Michael Hyatt discusses “The Gentle Art of Conversational Ping Pong” in a blog post that describes how good leaders could become better listeners.  He says, “The people I value the most are those who know how to listen. I actively seek them out. Interestingly, these are also the people who have the most influence with me. Why? Because I feel like they understand me.”  He suggests we do five things,

• Listen with your heart
• Be aware of how much you are talking.
• Hit the ball back over the net
• Ask follow-up questions
• Provide positive feedback.

His conclusion: “Your ability to lead is directly tied to your ability to lead powerful conversations. If you want to increase your influence, you have to perfect the gentle art of conversational ping pong.”

Worth it to read his entire post.  I only discovered his blog fairly recently and it is one that I now read regularly.

To be honest, as I re-enter the North American evangelical scene, I am not sure what I think or feel about this article, titled, “Jesus has Aids.”   Russell Moore challenges the evangelical church to show the same compassion Jesus would have shown to those sufferering from AIDS. Thanks Charlie for the heads up on this.  If you read Mtt 25, John 9, Mark 2–really all of the gospels, I think Russell is spot on.

Jesus has identified himself with the suffering of this world, an identification that continues on through his church.

Am I one who has missed Jesus in those suffering from AIDS?  I don’t even know anyone in this situation (as far as I know)!  Based upon my own inner reactions, I suspect that the church is not a safe place for AIDS sufferers.  But, clearly, it should be. And that would be a reflection of a deep spirituality. Ouch! Moore concludes his article:

Jesus loves the world, and the world has AIDS. Jesus identifies himself with the least of these, and many of them have AIDS. Jesus calls us to recognize him in the depths of suffering, and there’s AIDS there too.

Jesus has AIDS.

I know the Tiger Woods story is old news but I appreciated these comments from Michelle Singletary at the Washington Post from Dec 3.

“But more importantly, and the reason why I’m interested in this story, I think it goes to show that fame and fortune alone can’t make you happy. Tiger’s a reported billionaire, at the top of his game and he’s got a host of problems to deal with now.

We may not know exactly what Tiger did or with whom or how many times, but his own admitted “transgressions” show he wasn’t happy with what he had.

Let that be a lesson to those of you how think more money is the answer to your happiness.”

That said, an article in the New York Times does tells us that money does indeed bring happiness, even if it doesn’t guarantee it.

If you are a Morgan Freeman fan and I am, you should check out this post! Creative!!  Seems like prison inmate could be at the bottom.

annunciation by carravagio

Many people suggest that our Christmas celebration on Dec 25 originated out of pagan festivals.  An article in Biblical Archeology Review suggests otherwise. It may have arisen out of the belief that both the conception and death of Christ occurred on the same day.

Lovely words from John Fischer about a beautiful blind woman together with a nerdy looking fellow.  From his Dec 3 post.   I am reminded of the words of Jesus saying that it is those who are blind that will see and that those who think they see are the ones who are really blind.

What did she see in him? Everything. Everything that’s important about who a person is, what love is, and what a real man is. She saw everything she needed to know about him.

But this is not the only blindness going on here. The girl is also blind to something else. She is blind to her own beauty. She doesn’t know she has cover-girl looks. She has nothing with which to compare herself. She doesn’t know that she conforms to what society is currently calling “beautiful.” All she knows is that someone loves her strictly for who she is, and in that love she reveled.

In this, she is like all of us, for we do not know our own beauty as God sees us, and perhaps it’s just as well, since we wouldn’t want to become arrogant or self-serving in our relationships. Our value comes from knowing that we are loved by God, and that alone is all we need to know.

I like this post from Ray Ortlund about Mary pondering the message of the angels to the shepherds about her baby son in Luke 2:19

Stop signs, refillable coffee, school zones and crossing-guards, traffic rules, bagels, traffic lights, police cars, debit cards, big people, polite people saying howdy, HD tv, smooth roads, tv commericals and soft beds.  These are just a few of the wonderful things I notice on the first day back.  It is going to take awhile before I get used to this place.

Hope this last post of our term does not gross anyone out.

I really don’t like boiled eggs and so when offered a balut, I it does not turn me on! Highly favored by pregnant women and people that have been drinking too much–and I am not saying that the two are related!

from wikipedia, A balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the Philippines.

And I would add, it seems to be kind of slurped down.  Use your imagination.

Since this is one of those things that they say you need to eat in order to adjust to the culture, I had a few bites early in my missionary career.  But I could not get the whole thing done–a bit too crunchy for me.   The picture of a balut here is gross enough but if ever there was doubt, check out this series of pictures of a developing egg.  Might spoil balut for even the bravest.

Like many Christians, I talk a good game when it comes to unity. After all, Jesus prayed that we may be one just as Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 17:11, 22) and that our unity might demonstrate to the world that Jesus was sent from the Father.  So far, so good.  But what price am I personally willing to pay to achieve this unity?  David Hayward asks ten questions that IF I AM HONEST, I cannot simply answer yes, of course.  Maybe you could say that some of his questions are flawed but not all of them.  Thanks David for making me think! Following are his questions:

1. Do I truly believe that everyone has the right to their own beliefs or lack thereof?
2. Can I respect the person, even though I may not respect their ideas?
3. Do I have the capacity to recognize my own fallacies?
4. Will it kill me if I were wrong?
5. Am I able to hold what I believe is truth lightly in the interest of dialog?
6. Can I overlook and maybe even appreciate the idiosyncrasies of others in order to hear what they have to say?
7. Am I willing to discern the deeper currents rather than being distracted by the surface ripples?
8. Can everyone play? In other words, will I not ostracize someone because of their beliefs or lack thereof?
9. Is personal harm to others the only prohibition I am willing to make?
10. Do I love all beings, and if not, am I willing?