples of people from the Bible and church history who focused on following in the footsteps of their Savior rather than positions of leadership among others. This helpful book seeks to dismantle the idol of leadership that’s so prevalent in our culture and points us instead to the biblical concept of followership. Biblically Centered: Contains examples of “followership” from Scripture and church history Mission Oriented: Explains how being a follower of Jesus Christ is a missional calling Community Focused: Written to encourage Christ followers, in both leadership and followership positionshttps://digitalcommons.biola.edu/faculty-books/1656/thumbnail.jp

Collaboration and Reconciliation in English Language Teaching? Personal Reflections on Critical Incidents

Collaboration is largely assumed in English language teaching, while reconciliation is often a goal in this discipline. This article briefly introduces frameworks to help us think about collaboration and to understand reconciliation. Next it discusses three critical incidents in EFL teaching and ESL teacher education from personal experience in China, Indonesia, and the United States. Using the literature and frameworks outlined, the article reflects on cultural and other challenges, notes helps and hindrances to collaboration, and possible ways such issues were or might have been reconciled in the three incidents

Attachment to God and Quest as Moderators of the Relationship between Religious Doubt and Mental Health

The present study examined attachment to God and quest as potential moderators of the relationship between religious doubt and mental health. A sample of Christian participants (N = 235) completed a survey which included measures of attachment to God, quest, religious doubt, and mental health. As hypothesized, attachment to God and quest significantly moderated an individual’s experience of religious doubt. Low avoidant attachment to God (i.e., a more secure attachment) was associated with a more negative relationship between cognitive religious doubt and positive mental health than high avoidant attachment. In contrast, low avoidant attachment to God also ameliorated the positive relationship between affective religious doubt and mental health problems. Low anxious attachment was associated with a stronger negative relationship between both measures of religious doubt (i.e., cognitive and affective) and positive mental health. In addition, high soft quest weakened all four of the relationships between measures of religious doubt and mental health. High hard quest ameliorated the positive relationship between both measures of religious doubt and mental health problems. These results indicate that an individual’s attachment to God and the way an individual is oriented toward religion each play a role in the mental health outcomes associated with religious doubt

The Connected Life: The Art and Science of Relational Spirituality

It\u27s no secret that we live in an increasingly isolated world. The pandemic has only exacerbated what was already a startling trend: loneliness and disconnection have been on the rise for a long time in our society. We long for a deep sense of meaning to make sense of our lives, but we don\u27t know how to find it. Even worse, we often search for it in unhealthy ways that hinder the very thing we\u27re desperate for: genuine relational connection. Psychologist Todd Hall has been researching human relationships and ways of connecting for many years. In The Connected Life, he offers the fruit of that work, contending that real human growth doesn\u27t come through head knowledge alone but through relational knowledge and strong attachment bonds. It\u27s our relationships―with God and others―that lead to authentic transformation. Ultimately, the family of God provides the best context for lasting growth. Here is a wise, accessible introduction to transformative relational connection, addressing the deeply felt disconnection in our society and inviting us into lasting relationships with God and others.https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/faculty-books/1638/thumbnail.jp

Conformed to Christ\u27s image : the practical Implicaitons of John Chrysostom\u27s christology

Patristic scholars have observed that the reading and interpretation of scripture was intimately bound to ecclesiastical life, and was undertaken within the context of worship. The modern fissure between biblical exegesis and systematic theology or indeed between biblical exegesis and praxis would have been inconceivable in patristic thought. Most of John Chrysostom\u27s exegesis was undertaken in the church and is best understood when considered in that milieu. The present study explores the functional relationship between exegesis and spiritual life in the early church, as this was a vital concern of the fathers. Since patristic doctrine and application are interrelated, the objective of this paper is to illustrate how John Chrysostom portrays the practical Christian life as a reflection of our union with Christ

Motivations, Backgrounds, and Practices of Business as Mission Practitioners: Insights from an International Survey

“Business as mission” (BAM) was introduced to the Christian missions community during the 2004 Lausanne conference in Pattaya, Thailand. Since then, interest in BAM has grown exponentially, and with it, demand for support services, training, and financing. For all the attention, however, scholarly research in this area has not kept pace, and there remain many unknowns about the personal and contextual factors that contribute to the impact and sustainability of a BAM enterprise. Seeking to address that gap, this paper builds on insights from the social entrepreneurship literature that enable us to construct a typology that distinguishes between four basic types of BAM practitioner. While all four seek to advance the cause of Christ using business, and thus fit the basic definition of BAM, each brings a different combination of motivations, backgrounds and practices. The relevance of those differences are then explored using survey data collected from 119 self-defined BAM practitioners around the world. We also identify several essential business practices that are correlated with strong economic and social impact. Implications for further research are discussed

The culture portfolio : Assessing growth toward intercultural competence

Chapter 8 Culture learning in the language classroom has long been a recognized benefit to studying language (American Council of Trustees and Alumni [ACTA], 2017). The National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project (NSLEP) states that “only the study of world language empowers learners to engage successfully in meaningful interaction, both orally and in writing, with members of other cultures” (NSLEP, 2015, p. 79). This idea was challenged, however, when Wright (2000) completed a study showing that not only do language students not progress in intercultural competence (IC) when culture is presented as cultural facts but that students even regressed in their ability to be open-minded and flexible to culturally different others. However, when culture learning was approached as a reflective process of discovery, students, even at the beginning levels of language learning, made significant gains in IC. Since this study was conducted, much has changed in the field of foreign language instruction..